Will There be Recognition in Heaven?
This is a question which seems interesting to everyone. Those who have lost loved ones are especially concerned with this question. If the saved will recognize one another in heaven, then this is one reason we should desire to go there. What does the Bible teach concerning this question? Here is just a sample of what the scriptures teach about this topic:
1. Jacob was “gathered to his people.” “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). What does the Bible mean that Jacob was “gathered to his people”? It does not mean that he was buried with his people, because his burial did not occur until Jacob’s body had been taken back to the land of Canaan (Genesis 50:13). However, while Jacob’s lifeless body was still in Egypt he was “gathered to his people.”
This teaches us that when Jacob died, his soul went to be with his people. When his soul arrived “over there,” I wonder if he recognized that he had been “gathered to his people.” It seems to me that when he was gathered to his people, he recognized his people over there in the world to come.
2. David would go to be with his baby. After King David committed adultery with Bathsheba, Bathsheba gave birth. But the baby became sick. David prayed that the baby might live. Nevertheless, the baby died. After the death of the little child, David said, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (II Samuel 12:23). David knew the death of his baby was permanent, and that the baby would not come back to this world. But David said, “I shall go to him.” This must mean that David anticipated seeing the baby in the world to come. If David would not recognize the baby over on the other side, how would he know he was with him? This statement shows that David believed in recognition in the spirit world to come.
3. Jesus and the penitent thief would go to paradise. Jesus was crucified between two thieves. However, one of the thieves repented. To him Jesus said, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Jesus knew that He and the thief would die that day. He also knew that they would be in paradise together. If there is no recognition beyond this life, then how would the thief know Jesus had kept His promise? The language implies strongly that Jesus and the thief would recognize one another in paradise.
I am persuaded that the Biblical evidence set forth here is sufficient to establish that there will be recognition in heaven. One reason we should obey the Gospel and live for Jesus is that we might be with the saved throughout eternity in the glorious, celestial city of heaven.
