Will I Know You in Heaven?

A while ago friend asked me the question, “Will we know each other in heaven?” It’s a very good question, but not an easy one to answer.

Most of us have heard Eric Clapton’s song, “Tears in Heaven”, written after the tragic death of his 3-year-old son. In the song, Clapton captures the feelings of uncertainty many of us have about the afterlife:

Would you know my name

If I saw you in heaven?

Would it be the same

If I saw you in heaven?

It’s a question I’m sure we’ve all pondered. After all, don’t we look forward to being reunited with our family and friends when we arrive in Heaven? Haven’t we delighted in the thought of finally meeting our Savior face to face? Don’t we have questions we hope to ask of those of whom we have only read about in the Bible?

To do so would require that we know, recognize, and remember each other in Heaven, right? Of course. But how? What about all those who have already died or will die before Jesus’s second coming? Only their spirit resides in Heaven. How can we know what our spirit looks like? Will it be a spiritual likeness of our physical body? (If so, pleeez let it be my skinnier younger body without chin whiskers and age spots). And at the final resurrection, all those who are saved, past and present, will be changed into a glorified body. So, how do we know what that glorified body will look like?

There aren’t any specific Bible chapters or verses to quote. However, there are some examples for us to consider.

We will recognize and remember each other:

Lazarus and the Rich Man

Although this is not a happy story of being reunited with our loved ones, it does imply that we will recognize each other as well as remember our relationship to each other after we die.

In Luke 16 we read about a beggar named Lazarus. Poor and destitute, unable to provide for himself and too weak to even shoo away the dogs that came and licked his sores, he begged for the mere crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. The rich man proved himself to be gluttonous, selfish, and uncaring because he ignored Lazarus’ pleas. Lazarus eventually died and was ushered by angels into Abraham’s bosom (a place many believe was prepared for the saved who died before Jesus’s crucifixion). The rich man also died but was lost and cast into Hell.

Being tormented, he looked up, and saw Lazarus afar off in Abraham’s bosom. He begged that Lazarus be allowed to dip his finger in water and touch his tongue for a tiny bit of relief. But Abraham explained to him that it was not possible. For though they could see each other, there was a barrier preventing either to cross from one place to the other.

It’s a very sad account, but one that suggests we will recognize and know each other after death, both in Heaven and Hell, as the rich man knew Lazarus.

King David

Another example is found in 2 Samuel 12 where we find King David being reprimanded by Samuel for his sin with a woman named Bathsheba. Although Bathsheba was married to someone else, David lusted after her and took her for his own, then had her husband killed in battle. Bathsheba became pregnant with King David’s child and bore a son who became very ill. David fasted and prayed for seven days in hopes that his son’s life might be spared. However, the child died. Upon confirmation of the infant’s death, David arose, bathed, put on clean clothes, worshipped God, and ate. His servants were bewildered by his actions. “Why doesn’t he grieve, now that the child has died?”, they wondered. David responded, “Now {that} he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”

David was referring to seeing his son again in Heaven one day. He took comfort in knowing they would be reunited. If David and his son would not know each other in Heaven, how could David find comfort? He would surely be saddened even more by the lost opportunity of a relationship with his son.

We will know Jesus in Heaven:

Stephen

In Acts, chapters six and seven, we read about Stephen. The Bible tells us that Stephen was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. He was one of seven men hand-picked (to be a deacon) by the apostles to minister to the widows in the first church. He also did “great wonders and miracles among the people.”

There arose men that opposed his teaching and falsely accused him of blaspheming Moses. As a result, Stephen was condemned to be stoned to death. Stoning was the brutal practice of hurling stones at a person until he or she died. As he was dying, “being full of the Holy Ghost, {Stephen} looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and

Jesus standing on the right hand of God.”

Acts 7:55

The Bible doesn’t tell us whether Stephen knew or had even met Jesus before, but whether he had or hadn’t, in the final moments of his life, Stephen knew Jesus when he saw Him standing beside God, the Father, in heaven.

Thief on the Cross

Another example is in Luke 23 during Christ’s crucifixion. There were two thieves crucified alongside Jesus that day. While on the cross dying, one of the thieves believed on Jesus and was saved. He turned and asked Jesus to remember him when He entered His Kingdom (Heaven). Jesus reassured this new child of God by saying, “Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” What a comfort! Most surely they would know each other and rejoice together when reunited in Heaven that very day. Where would the glory and praise be if this man did not recognize Christ, the very one who saved him?

We will know those of whom we have only read about in the Bible:

The Roman Centurion

In both Matthew and Luke, we read about a Roman Centurion - a commanding officer in the Roman army.

The Romans had overtaken Israel. Being under Roman rule didn’t give the Jews the warm fuzzies toward the Romans, and the Romans probably weren’t too fond of the Jews, either. However, in Luke 7: 2-10 and Matthew 8:5-13, we read about a Roman officer who loved Israel, even building a synagogue for the Jews to worship. (Luke 7:5) By what we read about him, we can assume he had seen and/or heard Jesus at some time and was saved.

According to the account in Matthew, he came to Jesus humbly, and asked that He heal one of his servants. When Jesus offered to go to his servant, the officer stopped him and said,” Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.”

Jesus marveled at his faith and said to the people that were gathered around them, “And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.”

In other words, many people will be saved from all over the world; Jews and Gentiles (including Romans), people from different ethnicities, cultures, and classes and they will all know and sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in heaven one day. How will they know Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob whom they’ve never met? It stands to reason we will be given the power to know them when we arrive. Otherwise, they would simply be faces in a sea of unknown faces.

Jesus’ Transfiguration

We can also look in Matthew 17 where we read about Jesus’s transfiguration. He took three of His apostles, (Peter, James, and John) high up onto a mountain and was transfigured before them. Transfigured simply means changed. His face shone like the sun and his clothes became white like light. Immediately upon His transfiguration, the apostles witnessed Jesus talking to Moses and Elias (Elijah). How did the apostles know it was Moses and Elijah?

Obviously, they hadn’t met Moses who lived 1300 to 1500 years before nor Elijah who had lived about 900 years before. Yet, they recognized exactly who they were as they talked with Jesus. These apostles were still in their physical bodies here on earth, (like Stephen mentioned above) yet God gave them the ability to recognize Moses and Elijah.

These are only a few examples, (there are more throughout the Bible) but ones which affirm that YES, we will know, recognize, and remember each other in Heaven! Why wouldn’t we? How sweeter our praise; how deeper our gratitude; how greater our love; how purer our joy will be for our Savior when we finally meet him face to face and are reunited with our friends and family one glorious day!

*God bless!

Photo by David Ashenfelter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTnWFT3DvVA