Olive who lives in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia asks ...
Because all spirits look the same, how will we know each other in heaven?
Your question, Olive, acknowledges that we are all on a journey. It is a journey that does not end at the close of this life but continues on into the next. Death is the door through which we enter that as yet unseen world—heaven.
But because your question ‘how will we know each other in heaven’ arises from the presupposition that ‘all spirits look the same,’ it may be helpful for us to think about the presupposition before addressing the question.
The angels dispatched to our planet with special messages at various times were recognised by those they appeared to, an indication that they were all different in appearance. Mary, for example, knew who it was that brought her the news that she was the chosen vessel to bring the Saviour into our world. She knew the angel’s name. It was the name of a heavenly being, a spirit if you like, but a being with a heavenly body and with a voice that could be heard and responded to. She was not afraid of this heavenly messenger, only confused by the message being brought to her.
… God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be frightened, Mary,” the angel told her, “for God has decided to bless you! You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever. His Kingdom will never end.!” (Luke 1:26-33)
Gabriel[1] was also recognised by Daniel when the angel explained to him the meaning of a vision he had been shown regarding coming world events.
From something Jesus said to Peter on the eve of his crucifixion, we can reason that the angels themselves must be able to recognise each other. When a crowd of angry people armed with swords and clubs came to arrest Jesus, Peter was quick to take up his own sword to do battle with them. But because Jesus was going to the cross voluntarily he did not want Peter to act in this way. Matthew tells us what happened …
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus’ companions[2] reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:50-53)
Jesus’ reference to twelve legions of angels is noteworthy because, as John tells us, a group of Roman soldiers were part of the mob who came to arrest Jesus.
… Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of Olive trees. Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had gone there many times with his disciples. The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a battalion of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove. (John 18:1-3)
Jesus’ reference to ‘more than twelve legions of angels’ aligns the organization of the angelic beings with the way in which the Roman armies were organised. Roman soldiers were grouped into units called legions. One legion consisted of about 4,200 men. Within each legion smaller groups of soldiers operated. These smaller groups were known as cohorts. There were ten cohorts in every legion. Various roles were given to the soldiers within these groups—some were standard bearers, others were given charge of building and organizing the army camps, one called the tesserarius was responsible for issuing a different password each day, all knew their place in the ranks as the army fought in battle. Each legion was led by a senior officer known as a legatus. Each cohort was led by a junior officer called a tribunus militum.
It goes without saying that the Roman soldiers recognised each other and their leaders. How would they be able to follow orders if they could not distinguish their leader from others. Every soldier knew the soldier he was to fight alongside. What chaos there would be if all the soldiers looked alike!
And so it was, that Jesus confronts this angry mob of religious leaders and armed Roman soldiers with the assertion that he has at his disposal ‘more than twelve legions of angels.’ Because of Jesus’ reference to ‘twelve legions of angels’ in this context, may we not infer that the heavenly beings making up those angel legions recognised each other by their distinctive individual features.
And now what about us when we enter that heavenly realm, a real world but as yet unable to be seen with our faculty of sight limited to within a few kilometers of this planet. Let’s turn to what the Scriptures tell us about our transition from here to there. Using the analogies of changing houses and also of changing from an old set of clothing to a new set, Paul writes …
1For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down—when we die and leave these bodies—we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2We grow weary in our present bodies and we long for the day when we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3For we will not be spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies. 4Our dying bodies make us grown and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and have no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by everlasting life. 5God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
6So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7That is why we live by believing and not by seeing. 8Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:1-8)
Notice the contrastive word pictures that Paul draws for us in this scene. The pictures are of the kind of body we have now and of that we will have then.
Now, we live in an earthly body of flesh and bones, then we shall we shall be housed in a heavenly body. (vs. 1)
The body we live in now is a temporary home, the new home we receive at the moment of death will last for ever. (vs. 1)
The body we now live in is also pictured as clothing that is getting old. We are looking forward to passing on into the heavenly realm to receive our new set of clothing that will never wear out. (vs. 2)
Now, we are not just people wandering around without a body, we are spiritual beings housed in an earthly body. Then also, we will not be people drifting around without a body. “For we will not be spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies.” (vs. 3)
This picture is particularly relevant to your question Olive. In heaven ‘we will not be spirits without bodies,’ we will be clothed in, we will be at home in, our heavenly bodies. And in these bodies we will have retained our personal characteristics and be known to each other.
This may now raise the question of what this heavenly body may look like. We are given a brief glimpse in the account Matthew and Mark[3] give us of the occasion when Jesus revealed himself in heavenly form.
… Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance changed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became dazzling white. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Peter blurted out, “Lord, this is wonderful! If you want me to, I’ll make three shrines, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
But even as he said it, a bright cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him. Listen to him.” (Matthew 17:1-5)
Notice that in his transfiguration, the disciples still recognised Jesus. And when Moses and Elijah appeared in the scene, they came in their heavenly bodies with their individual personalities intact and were known to each other.
Another question that arises from your question Olive, is this … How will we discard our earthly bodies and receive our heavenly bodies if we are still alive when Jesus returns? Paul answers this question for us. You will recall that when Jesus returns he will touch down at the same place on the planet that he left from, the Mount of Olives.[4]
But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us. Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die. For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die.
When this happens—when our perishable earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die—then at last the Scriptures will come true:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. (1 Corinthians 15:51-58)
What a wonderful future awaits us. No wonder Paul found himself in a quandary as he writes to the Christians in Philippi …
For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better. Yet if I live, that means fruitful service for Christ. I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: Sometimes I want to live, and sometimes I long to go and be with Christ. That would be far better for me, but it is better for you that I live.
I am convinced of this, so I will continue with you so that you will grow and experience the joy of your faith. (Philippians 1:20-25)
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