Today I was reading in 2 Maccabees, the section in chapters 6 & 7 when the temple was desecrated, and the Jewish people were persecuted. This is where we get the story of the martyrdom of seven brothers (whose relics are said to be in the church of St. Peter in Chains, in Rome, though as a historian I have to admit that the "chain of evidence" on that one might put it in the "less than certain" category).

In any case, you can imagine how this story of persecution and martyrdom, over a century before Christ, was a source of comfort for the early Christians during times of persecution. I wish I had paid more attention to this text when I was writing my book, "What Really Happens After We Die?" because it confirms the belief in the resurrection - again, over a century before Christ - and provides a great background for what Paul says about resurrection (for example, in I Corinthians 15).

The point is that the martyrs were willing to die for their (Jewish) faith, for the same reason that Christian martyrs are willing to die - because we believe in something bigger than life, and we believe that death is not the end. And I love what the mother of the seven brothers says to the youngest: "In the time of God's mercy I [will] receive you again with your brothers" (2 Macc 7:19).

So here is an OT passage that confirms the thesis that heaven is a reunion with those who went there before us. That is part of the hope of resurrection. Heaven is not just me & Jesus staring into each others' eyes for all eternity, but as Jesus himself described it, heaven is a family reunion (Matthew 22).