Will people in heaven be aware of loved ones?

Question: Will people in heaven be aware of loved ones who were not saved and are not in heaven?

Answer: The short answer is, ‘no.’ The Lord says He will wipe away every tear; it would be kind of hard to do this if for eternity we were thinking about loved ones who ended up in hell. “God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

“Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’

“And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

“He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.'” (Revelation 21:3-8)

Someone might bring up the fact about the rich man and Lazarus in the Bible: “ The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

“Then 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 in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.

“Then he said, I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.

“Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent. But he said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:22-31)

Here people in Hades could see, at least, on this occasion the other side. However, this was in Hades the place people were before Christ’s death on the cross. Now, it is different, there are not two sides to Hades because when Jesus died and rose again He took the believers to heaven where they are now.

Those in Hades who are left there are waiting for the Great White Throne Judgment which will take place and then the people in Hades will be cast into the Lake of Fire which is the second death. If you want a detailed study on this go to our study on hell, but here are some verses that might help also.

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.

“And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:9-15)

Once a person has been committed to the lake of fire we will not have contact with them. They will be eternally erased from our memory. Maybe as you are reading this you realize you are not saved, and you realize that we are talking about you. If you are the one who is not right with God, you will spend eternity separated from God and your loved ones who are saved.

It doesn’t have to be this way, though, you can be saved right now and avoid eternal regret, like the rich man Jesus spoke of. Here is what you need to do in order to be saved from your sins. Read: What does it mean to be born again? Going to heaven is as easy as A B C.

I hope this helps,

G.T. Panell

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