Yes — believers will see their believing loved ones again in eternity.
Les teaches from 1 Thessalonians 4 that death is not the final separation for the believer. The believer's soul and spirit go to be with Christ at death, and at the rapture God will bring those departed believers with Jesus while living believers are changed and caught up together with them. This is why Paul says believers do not sorrow as those who have no hope — because they will see their loved ones again.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 — Paul encourages believers not to sorrow as those without hope, and says God will bring with Jesus those who sleep in Him.
Romans 6:5 — Paul connects the believer's burial with Christ's death to the certainty of being raised in the likeness of His resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 — Paul reveals the mystery that the dead will be raised incorruptible and the living will be changed at the last trumpet.
2 Corinthians 5:8 — Paul states that for the believer, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Scripture does not directly use the word "recognize" in these passages, but it gives the believer confidence that death is not a final separation. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13, Paul encourages believers "that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope." Verse 14 gives the reason for that hope: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." Verse 17 then shows the reunion: living believers "shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." This togetherness is what Paul calls the basis for not grieving like the rest of the world. Paul also compares the believer's death and burial to a seed being planted. In Romans 6:5 he writes, "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." The believer who dies is not lost forever — he is raised as Christ was raised. And for the believer, even death itself does not separate the soul and spirit from the Lord: "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).
Les directly applies these resurrection passages to the loss of loved ones. He says a believer does not have to "fall apart and weep and wail days on end" because "we know we're going to see them again" (Clip 1). He repeats in Clip 5: "we're going to see our loved ones again some day." He always adds the qualifier: this assumes the loved ones were also believers (Clips 1, 6). Les explains the mechanics of this hope. At death, the believer's spirit and soul immediately go to the presence of Christ and wait for resurrection (Clips 2, 6). At the rapture, God brings those departed believers from heaven, reunites them with their resurrected bodies, and living believers are changed and caught up together with them (Clips 2, 6). Les calls this the believer's "blessed hope" — the prospect that the best is yet to come (Clip 7).
Les teaches that the believer's body is placed in the grave, but the soul and spirit are not there. He quotes Paul's principle: "absent from the body is present with the Lord" (Clip 6). The believer, as soon as he dies, takes flight into the presence of Christ in heaven, where the soul and spirit wait for the day of resurrection to be reunited with the resurrected body (Clips 2, 6). Les also comforts that believing loved ones are "already seated in the heavenlies" and that it is not a big jump from here to there (Clip 4).
Les says yes. He points to 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and explains that Paul does not want believers to be ignorant about "them who are asleep" — their loved ones who are believers and have died (Clips 1, 3). The reason believers do not sorrow like others without hope is that they will see their loved ones again (Clips 1, 5). At the rapture, the living believers and the resurrected believers will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air (Clips 2, 6).
No — Les is careful to say the promise is for believers. He says, "We will, assuming of course that our loved ones are also believers" (Clip 1). In explaining the rapture, he says God will bring "those departed souls and spirits of believers only. Not of unbelievers, but of only the believers" (Clip 6). Paul himself says believers sorrow not "as others which have no hope" — implying that those without Christ do not have this expectation (Clips 1, 5).
Seed and Resurrection
Les uses the planting of a seed to explain Romans 6:5: the believer is buried like a seed planted in Christ's death and will certainly come up in resurrection.
Seeing Loved Ones Again
Les comforts believers directly: "We're going to see them again," because the rapture hope is not like the hopeless grief of the world.
Spirit Present With the Lord
Les explains that the believer's soul and spirit go to be with Christ at death and will be reunited with the resurrected body when the Lord descends.
Qualifications for the Rapture
Les calls 1 Thessalonians 4:13 the "qualifications for the rapture" — belief that Jesus died and rose again — and says believers need not be ignorant about departed loved ones.
Loved Ones Already With Christ
Les comforts that believing loved ones are already present with Christ and seated in the heavenlies, so the transition from here to there is not a great leap.
No Hopeless Mourning
Les repeats that believers don't mourn like the heathen because they know they will see departed believing loved ones again.
Believers Only, Bodies Changed
Les clarifies that God brings only believer's souls and spirits back with Him at the rapture, and living believers will be changed in the twinkling of an eye.
The Blessed Hope
Les calls the resurrection "our blessed hope" — believers do not live and die without hope, and the best is yet to come.
1 Thessalonians 4:13: But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
Paul tells believers they need not grieve like the world because they have hope for departed believing loved ones.
1 Thessalonians 4:14: For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
The basis of the hope is faith in Jesus' death and resurrection, which guarantees that God will bring departed believers with Him.
1 Thessalonians 4:17: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
This verse shows living and resurrected believers meeting the Lord together, which is why Les says believers will see their loved ones again.
Romans 6:5: For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Paul compares the believer's death to planting a seed that will come up in resurrection, just as Christ was raised.
2 Corinthians 5:8: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
This verse supports Les's teaching that the believer's soul and spirit go to be with Christ immediately at death.
1 Corinthians 15:52: In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
This verse describes the sudden change of living believers at the rapture, a key part of the hope of being reunited.
Yes. Les says believers who have lost loved ones don't have to grieve like those without hope because they know they will see them again. This assumes the loved ones were believers in Jesus (Clips 1, 5).
No. Les is explicit that God brings only the souls and spirits of believers from heaven at the rapture, not unbelievers. That is why Paul says believers sorrow not "as others which have no hope" (Clip 6; 1 Thessalonians 4:13).
According to Les, the believer's spirit and soul immediately go to be present with the Lord in heaven, while the body sleeps. At the rapture, they are reunited with the resurrected body (Clips 2, 6).
Yes. Les says believers do not "weep and wail and carry on like the heathen." The difference is the hope: believers know they will see their loved ones again, while unbelievers have no such hope (Clips 1, 5).
Watch the Teaching: Why a Seed Must Die Before It Can Live — 1 Corinthians 15:36 Explained