Question of the Week: Do Babies Go to Heaven If They Die?

The hardest questions are the ones we don’t have a direct answer for. If it could be established, chapter and verse, then the question would have a simple answer. Because we don’t have a verse that directly states a yes or no, we have to use the same line of reasoning concerning whether pets are in Heaven. (Note: This isn’t comparing pets to newborn babies. The same line of reasoning is used to come to a biblical conclusion on that very same question.)

What do we know about God’s character?
Are there any Old Testament examples that mention infants in the afterlife?
Are there any New Testament examples that mention infants in the afterlife?

What Do We Know About God’s Character?

Beginning with the One with the most influence on our eternal destinies; if the character of God can be established as reliable, then the assumption that God would send unborn or newborn children to Hell would be inappropriate. If the only reason this question about the eternal state of infants is a lack of information, then we need to form conclusions off the information we actually have. In terms of alternatives, would it be a good thing for God to separate Himself forever from someone who never had the opportunity to make a decision to accept or reject Him? Those who would argue in favor of the idea of infants going to Hell would cite Psalm 51:5 mentioning our sinful natures as a part of us from the time of conception and therefore guilty before God. In response to this, Jonah 4:11 is cited as an example of God taking into consideration the fact that people who aren’t old enough to know their right hand from their left as worthy of His pity. The key in coming to proper conclusions about this point is the ultimate reality that everyone left wondering about the eternal state of their loved ones needs to fall back on. God will be their judge. He won’t punish the innocent. Of that much we can be certain.

Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
Genesis 18:25 (NKJV)

Are There Old Testament Examples that Mention Infants in the Afterlife?

During the time of King David, we are given a record of the good and the bad things he did throughout his life. In this collection of honest history, God judges David for committing adultery with a married man’s wife. One of the consequences included the child conceived from that adultery would die. When the prophet Nathan informed David of this, he prayed for the child to be spared through fasting and wearing uncomfortable clothing. The child finally died and David allowed himself to eat and wear normal clothing again. When asked about this, David’s perspective regarding the child is worth noting concerning this issue. David acknowledges the child has gone to the place of the dead. He also mentions that the place the child has gone, he himself would also go to. Unless we assume David thought he was going to Hell, it would be unbiblical to conclude from David’s statement as one of despair. He expected to see his child again after this life. He also expected to see his God after this life. If we put these ideas together, we conclude from the Old Testament that infants have a provision in the eyes of God that the finished work of the Messiah would ultimately cover.

And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”
2 Samuel 12:22-23 (NKJV)

Are There New Testament Examples that Mention Infants in the Afterlife?

During the earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, He went out of His way to describe children (on more than one occasion) as the kind of people Heaven belongs to. It would be nonsensical to conclude from Jesus’ statement that the people Heaven belongs to would never see it. It would also be inappropriate to claim that Jesus’ treatment of children is the exact opposite of how He’ll react to their presence as the Judge of all the Earth. Jesus’ example and teachings would both conflict with the assumption that children/infants who die would be unwelcome in His presence.

Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” 
Matthew 19:13-14 (NKJV)

People who experience the death of a child need comfort. Scripture is full of harsh realities that people don’t always want to hear, but this is not one of them. God’s character as the Judge of all the Earth wouldn’t judge the innocent. We have precedent in the Old Testament to conclude God sees children as worthy of His pity in the direct context of judgment. We have the observations of King David (that were never corrected) assuming his dead son went to the same place he expected to in the hereafter. We have the words of Jesus Himself describing Heaven as meant for children. And we also have the example of Jesus showing He isn’t the kind of person who would send them away from His presence. (The definition of Hell) Therefore, it is proper to conclude biblically that children who die will go to Heaven on the sole basis of God’s mercy.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

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Question of the Week: Will People Have Scars or Disabilities in Heaven?

The question is an excellent one because it comes from two completely appropriate assumptions. The first assumption is that Jesus’ glorified body is our model for what we’ll be like when we receive our glorified bodies. (1 John 3:1-3) The second assumption is that since Jesus had physical scars on His glorified body that came from His crucifixion, (John 20:24-29) we have physical scars that came from our time on this earth as well. So far, everything makes sense. However, in order for this conclusion to be valid, both assumptions need to be true. Is Jesus our model for what we’ll be like when we are resurrected? And did Jesus retain all of the physical scars He received during His earthly ministry post-resurrection?

Premise 1: We will be like Jesus in our glorified state.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
1 John 3:2 (NKJV)

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
Philippians 3:20-21 (NKJV)

So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
1 Corinthians 15:41-49 (NKJV)

So far, all of these passages would completely support this premise. John directly compares what we shall be to what we’ll see when Jesus is revealed. Paul notes in Philippians that Jesus will transform our bodies into His glorious body. And also in his first letter to the Corinthians, he directly states that we will bear the image of the Heavenly Man upon our resurrection. This premise is entirely biblical.

Premise 2: Jesus kept all of the scars He received on the Cross.

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:24-29 (NKJV)

This is the only passage we are given referring to Jesus retaining physical scars after His resurrection. When He appears to Thomas, three scars in particular are noted by the eyewitness account. He did, in fact, receive nails in His wrists and a spear wound in His side during His crucifixion. The problem is that these weren’t the only scars Jesus received. He was subjected to a full Roman Crucifixion. If you read William D Edwards’ book “On the Physical Death of Jesus of Nazareth” the Roman historians detail for us everything that entailed someone being crucified. To be crucified according to Josephus, Tacitus, and Julius Caesar’s Gaelic Wars, they describe it universally as a three step process. Stage 1 involved a Scourging at the hands of a Lecter. A Lecter was a professional torturer who would use a whip made of metal balls and shards of animal bones and teeth. They would whip someone to the point where organs were reported to be exposed. Most didn’t survive this stage of the process. Once you were reduced to a state without any skin and severe bloodloss, you would be handed over to the Roman Garrison who could do whatever they wanted with you. Most reports include them playing games like Hot-Hand or other forms of violation. The eyewitness reports of Jesus’ death detail that they put a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head, a robe on his back, beat Him with a makeshift scepter, and then tore off the robe to reopen the wounds of the scourging. (John 19:1-3, Mark 15:15-20, Matthew 27:26-31) Following this abuse from the Roman Garrison, they would then be required to carry their crossbeam a full mile to the site of their execution as their crime was announced on a banner in front of them to warn the rest of the city. (Matthew 27:32-33, Mark 15:20-22, Luke 23:26-32, John 19:17) This was the first stage. Stage two involved nailing the victim to the cross in a position where they’d have to pull up against the nails to breathe. Stage 3 began when the victim stopped moving, and thus wasn’t breathing. A deathblow was delivered to verify their death, which in Jesus’ case was a spear between his ribs. (John 19:31-37)

The only scars Jesus retained from the Crucifixion were during Stages 2 and 3. Isaiah’s prophecy as well as the Gospel’s descriptions of our Lord’s treatment described Him as unrecognizable as a human being. The Resurrected Christ wasn’t completely brutalized as a result of His Crucifixion. We are only told that the scars that Thomas demanded to see were shown to him. Which is what brings us back to how we will model this. Jesus’ scars in His wrists and His spear wound verified God’s Word to Thomas. It served a purpose. Likewise, it will remind the Jewish nation and all others for eternity what He did for us. (Revelation 1:7) God is glorified as a result. It is an assumption unsupported in the text we have of anyone else retaining their handicaps or injuries in a glorified state. We are only told about Jesus retaining specific wounds for a specific purpose. We do not share that purpose, therefore it should be concluded we will not share those wounds.

Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men; So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider.
Isaiah 52:13-15 (NKJV)

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

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Question of the Week: How should Christians respond to the events taking place in Afghanistan?

Whenever it comes to events like this, three things are taking place. We are reminded of the reality of persecution, the reality of worldly conflict, and the reality of predictive prophecy.

The Reality of Persecution

“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”
John 16:1-4 (NKJV)

Persecution is never something anyone looks forward to or desires to take place in their lives. To suffer for doing the right thing is the definition of injustice and will never be responded to without the natural emotions that accompany such abuse. Yet biblical author after biblical author mention joy, hope fulfilled, being produced from persecution. The reason for which was explained by our Lord Himself. Speaking initially of the Jews who would crucify Him and turn against those who followed Him, persecution both without and within the church has been a constant for those who genuinely desired an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. The reason for this is simple. They don’t know Him. When Jesus was persecuted, the hostility and distinction between God and mankind could be directed specifically at its source. With the physical absence of Jesus but the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit, that hostility is now directed towards those who love Him. Whether it is overtly hostile ideologies like Islam that are founded upon the denial of Jesus being who He claimed to be, or anything alongside it. The Spirit of Antichrist remains at work like the Apostle John said it would. (John 4:1-3) Those who oppose Christ will desire the oppression and death of those who stand for and with Him. This is not something we desire, but should anticipate like all Christians throughout history have and continue to endure for the same irrational reasons. Our response should be to be thankful for the freedoms we have while we have them. They can be taken away in moments. As we are seeing in nations closer to our own than we realize.

The Reality of Worldly Conflict

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (NKJV)

When we see military powers fail and others triumph, so much is read into so little that it feels like your own nation has been conquered. Instead of falling into despair, the Christian perspective towards warfare of any kind isn’t the reputation of our nation, but the means by which we wage war. We don’t invade our enemies. We talk to them. We don’t kill our enemies. We address their arguments against what we’re talking about. We don’t conquer. We convert. The more we focus on our war, the less the wars of the nations around us will serve as distractions from our job.

The Reality of Predictive Prophecy

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:3-14 (NKJV)

As we get closer to the return of our Lord, things like this will only grow more intense and frequent like the sorrows (literally birth pangs) described here. The advantage predictive prophecy gives us is first the opportunity to avoid being caught off guard by these things. If you expect something to happen, it won’t surprise you. Likewise, the purpose of predictive prophecy is to show that our God saw these things were going to take place a long time ago and it didn’t cause Him to panic and change His purposes for His church and this world. If He isn’t thrown off by these things, we shouldn’t either. Our trust in God. will be directly proportional to our understanding of how trustworthy He is. Use these times of uncertainty to know where yours takes place. Focus on the little things regarding your relationship with God and you’ll find they will come directly into play concerning the “bigger” things. Remember where your hope comes from, and live accordingly.

“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
Luke 21:28 (NKJV)

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

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