When We Get To Heaven
I. In Mark, Chapter 12, religious leaders confront Jesus and try to catch him with trick questions. Some of them asked, "Should we pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Jesus asked for a penny. Someone gave Him one. Holding it up so they could see, Jesus asked whose image was on the coin. They answered, "Caesars". Jesus answered, "Give unto Caesar the things that are his and to God the things that are Gods".
They were amazed at His answer. They thought they had all the answers but here was a Man that could answer them without a chance of being challenged. When He gave an answer that settled it. No more questions needed. They probably just fell back into the crowd before Jesus could put them to more shame.
Then it was the Sadducees turn to ask a question. They thought they had one that couldnt be answered without looking foolish.
Look at Mark 12:18-25, "Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying, 19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a mans brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed. 21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise. 22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also. 23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife. 24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? 25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven."
Jesus said the dead shall resurrect and be like the angels in Heaven.
I. Have you ever wondered what were going to be like in Heaven?
A. For the next few minutes lets look at some scriptures to see if we can get some answers about our bodies when we get to Heaven.
II. First of all, will people recognize us? Will we look the same in Heaven as we did on earth? Will I know you and vice versa?
A. Matt. 17:1-4, "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias."
a. It doesnt say that an angel announced who these two men were who were talking to Jesus. The disciples seemed to know who they were the minute they saw them. Moses and Elijah had lived on earth long before the disciples, yet they still recognized who they were.
b. Remember when Jesus met the two people on their way to Emmaus? At first they didnt recognize Jesus. While they walked Jesus taught them and all the time they didnt know Who He was.
c. When they got to the home of one of the travelers, they invited Jesus to come in for a meal. During the meal Jesus served them bread and the Bible says it was then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. Then He vanished.
d. The key to this is the fact that "their eyes were opened".
e. When we get to Heaven our new glorified eyes will be opened to everything. We will see Jesus and know Him but He will never vanish like He did in Emmaus.
B. So yes, I believe we will recognize each other in Heaven.
C. How about children who have died as babies, will they be recognized? I believe we will be introduced to them. Maybe an angel will take us by the hand and say, "The Lord would like you to meet someone".
a. My mother had two miscarriages after she had me. They were both male babies. I may be introduced to them or I may not. Mom & dad, several aunts, uncles & cousins are already there, I may recognize them but Ill tell you what, for sure Ill recognize Jesus and God the Father.
b. How can I say this without being taken wrong? When we get there and are in the presence of our Lord, just when will we get bored and say, "Excuse me Jesus, but Ive got some others up here to see?"
c. Heres the thing, we knew our parents, friends and relatives down here on earth. We talked with them, walked, laughed and cried with them and when they passed on we miss them. We can still picture them in our minds.
d. We have yet to see Jesus Face-to-face. Everything now is in the spiritual realm. But when we come into His presence in Heaven it will become reality and I believe there will be so much glory and so much love emanating from Jesus we’ll put off looking for relatives until some later time in eternity.
D. NEW NAME: We will recognize each other but the Lord will give us a new name. Only you and the Lord will know what the name is.
a. Rev. 2:17, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it."
b. I believe this name will be a good thing about your character or nature that only you and Jesus will know about.
c. Remember when Jesus changed Peters name from Simon Barjona to Peter? Jesus asked Simon who people said He was. Some said John the Baptist, Elijah or Jeremiah.
d. Then Jesus asked Peter Who he thought He was and Peter said, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God".
e. Then Jesus said He was changing Peters name from Simon Barjona (son of Jonah) to just Peter. Peter in the Gr. (Petros) means "a little stone".
f. Jesus said, "Thou art Peter (little stone) and upon this Rock (Petra, a large stone, a solid foundation, I will build My church."
What was the foundation stone? The confession Peter had just made, that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
g. Jesus was saying Peter, youre a pebble that a man could pick up and throw but Im going to build My church on a solid rock.
h. Romans 10:9-10 sums up that solid rock: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
III. What will our bodies be like?
A. 1 John 3:2, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
B. If were going to be like Jesus, how is that going to happen? The Bible says its a mystery.
a. 1 Cor. 15:52, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
b. This natural body of mine cant stand to be in the presence of God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit. Its going to take a supernatural, incorruptible body. That will happen at the Rapture.
c. Whether were in the grave or out, when Jesus comes with a shout and a trump of God, our bodies will become glorified just like the Body of Jesus.
d. It will happen at the blink of an eye and there will be no waiting in line!
IV. In Heaven our Spirits will be in full control over our body.
A. 1 Cor. 15:42-44, "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body."
B. Its the spirit man inside a Born-Again Believer that longs to fellowship with the Lord. Now our spirit is constantly struggling with our mind and body.
a. As we hear the word, our minds are being renewed to become the Mind of Christ.
b. In Heaven the spirit will be the dominant factor but it will blend perfectly with our soul and body because all three will be renewed.
V. We wont be limited by time, gravity or space.
Luke 24:31, "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. 29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. 30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight."
John 20:19, "Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you."
John 20:26, "And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you."
VI. In Heaven our bodies will be eternal.
A. 2 Cor. 5:1, "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
a. That doesnt say it as well as another version. Let me read that from the NLT. But Im going to read to verse 5.
"For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down—when we die and leave these bodies we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long for the day when we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will not be spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies. 4 Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh, but its not that we want to die and have no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by everlasting life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit."
VII. In Heaven our bodies will not only be glorified, they will manifest the glory.
A. Romans 8:18, "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
a. In a study of the word "revealed", the root word of it means "to describe an external manifestation".
b. Then in Daniel 12:3 it tells us, "And they that be wise (saved) shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
c. Our glorified bodies will shine like the sun!
d. But we will only be reflecting the true Glory emanating from Jesus
VIII. No crying in Heaven.
A. Rev. 7:17, "For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."
a. This is talking specifically about the saints who have gone through the Tribulation but are saved. At a particular point in time they will be Raptured too.
b. But the point here is about the tears being wiped away by God the Father.
c. When God wipes away the tears, no one will remember the ones who were left behind, those that have not been saved and will be condemnded to hell.
B. Rev. 7:1-7, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."
IX. There will be no sickness or pain in Heaven.
A. Rev. 22:1-5, "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever."
a. Verse 3 says there will "be no more curse".
b. All sickness and disease in this world was birthed at the fall of Adam. It was part of the curse on the world placed by God because of Adams sin.
c. No curse, no sickness nor disease.
X. There will be no death.
(Talking about the resurrection of the dead:)
A. 1 Cor. 15:23-26, "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christs at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."
XI. There will certainly be no sin in Heaven.
A. Rev. 21:27, "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lambs book of life."
XII. There will be no hunger or thirst in Heaven.
A. Rev. 7:16, "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more . . ."
B. When we sit at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9) were not going to eat because were hungry.
a. Well eat just because it tastes so good and there wont be an end to any of it. Especially desserts!!!
Conclusion: Our bodies will be recognizable. We will greet our friends & relatives in Heaven. Well have glorified bodies that will be eternal and shine like the sun! There will be no death, sickness, pain, or sadness. Each one of us will be given a new name, one that only you and the Lord knows. We wont be limited by space or gravity but will travel instantly from one place to another. Doesnt that make you want to tell others about Heaven?
