supernatural

The Star of the New Evangelization of America, Part III

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Editor’s Note: In the last two parts (Part I and Part II) of this series we have looked at the role spiritualism will play in the last days, especially as it relates to Adventism. This month we will examine, in detail, the Marian phenomena and how we should relate to it.

Thousands of Supernatural Apparitions

Satan has been preparing the world for a master deception for quite some time. Mary apparitions have been reported for centuries, and, more recently, the phenomena is steadily increasing. “Spiritualism is about to take the world captive. There are many who 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 of what will be the manifestations of Spiritualism in the future.” Signs of the Times, May 28, 1894. Is it any wonder, then, that all over the world major Mary apparitions and pilgrimages are increasing each year? “Since the first recorded supernatural appearance of Mary to a third-century pagan lawyer turned Christian named Gregory Thaumaturgus.…thousands of apparitions of the Virgin…have been claimed.…Hundreds of visions have been reported in the twentieth century alone, although only a few have ever received official ‘approval’ by the Catholic Church.” Searching for Mary, 6.

The December 30, 1991, Time magazine reported that “the late 20th century has become the age of the Marian pilgrimage” to shrines established to commemorate the many sightings of the Virgin Mary in recent years. Perhaps the two most famous shrines are at Lourdes, France, and Fatima, Portugal. But, “there are thousands of shrines of Our Lady in every country of the world.” Shrines to our Lady, 5. Shrines are usually built at locations where an apparition has appeared. Especially in the twentieth century, Mary apparitions have been reported and shrines erected in Portugal, Ireland, Rwanda, Venezuela, Italy, Yugoslavia, Korea, Mexico, Japan, and many other countries, drawing millions of visitors every year.

A major U.S. newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle, on December 25, 1998, featured the following headline: Virgin Mary Fervor Grows As More Sightings Reported. The Chronicle cited that the three major reasons for the added Marian fervor are the approach of the millennium, the strong devotion of Pope John Paul II to Mary, and the continuing influence of events at Medjugorje, a Bosnian village where the mother of Jesus supposedly appeared in 1981. In Carthage, Missouri, 50,000 were estimated for the 21st annual observance of Marian Days. (Scope, August 12, 1998.) Then, “in Conyers, Georgia, 100,000 people gathered on a farm to hear a middle-aged housewife named Nancy Fowler channel messages from the Virgin Mary.” Ibid.

On the feast of Guadalupe, about two dozen Mexican farm workers and their families gather around a large shade tree at a Yuba City housing project. They claim to see an image of Mary in a large knothole and have candles and poinsettias at the base of the tree. The Chronicle continues: “This rising devotion to Mary cuts across lines and denominational boundaries.” (See The Great Controversy, 445.)

Blood, Tears, and Roses

In Thornton, California, 50,000 devoted pilgrims from all over the country arrive, many in motor homes, in hopes of seeing a repeat performance of the “moving statue of Mary.” Many others have reported statues of the Virgin shedding tears of blood. “In the small town of Naju, located near the southwestern tip of the Korean peninsula, Our Lady began giving urgent messages and signs to Julia Kim. On June 30, 1985, Our Lady’s statue, owned by Julia, began weeping tears, and on October 19, 1986, it began weeping tears of blood. Until January 14, 1992, the statue wept for a total of exactly 700 days. The tears of blood were tested and found to be human blood. Now the statue has been giving off odors of fragrant oil.…Julia is surrounded by the sweet fragrance of roses. Also, when she kisses a rosary or simply holds it in her hands for a few seconds, it becomes fragrant.” Our Lady of Naju Web Site. In Stockton, California, my hometown, two statues recently transported from the Philippines sporadically emitted a “palatable fragrance of sweet-scented oil.” The Record, May 5, 1999.

Outside California City, in the Mojave Desert, a Mexican-born mystic and visionary named Maria Paula, has drawn crowds numbering in the thousands since 1989. “The crowds come on the thirteenth of every month for prayer and to witness Maria Paula’s reception of an apparition and a message from the Virgin Mary. Pilgrims have reported sun miracles, visions, healings, and numerous other miraculous phenomena.” Searching for Mary, 169.

In Corpus Christi, Texas, a $12.00 statue of the Virgin “turned its head, opened its eyes, and took mincing steps.” The Star Tribune, June 6, 1998. About 50 people a minute visit the site where a subway worker’s child noticed a water stain on the floor of Mexico City’s Hidalgo Metro station, a likeness to the nation’s most powerful religious symbol—the beloved Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. (The Denver Post, June 14, 1997.)

The Great Chastisements

“Medjugorje (‘between the hills’) has become well known in Bosnia-Hercegovina, and the world, because of six young people who claim to have seen visions of the Madonna. Beginning on June 24, 1981, the Blessed Mother appeared to and later told the visionaries God had sent her to our world to help us convert our hearts and lives back to Him.” Medjugorje Web Site. Visions and apparitions at Medjugorje—sometimes called The New Fatima—are continually being reported.

In Fatima, Portugal, on July 13, 1917, the Virgin reportedly imparted three secrets to three shepherd children. The second secret included the Virgin’s desire that the pope consecrate Russia to her immaculate heart, thus securing the conversion of that nation. [Interesting how communism was defeated through the conspiracy of Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan! Beware, beloved, for while in Mexico, the same pope consecrated the Americas to Mary, calling for solidarity!] “Fatima’s third secret, still unrevealed, has been kept under lock and key at the Vatican since the late 1950s and has been the subject of much speculation since its existence was first made known. It is widely supposed that the secret concerns a coming worldwide cataclysm and the approach of the end-times.” Searching for Mary, 10, 11.

Garabandal, Spain—A Masterful Deception

From 1961 through 1965, in Garabandal, Spain, four young girls experienced more than two thousand apparitions of the Virgin Mary over a four-year period. These particular visions and apparitions are a perfect example of the devil’s ability to perform masterful delusions and lying wonders—a prelude of what is to come. On July 1, 1961, a shining, winged angel spoke to the children and told them that the following day they would see the Blessed Virgin. The next day the Virgin appeared with two angels and continued to appear throughout the month. “Each time the girls went into ecstasy, during which they exhibited extraordinary physical changes: they became insensitive to pinpricks, extreme noise and bright lights, and their slight bodies could hardly be lifted from the ground by two strong men.…The Virgin would pass the infant Jesus to one of the girls to cuddle, or remove her crown and let the girls try it on.…The girls received out-of-body experiences during which they claimed they were taken on spiritual journeys through the heavens by the Virgin. Many eyewitnesses declared on oath that they had observed the girls seeming to fly over the ground at great speed when Our Lady was calling them to her.” Shrines of Our Lady, 153.

According to Conchita Gonzales, one of the four children: “On an unspecified date in the future…the Great Miracle…will take place in a grove of pines near Garabandal. Everyone who is in the area will see it; the sick who are present will be cured, sinners will repent, and Russia will be converted. The second phase of the miracle is to establish a permanent, miraculous sign in the groves of pines. The sign will be capable of being photographed and touched, its divine origin will be beyond question, and it will last until the end of time. The final leg of the prophecy, the Chastisement, is a global catastrophe held in reserve by God in the event the Warning and Miracle don’t have their intended effects.” Searching for Mary, 11, 12.

Calamities Will Increase

In Bayside, N.Y., “The Lourdes of America,” Jesus and Mary are reported to speak to the world through a seer named Veronica Lueken. Warnings of impending doom are presented of a massive world monetary depression and Russian plans of attack. Mary warns of increasing natural disasters through the elements of nature, and that these judgments from God—His chastisements—are increasing because the world has violated His moral law—the Ten Commandments.

Again, compare the words of the “demon” Mary (a demon masquerading as Mary) with the words of E. G. White: “Satan works through the elements also to garner his harvest of unprepared souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature, and he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows.…While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power….These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous.” The Great Controversy, 589, 590.

A category-five tornado in Salt Lake City, a first of its kind, causing millions of dollars in damage; the worst hurricane to hit Texas in over ten years; 72 tornadoes in one day in Kansas and in Oklahoma City; one of the ten most deadly earthquakes in history, killing forty thousand in Turkey—such calamities as these are becoming “more frequent and disastrous.”

So in the future, as these calamities increase and Sunday worship is urged upon us, we can expect nominal SDA ministers [whose testimonies will be seconded by the demon spirits (see The Great Controversy, 590, 591)] in “responsible positions taking a course directly opposite to that pursued by Nehemiah.…In churches and in large gatherings in the open air, ministers will urge upon the people the necessity of keeping the first day of the week. There are calamities on sea and land: and these calamities will increase, one disaster following close upon another; and the little band of conscientious Sabbath-keepers will be pointed out as the ones who are bringing the wrath of God upon the world by their disregard of Sunday.” And it will also be asserted “that this sin has brought calamities that will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced; and that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration to divine favor and temporal prosperity.” Review and Herald, March 18, 1884; The Great Controversy, 590. Obviously, these leaders are practitioners of the omega!

The Thunder of Justice

I remember the first time I read The Thunder of Justice, written by two Catholics who are very active in the Marian Movement, how alarmed I was by their frequent use of Adventist terms. The book, which focuses on prophetic, end-time events, appears to be the Catholic’s version of The Great Controversy. In fact, it uses the very language of Ellen G. White—the language with which SDAs are familiar. This book attempts to counterfeit the Three Angels’ Messages and to give all the glory to the Virgin Mary. Some terms used in this false Spirit of Prophecy are “the little flock,” “the remnant,” Mary’s message to “recite and keep the Ten Commandments,” and that she is “the prophetess of the last days.”

The Thunder of Justice tells us that the demon Mary prophesied that rockets will hit New York in the near future. (The Thunder of Justice, 344.) Interestingly, Ellen White has foretold of a time when New York will suffer a great fire: “I was in the night season called upon to behold buildings rising story after story toward heaven….The scene that next passes before me was an alarm of fire. Men looked at the lofty and supposedly fireproof buildings and said: ‘They are perfectly safe.’ But these buildings were consumed as if made of pitch. The fire engines could do nothing to stay the destruction. The firemen were unable to operate the engines.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 12, 13.

I have often wondered why SDAs are not more alarmed by the inroads of spiritualism and Satan’s use of Mary in his efforts to deceive the world, and us also. The demon Mary claims to be the “Mother of the Second Advent,” and that she is preparing us for Christ’s Second Coming. Friends, that is the work of our church! For we are the true church that has been called to give the Elijah message to the world! But the “demon” Mary insists: “I am the Virgin of Revelation.” I am the “woman clothed with the sun who does battle with the dragon and his powerful army of evil.” The Thunder of Justice, 90, 99.

The audacity of the “demon” Mary to take the symbolic vision given to John in Revelation 12, which is a symbol of God’s true church, and incorrectly apply it to herself! The false Mary also elaborates on the Holy Spirit’s role in the last days: “On the feast of Pentecost, May 22, 1988, the message from Our Lady to the Marian Movement of Priests was clear: ‘The Holy Spirit will come to establish the glorious reign of Christ.…What will come to pass is something so very great that it will exceed anything that has taken place since the beginning of the world.’” Ibid., 309, 310. Friends, are we not waiting for the outpouring of the Spirit?—that “time when the events of the day of Pentecost shall be repeated with even greater power than on that occasion…and [a time] to maintain such a close connection with Him that they may be partakers of the latter rain when it shall be poured out.” Review and Herald, July 20, 1886.

The “demon” Mary also says that the apostles, “Saint Peter and Saint Paul, having come down from Heaven, shall preach in the whole world and designate a new Pope. A great light will flash from their bodies and will settle upon a cardinal who is to be Pope. Christianity, then, will spread throughout the world. He is the holy Pontiff, chosen by God to withstand the storm. At the end, he will have the gift of miracles, and his name shall be praised over the whole earth. Whole nations will come back to the church and the face of the earth will be renewed. Russia, England, and China will come into the church.” The Thunder of Justice, 353.

I do not know whether this scenario will happen or not, for Satan is the “father of lies.” But Ellen White has warned us that “the apostles, as personated by these lying spirits, are made to contradict what they wrote at the dictation of the Holy Spirit when on earth. They deny the divine origin of the Bible [the Roman Catholic Church denies that the Bible is the sole authority of God’s word and defends the founding fathers and their traditions], and thus tear away the foundation of the Christian’s hope.” The Great Controversy, 557.

The comparisons continue with Mary’s counterfeit message that she “will bring you to the full understanding of Sacred Scripture.…Above all, I will read to you the pages of its last book [Revelation], which you are living.” The Thunder of Justice, 90. Then, believe it or not, on page 100 of the same book, she quotes the Three Angels’ Messages from Revelation 14!!! Dearly beloved, “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” Romans 13:11.

Demons Will Appear Before Our Eyes

“I saw that Satan has power to bring before us the appearance of forms purporting to be our relatives or friends who sleep in Jesus. It will be made to appear as if these friends were actually present, the words they uttered while here, with which we were familiar, will be spoken, and the same tone of voice that they had while living will fall upon the ear. All this is to deceive the world and ensnare them into the belief of this delusion.

“I saw that the saints must have a thorough understanding of present truth, which they will be obliged to maintain from the Scriptures. They must understand the state of the dead; for the spirits of devils will yet appear to them, professing to be beloved relatives or friends, who will declare to them unscriptural doctrines. They will do all in their power to excite sympathy and will work miracles before them to confirm what they declare. The people of God must be prepared to withstand these spirits with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything, and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils [including the relative of Jesus—the Virgin Mary—his mother!]…This delusion will spread, and we will have to contend with it face to face; and unless we are prepared for it, we will be ensnared and overcome. But if we do what we can on our part to be ready for the conflict that is just before us, God will do His part, and His all-powerful arm will protect us. He would sooner send every angel out of glory to make a hedge about faithful souls, than have them deceived and led away by the lying wonders of Satan.” Early Writings, 262.

Please read the chapter in The Great Controversy entitled The Scriptures a Safeguard, 593–602! Seventh-day Adventists have been given the truth on the state of the dead. We have been entrusted with the most precious light ever given to mortals to save us from the masterful, spiritualistic deceptions of Satan in these last days. Scripture support is abundant in defense of this truth that unmasks the lie perpetrated by Satan in the beginning that “ye shall not surely die.” The only defense for Seventh-day Adventists during the omega—when deceased loved ones, the apostles, the demon Mary, etc. begin making their false appearances, is a “thus saith the Lord.”

The Scriptures a Safeguard

And will it be Mary who will introduce, through the almost overpowering delusion, her son, the false Christ, to the world—”the crowning act in the drama of deception”? “In his assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed. He declares that those who persist in keeping the seventh day are blaspheming his name by refusing to listen to his angels sent to them with light and truth.” Our cry must be “it is written:” “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything;” “the dead praise not the Lord, neither any [including Mary] that go down into silence;” for “his breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Ecclesiastes 9:5; Psalms 115:17; 146:4.

The words of Job address this subject quite clearly: “If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call and I will answer thee.” Job 14:14, 15. And John 5:28 and 29 tells us that it is the voice of Christ that wakes the sleeping saints on resurrection morn: “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

Mary, the beloved mother of Jesus, “is both dead and buried, and [her] sepulchre [no one knows its location] is with us unto this day.” Contrary to Roman Catholic teaching, Mary, like David, “is not ascended into the heavens.” Acts 2:29, 34. In fact, David himself wrote in Psalms 17:15 “As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness, when I awake, with Thy likeness.” Such words also apply to Mary!

Jesus spoke of death as sleep. In John 11:11 and 14, Christ stated: “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go to awake him out of sleep…Then Jesus said unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.” In sound sleep one is wholly lost to consciousness; time goes by unmeasured; and mental activity is suspended for the time being. “Blessed rest for the weary righteous! Time, be it long or short, is but a moment to them. They sleep; they are awakened by the trumpet of God to a glorious immortality.” Great Controversy, 550.

The Sound of the Trumpet

There are three portions of Scripture that specifically mention a trumpet blast just prior to the Second Coming of Christ. And when these Scriptures are compared, they clearly reveal the exact time a deceased person will regain consciousness. The first trumpet verses are in 1 Corinthians 15:51-55: “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Only God has immortality (see 1 Timothy 6:16), and no mortal will receive the gift of immortality until the last trumpet sounds at the Second Coming of Christ!

The second trumpet” verses say: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessa-lonians 4:15-18. Here again the Scriptures confirm that no man receives his immortality until he is awakened by the trumpet of Christ at the Second Coming.

The third trumpet verses actually address the magnitude of spiritualism and Satan’s lying wonders before the Second Coming of Christ: “Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Immediately after the tribulation of those days…He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:26, 27, 29a, 31. Careful examination of the three paragraphs above place the trumpet sounds at the time of the Second Coming—when the resurrected saints will receive their eternal reward of immortality, and not before! Praise God, the Scriptures are our safeguard!

The Origin of Man’s Consciousness in Death

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. The doctrine of man’s consciousness in death, especially the belief that spirits of the dead return to minister to the living, has prepared the way for modern spiritualism. Nearly all forms of ancient sorcery and witchcraft were founded upon a belief in communion with the dead. Modern spiritualism is founded upon the first lie by which Satan beguiled Eve in Eden: “Ye shall not surely die.”

And it was the Roman Catholic Church that originated and perpetuated the teaching of the Assumption—that Mary was assumed into heaven before her body saw corruption in the grave. “At the end of her life on earth, the Church teaches, Mary was ‘assumed’ body and soul, into heaven. This teaching was first proclaimed by St. Gregory of Tours in the sixth century. An earlier tradition has it that all the Apostles witnessed her death, but that when her tomb was opened years later it was found to be empty. The doctrine of the Assumption was defended in the Middle Ages by St. Albertus Magnus and St. Thomas Aquinas. It has been adhered to by Christians from the earliest times, and eventually, on 1 November 1950, Pope Pius XII declared the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin to be an article of faith. It is celebrated annually on 15 August.” Shrines of Our Lady, 6.

“Through the false doctrine [of the immortality of the soul] 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 [even the mother of Jesus Christ], and thus bring souls into captivity. Satan has a religion, he has a synagogue and devout worshippers. To swell the ranks of his devotees he uses all manner of deception. The signs and wonders of Spiritualism will become more and more pronounced as the professed Christian world rejects the plainly revealed truth of the word of God and refuses to be guided by a plain ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ accepting instead the doctrines and the commandments of men.” Signs of the Times, May 28, 1894.

Two Astonishing Letters

While writing this article, I received two amazing letters that I want to share with you. The first letter came from a woman in Puerto Rico who informed me that a statue of the Virgin Mary or “La Virgen del Rosaria del Pozo” is going to be built in the town of Sabana Grande. The statue’s size will be greater than that of the Statue of Liberty in New York. Here is what she wrote:

“Dear brethren of Modern Manna:

“I talked to Pastor Vierra about reaching the town of Sabana here in Puerto Rico. In May, 1953, the ‘Virgin’ appeared near a well (always wearing a rosary), to three children, two girls and a boy—still living. Thousands of people visited the island, 24 hours a day. Many ‘miracles’ happened, most of them healings of all kinds (See Great Controversy, 588.) Since then, this town celebrates a ‘Virgin Marathon,’ when around 200,000 to 300,000 people come to adore the Virgin. They celebrate mass and everything else. Now they are planning the ‘Ciudad Mystica’ (Mystic City), in order to attract people from all over the world. Enclosed is the newspaper story about it. Maranatha!”

It is interesting to note that the artists rendition of the new statue in the newspaper I received from Puerto Rico had the Virgin Mary decked with the colors white and blue—the very colors of Mother Earth as previously mentioned by New Ager, Peter Lemesurier. Mary is often portrayed in pictures and statues as dressed in these colors.

The second letter I received was initially sent to Pastor Bill Hughes in Florida from an SDA minister from Ghana, West Africa. It reads:

“Dear Pastor:

“On the 12th of August, 1999, I decided to go to a certain village and share the word of God with them [and] more particularly what is bound to happen before Jesus comes. Before that, it appeared in our daily paper that the Virgin Mary has appeared bod`ily in Togo, a country which shares the common border with Ghana and millions of people went to Togo to see the Virgin Mary. I thank God and you for clearly opening my eyes because I read it in one of your books sent to me—Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive? Chapter 19 clearly talks about how Satan will manifest himself through the Virgin Mary, and this has really motivated me to carry the message across whether rain or shine.”

Demons Will Urge Sunday-keeping

Before I close, I want to make another vital point. We read and hear much about the Sabbath vs. Sunday issue. This one papal error is trumpeted ever so loud and clear. Ads are run and books written, small and large, that expound on this subject with clarity and precision. But what is usually overlooked is the fact that wonder-working demons, in the form of dead humans, even the Virgin Mary, are going to urge upon the world Sunday-keeping, and that the violation of God’s moral law is the cause of the chaos and calamities that are increasing.

Once again, quoting from The Great Controversy: “The miracle-working power manifested through spiritualism will exert its influence against those who choose to obey God rather than men. Communications from the spirits will declare that God has sent them to convince the rejecters of Sunday [Reader, that may be you!] of their error, affirming that the laws of the land should be obeyed as the laws of God. They will lament the great wickedness in the world and second the testimony of religious teachers that the degraded state of morals is caused by the desecration of Sunday. Great will be the indignation excited against all who refuse to accept their testimony.” Great Controversy, 588, 589.

It would be worth your while to research the Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4 . On page 406 it contains an extremely vital point: “As the spirits will profess faith in the Bible and express regard for Sunday, their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power.” Later in The Great Controversy, in the chapter entitled The Time of Trouble, the prophet warns us that as the “crowning act in the drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ.” That he will heal the diseases of the people and claim “to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday,” and will command all to hallow the day which he has blessed. Great Controversy, 624.

But, have you ever considered that before he appears to give support to this claim, the demon Mary, along with other demons impersonating well-known deceased Christians and infidels, will have already been advocating Sunday-keeping? Has anyone ever warned you of this? Is it possible that a false Ellen White might appear and contradict her very own writings, as the false Apostles of Christ will theirs? Are you prepared, beloved? Spiritualism is the means the devil will use to persuade the world and the churches into accepting the false sabbath! That is exactly why God has expressly warned us that “through the two [not one] great papal errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions.” Great Controversy, 588. Spiritualism will put the teeth into the Sunday issue!

Remember the past, dear friends, the alpha of apostasy resulted, within one devastating year, in the destruction of two major SDA institutions—Battle Creek Sanitarium and the Review and Herald Publishing Company! Never forget the prophet’s words: “The omega will follow, and will be received by those who are not willing to heed the warning God has given.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 200. A fearful woe is upon them! For if any form of spiritualism, like the warning given against pantheism, is accepted, it will result in the sweeping away of the structure! (See Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 2, 54, 55).

Friends, please take a close look at the Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4. You will find the chapter entitled “Spiritualism” immediately preceding the chapter entitled “The Aims of the Papacy.” I believe the Lord deliberately linked the two chapters together to clearly magnify the fact that through spiritualism and its imposters, such as the Virgin Mary, the aims of the papacy will be accomplished—the enforcement of Sunday worship!

Watch, Pray, and Warn

Please, watch and pray, beloved, for soon: “The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.” Great Controversy, 588.

Friends, the church and the world must be warned! Remember, Satan will not give one inch when we labor to expose his most powerful tool—spiritualism. Oh, how we have seen this prophecy fulfilled at Modern Manna since the publishing of Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive? But, thank God for Jesus and the heavenly messengers that have been promised to guard us from evil. All of those who are looking for the soon coming of our Lord have been commanded by Almighty God to scatter earth’s final message to warn the world—the Three Angels’ Messages that unmask the threefold union. We must scatter the Mary book wherever possible while there is still a remnant of time.

In the very near future, legislation may be passed that will classify the little God-given book as hate literature. What we must do, we must do quickly! And, please, do not only watch, but pray for the courage to proclaim the message and to stand for the truth when champions are few, knowing that the final warning will enrage the wicked against us. Soon the loud cry will be given with the power of the latter rain: “‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.’ The message of the fall of Babylon, as given by the second angel, is repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the churches since 1844.” Early Writings, 277. The omega is coming! Maranatha!

Secrets from the Spirit World

by Michael C. Wells

Secrets from the Spirit WorldIn today’s society, we are bombarded from all sides with the supernatural. It has become such a prominent part of our everyday life that it is beginning to be accepted and not seen as a danger as it was in times past. You can go to any bookstore and find volume after volume on the occult, spiritualism, magic, and ghosts. The paranormal has become part of our culture. It is hard to see any television show or movie that does not promote some form of the supernatural. In recent years, many movies have come out depicting dead loved ones coming back to “guide” those they left behind. A popular television show promotes “spirit guides” as part of an ancient Indian religion. Some have made magic and witchcraft look fun and unobtrusive. We hear of “good” and “bad” witchcraft, and we wonder, where did all this come from?

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.

Are there Angels?

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 16th 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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