I was privileged to share with her the fact that we claim the promises of God's Word in the Scripture, not the stories of experience of others who, although medically declared dead, weren't really dead because they are still alive here. We are not dependent on stories of near-death to know what the future holds.

What can we for certain know about the future?

For some weeks now we have been studying The Apostles' Creed. The Creed declares, "I believe in the resurrection of the body." That phrase was not put there by accident. It was put there to emphasize biblical promises of a life beyond this life.

I hope that you are familiar with 1 Corinthians 15. The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, declares the wonderful teaching about the life beyond this life. He writes: "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being, for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:19-22).

Then he goes on to state this: "Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:51-53).

We must be very careful not to make the Bible say more than it says about the life beyond this life. At the same time, we dare not minimize what it does say that is very specific.

Jesus came to set you free from the specter of hell to life in heaven.

The Bible speaks of hell. Some of its language is quite graphic. Some of our conceptions of hell are shaped by medieval literature, not by the Bible itself. What we dare not do is eliminate the fact of hell because we don't like the notion. In its most basic definition, hell is eternity absent from the presence of God. We must remember that the same Bible that talks about heaven also talks about hell. To claim what we want without acknowledging the reality of what we find abhorrent is to play a game of self-deception, isn't it?

The Bible says that when a believer in Jesus Christ dies, he or she steps into the presence of Jesus Christ.

We are told that "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." Jesus turned to the repentant thief on the cross and declared, "'This day shall thou be with me in paradise.'" Our next conscious thought is to be with the Lord.

We are told we will have a new/perfect identifiable body.

I have heard some biblical teachers wax on eloquently as to the precise nature of that body. I don't really know. All I know is that we are told that life does not end with death, that we are not just a spirit floating out in space. We are told there is the resurrection of the body. What that means in technical, physiological reality I don't know. But we are assured that we will be recognizable to each other, and that our bodies will be without blemish. That which is corruptible will be exchanged for that which is incorruptible. I don't know what will be the physical appearance of a baby who dies in the early hours of life, or an elderly person who lives to be 100. I do know that the Bible says that we will recognize each other in a reunion with our loved ones, and we will recognize the saints of history who have gone before and those who will come after.