| When I was a
boy, certain practices, like consulting psychics and fortunetellers,
were so taboo that we would not even consider it entertainment. Today,
people quite frequently seek out these spiritualistic forms of entertainment.
We see them at fairs and advertised on television. Tarot card reading
and horoscopes have become the new “rage” in our society today. You
can find out each and every day in the newspaper how to live your
life by watching the stars, or you can spend hours on the Internet
searching and reading about paranormal events, or reading about the
psychics themselves.
Paranormal experiences
seem to be on the rise. We hear of apparitions of people that have
long been dead, or maybe you have even encountered such an event
in your own life. The question remains— are these really our dead
loved ones come back to haunt or help us? How would we know and
is it important? Are the spirits really trying to give us secret
information and is it reliable?
The movie industry,
without question, has been foremost in molding our minds to accept
these paranormal events. We have seen spellbinding magic, performed
right in front of us, in our own living room. Children’s programs
are laced with mysticism and the occult. Can you imagine the affect
on our children’s minds as we blindly allow them to soak up this
kind of information? Is it any wonder that our children today are
out of control, experimenting with drugs to gain a “higher plain
of understanding”?
The affect of
this occultism has caused race and even class hatred. Here, in recent
years, we have seen children killing children for no real reason
except selfgratification and the “if it feels good, do it” syndrome.
If this isn’t bad enough, we are being programmed to be ready for
beings from outer space. Through the movie medium, such movies as
Star Trek, Star Wars, and E. T. have put the idea in our minds that
there may be something to this mysticism, after all, is it so bad
to have the “force” with you? We also see and hear of numerous UFO
sightings through videos and newsprint. Are we being prepared for
an invasion from outer space? I believe that it is important to
understand just where this is leading and who is behind all of it.
Spiritualism is nothing new to society; it has been around for 6000
years. The occult has always been connected with satanic rituals
and practices, yet in the last few years it has received quite the
face- lift. Now people do not see the evil of it, but are enthralled
with the wonder of it all. Despite the change in our society, the
Bible continues to condemn sorcery and those who practice spiritualism.
“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually
immoral, sorcerers , idolaters, and all liars shall have their part
in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death.” Revelation 21: 8.
Extraterrestrial
Intervention Spiritualism is rooted in paganism, which is the worship
of idols and gods other than the God of heaven. In the days of Daniel,
King Nebuchadnezzar trusted magicians and sorcerers as his “guide,”
but the God of heaven showed just how little they truly knew. (See
our booklet Why Hitler Lost.) All wisdom is God given, but there
are spirits out there that are not from God. I believe firmly in
spirits. The Bible tells us that God’s angels are ministering spirits.
(Hebrews 1: 13,14.) As we study about the angels of God, we find
that there is more than one type of angel. In Genesis 3: 24, we
see one kind called cherubim. “So He drove out the man; and He placed
a cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword,
which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” We
also see in Isaiah 6: 1– 2 another kind of angel called seraphim.
These type of angels seem to have specific duties in the temple
of God.
God’s angels
are mighty beings. They possess powers beyond our comprehension,
yet they are called “ministering spirits.” They come to do the Lord’s
bidding and are sent to watch over erring mankind. Sometimes they
have been given the duty to cause great destruction and other times
great blessings. The former is a rarity, for God’s angels are as
good and loving as God. But, in one instance, God sent one angel
to the camp of the Assyrian army that had defied the Divine Master,
and during that night 186,000 Assyrians were killed. Angels are
powerful beings and should not be trifled with. Yet, God’s angels
are not usually in the business of destruction. They have been seen
by many people and have helped many through terrible trials and
tragedy. Abraham witnessed the coming of three angels to his camp,
as he sat in his tent during the heat of the day. Three men appeared
from nowhere, and Abraham offered them drink and food. The heavenly
strangers sat down and ate with him under the terebinth trees. This
story shows that angels are not just some disembodied spirits floating
around. Angels can take on human form and even partake of nourishment.
There have been
many incidents where angels, in the form of men, have worked in
behalf of someone in need. One particular story I remember, is told
of a preacher who was a circuit rider in the 1800’s. A circuit rider
was a minister who traveled from town to town and church to church
to preach the word of God. He was responsible for several churches
and would visit a different one every week. This pastor’s name was
John Jones, and he was a pastor for the Welch Calvinistic Methodist
Church.
One particular
day, as he was riding his horse toward his home, after visiting
one of his many churches, he felt very uneasy about his trip. It
was not just that he was carrying a large amount of money, which
had been taken up for a special chapel building project; he had
done that many times. This day seemed no different than any other,
but for some reason, that he could not explain, he felt as though
something was wrong. It was not long after departing that the sensation
of trouble increased. He prodded his horse into a faster pace as
he rode through an isolated area between two small villages.
The road narrowed
to a small path with a five- foot- high hedge running parallel to
it. The hedge served as a windbreak, keeping the small path from
losing all its dirt. As John rode along the hedge path, he saw another
horse on his left coming toward him from a great distance away.
In a matter of a few minutes, the other rider was within fifty feet
of him, riding on the other side of the hedge. Coming a little closer
to the hedge, John could see that the rider was very rough- looking
and held a large reaping hook in his hand. The rider stared at the
minister. John knew that his fears had now been confirmed.
His concern
for his safety and the safety of the funds grew as they approached
a gate that crossed the path. He knew from past experience that
the gate was always locked and he would have to dismount to unlock
it. The rough- looking rider galloped ahead of him, dismounted and
was standing at the gate. It was now only about a half mile away.
John, still in the saddle, began to pray. “Dear God, You know that
I have this money with me that has been given by those hard- working
people of Yours. Much of it represents great sacrifice. Please protect
me, now, from this stranger and any other danger that I might not
be aware of. Please don’t let me come to harm. Thank You in Christ’s
name.”
As John prayed,
his horse had slowly come to a halt. Without looking up, John urged
his horse onward. It refused to budge an inch. John gave it a kick
in the side, which did nothing to move the animal. Then John looked
up and saw the reason for the horse’s hesitancy. Right in front
of them, at a place where the path widened so wagons could pass
each other, was another horse. It was a large white steed and a
tall man was in its saddle. “Where did he come from?” John asked
himself. “I didn’t see anyone ahead of me, or anyone coming from
the other direction. How did he get up there?” John rode up to the
stranger, and before he realized it, had poured out his problem
to him. For some odd reason, it was a relief to share this with
the other rider. He did not answer John, but stared intently at
the man with the reaping hook. When the suspected robber looked
up and saw the new rider’s stare, he suddenly mounted his horse
and rode feverishly across the field in the direction from which
he had come.
“Whew!” John
said, “I am so thankful that you came up when you did!” The man
on the white steed made no reply whatsoever. “If you hadn’t come
up, I’d probably have been robbed or killed.” The other man still
remained silent, and John became nervous. Why did this man not respond
to him? “When I saw that other man ride off as fast as he did,”
John continued, “I just knew that my prayer for deliverance was
heard, and that you were sent by the Lord.” Without looking at John,
the rider said simply, but strongly, “Amen.”
John jumped
off his horse at the gate and opened it so that this friend could
pass through. Then John walked his own horse through. When John
turned around, locked the gate, and went back to his horse, the
rider was gone!
He looked down
the road from where they had come and saw no one nor any dust. He
looked in the direction that the would- be robber had taken so quickly,
and did not see the white horse there either. “Where is he?” John
asked himself in a semidaze, “Where could he have gone to?”
A cold chill
raced over his body as he thought about what had actually happened.
Then he began to question himself. “Am I imagining all this?” John
walked back to the gate and looked over onto the path he had just
been riding on. There were two sets of hoofprints. There had been
another rider with him. John looked over at the field where the
robber had been and saw clearly the freshly beaten-down grass from
the other rider. He knew that it was all real!
John mounted
his horse and rode along at his regular pace. A deep feeling of
awe overcame him as never before in his entire life. He thought
back on how the tall rider on the white steed had suddenly appeared
after he had begged God for help. He pictured the rider’s silence,
except for that one word. “Amen.” Then, it all came into focus.
“He never said a word until I mentioned the name of the Lord. I
have actually seen an angel! The Lord sent an angel for me just
like He did time after time after time in the Bible!”
John stopped
his horse, jumped off, and fell to his knees. “Oh Lord, I’ve always
believed that you sent your delivering and protecting angels for
those saints in the Bible. I believe your holy Word. But, I’ve never
felt worthy of Your sending an angel for me. I’m so glad that Your
help and deliverance are not based on merit or worthiness. Because
if it was, I would not be thanking you now.” God is ever interested
in His people, and sends His angels to protect and guide them through
their daily walk. Maybe you have wondered where these magnificent
beings came from? Colossians 1: 16 says, “For by Him [Jesus] all
things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or
powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” Jesus
is the Creator of all. He created these celestial beings for service
and praise. The Apostle John writes, “Then I looked, and I heard
the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures,
and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten
thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:
‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and
wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing! ’” Revelation
5: 11, 12.
These angels
are space travelers, but they do not use spaceships or have big
bulging black eyes with green skin. They travel space and time by
the power God has given them. Daniel found out just how quickly
one of these angels could travel when he was praying for understanding
of a vision in Daniel 9. As he was praying, help was sent from heaven.
We know that it would take many light years to reach even the nearest
star from our earth, yet this angel traversed time and space with
such speed that we have a hard time imagining how he accomplished
such a feat. Daniel states in verse 21, “Yes, while I was speaking
in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the
beginning, being caused to fly swiftly , reached me about the time
of the evening offering.” What speed! Gabriel traversed the distance
in less time than it takes to say a prayer.
I am grateful
to the Lord for His ministering angels, for without their loving
care you and I might not be alive today. Unknowingly, many people
owe their lives to God’s angels. I remember an experience I had
once a long time ago that I can definitely attribute to God’s watch
care over me.
It was a snowy,
wintry day. The wind chill was miserable that day, as it is many
times during Kansas winters. Even though it was slick and snowy,
errands had to be done. Some friends of mine had picked me up in
their old Dodge van, and we had set out to “take care of business.”
It was so cold that many people were having car problems and, unfortunately,
we were among them. As we drove along, it was evident that the van
was beginning to get hot, and we were not near a service station.
We kept driving hoping that we could make it to somewhere to get
water or coolant. Then it happened. The hoses on the van blew and
all the coolant was lost. What were we to do!
As we pondered
the situation, my friend said he knew of a station just a few blocks
away. But could we run this engine that far without water before
it blew up? Finally the decision was made. Being young, adventurous,
and daring, we all hopped back in the now chilly van and made for
the gas station and safety from the cold. We had to keep the engine
going and that meant not stopping, if possible, so we timed the
traffic lights and made our attempt.
As we approached
a stoplight, we noticed that the road was very slippery and icy.
The road graders had scraped off the snow, but now all that was
left was ice. As we timed the light, we were confident that we would
not have to stop, at least for this light. We approached the corner
just in time to see a semi- truck coming from the north, and he
was not stopping. My friend jammed on the breaks, but we were on
solid ice and began to slide immediately.
In this van
there was a large window to look through, so we were given quite
a view as the truck came racing in front of us. I can still remember
my life flashing before my eyes. Everything seemed to be put into
slow motion. Disaster was inevitable. The semi could not stop and
neither could we. All we could do was brace for impact. We all knew
that this was going to be a fatal accident. There was no doubt in
our minds.
The semi was
halfway through the intersection as we approached its side. With
only two feet left to go before hitting the side of the semi, we
were receiving quite the view. All of a sudden the most amazing
and wondrous thing happen. The van went from 30 to 35 miles per
hour to a dead stop. The stop was so severe that the rear bench
seat of the van came tumbling forward sending another friend sprawling
on the floor.
We all sat shaken
and stunned at what had just occurred. When we had recovered some
of our senses, we climbed out of the van and surveyed the situation.
I looked under the van at the pavement, and what I saw, I could
not believe. Under our wheels was nothing but ice! I looked back
at the road that I had just traveled and it was just as slippery
and icy. It was as if God had sent an angel to put his body between
that semi- truck and us. We knew that day that God had intervened
for our lives. He had sent His guardian angels to protect those
that He loved.
God also sends
His angels to give vital information to godly men and women. We
saw earlier that Gabriel came to give Daniel special understanding
into a very important prophecy, and, in Revelation, an angel came
to give John a revelation straight from Jesus Himself (See Revelation
1: 1.). It is easy for men to be awed by these great and powerful
beings. Their presence commands authority, for they stand in the
presence of God. The Apostle John was so awed that he knelt down
to worship his heavenly benefactor, but the angel would not tolerate
it. Look at what he said to John. “And I fell at his feet to worship
him. But he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that! I am your
fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus.
Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
’” Revelation 19: 10.
An angel from
God will never accept worship, for only God is deserving of worship.
Only God is holy. Revelation 15: 4 reads, “Who shall not fear you,
O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations
shall come and worship before You.” This is one of the defining
characteristics of God’s angels. They will honor and obey God. They
will never try to convince you to break God’s law or to worship
anyone other than God.
The Source of
Mysticism We can see that God sends His angels to help mankind,
but where do the psychics and sorcerers, and magicians get their
information? Do the dead go to heaven and come back to give us insight
into personal and world events? Where do these spirits come from
that we hear so much about in today’s society? To find the answer,
we must again go to the Book of Inspiration. We read in Colossians
1: 16 that Jesus created all things . He has made all things invisible
as well as visible, and made all principalities and powers. Yet
we also read that God will destroy those who dabble in sorcery and
magic. Did He also bring evil into the world?
The Lord God
is a God of choice and free will. He does not rule out of fear but
out of love. Each of His creatures is a free moral agent, meaning
they have the right to choose which path they will follow. This
is not only true with men but also with angels. Before the world
was formed, a leading angel, the covering cherub of God’s throne,
rebelled against His authority in an attempt to exalt himself to
equality with God. His desire was to be part of the inner counsel
of the Godhead. He sowed the seed of discontent in the courts of
heaven to gain sympathy from other angels who admired him because
of his beauty, wisdom, and position. But Lucifer perverted his wisdom
and allowed pride to enter into his heart. God had created him perfect
and had given him a high position, yet this was not adequate for
his prideful heart.
The Lord, speaking
through the prophet Ezekiel, described Lucifer in this way: “You
were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were
on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst
of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you
were created, till iniquity was found in you.” “Your heart was lifted
up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake
of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings,
that they might gaze at you.” Ezekiel 28: 14,17. Because of Lucifer’s
sin, God called him Satan (the adversary and accuser) and cast him
from heaven, along with all that followed him. “So the great dragon
was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who
deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels
were cast out with him.” Revelation 12: 9.
Satan was cast
to the earth and went out to deceive the whole world. He accomplishes
this through beguiling methods. Remember that he and his angels
are still very powerful beings and have powers that you and I do
not have. He employs these powers to misdirect people’s minds, thoughts,
and deeds. He is the author of deceit, and the father of all lies.
(John 8: 44.) He is ever watching for ways to cause us to be deceived
and lose the path to righteousness that only God can give. He also
uses earthly agents. Through kings, governments, and even churches,
he works out his evil plan. He is the one who is behind the work
of the occult. Though he can not foretell the future, for only God
knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46: 9,10), he notes our
character flaws and our weaknesses. He leads men’s minds, if they
are not fixed on God, to fulfill his desires and accept his counsel.
100% Accuracy
The so- called fortunetellers and psychics derive their knowledge
straight from the bosom of Satan. The Bible says that a true prophet
of God will be correct 100% of the time, yet psychics boast of their
knowledge and are wrong more times than not. Jean Dixon, a famous
psychic, claimed to be led by the same spirit that worked through
John the Baptist. She also uplifted the work of Nostradamus, a 16
th Century wizard, and claimed he was a man of God, yet she violates
almost every test of a true prophet of God. Ms. Dixon was never
correct on any prediction, of any consequence. If someone is led
of God, they will be correct all the time.
As for Nostradamus,
people have tried to promote his many prophecies, yet they go directly
against the Bible prophecies of former prophets. The Bible says
to this: “To the law and the prophets! If they do not speak according
to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:
20. In the 1550’s, Nostradamus’ main source for his magical inspirations
came from a book called De Mysteriis Egyptorum— a book on ancient
magic from the spiritualists of Egypt.
There are many
other well- known psychics, who we could name, that did not derive
their knowledge from God, but from another “spirit.” Psychics feel
they are doing well if they are accurate at least 20 to 30 percent
of the time. God’s standards are much higher. How would you like
to base your life on horoscopes, fortunetellers, and psychics that
are wrong more times than they are right? Hundreds of thousands
do it everyday. Satan is in control of their minds making it look
like they are having great success. The Bible says, Beware! The
devil is like a roaring lion looking for whom he may devour. (I
Peter 5: 8.) His deceptions are so clever that in the very end times
he will send his angels to impersonate the apostles themselves,
and he will come as an “angel of light.” (II Corinthians 11: 13,14.)
A Christian
writer stated: “Spiritualism is the masterpiece of deception. It
is Satan’s most successful and fascinating delusion,— one calculated
to take hold of the sympathies of those who have laid their loved
ones in the grave. Evil angels come in the form of those loved ones,
and relate incidents connected with their lives, and perform acts
which they performed while living. In this way they lead persons
to believe that their dead friends are angels, hovering over them,
and communicating with them. These evil angels, who assume to be
the deceased friends, are regarded with a certain idolatry, and
with many their word has greater weight than the word of God. Thus
men and women are led to reject the truth, and give ‘heed to seducing
spirits. ’” The Signs of the Times, August 26, 1889, by Ellen G.
White.
More times than
you would think, these evil spirits use religion to deceive the
masses of the world. They play on the senses and the emotions of
the people. They will use “miracles” to awe and fascinate the mind.
What people see, they believe. These evil angels, that fell from
heaven with Satan, perform wondrous signs that seem to prove they
are who and what they say they are. However, the Apostle Paul warns
of just such a deception in 2 Thessalonians 2: 8. “And then the
lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the
breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan,
with all power, signs, and lying wonders.”
“Spiritualism
is about to take the world captive. There are many that think that
Spiritualism is upheld through trickery and imposture; but this
is far from the truth. Superhuman power is working in a variety
of ways, and few have any idea as to what will be the manifestations
of Spiritualism in the future. The foundation for the success of
Spiritualism has been laid in the assertions that have been made
from the pulpits of our land. The ministers have proclaimed, as
Bible doctrines, falsehoods that have originated from the arch-
deceiver. The doctrine of consciousness after death, of the spirits
of the dead being in communion with the living, has no foundation
in the Scriptures, and yet this theory is affirmed as truth. Through
this false doctrine the way has been opened for the spirits of devils
to deceive the people in representing themselves as the dead. Satanic
agencies personate the dead, and thus bring souls into captivity.
Satan has a religion, he has a synagogue and devout worshipers.
To swell the ranks of his devotees he uses all manner of deception.
Ibid., May 28, 1894.
Paul was ever
warning the people in his day about these great deceptions. He feared
they would be caught up in the snare of Satan. He tells the Corinthian
church: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by
his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom
we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which
you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not
accepted, you may well put up with it.” 2 Corinthians 11: 3,4. Paul
was afraid of the very thing that we see happening today. People
are accepting “another Jesus,” one who preaches liberalism instead
of obedience. They are accepting a different “spirit” who entices
the senses instead of convicting the heart, and today we see people
accepting a very different gospel than the one that the Bible portrays
as the gospel of Jesus. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”
(John 14: 15), but the spirits of today’s gospel say, “Just confess
that you love me and you will be saved. There is no need to try
to follow all that the Bible says.” This is the great deception!
Do the Dead
Speak from the Grave? God gave the Apostle Paul insight through
revelations and visions. He saw, that in the future, Satan would
pervert the true gospel of Jesus. He reproves the Galatians, and
us today, in Galatians 1: 6– 9, when he says, “I marvel that you
are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of
Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are
some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But
even if we, or an angel from heaven , preach any other gospel to
you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we
have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other
gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”
Paul emphasizes that even if someone comes saying that they are
the apostles brought back to life (or anyone else for that matter),
or claim to be an angel from heaven, do not believe them! They are
evil spirits impersonating the dead. Believe them not!
How could Paul
make such a profound and definite statement about such things? Have
not dead loved ones come back to talk to their relatives? I am sure
you have heard of many cases where just such a claim is made. Why
was Paul so sure that these were not human beings that had died
and come back to give information of the future? The Bible is very
clear that we should have nothing to do with those who claim to
be able to bring back the dead. (In Bible times those who practiced
this craft were called mediums.) In Leviticus it says, “Give no
regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them,
to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19: 31.
“A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits,
shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones.
Their blood shall be upon them.” Here we see how severely people
were punished, in Old Testament times, who claimed they could bring
back the dead. The question remains, though, are they really bringing
back the dead?
The answer,
when we look at the Scriptures, is quite simple, really. We find
that these apparitions of dead loved ones, or the impersonations
of apostles, are not really dead humans, but evil angels impersonating
them. We hear so much about the visions of the “Virgin Mary” and
the information that “she” seems to be imparting to mankind, yet
this could not really be her because of these plain statements from
the Bible. “For the living know that they will die; but the dead
know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them
(their remembrance of things) is forgotten. Also their love, their
hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have
a share in anything done under the sun .” Ecclesiastics 9: 5,6.
Psalms 146: 4 says it even more clearly: “His breath goeth forth,
he returneth to his earth; in that day his thoughts perish.” (KJV)
A Dreadful Deception
These sightings are not truly our dead loved ones returning to us,
but evil angels impersonating them. There is a true story about
a man who was very sick, thousands of miles away from home. He was
so sick that he was in delirium and knew nothing of what was going
on around him. During his illness, his roommate in the hospital
died. The hospital staff sent the dead man’s belongings back to
his wife, with a note that her husband had died. Unfortunately,
a terrible mistake had been made, and the wife of the man who was
still alive was sent the note saying that her husband had died.
That night this women received a visit from her “dead” husband telling
her of his “death” and encouraging her to be happy and marry another
man. When the wife finally received the package of belongings, she
believed that the spirit who had visited her must have truly been
her husband’s ghost. Later, the wife received another visit from
her “dead” husband again encouraging her to marry the man who would
soon call for her hand. Eventually, all this came to pass, and she
was married to another man, while in the mean time her real husband
was getting well in the hospital.
When he found
out about the mistake that had been made, he wrote his wife, but
her new husband received the letter. Being shocked that the woman’s
husband was still alive, he arranged for them to move so she would
not find out. Eventually, the man in the hospital was well enough
to travel and immediately set out to see his wife who had never
written back to him. When he reached his home he found no one there.
After inquiring around, he found out where his wife had moved. He
quickly went to see her, but when she came to the door, he was in
for quite a surprise. In her arms was a brand new baby.
God has put
a vast gulf between the living and the dead. This has been done
purposely that mankind would not ever be fooled by evil spirits
claiming to be dead loved ones. If the wife of this man would have
understood that the dead do not come back to life until the resurrection
at the Second Coming of Jesus, she would have never been deceived
into marrying another man. But because of a lack of knowledge of
God’s word, Satan was able to destroy this family. This ghost of
the “dead” husband was none other than one of Satan’s angels. And
yes, the impersonation was very good. These evil beings know all
about us. They know our names, our likes and dislikes, they know
our mannerisms and our habits, and they can impersonate our looks
and voices perfectly. The Bible predicted in I Timothy 4: 1, that
in the last days, some would give heed to seducing spirits and the
doctrines of demons. We must flee from these counterfeits to God’s
truth.
As the world
turns more and more to paranormal phenomenon, ESP, magic, hypnotism,
and horoscopes, we find that we must guard against these devices
of Satan. Flee for your lives, says the Lord of Hosts. Anyone can
be deceived by these enticing delusions. When we put ourselves in
a position to have contact with Satan, we are putting ourselves
on very dangerous ground. If we are to be saved from these devices,
we must seek the Lord and be drawn into the safety of His arms.
There is no power that can separate us from God, for He is mightier
than all the mystics and psychics of the world. He is a God that
cannot lie, and His truth stands forever. Jesus said, “Sanctify
them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” John 17: 17.
Jesus gave us
a warning of the destruction that will befall us if we do not love
His truth and abhor the entrapping doctrines of Satan. “And for
this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should
believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe
the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Timothy 2: 11,12.
We must take a stand against the devil and flee from his devices.
We must avoid his pleasures and lies as if dealing with a plague.
If we are to be on God’s side in the great controversy between right
and wrong, if we are to be called children of God, if we are to
live in heaven with the King of kings and Lord of lords, we must
be purified from the heathen practices of the occult. It is not
just enough to say you will not deal in mystical arts, we must not
watch, listen, or participate in any form of Satan’s delusive game.
Today we must
make choices for eternity— decisions that have life and death consequences.
We must seek God and His righteousness, and He will be our guiding
light. King David writes these words from the Lord for our consideration
and admonition: “Come, you children, listen to Me; I will teach
you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, and loves
many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and
your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek
peace and pursue it. Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate
the righteous shall be condemned. The Lord redeems the souls of
His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.”
Psalm 34: 11– 14,21,22.
Sources:
Spicer, W. A. and Menke, Helen Spicer, The Hand that Intervenes.
Anderson, Roy Allan, Secrets of the Spirit World.
Cheetham, Erika, The Prophecies of Nostradamus.
Carroll, Robert Todd, The Skeptic’s Dictionary.
Noorbergen, Rene, Ellen G. White, Prophet of Destiny.
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