Babies in Heaven | Do Babies Who Die Go To Heaven?
Question: Do unborn babies, miscarried babies, stillborn babies, aborted babies, infants and small children go to Heaven when they die?
Joe and Lee's Answer: I once officiated at a funeral for a child only nine days old. I can’t remember the oldest person I’ve officiated for, but I will never forget the service for that child. Of course, the parents dealt with extremely difficult emotions, including worrying that they had done something incorrectly, that they had somehow killed their child. The autopsy found that the child had a heart defect that no one could have helped, not even the greatest surgeon. That gave them some peace. The greatest peace, however, came with the knowledge that their child would be with Jesus. “Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14 NKJV).
Where do babies go when they die?
Jesus never indicated that children would be damned or cast into limbo because they had not yet been baptized, made a public confession, or participated in some other response to God‘s gift of salvation. He didn’t ask those who had no ability to profess faith to confess faith to be saved. In fact, he used children as the example for all of us. "Unless you change and become as little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3).
By comparing believers to small children, Jesus showed that God has a tender heart toward little ones who must be dependent on others. With no works of their own in which to boast, and no strength to be self-reliant, they'll have nothing but God's mercy when they stand before him. That sounds suspiciously like what it will be for all of us, no matter how many years we have lived!
Let’s look at it another way:
Moses told the Israelites about those who would not be allowed into the Promised Land and those who would be allowed in.
When the LORD heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore: "Not a man of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your forefathers, except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly." Because of you the LORD became angry with me also and said, "You shall not enter it, either. But your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to inherit it. And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea." (Deuteronomy 1:34-40)
Did you see it in verse 39? Moses said God would allow innocent children who didn't know right from wrong to enter the Promised Land. It appears that God provides grace to those who “have no knowledge of good and evil.”
The punishment of hell is reserved for people who have willingly and knowingly sinned against God (Romans 1:29-31; Galatians 5:19-21; Revelation 21:8). Hell is not for innocent children. Neither is Limbo, a place that some have created in their unique theology to be neither heaven nor hell.
Though we live in a sinful, fallen world that is punished because of Adam’s sin, salvation is determined individually. God does not place guilt on children for the sins of their ancestors or anyone else for that matter. In fact, God says, “The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child.” (Ezekiel 18:20)
Babies and children who pass from this life will go safely to the mighty arms of God.
Some believe that babies who die will be babies or small children for eternity. I don’t. In my view, there is no infancy, childhood, or adolescence in heaven. When they get their resurrection bodies, they will be as the resurrection bodies of us all. There won’t be infant resurrection bodies or old and frail resurrection bodies. The primary difference would be that those who died extremely young – such as the nine-day-old child mentioned earlier – have no autobiographical memory from their tenure on earth. However, I expect that when they meet their loved ones in heaven, they will learn of their heritage.
Babies and small children are not held responsible for their actions by God because they are without the mental and emotional capacities to knowingly rebel against him. God receives them into heaven and will take very good care of them until they are reunited with their families. So the answer is, babies go to Heaven!
The preceeding was an excerpt from "The True Heaven" written by Joe Beam and Lee Wilson.
Become a fan of this book on Facebook and for a far more detailed explanation on this and other topics related to Heaven, order the book below.
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The True Heaven
by Joe Beam and Lee Wilson
What does the Bible mean when it talks about "the New Earth"? Will we have relationships there? Will we have bodies or just be spirits? Will we have free will and if so, what will keep us from sinning again? Will animals be in the next life? If these questions intrigue you then you'll want to order this book!
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