This is a question that has long plagued those who are Christians. There is not a “clear-cut” passage of Scripture that answers it. However, there are many passages that relate to it. For instance: The rich man in the story Jesus told in Luke 16 knew Lazarus after his death, and he knew Abraham — even though he had never met him in this life. Maybe that is the key to understanding this matter. I just cannot conceive of people in heaven going around introducing themselves to each other. We obviously will know Jesus, and it seems to me we will also know Moses and Peter and Paul.<\/p>\n
Jesus was asked a question by those who did not believe in a resurrection. They proposed the supposed case of a woman whose husband had died, she married his next oldest brother, and he died. And so on to seven. They asked, “In the resurrection, whose wife shall she be? Seeing that she was married to all seven brothers?<\/em>” Jesus replied to their question by saying: “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, not the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven<\/em>” (Matthew 22:29,30). Notice that this passage does not say there will be marriage in heaven — it says they will not marry nor be given in marriage. Frankly, based on this passage and others, I have no idea what the relationship of a husband and wife on earth will be when they both get to heaven. That is God’s business, and I suspect that He has it all worked out so that everyone will be happy with the situation there.<\/p>\n We will not have physical bodies in heaven as Paul shows: “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit. Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, then that which is spiritual<\/em>” (I Corinthians 15:42-46). It is clear that the “natural body” in this passage is talking about the physical body. But if we don’t have physical bodies, then how will we recognize one another? I don’t know the answer to that. But I am convinced that we will recognize each other, including people who we never knew in this life.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 58, No. 35, Aug. 28, 2009 This is a question that has long plagued those who are Christians. There is not a “clear-cut” passage of Scripture that answers it. However, there are many passages that relate to it. For instance: The rich man in the story Jesus told…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[46],"class_list":["post-61164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-heaven"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19735,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/shall-we-know-one-another-in-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":61164,"position":0},"title":"Shall We Know One Another in Heaven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 11, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hoyt Houchen via\u00a0Guardian of Truth\u00a0XXXV: 20, pp. 623-624 October 17, 1991 Man is confronted with many mysteries, thus causing him to ponder on many questions. He is made to wonder about death, immortality, what is beyond and shall we know each other in heaven. The subject of future recognition\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/greeting-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27163,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-could-david-see-his-child-when-david-hasnt-ascended-to-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":61164,"position":1},"title":"How could David see his child when David hasn’t ascended to heaven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, You said that David would see his child when he died.\u00a0 I don't understand this because Acts 2:34 says that David has not ascended into the heavens. (David was long dead by this time).\u00a0 Also, John 3:13 says no one has ascended into heaven except Christ.\u00a0 Also, John\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66291,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-the-bread-of-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":61164,"position":2},"title":"Jesus, the Bread of Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer The Passover feast was at hand, and thousands were visiting the area. A large crowd was coming to Jesus and the disciples were concerned about how they could be fed. This led to the great miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand (John 6:1-14). Jesus more than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/bread-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":511,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-about-the-thief-on-the-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":61164,"position":3},"title":"What about the thief on the cross?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 14, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am still a little confused about what I need to actually do. I heard about baptism, but they say that the thief on the cross wasn\u2019t baptized. Isn\u2019t he in heaven? Answer: I appreciate the time taken to ask questions concerning your salvation. Personally, I don\u2019t believe the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44379,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-father-just-died-can-he-be-in-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":61164,"position":4},"title":"My father just died! Can he be in heaven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have sad news, my father just died of an overdose! Are there any verses that you can point out to me that say he can be in Heaven! I'm so scared he is in hell because he said he was mad at God and all. Answer: I am\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48719,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-more-than-faith-required\/","url_meta":{"origin":61164,"position":5},"title":"Why is more than faith required?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm a bit confused about what Jesus is saying about how one gets to heaven. In John 3:16 he says that we just need to believe in God and we will be saved. And that there is no judgment for those who believe in Jesus. 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