The truth is we are closer than you might think and while no one knows the exact date, we can know the signs of how close we are if we understand the key predictions in the Bible. It could very well happen in our lifetime or it may not depending on our age, but the bridge to the end is getting shorter and shorter.

There are signs that are appearing today that lead us to believe that we are getting close. What are they? There are global signs of world chaos and disasters, spiritual signs of apathy and deceptive teaching, and individual signs of increasing evil and godlessness. As they increase, we draw closer to the end of the world as we know it today.

God gives us prophecy not just to satisfy our curiosity but also to call us to live for Him. If we do that, we wil be prepared. Specifically, we prepare by becoming a Christian by faith alone in Jesus alone, being spiritually ready and watching for Jesus Christ’s return, living a life that pleases God, by staying faithful to the truth of the Bible despite all the trends that suggest otherwise, and stay connected with other believers at church who are trying to live for God.

When we die, our body goes to the ground, but our soul and spirit (immaterial) immediately stand before Jesus to face judgment. For Christians, we stand before God at the judgement seat of Christ and because we are already forgiven are judged for our good works and then enter heaven with the appropriate reward for eternity. For non-Christians, we stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment and because we are not forgiven are judged for everything we have done and are sentenced to the Lake of Fire with the appropriate level of punishment there for eternity.

In the afterlife, we will be assigned new eternal bodies and spend eternity in either the presence of God and His grace and love (which is heaven) or away from the presence of God’s love and grace (which is the Lake of Fire).

That’s a great question.  Matthew 24, known as the Olivet Discourse because it was delivered on the Mount of Olives is Jesus description of the seven year tribulation (along with the events leading up to it in the view of some).  The Book of Revelation written by the Apostle John, the last surviving apostle of the original 12, wrote about the seven year tribulation in Revelation 6-19.  When you compare the two, there is a lot in common.  In fact, in my research I came across an excellent paper by Thomas Ice (Liberty University) where he draws amazing comparisons between Revelation 6 and Matthew 24:5-11.  The difference is that Matthew writes about it more from a Jewish perspective while Revelation does so from more of a Gentile perspective.

Great question.  When the rapture occurs, there will be no Christians left immediately afterwards.  But there will be many people who have heard about the Rapture (from other Christians, the “Left Behind” book and movie series, and the like) or heard the gospel who will put the pieces together and figure it all out.  They will realize they missed it then.  But others will likely come up with lots of speculation about our disappearance along the lines of “Good riddance to those progress-inhibitors” or “they were removed by FILL IN THE BLANK HERE.”  Because people will become Christians during the seven year tribulation that follows the rapture, it makes sense that some of them were people who knew about this event and have complete clarity on the fact that Christians have been taken to be with the Lord in heaven.

Great question!  You are 100 percent right that for a Christian, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  When a Christian died before the resurrection of Jesus on Easter, they were translated to Abraham’s bosom (see Luke 16:19-31).  We learn from that parable that both believers and unbelievers are there, though their experience was radically different and they were separated by a wide chasm.

Today, since Christ’s resurrection all believers (OT Saints and NT Christians) are in heaven in their immaterial beings (i.e. Soul and spirit).  At the rapture, they will have a new glorified body assigned to their immaterial and be fully renewed.

I say all that because the fate of a non-Christian at death parallels this but with completely different realities.  Immediately after death, their immaterial goes to the anguish side of Abrham’s bosom.  While Christians are no longer there, non-Christians are there, still awaiting their new bodies and their final judgment.  This is called death and hades and they are in torment even now.  That will occur at the Great White Thorne Judgment in the future, after the 1,000 year reign of Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom.

So, both believers and unbelievers immediately upon death have their immaterial selves go to the first step of their final destinies.  Believers (today) to heaven and unbelievers to death and hades or the punishment side of Abrham’s bosom which will eventually be translated to the Lake of Fire after the Great White Throne Judgment takes place.

Great question!  To answer your question, let’s begin by looking at the start of the 1,000 year reign of Jesus on earth at His Second Coming (aka The Millennial Kingdom).  When Jesus comes to earth, we see in Revelation 19 and other places that He fights the final battle of Armageddon and defeats all of His enemies.  At that moment, the only people left on earth are those who survived the seven-year Tribulation period because they were Christians.  Even though all Christians are taken at the Rapture seven years earlier (at the start of the seven-year Tribulation), many people become Christians during this seven-year “hell on earth” and those who survive will constitute the very first citizens of the Millennial Kingdom of God on earth.

These are the people who are ruled and reigned over by Jesus along with all Christians and Old Testament saints.  As the 1,000 years progress, they marry, have children, and live long lives.  To live for 100 years will be considered a short life, and sin will be held in check by Jesus as He rules the world.

The children of these people will not all believe in Jesus, even though He is ruling the earth during their entire lifetime.  Those that do not believe in Jesus will be deceived by Satan one final time (Revelation 20:7-10) and will march to Jerusalem to encamp around it for war, which is amazing to consider.  They are the ones who will be destroyed by Jesus and will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment and thrown into the burning lake of fire and sulfur.

This is a sad reflection on humanity and our sinful nature.  Even when Jesus rules us in person, we have the propensity to reject Him.  It is also a great reflection of the love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus to forgive us when we put our faith in Him.

Thankfully, this final event will usher in a perfect eternal state with a new heaven and a new earth.

Great question!  Yes, I believe that we will recognize and know the people we knew here on earth in heaven.  The Apostle Paul said, "Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" in 1 Corinthians 13:12.  So we will know and be known by others in heaven.  Our appearance will change, because God will give us new bodies, similar to Jesus' resurrection body.

King Saul recognized the prophet Samuel when the witch of Endor summoned Samuel from the realm of the dead (1 Samuel 28:8-17). When David’s infant son died, David declared, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23). David assumed that he would be able to recognize his son in heaven, despite the fact that he died as a baby. In Luke 16:19-31, Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich man were all recognizable after death. At the transfiguration, Moses and Elijah were recognizable (Matthew 17:3-4). In these examples, the Bible does seem to indicate that we will be recognizable after death.

Also, 1 John 3:2 says that we will “be like him [Jesus]; for we shall see him as he is”.  Just as our earthly bodies were of the first man Adam, so will our resurrection bodies be just like Christ’s (1 Corinthians 15:47). “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).  Many people recognized Jesus after His resurrection (John 20:16, 20; 21:12; 1 Corinthians 15:4-7). If Jesus was recognizable in His glorified body, we also will be recognizable in our glorified bodies.  Being able to see our loved ones is great, but heaven is ultimately about God more than us.

While our relationships will be different with people (like, for example, we will no longer be married in heaven per Matthew 22:30), we will recognize others and get along perfectly, even with people that we may not get along with now.  That’s because there is no sin in heaven and that means no reason for anyone to be upset with anyone else!

I hope that helps.

Warmly,

Vince