The
coming of Christ will be an occasion of jubilation for all saints. When
the graves are opened and the dead in Christ shall rise first and the
living saints shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in
the air, it will be a time such as attends the meeting of a bride with
her bridegroom.
Believers never need fear a condemnatory judgment
for sin. For every Christian this judgment is already past. When Jesus
comes again He will have in His body the marks of crucifixion, and this
will prove that the penalty for sin has been paid in full. Our Lord
reassures us by His own word: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting
life, and shallnot come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). To this the Apostle Paul adds: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Our souls rest forever upon these eternal words of our God.
All Men and Fallen Angels are to be Judged
Yet the Bible teaches clearly that all men, both
living and dead, saved and unsaved, must give an account to Christ. The
Apostle Peter, in his great sermon in the house of Cornelius, said “that
it is He which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead” (Acts 10:42).
Later, in his First Epistle, Peter wrote that the saints “shall give
account to Him that is ready to judge the quick (the living) and the
dead” (1 Peter 4:5).
Those who were dead, those who have died since or will have died, and
the living must give account to Jesus Christ who is ready to judge all
men.
The Five Separate Future Judgments
Not all men will be judged at the same time and place. There are five future judgments.
1. The Judgment Seat of Christ. The first of
these will be the judgment of the believer’s works, called “The Judgment
Seat of Christ.” It is this judgment to which we shall give
consideration in this chapter. But first, we shall outline the four
future judgments that will follow the judgment of the believer’s works.
2. The Judgment of Regathered Israel.In Daniel 12:1
this judgment is called “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble.” It will be the
punishment of the Jews for their disobedience to God and their rejection
of Jesus Christ. During the Tribulation Period and after the close of
the present Age of Grace, Israel will pay for her sins, being afflicted
with unprecedented misery and woe.
3. The Judgment of the Living Nations. At the
end of the Tribulation Period, after Israel has been judged, the
nations of earth will be judged by Christ and His Church. This judgment
will not be against individuals but against nations for their treatment
of the Jewish people. “For, behold, in those days, and in that time,
when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will
also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of
Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my
heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted
my land” (Joel 3:1-2).
4. The Judgment of Fallen Angels. This is the
final judgment against Satan and other fallen angels who will be judged
with him. Immediately after the one thousand years of the Kingdom Age,
Satan and his hosts will meet their doom. “And the angels which kept not
their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in
everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6). At that time we shall see the final fulfillment of that great prophecy in Genesis 3:15.
5. The Judgment of the Unbelieving Dead. This
is called the Great White Throne Judgment. After the casting of Satan
into Hell, the wicked dead will be raised to receive the final sentence
of condemnation (Revelation 20:12-15). No believer will be judged at that day as the final judgment is reserved for all who rejected the Lord Jesus Christ on earth.
The Judgment Seat of Christ
The first future judgment derives its name from two passages where the term “Judgment Seat of Christ” appears:
For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10).
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10).
This judgment cannot be confused with either of the
other judgments because the Holy Spirit used a Greek word to describe
the Judgment Seat of Christ that is peculiar and different from the
Greek words used in connection with other judgments. Here the word used
is bema. It appears in classical Greek to identify the judge’s seat in
the arena of the Olympic games. The bema was the seat whereon the judge
sat, not to punish contestants, but to present awards to the victors.
When Christians stand before the bema of Christ, it will be for the
express purpose of being rewarded according to their works. There is no
idea of inflicting punishment.
The Judge. Our Lord Himself said: “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22).
The Apostle Paul said to the Athenians that “God hath appointed a day,
in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man Whom He
hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He
hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).
In this sense every judgment throne can be considered as the judgment
seat of Christ, for, as the resurrected Son of God, He has been
appointed by the Father to be the Judge of all. However, there is only
one bema, a throne erected for Christ for the purpose of awarding the prizes or crowns to the victorious saints.
Since Christ is the Judge, and a time and place have
been set for the judgment of believers, we are warned against any
attempt at judging each other in this life. “Why dost thou judge thy
brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all
stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Romans 14:10).
We are not judges. Therefore we have no right to judge or to despise
our brother. It is not possible for any of us to judge righteously and
justly because we do not know the hearts of each other. Jesus warned His
disciples: “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1).
We must exercise a careful discrimination in all matters, but our
attitude is to be without censoriousness. We are expected to use our
reason and the powers of discernment, but never to avenge, condemn, nor
damn another. Abraham Kuyper has said: “All human judgment remains
imperfect. It can never fully satisfy our thirst after justice.” A human
tribunal cannot bring a just retribution upon those who have committed
crimes in secret. Too frequently the guilty are set free and the
innocent condemned. “Forget not your martyrs.” Because of our
limitations we come to wrong conclusions. Therefore we are to leave all
judgment with the omniscient Judge who will judge righteously and
accurately, but never falsely. When Jesus comes, every Christian dead or
alive, will be included in the great throng that will stand before the bema of
Christ. We will be there, not merely as spectators or witnesses. The
Holy Judge will not need anyone to witness. In that day His word shall
stand. “He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man:
for He knew what was in man” (John 2:24-25).
The Judged.Only believers will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. In both verses where this judgment is mentioned (Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10),
the words are addressed to Christians only. All the wicked dead
(unbelievers) will be judged at the Great White Throne after the one
thousand year reign of Christ on earth. But the subjects to whom the
Apostle Paul addressed his messages when he said, “We must all appear,”
were exclusively the saints of whom Paul considered himself one. Someone
will question the possibility of standing room for the countless
millions of saints, or another may question the time element of such “an
endlessly drawn out pronouncement of judgment upon so large a host of
individuals.” The Bible is silent on details as to the exact location of
the place of judgment. Whether in Heaven or in the air we cannot tell.
However, one thing is certain, as Henry W. Frost has said: “A divine
judgment need not take long.” It is absurd even to conceive of a problem
of space when we think of the vast expanse in the heavens. “It is
possible that this judgment of the saints will be instantaneous, and
that each Christian will rise into the air to enter at once into his
proper place and appointed rewarding.” If there are problems regarding
the exact location and the manner of this judgment, there are none
regarding its certainty, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.”
The Christian’s Works Will be Tested
Let us pause to read carefully the Holy Spirit’s message concerning Christian work and its rewards:
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s
husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which
is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation,
and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he
buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is
laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work
shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall
be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what
sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he
shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall
suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire (1 Corinthians 3:9-15).
The great Apostle refers to himself and all of his
fellow-workers as “labourers together with God.” This is a wonderful
truth when we realize that God does not actually need any one of us to
do His work. It is not necessary that He should consider us at all to
carry His Gospel, for He can carry out the whole plan of salvation
without us. He could send His holy angels to spread redemption’s
message, or He could flash it across the skies to the visibility of
every person in the universe, but He has chosen the believer to tell the
story of His sovereign grace and matchless love.
The foundation for this work is already laid, “For
other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus
Christ” (verse 11). Now we are to build upon this foundation, and the
work in which we engage ourselves must stand the test of the judgment
seat of Christ if we are to receive a reward. “Every man’s work shall be
made manifest . . . and the fire shall try every man’s work of what
sort it is.” Many Christians who have labored humbly and prayerfully in
the Spirit will be rewarded, but that which was done in the energy of
the flesh and which is merely called “Christian work” will be consumed
by the fire of purging. “If a man’s work abide, he shall receive a
reward. If a man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss.” “We
shall be judged” according to the secret motives and the character of
our work. If you cannot do all that you would like to do, be sure that
whatever you do is of the right “sort.” This means that if our work is
of the right kind or character, we will receive a reward. Contrariwise,
if what a believer does is not of the right character, “he shall suffer
loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15).
In an interesting and instructive parable of our Lord recorded by Luke (Luke 18:11-27),
we have a picture of this present age and the Christian’s
responsibility. “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive
for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants,
and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, ‘Occupy till I
come.’” The ten pounds were divided equally among the ten servants, thus
showing that each servant had an equal opportunity during the Lord’s
absence. To each of us has been committed the witness of Jesus Christ.
We are to share in the opportunities and responsibilities of making Him
known. Not one single Christian can say that he is not responsible for
the spreading of the truth of the Gospel. During our Lord’s absence we
are to occupy till He comes, for He is coming again, as He said, to
render to every man according to his deeds.
“When he was returned, having received the kingdom,
then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had
given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by
trading.” Here our Lord describes what will happen when He returns. All
of us who are His shall be called unto Him to give an account of
ourselves as to how we discharged our responsibilities during His
absence. This is the Judgment Seat of Christ, and it will determines our
position and service in the Millennial Kingdom. Recently in
Philadelphia two men took the same examination with the understanding
that the one receiving the highest grade would be appointed to the
office of Chief of the Fire Bureau. It is by the same method of
competitive examination in faithfulness that the saints will be
appointed to rule with Christ. In the parable the servant who gained ten
pounds was called “faithful,” and was given authority over ten cities.
Likewise the servant which gained five pounds was given authority over
five cities. But the servant who resumed his one pound, having done
nothing with it, was sternly rebuked. The Lord said: “Take from him the
pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.”
When Jesus comes each believer will receive his or
her just reward for service according to the measure and motive of our
works. No rewards will be given by political preferment, but only in
exact proportion to the genuine effort put forth. Other parables of our
Lord which should be studied in connection with Christian service are
the Unprofitable Servant (Luke 17:7-10), The Laborers in the Vineyard (Matthew 10:1-16), and The Talents (Matthew 25:14-30).
Saints Will Differ in Heaven
The Apostle Paul says: “There is one glory of the
sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for
one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the
resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:41-42).
Every Christian will be given a celestial body in the Resurrection, but
these bodies will differ in the glory that each shall possess and enjoy
in Heaven. Paul asks us to notice how the stars differ in glory, some
shining with a greater brilliance than others. Then he concludes: “So
also is the resurrection of the dead.” All believers will have glorified
bodies, but there will be difference in glory according to the measure
of our diligence and devotedness to Christ and His work. I hold in my
hand three coins. One is gold, one is silver and the third is copper.
All three bear the same inscription of the United States of America.
However, the glory of the gold is one glory, the glory of the silver is a
lesser glory, and the glory of the copper is yet a lesser glory than
either the gold or the silver. So also is the resurrection of the dead.
Each of the bodies of the saved will bear the glorified and heavenly
mark of distinction, but the glory of some will differ from the glory of
others. Our capacity to serve in Heaven we will take to Heaven with us
when Jesus comes.
The Crowns or Rewards
Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown (Revelation 3:11).
And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be (Revelation 22:12).
The Judgment Seat of Christ will be a crowning day
for those Christians who will receive rewards for their works. The New
Testament teaches that these are called “crowns.” There are five such
“crowns” to be given.
1. The Incorruptible Crown. “And every
man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they
do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 9:25).
Here Paul has in mind the athlete in the Roman arena. Before the
contest each participant practiced self-discipline, being temperate in
all things. There were doubtless many pleasures and pastimes that the
athletes might have entered into and enjoyed, but they denied themselves
these things in order to do their best. A crown awaited the victor. The
incorruptible crown for the Christian is the victor’s crown for those
who keep under the body and bring it into subjection. There are certain
pleasures, worldly amusements, manners of dress, and uses of cosmetics
that interfere with one’s progress in spreading the Gospel and winning
the lost to Christ. If I live victoriously over all things, “making no
provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof,” I shall gain the
reward for a victorious life which is the Incorruptible Crown. If an
athlete must subject himself to many months of rigid discipline and
training to obtain a corruptible crown, how much more should we bring
our bodies into subjection for a crown that is incorruptible!
2. The Crown of Rejoicing. “For what
is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the
presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For ye are our glory
and joy” (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20).
This is the soul-winner’s crown. The first thing that a Christian
should pray for and seek to cultivate is the desire, ability, and wisdom
to win lost souls to Jesus Christ. Paul was confident that when he
would stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ the Thessalonian converts
would guarantee a crown for all those who shared in bringing them to
Christ. Every time an individual is converted, there is joy in Heaven;
but at the day of the giving of rewards the soul-winner will be
exceeding joyful when those are presented to God whom he had won to
Christ. What is our hope of reward as Christ’s witnesses? The answer is
in those who will be in Heaven because of our prayers, gifts, preaching,
and personal work.
3. The Crown of Righteousness.“Henceforththere
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto
them also that love His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).
Here the character of the reward corresponds to the character of the
Giver. Both are said to be righteous. The doctrine of our Lord’s return
is regarded very highly by God. In spite of the fact that Jesus said He
would come again, there are many people who scoff at the thought of
Christ’s appearing. This and kindred truths have brought suffering and
hardship, and in some cases death, to those who insisted on preaching
and teaching them. But how wonderful to know that God has prepared a
special reward for all who look for that blessed hope, who wait for His
son from Heaven, and who love His appearing.
4. The Crown of Life.“Blessed is the
man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the
crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him” (James 1:12).
“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil
shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall
have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give
thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).
The Crown of Life is reserved for those who have
given all their lives for the sake of the Gospel. Not all of our Lord’s
witnesses have been called to suffering and martyrdom. Not all would be
willing to pay with their lives to take the message of salvation to the
lost. How thoughtful and just our heavenly Father was when He prepared a
martyr’s crown for those who suffer persecution for Christ’s sake!
Though some of us will not receive the Crown of Life, we will rejoice
with those who refused to count the cost and have died proclaiming the
Gospel of Christ.
5. The Crown of Glory. “Feed the flock
of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by
constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the
flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a
crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit
yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another,
and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth
grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:2-5).
There are many who have been called and ordained by God to preach and
teach His Word. These are the undershepherds who care for the flock of
God during the absence of the Chief Shepherd. My brother-minister, let
us give ourselves without ostentation to the care of the sheep of His
pasture, for the crown of unfading glory awaits us in the day when the
Chief Shepherd shall appear.
If there is to be joy and rejoicing for those who
receive the crowns, surely there will be disappointment and sorrow for
those who will not receive them. God keeps an exact record of the sins
and works of His children. The record includes all of our motives and
acts, our response to or our rejection of God’s call to faithful
stewardship and service. When an unfaithful Christian hears and sees the
true record of his unfaithfulness; when he is reminded of the large sum
of money he left behind, a portion of which could have been given to
the spreading of the Gospel; when he sees how the cause of Christ has
suffered because of his neglect and indifference when a Christian who
has wronged his brother and never repented of his sin sees that ugly
deed dragged out of its hiding place, will that Christian be unmoved by
the revealing of his empty and wasted life while on earth? Will there be
no regret, no shame, no consternation? Listen once again to God’s
immortal declaration: “If a man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer
. . .”
The story was told of a great fire in a city
apartment house. The tenants had all been led to safety with the
exception of one family on one of the upper floors. The mother, driven
to frenzy by the terror that accompanied the flaming and smoke-filled
room, leaped to safety into a fireman’s net. But it was discovered that,
in her befogged and delirious mind, she completely forgot her children
who perished in the flames. She was saved as by fire, but she suffered
great loss. May God grant that we should strive to labor in the light of
that hour when all of our work shall be judged by Jesus Christ Himself
and we shall be rewarded accordingly.
The Judgment Seat of Christ seems a necessity to the
writer. Think of the believers, all members of the body of Christ, who
are divided because of differences. In organizations, in churches, and
in families I have seen Christians who are not on speaking terms. People
who were at one time very close and intimate friends are now separated
and a bitter feeling exists between them. Each blames the separation on
the other, and they continue on, trying to serve the Lord, but their
difference has not been adjusted. Now if our Lord returns before there
is a reconciliation of such Christians here on earth, it is necessary
that they get right with each other somewhere, for certainly they cannot
continue on forever in holding hatred and animosity in their hearts.
Heaven knows no such actions. Hatred and unforgiveness is sin. Yet there
is no sin in Heaven. Hence the necessity of the Judgment Seat of
Christ.
The Judgment Seat of Christ is necessary because not
one believer has received his reward for any service he has rendered in
this life. Often, and frequently at funerals, we hear it said that the
departed one has gone to his eternal reward. This is not Scripturally
correct. The departed saints are with the Lord, but not one has received
his reward as yet. We are not rewarded one by one at death. None of the
disciples nor the apostles has received his rewards yet, nor will he
until Jesus comes back and all saints are gathered together. Jesus said
to the Pharisee in whose house He had dined: “Thou shalt be blessed; for
they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the
resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:14).
Dear Christian, “Be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor
is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love” (Hebrews 6:10).
“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto
men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the
inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Jesus Christ” (Colossians 3:23, 24).
One final word! “And now, little children, abide in
Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be
ashamed before Him at His coming” (1 John 2:28).
Ashamed at His coming! What a sorry closing chapter for any believer’s
life! How ashamed we will be if we are engaged in dishonest business,
unclean conversation, or unholy living. Let us, with singleness of
purpose, abandon ourselves to His perfect will for our lives so that we
may hear Him say to us: “Well done.”
Heaven!
A comforting word is this! But who among us mortal creatures can
envision its blessed reality? Neither the artist’s brush, the sculptor’s
chisel, nor the theologian’s exegesis can depict the things which God
hath prepared for them who love Him. The wonder, the glory, and the
effulgence of the home of the redeemed will be seen only through the
eyes of our glorified bodies when we awake in Christ’s likeness. “Now we
see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part;
but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Still we are not left alone to grope in dark ignorance. A foretaste of
glory divine has been preserved for us upon the pages of God’s eternal
and unerring Word.
Is it not strange that we do not take up the Bible
to study more about the abode of the blessed dead who die in the Lord?
Should not we ourselves become better acquainted with our future home?
What a pitiable plight would be ours if the Christian’s hope of Heaven
were but a hallucination! How dark would be the future if what we have
been taught about Heaven were delusive and deceptive! But we can know
the truth from God’s Word and we can be certain that the descriptions of
the Christian’s future home are not fraudulent. Some years ago I was
lured to an undesirable vacation spot by grossly exaggerated statements
that spoke of refinement. Upon arriving I discovered that the town and
its environment in no way tallied with the advertising. You can imagine
how great was my disappointment. But the infallibility of the Holy
Scriptures assures us of no disappointments in Heaven. We may be
correctly informed by a careful study of what God says about it.
D. L. Moody told of an acquaintance whose only child
had died. The accompanying sorrow was so great that his heart was
almost broken by it. Before he suffered this loss, he had never given
serious thought to life after death. Shortly after the child had been
buried the friends and relatives of the man were surprised to see the
deep interest he was showing in the Bible. He read it continually. When
someone asked him about his sudden interest in the sacred Book, he
answered that he was trying to find out something about the place where
his boy had gone. He had come to the only source of satisfaction and
reliable information. An instant after death the departed saint will
know more about Heaven than all of the saints here on earth. But until
we are called Home to be with the Lord, our knowledge is confined to
what the Holy Spirit has revealed to us in the Bible.
There Is a Place Called Heaven
Some general ideas that are held about Heaven are
not found in the Word of God. Because Heaven is beyond the limits of our
vision many people regard it as merely a sphere of life, or a state
independent of locality. But Heaven is a place. It was the dwelling place of Christ before His Incarnation. He said: “I came down from Heaven” (John 6:38).
Heaven was also the place to which He ascended after His resurrection.
Luke says: “While He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried
up into Heaven” (Luke 24:51).
It is the place where the glory and power of God are set forth. Jesus
is there now, “Set (or seated) on the right hand of the throne of the
Majesty in the heavens” (Hebrews 8:1). Our Lord said: “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).
When Jesus went away He must have gone somewhere to a place. Therefore,
we are not flattering ourselves with an unfounded hope that makes dying
easier but that deceives us at the last. Some scientists have concluded
that because Heaven could not be found, there is no such place. But the
great expanse of the Almighty God is not within the measuring lines of
man. True, the astronomer has located the North Star over
400,000,000,000 miles away, but neither is that far when one reckons
distance with God. We believe in the Biblical idea of Heaven as a
definite, tangible place.
Where is Heaven?
The Bible mentions three heavens: the aerial, the
sidereal, and the celestial. First there is the atmospheric or aerial
heavens where the birds fly. This is visible to the naked eye and is
mentioned by Jeremiah where he said: “The birds of the heavens have
fled” (Jeremiah 4:25).
Next, there are the stellar or sidereal heavens from which shine the
stars and constellations. Isaiah speaks of the Day of the Lord when “the
stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their
light” (Isaiah 13:10). Finally, there is the third Heaven, the celestial or “the Heaven of heavens” (2 Chronicles 6:18).
“For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which
are figures of the true; but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24).
Jesus said “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
Here our Lord was referring to the third Heaven, and He says the Father
is there. When the believer dies he is “absent from the body, and
present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). He enters immediately into Heaven itself and is at home with the Lord.
But do we know the location of the third Heaven
(called Paradise) where God, Christ, the unfallen angels, and the
disembodied spirits of the believing dead are? In other words, exactly
where is Heaven? If this question were asked of a small child, the
answer doubtless would come back in the form of a finger pointing up,
and perhaps the accompanying words, “Up there.” Heaven to almost
everyone is “up.” Karl G. Sabiers asks: “Which way is ‘up’? If we say it
is in the direction at right angles with the earth’s surface wherever
we may happen to be, then it would be in a different direction from
every point on earth. From North America and from China it would be in
exactly the opposite directions. According to this, ‘up’ would be
everywhere in general and nowhere in particular.” When Satan rebelled
against God, he said: “I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God; and I will set upon the mount of congregation
in the uttermost parts of the north” (Isaiah 14:13
R.V.). No matter on what part of the earth one is standing, north will
always be “up.” When the prophet Ezekiel got his vision from the Lord,
he wrote: “And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north”
(Ezekiel 1:4).
It would seem reasonable to conclude that Heaven is somewhere in the
northern heavens beyond the reach of the astronomer’s powerful
telescope.
Christians Are Citizens of Heaven
“For our citizenship is in Heaven, whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20
R.V.). When Paul wrote this Epistle, Philippi was a Greek city but a
colony of Rome, her citizens possessing Roman citizenship. The
commonwealth of which the saints in Philippi were citizens had its fixed
location in Rome. The Apostle Paul used this fact to illustrate to the
believers their heavenly citizenship with its privileges and
responsibilities. They were a heavenly people with a heavenly
citizenship. Though they dwelt on earth, the commonwealth and the
Sovereign of which the saints were citizens and subjects had its fixed
location in Heaven. What was true of the saints at Philippi then is true
of all believers. We were born from above. Ours is a heavenly destiny,
and we are to live heavenly lives while we sojourn in a foreign land. As
a heavenly people it is our privilege and responsibility to live a
heavenly life on earth.
The Apostle Peter wrote: “Dearly beloved, I beseech
you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war
against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11).
As strangers and pilgrims we are living in a temporary dwelling beside
natives of a foreign land. Jesus Christ is our Sovereign. One day He
will come back for us and take us to our native Home, changing our
bodies of humiliation like to the body of His glory. The curse of sin
has humiliated these physical bodies of ours, but we are to abstain from
fleshly lusts and live the same holy life here that we would were we at
home in our native land. The Christian has a temporary home in a
territory ruled by Satan, but he is not to subject himself to the god of
this world. We must remain true to our Sovereign, “considering the High
Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus,” for we have become “partakers
of the heavenly calling” (Hebrews 3:1).
Is the Present Heaven the Final Abode of the Saints?
There are several verses of Scripture that have
confused not a few students of the Bible on this question. The following
verses have led some to believe that the earth and the heavens that now
are will one day be annihilated.
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth:
and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou
shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a
vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed (Psalm 102:25, 26).
And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and
the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host
shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling
fig from the fig tree (Isaiah 34:4).
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and
the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also and the
works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these
things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all
holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming
of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be
dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless
we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness (2 Peter 3:10-13).
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (1 John 2:17).
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on
it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was
found no place for them (Revelation 20:11).
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 (Revelation 21:1).
From these inspired statements of Peter and John
some have adopted the view that the present abode of the righteous dead
is to be burned up, reduced to ashes, and an entirely new dwelling place
created for all of the saved. The writer finds difficulty in
reconciling this teaching with other Scriptures. The Psalmist testified:
“Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: Thou hast established the
earth, and it abideth” (Psalm 119:90). It is written: “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth forever” (Ecclesiastes 1:4).
Here the teaching appears to be that the creation of God will not be
annihilated, for He has said that it abides forever. How, then, are we
to understand this seeming contradiction? How can Heaven and earth be
destroyed and yet abide forever?
After the Millennium and the final judgment of Satan
the heavens and the earth will be thoroughly purged by fire. This does
not mean that the old heavens and the old earth are to be completely
consumed and reduced to ashes. Neither is there any indication that the
new heaven and the new earth are to be entirely new planets. The old
world probably will be destroyed by fire in the same sense that God
destroyed it with water in Noah’s day. “Whereby the world that then was,
being overflowed with water, perished” (2 Peter 3:6).
The world of Noah’s day was not annihilated. Geologists agree to the
fact that the present world shows evidence of being visited by a flood
between five and six thousand years ago. When we read in Scripture that
unbelievers shall “perish” (Luke 13:3, 5, 35), and be “destroyed” (Leviticus 23:30; Matthew 10:28),
there is no thought of their being annihilated; for we have seen in two
previous chapters how that both soul and body will exist in endless
consciousness. But we do see an instructive parallel between the
judgment of earth by fire and the judgment of the lost by fire. Both are
said to be “destroyed.” Yet neither will be annihilated. We encounter
no problem here when we think how the primitive earth which was made
void by Satan (Genesis 1:2) was restored again by God and made new in the time of Adam and Eve.
It appears that the great conflagration, the flames
and the melting, suggest the idea of purifying. There will be a new
creation just as each believer who is born again is said to be a new
creation. “Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature (or a
new creation): the old things are passed away: behold, they are
becoming new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 R.V.). He is “created in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:10).
The new birth does not render inactive or annihilate the old nature.
The child of God becomes a partaker of the New Nature which is divine,
and all stain is purged by the Blood of Christ. Just exactly how God
will bring to pass the purifying of the old heavens and the earth and
make them new we do not know. But we are certain that they will pass
through a molten ball of fire, and will come forth from that baptism of
judicial fire clean and holy. Every strain of sin, every evidence of
evil will be wiped out in that day.
We question the idea of the third Heaven being
burned, for no purging or purifying is needed there. However, at the end
of the day of the Lord, the earth and the heavens that surround it
along with all the works of man, will be consumed even as fire purifies
gold. Then shall we have “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1)--not new in the sense of just coming into existence, but new in its renovation, transformation, and fixtures.
Our Home Over There
When our Lord was here upon earth, He said to His disciples: “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).
He was thinking of His Death, Resurrection, and Ascension into Heaven
itself in the presence of the Father. The dwelling of God always has
been a stately abode. Jesus describes it as a place of “many mansions,”
one Heaven divided into many rooms. The desire of the heavenly
Bridegroom is to make a room for each of His redeemed ones. This He has
been doing, and it was the unique privilege of the Apostle John to get a
glimpse of the final abode of the righteous. Since we have a divine
revelation of our heavenly Home presented to us by the Holy Spirit, we
are assured of the accuracy of every description that He has given.
John says: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth . . .
the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:1, 2).
We are being introduced here to a place of absolute perfection and of
eternal immutability, the home of the saved of all ages. It is called
“the holy city” (Revelation 21:2;
22:19), for in it every person and every thing will echo the glory and
the holiness of God. All powers of evil and all unbelievers will have
been cast into the lake of fire forever. This means that every
possibility of sin will have been expelled. When Jesus said He was going
to prepare a place for us, it would be just such a place as this that
one would expect the holy Son of God the divine Architect, to build. No
mere mortal hands could be employed in the construction of the Holy
City. It must be of heavenly origin and construction.
The fellowship in Heaven will surpass anything that
we have known on earth. Up there “God is with men; He will dwell with
them, and God Himself shall be with them.” We shall enter into a
fellowship with the triune God that is utterly unknown on earth. Men
dwelling with “God Himself!”Could anything be higher and
more glorious? Then we will know the blessed reality of the words of
Christ, where He said: “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall
see God” (Matthew 5:8).
In addition to having fellowship with “God Himself,” Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, we will commune with the “innumerable company of angels,
the general assembly and church of the firstborn, and to the spirits of
just men made perfect” (Hebrews 12:22-24). What a fellowship! What a joy divine!
Heaven will bring permanent relief from all of the
ills of earth. It is written of the redeemed that in Heaven “God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes.” I have dried the tears of my own
children many times, but I have discovered my inability to stop the
tears. When I feel that I have succeeded, I find that more tears begin
to flow. The fountain of grief has been flowing perennially on earth
since the dawn of the human race, and every earthly power has been
limited in binding up broken hearts and assuaging the sorrows of man.
But God is able. And how our hearts yearn for that glad occasion when
the loving and almighty hand of our heavenly Father shall wipe away,
once for all, every tear. The tears that flow from “sorrow,” “crying,”
and “pain” shall be dried forever, for these things are not known in the
land of pure delight. Earth’s grief is forever gone and along with it
is the extirpation of every cause.
In Heaven there will be “no more death.” One cannot
read the newspaper at home or walk the city streets without seeing our
common enemy death. The hearse, the crepe, the undertaker, the
graveyard, and the stonecutter all seek to remind us that we are on the
waiting list for death and the grave. But believe along with me the
divine record that God has arranged a time when death itself shall die.
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, “Death is
swallowed up in victory.”
Heaven is revealed as a place of activity. John saw how that in the New Jerusalem “His servants shall serve Him” (Revelation 22:3).
While it is true that Heaven is a place of rest, “a rest for the people
of God,” it will not be the rest of inactivity or idleness. We will not
merely lounge within the pearly gates to gaze forever on the eternal
beauty of our heavenly home. It is not the unwarranted view inscribed on
a grave: “Don’t weep for me now, don’t weep for me ever; For I’m going
to do nothing forever and ever.”
Heaven would soon become monotonous if such were true. The saints “shall serve Him day and night in His temple” (Revelation 7:15),
says John. When the Bible records the work of God in creation, it says:
“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He
rested on the seventh day from all the work which He had made” (Genesis 2:2).
Does this mean that God has been inactive and idle since creation? Most
assuredly not! Jesus said: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17).
By no means does the “rest” of the redeemed mean idleness. In Heaven we
shall serve Him unhampered by earth’s enemies and limitations, without
painful stress and strain and sweat. “And what will we be doing?”
someone asks. David said: “In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy
right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).
For one thing, we will enjoy to the full our blessed relationship with
God. On earth we are hampered by so many things. The Apostle John
realized that believers were enjoying merely a measure of that which God
had for them. He wrote: “These things write we unto you, that your joy
may be full” (1 John 1:4).
In Heaven the joys and pleasures of our union with Jesus Christ will be
appreciated and apprehended to the full, unhindered by the disturbing
and distracting things on earth.
In Revelation 4:10-11
we are clearly shown that in Heaven, we will worship our Lord and cast
our crowns before His throne. On earth He is not worshipped and adored
as He should be. Our so-called worship is sometimes no worship at all.
How often we have gone through the motions when our hearts were not
right! We enthrone self and steal the crowns to the boast of what we
have done. But yonder in the land of pure delight, in our glorified
state, we shall give Him our all. How these thoughts of our future home
and its varied spheres of activity should encourage us to more zealous
and diligent service during earth’s pilgrimage! There is much about our
heavenly activity that we do not know in detail now, but in that day we
shall know even as we are known. But we know that we shall be engaged
with Him who has redeemed us and brought us to our eternal dwelling
place.
Babies in Heaven?
Jesus said:
At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus
saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a
little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said,
Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever
therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is
greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:1-4).
Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish (Matthew 18:14).
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for such is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:14).
Many able and well-known Bible scholars have held
the view that in Heaven there will be more occupants than in Hell. They
base their belief on the fact that so many countless millions of
children have died before reaching the age of accountability. It seems
hardly possible that one of these little ones should ever be lost.
Certainly they are not saved, that is, by believing in the Lord Jesus
Christ. (Acts 16:31).
But it seems Scriptural and reasonable to conclude that all children
who are not able to decide this issue for themselves are divinely safe.
Christian parents should, by daily prayer, the
reading of the Scriptures, church attendance, and an exemplary life seek
to lead their children who have arrived at an age of accountability to a
saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. The thought of my being in
Heaven while my children are lost in Hell would make me tremble. Let us
make our first aim and duty the salvation of our children so that in
Heaven the family circle will be unbroken.
The
profoundness of the subject of this paper demands reverence and
humility. We approach it with just that spirit and pray that God will
illumine our hearts and minds, thus preserving us from wild and fanciful
conjectures and reckless assertions that are without foundation. We
feel about this subject as Robert G. Lee, a great preacher of the South,
must have felt when he said: “I believe in recognition in Heaven as
surely as I believe there is a God. If consciousness, character, love,
memory, fellowship, are in that life, why should there be any question
about it? May God help me for your sakes to take the doctrine of
Heavenly Recognition out of the region of surmise and speculation into
the region of absolute certainty.”
Man is the acme of God’s creation, the crown of all
that our heavenly Father has brought into existence by His own mighty
power. The remarkable strides that men have made in scientific research,
in industrial progress, in agricultural development, and in the
civilization and evangelization of the peoples of the world are an
indication of the treasures of genius which God has put at man’s
disposal. Is it reasonable to believe “that He might lead it towards one
place--a black hole in the ground where it could bury its intellect and
memory and imagination and prayer in the depths with the leaf and the
worm?” The answer is “No.” If death means the utter forgetfulness of
God-given gifts and of earthly friends and loved ones in the Lord, then
this aching emptiness in our hearts never shall be satisfied, and the
undying memory of departed loved ones will never be anything more than
just a buried hope.
The Desire of All Nations
From time immemorial men have held to the doctrine
of recognition in the future life. Like an unbroken thread in human
history, there has been a deep conviction in man’s spirit that the
purpose of being created could not be fulfilled in his short-lived visit
in this life.
The ancient Athenian philosopher Socrates could say
that since “death conveys us to those regions which are inhabited by the
spirits of departed men, will it not be unspeakably happy to escape
from the hands of mere nominal judges? Is it possible for you to look
upon this as an unimportant journey? Is it nothing to converse with
Orpheus, and Homer, and Hesiod? Believe me, I could cheerfully suffer
many a death on condition of realizing such a privilege. With what
pleasure could I leave the world, to hold communion with Palamedes,
Ajax, and others!”
Cicero wrote: “For my own part, I feel myself
transported with the most ardent impatience to join the society of my
two departed friends. O, glorious day! when I shall retire from this
slow and sordid scene, to assemble with the divine congregation of
departed spirits; and not with those only whom I have just mentioned,
but with my dear Cato, that best of sons and most valuable of men! . . .
If I seemed to bear his death with fortitude, it was by no means that I
did not most sensibly feel the loss I had sustained: It was because I
supported myself with the consoling reflection that we could not long be
separated.”
Untaught savage kings in some part of the world
believed that they could send secret messages to departed friends by
whispering the message in the ear of one of their subjects and then
immediately cutting off his head. It is reported that in some savage
tribes, when a king died, hundreds of his subjects willingly submitted
to death in order that their king might be better served in the spirit
world. Even our American Indians, in some places, believed that when the
tribal chief died, it was proper to slay his wife and other close
associates in order that he might retain his dignity and be assisted by
the same servants in the future life.
The belief in recognition and reunion in the
afterlife is a universal one. It prevailed among cultured philosophers
and poets, among untutored pagans, and it is voiced by the peoples of
the world in our own day. The universal, instinctive belief is that we
shall know each other in the future life. Someone has expressed the
yearning of his heart in the following verse:
When the holy angels meet us As we join their happy band, We shall know the friends that greet us In that glorious spirit-land. We shall see the same eyes shining On us as in days of yore. We shall feel the dear arms twining Fondly, round us as before. Author unknown.
The Hymns of the Church
For many years the Christian Church has been singing
hymns that express positively the belief that heavenly recognition is a
blessed assurance.
Oh, how sweet it will be in that beautiful land, So free from all sorrow and pain, With songs on our lips and with harps in our hands, To meet one another again, To meet one another again, With songs on our lips and with harps in our hands, To meet one another again.
I’ll soon be at home over there, For the end of my journey I see; Many dear to my heart, over there, Are watching and waiting for me. Over there, over there, I’ll soon be at home over there, Over there, over there, over there, I’ll soon be at home over there.
There’s a land that is fairer than day, And by faith we can see it afar; For the Father waits over the way, To prepare us a dwelling-place there. In the sweet by and by, We shall meet on that beautiful shore; In the sweet by and by, We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
Oh, the dear ones in glory, how they beckon me to come, And our parting at the river I recall; To the sweet vales of Eden they will sing my welcome home, But I long to meet my Saviour first of all.
Friends will be there I have loved long ago; Joy like a river around me will flow; Yet, just a smile from my Saviour, I know, Will thro’ the ages be glory for me.
My loved ones in the Homeland Are waiting me to come Where neither death nor sorrow Invades their holy home.
Heavenly Recognition in the Old Testament
An encouraging oft-repeated refrain in the Old Testament substantiates the doctrine of Heavenly Recognition:
Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people (Genesis 25:8).
And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an
hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died;
and was gathered unto his people (Genesis 25:17).
And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was
gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau
and Jacob buried him (Genesis 35:29).
And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his
sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost,
and was gathered unto his people (Genesis 49:33).
Aaron shall be gathered unto his people; for
he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of
Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah (Numbers 20:24).
And the Lord said unto Moses, Get thee up into this
mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of
Israel. And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered (Numbers 27:12, 13).
When Abraham died, he was buried in a cave at
Machpelah in the land of his sojourn. He purchased the field himself for
a possession to be certain of a burying place at death, but it was not
the sepulchre of his ancestors. Therefore, the language of the Scripture
does not mean that his body was gathered to the place of his
forefathers, for some of them had died and were buried back in Ur of the
Chaldees. Notice also that Abraham was gathered to his people before
his body was buried, for it was after he was gathered to his people
(verse 8) that his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of
Machpelah (verse 29). The same is true also of Moses who was gathered to
his people, but whose body was buried in a valley in Moab, and “no man
knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day” (Deuteronomy34:6). As we study
the lives of other Old Testament characters of whom it was said that
they were gathered unto their people, we will find that it meant more
than merely being buried with them. They were gathered to their loved
ones in the abode of departed spirits with not one moment’s solitude
between their memories on earth and their joining them in Heaven. A
blessed recognition! A hallowed reunion!
The attitude of David at the death of his child
shows that Israel’s King believed in Heavenly Recognition. He had fasted
and wept in the hope that God would be gracious to him and allow the
child to live. But when final word was received that he was dead, David
ate food, wiped the tears away from his eyes, and found comfort in a
hope that he expressed in the words: “I shall go to him” (2 Samuel 12:23).
Would there be any comfort for David if he had to go to his child whom
he would not know? What would the blind get out of going to behold a
sunset? What would the deaf get out of going to hear music?
May we say here that we do not believe there will be
infants in Heaven as such. There will be no deformed, deficient, nor
decrepit bodies in Heaven. There will be no old age or infancy in the
home of the blessed. We have stated in the previous chapter that no
infant who dies will be lost and sent to Hell. However they will not
appear in their resurrected bodies as infants, for, as Dr. West has
said: “Infancy is an immature stage and an imperfect state of existence.
Adam and Eve were not infants when made, but adults.” What a tragedy if
weak and helpless infants are doomed to an eternal state of weakness
and infirmity! We encounter no problem here in a parent recognizing its
child in Heaven. When we think of Christian mothers who have died giving
birth to a child, and the child growing to full maturity and becoming a
Christian, we still believe that the mother shall recognize her son or
daughter even though her last view of the child was in its infancy.
Heavenly Recognition in the New Testament
The scene on the Mount of Transfiguration is
generally accepted as strong evidence of Heavenly Recognition. After
death the spirit is clothed with a spirit body that is recognizable.
This fact was in evidence when Jesus took Peter, James, and John up into
the Holy Mount. As Heaven shone forth in celestial effulgence, there
appeared before Christ and His disciples Moses and Elijah. These two Old
Testament saints did not appear as angels or ghosts, but, Luke says:
“There talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elias” (Luke 9:30).
Not only were Moses and Elijah recognizable by our Lord, but they were
known to the disciples also. Peter certainly knew them, for he said:
“Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three
tabernacles: one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias” (verse
33). When we recall how the disciples with earthly, limited vision could
recognize the two saints from Heaven, certainly when we arrive there in
our glorified bodies and with heavenly vision, we will be able to
recognize those with whom we associated on earth.
When the rich man died and went to Hell, “he lift up
his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in
his bosom” (Luke 16:23).
Here is a case that proves both recognition and remembrance in the
future life. If, in the abode of the lost with its limitations of
spiritual wisdom and perception, there is feeling for and recognition of
loved ones, how much greater will be the affinity and knowledge of our
loved ones in the eternal Home of the redeemed where cognizance is not
limited!
Heaven is revealed as a social place, where
enjoyment and fellowship are set forth under the figure of a feast.
Jesus said: “And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and
west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom
of heaven” (Matthew 8:11).
Assuredly, the patriarchs and prophets knew each other at this holy
festival, and so will the saved from every quarter of the earth.
The Apostle Paul believed and taught that Heaven was
a place of mutual recognition for the children of God. In his first
Epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote: “For what is our hope, or joy,
or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord
Jesus Christ at His coming? For ye are our glory and joy” (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20).
There is no mistaking what Paul had in mind. He fully expected to meet
the converts from Thessalonica in Heaven, and furthermore, he looked
forward to being able to distinguish them from others who had found
Christ during the years of his ministry. By the Holy Spirit, Paul taught
also that those who were saved under his teaching and preaching would
know him. He says, “As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are
your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus” (2 Corinthians 1:14). Elsewhere Paul speaks of “the whole family in heaven and earth” (Ephesians 3:15).
Heaven is our home, and all who go there are one family with God as
their Father. How sad if we had to live throughout eternity as
strangers! It would not be home.
But we take courage and press on hopefully, “For now
we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in
part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Today our knowledge is confined to the revelation that God has given
us, and how we do praise Him for that marvelous revelation in His Word!
But in that day--“face to face!” O blessed hope! Face to face with
family and friends whom we have loved and long since lost awhile. But
more wonderful still we shall see Him as He is, “face to face.”
Face to face! O blissful moment! Face to face--to see and know; Face to face with my Redeemer Jesus Christ Who loves me so.
一个人死了，身体埋在坟墓里，但那真正的人却并没有死。他只是从身体——他在地上时所住的“房子”里面迁移出来。有位传道人向一些孩子做一个示范。他手里拿着一个手表，说：“孩子们，我手里拿的是什么？”
死去的信徒现在正与主同住。主耶稣对那个在十字架上信祂作救主的盗贼说：“今日你要同我在乐园里了。”（路廿三43）
一个基督徒死后，身体埋在坟墓里。这身体被称作是“在耶稣里睡了”当耶稣再来时，神会让祂所有的儿女复活，并赐给我们新的身体。
