Are We Angels That Were Kicked Out Of Heaven? Part 5 — Hebrews

In Chapter 13 (titled Where is Human Soul From?) of his book “Visitors From The Angelic World (p. 39), Ahn Sahng Hong argues that the human soul once existed as an angel in heaven.  

…the Apostle Paul wrote that all the forefathers of faith thought of the previous world they had left…[references Hebrews 11:13-16] And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.

Ahn Sahng Hong

The first thing to notice is that Ahn Sahng Hong omitted quite a bit of information included in these verses.  Here are the verses in their entirety.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:13-16

Ahn Sahng Hong claims that the forefathers thought of the previous world they left.  But Paul writes, “If they had been thinking of the country they had left…”  Just a slight twist of words that distorts the meaning of the verses.  Ahn Sahng Hong fails to mention that Abraham had in fact left a country. The Bible tells us that Abraham and Sarah left the country of Ur of the Chaldeans and set off for the land of Canaan (Genesis 11:31).
See also Genesis 15:7 and Nehemiah 9:7.

Click here for a map of Abraham’s Journey from Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan.  Chaldea and Babylon were synonymous in the Bible (see the footnotes for Ezekiel 23:14-15) and therefore both were countries that were known for idol worship and prostitution.  Abraham left the country of Chaldea to flee to the land of Canaan, the land promised to him by the Lord (Genesis 15:7).

If you consider the Biblical history behind the statements that Paul makes in Hebrews 11:13-16, it is clear that Paul refers to Abraham having the opportunity to return to Chaldea if he would have wanted to, but instead Abraham chose to continue to the land of Canaan as the Lord commanded him (see also Acts 7:3-5).

On p. 39 Ahn Sahng Hong also writes: 

…all men in this earth are aliens and strangers from the previous world.

Ahn Sahng Hong

Do the above referenced verses in Hebrews support Ahn Sahng Hong’s theory?

Abraham viewed himself as a temporary resident on earth and chose to focus on his final destination, the heavenly city that God had prepared for him and his descendants.  Abraham says that he is a foreigner and a stranger on the ground where he wished to purchase a burial place for the sons of Heth in Genesis 23:4.  The Lord tells Abraham that he “now resides as a foreigner” in the land of Canaan in Genesis 17:8.  Ahn Sahng Hong’s theory that Abraham was a stranger on earth because his country of origin was heaven, is not supported by the Bible.

Conclusion

The Scriptures that Ahn Sahng Hong uses in an attempt to prove his claim that we were angels in heaven before living here on earth are clearly misinterpreted and taken out of context.

1.  Abraham had in fact left the actual country of Chaldea.  Abraham could have returned if he had chosen to.
2.  “Instead” (see above v.16), Abraham had faith in the promise of a better and heavenly land, the land of Canaan that the Lord promised him, and therefore considered himself a temporary resident here on earth.
3.  While it is clear that Abraham viewed himself as a temporary resident on earth, this does not support Ahn Sahng Hong’s claim that we existed as angels in heaven prior to existing on earth.

Hebrews 11:13-16 is more likely to be an analogy to what takes place when a person chooses to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  When one becomes a Christian, he or she while having the opportunity to return to their pre-Christian way of living and to the temporary things of this world, instead chooses to live by faith in the promise of salvation that Jesus made to us.

Ahn Sahng Hong’s arguments regarding the human soul have yet to be Biblically supported.  See the “Are We Angels That Were Kicked Out Of Heaven” series.

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