Questions About Heaven
Most of the people who call themselves Christians love to think about and to sing about heaven. One of the songs we often sang in my childhood has the title, "How Beautiful Heaven Must Be," by Mrs. A. S. Bridgewater and A. P. Bland. Please listen to these comforting words. "We read of a place that's called heaven, it's made for the pure and the free; these truths in God's word we are given, how beautiful heaven must be." "In heaven, no drooping nor pining, no wishing for elsewhere to be, God's light is forever there shining, how beautiful heaven must be." "Pure waters of life there are flowing, and all who will drink may be free, rare jewels of splendor are glowing, how beautiful heaven must be." The chorus reads: "How beautiful heaven must be, sweet home of the happy and free, fair haven of rest for the weary, how beautiful heaven must be." Our lesson today will be devoted to the topic, "Questions about Heaven."
Almost invariably when we discuss heaven in Bible classes, someone asks, "What will heaven be like?" It will not be a place of wild sexual orgies where each male will have seventy virgins to cater to his every want and need. It will not be on earth, as some cultic groups argue. The only way we can know what heaven will be like is to consult the only source in the universe that provides correct information—the word of almighty God. The book of Revelation gives some insight into what heaven will be like. We must remember that the language is highly figurative, but the words of divine inspiration are designed to entice us to think about heaven and to seek heaven (Col. 3:1-4).
In the next to the last chapter in the Bible, Jesus Christ inspired the apostle John to write: "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. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe all tears from their eyes (I will not weep for Molly anymore); and there shall be no more death (Molly will never again know death in that deathless city), neither sorrow, nor crying (why cry when we are in the presence of God, his Son and the saints of all the ages?), neither shall there be any more pain (my Molly will never again suffer from hearing loss or from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma): for the former things are passed away" (Rev. 21:1-4). With my limited understanding and experience, I cannot imagine such a place, but I have no doubt of its existence. And like the old Negro spiritual says, "I want to go to heaven when I die to hear old Jordan roll."
The apostle John further reveals: "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign forever and ever" (Rev. 22:1-5). Are we not foolish if we fail to get ready and to help others get ready to enjoy that heavenly city?
Another question that is on the minds of many, especially those who know very little or nothing about the Bible: Will everyone who has ever lived go to heaven? Tragically, there are preachers and theologians who almost totally ignore what the scriptures teach on this topic. For example, Dr. R. Kirby Godsey, president of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, published a book with the title, When We Talk about God...Let's Be Honest (Macon: Helwys & Smythe, 1996). Dr. Godsey completely ignores the teaching of scripture about eternal punishment. He foolishly writes: "Universalism has a very high view of God...God's forgiveness knows no boundaries. Time is not a boundary. Death is not a boundary. Hell is not a boundary....God's patient grace will finally win all persons to the new creation. Universalism affirms that God's grace will outlast any person's rejection of God" (pp. 202-203). Where did Dr. Godsey learn all of that? He certainly did not learn it from the Bible. What did our Lord mean when he said, "And these (that is, the wicked) shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (Mt. 25:46). Incidentally, the words "everlasting" and "eternal" come from the same Greek word (aionion). If life is eternal, punishment is also eternal. Does that sound like everyone is going to heaven?
Dr. Godsey quotes Origen, one of the so-called "church fathers": "Christ remains on the cross as long as one sinner remains in hell" (p. 203). Why did not Dr. Godsey quote Christ and the apostles instead of Origen? Paul spoke of those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel. He affirmed that they "shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (2 Thess. 1:8-9). Christ himself inspired the apostle John to write: "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8).
Two Quaker theologians, Philip Gulley and James Mulholland, tried to prove the doctrine of universalism in their book, If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003). Even though there are two authors of the book, they write in the first person singular. How did they learn that God will save every person? They write: "My belief changed as I recognized the grace of God was not limited or conditional" (p. 11). Do they know what Jesus said about repentance? "Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish" (Lk. 13:3). Did Jesus actually say that? Did he have the authority to teach conditions of salvation? I wonder if these two Quaker preachers know the meaning of words like "do," "abide," "must," "obey" and "keep." Do you remember what John told his readers? "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). The apostle Peter charged his readers: "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 1:10-11). The only way anyone can get universal salvation from the Bible is to pervert it beyond recognition, which is exactly what Dr. Godsey and these two Quaker preachers have done.
Gulley and Mulholland no longer believe the Bible is the source of authority (p. 42). In fact, they claim to support their unscriptural and anti-scriptural views because God whispered in their ears (p. 18). Have you ever wondered why God has not whispered the same ideas in your ears? If he did whisper these concepts in our ears, he would be contradicting his inspired word.
Gulley and Mulholland cite various passages that are supposed to teach universalism. I have time to mention just one of those passages. They quote these words from Paul's letter to Titus: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared unto all men" (Tit. 2:11). Have you read Paul's condemnation of those who handle the word of God deceitfully (2 Cor. 4:2)? Taking Titus 2:11 out of its context and ignoring the next verse are not honest. Please listen to Titus 2:11 and 12. "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared unto all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world." Do we have to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts? Must we live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world? How can honest men and women abuse the word of God in the way these two Quaker preachers do? They provide their own excuse for perverting the scriptures. They claim they can examine certain biblical passages and say: "I don't believe that is true" (p. 200). Like the ancient ungodly Israelites, these men do that which is right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6).
A few months ago, I was in a gospel meeting here in Middle Tennessee. One night I preached on heaven and emphasized some of the same truths I have discussed with you today and on other occasions. I was severely criticized for saying I expected to see Molly in heaven. I was told that we are not going to know each other in heaven. I am aware of the arguments some people make to sustain their view that we shall not know each other in heaven. I completely reject those arguments, as do all the gospel preachers I know. So I ask you to consider this question: "Shall we know one another in heaven?"
Guy N. Woods was certainly one of the most knowledgeable Bible students it has been my honor to know. For thirty years brother Woods conducted the Open Forum at the annual Freed-Hardeman University lectureship. During some of those years, I was the director of the lectureship. Brother Woods almost never opened his Bible when he responded to questions. He could quote major portions of God's word. On several different occasions, brother Woods responded to the question, "Shall we know one another in heaven?" He expressed absolutely no doubt we would know one another.
The Gospel Advocate Company in Nashville published brother Woods' book on the topic, Shall We Know One Another in Heaven? (1988). I am not using Guy N. Woods or any other mortal as the ultimate authority on the question I am discussing with you or for that matter, on any other biblical or moral question. The Bible alone must be our ultimate standard for deciding all questions relating to becoming and remaining Christians. But I want to examine some of the arguments brother Woods made to ascertain if they are scriptural.
Brother Woods introduces the topic under consideration with these though-provoking comments. "Whether we shall know each other in heaven is truly a question of more than merely curious interest. Every thoughtful person who has suffered the poignant pain of parting from those near and dear and has tenderly laid their physical forms to rest in the tomb is vitally and absorbingly interested in the implication the question raises. He knows he shall see them no more in the land of the living; that they have passed beyond the door of death to return to this world no more. If there is no future recognition, the moment of parting at the grave, however forbidding the thought may be, becomes the hour of final separation. Soon we, too, shall divest ourselves of the mortal robe with which we are clothed here, and go to join the teeming millions of our race who have lived and loved and at last gone to take their places in the silent halls of death. On the morning of the resurrection day we shall rise to stand in judgment and to hear the pronouncement of our eternal destiny. If there is to be no recognition, we shall be among total strangers; every memory we now possess will have been obliterated and every bond here severed, and as strangers we shall enter heaven and so live there forever and ever" (p. 8).
The apostle Paul looked forward to rejoicing with his fellow Christians. "For we write no other things unto you, than what we read or acknowledge; and I trust you shall acknowledge even to the end; as also you have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as you also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus" (2 Cor. 1:13-14). The "day of the Lord Jesus" refers to the final judgment. Paul asked the Thessalonians: "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown or rejoicing?" He answered: "Are not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming" (1 Thess. 2:19)? If Paul could not recognize the Corinthians or the Thessalonians, how could the day of the Lord be an occasion for rejoicing?
The Thessalonians were concerned about the fate of their dead loved ones. Were not the following words from Paul's pen designed to comfort those whose loved ones had died? "But I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them who are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.... Wherefore comfort one another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:13-14, 18). Guy N. Woods asks, "But, on the assumption that the personality of those we have loved and lost is obliterated, their memories of us, and ours of them forevermore gone and with no tangible marks of identity remaining, how is hope possible and where is the occasion for comfort in such a circumstance? Before such a prospect, the mind quails, hope fades into despair, words calculated to comfort become empty mockery, and the passage is without significance" (p. 14).
Time does not permit a full discussion of the rich man and Lazarus, but a few comments are in order. Guy N. Woods says: "The consciousness which each of the characters possessed, their awareness of their surroundings, and the memory which they retained of the world from which they had lately left all point irresistibly to the conclusion which we have reached. And, couched in the two words, "Son, remember,'" is a necessary inference for all for which we contend" (pp. 15-16). I honestly cannot understand how anyone can deny that we shall know one another in heaven.
I have one more question I must ask and answer before our time expires. How can sinful human beings prepare themselves to enter that eternal city? What we must do, in other words, to inherit eternal life? Two times in the book of Luke, someone asked Jesus, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life" (Luke 10:25; 18:18). I want to read Christ's answer to the lawyer who asked our Lord that question. Jesus asked: "What is written in the law? How do you read" (Lk. 10:26)? I beg you to consider what is written in the word of almighty God. There is no other way for us to know what we must do to be saved.
Just prior to our Lord's return to the Father, he gave his apostles the Great Commission. This constituted their marching orders. I shall read only Mark's account of the Great Commission. "Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he who does not believe shall be condemned" (Mk. 16:15-16). In your study of Acts of the Apostles, have you noticed that in every case of conversion there was always the preaching of the gospel? For example, Luke says: "Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them" (Acts 8:5). Please take notice of what occurred when Philip preached Christ in Samaria. "But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Christ, they were baptized, both men and women" (Acts 8:12). When the true gospel was preached and when men and women believed that gospel, they obeyed the Lord by being baptized.
Luke records the conversion of a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira. We know very little about Lydia, except she was Jewish worshipper who made her living selling either purple cloth or purple dye. Please listen to Luke's account of her conversion. "And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things that were spoke by Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If you have judged me to be faithful, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us" (Acts 16:14-15).
We know Lydia believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, although Luke does not mention it. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them who diligently seek him" (Heb. 11:6). Luke says nothing of Lydia's repentance, but we know how absolutely repentance is for the alien sinner. Jesus told some of his Jewish listeners: "Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish" (Lk. 13:3). Jesus told his audience: "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father who is in heaven" (Mt. 10:32). Do you want Jesus Christ to confess you to the Father in that final day? Then you must confess him before men. But Luke says nothing about Lydia's confession of faith in Christ.
Did you notice in my reading from Acts
16 that Luke says, "When she was baptized, and her household?" Luke says nothing
about Lydia's faith or repentance or confession, but he emphasizes her baptism.
It is almost as if the Holy Spirit looked down through the ages and knew that certain preachers and
theologians would deny the necessity
of baptism. So he inspired Luke to speak of Lydia's baptism.
Winford Claiborne
The International Gospel Hour
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