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Is
there any justification for the Family practice of ‘hearing from spirit
helpers’? Does the Bible promote or condone receiving messages in
prophecy from departed ‘saints’? This series of studies will examine the
Scriptures used by the Family to justify this doctrine, as well as a
number of other passages related to this topic.
This
question is extremely controversial as the practice of attempting to
contact the dead is strenuously attacked by mainstream Christianity and
yet hotly defended by various Family publications. The fact that most
churches condemn the practice, not merely as something that is
discouraged but as akin to witchcraft and the occult with dire eternal
consequences should be enough to take a long hard look at the Bible to
find the foundation for our faith.
It is
the Bible that is cornerstone of our faith, not mainstream Christianity,
not the Family, not the writings of Christians through the ages, nor
Family publications. The Bible is that which all of Christianity is
built upon, so when we come to such a question as this, it is to the
Bible that we must look, nowhere else.
Therefore the question to have in our heart and mind when we try to
discover truth is not, “Whose doctrine is correct?” but, “What does the
Bible say?”
The
Family uses a combination of a few passages to justify hearing from the
departed and we will examine each of these passages in turn.
Saul and the witch. The Family claims
that as Samuel arrived to give King Saul counsel on the night before his
final battle, this gives precedence to the concept of contacting people
who have died, especially as Samuel was a godly man, a true prophet of
God. In general, the Family does not condone going to witches, but this
passage is used as a proof that contacting the dead is in fact possible.
The Transfiguration. Another example
of a passage where godly people who had died were seen and heard by
those still living. In this case Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus
while Peter, James and John stared on in amazement. Does this passage
prove that we may contact departed saints?
The messenger in the book of Revelations.
Didn’t the apostle John communicate with a departed saint? That is the
Family interpretation of a couple of verses from Revelations, and this
is used as justification for our attempting to do the same.
Lazarus and the rich man. Here’s a
story where the paths of two people are followed after they died. What
does this story tell us about communications between the world of the
living and the realms of the departed? Where do people go when they die?
Do they go to heaven or hell? Do they remain to haunt their previous
habitations? Are the good spirits free to come and go as they please?
Angels and demons.
Can we call on
angels to come to our assistance? Do we have angels under our command to
assist us as needed? Is there a danger of demonic attack if we do this?
The great cloud of witnesses. If we
are surrounded by multitudes of witnesses, couldn’t they talk to us,
help us, communicate with us? What does this passage mean?
Bible commandments regarding contacting the dead.
What does the Bible say specifically regarding contacting the dead?
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