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Some
questions must be answered by examining multiple examples of
Scriptures, rather than looking to a quick statement or "proof
text", as no one unambiguous verse directly addresses that
subject. Consideration of examples, and casual acknowledgments
contained in Scriptural accounts, often show that a particular
subject has been addressed, sometimes revealed in passing while the
text was primarily focusing on another more specific issue.
God does
not give us many particulars regarding the afterlife, both now and in
the future, though we are assured that it exists, favorably for God's
children (i.e. believers) and unfavorably
for the lost. (Another article addresses the issue of our state
in the afterlife). Following the resurrection, this two fold
condition does not change; the New Heavens and Earth being the final
destination of the righteous and the Lake of Fire for all in
rebellion against God.
Some have
taken the dual passages in Isaiah 65 and Revelation 21 to say that
believers will not remember anything of our former life in the new
world to come.
Isaiah
65:17-18 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The
former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 18
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will
create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. (NIV)
Revelation
21:4 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. (KJV)
Does this
mean we won't remember anything from before? Not at all. In context,
it's the things that won't be remembered. In Isaiah 65:17, the former
things are directly and specifically the old heavens and old earth -
the Greek text in fact doesn't have the word "things"
stating only that the former will not be remembered, quite clearly
meaning the old heavens and corrupted earth (consider the KJV
translation of Isaiah 65:17 that retains this wording). End
Note 5
When any
object or circumstance has been replaced by something completely new,
in this case untainted by sin and made in glorious perfection, there
is no need to ever again remember the former. Other examples of this
are given in Scriptures:
Jeremiah
3:16-17 "It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and
increased in the land," declares the Lord, "they will no
longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the Lord.' And it will not
come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor
will it be made again. 17 "At that time they will call Jerusalem
'The Throne of the Lord,' and all the nations will be gathered to it,
to Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor will they walk anymore
after the stubbornness of their evil heart. (NASU)
Isaiah
43:18-21 18 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not
perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the
wasteland. 20 The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen, 21 the people I formed for
myself that they may proclaim my praise. (NIV)
Nowhere,
in all this, are we told to forget people, only things. In fact
numerous glimpses of the future life provide example that we will
remember the past.
Revelation
7:9-10 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude
that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and
language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They
were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their
hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs
to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." (NIV, see
also the earlier and more detailed scene in Revelation 5:8-14)
The
multitude recognizes Jesus as the Lamb (verse 10), the one that was
slain (e.g. Revelation 5:9, 12). This presupposes continued memory of
what Jesus did in this sin tainted world and, of course, not to
mention who He was and is. That the multitude itself could be
recognized as being from diverse nations, tribes, peoples, and
languages, also presuppose memory of their original earthly lives.
Revelation
11:16-18 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones
before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: "We
give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. 18
The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come
for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and
great - and for destroying those who destroy the earth." (NIV)
The elders
recognize the prophets and they likewise recognize the saints of God.
Likewise they remember the "great prostitute" in Revelation
19 and acknowledge that God is just in judging her. Earlier, the
righteous souls under the altar showed they retained memories, and
were making new memories, as well.
Revelation
6:9-11 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls
of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the
testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice,
"How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the
inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" 11 Then each of
them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little
longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who
were to be killed as they had been was completed. (NIV)
These
righteous individuals remembered what had been done, awaiting God's
justice over this, and likewise they knew of fellow servants and
brothers who still were alive. That they are part of the witnesses,
who are watching us, is undisputable.
Hebrews
12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of
witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked
out for us. (NIV)
A somewhat
different circumstance revealed that some of the Apostles were able
to recognize previously departed believers, specifically prophets,
whom they had never previously met.
Luke
9:28-33 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John
and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was
praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became
as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31
appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about
his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at
Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when
they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing
with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him,
"Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three
shelters - one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He
did not know what he was saying.) (NIV) [More on the transfiguration
is here]
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In an account told by Jesus, who is quite uniquely capable of knowing
what goes on in the afterlife, he revealed that the rich man, now
himself deceased, could recognize a righteous beggar who had
previously departed and even recognized Abraham, whom he had never
met before. End Note 3
Luke 16:19-31 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple
and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid
a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what
fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his
sores. 22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels
carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far
away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, 'Father
Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his
finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this
fire.' 25 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your
lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad
things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And
besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so
that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone
cross over from there to us.' 27 "He answered, 'Then I beg you,
father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28 for I have five
brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this
place of torment.' 29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the
Prophets; let them listen to them.' 30 "'No, father Abraham,' he
said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the
Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the
dead.'" (NIV)
Notice also that the rich man, in his place of torment, still
retained specific memory of events from his past life including
knowledge of his brothers.
The Apostle Paul provides evidence that we will retain memories of
this life in the next. End Note 1
Romans 14:10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you
look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's
judgment seat. (NIV)
Romans 14:12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to
God. (NIV)
How could we give account of our actions and how we have treated our
brothers if we don't have memory of either? The clear implication is
that we will still know our brothers and what we have done. End
Note 2 Even those arguing with Jesus (or protesting His
just ruling) on the Day of Judgment are doing so based upon their
memories of what they once did.
Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my
Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out
demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly,
'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (NIV)
Certainly those unregenerate individuals will have memory of both
what they did, including those whom they practiced their exorcisms
on, as this enables them to understand the words of the Righteous
judge and see the fairness of His justice. The same can be shown in a
positive light for the regenerate on the Day of Judgment.
Matthew 25:34-40 "Then the King will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the
kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I
was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you
gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked
after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37 "Then
the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and
feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we
see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe
you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did
for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (NIV)
Undoubtedly these believers will remember the hungry, the poor, the
imprisoned, etc., whom they served in Jesus' name.
One of the specific encouragements of Scripture, for grieving and
bereaved believers, is that we will get to see our believing loved
ones again. Would this not be redundant and this assurance hollow, or
useless, if we are to retain no memory of them in the life to come?
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant
about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who
have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we
believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep
in him. 15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who
are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will
certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord
himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the
voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead
in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and
are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18
Therefore encourage each other with these words. (NIV)
Returning to the Apostle Paul, he specifically told the Thessalonian
believers that they would be part of his joy when he stood in the
presence of Jesus Christ. This too infers remembrance of those people.
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown
in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he
comes? Is it not you? 20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy. (NIV)
Paul said likewise for the Corinthian church.
2 Corinthians 1:13-14 And I hope that, 14 as you have understood us
in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us
just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus. (NIV)
Most of all, Jesus is our best example. After He rose from the dead,
he was recognized by his disciples and followers (See Luke 24:33-51,
John 20:19-29). End Note 4 We too, in
the resurrection, will all be changed, meaning that our formerly
corrupted physical bodies will be recreated - made new in the image
of God. The message of Scriptures is not that we have new bodies but
that the ones we have will be restored in perfection (literally, like
a seed, it is raised out of what died and was sown).
1 Corinthians 15:42-53 So will it be with the resurrection of the
dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;
43 it is sown in dishonor, 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. If there is a natural body, there is also a
spiritual body. 45 So it is written: "The first man Adam became
a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The
spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the
spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second
man from heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of
the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are
of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly
man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. 50 I
declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all
be changed- 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must
clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (NIV)
1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will
be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we
shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (NIV) |
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End Notes
1. Some use the following passage, by the Apostle
Paul, to say that we will be known in eternity. While could be a
slight implication of the passage, its primary context is that I am
known by God. I don't think anyone will dispute that God knows His
children for eternity.
1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror;
then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know
fully, even as I am fully known. (NIV)
2. This is also the implication of Jesus' words as
found in Revelation 22:12:
Revelation 22:12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with
me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. (NIV)
3. Other passages imply knowledge and recognition
of the patriarchs, including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by believers:
Matthew 8:11-12 "I say to you that many will come from east and
west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the
kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out
into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth." (NASU)
This passage notably includes believers from outside of Israel,
including Gentiles from all over the world. Both now and forever, all
God's children are alive unto God, whether in the body or apart from it.
Mark 12:26-27 Now about the dead rising - have you not read in the
book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, 'I am
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? 27 He is
not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly
mistaken!" (NIV)
4. A few did not recognize Jesus, for a time,
immediately following His resurrection mostly because He chose to
conceal His identity for a brief period:
Luke 24:13-32 Now that same day two of them were going to a village
called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking
with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked
and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and
walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk
along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them,
named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem
and do not know the things that have happened there in these
days?" 19 "What things?" he asked.
"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a
prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20
The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to
death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the
one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third
day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women
amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn't
find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of
angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to
the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did
not see."
25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart
to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ
have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27 And
beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what
was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus
acted as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly,
"Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost
over." So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the
table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to
give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized
him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other,
"Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us
on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" (NIV)
Their lack of recognition was not the norm; in fact the opposite is
the overwhelming standard. That the text (verse 16) said that they
were "kept from recognizing him" testifies to the opposite
as being the standard; they would have normally recognized him.
Another perhaps didn't recognize Him for a moment due to not looking
carefully (or at all), due to her grief:
John 20:14-16 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing
there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15
"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you
are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said,
"Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put
him, and I will get him." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!"
(which means Teacher). (NIV)
When she turned and really looked, she recognized him. Indeed,
perhaps it was His voice she first identified. Even as we can
recognize someone on the telephone, without seeing them, we will know
Jesus by his voice. Consider John 10:4-5, 27. John, himself, saw
Jesus in his ascended glory and recognized His voice (see Revelation
1:10-19) though Jesus' image was changed even further from what he
had last seen of Him on earth..
5. Ra McLaughlin, in his very brief article
"Recognition in Heaven", points out another passage that is
often misinterpreted.
Some people have thought that Psalm 6:5 teaches that the dead have no
memory because many translations render this verse to say that there
is no "remembrance" of God in death. Of course, we know
that this cannot be taken to mean that in death we no longer remember
that God exists (cf. Luke 9:30; 2 Cor. 5:8; Rev. 6:10). In fact, the
word for "remembrance" does not mean "memory,"
but rather "memorial." David means that if he dies he will
not be able to praise God for delivering him from this situation (and
no one else will praise God for it either). On the other hand, if God
does deliver him, then the praise that David renders in return will
be a memorial to God's salvation. Psalm 6 itself turns out to be just
such a memorial, recording David's prayer and salvation. (Ra
McLaughlin, www.thirdmill.org) |
