Expert: Dr Don Howe - 10/26/2008

Question
is there scripture that states we will be known by others when we get to heaven?

Answer
Angelia,  Thank you so much for your question. We will know each other, we will recognize Jesus in Heaven, and we have our memory intact. There are verses in the OT and NT tells us about being conscious and having memory.
   2 Kings 22:20 states “Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.” The prophetess Huldah has told King Josiah are “gathered into thy grave in peace” and that his eyes will be to see but God is not going to let him see all the evil that will take place. If King Josiah could not see after the grave then he would not be in peace.
   Job 19:25-27 states “For I know [that] my redeemer liveth, and [that] he shall stand at the latter [day] upon the earth:  And [though] after my skin [worms] destroy this [body], yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; [though] my reins be consumed within me.” Job is positively affirmed that he would see God, and he would see God with his own eye in Heaven. We will see Jesus also and recognize Him in Heaven
   Matthew 7:21-23 states “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” These verses show that we will have memory in Heaven. Certain ones will have to recognize who Jesus is or they would not know to say Lord, Lord. They will also know if they prophesied in the name of Jesus and remember if they casted out devils, and done wonderful works. So we will have memory of deeds.
    Matthew 17:1-4 are great verses and states “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.  And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.” Here is the transfiguration of Jesus. Moses and Eljah came back from Abraham’s bosom and appeared to Peter, John, and James. Note they were able to recognize Moses and Eljah. And Peter had never seen them before this, but he recognized because he wanted to be build a tabernacle for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Note also that Moses and Elijah recognized Jesus and conversed with him.
   Matthew 25:31-33 shows who we are in Christ, we able to see Him, and recognize what reward we will receive at the Judgment seat of Christ, which is about rewards and not eternal punishment. States “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.” We have to see and recognize the Savior and recognize if we are sheep or goats.
   Matthew 25:35-40 states “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed [thee]? or thirsty, and gave [thee] drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took [thee] in? or naked, and clothed [thee]? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me.” Jesus talks about the poor, the hungry, etc. But the people that Jesus is talking to ask, “When did we see you sick, or hungry, etc?” They are searching their memories trying to remember when they saw Jesus sick or hungry. If they didn’t have any memory, why would Jesus bring up something like that for them to remember?
  Future recognition is seen for sure here.
  Luke 16:20-31 states “And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that [would come] from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” The rich man was able to lift his eyes and he saw Father Abraham. And after recognizing Abraham, he cried out to him, and spoke out in a loud voice to send Lazarus to cool his tongue as he had recognized he was in hell and torment. The rich had all of his faculties in Hell. The rich man had memory and could think. The rich man was able to hear what Abraham told him and comprehend it. So this definitely shows that there is life after death, we can see, recognize, talk, have memory, and comprehend instructions.
   Romans 14:10-12 states “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, [As] I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Paul is asking why do you judge your brother, or regard your brother with contempt? For we all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and we will remember what we did to our brother and then give an account to Christ. We will recognize Christ, be able to see, comprehend, and have memory of past events.
    1 John 3:2 states “but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” If we are to be like Christ then we will have the ability to remember, recognize other people, just like Christ will be able to remember and recognize them. He can see us and we will be able to see others. We will know him and know others.  
     There are many other verses one could look up, but I will leave that much up to you. So we will have full and complete memory on the other side of death's door. We will know and recognize all those that we knew in our earthly life. When these bodies of ours are resurrected, we are going to have wonderful new and improved bodies, and I just cannot see the Lord leaving out our memory, which will cause us to forget and abandon the people we spent our lives being with and loving. And keep in mind that if we are resurrected without memory, then we won't even know or recognize Jesus Christ. In fact without our memory, we won't even remember or know who God the Father is.

  I hope this helps you in your study.

May God Bless You This Day.

Dr. Don Howe, RN, PhD, ThD.