Heaven (Part 10) – What Age Will We Be in Heaven?

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Heaven (Part 10)

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What about Enoch and Elijah who went to heaven without dying (Gen 5:24; 2Ki 2:11)?

1. Elijah’s body was nowhere to be found after he was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire (2Ki 2:16-17).
2. Enoch was translated to heaven without dying (Heb 11:5).
3. Translate v. – I. 1.  a. trans. To bear, convey, or remove from one person, place or condition to another; to transfer, transport; spec. to remove a bishop from one see to another, or a bishop’s seat from one place to another, and, in Scotland, a minister from one pastoral charge to another; also, to remove the dead body or remains of a saint, or, by extension, a hero or great man, from one place to another.  b. To carry or convey to heaven without death; also, in later use, said of the death of the righteous.
4. Neither Enoch’s nor Elijah’s bodies were left here on earth.
5. Corrupt flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven (heaven where God dwells, in this context) (1Co 15:50).
   1. Our bodies must be changed first (1Co 15:53).
   2. Therefore, we must conclude that the bodies of Enoch and Elijah were changed into incorruptible, resurrected-type bodies when they were taken from earth.
6. Enoch and Elijah are the exception to the rule.
7. The rest of us have to wait in heaven for our resurrected bodies.
   

   God can give His saints temporary bodies.

   1. Moses and Elijah appeared in physical form with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration (Mat 17:3).
   2. Peter wanted to make them each a tabernacle to dwell in, so it is apparent that he perceived them to have physical bodies (Mat 17:4).
   3. These were not their resurrection bodies (at least in Moses’ case) since the resurrection is on the last day (Joh 11:24).
   4. They must have been temporary bodies given to them for the purpose of appearing on earth (at least in Moses’ case).
      1. In the case of Moses, God would have had to give him a temporary body to appear in on earth like He does for the angels that sometimes materialize in human-looking bodies (Dan 9:21).
      2. In Elijah’s case, he might have appeared in his resurrection-type body since he never died and was taken bodily to heaven (see point above).
   5. The appearance of Moses and Elijah on earth was an exceptional and a never-again-repeated event.
   6. Therefore, these temporary bodies (if that’s what they were) appear to be the exception, not the rule for the rest of God’s children in the present heaven.

What age will we be in heaven?

1. In the new earth there will be no infants nor elderly people (Isa 65:17, 20).
   1. I assume it will be the same during our time in heaven prior to the resurrection and the creation of the new earth.
   2. Old age is described as “the evil days” (Ecc 12:1-7).
   3. If there are old people in heaven, they will not be decrepit and feeble as they were on earth due to the effects of sin.
   4. It stands to reason that a 4-celled human being who died shortly after conception would not remain that age for all eternity in heaven.
   5. Little children (Isa 11:6), sucking children (Isa 11:8), and weaned children (Isa 11:8) are mentioned in Isaiah 11 which sounds like a description of the new heavens and new earth (Isa 11:6-9 c/w Isa 65:17, 25).
      1. If there are children on the new earth, they may grow to maturity and be adults for the rest of eternity.
      2. It’s possible that God’s elect who died as children will be resurrected as children and get to experience the childhood they missed in this life.
      3. There will be no new babies created in the new earth though (Luk 20:34-35).
2. Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected at 33 years old.
   1. We will be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29) and made to be like Him when we are resurrected (1Jo 3:2; Psa 17:15; Php 3:21).
   2. In His glorified state, Christ has the dew of His youth (Psa 110:1-4).
   3. Therefore, since Christ was resurrected in a 33-year-old body and has the dew of His youth ― and we will be like Him ― it is reasonable to conclude that in heaven we will be in our early 30’s at the peak of our human lives.
3. It is possible that our resurrected bodies will be capable of looking different ages to different people.
   1. Jesus’ resurrected body appeared in different forms to different people (Mar 16:12).
   2. Our bodies are going to be made like unto His glorious body (Php 3:21), so it’s possible that our bodies will be able to change form based on who we interact with.
   3. It’s possible that we could look old to our grandchildren like they remember us and young to our grandparents like they remember us.