Matthew 27:52-53 “and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; (53) and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”
At the time of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, not all the Old Covenant saints went straight to heaven, for we see in the above passage of scripture that some stopped off to appear to those on the earth. This passage also reveals to us that these saints received their resurrected spiritual bodies at that time. Clearly these were saints that would have been recognized by those to whom they appeared in Jerusalem, and so we know that they appeared to family and friends who were alive at that time. And so these particular saints in heaven today are already in their resurrected bodies. So why did God do this? I have no idea, and I know of no one to whom this has been revealed. God knows, and the secret things belong to Him (Deuteronomy 29:29). We will know the answer to this question when we go to be with the Lord.
Genesis 5:24 “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”
2 Kings 2:11 “Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”
Also, not all Old Testament saints, when their time on earth came to an end, went to the place called Abraham’s bosom, for as revealed to us in the scriptures quoted above, we see that both Enoch and Elijah went straight to heaven without physically dying. How did God do that? Again I have no idea; I just know that all things are possible with God. And so there are two men who are in heaven today who have never experienced physical death, even though scripture tells us that it is appointed to every man once to die and then after that the judgement (Hebrews 9:27). Clearly even though it is appointed to every man once to die, God makes exceptions to that as well. Think about the individuals who were raised from the dead in the Old Covenant, as well as the individuals who were raised from the dead under the New Covenant. All those individuals eventually died again. And so, in their cases they each died twice and not once. God is God and He decides.
Mark 10:13-16 “Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. (14) But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. (15) Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." (16) And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.”
In closing this section, I need to make a comment about children. All children born into the earth are born of God, and from conception until the age of thirteen they remain His children. Our Lord Jesus confirmed that truth to us in the above quoted passage of scripture when He taught us that children were of the kingdom of God. And so when children die (from conception to the age of thirteen) they also depart to be with Christ in heaven. In fact, the vast majority of people in heaven today, are those who died when they were still under the age of thirteen. The reason children go to heaven just as the saints do, is because their spirits have never died, and their sins are washed in the blood of the Lamb. The reason they are washed from their sins is because God counts their sins as sins of ignorance, because He declares that children have no knowledge of good and evil (Deuteronomy 1:39). This principle has applied and continues to apply to all children, from Adam until the close of the age. And so, as we will see in a later section, children were treated differently even to the Old Testament saints in this regard. When I speak of those under the age of thirteen, I am also referring to those who have never mentally matured past that age, such as those who are mentally handicapped. All these are in heaven today.
Michael E.B. Maher
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