personallife

A Barna poll shows that for every American who believes he or she is going to Hell, there are 120 who believe they're going to Heaven. Yet Christ said otherwise: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it" (Matthew 7:13-14). Heaven, then, is not our default destination. No one goes there automatically. Unless our sin problem is dealt with, the only place we can go is Hell, our true default destination when we die. In the Bible, Jesus talks more about Hell than anyone else (Matthew 10:28; 13:40-42; Mark 9:43-44). He refers to it as a real place and describes it in graphic terms-including raging fires and the worm that doesn't die. Christ says the unsaved "will be thrown out-side, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 8:12). Is it possible to know fo...

Jesus said that resurrected people would not be married (Matthew 22:30). Yet the Bible makes it clear that there will be marriage in heaven. There will be one marriage, between Christ and His bride. People long for a perfect marriage. That's exactly what people have- a perfect marriage with Christ. Your spouse should be your best friend and closet brother or sister in Christ. When you see your believing spouse goes to heaven. Do you think that you will say: "Did you used to be my wife or husband? Didn't we have children? Think they'll remember me?" The notion that we would not remember our closet earthly relationships is absurd. It suggests our daily earthly lives and relationships are of no eternal consequence, while the Bible teaches the opposite. Jesus said the institute of human marriage would end, having fulfilled its purpose to anticipate and reflect the marriage of Christ and His bride (Ephesians 5:23-32). But he did not say or imply that the deep relati...

Being with Christ will be the greatest joy of heaven. The next greatest joy will be reuniting with our loved ones who have died. The certainty of the ultimate reunion is so sweet that it makes the parting bearable. The Bible nowhere suggests a "memory wipe" causing us not to recognize family and friends. In fact, if we wouldn't know our loved ones, the "comfort" of an afterlife reunion, spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18, would be no comfort at all. Theologian J. C. Ryle said of this passage, "There would be no point in these words of consolation if they didn't imply the mutual recognition of saints. The hope with which he cheers wearied Christians is the hope of meeting their beloved friends again.... In the moment that we who are saved shall meet our several friends in heaven, we shall at once know them and they will at once know us." At the Transfiguration, the three disciples recognized Moses and Elijah, even though they weren't told wh...

Many blogs maintain that those in Heaven cannot be aware of people and events on earth because they presumably would be made unhappy by all the suffering and evil-making Heaven something less than Heaven. I believe this argument is invalid. After all, God knows exactly what's happening on earth, yet Heaven is not diminished by that knowledge. Likewise, the angels know what's happening on earth, yet they enjoy Heaven. In fact, the angels see the torment of Hell but it doesn't negate their joy in God's presence (Revelation 14:10). Abraham and Lazarus saw the rich man's agonies in Hell but it didn't cause Paradise to cease to Paradise (Luke 16:23-26). I'm not suggesting we will see into Hell, but these passages surely prove that nothing God's people could see on earth would ruin Heaven for us. Our happiness in Heaven will not be based on ignorance but on perspective. We should be encouraged that our loved ones who are with Christ are not in a state of ign...

The answer is yes, at least to some extent. The martyrs, after they are in Heaven, call out, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" (Revelation 6:9-11). Clearly, these people in heaven not only remember what happened to them on earth, but they also know that God hasn't yet brought judgement on their persecutors.   They know something of what happened, and what has not happened, on earth since they died. Doesn't that suggest they can see events on earth? When Babylon is brought down, an angel points to what is happening on earth and says, "Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you" (Revelation 18:20). The fact that he specifically addresses people living in heaven indicates they're aware of what's happening om earth. When heaven's saint return with Christ to set up his millennial kingdom (Revelation ...