Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
Recently I was reading a secular novel. A man was dying and another man was trying to say "blessings" over the dying man to help him to move into heaven. The man saying the "blessings" said: "Help him to pass over and be with his relatives." They picture the next life as being like this life. But when we know the Bible, we have clues about the next life.
First, we will not be marrying and giving in marriage as in this life. The Sadducees came to Jesus to try to trick him on this subject. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection therefore they tried to prove their point of no resurrection by the following reasoning.
Mt. 22 ... 23The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 24Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 25Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 26Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 27And last of all the woman died also. 28Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. 29Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 30For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
31But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
So to think you will meet up with a dead husband or a dead wife in heaven and live together as you live on this earth is incorrect reasoning. That will not happen according to the Bible.
Also Isaiah said we won't even remember this present heaven and this present earth. It won't even come to mind. Isa. 65 ... 17For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
If we get to heaven, which would mean belonging to God and holding our faith in God to the end, I'm certain we won't be looking for people we knew on this earth for some of those people might not be in heaven and that would grieve us. There will be no sorrow in heaven, no tears. So it makes sense to me that they would not even come to mind in that new heaven and new earth spoken of by Isaiah.
Some people, even Christians, have such strange, fleshly ideas about heaven. Dead people do not watch over us who are living. Dead people are asleep when they die. (Jn. 11 & I Thess. 4) Death in Bible is likened unto "sleep". Time passes very quickly when we are asleep. We fall asleep and when we awaken we are often shocked to see that several hours have passed.
Concerning death, Paul says ... I Thess. 4 ... 13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (dead), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (precede) them which are asleep (them which are dead). 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Everything we think we know must be measured by what the Bible says about the issue.
My cousin, RB, died. His wife said she could picture RB and her brother-in-law in heaven having a beer and watching the Cowboys. (I was shocked that a Baptist could say such.) I thought it sounded more like being in hell than heaven if you had to be watching the Cowboy's football team because they are so bad.
Of course at this point, my dead cousin is not in heaven nor in hell ... He, like all dead people, is asleep and awaits the judgment like all dead people.
II Cor. 5:10 ... For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Heb. 9:27 ... it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment
We will be judged by God and by how God views what we do on this present earth. When we die, it is all over. We cannot accumulate any further credit, whether good or evil.
Therefore while we live, it is important to do that which God views as good for that is what we will be judged by for all eternity. And only by having the Holy Spirit can we know the will of God in the issues of this present life. (I Cor. 2)
Here is a picture from the Bible of the judgment seat of Christ ...
Mt. 7 ... Jesus says ... 21Not 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. 22Many 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? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
We have to be sure the "work" we do is authored by God by HIS Spirit. Man thinks all manner of things to be "good". But what does God think? For in the end this is all that matters.