Who are the Spiritualists?
Spiritualism is the term for a group of denominations with ministers, hymn singing, and services that feature alleged communication with the dead.
I visited several Spiritualist churches while in college and so know first-hand what it is like. Notice in the excerpt below that Spiritualism considered itself a Christian denomination; this was true in Europe as well, where the movement infiltrated many churches.
In fact, some branches of Spiritualism still consider it Christianity.
Quote==
The spiritualists were one of the first American Christian churches to believe that the dead could directly speak to the living.
Parishioners were more likely to refer to “Infinite Intelligence” than god, and they studied the Bible for instances of trances, clairvoyance, spirit writing and other acts from beyond the grave.
According to the church’s manual, spirits could write and speak without being seen, make objects appear from thin air or appear to move on their own amongst other feats. If that sounds suspiciously similar to what a magician promises, the spiritualists understood that.==From https://goo.gl/0jJW2i
*Thanks to Paul Carden for link
COMMENTS
A resurgence of interest in speaking to the dead came in the late 1990s with popular mediums and authors such as the late Sylvia Browne, James Van Praagh, Rosemary Altea, and the still-popular John Edward whose TV show “Crossing Over” broke out of its network confines to reach 98% of the television market in the U.S.
Contact with the dead and hauntings are now a theme on many programs that feature allegedly haunted buildings, TV shows such as “Medium,” and reality-based programs like “The Last Goodbye” and “The Long Island Medium.”
These shows and personalities intrigue people and there is a steady diet of such material, nor do I think it will lessen.
According to one poll, 37% believe houses can be haunted and 34% believe ghosts/spirits of the dead can come back (From Oct. 2011, source at http://goo.gl/sRyUti).
WHAT DOES GOD SAY?
The Bible has many passages condemning contact with the dead and consulting those who speak to the dead (Leviticus 19:31, 20:6, 27; Deuteronomy 18:10–11; 1 Chronicles 10:13–14; and Isaiah 8:19–20), but there are still two incidents people have questions about:
— The dead prophet Samuel appearing to Saul (First Samuel 28:11-20)
— Moses and Elijah appearing with Jesus on the Mt. of Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36)
Samuel and Saul
In first Samuel, King Saul was in bad straits. He had disobeyed God who had taken away his Spirit from Saul; the prophet Samuel was dead, and now the Philistines were advancing. Saul, who had banned mediums from the land, sought out a medium in desperation.
The medium called up the dead Samuel; however, she seemed surprised to see Samuel. I believe that God is the one who allowed this or perhaps brought Samuel back; the medium did not have this power.
Samuel rebuked Saul for disobeying God and predicted his death and the death of his sons in battle the next day, and the victory of the Philistines.
This truly was Samuel, not a demon. First of all, the text states it is Samuel.
Secondly, Samuel gave specific correct predictions about the future, something only a prophet of God could know; and thirdly, Samuel rebuked Saul, something a demon would not do.
God used Saul’s forbidden consultation with the medium to give him a message that condemned his action.
This is a one-time singular incident, not a normal one, in which God allowed Samuel to appear to Saul.
First Chronicles 10:13, 14 follows up by telling us that one reason that Saul was allowed to die in battle is because he consulted a medium, thus reaffirming God’s ban on consulting mediums.
Jesus with Moses and Elijah
Jesus goes with Peter, John, and James to a mountain to pray and, while praying, Jesus becomes transformed, his clothes “white and gleaming.” The text continues:
“And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:30, 31)
This is more akin to a vision than a case of dead people “coming back.”
They did not really come back;
they appeared briefly with the transformed Jesus “in glory” speaking about the coming crucifixion, the purpose of Jesus’ mission on earth, which was to die on the cross and pay the penalty for man’s sins.
Moses stood for the law while Elijah stood for the prophets; thus, Jesus was bookended by the law and the prophets, of which he was the fulfillment:
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” Matthew 5:17
Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies of the Messiah and the requirements of the Law in his own person; there was no further need for anyone to wait for anyone else. So for the representatives of the law and prophets to be with Jesus at this moment was symbolic and significant.
Elijah was also a type for John the Baptist, who announced the coming of Jesus and baptized him.
There is nothing in this passage to endorse contacting the dead or seeing ghosts; this event, another unique incident, was an act of God to shine a light on his son Jesus, and in fact, God made a statement affirming Jesus as he did at Jesus’ baptism:
“This is my Son, the chosen One, listen to Him!” (v. 35b)
The message here has nothing to do with the dead, but rather is about Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecy and the law, his coming atonement on the cross, and the Father’s affirmation of his Son.
WHAT ABOUT HAUNTED HOUSES OR THOSE WHO SEE OR HEAR A GHOST?
I have personally heard probably stories from over 100 people (not counting TV shows and books) about seeing a ghost, hearing noises in a haunted house, or hearing from dead people.
There are 5 main explanations:
1. Imagination/delusion
2. Grief (grief counselors say it is common for people who have recently lost loved ones to think they see them momentarily, hear them, or even smell them)
3. Hoax (as in the haunted house programs)
4. Natural causes
5. Demonic
The fifth explanation usually applies to a situation where someone is involved in occult activities. This would include those who purposely attempt to contact the dead or who are involved in other occult practices, or have consulted those involved.
When I was in the New Age, I attended some séances and was able to receive messages from what seemed to be dead people; even years prior, a supposed dead person had appeared to me. This was all a result of my interest and visiting the Spiritualist churches.
Attending a séance will definitely produce results almost all the time. But it is not dead people who are giving the messages; it is fallen angels.
THE NEARLY DEAD AND THE HEAVENLY VISITS
I consider the experiences and messages from those who have NDEs (near death experiences) and who claim to have died and been to heaven to be a step in the direction of the category of claims to speak to communicate with the dead.
Although there is a trend in the church now to try to use NDEs as evidence for the after-life and a big trend in books by those claiming to have visited heaven, I consider these to be imagined, physiological, and/or demonic experiences.
Such experiences take away from and often contradict God’s word. God has revealed what we need to know about death and the afterlife; there is no need to listen to these tales.
Moreover, Jesus makes it pretty clear in the account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 that there is no going back after death. It is appointed to man to die once, and then the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
Such stories induce interest in experiences over truth. I believe that the experiences of those in so-called near-death states can be demonic. I had OBEs (out of body experiences) in the New Age which is similar to some of the NDEs and I know of others whose OBEs gave them information that was accurate.
The fact that someone declared dead and then revived can then relay a factual event while he/she was “dead,” does not mean this event is from God.
In fact, it does not glorify God; it only cultivates a taste for the paranormal and, in the end, it is not substantive proof of life after death since the person was never truly dead. “Near death” does not mean dead in the final sense.
JESUS HAS THE LAST WORD
The only One who really has died and who came back is Jesus. His physical resurrection is unique in the annals of religion. When he appeared to John on the island of Patmos to give the Revelation, he said:
“I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.” Revelation 1: 17b-18
So where will you go when you die is the question of the day. You cannot count on truth from the mediums, the dead, the ones with NDE tales, or from those who claim to have been to heaven.
The only life-giving message is from Jesus Christ, who died to pay the penalty for sins. Faith in the true Jesus and his work gives forgiveness of sins, and his bodily resurrection gives eternal life with God.
The choice is death or life.
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“The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him. John 3:36
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RESOURCES
CANA published article in Christian Research Journal, “I See Dead People”
CANA article, “Spirit Contact: Who is on the Other Side?”
FB Note: “To Heaven and Back: A Furious Fad”
from Christian Answers for the New Age
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