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The Glory That Awaits

(To watch or listen to “The Glory That Awaits,” click here.)

The Bible speaks of the riches of our glorious inheritance. But what is the glorious inheritance that awaits us? Is it better than sitting on clouds, strumming harps, and singing non-stop for all of eternity?

Hi, everyone! Welcome to Session 11 of Discovering Good News in John.

Discovering Good News in John
Discovering Good News in John

Early in our study, we considered the promise of the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

The most famous verse in the Bible promises eternal life to those who believe in Jesus! By the way, the words “eternal life” occur 45 times in the New Testament, and 18 of those 45 occurrences are in the Gospel of John. I’ll quote one more, John 5:24:

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 5:24

Eternal life awaits us. But some fear that eternal life might be boring. That’s why we need Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:18. He prayed that Christians

…may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.

Ephesians 1:18

Before we dive into the details of our glorious inheritance, let’s talk about something called the intermediate state.

The Intermediate State

The Intermediate State

As we saw in session 4, when we trust in Jesus Christ, God changes our hearts and makes us spiritually alive. That’s the first stage of eternal life. The second stage of eternal life happens when our physical bodies die and we enter the intermediate state. This is when the souls of those who belong to Jesus go to be in the presence of the Lord. Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:6,8 explains that:

While we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord… and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:6,8

Notice that Paul “would rather be” in the intermediate state than in the physical body he then had. The intermediate state is not something to fear.

In his book, Immortal, Clay Jones describes the shedding of the physical body like this:

What happens to you the moment your body dies? Clay Jones, "Immortal"

What happens to you the moment your body dies? Notice I said the moment your body dies. I say this because the essential you, your soul—your consciousness, will absolutely positively not experience death. Remember, you’re not a body that has a soul, you’re a soul that has a body. Your body enables your soul to interact with the physical world. So even though your body dies, your soul will not be harmed. Jesus said some amazing things about death. In John 8:51 Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” Notice the “truly, truly.” Jesus is telling us to listen up. He’s emphasizing that what he was going to say next are words you can count on. And he said, you “will never see death.” Now, of course, Jesus isn’t talking about the death of your body. Jesus wasn’t in denial. Your body will die. But the most essential you—your consciousness, your soul—will never die.

Clay Jones, Immortal, 203

Again, this is called the intermediate state. We will not yet be in our final state. But all the aches, pains, dementias, and diseases of our physical bodies will be gone.

Today, we’ll look at four facets of our glorious inheritance. We’ll look at them in the order in which we’ll experience them. It is in the intermediate state that we encounter the first facet of our glorious inheritance: Our spirits will be perfected.

The Glory That Awaits: Perfected

1. Perfected

In our lives now, the Holy Spirit works to change us, but we can’t attain perfection. But once free of these physical bodies that are prone to chase the lusts of this world, we’ll be able to not sin. Indeed, in the intermediate state our spirits will no longer sin, for Hebrews 12:23 describes those currently in God’s presence as “the spirits of the righteous made perfect.”

But many Christians aren’t looking forward to being made perfect because perfection gets a bad rap. Images of nit-picking perfectionists or stern preachers come to mind. But that’s not what perfection is like. We’ll be made perfect like Jesus, who loved sinners and cared for the sick. He rebuked hypocrites and rejected manmade moral codes. He cried over Lazarus’s death. His first miracle was to turn water into wine. Most of all, he died to bring us into eternal fellowship with him.

While in the intermediate state, we’ll await the resurrection. The second facet of the glorious inheritance that awaits us is that our bodies will be resurrected.

The Glory That Awaits: Resurrected

2. Resurrected

First Corinthians 15:50-53 explains what will happen when Jesus returns:

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

1 Corinthians 15:50–53

“We shall not all sleep” means not everyone’s physical body will die before the Lord returns. When he comes, the bodies of the dead will be resurrected and reunited with their souls. But those who are still alive will find their physical bodies changed.

Media often portray the occupants of heaven as having less than they had on earth. But that is not the teaching of Scripture. This is what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44:

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 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; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:42–44

Our bodies are “sown in dishonor”—diseased, weakened, decaying, and mortal. But they will be “raised in glory,” imperishable and in power.

Philippians 3:20-21 tells us more:

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Philippians 3:20–21

Our resurrected bodies will be like Jesus’s resurrected body. His resurrection body could be hugged and could eat food. In fact, Isaiah 25:6-7 says that in our resurrected state, we will attend “a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.”

His body was also supernatural. We saw in John 20:6-7 that Jesus passed through grave clothes and spices without disturbing them. In John 20:19, we read that Jesus entered a room with locked doors. Clay Jones writes,

Our hope based on the fact of the resurrection of Jesus

Whatever the case, our hope is to have a body like Jesus’ post resurrection body—indestructible but one that can hug and enjoy the best of foods, and apparently, go anywhere instantly! This is our hope based on the fact of the resurrection of Jesus!

Clay Jones, Immortal, 210

Think of that: our resurrected, powerful spiritual bodies will be untainted by sin or disease. During our lives on earth the Holy Spirit sanctified us. At the resurrection, the process will be completed.

So just as the priest’s trumpet call used to gather the Israelites to God’s presence, so the last trumpet will gather all people to God’s presence. But something else will happen. The third facet of our glorification is that the Lord intends to make us resplendent.

The Glory That Awaits: Resplendent

3. Resplendent

Who doesn’t want to be more beautiful? As C. S. Lewis put it,

C.S. Lewis, "The Weight of Glory"

We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words—to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.

C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory: and Other Addresses (New York: HarperOne, 1980), 42

Daniel 12:3 tells us that:

Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Daniel 12:3

In Matthew 13.43, Jesus said that:

The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

Matthew 13:43

The transfiguration gives us a glimpse of what that will be like. According to Matthew 17:2, Jesus’s “face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” Moses and Elijah likewise “appeared in glory” as they spoke with him (Luke 9:31). As professor Vern Poythress put it in his book, Theophany: A Biblical Theology of God’s Appearing,

Vern Poythress, "Theophany"

In the consummation, we ourselves will reflect the glory associated with glory theophanies, such as the appearance of glory on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Vern Poythress, Theophany: A Biblical Theology of God’s Appearing, 403

Precisely what that will be like we don’t know. John in 1 John 3:2 wrote,

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

1 John 3:2

Whatever it is like, it will be glorious. In Colossians 3:4 Paul tells us,

When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Colossians 3:4

So we will be perfected, resurrected in glory, and resplendent. But that’s not all. The fourth facet of our glorious inheritance is that we will be renowned and rewarded.

The Glory That Awaits: Renowned and Rewarded

4. Renowned and Rewarded

The Lord intends to honor us. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 4:5 that:

[The Lord] will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

1 Corinthians 4:5, NIV

Revelation 14:13 reads,

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

Revelation 14:13

Our faithfulness through persecution and suffering, the love we show to others, our deeds done in secret for the Lord—all these will follow us into the kingdom. Revelation 19:8 reads,

It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

Revelation 19:8

We learn from 1 Peter 1:7 that trials test us…

So that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:7

In his commentary on 1 Peter, Thomas R. Schreiner wrote that:

Thomas R. Schreiner, "The New American Commentary"

The eschatological reward will be given to them because of the genuineness of their faith, which is proved by the sufferings they endure. God brings sufferings into the lives of believers to purify their faith and to demonstrate its genuineness.

Thomas R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude, gen. ed. E. Ray Clendenen, New American Commentary, vol. 37, s.v. “1 Peter 1:7”

Then we will enter into the new promised land. Revelation 21:1-4 describes it:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

Revelation 21:1–4

Clay Jones writes,

Clay Jones, "Immortal" and the eternal weight of glory

That God intends to glorify you for eternity is clearly taught. If these things aren’t true, then Christianity is a false religion and we should all be doing something else with our time. But if these things are true, then a glorious eternity awaits you and all those who trust in Jesus. Death is defeated and you’re going to live forever and ever!

Clay Jones, Immortal, 220

In Conclusion

In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul wrote about his imprisonments, beatings, being stoned, being shipwrecked, going hungry, facing cold and exposure, and his anxiety for the churches. Then in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Paul explained his attitude toward suffering:

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:17–18

Did you catch that? He calls afflictions like being beaten and stoned “light and momentary” when compared to the “eternal weight of glory” that awaits. That’s what he looks to, and that’s what we must look to as well.

A glorious eternity awaits!

Thanks for joining me. I’m thankful for the opportunity to share these things with you!

Join The Discussion

  1. What one thought stuck out to you in this weeks video? Why did it stand out?
  2. What one thought stuck out to you from this week’s chapter (10)? Why did it stand out?
  3. Question 28, page 201: What does Jesus’s response to Peter teach you about God’s willingness to use our strengths despite our weaknesses?
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10 Things You Want to Know About Heaven But are Embarrassed to Ask

By Jean E. Jones. “10 Things You Want to Know About Heaven But are Embarrassed to Ask” first appeared on Crosswalk.com, August 2017.

Fighting back tears, a young woman confessed to my husband that she was afraid she didn’t want to go to heaven. Since then, as we’ve related that story to others, we’ve discovered many Christians have that fear.

And no wonder! Artists and movie makers depict heaven as a colorless place where the occupants sport wings and halos and have nothing better to do than strum harps and lounge on clouds. Furthermore, skeptics like Mark Twain denounce heaven as unbearably boring and full of hypocritical prudes.

Misconceptions about heaven abound. So let’s clear some of them up. Here are 10 questions that Christians are embarrassed to ask about heaven.

1. Is heaven in the clouds?

Comics and movies typically depict heaven’s occupants as lolling on fluffy, white clouds. But that’s not at all what the Bible depicts. Still, part of the confusion is that the word “heaven” has three meanings:

  1. The sky: “heaven gave rain” (James 5:18)
  2. The physical cosmos containing stars and planets: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1)
  3. The unseen spiritual realm where God’s throne and celestial beings such as angels reside: “The Lord’s throne is in heaven” (Psalm 11:4)

The Bible teaches that on the day of the Lord, the physical cosmos “will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (2 Peter 3:10). Then after the judgment, God will create new heavens and a new earth (Revelation 21:1). Finally, those whose names are in the Book of Life will dwell there with God (Revelation 21:3).

2. Will heaven be plain white?

Will heaven be plain white?

Television, movies, and paintings often depict heaven as all white: occupants with white wings wear white robes and rest on white clouds. Consequently, everything looks sterile.

However, Revelation’s description of the new dwelling place is quite different. Yes, the city gates are of pearl. But the city’s wall is multi-colored jasper and the city itself is gold. Also, the wall’s foundation is bejeweled with jasper, deep blue sapphire, pale blue chalcedony, blue-green beryl, deep green emerald, apple-green chrysoprase, yellow-green chrysolite, yellow-brown topaz, orange-red jacinth, red-and-white striped sardonyx, dark red carnelian, and bright purple amethyst (Revelation 21:18-21). Additionally, in the city flows a river surrounded by a dozen types of fruit-bearing trees (22:1-2).

Moreover, I can’t imagine that the God who created our current heavens and earth with a magnificent rainbow of colors that blaze across the night and morning skies, dance in pansies and daisies, and flash from hummingbirds and orioles, has lost his love for color!

3. Do people become angels in heaven?

In Charles Dickens’ The Old Curiosity Shop, a child says to Little Nell, “Why, they say… that you will be an angel, before the birds sing again.” But is the idea that people who go to heaven become angels a biblical one?

Not at all.

God created the angels before he created the earth (Psalm 148:2-5; Job 38:6-7). Moreover, angels are ministering spirits who serve “those who are going to inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:13-14). People don’t turn into angels when they die; rather, at the end of the age, angels will “separate the evil from the righteous” people (Matthew 13:49).

Further, something more wonderful is in store for God’s children: “The Lord Jesus Christ… will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:20-21). Indeed, it will be an imperishable body, raised in glory and power, a spiritual body that bears the image of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:42-49).

4. Will people have wings and halos in heaven?

"The Ascension of Christ" to heaven by Rembrandt
Rembrandt: The Ascension of Christ

Artists who show humans with wings in heaven are probably thinking that people turn into angels. Most artists give angels wings, although according to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, the Bible nowhere describes angels as winged, though they sometimes fly (Daniel 9:21).

However, the resurrected bodies of those entering the pearly gates will be like Jesus’ resurrected body (Philippians 3:21). When he appeared to his disciples after he rose from the dead, he had no wings. So resurrected humans won’t either.

As to halos, I used to think that came from Daniel 12:3, which says “those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” But I was wrong. It turns out ancient artists placed halos around paintings and etchings of important people and religious figures so they’d stand out. In fact, there’s no mention of halos anywhere in the Bible.

5. Will people in heaven lose their sense of taste, touch, or smell?

Indeed, that was the message of the movie City of Angels (1998). In it, Nicholas Cage stars as an angel named Seth. But Seth can’t taste, touch, or smell. He falls in love with a human (played by Meg Ryan) and gives up eternity so he can make love to her. She dies, but he concludes that smelling her hair and kissing her just once was better than anything an eternity in heaven had to offer.

Certainly, that’s an unappealing heaven! But it’s not what the Bible describes.

Instead, after Jesus was raised from the dead, the disciples touched and hugged Jesus and ate with him (Luke 24:39-43; John 20:17). Additionally, Philippians 3:21 says Jesus “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” If Jesus could taste, touch, and smell, we’ll be able to, too. In fact, our reunion with Christ is called “the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9).

6. Will heaven be full of nerds and prudes?

In high school, I went with my then-boyfriend Clay to the youth group at his church. There, the pastor’s daughter said she wanted to go to hell because that’s where all her friends would be. Indeed, she echoed Mark Twain’s sentiment: “Choose heaven for the climate and hell for the company.”

Clay points out that in heaven, “There will be murderers (such as Moses), adulterers (such as David), and prostitutes (such as Rahab). But they will all be repentant. Hell, on the other hand, will also be full of rapists, whiners, cowards, liars, and many a Pharisee, but none of them will be repentant” (Why Does God Allow Evil?, 165).

Furthermore, C.S. Lewis explained that every person “may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would strongly be tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such that you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare” (The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, 45).

7. Will we recognize loved ones in heaven?

People who have lost loved ones are often concerned about whether they’ll see and recognize those dear to them in heaven. Certainly, part of this concern arises from misunderstanding Isaiah 65:17: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.”

But the prior verse says that God says “the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes.” In the Bible, when God says he will no longer remember something, he doesn’t mean he gives up his omniscience. Rather, he means he will no longer remember it for the sake of punishing it. So Isaiah 65:17 is saying God won’t remember our past sins against us in the new heaven and earth.

Also, Revelation 14:13 says our deeds will follow us, which can’t be done if we don’t remember them! Moreover, other passages show the dead remembering their earthly life: Luke 16:25; 2 Corinthians 1:4; Revelation 6:9-11.

8. Will there be sadness in heaven over unsaved loved ones?

Won’t knowing unsaved loved ones are in hell make heaven miserable? Philosopher Adam Pelser argues that the saved may at times feel somberness over the lost, but that will not diminish joy (Paradise Understood, 131). For instance, even on earth, somberness and joy can coexist (James 1:2).

Also, at the judgment, God will expose every deed, thought, and motive of those who refuse to turn from wrongdoing and turn to Jesus Christ as Lord. When we see how those who have rejected Jesus’ gift of eternal life “really are,” we won’t miss being with them.

Additionally, the unsaved won’t exist as we knew them. For example, C.S. Lewis wrote, “What is cast (or casts itself) into hell is not a man: it is ‘remains’… To be an ex-man or ‘damned ghost’—would presumably mean to consist of a will utterly centred in the self and passions utterly uncontrolled by the will” (The Problem of Pain, 113-114). If Lewis is right, then seeing ex-humans with uncontrolled wills will do much to help us understand why they are lost.

9. Will shame keep us from enjoying heaven?

Some people worry that remembering terrible things they did on this earth would be too painful. Although they know the Bible says that those who believe Jesus is the Son of God who died for their sins will receive eternal life, they still feel ashamed.

But God wants us to let go of shame after we repent from and confess our sin. To not accept his forgiveness suggests that we think our standards are higher than God’s! Yet Scripture assures us that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). It also tells us if we forget God has cleansed us, we won’t mature spiritually (2 Peter 1:9).

Those overcome with shame often think they’re worse than other people. But at the judgment, they will see that many others shared their sins, just as 1 Corinthians 10:13 says. So if they never succeeded in fully realizing God’s complete forgiveness and cleansing on this earth, they will see it with their own eyes in heaven.

10. Will heaven be boring?

Bored cherubs in heaven in Sistine Madonna by Rafael [Public Domain]
Rafael: Bored cherubs in Sistine Madonna

For instance, in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer said that Miss Watson “went on and told me all about the good place. She said all a body would have to do there was to go around all day long with a harp and sing, forever and ever. So I didn’t think too much of it. But I never said so.”

The idea that we’ll do nothing in heaven but sing comes from a misunderstanding of Revelation 4:8, which describes “four living creatures” with six wings who “day and night… never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’” But “never cease” means they sing this regularly, not that they sing forever in a loop. Indeed, they give commands (Revelation 6:1-2), sing different songs (14:3), and distribute bowls to angels (15:7).

Of course humans will worship God. But our primary occupation will be reigning with Christ forever in the magnificent new heavens and earth (Revelation 22:5).

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Will there be Sorrow in Heaven over Unsaved Children? Part 2

In Will there be Sorrow in Heaven over Unsaved Children? Part 1, I began to address a reader’s question about sorrow in heaven over unsaved children and I listed three approaches to it that don’t work. In this post, we’ll look at the first of three consideration that shed light on the issue.

3 Helpful Considerations About Sorrow in Heaven

The first consideration pertains just to parents of adult unsaved children, while the next two in Part 3 address knowing any unsaved loved one is in hell.

1) Blood Relationships with Saved & Unsaved Children Will Change

That the question asked about a parents’ sadness over adult unsaved children is due, perhaps, to the fact that most people view parental love as the one that mourns loss most.  On earth, there are some complicating factors that make loss of children especially difficult. Some of these complicating factors will be replaced or disappear in the afterlife, and that may lessen sadness so that it becomes more like the loss of other loved ones.

a) The Instinctual Part of the Parent-Child Bond May Cease

When I was 11, I excitedly told schoolmates on the bus that our family dog, a German shorthaired pointer named Gayleene, had puppies. Two children wanted to see the puppies, so I brought them home. I opened the front door to the smell of damp fur and milk. I beckoned them to follow. But as I rounded the corner from the short hallway into the living room, I heard a roar and froze. Gayleene half rose, the four speckled puppies attached to the front of her chest dropping loose with a sucking sound while others further back kept feeding. Her roar—a mix of a howl and deep growl—emanated from her dappled chest, pulsed through her tautly stretched neck, and reverberated out her whiskered mouth opened in an “O” just below quivering nostrils. Her chocolate ears pressed back and her brown eyes bulged wild and wide.

I put out my hand to stop the others. “This isn’t a good idea,” I whispered, and they nodded, turned, and left. I shut the door and peeked back around the corner. Gayleene had lain back down and was busy nuzzling her little ones back into place so they could feed. I gingerly approached and sat in a chair not far from her while I pondered the sudden change in her personality. She ignored me, apparently not considering me a danger.

That day I learned that female animals have a strong instinct to protect their young. Later, I learned that both male and female humans generally have such an instinct, too. The Bible calls this instinct God-given and observes that ostriches have less of it (Job 39:14-17) while she-bears are ferociously endowed (Proverb 17:12).

The Mama-bear Instinct May Cease

Sorrow in heaven over unsaved children

Detail of Book of Life in “Last Judgement” by Michelangelo (Web Gallery of Art: Public Domain, Wikimedia)

Instincts are behaviors that are innate rather than learned. In fact, the Bible likens people who act on passions alone to animals who act on instinct rather than reason (2 Peter 2:12; Jude 1:10). Thus instincts seem to be part of our physical makeup—our “flesh and blood”—rather than our minds. Since “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 15:50), I suspect that purely physical instincts that have no use in the next life will disappear with our earthly bodies.

This may include whatever is purely instinctual about the parent-child bond; for example, the mamma-bear instinct that causes parents to rush to defend their children. In humans, this protecting instinct ensures a family’s survival on earth, but such a drive is unneeded in the coming kingdom where there is no more death. If that instinct to protect our own disappears, then it would no longer drive emotions to greater heights.

b) Corruptions of Parental Love Will Cease

Although the instinctual parts of the parent-child relationship may desist, love will not, for “Love never ends” (1 Corinthians 13:8).  On the other hand, certain corruptions of parental love that increase grief on earth will cease. Fire will reveal and burn these away (1 Corinthians 3:12-15):

  • The pursuit of immortality through offspring that causes the loss of an only child to also be the loss of preserving one’s memory
  • The pursuit of self-worth through being needed that results in loss of purpose when children leave or die
  • The idolizing of children that may result in abandoning God if family expectations aren’t met (Matthew 10:38)

c) A Sibling Relationship Will Replace the Parent-Child Relationship

Jesus considered blood ties to have less significance than spiritual ties (Matthew 10:37; 12:49-50). This particularly makes sense when we consider that in the kingdom of heaven our family relationships actually change, especially the parent-child relationship, because God adopts those who are born again (Romans 8:23). When someone adopts a child, her parental ties to the birth parent end.

In the kingdom of heaven, everyone will be a child of God the Father, and the earthly parent-child relationship will become a heavenly sibling relationship.

Sorrow in Heaven over Unsaved Children? Part 2: 3 Ways Blood Relationships Change Click To Tweet

In This Series “Will there be Sorrow in Heaven over Una)a)saved Children?”:
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Will There Be Sorrow in Heaven over Unsaved Children? Part 1

A reader asks about sorrow in heaven over unsaved children:

If we who are in Heaven have memory of our life back on earth, how can there be no mourning from parents who may not see their children in Heaven? But if our children are not with us in Heaven that would be a painful reminder that seems to interfere with Revelation 21:4.
Steve

The Problem of Sorrow in Heaven

This is a great question, Steve. I assume your question is about adult children since most theologians think young children are saved, as Dr. Clay Jones argues in Why Does God Allow Evil?: “Although Christians differ about whether all children will be saved, many of them, including apologists such as Norman Geisler, William Lane Craig, and Greg Koukl, have argued that all who die before the age of accountability (see Deuteronomy 1:39) will be saved” (2017: 90).

Revelation 21:4 says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” How can there be no more mourning or crying if Christian parents in heaven remember beloved unsaved adult children?

God’s Heart on Sorrow in Heaven

Let me begin with a story. One evening our foster daughters’ rebellion discouraged my husband and me greatly. We’d poured our lives into them, we’d done everything we knew to help them, we’d sacrificed for them, but they weren’t leaving destructive ways. So my husband went walking on the hill next to our house among the frames of partially constructed homes so he could pray. With tears in his eyes, he asked, “Lord, what if these girls never come to know you?” Immediately, the words came to mind: “Then you will know the fellowship of my suffering” (Philippians 3:10). At that, we understood better what it is like for God to love those who reject him. That helped immensely.

When we talk about sorrow in heaven over lost loved ones, it’s important to remember God’s heart. He desires all to be saved (Ezekiel 18:23; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). Jesus grieved over the lost (Matthew 23:37; Luke 19:41). He told us, “there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). The Bible describes Jesus as “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,” which assures us that “as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” (Isaiah 53:3; 2 Corinthians 1:5). He shares our sorrow over lost loved ones.

3 Common But Unworkable Approaches to Sorrow in Heaven

Sorrow in Heaven depicted in Last Judgement

“Last Judgment” by Michelangelo (Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Here are three common approaches to this problem.

Sorrow in Heaven Approach 1: Universalism

Some argue like this: Perfect joy in heaven cannot exist if loved ones reside in hell; the Bible says there will be perfect joy in heaven; therefore, everyone must go to heaven. But universalism contradicts Jesus’ teaching about eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46) and about salvation coming only through him (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).

Sorrow in Heaven Approach 2: Memory Loss

This argument also contends that we cannot have perfect joy in heaven if loved ones are in hell, but resolves the problem by saying we won’t remember our earthly lives or even that we had children. But what would it mean for Jacob to be “gathered to his people” if he doesn’t know who “his people” are (Genesis 49:33)? Also, how can the deeds of the saved follow them (Revelation 14:13) if they don’t remember those deeds? To remember Corrie ten Boom’s faithfulness in the face of the Holocaust requires remembering the evil of the Holocaust, too.

Sorrow in Heaven Approach 3: Beatific Vision

The saved shall see God face-to-face and know him fully (1 Corinthians 13:4). We call this seeing and knowing the “beatific vision.” Particularly during the middle ages, many believed that in heaven the saved gaze and contemplate on God eternally. They’re so filled with joy that they’re unconcerned with anything else, including the lost. But Revelation 6:9-10 says “the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God” cried out, “how long before you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on earth?” Also, in Jesus’ parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), the rich man is in Hades, yet Abraham knows his history and talked to him over a chasm.

There you have three common approaches that don’t work. In Part 2 and Part 3, I’ll cover three considerations about sorrow in heaven that do work. Part 2 addresses just the issue of parents knowing adult children are in hell. Part 3 addresses any unsaved loved ones.

Sorrow in Heaven over Unsaved Children? Part 1: 3 Common Approaches that Don't Work Click To Tweet

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