There are NO examples in the Bible of this happening – and no one in the Bible says it does. Sometimes books, movies or our own imaginations can introduce incorrect concepts not taught in the Bible.
The first man God created, Adam, was human, just like us. He was given life with a perfect mind and body, an earthly paradise in the Garden of Eden, and authority over the earth and the animals. (see Genesis 1:26) The Bible says that the payment for sin is death, (see Romans 6:23) so when he sinned, he eventually grew old and died. (see Romans 6:23) This set off a chain reaction of death that is passed down to all of us, since we all came from Adam.
When Adam died, he went into the grave and returned to the dust from which he was made. (See Genesis 3:19) Just like Adam, all humans go to the same place when they die: the grave. God never promised that humans would turn into angels when they died – but he DID promise He would bless humankind with exactly what Adam originally had: life with a perfect mind and body and authority over the animals and a perfect earth. (see Acts 3:21, Isaiah 35:1) Speaking about Jesus, Paul says in Acts, (3:21, NLT) “For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets.” This scripture is saying that God has promised a restoration of all things. “To restore” means to bring something back to the way it was. What is God’s plan in order to do this?
God’s fair sense of justice required that someone of equal value should take Adam’s place in the grave. That person was God’s only begotten son, Jesus. Adam was a perfect human man, and when he was on earth, Jesus was a perfect human man, so only Jesus could be that substitute for Adam. This is known as “the ransom.” 1 Timothy (2:5,6, NIV) says, “… the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.” The ransom is the main focus of God’s plan for all humankind.
Referring to Jesus, Luke says, “…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10, NKJ) What was lost? When Adam sinned and had to leave the Garden, he did not lose a heavenly home as an angel, but an earthly home as a human. Jesus gave his life in order to restore that earthly home and existence to humankind.
God’s kingdom will be more wonderful than anyone can imagine! When humankind is awakened from the dead in the resurrection, an opportunity to keep their raised human existence on a perfect earth will be offered to ALL who will have faith in Jesus and obedience to his requirements.
So, do people turn into angels when they die? No. There are no examples in the Bible of this happening. Furthermore, God never promised that humans would turn into angels after death. He did, however, promise to restore to humans exactly what Adam lost: a perfect body and mind, and authority over the earth and animals to all who will have faith in Jesus and obey his requirements. Jesus giving his life as a ransom for Adam was how God chose to make this future plan happen.
This video is from Christian Questions Podcast. For more information please go to https://christianquestions.com
