Q: Both Matthew 22:30 and Mark 12:25 say that we will be "like angels" at the resurrection. Does this mean we will become angels after we die?
A: No. This is a common misconception. In these passages Jesus is dealing with the subject of marriage. Angels were never given the command to "be fruitful and multiply." They have no marital relationships. They do not reproduce, and in heaven, neither will we. Our purpose to "be fruitful and multiply" will have passed. It is clear that our bodies will be different, but we will not become angels.
Angels are simply regarded as "messengers," in both the Old and New Testaments. They have no need of, and cannot experience, the redemption that Christ came to provide for the human race. First Peter 1:12 says that angels long to look into the Gospel. Had they been formerly humans, salvation wouldn't be a mystery to them because they would have experienced it themselves.
So what does happen when believers die?
Their spirits go to be with Christ (2 Cor 5:8). In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Paul tells us that they are asleep in Jesus, meaning their bodies are dead, but their spirits are alive. This same passage goes on to say that when Christ returns, He will bring with Him those who are asleep in Him, and that their bodies will be raised — made new like Christ’s resurrected body — to be joined with their spirits which He brings with Him. All believers who are living at His return will also have their bodies changed to be like Christ, and they will no longer have old natures, only new natures. "And so we shall always be with the Lord," not as angels, but along with the angels. "Therefore comfort one another with these words."
A: No. This is a common misconception. In these passages Jesus is dealing with the subject of marriage. Angels were never given the command to "be fruitful and multiply." They have no marital relationships. They do not reproduce, and in heaven, neither will we. Our purpose to "be fruitful and multiply" will have passed. It is clear that our bodies will be different, but we will not become angels.
Angels are simply regarded as "messengers," in both the Old and New Testaments. They have no need of, and cannot experience, the redemption that Christ came to provide for the human race. First Peter 1:12 says that angels long to look into the Gospel. Had they been formerly humans, salvation wouldn't be a mystery to them because they would have experienced it themselves.
So what does happen when believers die?
Their spirits go to be with Christ (2 Cor 5:8). In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Paul tells us that they are asleep in Jesus, meaning their bodies are dead, but their spirits are alive. This same passage goes on to say that when Christ returns, He will bring with Him those who are asleep in Him, and that their bodies will be raised — made new like Christ’s resurrected body — to be joined with their spirits which He brings with Him. All believers who are living at His return will also have their bodies changed to be like Christ, and they will no longer have old natures, only new natures. "And so we shall always be with the Lord," not as angels, but along with the angels. "Therefore comfort one another with these words."
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