Doesn’t the Bible say…?

SUMMER DEVOTIONAL SERIES

“Bad things happen to good people.”

I’m sure you’ve heard today’s topic before that when someone dies God gains another angel or God ‘took’ them because He needed another angel. I remember going to a funeral visitation when I was in high school for a friend who had died tragically in a car accident. His mom kept telling us that he was now an angel looking down on us. While I understand she was finding ways to bring comfort, this concept isn’t biblically accurate.

Now, it’s definitely not helpful to delve into a theological discussion about someone’s loved one in the funeral visitation line or when bringing comfort to parents who have suffered a miscarriage, stillbirth or death of a child. However, it is good to understand what the Bible says about what happens to us after we die so that we are prepared before we find ourselves walking through grief.

Saying that someone died because Jesus needed another angel might make us feel better in the moment, but it paints a picture of a selfish God and puts us on shaky ground when we begin to assume that God needs anything.

Angels are pretty mysterious and we won’t fully understand them until we enter into heaven ourselves. A thorough study of angels is quite extensive but for our topic today let’s consider these two points:

Angels are created beings that existed before the creation of the world. Job 38:7 helps us to understand that when the earth was created the angels were there singing the praises of the Creator. This means that humans are humans and angels are angels. "While the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.”
There is no salvation for angels. It is better to be human than to be an angel because Jesus died for the salvation of all humankind. We read in scripture (Ezekiel 28:12 – 18, Isaiah 14:12 – 14, and Revelation 12:4 ) about the fall of Satan and one-third of the angels who we now know as demons. What is sobering is that the judgement they received from God is final. There is no hope for redemption, forgiveness or grace for them.

Jesus came and died for us, not angels. Here is our ultimate hope: when a loved one dies knowing Jesus as Lord and Saviour, God does not gain another angel. Rather, God calls another worshipper to come home and we have a hope that is far better: because of Christ, we will be with them in His presence again some day.

Looking forward to someday!
Pastor Erin

WATER BAPTISM: Get baptized on 5th Sunday, August 29th!

Summer YouVersion Reading Plan: The Messiah