To View the Video on Youtube: https://youtu.be/F4ak3jrk3QY
SHOW NOTES
Hi friends, and welcome to a brand new week of the Hope Rescue Podcast! Last week we wrapped up our short series on prayer, and this week we are starting a new series called “Dumb Things Christians Say” and let’s be honest: we could probably discuss this topic for a very long time. To preface this conversation, we wanted to explain that this series is not to offend anyone and it is not directed at anyone because we have all said dumb things. Even Tim and Kimberly admit that many of the things they will be discussing in this series came to mind because they have said them in the past. Most of the things we will discuss are clichés that Christians say with the right heart and intentions, but maybe without complete understanding of what they are actually saying. For example, this week we will be discussing the cliché that people often say when someone dies which is, “God needed another angel in heaven.” Let’s get into it!
The motivation of saying "God needed another angel in heaven" is to help someone deal with their grief. Tim says, "When someone is grieving, clichés are not helpful. Scripture is helpful." Kimberly explains that this saying really makes God out to be the bad guy, inferring that He took the person who died away from the family. The two big issues with this saying we will discuss today are:
1. What happens to a person when he or she dies and
2. Who are angels?
So let’s start with question one: What happens to a person when they die? To answer, we have to go to the scripture. In Luke 23 Jesus was speaking with one of the criminals who was handing beside him on another cross, and in verse 43 Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. The very moment that we die, we are present with the Lord. Second Corinthians 5:8 says, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” If a Christian passes away, this is a much more comforting reminder than saying “God needed another angel in heaven.” To know that when a loved one dies who was a believer that they will immediately be with the Lord is the greatest comfort. Tim finishes this question by saying, “When we are dealing with mortality, we want truth, not sentimentality.”
Now to tackle the second and more complicated question: Who are angels? We know from scripture that angels are created beings that were actually created before man. We know this because they watched as creation took place. Job 38:4-7 says, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” If the phrase "sons of God" is referring to angels in Job 38, then when God created the heavens and the earth, the angels had already been in existence. So let’s go through the different types of angels discussed in scripture.
Guardian angels. Matthew 18:10 says, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” Also, Hebrews 1:14 says, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” It appears from scripture that angels are assigned to each believer to guard him or her.
Fallen angels. Demons are actually fallen angels. When Lucifer sinned against God, he took with him 1/3 of all the angels. These fallen angels became servants of Lucifer, and their desire is to thwart the very work of God.
Cherubim. The job of the Cherubim is to guard the holiness of God.
Seraphim. The primary responsibility of Seraphim is to worship and lift up the glory of God. Isaiah 6:1-3 says, “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
Archangels. Michael is the only Archangel specifically mentioned in the bible, and the term is only used in the singular (meaning, it’s possible that Michael is the only one). Archangel means “chief angel.” First Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
Angels. Angels are the foot soldiers of the Lord. They send messages or carry out the tasks assigned to them by other angels.
Angels exist to comfort us, to help us worship, to guard the holiness of God, and to guard us individually.
To close, when a person says, "God needed another angel in heaven," it is not really a dumb thing to say but it is simply inaccurate. Unpacking the scripture and discovering what actually happens when a person dies is much more comforting to know than believing the inaccurate statement that God just needed another angel. If you are looking for strength and comfort during difficult times, turn to scripture, not clichés.
QUOTES
“When we are dealing with mortality, we want truth, not sentimentality. There is nothing more comforting than the truth that we find in scripture.” -Tim
REFERENCED SCRIPTURE
Luke 23:39-43 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
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. (KJV)
Job 38:4-7 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
Isaiah 6:1-3 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
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