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Guest (Male): Setting the record straight on a couple of things, here's Pastor Thom Keller.

Pastor Thom Keller: Angels are created beings with eternal souls. Angels do not become humans; humans do not become angels. Someone will say that they've gone unto heaven to become one of God's angels. No, that does not happen.

Second thing, we will never—get ready for this—we will never be tempted again. How do you like that one? Never again.

Guest (Male): You may have heard it said every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings, and that all dogs go to heaven, among other sayings about heaven. But what does the Bible say about these things? We'll look into that on today's Study the Word with Pastor Thom Keller.

As we continue in the book of Philippians and a few other scriptures, we'll set out to answer some of the often-asked questions on heaven. And beginning with how to get there, here's Pastor Thom Keller.

Pastor Thom Keller: A Sunday school teacher was testing her children to see if they understood the concept of getting to heaven. She asked them, "If I sold my house and my car, and I had a big garage sale, and I gave all my money to the church, would that get me into heaven?" "No!" the children answered.

"If I cleaned the church every day, if I mowed the churchyard and kept everything there neat and tidy, would that get me into heaven?" Again, their answer was, "No!" Now she's smiling, she's thinking, "Hey, they're getting this."

"Well, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to the children, if I loved my husband, would that get me into heaven?" Again, they answered, "No!" She was bursting with pride. Well, she continued, "Well, then how can I get into heaven?" A five-year-old boy shouted out, "You gotta be dead!"

That kind of does take it down to the base of the whole thing. In today's lesson, we're going to try to answer some of those many questions that people have about what heaven will be like. So let's dig in.

Last week we covered a profound section of scripture, kind of on the negative side, and we transition this morning to the other. He said, "For I've told you often before and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows that they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.

They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth." But in verse 20, Paul now makes a transition back into the light, and he says this in verse 20, "But we are citizens of heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ lives, and we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our savior.

He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control." Now here Paul discusses something that is forefront in the minds of most Christians.

What will heaven be like? And what kind of body will I have? Or will I just be a spirit? Well, let's begin by answering that question first. Will we have a physical body, or will we just be some kind of disembodied spirit?

Well, Paul gives us a clear answer to that in Second Corinthians, chapter five. "We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies."

So Paul clearly says we are going to get a physical body. And Jesus confirmed this as well in the story of the rich man and Lazarus, because from hell, the rich man says this: Verse 24 of Chapter 16 of Luke. "The rich man shouted, 'Father Abraham, have some pity. Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in these flames.'"

So Jesus says that this man in hell has a tongue and Lazarus in heaven has a finger. In fact, he has a tongue that would feel relieved if it would have had some water dropped on it. And so we clearly see that both these have physical bodies: those in heaven and those in hell.

So do we know anything more about what our bodies will be like in heaven? Like what can we do in them? What will we look like? Will we have the same face and the same body we have now? Those are great questions.

And the Bible gives clear answers to all of those questions. First, what will our bodies be like? Well, the Bible tells us that our body in heaven will be just like Jesus's resurrected body—the new body that he was given when he was raised from the dead.

And a key to this is our verse today in Philippians. This is a huge verse, chapter three, verse 21. "He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under control."

He will change our bodies into a glorious body like his own. So when Jesus was resurrected, he was the first human body to ever be resurrected into his new resurrected body, but with many millions to follow him.

He is the firstfruits. Romans 8:29 says this: "For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

And in First Corinthians, Paul echoes this point. First Corinthians 15:49. "And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, Adam, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man Jesus." We shall also bear the image of Jesus.

So in heaven, we will also have a body like Jesus's. Now that's profound because we learn much in the Bible about what Jesus's body was like. In John 20, verse 27, we read this. Then he said to Thomas—this is after Jesus resurrected—"Reach your finger here and look at my hands. Reach your hand here, put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."

So we clearly see that Jesus's body was a physical body. He said, "Thomas, put your finger into my side." And by the way, this means that when you see Jesus in heaven for the first time, be prepared because the wounds in his hands, the wounds in his feet, the wound in his side will still be visible to us when we greet him.

How do we know that? Because the same body that he was in during those 40 days is the same body that he is still in now in heaven—that same body. He is the firstfruits of those who will rise from the dead.

Also, his body was able to appear and disappear instantly at will. In Luke chapter 24, the eleven disciples are gathered along with the two who had walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. They're in the upper room trying to figure out what happened when suddenly Jesus appears.

"Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road and how they had recognized him as he was breaking bread. And just as they were telling about it, Jesus was suddenly standing there among them. 'Peace be with you,' he said."

Can you imagine that? They're in a room, all of a sudden he appears. He says, "Peace be with you." You know what the modern version of "peace be with you" is? "Hey guys, how's it going?" He suddenly appears.

And in another place in the Bible, Jesus instantly disappears. It happened on the road to Emmaus as Jesus is walking with two believers after the crucifixion and resurrection. And after a long talk and a long walk, the three of them planned to have a meal together.

But they never do. Luke 24:30 says, "As they sat down to eat, these three, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. At that moment, he disappeared."

Well, there's a lot of conjecture on that. You know, when people were crucified, they were not crucified through their palms; they were crucified through their wrists. Palms cannot support the body weight of a person.

And so on that road to Emmaus, it's conjectured that he had his robes covering his wrists. When he went to break the bread, the robe came up and they saw the markings, and it was suddenly obvious who he was.

He suddenly disappeared. In Greek, the word "vanished" is *aphantos*. It means "made invisible, vanish out of sight." It's only used one time in the Bible. Can you see why? It's not a common occurrence for people to vanish, disappear out of sight.

But he did. John 20, verse 19 says this. "That Sunday evening, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly Jesus was standing there among them. 'Peace be with you,' he said."

So we will be able—we have a body just like his—we will be able to pop in and pop out of places instantly. I picture Sue and me popping into Pluto one day, popping into Saturn one day. All these planets to explore. Boom, just there. We won't be flying through the universe. Bang, I want to be there.

And that's really fun. We studied this back in Ezekiel, but for that thousand years that we're on earth with earth people, think how cool that's going to be. Let's play hide and seek. Let's go to the earth people and say, "Hey, let's play hide and seek. Come on, I won't cheat. Well, I might a little bit."

But think how neat this is going to be. And from the account of the two disciples who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus, we learn something else about Jesus's resurrected body. This is critical, folks. Listen to this.

There is nothing remarkable about its form or appearance, so much so that a human person looking at a resurrected body would not be able to tell it's anything other than a human body. Luke 24:13. "That same day, two of Jesus's followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem.

As they walked along, they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him.

They asked them, 'What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?' They stopped short, sadness written along their faces." Now again, as Jesus, there's nothing remarkable. They see him; they take him to be just a person walking.

Now it says that God kept it from him that it was Jesus, but there was nothing in his form of his body that made them think he was anything other than a human being. And then Jesus spends all day with them and then goes to one of their homes for dinner.

In verse 27, it says this. "Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the scriptures the things concerning himself." How many would have liked to have heard that message?

Man, I'd give a lot of money for that DVD to hear that one. By the time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey, Jesus acted as if he was going on. But they begged him, "Stay the night with us since it is getting late."

So he went home with them. And the whole time, again, they never see anything in Jesus's resurrected body that would have caused them to think that they were talking to anyone but a normal, run-of-the-mill human being.

And so the question, "Will our faces, our bodies look the same as they do now?" No, the answer is given then. Again, speaking of the two who walked on the road to Emmaus, Mark 16 says this. "Afterward, he appeared in a different form to two of his followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country."

In a different form, he did not look the same. And this was the case throughout Jesus's 40 days on earth between his resurrection and his ascension in Acts chapter one, verse nine. This was also the case with Mary Magdalene.

Now if you think about it, she probably had studied Jesus's face as much as any other person. But after the resurrection, she didn't recognize Jesus. John chapter 20, verse 11. "Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in."

Verse 14 goes on and says, "She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn't recognize him. 'Dear woman, why are you crying?' Jesus asked. 'Who are you looking for?'" Now listen, she thought he was a gardener. That's an unremarkable body. She thought he was a gardener.

"Sir," she said, "if you've taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him." Again, why didn't she recognize him? Because his face looked different. But Mary knew Jesus so well, she was so sensitive to Jesus's voice that when he spoke one word, "Mary," she recognized him.

Verse 15. "'Dear woman, why are you crying?' Jesus asked. 'Who are you looking for?'" She thought he was a gardener. "Sir," she said, "if you've taken him away, tell me where you've put him, and I will go and get him."

"Mary," Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, "Rabboni," which is Hebrew for "teacher." One word, all she needed. Jesus said, "My sheep recognize my voice." She knew. But for the disciples, the fact that Jesus's face had changed confused them, caused them to doubt if it really was Jesus.

Matthew 28:16. "But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some were doubtful." Some were doubtful.

You know, my name is Thomas. I grew up my whole life hearing what in front of Thomas? Doubting Thomas. I'm always encouraged by the fact that really all of the disciples doubted as well. And again, Mark 16:14.

"Later he appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table, and he rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had risen."

And even up to what may have very well been one of the very last encounters the disciples had with Jesus during the 40 days between his resurrection and his ascension, they still doubted. Now the background here is that seven of the disciples decide to go fishing.

They're without Jesus, without a plan, they're going to go try fishing, which is what they know. And again, quite unsuccessfully. John chapter 21. And they get a suggestion from a man standing on the shore. He says, "Hey, throw your nets on the other side of the boat instead."

And they do that, and instantly they take in a huge haul. Now John figures out that it must be Jesus because this is a repeat performance of what Jesus had done one time with Peter with exactly the same problem, the exact same solution, and the miraculous outcome.

But even with that, when Jesus invites them to the shore to sit and have some breakfast with him, they still doubt that it's Jesus. John chapter 21, verse 12. "Jesus said to them, 'Come and have breakfast.' None of the disciples ventured to question him, 'Who are you?' knowing that it was the Lord."

Well, they didn't question him because they weren't sure it was him. But they were sure it was, but not by look. Or said another way, by his appearance they had reason to question who this man was, but by this man's orders on the shore, the miraculous results, they knew it was him even though not recognizing him by face.

And this points something else out to us that we know about our new bodies: we will be able to eat. Again, back to the upper room. When Jesus suddenly, instantly appeared, he asked of the disciples for food.

Verse 40 says this. "As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet. They stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, 'Do you have anything here to eat?'" Again, I think it's just an unremarkable statement.

"Hey, got anything to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he ate it as they watched. I really like that. He ate it as they watched. Can you see the disciples watching? Did you ever think where food goes in a resurrected body?

I wonder what happens to it. Does it just disappear as soon as it goes past the taste buds? I don't know. Inquiring minds want to know. So they watched him as he ate. So we will eat in heaven. We won't have to eat, but we can if we want to.

And proof positive of that is found in Revelation 19:9. "An angel said, 'Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb.' And he said to me, 'These are the true words of God.'"

We will partake in the marriage supper of the lamb. And Jesus said, "I will not drink of this vine again until I drink it with you anew in heaven with me." Just a few other quick facts on heaven.

Number one, really misunderstood by many, we do not become angels when we die. Angels are created beings with eternal souls. Angels do not become humans; humans do not become angels. Someone will say that they've gone unto heaven to become one of God's angels. No, that does not happen.

Second thing, we will never—get ready for this—we will never be tempted again. How do you like that one? Never again. Third, we will still experience emotions. God has emotions. In fact, we share every emotion God has except one: fear. God has no fear.

There's another neat thing about God: he's never seen a shadow. Did you ever think about that? He's never seen a shadow. Someone has to explain it to him or draw it for him because he's never seen one, because there is no light that's brighter than he is. So he dwarfs any light that could cast one.

And we will be like Jesus in this regard of emotions. In First John 3, we read this. "Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is."

We will be like him, sharing in the same emotions he shares, except Revelation 21, verse four says this. Except he will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All of these things are gone forever.

How do you like that? No more death or sorrow or crying or pain. Well, will we recognize one another in heaven? A question that comes up often. The answer is a clear yes. In Luke 16, as the rich man is in hell, he looks up into paradise and we have this dialogue taking place.

"Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham in paradise. The rich man also died and was buried, and he was carried, his soul went to the place of the dead. There in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side."

So this rich man who knew Lazarus while he was living on earth instantly recognized both Lazarus and Abraham. Although separated by, no doubt, hundreds or even thousands of years, the rich man in hell recognizes Abraham.

Do you think he had a name tag, "Hi, my name's Abraham"? Remember, there were no photographs or pictures. He knew him instantly to be Abraham. And we will remember our past on earth, and I believe we will know the life history of every person on earth.

Again, I think that we can draw that out of Luke 16. Listen again to verse 25. "But Abraham said to him, 'Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted and you're in anguish.'"

Abraham knew everything about Lazarus; Abraham knew everything about the rich man. But Abraham isn't Jesus, Abraham isn't God, he's just a human being. He has no supernatural powers, and yet in his place in paradise, he knew the story of Lazarus, he knew the story of the rich man.

He knew all about him. And what about people in hell? People will say, "How will I not cry over their fate?" Well, I believe in heaven because we will know each person's personal life history, as did Abraham, we will see that each person had ample opportunity to believe, and we will know that God's sentence against them is just.

Guest (Male): That's Pastor Thom Keller on Study the Word, and he's in a study of Philippians right now. Would you like to give this a second listen? Either go to our website at ccleb.com or visit our YouTube page.

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