Lesson 17 The communication with a spirit

 "Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many"(Matthew 24:11).

  In the last lesson we learned that if man is dead, he has no consciousness and is separated from the world. The Bible is very clear and plain so we can't deny the fact with our intelligence. But why do we have feelings of doubt? This is because of remnants of past traditions, ideas, and stories about strange phenomenons of the dead to remain and experiences related to that.

The spiritual world usually suggests the world of the dead to our minds. However, the communication of the spirit of the dead was more popular in the uncivilized age. In a primitive religion, when a witch performs an exorcism and a blind person chants a sutra it is thought of as a connection with god or the spirit.

Nowadays, a modern being possessed of a spirit like spiritualism or mediumism is done extensively. But the method is changed to suit the moderns who set a high value on science.

In America there was an event like this. There was a patient with a tumor that was operated on by the spirit of a dead man. Whenever a spirit connects with a man there is a spirit medium, like in this case. Although there were no medical instruments or supplies on the spot, the locus was removed safely and he recovered. He said that during the operation, it seemed that hands touched his stomach.  The tumor removed was used for a sample after a pathological experiment in a certain famous hospital.

 

 

  "The dead know nothing...never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun"(Ecclesiastes 9:5,6).

According to this phrase, it wouldn't be possible for the spirit of the dead to appear. So even though it seems that a spirit did a strange thing-that isn't the spirit of the dead. The Bible says, "he is a liar and the father of it"(John 8:44), indeed it points to the devil.

In the beginning of the world God said, "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die"(Genesis 2:17).  But the devil deceived Eve by talking against God like this: "You will not surely die"(Genesis 3:4). Since then the devil has been trying to implant in minds of men this thought:  If man would die, his spirit will live.  Indeed he is not only an advocate of the immortality of the soul but also spiritualism. He had many followers when he was banished from Heaven for revolting against God.

  "The great dragon was hurled down, that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him"(Revelation 11:9).

Jesus said that there were angels to care for each man, and it is sure that followers of the devil disturb the salvation of Jesus(Cf. Matthew 18:10). Therefore, if the dead, through spiritualism or mediumism, are imitating features and voices, it is nothing but an evil angel interfering. He knows all sorts of situations well, so he can imitate of the dead by copying them. It is not the appearances of the spirit of the dead, but actions of the devil's followers to confuse the truth.

 

 

 It's not only to please people and to arouse their curiosity to do strange things. What the so-called spirit of the dead is talking about, not a statement being used to uplift of the character of man. Showing voices, manners, hobbies, habits of the dead that arouse an affection with them just leads to a thought that man never disappears after death. Then man is deceived after that they get to believe whatever may happen. The devil, that knows this fact well, tries to deceive them. Also, he made out an eternal hell. It is said that if man does die, a good man goes to Heaven or paradise and a bad man goes to a hell and falls into a pain forever. This makes people misunderstand God to be a cruel and wicked king; so many honest men become skeptics and atheists.

 

 

  Mediumism was the one of the superstitions of that permeated the world in olden days. When God inspired Moses to write in what is now the Bible, it was very popular so God gave serious warnings. Nevertheless, this effect spread so far through Israel that even the king came to indulge in the superstition. In those days the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel. The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem. When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid: terror filled his heart.

So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to a woman who was a medium. Then he asked her to bring up Samuel, because he thought that Samuel had been a very faithful prophet during his life. So he could see God's plan for Israel through him. When the woman saw Samuel, she said to Saul, "I see his spirit coming up out of the ground."  So, Saul asked, "What does he look like?"  The woman said; "an old man wearing a robe is coming up."  Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

Samuel:  "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?"

Saul:  "I am in great distress. The Philistines are fighting against me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do."

Samuel:  "Why do you consult me now that the Lord has turned away from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors-to David because you did not obey the Lord. The Lord will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines"(Cf. 1 Samuel 28:1-19).

At the first glance this fact seems that he had communication with the spirit of the dead, but if you take a good look at it, these contradictions are discovered.

 

1.	If God stopped answering Saul, he never brought out the dead Samuel intentionally and make him answer.
2.	If it ware the real spirit of Samuel, it wouldn't have accepted worship from Saul that only God deserves.
3.	What the  spirit of the dead person said didn't with the teaching of the Bible.
4.	Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me, that is, a prophecy of death wasn't correct. Actually their deaths happened a few days later, and that was just the death of three sons, the remaining son died on another day.

Therefore Saul did not have communication with the spirit of Samuel but fell for a trick of the devil. In Korea, from olden days it is heard that witches and blind fortunetellers have brought up the spirits of the dead, but that is just a fraudulent act. So God already warned us not to be deceived by that kind of thing.

 

 

"Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritualists, for they will defile you"(Leviticus 19:31).

"A man or woman who is a medium or spiritualist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them"(Leviticus 20:27).

"When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritualists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?"(Isaiah 8:19)

Here spiritualist or mediums are those who have communication with the dead, that is, they are those who have communication in different ways. The Bible says of them:  "Don't allow them to live."

 

 

  March 1848, a modern mediumism was begun at John. D. Fox in New York, America.

Originally another man lived in the house but he moved to another place because he was disturbed by the sound of knocking sometimes. After the Fox moved to this house, they soon heard the strange sounds.

In March 1848, that sound could be heard inside of the two daughters' bedroom, Margaret(15) and Gate(13). Gate thought it strange so she knocked in the direction where the sound came from and said, Ghost, do as I do, then in response there came to a knocking sound.

One day Mrs. Fox said, if it is a mischief of man, make a sound in return, but there was no answer. After that, she said: If it is a Ghost, make a knocking sound twice, then sounds were heard twice. Mrs. Fox was very interested in this strange communication and continued. One day she took some information from the spirit of Charles B. Rosma. According to it Rosman was the man who had been murdered before the Fox family moved in and his body was under the floor. So they dug there, and they found a skeleton.

After that those two daughters sometimes had communication with the spirits. News of it spread widely because people came to ask them for help finding something that they lost. This is what made Europe and the whole world know about spiritualism and they founded many organizations.

In 1882, at Cambridge University under the leadership of an ethics professor, Henry Sidgwick, a physical research society was formed and in 1893 a spiritualism society was organized in America. It was true that an English physicist Oliver Lodge(1851-1940), a Liverpool University professor and the president of Birmingham University and who held an important post in the Royal Institute for Science, held an additional office as the president of an England Physical Research Society and was concerned about spiritualism or mediumism. After he talked with the spirit of his son Raymond who was killed in World War 1, he became focused on it. This shows us how strongly spiritualism attracts people.

It is not said that these organization are in Korea but it doesn't mean that similar groups don't exist.

The devil is trying to get a lot of intellectual persons on his side throughout the world and make his plan a reality. It is the time for those who seek the truth and try to live in it to be more careful than ever.

 

 

  In the beginning, God predicted a big battle between Christ and Satan.

 "He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel"(Genesis 3:15), this battle has been ongoing. The devil attempts to confront it finally by using a weapon, spiritualism. He says; though man does anything, his spirit never dies.  But Christ said, "The wages of sin is death"(Romans 6:23). "Sin is lawlessness"(1 John 3:4).

The consequence of breaking the law, which is that anyone who breaks the law and commits a crime is dead, counts for nothing to millions Christians who do not attach great importance to the law.

Christ said this about the last days, "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible"(Matthew 24:24), "Satan himself will masquerade as an angel of light"(2 Corinthians 11:14), "He performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of man"(Revelation 13:13), "In every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing"(2 Thessalonians 2:1).

When we see these things occurring, we must know that this is the last revilement. There is a prophecy like this; "The spirit clearly says that in the latter days some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons"(1Timothy 4:1), it is possible for many Christians to fall for spiritualism. It is because almost all Christians neglect the law of God and believe in ascension after death. Then which one shall we choose on that last day?  Shall we follow God's word or follow the deceptions of the devil?