The story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19–31) is further proof that the dead remember their earthly lives. The current heaven of Revelation 6 is temporary, though, giving way to the eternal state in Revelation 21. ![]() Their loud calls for vengeance indicate that, in the current heaven, we will remember our lives on earth, including the bad things. John is obviously in heaven (Revelation 4:1–2), and he sees and hears those who obviously remember the injustice done to them. They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’” (Revelation 6:9–10). In his apocalyptic vision, John sees sorrow in heaven: “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. The promise of wiping away every tear does not come until after the tribulation, after the final judgment, and after the re-creation of the universe. Both passages quoted above (Isaiah 65:17 and Revelation 21:1) refer to the eternal state, not the current heaven. The Bible speaks of “ a new heaven and a new earth” as our eternal, permanent home. When a believer dies, he or she goes to heaven, but that is not our final destination. It’s not that the memories have been wiped out, only that, in the sunshine, they don’t come to mind.Īlso, it’s important to make a distinction between the eternal state and the current heaven. A child who is scared of the shadows in his room at night completely forgets his nocturnal fear the next day on the playground. The new earth will be so spectacular, so mind-blowing, that everyone will quite forget the drudgery and sin of the current earth. The prophecy could be suggesting the wondrous quality of our new environment. ![]() The fact that the former things will not come to mind does not mean that our memories will be wiped clean.
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