“Heaven will not be that unlike our life on this earth.”
~Harry Ironside
A. What We Will Be Like In Heaven?
1. You will have some characteristics like Jesus on earth, but remember He is God and you are human.
2. You will have some characteristics like Adam and Eve, but we will not be able to sin. They enjoyed unconfirmed righteousness.
3. You will have some characteristics like angels, but remember they are incorporeal beings and you will have a glorified physical body.
4. You will enjoy some of the things in Heaven that are described in scripture of the millennium.
5. Heaven will have some characteristics of the Garden of Eden.
6. Heaven will have some of the characteristics of the victorious life of believers described in scripture where they overcome sin and their enemies.
7. The description of Heaven is in Rev. 21, 22.
B. What Happens To Me At Death?
1. My physical body decays until I die.
2. My soul and body separate, “As her soul was in departing, (for she died)” (Gen. 35:18).
3. Angels take/escort you to Heaven. “So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22).
4. You immediately enter the presence of God. “To be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Cor. 5:8).
5. You are a “spirit being,” with active personality (intellect, emotion, and will).
6. You will be incorporeal (without a body).
C. What Happens To Me At The Resurrection?
1. You will come back with Jesus. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thess. 4:14).
2. Your physical and immaterial will be joined to your spirit. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17).
3. Your body will be transformed. “Who shall change our vile (body of humiliation) body, that we may be fashioned like unto His glorious body” (Phil. 3:21).
4. You will be known to Jesus, “Then I shall know just as I also am known” (1 Cor. 13:12).
5. You will be recognized by those who knew you on earth.
6. You will have those characteristics in Heaven that portrayed you on Earth. If two people looked similar on earth (i.e., twins), they will look similar in Heaven.
7. How old will I be in Heaven?
a. You will be the age you were converted. “Just as I also am known” (1 Cor. 13:12).
b. The age you died.
c. The age Jesus was when He died.
d. The age Adam and Eve were created.
e. An unknown mystical age.
8. Will I recognize my friends?
a. Yes. “We will know as we are known.”
b. We will know many people, but not everyone.
D. What Will I Be Like in Heaven?
1. Will I be perfect, or can I displease God in Heaven?
a. At death we lose our sin nature. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4).
b. We are “frozen in righteousness.” Like the angels we will only do right things. In Heaven you will do more, know more, and grow more than others.
2. Will I know what is happening on earth?
a. Yes because, “We are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1).
b. No because knowing about the sin of loved ones would hurt you. “No crying” (Rev. 21:4).
You will not know everything, but you will know things within your awareness. The events of earth will not be within your experience.
c. Potential knowledge you will see and know the things Jesus wants you to know.
3. Will I be married?
a. No one is married in Heaven. “In the resurrection whose wife should she be . . . in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage” (Matt. 22:28-30).
b. There will be a special relationship to your spouse. Since Heaven is an amplification of the joys of life on earth, you will grow in your relationship.
4. What will I know in Heaven?
a. You will not know all things. Things will happen in Heaven that you will not be aware of, nor know about. Only God knows all things.
b. Your awareness will not be negatively influenced by sin, so you will be aware of more and know more than on Earth.
c. Since aging toward death is a product of sin (Gen. 2:17, Rom. 5:12) you will not suffer the corruption of memory, hence you will remember more. “No more curse” (Rev. 22:3).
d. You will grow in knowledge (but at a different rate than others), but you will never reach all knowledge or perfect knowledge.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
Dr. Towns’ email is eltowns@liberty.edu.
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