Why does the Church satisfy Herself with earthly news, rather than Heaven’s headlines?
By Pat Noble
Paul told the church at Ephesus that those in Heaven were fascinated by certain events on Earth. “Through Christians like yourselves, gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!” (Ephesians 3:9-10).
Angels are messengers, and we usually think of them as bringing messages to us. Imagine with me that they are not only messengers to earth but from Earth, as well, bringing news back to Heaven. “Wait a minute,” you may say, “Doesn’t everyone in Heaven see everything that goes on down here? And who would they report to, anyway? God knows it all!”
Yet, in the book of Genesis, an angel tells Abraham he has come to see if the news about the wickedness on Earth was true (Genesis 18:20). This passage makes me wonder if the folks that “entertain angels unaware” are not necessarily being tested (as was my previous assumption) but are being unwittingly interviewed to get the facts “on the ground.“
Satan seems to have wiggled his way into one heavenly reporting session (Job 1:6-7). Could the question put forth to Satan, “From where have you come?” have been asked of each angel as they “presented themselves before the Lord”?
Many years later Peter writes to encourage scattered believers to treasure the gospel and all that God has done in their lives, adding “even angels long to look into these things” (1 Peter 1:10-12).
If Earth’s “news” is being reported in Heaven, by angels on assignment or some other way, let’s consider what might qualify as Heaven’s headlines.
What are the angels talking about?
What’s the buzz in Heaven concerning the events of Earth?
Does Earth’s nightly news even remotely resemble what Heaven is talking about? Would coverage of the stock market, sports scores, and politics even make the “back page” in Heaven? If the angels are reporting, getting the story, and “looking into these things,” what is priority news? What’s the front-page copy?
This might be a clue: God’s overarching purpose is to bring glory to his name. All of the creation longs for the day when such harmony will happen. So any progress toward this end must be newsworthy. Similarly, any major setback or hindrance to its fulfillment would make the news in Heaven.
What Paul wrote so many years ago is true again today: “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing”! (Colossians 1:6).
The event that had Heaven buzzing was the spread of the Good News—that God was laying out the welcome mat to all the nations, and that they were responding to it.
And couldn’t the same be said today? Just as worship is an echo of the strains of Heaven, I hope that we at Missions Catalyst can reflect Heaven’s headlines.