In this chapter we are going to take a look at six Bible texts that people twist to try to prove that a person's spirit lives on after the body dies. This false idea, by the way, is what spiritualism has been teaching ever since the serpent perched on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: "Ye shall not surely die," even though the one who created life in the beginning said plainly, "Ye shall surely die." (Gen. 3:3,4)
1 Sam. 28:3-20:"Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel:"
This spiritualistic séance has been cited as evidence for life after death - but let's consider a few points many people overlook.
First of all, why does God discourage His people from making contact with the dead?
Is it because He is trying to withhold from us a reliable source of information that could benefit us in some way? NO!
Is it because He is afraid we will find out some important truth that He is hidings from us? NO!
Could it be that the Bible is not a sufficient guide? NO!
God tells us not to contact the dead because "the dead know not anything." (Eccl. 9:5) Any attempt to communicate with the dead is an opening for Satan to deceive us because this contact is nothing more than "the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." (Rev. 16:14)
It is very clear from a reading of this story that God had departed from Saul and would not communicate with him in His appointed way. And so someone other than God had to be communicating with Him. Also, Samuel was supposedly "brought up" or was seen as "ascending out of the earth."
Is this where the righteous dead are - down in the earth? Not even those who believe in the immortality of the soul believe that!
"Samuel" is described as "an old man covered with a mantle."
Is this the way immortal souls appear?
Where did this soul get a body?
I thought the dead were disembodied spirits! Was there a resurrection?
Did God obey the beck and call of a witch, and raise up Samuel?
If not, does Satan have power to raise the dead?
The answer is NO to all of the above!
The apparition of Samuel told Saul, "Tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me" (verse 19). Where did Samuel dwell, if the wicked king was to go to the same place?
The Bible never does say that Saul actually saw Samuel, does it? Verse 14 says, "Saul perceived that it was Samuel." From a second hand description of a witch, Saul concluded that it must be Samuel. But it wasn't Samuel at all - it was an evil spirit.
Paul warned of this same thing in 1 Tim. 4:1 about "giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils."
How did Satan know that Saul and his sons would die the next day in battle? Did Satan know that God had departed from Saul? Yes! Did he know that without God Saul would lose the battle? Yes! Did he know that the Philistines would not allow Saul and his sons to live if defeated? Yes! Did he know that Israel would do battle with the Philistines the next day? Yes! That's why Saul went to inquire of a witch as to the outcome of the battle. It was a last ditch effort on Saul's part to get some encouragement and direction.
Satan is not stupid! He put all the information together and made a calculated guess and it came to pass.
Luke 16:19-31 - "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
Either this story is literally true or it is a parable. Those who believe in the immortality of the soul claim that it is a true story because Jesus uses the name of a specific person named Lazarus. And He doesn't do that in any of His other parables. As we'll see in a moment, there is a good reason why Jesus used the name Lazarus.
But first of all, let me give you some reasons why this story cannot be literally true. Does anyone believe that Abraham's literal bosom is the place where the righteous dead go? (If it is, Abraham must have an awfully big chest.) Incidentally, the Bible does tell us that the angels do indeed have something to do with gathering the saints, as in this parable, but it takes place at the coming of Jesus - not at death! You can read about it in Matt. 24:30, 31.
Does anyone believe that the saved and the lost can converse with each other? Perhaps they have access to a cellular phone or ham radio!
Jesus said that the rich man was in hell with a physical body, because he lifted up his eyes, and he asked for a drop of water on his tongue. How did his body get into the fires of hell instead of the grave? How far would a drop of water go to cool someone who was burning in the flames? These things become ridiculous when taken literally.
This story is obviously a parable, and as such teaches spiritual lessons. The rich man represented the Jews, because only a Jew would pray to "Father Abraham." And the beggar represented the Gentiles who were looked upon as unworthy to receive the truth. Jesus illustrated this beautifully in Matt. 15:21-28.
Why did Jesus choose the name Lazarus in this parable? Verse 31 gives the answer. "And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." Jesus used the name of Lazarus because later on He would actually raise Lazarus from the dead. And as it all played out, the Jews didn't believe even though one named Lazarus was raised up right before their eyes.
In this parable Christ was meeting the people on their own ground. The doctrine of a conscious state of existence between death and the resurrection was held by many of those who were listening to Christ's words. The Saviour knew of their ideas, and He framed His parable so as to teach important truths through these preconceived opinions. He held up before His hearers a mirror wherein they might see themselves in their true relation to God. He used the prevailing opinion to convey the idea He wished to make prominent to all-that no man is valued for his possessions; for all he has belongs to him only as lent by the Lord. A misuse of these gifts will place him below the poorest and most afflicted man who loves God and trusts in Him.
Christ desires His hearers to understand that it is impossible for men to secure the salvation of the soul after death. Thus Christ represented the hopelessness of looking for a second probation. This life is the only time given to man in which to prepare for eternity.
Luke 23:43 - "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."
Many people have assumed from this verse that souls go to their reward immediately after death. But let's notice a few things that are wrong with this assumption.
First of all, even though the reading of this verse seems to support the idea of the immortality of the soul, it cannot be so, because Jesus Himself didn't go to paradise that day. Three days after giving the thief this promise He told Mary "touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father." (John 20:17)
There's another good reason why the thief could not have been with Jesus in paradise the same day.
John 19:30-33 - "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:"
Jesus died on the preparation day - And the thieves died either during the Sabbath hours or possibly into the beginning of the next week.
Then there is the punctuation. The words of the Bible are inspired but not the punctuation. If you place the comma after the word "To day" instead of before, the meaning becomes obvious that Jesus was only promising the thief that day that he would be with Him.
And notice one more thing. The thief himself wasn't expecting to go to paradise that day. Listen to what he said in Luke 23:42, "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." What will happen when Jesus comes into, or receives His kingdom? He will come back to this earth to pick up His subjects. Hopefully that's you and me.
2 Cor. 5:1-9 - We will see as we read these verses that Paul is simply contrasting this present mortal life with the future immortal life in heaven. "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him." Notice-Paul does not say "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." He was simply saying that he would rather be with the Lord in heaven than to be here on earth. Who in their right mind wouldn't want the same?
The naked or unclothed state is not mortality or immortality but death and the grave. Paul did not teach that a person passes instantly from being clothed with this tabernacle to being clothed with our house from heaven. He taught that death and the grave came in between!
In 1 Cor. 15:51-53 Paul tells exactly when immortality takes place and it isn't at death! "Behold, I shew 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."
Phil. 1:21-24 - "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you."
Now, these verses say many things, but sometimes it's good to think about what they do not say. Paul does not say that he will go to be with Christ when he dies. Many would say that he implied it, but if he did he would be contradicting himself in other places. First of all Paul says, "For me to live is Christ." Paul's very existence was completely wrapped up in Christ. All his plans and hopes were centered in Christ. His only thought was to please God. Whether he lived or died didn't matter as long as Christ could be glorified thereby.
Rom. 14:7, 8 - "For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
In other words, if the Lord sees fit for us to live - Praise His name! But if He sees fit that we should die - Praise His name also!
With a true understanding of the state of the dead, it becomes obvious that there is no passing of time in death. There's no difference in being dead for 6,000 years or 6 days! One moment you fall asleep, the next you wake up.
That being the case - if the Lord sees fit for us to die we have nothing worthwhile to lose by dying, but much to gain. By dying we lose temptation to sin. We lose all our trials. We lose all pain. And we lose all sorrow.
But what will we gain at the resurrection? Immortality. A personal interview with Jesus. A reunion with loved ones never more to part. We'll see God face to face. We'll inherit the earth made new. In that sense we have much to gain by dying and waking up to the joys of heaven.
Let's reread Phil. 1:23, 24 - "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you."
Paul wasn't talking about committing suicide here. He was referring to the time when he would soon have to appear before the wicked Roman Emperor Nero. It didn't matter to Paul whether he was allowed to live to carry on his work or whether he was martyred and found himself in the presence of God when he woke up. In fact Paul knew full well that the sleep of death is what intervened between this life and the second coming of Christ.
When writing to Timothy, he said, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim. 4:6-8
1 Peter 3:18-20 - "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."
There are those who believe that while Christ's body was in the tomb His spirit descended into the lower regions of the earth to preach to lost souls that were in purgatory our some kind of limbo.
Let's take it point by point to see what these verses really teach. First of all, it says that Christ preached to these spirits in prison and that He did it by the (capital "S") Spirit. That means the Holy Spirit.
Now, when was this preaching done? Verse 20 - "When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing."
And so, the preaching was done while the ark was being built. Not during the time Christ's body lay in the tomb.
And to whom was the preaching being done? "To the spirits in prison."
The word spirit (small "s") has several meanings, one of which is: "The (human) rational soul." It also means: "a current of air," or "breath." In other words, spirits here simply mean human beings who are breathing. Or people who were living during Noah's day.
The prison they were in was the prison house of sin. They were captives of Satan.
What Peter is telling us here is that Christ, through the Holy Spirit, was present while Noah preached, bringing conviction to their hearts and appealing to them to come into the ark of safety. Nothing here at all about preaching to disembodied spirits of the dead.
In Chapter 3 we'll wrap this up by speaking of the dangers of spiritualism. In the meantime let's make sure that "for us to live is Christ."! That our very existence is completely wrapped up in Christ. That all our plans and hopes are centered in Christ. And that our only thought is to please Him in all things. That we might be able to say with the apostle Paul: "For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." Rom. 14:8