Answer
Many people say that the first thing they want to do when they arrive in heaven is see all their friends and loved ones who have passed on before them. That will indeed be a blessed time as believers reunite to fellowship, worship God, and enjoy the glorious wonders of heaven. One of the blessings is that we will know our friends and family members in heaven, and we will be known.
Our ability to recognize people in the afterlife is suggested in several passages of Scripture. At the transfiguration of Christ, Moses and Elijah made an appearance, and they were recognizable (Matthew 17:3–4). Though they had departed this world centuries prior, both Moses and Elijah remained distinct persons who had not lost their identity. In Luke 16:19–31, Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich man are all recognizable after death. King Saul recognized Samuel’s description given by the witch of Endor when she summoned Samuel from the realm of the dead (1 Samuel 28:8–17). And, when David’s young son died, David declared, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23). David’s words imply that he believed he would recognize his son in heaven. In all these examples, the Bible seems to indicate that, after death, we will still be recognizable to each other.
The Bible declares that, when we arrive in heaven, we will “be like him [Jesus]; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Just as our earthly bodies were of the first man, Adam, so will our resurrection bodies be like Christ’s glorious body (1 Corinthians 15:47; Philippians 3:21). “And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:49, 53). Jesus was recognizable after His resurrection (John 20:16, 20; 21:12; 1 Corinthians 15:4–7), so it stands to reason that we also will be recognizable in our glorified bodies.
Being able to see our loved ones is a glorious aspect of heaven. What a pleasure it will be to reunite with our loved ones and worship God with them in His presence for all eternity!
