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Colin Smith: This speaks directly to the question will we know one another in heaven? Now I want to give you the one word sort of bottom line answer to that and then to support it from the Bible. Will we know one another in heaven? Answer, yes.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. And Colin, that was a very confident yes there. Sounds like you're backing it up from Scripture.

Colin Smith: Oh, there's no doubt. Actually we're going to give seven scriptures in the program today that make very, very clear that we will know one another in heaven. And it's all over the place. I mean, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the resurrection. I mean, they are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and they're feasting together. There's relationship between a grandfather, a father, and a son. It's a marvelous thing. Paul says to the Thessalonians, "You're going to be my joy in the presence of the Lord." Well, they can't be his joy if he does not know them and if they do not know him.

So we're going to go through a lot of Scripture. The Bible itself says let everything be established by two or three witnesses. Seven should be more than enough to establish this wonderful truth.

Steve Hiller: I think you're right about that. So let's dive into today's message and continue to answer that question, will we know one another in heaven? Here's Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: I want to offer to you seven scriptures today that all point to our knowing one another in heaven. All make clear identity, individuality, and relationship in heaven. Seven scriptures, all of them for sure point to knowing one another in the resurrection, and some of them point to believers knowing one another immediately after death.

Having been asked this question so many times, now when someone asks me the question will we know one another in heaven, I'm going to say well there's seven scriptures that answer that. It's all on the internet, you can just download the message. I want you to get this and for it to be settled in our minds. Because if there's one great purpose for this series, it is to heighten our anticipation of heaven.

Why would it be that the Son of God would give all that he did to open the gates of heaven for his people and that there would be a relatively low level of anticipation among God's people with regards to actually going there? That would be very strange. And we are given glimpses of what lies ahead in order to encourage us in the battle now to press on in anticipation of the joy that is yet to be.

So I'm going to try and make the case here. As someone tries to make a case, I'm going to call witnesses, and I have seven witnesses from the Scripture. And the first one I want to call: David and his son. That is from 2 Samuel chapter 12 and verse 23.

Now, as most of you know, King David had a little boy who died in infancy. David had prayed much that God would spare his life. The boy died, and when the little boy died, David said, 2 Samuel 12 and verse 23, "I shall go to him." He's not coming back to me, but I, King David says under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, "I shall go to him."

Now, think about this. There is more here than David saying I will go to heaven when I die. No, David says I will go to the boy. I will see him. I will be reunited with him in heaven.

Witness number two: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And here we're looking at Matthew chapter 8 and verse 11 where Jesus says, "I tell you that many will come from east and west and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven."

Now notice again, this is very important. Distinct identity. Abraham is Abraham in heaven, not someone else, not some kind of composite figure. Isaac is still Isaac. Jacob is Jacob. They retain their distinct identity. They do not become in heaven nameless, anonymous spirits.

Abraham is enjoying the company, think of this, of his own son and of his own grandson in the kingdom of heaven. Clearly this is in the resurrection. Jacob is enjoying the company of his father and of his grandfather. Three generations of the same family, and there they are together according to the word of the Lord Jesus.

Along the same lines: Jesus and the disciples. Matthew chapter 26 and verse 29. "I tell you," says Jesus, "I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until the day when I will drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

Now notice the same clarity. Here's Jesus and he's sitting with the 11 disciples. Judas has gone out. And they're sharing the Lord's supper on earth. And he says, "Now I'm going to drink it with you in heaven." So these disciples will be named and they will be known in heaven. Distinct identity and the sharing of the supper with Jesus.

Witness number four: Moses and Elijah. Here is Matthew chapter 17 and verse 3. We're told at the transfiguration that, "Behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with him." Now friends, this is particularly fascinating because Moses and Elijah appearing at the transfiguration clearly did not have and do not have even now the resurrection body.

Even without the resurrection body, Moses and Elijah were known. They were recognizable. Now, how did Peter and James and John know and recognize that it was Moses and Elijah? I have absolutely no idea. But what I do know is this, that the Bible makes clear that Moses and Elijah were known.

And therefore, I do not have to understand the mechanics by which that happened in order to believe that if they were known, even in advance of the resurrection body, then the fellowship of knowledge and of full identity is something that is given to believers in the presence of Christ immediately after death, and not only in the resurrection body when Christ returns.

And I think going to witness number five, that is reinforced further by Hebrews chapter 12 and verses 22 and 23. Here the writer to the Hebrews reminds us of the great truth that the church worshipping on earth is always at one with the church worshipping in heaven.

And he speaks of the church in heaven as the spirits of the righteous made perfect. That's the souls of believers in the presence of Jesus. Now what does he tell us about what's going on for these loved ones in the presence of Jesus now? He says this, that they are in the assembly of the firstborn. In other words, they're gathered.

The spirits of the righteous made perfect gathered, and they're in this great celebration as what is depicted for us here. Gathered means community. Community means relationship. Relationship means identity and knowledge.

Witness number six: Paul and the Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians 2:19. The apostle says to these believers, "What is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? What's going to be our great joy when he comes?" And his astonishing answer is this, "Is it not you?"

So you read the two letters that we have in the Bible that Paul wrote to the Thessalonians. There's a very, very special and deep bond between the apostle and these folks. Had been right from the beginning where this particular church was planted. They had gone through so many difficulties.

And the apostle is saying, "You know, you've been my joy. Just serving with you has been my joy on earth, and you're going to be my joy in heaven." That's what he says. Christians who knew and loved each other on earth will know and love each other in heaven.

And you always bring your strongest witness last if you're making a case, of course. And here I think is the strongest witness of all. It is the reunion of believing loved ones that is spoken of beautifully and specifically in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.

Paul is speaking here, verse 15, about the day when the Lord will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of the archangel, with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. And he says this, "Then we who are alive," verse 17, "who are left, will be caught up together with them."

That's with the ones who have gone before into the presence of the Lord. We will be caught up together with them. They'll come with him. The souls of those who are already with him, they'll come with him. They'll receive the resurrection body. We will go up with them and receive that same marvelous gift, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Now just think about this. The whole point of this passage, why it was written, was to bring comfort to believers who grieve the loss of a loved one. We're not to grieve like those who have no hope. That's how the passage begins.

Paul is writing to believers who are grieving over the loss of their own friends, their own children, their own parents, their own loved ones. And the grief of these believers is not about death in general. The grief of these believers is about the death of their loved ones in particular.

And Paul writes under the inspiration of the Spirit of God to bring comfort to them in regard to their particular loss. And here is the comfort that he offers them in their sorrow. He says, "We will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air."

Who is the "them"? Believers in general? Well, yes, for sure. But the whole point here is that he is referring to the loved ones who are now in the presence of the Lord in particular. The whole point for these Christian believers, the comfort is not just that we'll be generally with all believers, but that we will be with the ones whose loss we are grieving. That we will see them again.

That is the comfort. He's saying, if we may put it in a phrase, Christians never say a last goodbye. Because ahead of us is this reuniting in the presence of the Lord Jesus, and so when we grieve, we do not grieve as people who have no hope, because this is the hope that is ahead of us. This is the comfort towards which we press.

So there you are. There's the seven witnesses. The Scripture says, you know, everything should be settled by two or three. I've given you seven. That's more than enough for me, and I really hope it is more than enough for you as well.

Our hope is not an anonymous existence somewhere out in the stratosphere. It is a shared life with people we love made perfect in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the clearer that is to us, the more there will be a hastening in our own minds and our own hearts towards the day when faith will be turned to sight and all that is promised and all that Christ went to the cross to gain and to win for us will become ours.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith in a message called, "Will We Know One Another in Heaven?" Now we're going to pause here, but we'll get back to the message in just a moment. Speaking of heaven, do you know how to get there? Would you be able to tell someone else how they can get there?

A number of years ago, Pastor Colin Smith's book, *Heaven, How I Got Here: The Story of the Thief on the Cross*, was actually turned into a one-man play that was performed by actor Stephen Baldwin. They sent a camera crew, and that was captured and turned into a one-hour movie. That's now been translated into over 20 languages.

So maybe English is not your first language or you have friends or other family members who would benefit from watching this movie in their native language. You can check out the different list of languages, which include Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Spanish, Russian, and many, many others when you visit our website: openthebible.org/heaven. That's openthebible.org/heaven.

Well, let's get back to the message. Again, here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: The joy of being at home in heaven. The joy of being together in heaven. And here's the very last thing and just briefly: the joy of being with Christ in heaven. Verse 17, "The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he, he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Remember Jesus said to the thief today, "You will be with me in paradise." With me. And this will be our focus next week, but let me just say this today, that the greatest joy in heaven for a Christian believer is the joy of being with Jesus.

Christ, who is our shepherd on earth, will be our shepherd in heaven, and he will be the one who leads us into the springs of living water. In other words, heaven is not some kind of independent life where we're kind of let loose and hey everyone go and do their own thing, whatever takes your fancy. It is a shared life in which Christ is leading all of his people into ever-increasing joy.

And we have focused today on the important question will we see our believing loved ones in heaven? And the answer to that question is yes. But here's the bigger, greater, and more important question. Will Jesus Christ see his believing loved ones in heaven? And the answer, friends, to that question is yes as well.

Remember when Jesus was going to the cross and preparing for all the agony that lay ahead, he prayed to the Father and his words are recorded in John 17. And in verse 24 of that amazing chapter, he prays this, "Father, I desire that they who whom you have given me may be with me and that they will see my glory."

Here's what I'm going to the cross for, Jesus says. I want all my believing loved ones, all that you have given to me, all who put their trust in me, I want them to be with me and to see my glory.

Friends, the greatest assurance that you can have of heaven is that Jesus Christ wants you there. He went to the cross to get you there. He lives at the right hand of the Father to bring you there. And when you arrive in heaven, you are going to see his glory.

John puts it this way: when we see him, we shall see him as he is. You'll see his glory. You're not going to see him like a baby lying in the manger. You're not going to see him sweating as it were great drops of blood as he was in the Garden of Gethsemane.

You're not going to see him writhing in agony with the hair of his beard pulled out from his chin and spittle running down his face, affixed to the cross in the agony of his suffering. You are going to see him as he is. That is risen and triumphant and victorious. As Isaiah the prophet puts it, we will see the King in his beauty. That is why we will have palm branches in our hands. That is why we will say with all of the redeemed, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb."

I end with a beautiful story, a true story, about a man by the name of William Montague Dyke. When William was 10 years old, he was blinded in a severe accident. And despite his disability, very bright guy, he went to university, graduated with very high honors.

And while he was at school, he fell in love with the daughter of a high-ranking British naval officer, and the two of them became engaged. Shortly before the wedding, William had eye surgery. It was a kind of frontier operation at the time, and there was some hope that it might restore his sight, though he knew that if it failed, he would remain blind for the rest of his life.

After the operation, William's eyes were swathed in bandages. And William insisted on keeping the bandages on his face until the day of the wedding. If the surgery was successful, he wanted the first person he saw to be his new bride.

Well, the wedding day arrived, the guests assembled to witness the couple taking their vows. William's father and the doctor who had performed the surgery stood either side of the groom, whose eyes were still covered with these bandages. The organ trumpeted the traditional wedding march in the cathedral. The bride walked down the aisle to the front of the church.

And as soon as she arrived, the surgeon took a pair of scissors out of his pocket. I mean, can you imagine this? And begins cutting away these bandages from William's eyes. You imagine the tension that filled the room. Congregation holding its breath as they waited to find out if William could actually see the woman he loved who was standing right next to him.

And as he stood face to face with his bride, William's words echoed right throughout the cathedral, "You are more beautiful than I had ever imagined." One day the bandages from our eyes will be removed. And you will see the Savior as he is. And faith with all of its struggles will be turned to sight for you. And when you see his glory, it will be greater than you ever imagined.

Steve Hiller: What a story, and what a line: "You're more beautiful than I ever imagined." You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called, "Will We Know One Another in Heaven?" It's part of a larger series on heaven, and you can find out more about that when you come to our website: openthebible.org. That's also where you can go if you ever miss a broadcast and you want to listen online or you want to download the Open the Bible app or sign up to begin podcasting the program. Again, the website address is openthebible.org.

Well, Open the Bible is able to be on this station. We're able to make the podcast, the app, and all the other resources available because of your generosity. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to send you three copies of our first graphic novel inspired by Pastor Colin's book *Heaven, How I Got Here: The Story of the Thief on the Cross*, plus we'll send one copy of the original book. But Colin, what is one thing that you'd like people to take away from this new graphic novel?

Colin Smith: Well, without any question, it's that when God draws near, he comes to give us what we do not have. And you know, the default assumption of the fallen human heart is that if God draws near, he's going to place some demand on us that we can't meet. And there are millions of people who have never understood the wonderful truth of God's grace. Their whole idea of Christianity is that they're going to be told what they need to do and what they need to be, and they have neither the desire nor the ability to do it. And as long as folks think that God is placing demands upon us, well, they're never going to open the doors of their hearts or of their lives to him.

So here is a marvelous opportunity to share the story of the thief on the cross that tells us that God gives to us what we do not have. It explains God's marvelous grace. Is there someone in your life, may have been a young person brought up in church, but they have never really understood the love, the mercy, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? This graphic novel is a simple way in which they could grasp the most important truth in all of the Bible.

Could you place it into their hands? Could you give them a copy of this? Is there someone that you know who's trying to live a life that's pleasing to Christ, always feels that they're failing and needs to understand God's grace? Well, that's who the graphic novel is for. We want to communicate the very center of the gospel to as many people as possible, and I hope that you'll take these copies of the graphic novel, that you'll put them into the hands of people who will benefit from them and will be released in seeing the marvelous good news of the grace of God that brings hope for every single person.

Steve Hiller: Well, we want to send you three copies of the graphic novel plus the original book, *Heaven, How I Got Here: The Story of the Thief on the Cross*, as our way of saying thank you for your financial support this month. You can give at our website, openthebible.org, or when you call 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365, or openthebible.org. For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening, and I hope you'll join us next time. This program is a listener-supported production of Open the Bible.

Colin Smith: At Open the Bible, we're grateful for like-minded organizations committed to sharing the gospel around the world. And to that end, I'd like to commend the work of Global Fingerprints. You know, in the book of James, God calls us to help orphans in their distress. That's a clear command, but it's not always clear how we should obey. And this is where Global Fingerprints comes in. Through Global Fingerprints, you can sponsor a vulnerable child to help meet their physical needs and ensure they hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I want to commend Global Fingerprints to you. They're focused on equipping the local church to care for children, and where there is no church, they help to plant one. If you'd like to help a vulnerable child, you can find more information on Global Fingerprints at our website: openthebible.org/gf. That's openthebible.org/gf.