Does God Need To Take People in Death to Be With Him?

Hi Everyone.

Today we'll consider Myth 2: God takes people in death to be with him.

To begin, one thing we must know about our Creator is that "God is a God not of disorder".  1 Cor. 14:33.

We mention this because, Jehovah created angels first. His very first act of creation was his angelic son whom we know as Jesus Christ, also called “the firstborn of all creation.” Then God created the angels and everything else through Jesus. "He is before all other things, and by means of him all other things were made to exist". Colossians 1:13-17.

And when we read about them don't we recognize them as beings with greater power and ability than humans? 2 Peter 2:11.

And can we not visualize them existing in heaven, or the spirit realm--a level of existence higher than the physical universe? 1 Kings 8:27; John 6:38.

And yes, . . . they are also referred to as spirits.—1 Kings 22:21; Psalm 18:10.

However, angels do not marry and reproduce. Mark 12:25. Instead, each of these “sons of the true God” was individually created.—Job 1:6.

This may make you wonder: How many angels are there?

Well, the fact is that the Bible does not give an exact figure. But it does show that their number is vast. For example, the apostle John, in vision, glimpsed hundreds of millions of angels.—Revelation 5:11, footnote.

So this raises the question: Do angels have individual names and personalities?

Yes!

Although, the Bible only gives names of two angels: Michael and Gabriel. (Daniel 12:1; Luke 1:26) *

But the other angels did acknowledge that they also had names. They just wouldn't reveal them.—Genesis 32:29; Judges 13:17, 18.

But, interesting too is that, although individually created, they each have distinct personalities. And they communicate with one another. 1 Corinthians 13:1. And with their thinking ability they can compose glorious expressions of praise to the Almighty. Luke 2:13, 14.

Plus, like us, they were created with the freedom to choose between right and wrong. This is seen when some of them sinned by joining Satan the Devil in his rebellion against God. Matthew 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4.

So there must be different ranks among angels, right?

Yes.

The angel greatest in both power and authority is Michael, the archangel. Jude 9; Revelation 12:7.

Seraphs are high-ranking angels who are stationed near Jehovah’s throne. (Isaiah 6:2, 6) Cherubs form another high-ranking order of angels having special duties. For example, cherubs guarded the entrance to the garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were expelled.—Genesis 3:23, 24.

Which highlights another point: Angels were created before the earth existed. . . When God created the earth, they “began shouting in applause”! Job 38:4-7.

So this brings us to our connector:

Remember, initially we spoke of Jehovah God being a God of order. And we discussed how he gave the earth to the 'sons of man' in Here to Stay.

Taking what we just discussed into consideration, is it reasonable to conclude that God would need us to die, be it naturally or violently, to be with him?

May we pick up with this point tomorrow?