By Randy Alcorn
I’m often asked if people, particularly
children, become angels when they die.
The answer is no. Death is a relocation of
the same person from one place to another.
The place changes, but the person remains the
same.
The same person who becomes absent from his
or her body becomes present with the Lord (2 Corinthians
5:8).
The person who departs is the one who goes to
be with Christ (Philippians
1:23).
Angels are angels. Humans are humans.
Angels are beings with their own histories
and memories, with distinct identities, reflected in the fact that they have
personal names, such as Michael and Gabriel.
Under God’s direction, they serve us on Earth
(Hebrews
1:14).
Michael the archangel serves under God, and
the other angels, in various positions, serve under Michael (Daniel
10:13;Revelation 12:7).
In Heaven human beings will govern angels (1 Corinthians
6:2-3).
The fact that angels have served us on Earth
will make meeting them in Heaven particularly fascinating.
They may have been with us from childhood,
protecting us, standing by us, doing whatever they could on our behalf (Matthew
18:10).
They may have witnessed virtually every
moment of our lives.
Besides God himself, no one could know us better.
around the intermediate Heaven but also to walk and talk with them on
the New Earth?
What stories will they tell us, including
what really happened that day at the lake thirty-five years ago when we almost
drowned?
They’ve guarded us, gone to fierce battle for
us, served as God’s agents in answer to prayers.
How great it will be to get to know these
brilliant ancient creatures who have lived with God from their creation.
We’ll consult them as well as advise them,
realizing they too can learn from us, God’s image-bearers.
Will an angel who guarded us be placed under
our management?
If we really believed angels were with us
daily, here and now, wouldn’t it motivate us to make wiser choices?
Despite what some popular books say, there’s
no biblical basis for trying to make contact with angels now.
We’re to ask God, not angels, for wisdom (James
1:5).
As Scripture says and as I portray
in my novels Dominion, Lord Foulgrin’s Letters, and The Ishbane Conspiracy, Satan’s servants can “masquerade as servants of
righteousness” and bring us messages that appear to be from God but
aren’t (2 Corinthians
11:15).
Nevertheless, because Scripture
teaches that one or more of God’s angels may be in the room with me now, every
once in a while I say “Thank you” out loud.
And sometimes I add, “I look forward to meeting you.”
I can’t wait to hear their stories.
We won’t be angels, but we’ll be with angels—and
that’ll be far better.
“Father God, I confess I
am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry. I now want to turn
away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and
help me avoid sinning again.
I believe that your Son,
Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and
hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become
the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank
You that according to Your Word, I am now Your child, and I am born again.
Please send Your Holy
Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I
promise to study Your Word – the Bible.
Please use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' Name I pray.
Amen.”
God will
grant us the ultimate gift, eternal life in His Kingdom through His grace if we
repent of our sins and obey His commands .
To
experience God as a personal, caring, loving Father, you have to receive Jesus
Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. You will become a child of God and
begin the fulfillment of the reason you were created by God.
Say the following prayer:
“Father God, I confess I
am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry. I now want to turn
away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and
help me avoid sinning again.
I believe that your Son,
Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and
hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become
the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank
You that according to Your Word, I am now Your child, and I am born again.
Please send Your Holy
Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I
promise to study Your Word – the Bible.
Please use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' Name I pray.
Amen.”
Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) is the author of over fifty books and the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries.
I'm the author of over fifty books and the founder and director
of Eternal Perspective Ministries. I love Jesus, my wife Nanci, and our
daughters, sons and five grandsons!
RELATED POSTS:
CLICK HERE . . .
.
CLICK HERE . . .
.
CLICK HERE . . .
.
.
Marty Nystrom
CLICK HERE . . . to view complete playlist . . .
lyrics
I hear angels
singing praises
I see men from ev'ry nation
Bowing down before the throne
Like the sound of many waters
Like the rushing wind around us
Multitudes join the song
I see men from ev'ry nation
Bowing down before the throne
Like the sound of many waters
Like the rushing wind around us
Multitudes join the song
Pre-chorus:
And a symphony of praise arises
Tears are wiped away from eyes
As men from every tongue and tribe all sing
Chorus:
Holy holy, God Almighty Who was, who is and is to come
All the angels are crying "holy"
To the lamb who sits upon the throne
And a symphony of praise arises
Tears are wiped away from eyes
As men from every tongue and tribe all sing
Chorus:
Holy holy, God Almighty Who was, who is and is to come
All the angels are crying "holy"
To the lamb who sits upon the throne
I see one
who's full of wonder
Eyes of fire and voice of thunder
Shining bright his majesty
All the colors of the rainbow
Circle him and fill his temple
So beautiful this is to me
Eyes of fire and voice of thunder
Shining bright his majesty
All the colors of the rainbow
Circle him and fill his temple
So beautiful this is to me
[Repeat Pre-chorus]
[Repeat Chorus]
To the lamb
who sits upon the throne
p-chron p-files
No comments:
Post a Comment