HOT BUTTON TOPIC:
Is
The Other Side Sending You a Message?
"Someone has a connection to the number 7," began the psychic.
A grieving woman raises her hand. "I was born in July, the seventh
month."
"I'm with you." The psychic recognizes her desperation to hear
from a dead loved one. More importantly, she is suggestible and easily
led.
"I see a male figure holding a rose, which is their way of saying…"
The psychic continues: The woman supplies details and interprets symbols
to fit with her loved one.
Since that infamous incident the Garden of Eden, Satan knows we can be
easily deceived. For this reason, John advises: "Do not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God… This
is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God…" (1 John
4:1, 2-NIV).
Talking to and receiving messages from the dead is an old trick of the
devil. And dangerous, too. Some spiritualists and psychics warn that demonic
spirits masquerade as departed loved ones to fool people into opening
up so that they can possess them.
Monthly, over a half million grieving, curious, or "spiritual"
people search the Internet for information on how to communicate with
the dead. They are asking the same two questions:
Can the dead communicate with the living?
There are a couple of incidents in the Bible of the dead communicating with the living.
" Saul and the witch of Endor
In 1 Samuel 28, Saul consults a medium requesting she summon Samuel. When
the spirit of Samuel actually appears, he is unhappy to be disturbed and
the medium is frightened. Samuel's spirit speaks directly to Saul without
the medium and his message is without symbols. He does not bring comforting
news. Saul forfeits his life because he consulted with a medium rather
than inquiring of God. (1 Chronicles 10:13, 14)
" After the death of Christ
The Scriptures recount a strange incident immediately following the crucifixion
(Matthew 27: 51-53): Tombs broke open, dead holy people were raised to
life, went into Jerusalem, and "appeared to many people."
" The Mount of Transfiguration
In Matthew 17, Elijah and Moses appeared to Jesus and certain disciples
on the Mount of Transfiguration.
We can conclude from these incidents that on very rare occasions, it
may be possible for the righteous to be permitted by God to communicate
with those on earth. Let's underscore these points:
1. After-death communication is extremely rare.
2. Any message is pointed and direct, and
3. Will verify that Jesus Christ "has come in the flesh is from God."
Are the dead aware of what is happening here on earth?
Some cite Ecclesiastes 9: 5-6 as proof that the dead are unaware of anything: "…the dead know not anything, 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." (KJV)
Some scholars believe this refers to the living forgetting the dead
rather than the dead forgetting the living. This is bore out in Jesus'
parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31).
When the rich man died, he went to Hades, a place of conscious torment
for the unrighteous. Lazarus went to "Abraham's bosom" or paradise.
Jesus' teaching shows that though the rich man remembered his brothers
and desired to warn them to repent, he could not do so. In other words,
the rich man remembered his family but couldn't reach them from "the
other side." We are not privy to whether he could see what was happening
to them.
In Revelation 6:9-11, we are given an intriguing picture of the dead's
level of awareness: Sleeping martyred souls awake and ask God how long
He is going to allow the unrighteous to rule the earth. They are comforted
and told to be patient a little longer. From this we can infer that martyrs
are somewhat aware of what is happening on earth but not necessarily on
an individual basis.
For many, it is a comforting thought that their loved ones are watching
over them from heaven. Perhaps they are the "cloud of witnesses"
referred to in Hebrews 12.
Although the hereafter is shrouded in mystery, we know these facts for
certain.
1. We are not to attempt to communicate with the dead through mediums.
Deuteronomy 18:10-11
2. Lying spirits will attempt to deceive people. I Timothy 4:1
3. The grieving can know that God holds their loved ones and His love,
mercy, and power extends to "the other side." 1 Corinthians
15.
NOT
A SUBSCRIBER?
SIGN UP
FOR RIGHT TO THE HEART OF WOMEN EZINE; CLICK HERE -
More Women's Ministry Ebooks...
Click here to see Karen Porter's new book, Secrets to Planning A Successful Big Event
Starting a Women’s Ministry From the Ground Up by Betty Voshage,
and The Money Mission: How to Find Money For Your Women’s Ministry by Pamela Christian.
ONE LAST THING -- Watch for our new book -- GRIEF RELIEF, by Linda Evans Shepherd -- coming soon!
RIGHT TO THE HEART OF WOMEN
RTTH home | women | e-zine | authors | women's survey | write away
PO Box 6421, Longmont, CO 80501
