They Gained Their Wings? 2-6-25

Who gained their wings? It certainly was not humans! We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8) They were carried into the presence of the Lord by angels. This scripture confirms where the deceased go and how their spirits get there.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

 There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,  desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.

The rich man also died and was buried.  And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 

But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.  And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us (Luke 16:19-26).

This is a real account; not a parable. Why? Because in the parables, names are not mentioned; they are natural stories to illustrate spiritual lessons (principle). Why did Jesus speak to them in parables?

The disciples were in a natural environment; therefore, He spoke to them in a way they could understand it in the natural because they were in the  natural first and then they began to understand it spiritually. Remember this, we are of the earth, which is natural, but through our new birth, we become spiritual.

Example of a natural situation becoming spiritual: Some of Jesus’ disciples were farmers and fishermen by trade. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Jesus was talking about them becoming spiritual.

To the story of the rich man and Lazarus: This was symbolic of two people; one went to heaven (symbolic of Abraham’s bosom), and the other went to hell (torments). Abraham was the father of faith (many nations) in the Old Testament, he was symbolic of God, and those in Abraham’s bosom (paradise) were symbolic of saints.

No one could go to the third heaven where God is until Jesus Christ came on the earth, lived, died, and rose from the dead. For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living (Romans 14:9). When this happened, Jesus released the old testament saints, then they were taken up to heaven as well as paradise.

Therefore, He says: 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. Now this, 'He ascended'—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things (Ephesians 4:8-10).

Let’s go back to wings: Do angels have wings? There are many scriptures showing that they have wings (Exodus 25:20, Exodus 37:9, 1 Kings 6:27, 2 Chronicles 3:11-13, 1 Kings 8:6-7, Isaiah 6:2, Ezekiel 1:24- these are not all). However, the point being made today is not about angels’ wings; it’s talking about humans having If someone is absent from the body and in the presence of the Lord, what are wings for?

READ THE WORD!!!

Betty A. Burnett ~ burnettministries.org