I was asked this amazing question a few days ago by my brother in law. I felt it deserved a longer answer than just a few short sentences from me as we exchanged texts. I told him I would answer it in my next blog to the Church, if that was ok with him. So here goes my attempt to answer this perplexing question according to the Bible.
This question is one that has been on the mind of every person since the beginning of time. Paul wrote about it to the Thessalonian church in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, as he explained to them, that those who had died before them were safe in heaven, and they would see them again. In fact when Jesus would return for all of them and us, they would be with him.
But first before we go any further I want to add this to your question about life after death. Only those who have believed on Jesus and accepted Him as their Lord and Savior will go to heaven, all the rest will go to their eternal separation from God into Hell, that was made only for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). In the book of Revelation 20:15 it says, (and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire).
We only have one opportunity to say yes to Jesus, and that is while we are still alive on this earth. Once we die our fate has been determined by us, not by God. We are the ones who make this eternal decision while we are alive. In Luke 16:22-25 Jesus is explaining to his disciples that after you are dead and you’re at your eternal destination you will still recognize those you knew before. In this case it was one from each dimension.
I don’t want to scare anyone, but life is all about decisions, some of which carry on into our futures. One other thing I would like to mention is our worthiness, or our right standing with God. We have no worthiness of our own! We only have our right standing before God by our faith in the sacrifice of Jesus (Galatians 2:16). Enough of this warning and back to seeing what the Bible has to say about our ability to know those who died before us
In 1 Corinthians 5:6-10, we are informed that we are to always be confident, that while we are in our earthly bodies we are away from the Lord, but after we die we are to be confident that we will be with the Lord. Then Paul reminds us again in chapter 13:12 of this same letter, that we see through a glass darkly now while on this earth, but once we are at home (heaven) we shall be known as we are known now.
I like to use only the New Testament scripture but there is also evidence in the Old Testament such as 2 Samuel 12:23 where King David was aware of the fact that his son which died as a new born child, he was going to see him again when he, the king would die also and go to where this son was.
In Matthew 8:11, we find this scenario given to us by Jesus as he informed his disciples that many different people would come to his table in heaven, and be able to recognize Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These people were in heaven and knew each other. Abraham was Isaac’s father, and Jacob was Abrahams grandson.
Then in Matthew 17:3 we once again find Jesus and his disciples on the mount of transfiguration being visited by Moses and Elijah. They were recognized by his disciples even though they had not ever met either of them.
How long does it take you to reach heaven after you die? Good question. In 2 Corinthians 5:8 we see this question being answered by Paul as he says to them, we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. So by this explanation by Paul, we see that it’s instantly. In fact Jesus tells us in John 11:26 that if we are believers in him we will not even know that we have left our earth suit as we enter into his presence.
Heaven is a real place and in 1 Corinthians 2:9 Paul reminds us that the human eye has not ever seen nor has our ears heard, neither has it entered into our minds what splendors are awaiting us as we enter our heavenly home. He tells us so much more but I will only use this sentence to try and help you understand who you are in Gods sight.
In the gospel of John 3:16, we find these comforting words, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. What a wonderful promise from our God. I hope this helps you understand who you are in Christ Jesus and that everyone in your circle of family and friends who have made Jesus their Lord and Savior will be seen and recognized by you and they also will know you too.
Our main objective in life is to do our best to preach the gospel of love by our words and more importantly by our actions. Live each day as if it will be your last. Tell your loved ones that, You, love them. Forgive all their mistakes and shortcomings, even though they hurt your precious feelings. Remember Jesus says that if you don’t forgive them their faults, neither will he forgive yours (Matthew 6:14-15).
Remember, you will make it, just don’t quit. Life is short no matter how long you live, it’s how you live that matters most. See in in the next letter as we study Gods word together.
In His Service As Kilted Priest
The Kilted Priest 