By David Cox
[C03] v1 ©2005 www.davidcoxmex.com/tracts
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Menu: Main Tract Page > Salvation02: Now that you have believed
2Th 2:9-12 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
There are various religions, religious groups, and philosophies that seek doctrine, guidance, information or help from ghosts, spirits, celestial beings, or dead people. This spiritual help that they offer us is a trick of the Devil and his demons so that we do not seek the direction of God.
Contents
Visions are not of God
We admit[1] that God did use visions and revelations in time past to communicate with human beings. But it was according to the plan of God, and God does not use these visions and revelation today when we have the Scriptures to teach us.
But according to Hebrews 1:1-2, even though God spoke in times past through angels and prophets (with visions and revelations), now he has spoken (past, finished, and done) through the testimony of his Son, Jesus Christ. No prophet, visionary, nor spiritual man can be more important, informed, or wiser than the Son of God. What is important here is that God gave us a unique revelation in the form of the life and the teachings of Jesus Christ, that ended all other types of visions and revelations outside of Christ. This revelation (his birth, his teachings, his example, and his death and resurrection) form a testimony or revelation that cannot be bested or changed, something that nothing is more important that the messenger of Christ, and something nothing can be added to it.
Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
God does not now use angels to speak to us.
The word “angel” means messenger. The angels are messengers between God and man. Even in the Bible God used angels very few times, and it was very restricted. Paul says in Gal. 1:6-9 that we should reject any message different from this revelation even though the very same Paul or an angel from heaven brings it. But the bad angels are very astute in presenting themselves to human beings as “angels of light” in order to deceive them with their infernal deceptions.
2Co 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
2Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Jesus clearly warned us in Mat 24:24 that false christs and false prophets will come with signs and prodigies in order to deceive, and if it were possible the very elect. His attention is specially directed against the believers. Spiritual beings that come in visions are the works of the devil.
God does not use the spirits of dead human beings to speak to us.
Simply put, God put an end to the life and activity of every person when they die. Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Everybody goes to his judgment at death.
Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31) both died, and in that their communication with the living abruptly ended at that moment, and each went to his own destiny, waiting for the final resurrection. The rich man wanted to return to the earth or at least communicate somehow with his family so that they would not come to the horrible place where he ended up, but God made it clear that communication with the living is quite impossible, being prohibited forcefully by God so that it cannot happen in any way, shape, or form (16:27-31). The only messenger back to the living was Jesus Christ and the testimony of Scriptures (“Moses and the prophets” 16:31).
Ecc 9:5-6 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
The dead have no more to do with anything in the land of the living; neither with any other living human being. The dead will never return to appear or communicate with the living.
Job 7:8-10 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave[2] shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
So God put barriers so that those in hell and paradise cannot cross from one to the other (Luke 16:26), equally God made it impossible that a dead human being return to communicate with the living. This simply is prohibited by God. What does “neither shall his place know him any more”? This means that the living will not be able to communicate with the dead either. (Luke 16 presents a communication between those in Paradise and hell, but it is not possible between the living on earth and the dead in either place.)
So what is this communication with the dead then? The Bible classifies all communication with the dead (or attempts at that) as witchcraft (necromancy), and it is never seen as actually communicating with the dead human beings, but rather with demons. When apparently dead human beings appear, these are really just demons acting like these loved ones.
To try to communicate with the dead is witchcraft, an abomination to God
Lev 19:31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits (mediums), neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. 20:6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. 27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.
God placed the death penalty on anybody who tries to invoke the dead. It is witchcraft, and it is an abomination to God. This means it simply is impossible, it does not work, and nobody can make it work.
There is no help outside of God.
We should understand that God is the only real person that can help us. Psa 27:9 “thou hast been my help.” Psa 33:20 “Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.” Psa 40:17 “But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.” Psa 54:4 “Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.” While Satan continues to seek our worshipping him in place of our worship of God, his tricks include the appearance of spiritual guides. This comes in the form of supposed human beings, and spiritual guides (angels of light). The two are deceiving demons.
Psa 60:11 “Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.” Even though if it were possible for the dead humans to actually help us, God says that this help of man is vane; it has no real value 2 Timothy 4:3-4.
The Biblical Alternative
Isa 8:19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter (this is speaking in tongues): should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? 20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Seeking for help and guidance from creatures and ignoring the help of the Creator is the opposite of what is correct and proper. God has given us great help through the Scriptures (“the law and the testimony”), and outside of them we have nothing of substantial help for guidance.
We should understand that the only form of obtaining help form the spirit world is through praying to God and asking him for help according to His will. We cannot force God to do our will, because at its essence, this is witchcraft.
1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
God declares that rebellion to His holy will and being stubborn against doing His will is like idolatry and witchcraft. We have to understand what is important is not what appears supernatural (like a phantom, or dead human spirit, or a medium being used by apparently a dead human being, or even an angel), but the important is the Word of God that should be what guides our lives. This is the only authority that we should allow to dictate to our lives, and the only authority that we should seek.
Groups that use spiritual guides: Jung (psychology), Alcoholics Anonymous, Theosophy, Mormons (angel Moroni), Catholics (Virgin Mary), Edgar Casey, Pentecostales, and many others. This should be a red warning flag when someone speaks of visions of spiritual beings, even if they are supposedly dead human beings reappearing.
[1] We see the angels of God that communicated the message of God to men, but apart from the transfiguration of Jesus (which was special); we do not see dead human beings returning to earth. The case of Samuel’s appearance in 1 Samuel 28 is not very clear in that it perhaps was Samuel or perhaps a demon deceiving Saul. The story does not clearly say. The point here is that God denied communication and revelation to Saul because of his sins. This is the weighty point against the appearance being Samuel, instead being just a deceiving demon. It is interesting that in 1 Samuel 15:35, that it says that “Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death.” If God denied him this, why would he revoke his command later?
[2] “Seol” in the OT is the place of the dead, be they saved or unsaved. This is then considered like “death”..