Mike Novotny - Recognition and Memories in Heaven
Will we recognize people in heaven? Also, in heaven will we have memories of our time on earth? Revelation 7, so when John gets this glimpse of heaven, he says, "I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people, and language". Now how did John know they were from different tribes and peoples? They had to have some appearance to them, right? So one would think that we're still ourselves in heaven. You know, how does that look when we're a spirit without a body? I have no clue how that's all going to work out.
1 Thessalonians 4 says that, at least when Jesus returns, we're going to be caught up with Christians who've already died in faith. This is 1 Thessalonians 4:14: "We believe that Jesus died and rose again and we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. The Lord himself will come down, the dead in Christ will rise, and we will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and we will be with the Lord forever". So I think the answer to that question is yes, we will recognize Christians in heaven. The second question: in heaven, will we have memories of our time on earth?
Well, we know, same part of the Bible, Revelation 7, It says, "Never again will they hunger or thirst. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes". Revelation 7:17. So there couldn't be any memories that make us sad or heaven wouldn’t be heaven, right? There couldn't be any heartbroken, grief, sadness. There's a passage from Isaiah that says the former things will pass away because God will make all things new. So it's kind of my guess, don't write this one down, but either we just don't think about that at all because we're in the presence of... When my daughter... stream of consciousness answer here, did you pick that up yet? When my daughter Brooklyn was born, I, I did not think about my credit card debt. I saw something so beautiful that it totally like consumed my thoughts.
So I don't know, when you see God, do you think a lot about... remember my eighth-grade basketball year, Jesus? Like, I'm sure it's just so glorious and good, like your heart just explodes with joy. Or maybe, or maybe, God like helps you see his wisdom through all the ups and downs and you come to be grateful for every day you went through so the stuff that made you frustrated with God or mad at God or confused at God, when he reveals like what he was doing and you just come to praise him and trust him and glorify him even more and more, that's a possibility, too. But I couldn’t prove that one with a Bible passage.