Will we meet in heaven?
Let’s get to the purpose with a one-word answer: Yes!
A two-word answer can be “Sure!”
A five-word answer can be, “You can count on it!”
But being a sensible and astute reader, you want greater than the pastor’s words on this matter. You’ll need to see it in your Bible.
So let me offer seven verses of scripture that I even have used to assist people who find themselves wondering in the event that they shall be reunited with their believing family members in heaven. All of those indicate that we got to know one another within the resurrection, and a few of them indicate that believers met one another immediately after death.
1. David and his son
King David had a son who died in infancy. When the boy died, David said, “I’ll go to him” (2 Samuel 12:23).
David knew that he would see his son again within the presence of the Lord, and knowing that he can be reunited with the son he loved brought relief to his grief.
2. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
Our Lord said many would come from east and west and sit at table “with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the dominion of heaven” (Matthew 8:11).
Abraham was the daddy of Isaac and grandfather of Jacob, and in heaven he enjoys the corporate of his son and grandson, while Jacob enjoys the corporate of his father and grandfather.
3. Jesus and the disciples
Jesus said to his disciples, “I is not going to drink of this fruit of the vine until the day I drink it again in a recent way in my Father’s kingdom with you“(Matthew 26:29emphasis mine).
The eleven who shared the Last Supper with Jesus on earth will eat and drink with Him in heaven. Peter, James, John, and others shall be named and known in heaven as distinctly as they were named and known on earth.
4. Moses and Elijah
When Jesus’ glory was revealed on the Transfiguration, we read that “Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking to him” (cf.Matthew 17:3).
This is fascinating because when Moses and Elijah appeared, they didn’t have a resurrected body. These were the souls that became visible, because the angels became visible to the shepherds, and because the souls under the altar became visible to John (Revelation 6:9). While still waiting to be clothed with a resurrected body, Moses and Elijah were known. They were recognizable and were able to have interaction in conversation. This tells us rather a lot in regards to the conscious joy of fellowship that believers share after death within the presence of the Lord.
5. Souls gathered in heaven
The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews speaks of “the spirits of the just who’ve reached perfection”, that’s, of the souls of believers within the presence of Jesus. These souls, he tells us, are gathered within the “congregation of the firstborn” (cf.Hebrews 12:23). Right now, in heaven, the spirits of the righteous who’ve attained perfection are gathering. Gathered means fellowship, and togetherness means union.
6. Paul and the Thessalonians
Paul explains that the believers he loved on earth shall be his joy in heaven. “For who’s our hope or joy or crown of glory before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Isn’t it you? (1 Thessalonians 2:19). When Paul says this, he clearly predicts that relationships formed on earth will proceed in heaven.
7. The union of believing family members
When Paul writes to believers who’re mourning the lack of a loved one, he offers them this comfort: “We who’re yet alive shall be caught up together within the clouds to satisfy the Lord within the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17emphasis mine).
“They” refers to believing family members who at the moment are within the presence of the Lord. A wife who mourns the lack of a believing husband has the comfort of knowing that when the Lord comes, she is going to meet her husband again. Sons and daughters who grieve the lack of a believing father or mother can find comfort within the prospect of this comfortable reunion as we reunite with those that have gone before us before the Lord.
That’s good enough to unravel the issue for me and hopefully for you too. Christians who know and love one another on earth will know and love one another in heaven.
[This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s February 2017 column in Mature Living Magazine.] Content taken from UnlockingTheBible.org; used with permission.
Colin Smith (@PastorColinS) is the senior pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church within the northwest suburbs of Chicago and a member of the Council of the Evangelical Coalition.
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