Let me start out by saying there are several different scenarios here when a person claims to have seen their dead loved ones. Let's discuss these claims.
- People are actually seeing their dead loved ones
- People are being comforted with visions of their dead loved ones by God
- Spirits are impersonating their dead loved ones.
- Through grief people are hallucinating their dead loved ones
Are People Actually Seeing Their Dead Loved Ones?
We have a story in the Bible about King Saul who went to see a medium of Endor. 1 Samuel 28:11-19
11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.Did the witch actually see Samuel? No, she saw a spirit creature, a deceiver. Understand that God refused to talk to Saul, this is why he went to the witch in the first place. So this process clearly does not involve anything from God. As we learned in yesterday's lesson all the souls belong to God. A demon or witch does not have the ability to call the dead at all but, they can sure as hell pretend like they are the dead. They can even state true things that only the dead person would know. So, if you are seeking a medium to contact your dead loved ones, know that it is not actually them but a demon pretending to be them.
12 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.
13 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.
14 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.
15 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.
16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?
17 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:
18 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.
19 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.
Visions or Dreams of Dead Loved Ones
In the last days, God says,I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy,your young men will see visions,your old men will dream dreams. - Acts 2:17
So it is true that God can cause us to see visions and dreams, even in this last day. Perhaps, God has granted you a vision or a dream that has your dead loved one in it. Entirely possible, so take comfort in it. When you are in a dream state, you are in something like the suspended animation that we talked about in the previous post.
Spirit Impersonating the Dead
As with the case in King Saul above, demons can impersonate dead loved ones. This is why we as God's people are commended NOT to go see mediums, fortune tellers, and people like this. Even if you get correct information, it is a deception and trap for you. Instead pray to God that He will comfort you with a vision or a dream. Remember, that all are alive to God and that is exactly where your dead loved one is.
Hallucinating Dead Loved Ones
Can you hallucinate a dead loved one into existence? We could image that grief is powerful and can take your mind to places you may or may not want to go. Your memories are powerful. However, people these days can deceive you with their so called pseudo science. What is the difference between a dream or vision and hallucinating? Hallucinating could be just a derogatory term to discredit a dream or vision, couldn't it? Was John hallucinating when he wrote the Book of Revelation? Was Daniel hallucinating when he wrote the book of Daniel? People no doubt argue this point, it does not matter though because both men saw things that came true.
Discerning Dreams and Visions
We have to discern between good and evil. If you have surrendered yourself to the LORD Jesus Christ and are following His commands then your dreams and visions are from Him. If however, you have not surrendered yourself to God, then of course your dreams and visions can be demon inspired. There is however a caveat to this. God can reach out to people who do not believe in Him in a dream or vision in order to save them. It is up to that person to take action once they receive this gift. It is up to them.
Choose Your Path
Choose your path as to what you want to believe. Will your dead loved one become an animated living being again? Of course they will at the Appointed Time. You will be able to see them, talk to them, hug them like you did before. Do not accept substitutes for the real thing. They are NOT a disembodied spirits roaming the earth. Do we have spirits roaming the earth? Yes! But they are not your dead loved ones, they are safe in suspended animation with God. We know who the spirits are roaming the earth, we know about their kingdom and know it will fall. Know who your enemy is and you will be wiser. More importantly know who God is and you will know what true Love is.
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