Spiritual Questions.
Answers to some popular questions.
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Heaven Series Questions
In January of 2008 we collected questions through our website, allowing people to ask all of their questions related to Heaven. Throughout the series we tried to answer every question that was submitted. Here are the questions and answers.
How will those who died before Christ’s resurrection receive salvation & get into heaven?
The people who died prior to Christ’s resurrection were saved the same way as New Testament believers. Faith is the key. Eph. 2:8 tells us that we are saved by faith. In the Old Testament, Abraham is a great example of being righteous as a result of his faith. Paul says of Abraham that his faith was credited to him for as righteousness (Romans 4:18-25).
Please explain the rewards we can receive in heaven & how we earn them in this life. Also explain loss of reward.
Rewards in heaven are based on motive, in other words, why did we do what we did for God is the point. Was it so that we might look good to others or be thought of as a spiritual person for doing certain things, or was it because we love God and desire that He be glorified in what we do. Paul explains this process in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. Loss of reward is a result of improper motive as well as not taking advantage of opportunities God gives us to serve Him with the proper motive.
Pre-resurrection heaven was a place called “paradise” in Hades. Please explain Hades & the use of this word in the Apostles Creed recited by many churches today.
The word “Hades” does not appear in the Apostle’s Creed of the third and fourth centuries A.D. Jesus mentions paradise to the thief on the cross and this was a reference to heaven. Paradise and heaven were terms used to mean the same place.
Many churches teach that baptism is a requirement for salvation. Can we enter heaven without being baptized?
Baptism is a step of obedience for every believer and it has more to do with identification than salvation. A person enters heaven based on faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, believing in His death, burial and resurrection for the forgiveness of sin and restoration of a right relationship with God.
Will we be reconnected with our Husband/Wife in heaven?
Marriage is an institution that God ordained on earth. If both husband and wife are believers they will be in heaven, recognize each other and know one another, but they will not be married because the relationship believers will have with God will be complete in heaven.
I have had a few members of my family commit suicide. One of them, I am sure was a christian. Do people that commit suicide go to heaven?
Salvation is given to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Salvation is a gift from God and people do not do good things to earn salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation comes from God and He justifies (an act of God whereby He declares the sinner righteous while still in a sinning state) each believer. Because of that truth, believers who commit suicide do go to heaven because their salvation is dependent on God and His truth.
Are we the same age in Heaven as what we are when we die??
The Bible does not specify how old believers will be in heaven.
How will we recoginze our family, friends, and love ones in heaven? Will we be with our earthly spouse in heaven? Will we know “who didn’t make it?”
- Believers will be recognized in heaven and if your family, friends and loved ones are believers, you will recognize them.
- Marriage is not necessary in heaven because our relationship with God will be complete.
-Believers will be present at the White Throne Judgment spoken of in the book of Revelation where all unbelievers will be judged. As unfortunate as it may seem, believers will recognize those whom they knew on earth who will not spend eternity in heaven. That is why it is important for all believers to be proactive in sharing their faith with others.
I have a fear that if I sin and don’t ask for forgiveness right away, if I die I will be sent to Hell even though I have been a believer all my life and try to live my life following Jesus. So if you are saved and for exapmle pray for forgiveness at night then the next day you lie to your mom and then die an hour later..what will happen?
A believer can be secure in the fact that the moment they have placed their faith in Christ for salvation, they are saved for all eternity. Salvation does not depend on people; salvation comes from God as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9). The people who believe what Jesus did on the cross for their forgiveness are eternally saved from the moment they place their faith in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-14).
A believer will continue to make mistakes and commit sin. However, the Bible tells us that the believer has the Holy Spirit to convict them of sin (John 14 & 16). When the Holy Spirit convicts the believer of sin, the believer can confess that sin immediately (1 John 1:9). If a believer dies with unconfessed sin, they will still go to heaven.
Where do our pets go?
I love my dog - she is the best dog (and I have had many) that we have ever had. Animals were created for man, his dominion over them, and his friendship with them. Sin broke that relationship, which has caused us to the distinciton of wild animals and domesticated animals.
Animals do not posses souls like humans. When God breathed life into humankind the Bible says and man became a living soul, the Bible does not give the same distinction to animals (Genesis 1-2). The soul of humankind is what is redeemed at salvation. Animals are created with a spirit (disposition - instinct, etc.) and a body. They do not have a soul.
Animals will inhabit the New Earth mentioned in the book of Revelation.
I have a son who died after only fours hours of life on earth. I know he will be in Heaven, knowing that truth enabled me to live after his death. My question is, will I recognize him and, if so, how?
Yes, we will recognize our loved ones in heaven. However, the Bible does not specifically address the identity of infants or unborn children lost to miscarriage or abortion. We can only take comfort in that the Lord will make known their identity.
I know God doesn’t make mistakes, so why is he going to create a new Heaven and new Earth and destroy the present one’s?
The reason for a new creation of Earth and Heaven is because of sin. What Jesus accomplished on the cross has given all humankind the opportunity to be restored back to God relationally through the forgiveness of sin. The complete restoration of all of creation will occur when God creates the New Heaven and the New Earth (Revelation 22-23).
If there is only one way to get into Heaven, why are there so many different religions that do NOT preach and believe in Jesus and the resurrection. What happens to all those people? Does God only accept the Christian faith?
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). It is only through faith in Christ that one enters heaven. Other so-called faiths exist because people are unwilling to believe and accept that truth. Therefore, because of what Jesus has said, all those who do not accept or believe what He said will not enter heaven.
Is heaven a place in the sky or is heaven all around us? If we marry a second time, after a death of our first spouse, how will we deal with both loves?
Marriage is tied to the earth only. The reason that marriages will not be necessary in heaven is because our relationship with God will be complete and we will enjoy relationships with other believers as part of God’s family.
What does scripture say about differences in reward when you go to heaven..or does it even acknowledge there is a “better” view?
There is a reward system in heaven and we will be rewarded based on our motive behind why we did what we did for God. If what we did was for ourselves, then the works we thought would be good will be burned. But if we did things for God out of love for Him, then we receive rewards (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15).
When we get to Heaven is it like another earth where we are born again into another life? Also, is it where some of us just become angels on earth?
Believers do not become angels. The Bible talks about heaven as the place where the Lord is present and when believers die they are immediately in the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:1-10).
The book of Revelation talks about how believers will serve and worship God and enjoy Him forever (Revelation 22).
I underwent surgery in 2005 on my cervical spine, which two days later resulted in a grand hematoma requiring more surgery. It was at that time before the the doctors’ could clear the problem that I passed away for some time. All I remember was traveling down a bright white corredore to the open arms of the Father. The intense smell of rain, the comforting warmth and sense of total peace is what I remember to this day, along with the thought that He had a plan for me that I have yet to fulfill. I know I passed on as the doctors’ admitted it, but is what I felt in your judgement real or a dream?
It is entirely possible that your situation was real. It would be presumptuous on anyone’s part to say otherwise. In fact, the Apostle Paul speaks of a man (some scholars believe the man Paul is speaking about is himself – 2 Corinthians 12:1-4) who died and went to the third heaven. Although he was instructed not to speak of what he saw, this incident would affirm of the possibility of such an event happening even today.