Someone recently asked me if I believe in
talking to the dead? They had read some criticism of me on, where else, the
internet. Surprise! For the record, I do NOT believe that Christians should
pray to anyone other than God. Of course, we can pray to either member of
the Godhead, because they are all one and the same, even though separate in
person, roles and body. That is the doctrine of the Godhead (or Trinity).
There is one God who exists in three persons; namely, God the Father, God
the Son and God the Holy Spirit. When Catholics pray to Mary or their patron
saints, it is the gross sins of idolatry!
According to Merriam-Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary, the term “necromancy” means:
Necromancy is a practice of magic involving communication with the
deceased – either by summoning their spirit as an apparition or raising
them bodily – for the purpose of divination, imparting the means to
foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge, to bring someone
back from the dead, or to use the deceased as a weapon, as the term may
sometimes be used in a more general sense to refer to black magic or
witchcraft.
Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001)
regularly spent Sunday afternoons at his mother's grave, talking to her in
Heaven. She didn't talk back to him. My friend, that is not necromancy.
Brother Hyles wasn't conjuring up the dead! He wasn't trying to foretell the
future, revive her from the dead, nor communicate with God through her. Read
for yourself the plain words of our Lord. ...
Matthew
22:29-33, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the
scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither
marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in
heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read
that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham,
and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
God is not the God of
the dead, but of the living.
And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his
doctrine.”
Did you read that awesome truth
dead reader? GOD IS NOT THE GOD OF THE DEAD, BUT OF THE LIVING!!! Every born-again believer who
has ever departed from this earthly tabernacle, that is, from this woeful
temporary house of flesh, continued to live in eternity. John 10:28, “And
I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” This one beautiful
Bible verse disproves the heresy of Soul Sleep. The false doctrine of Soul
Sleep is what Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-Day Adventists errantly teach.
They believe that when a believer dies, they are unconscious in the grave
until a future resurrection. There is no such teaching in the Scriptures.
Jesus plainly said in John 10:28 that He gives ETERNAL LIFE to anyone who
believes in Him. For life to be “eternal” it cannot have a break, or
time-out, nor end to it!
John 10:28, “And
I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” Again, this one
beautiful Bible verse disproves the heresy that disobedient believers will
someday temporally suffer in the Lake of Fire! The Bible calls the Lake of
Fire the “second death” in Revelation 21:8. For life to be “eternal” it
cannot involve going to the Lake of Fire, not even for one second!!!
Everyone in Hell is DEAD according to the Scriptures; it is the second
death! God is not the God of the dead, but of the living...
Having said that, when our loved
one's graduate from this life to the next, they are very much ALIVE in
Heaven. ...
Hebrews
12:1-2, “Wherefore
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset
us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking
unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that
was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
There is debate over whether the
preceding Scriptures refers to saints of the past in the Bible, or saints
looking down from Heaven today. I agree with Pastor Curtis Hutson
(1934-1995) that this passage can only refer to present saints looking down
upon us from Heaven, because in order to be a “WITNESS” you have to first
see something!!! God is the God of THE LIVING. Our departed loved ones are
alive and well up in Heaven, enjoying the presence of the precious Lord.
2nd Corinthians 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be
absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”
Granted, these passages do not
teach that Christians ought to attempt to communicate with departed loved
ones, but I also do not find any prohibition against it. Hebrews 12:1-2 says
we are encompassed about with “A GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES,” which means that
the saints in Heaven are watching us down here on earth. In Acts 9:4-5 Jesus
asked Saul (who became Paul) why he was persecuting the churches? Saul's
activities were know in Heaven. Jesus said in Luke 15:10 that there is “JOY
IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ANGELS” when a sinner repents! We do not know if the
angels themselves are doing the rejoicing, or if the saints are doing the
rejoicing; but it is my sincere belief that BOTH the angels and the saints
rejoice every time a sinner gets saved. That would logically seem to make
the most sense. 1st Peter 1:12, “Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto
themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported
unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost
sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to
look into.” So here we learn that the angels are curious
about salvation, and look into it! I find it hard to imagine that the angels
wouldn't partake of the joy in Heaven when a soul gets saved.
We are taught in the Holy Bible
that when our earthly body is no longer a suitable home for our soul and
spirit, there is a new home waiting for us in Heaven. 2nd Corinthians
5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens.” This clearly implies
that there is no break in consciousness when a person dies. The Lord tells
the true story of a rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. We know it is a
true story for a couple reason. First, when Jesus told a parable, he always
announced so, and then afterwards explained the parable's meaning. Second,
when the Lord told a parable, He never used specific names or proper nouns.
In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus used the
literal names of Abraham and Lazarus. If this is a fictitious story, then
the Lord has deceitfully misled millions of believers over the past 2,000
years, to expect to see two angels when they die, to escort them to Heaven
to be with the Lord. It would certainly make sense that we will see two
angels when we die (i.e., leave the flesh) because we are taught in
Matthew 18:10b, “their angels do always behold
the face of my Father which is in heaven.” Carefully notice that
their “angels” is plural, meaning more than one. When my body can no
longer house my soul and spirit, and I am deceased, I fully expect to see my
two guardian angels.
I do not believe that our loved
ones in Heaven can read our minds. If we speak audibly, I do not know if
they can hear us. I make no bold claims in this matter. Where the Scriptures
are silent, I choose to remain silent. I am merely giving my Christian
opinion. I think it is okay to speculate, just so long as we acknowledge
that we are doing so. I see no sin or harm in talking to a loved one in
Heaven. Granted, it would be very wrong to try to communicate with God
through anyone! 1st Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God,
and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
Mary is an imposter in the Catholic religion, a satanic hoax! It is a
horrible sin to pray the Rosary. I am amazed how foolish and easily deceived
Catholics are. It is because they don't care about truth. As Jesus warned in
Mark 7:7, “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men.”
I have never encouraged anyone to
talk with their loved ones in Heaven. Since the Bible does not do it,
neither do I. However, I do not think it is sinful or harmful for a believer
to spend time talking to a loved one, who is Scripturally alive in Heaven.
When I perform my steel guitar publicly, I believe God allows my mother to
watch me. While she was alive in earth, she enjoyed viewing my performances.
I do not think that our loved ones are allowed to peer into our private
homes, but I do think they can follow our life in Heaven, and see us in
public, and that God allows them to know what is going on. If I were in
Heaven, I would want to know these things concerning my loved ones still on
earth. I personally think that God somehow announces to the saints in
Heaven, when a loved one is about to leave the body on earth and come home
to glory, so the whole family in Heaven can get ready to greet them home!!!
You bet I believe that!
The conversation between you and
your loved one in Heaven does not use a psychic medium. That would be
sinful. Albeit, I do not think it is wrong to say of your own accord, “Happy
birthday mom!” if it is her birthday, and she is in Heaven. The internet is
full of critics, most of whom are woefully ignorant of the Scriptures. Many
critics are hateful people, a lot are unsaved, holding personal grudges
against those who disagree with their corrupt doctrinal positions
(especially concerning the demonic lie of Lordship Salvation). Again, I do
not believe nor support any type of conjuring up the dead, or
necromancy, or witchcraft practices. I simply think that it is acceptable to
talk out loud to our loved ones who are ALIVE in Heaven. They are NOT dead!
Clearly, if there is joy in Heaven over a sinner that repents, then the
inhabitants of Heaven must be watching what is going on down here on earth,
from all around the world.
Talking to someone in eternity is
NOT the same as praying to them, calling upon them to do something, or to
exercise power, or expecting them to talk back. Anyone who tries to connect
these dots, condemning someone for merely expressing their heartfelt love
and appreciation, or concern and remorse for a departed loved one who went
to Hell, is a jerk! Seeking to call up from the dead, or to hear from the
spirits of the departed is a forbidden and sinful occult practice
(Deuteronomy 18:9-14). These occult practices are VERY different than simply
speaking one way to a departed loved one, wanting them to hear what you have
to say. I see no harm at all for a man to speak to his departed earthly
father and say something like, “I don't know if you can hear me dad, but I
hope I've made you proud?” That is a very normal thing! Such respect for
those in eternity does not dishonor God. That is my opinion on the matter.
So if you see a Christian talking to them self, they likely haven't lost
their mind, they are simply either praying to God or talking to a loved one
in eternity. People generally only see what they want to see, which is why
our country is so messed up today!
“Nothing
in my future can ever affect the salvation that I have... Once you trust
the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are eternally secure!”
—Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008), a quote from the classic MP3 sermon
titled, “
