if heaven is going to be a place of....?

Question

a place of no sorrow, no sadness, then will we have any memory of what took place on earth? what i mean is, could u go to heaven and be happy knowing that your family is destined to spend eternity in hell being tortured? or will we simply not know our family from anyone else? what do you guys think?

Answer 1

>>Will we have any memory of what took place on earth?

Jesus taught that we will have memory of our life after death. Jesus told of a certain rich man and a beggar named Lazarus who when they died one went to hell and the other to heaven (a.k.a. Abraham's Side), respectively. In this passage Jesus alludes to the knowledge one has in the afterlife as to memory of the previous. The following is the account, notice specifically verses 25 and 28:

Luke 16:19-31
19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' 25 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' 27 "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 30 "'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Abraham, in verse 25, told the rich man, "Son, remember that in your lifetime," alluding to the fact that the rich man could remember his former time on earth. Then in verse 28 the rich man responded with concern for his family by saying, "for I have five brothers," exposing his knowledge of his previous time and current affairs of life on earth. If Jesus is to be trusted, then it seems as if Jesus believed that people have memory of their life on earth even after they pass into the next, whether heaven or hell, and so we can conclude that they do.



>>What i mean is, could u go to heaven and be happy knowing that your family is destined to spend eternity in hell being tortured? or will we simply not know our family from anyone else? what do you guys think?


The Bible speaks of "torment" and not "torture" in hell. Which at first glance may not seem to be a big difference but is significant when you see what each word originally meant. Torment in the greek is the word Basanos and literally means a condition of retribution, toiling in distress. Whereas torture in the greek is Tumpanizo which means to beat (like a drum or tympany) to death and is used to describe the believers of God who were beaten to death for their faith in God (Hebrews 11:35).

To be in hell is to be in eternal distress (torment), under judgment and wrath from God because of His perfect justice. Basically, receiving what has been duly earned because of our sins (breaking God's commands). If one were to go to heaven while his family went to hell, there would be no sadness, but perhaps pity, for their plight since it will be after God's perfect judgment. They will receive punishment to the degree of their works done while in the body. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." If God is all good he must see that justice is served. What would you think of a judge who just let lawbreakers go free?

Look back at Luke 16:25, "Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.'" The rich man received what he deserved. Verse 28 shows the pleading of the rich man for Lazarus to return to, "Let him warn them [my family], so that they will not also come to this place of torment."

An interesting question at this point is why do people go to hell anyway?

"It is appointed man once to die and after that to face the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)

A very popular assumption is that if my good outweighs my bad then I should be OK when I get there. "I'm a pretty good person, and I think God is going to take that into consideration." But what would concern me is this: How good is good enough? Where is the line drawn to let me know if I really am OK?

The Bible gives a test for this goodness and it is called the 10 Commandments.

Do you think you have kept the 10 Commandments? Have you ever told a lie? Ever stolen something? Ever coveted? Ever lusted? Ever used God's name in vain? Ever disobeyed your parents? Has God always been first in your life?

I've broken all of them.

Standing before God, would He find you innocent or guilty of breaking His commands? He will find you guilty if you have broken even one. If guilty, would He send you to Heaven (reward) or hell (punishment)?

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23).

None of us can measure up to the standard of God's righteousness. You are guilty (and so am I) of sinning (breaking His laws) against God Himself, and, because you have a conscience, (con-with, science-knowledge) you have sinned "with knowledge." Isn't it true that every time you lied, stole, lusted, etc., that you knew it was wrong? I knew it every time.

Some more bad news though. You have actually angered God by your sin and are made an "enemy of God in your mind through your wicked works," (Colossians 1:21) This news scared me. If God is all powerful and was able to create the entire universe out of nothing, I know I certainly didn't want to be His enemy.

People go to hell because they have broken God's Laws and in order for God to be good He must be just and punish all lawbreakers (you, me and the whole world).

So that's the bad news.

The Good News is...even though we broke the law... Jesus (God in flesh) paid our fine.

The Bible tells us there is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood. (Hebrews 9:22) And so Jesus shed His for us on the cross... And we can trust Him and what He did because He rose from the dead. No one else has power over death.

In response to Him you should Repent: You as a fallen human are a rebel who must lay down his arms, which are sins, surrendering to God, saying you are sorry, realizing you have broken His law, and are ready to start life over again (being born-again)–that is the only way out... This process of surrender is what God calls repentance. "Now he commands all people everywhere to repent...” (Acts 17:30) You must cry out to Him for mercy, turn away from your sins, and He will give you full pardon, for all sins past, present and future.

And place your Faith in Him: Be faithful to follow after Jesus and obey His commands. Read the Bible daily and do His will. “He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins..” (1 John 1:9)

God does not want you, or anyone, to perish. He is rich in mercy and compassion, and has provided a way for you to be forgiven. He has invited you to come to Him for a FULL PARDON and receive the free gift of Eternal Life. You cannot earn it, and you don't deserve it, but God is offering it to you as proof of His love for you.

Thanks for reading this incredibly long response. I hope it was helpful.

Answer 2

Those destined for eternal life will retain their memory, how else will everyone know better than to question their God's judgements again ( like it is written in the christian bible )? The truth, according to the christian bible ( which I am convinced that very few christians actually read ), is that there does not exist a place of everlasting torment. "The wages of sin is death". The christian bible teaches that the sinful are destroyed forever with no hope of everlasting life. Their only torment comes during their judgement. The christian God is merciful and just, remember? What can a person do in a measly 70 - 80 years of life on this Earth to deserve to be tortured for an eternity non-stop. After about 892 billion years I would think that the punishment no longer fit the crime. A parent can only punish his child so much before onlookers lose respect and love for the parent. This is exactly what would happen.

p.s. there are many, many scriptural proofs that support this fact. Look for yourself, don't blindly worship a brain-washing, memory-erasing, tormenting God.

Answer 3

Doesn't it say something in the Bible in reference to our questions being answered in Heaven? If that is in the Bible, and not just from a message I've heard, then we must be able to remember our past in order to have the questions answered. All of our sadness will be overtaken by the presence of God. The best approach obviously is to work hard to bring all your family to the kingdom so that it's not an issue. But it is a somber thought. With all the joy and love that will be in heaven though, I don't think we'll have much time to agonize over family and friends that didn't accept Christ.

Answer 4

Thankfully, the Bible tells us that Hell is not a place of eternal torment, but that when Hellfire comes at the end of the Millennium, it will completely consume all sinners, including Satan himself. The wages of sin is death, not eternal life in Hellfire. The idea of Hell being a place of eternal torment comes not from the Bible, but from ancient Greek and Roman mythology.
This is how the Bible lays out what will happen between now and the end of the Millennium:
Christ will return for his people in a loud, visible way that no one on Earth can possibly miss. There will be no "secret" rapture. The saved dead will be raised first, then we who are living will be caught up into the clouds. The wicked living will be slain by the brightness of His coming, and the wicked dead will remain dead until the end of the Millennium. During the Millennium, the Earth will be dark and void of all life. Satan will be imprisoned on this Earth, and he will be lonely and miserable because he won't have anyone to tempt. At the end of the 1000 years, Jesus will return with His saved and all the angels. He will land the New Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives after He has flattened it into a plain. The wicked dead of all ages (that's a LOT of people!) will be resurrected with the same mortal bodies they had before. They will stand before God for judgment. The saved in the New Jerusalem will participate in the judgment of the lost. Every person will have an opportunity to see how their loved ones continued to reject Christ throughout their lives, despite the pleadings of the Holy Spirit. Each person will be able to see the justice of God's judgments, and they will have to admit that God was right to judge as He did. The walls of the city will be made of transparent gold, allowing the righteous to look upon the wicked, including loved ones. This may cause sadness, until it's all over.
Satan will then lead the wicked to attack the Holy City, but at that point, God will rain down fire (Hellfire) from above and it will completely consume all sinners. Those with few sins will be destroyed quickly, while the Hitlers of the world will suffer longer, but they will all be destroyed permanently, including Satan. The fire will not burn forever, but it will be a very intense heat, and will eventually burn itself out. When the Earth has been completely purged of sin and sinners, God will re-create the Earth exactly as He did before Adam and Eve sinned. It will be a beautiful paradise, and we will get to live in it. Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and we will begin to forget the sadness of sin that was before. The only reminder of sin will be the scars on Jesus hands, side and feet.

Answer 5

that's a good question, this is the best answer I can give you.

Yes there is a heaven, as the bible tells us that God created the heavens the the Earth. People who pass remember there life, and remember there loved ones. Because when we get to heaven we are suppose to know and see our family again. Our loved ones who have passed into everlasting life will be able to watch over us.

Answer 6

That is a good question!

I do know the Bible says that "Old things will pass away" so I figure that means we will not remember our lives on earth but we will know our family in heaven- those who are saved, we will recognize them. But yes as far as those we know who are not saved- I do know we wont be sad in heaven- there is nothing negative in heaven. So we wont feel any loss- or sorrow.

Answer 7

If there is no such thing as sorrow then you can't feel it, correct? So, even if you know that someone is going to hell, you won't be sad at all because there is no such thing as sadness in heaven....think about it....

():-D
shadowgirl


PS and you implied that we don't care for strangers as much as for your family, and you should love everyone....just to point out, you would still be sad even if a perfect stranger went to hell....of there was such an emotion as sadness in heaven....

Answer 8

Well, in the bible, it says that once you get to heaven you will be happy... You will remember the things that happened on earth, but it won't be on your mind much because you are with your heavenly father. He brings light into a place of darkness. Pray for your family. I know I will.

Answer 9

You will still be you. You will still remember. However, you will be able to see the whole picture, instead of your small part. You will be in the presence of the Most High - and in His presence there will be no sorrow - only joy. I trust God will do the just and right things. I trust Him when He says I will not sorrow. If it were not true, He would not have said so.

Answer 10

I don't know. Maybe in heaven you will have a different perspective on things that will allow you to simply accept certain stuff that once made you sad, as being necessary for the greater good.

Answer 11

That's a really tough question, but a great one at that. I don't know what it will be like, I can only read what is in the Good Word of God. I pray all my family is saved before I go on, but I can only leave it in Gods hands. Good luck with this one. God bless