This picture below could not have had more perfect timing. While walking home yesterday, I saw this little girl wearing angel wings. She was so cute, I could not resist asking her parents to let me take a photo. I will probably include her in my drawing project for this year, The 110 Faces of China. It goes very well with today’s question, “Do people become angels when they die?”
I have heard others say, “He/she earned her wings today and went to heaven.”, “He/she is in heaven now guarding over you as an angel.”, and He/she will be with you as an angel from heaven.” While those who made these statements had good intentions in trying to console those who have lost loved ones, this is not what the bible tells us. Let’s look at Hebrews 12:22-23 first. Here we see “company of angels” and “the spirits of just men made perfect” are two different groups in heaven. While in the Old Testament, angels are often referred to as “Sons of God”. They are never referred to in the Word as “Sons of Man”.
In Matt. 22:30 Jesus is answering a question posed by the Sadducees. Jesus says that “in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” Notice that is says “as the angels of God in heaven”, not that they are angels. Heb. 2:5 (Amp.) says, “For it was not the angels that God subjected the habitable world of the future, of which we are speaking.” Two different groups are mentioned in all these verses. There are more, and I encourage you to research this for yourself.
I think it is fitting here to also point out that angels are not cute little cupid looking babies or children. No one in the bible is recorded reaching out to tickle or pinch the cheek of a cute little baby angel. Rather, they always appear as adults. When they are seen in the Word people are recorded falling on their faces in awe. We will discuss more on their appearance, and maybe, get into the classes of angels in the next post. ---joy
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