" 'The spirits are here. I see them,' says Ruth Berger, a self-described 'intuitive counselor.' Psychic, if you insist. Channelor, if you want to be trendy. 'They have some wonderful messages for us. They want to talk to us as much as we want to talk to them.'
"On this crisp, clear, fall night in the library at St. Peter Catholic church in Skokie, Ill., Berger is leading 35 members of the North Short Chapter of Naim, a non-denominational support group for Christian widows and widowers, through what amounts to a class in basic ghost-calling . . .
"This is how it goes in the 1990s: A smiling and exceedingly normal-looking woman arrives at a church, meeting hall, private home or apartment and, in a very matter-of-fact fashion, summons into the room what she advertises as the spirits of the dead."
--The Morning News Tribune, November 14, 1990
The theory of the immortality of the soul is one of many false doctrines that Roman Catholicism borrowed from paganism and incorporated into the religion of Christ many centuries ago. Wouldn't Protestants be surprised to learn that the great reformer Martin Luther did not believe this cunningly devised fable.
In the book titled The Problem of Immortality - pg. 255, Luther is quoted as classifying the doctrine of the immortality of the soul with the "monstrous fables that form part of the Roman dunghill of decretals."
And commenting on the words of Solomon, Luther says: "Solomon judgeth that the dead are asleep, and feel nothing at all. For the dead lie there, accounting neither days nor years, but when they are awaked, they shall seem to have slept scarce one minute." --Martin Luther, Exposition of Solomon's Booke Called Ecclesiastes, pg. 152.
In this booklet we're going to take a journey through God's holy word to find out what the scriptures have to say concerning the spirits of the dead.
King David says that man is not conscious in death. In Psalm 146:3, 4 he says: "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish."
The book of Genesis says, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. . . . In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Gen. 2:7, 3:19.
The testimony of Solomon in Eccl. 9:5, 6, 10 is: "The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, . . . Their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. . . . There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."
You remember the story of King Hezekiah; how he got sick? Isaiah came to him with the word of the Lord and said: "Set your house in order: for you will die and not live." Isa. 38:1. And Hezekiah wept before the Lord and begged Him to spare his life. And God did - he was granted another 15 years.
Why didn't Hezekiah rejoice that he would soon be entering the presence of the Lord instead of turning his face to the wall in grief and disappointment? Let's let Hezekiah himself tell us why. "For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day:" Isa. 38:18, 19.
The popular theology of today represents the righteous dead as enjoying the bliss of heavenly beings and praising God with an immortal tongue. But that's not the way Hezekiah understood it. His testimony agrees with David in Psalm 6:5 "For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?"
Also Psalm 115:17 "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence."
On the day of Pentecost, Peter, in Acts 2:34, said that the patriarch David had not yet ascended into heaven. And he had been dead and buried for nearly 1000 years! The fact that David remains in the grave until the resurrection proves that the righteous do not go to heaven at death. It's only through the resurrection of the dead that David will at last enter in through the gates into the city of God.
Listen to what the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 15:16-18: "For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished."
The physical resurrection of the dead was the main theme of all the apostles' preaching. It was closely related to the blessed hope of seeing Jesus once again. Over and over again they focused on the importance of the resurrection.
If all the righteous souls of the past have gone directly to heaven at death-why would Paul have said that if there is no resurrection: "They which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished?" No resurrection would be necessary!
The doctrine of a physical resurrection from the dead seems to have been far more important to the early Christians than for most Christians today. And we have to ask ourselves: Why is this? Has Satan been at work, wresting the scriptures from their true meaning?
What did Jesus tell His disciples when He was about to leave this world? "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3
And Paul tells us further - "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 Thess. 4:16-18
Is it becoming obvious to you that the Father of lies has pulled the wool over the eyes of millions of God's professed followers today? What is Satan's purpose in all this? What difference does it really make? We'll get to the reason about why this false teaching is so dangerous later, but for now let me ask you another question. Is life the inheritance of the righteous or the wicked? Rom 6:23 says, "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
The death referred to in this verse is not the death that all men die - But the second death from which there is no resurrection. You can read about that in Rev. 21:8.
Being alive and conscious in the flames of hell for eternity would be eternal life, wouldn't it? There's only one kind of eternal life taught in the Bible. And living forever in the flames of hell is not the one.
The second death is more than eternal separation from God as some teach. It is the end of life. It is a "permanent cessation of all the vital functions." (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 1973)
Life on the other hand is "The period between birth & death." "The quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body." (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 1973)
The only one who promises life immediately after death is the devil. He preached the first sermon on the immortality of the soul in the Garden of Eden when he said to Eve: "Ye shall not surely die."
And that same sermon is being echoed from the pulpits of nearly all churches today. But not only that - it is being received today by the majority of people as readily as it was received by our first parents.
Who are we going to believe - God or Satan? Ezek. 18:20 says, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." But Satan has turned that completely around to mean-the soul that sinneth, it shall not die, but live eternally. This is what spiritualism teaches, not the Bible!
Listen to what the National Spiritualist Association of the United States of America Year Book, 1946 has to say.
"Life here and life hereafter is all one life whose continuity of consciousness is unbroken by that mere change in form whose process we call death. . . Spiritualism is God's message to mortals, declaring that there is no death. That all who have passed on still live. That there is hope in the life beyond for the most sinful."
Here's another interesting statement from Beware Familiar Spirits, p. 238. Copyright 1938
"Spiritualism will be the simplification of religion, the breaking down of the barriers between sects, and a universal creed which will combine the ethics of real Christianity with direct spiritual communication."
It sounds as though Satan is using spiritualism to help bring about the same goal as the ecumenical movement.
The Truth About Spiritualism, pp. 18-22 describes a typical religious service of Spiritualists (paraphrased). "Those officiating at the meeting come to the platform. After a brief introduction they sing a hymn. After the song the chosen speaker offers prayer. Prayer is followed by a reading from the Bible. Then the speaker reads a list of church members who have requested prayer. Prayer is offered once again for these special requests. Another hymn is sung, during which an offering is taken. Then another prayer of thanks for the collection. This is followed by a short sermonette. Then the one chosen as the public clairvoyant or medium begins by relating to certain individuals in the congregation something the Lord has revealed about their lives - along with specific council. Then the platform chairman calls upon everyone to rejoice because of these spiritual manifestations and closes the meeting with prayer."
When most people think of spiritualism, they think of someone in a dark room gazing into a crystal ball, but the devil is smarter than that. Today it has taken on a Christian guise and looks very similar to a charismatic church service.
It's clear from the scriptures that every single person who has ever lived and died on this planet will live again. Everyone will come forth from their graves, but there is a distinction made between the two classes that are brought forth.
Acts 24:15 says, "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust."
John 5:28, 29 says, "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."
Dan. 12:2 says, "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."
But it doesn't say they will come forth at the same time, does it?
In Revelation 20 it tells us that the two resurrections are separated by 1000 years. The first one marks the beginning of the millenium. The second marks its close.
Rev. 20:4-6 says, "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."
Those who take part in the second resurrection are going to receive "the wages of sin" - which is eternal death. The fires of hell will be real - the wicked will suffer punishment varying in duration and intensity - "According to their works" as Jesus said in Matt. 16:27. But finally ending in the second death from which there will be no resurrection.
After the wicked are punished, they're going to go to sleep and never wake up.
Mal. 4:1-3 - "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts."
Psalm 37:9, 10 - "For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be."
Obadiah 16 says that in the end the wicked "shall be as though they had not been."
Christians from nearly all persuasions and from all time have and do believe in a great judgment day - and rightly so - it is taught in the Bible. But if the dead are already enjoying the bliss of heaven or being tortured in the flames of hell, what need of a future judgment? In fact, let's take a look at a few of these texts that speak of a future judgment.
Matt. 12:36 - "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."
Mark 6:11 - "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city."
2 Peter 2:9; 3:7 - "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: . . . But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."
Acts 17:29-31 - "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by [that] man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."
Jude 6, 14, 15 - "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. . . . And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
Before God executes judgment there must first be an investigation, or an investigative judgment. In other words, before God carries out either punishment or reward He must first examine the case of each one to decide what they deserve.
From the following texts it is clear that God keeps a record of everything from which He meets out righteous judgment.
Rev. 20:11-15 - "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Mal. 3:16 - "Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name."
Psalm 56:8 - "Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?"
Eccl. 12:13, 14 - "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
Matt. 25:31, 41, 46 - "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: . . . Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: . . . And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
These verses make absolutely no sense if the dead go immediately to their reward. How could Jesus say to the righteous when He comes, "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" when they have already been dwelling in His presence, perhaps for hundreds or even thousands of years? How could the wicked be called from their torment to receive the sentence, "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire"! What a mockery that would be to the wisdom and justice of God.
I don't know of a more comforting doctrine than to know that the dead are sleeping in the grave, and peacefully waiting for the resurrection. No passing of time. No pain. No heartache. No sorrow. No temptation. Just sweet rest.
That's why Paul told the Thessalonians in 1 Thess. 4:18, "Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
When the dead are finally called forth from their deep slumber they will begin to think just where they ceased. This is a good reason why we must bring "into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." 2 Cor. 10:5
Do you know what everyone of the righteous will say as they come forth from their dusty beds? 1 Cor. 15:55 "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"
I don't even want to think about what the thoughts of the wicked will be once they realize they are lost for all eternity - what a terrible thing!
You probably remember reading the Bible and coming across verses that refer to death as a sleep. I took the time to look up every one of those verses, and there are 73 of them. And so, this is something that is well-documented in God's word. We don't have space to list all of them, but I would like to consider just two.
John 11:11-14, 21-24, 39-44 - "These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. . . . Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. . . . Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go."
Don't you think it's a little strange that Lazarus had nothing to say about his heavenly vacation of 4 days? Not one word! He didn't say, Oh Jesus, why did you bring me back here? I was having such a good time in paradise. But no - the scriptures are silent.
In fact, there are at least 8 other instances in the Bible where people were raised from the dead and none of them and anything to say about their experience. Don't you find that a little odd if there is consciousness after death?
Jairus' daughter had nothing to say (Luke 8:49-56).
The son of the widow of Nain had nothing to say (Luke 7:11-17).
Eutychus had nothing to say (Acts 20:9, 10).
The son of the Shunamite woman had nothing to say (2 Kings 4:8-37).
The son of the widow of Zarephath had nothing to say (1 Kings 17:17-24).
The dead man who was thrown on top of the bones of Elisha and came back to life had nothing to say (2 Kings 13:21).
Not one of these people had any stories to tell about what it was like in heaven. And besides - wouldn't it have been a dirty trick to bring them back to this sin-cursed earth to live again.
Matt. 27:50-53 - "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."
None of these saints had anything at all to say about heaven. Even Jesus Himself didn't go to heaven right after His crucifixion. Because after His resurrection He told Mary (John 20:17) that He had not yet ascended to His Father.
There are a few texts people try to use to prove that there is consciousness after death. But their interpretations do not harmonize with the weight of evidence that I have shared with you. We'll take a look at those verses in the next chapter.
Just know that God's plan for life after death comes only through the resurrection "at the last day." And any teaching that is contrary to this truth is error that Satan can use to deceive and ensnare. The devil has a counterfeit for every truth and it's up to us to study to show ourselves approved unto God and through the Holy Spirit to come to a knowledge of the truth for these last days.