Historic pastoral reading
The dead in Christ are with the Lord. They are not recycled into another class of creature.
Hebrews 12:22-23
Heaven gained another angel.
The text
WEB
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable multitudes of angels,
23 to the festal gathering and assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect.
KJV
22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.
What kind of text
- Letter
- Hebrews
- The dead in Christ
Angels and the spirits of the righteous are listed as two groups, not one.
How Christians have read this
Common misuse
Funeral talk that blurs angels and saints.
What the next verse does
Verse 24 points to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.
Older commentary
Matthew Henry
Henry on Hebrews 12: angels and the spirits of just men made perfect are listed as two companies.
Charles Spurgeon
Spurgeon preached the dead in Christ with the Lord. He did not turn saints into angels.