Suicide! The very mention of the word stops conversations. It is one of the last taboo subjects in our culture. People taking their lives is on the rise in our culture, even among those who follow Jesus. Can believers in Jesus take their lives and still go to heaven? As followers of Jesus, how should we think about suicide? Is there a biblical perspective?

There is nothing more dark and disturbing as when someone takes her life. Many men and women live under the dark cloud of deep depression, and feel like taking their lives is the only way out of that dark pit.

Suicide Is on the Rise

According to national statistics, more than 30,000 Americans take their lives. This is a conservative number, as many suicides are not reported as such. Only 26% of people who commit suicide leave notes. According to the Center for Disease Control, suicide is the is the fourth leading cause of death among children aged 10-14, the third among young people aged 15-24, second among adults between the ages of 25-34, and the 11th leading cause of death in the United States. Each year 500,000 people attempt suicide, and millions more have suicidal thoughts.

What is Suicide?

Suicide is deliberately taking of one’s life or causing another to take your life, regardless of motive, circumstance or method. I know the enemy of our souls uses depression, isolation, and desperation to cloud our judgment. He wants us to think that there is very little or no hope. He wants us to believe that life is not worth living. We know this is a lie from the pit of hell.

What Are Some Causes of Suicide?

We can see that suicide is on the rise. But, what are some reasons people decide to take their lives? Though this list is not exhaustive, it is a good biblical sampling of some of the reasons people takes their lives.

• Guilt can lead to suicide. Guilt is a state of being at fault, often accompanied by feelings of being in the wrong. In Matthew 27:5, Judas experienced a high degree of guilt for betraying Jesus. His guilt overwhelmed and consumed him. Therefore, he killed himself. Yes, his crime deserved punishment, but a self-inflicted punishment was more than the crime deserved. Judas’ guilt weighed him down so much that he felt it was bigger than the God who completely covers and forgives sin and guilt.

• Defeat can lead to suicide. Defeat is when a person is overcome by a physical, spiritual or circumstantial enemy. In 1 Samuel 31:4-6, the Philistines defeated Saul and the Israelites, stripping Saul of his dignity and honor. His shame was unbearable. He asked his armor bearer to kill him before the Philistines could. When his armor bearer refused, Saul fell on his sword, taking his life.

• Rejection can lead to suicide (2 Samuel 17:23). After Absalom had rejected his military counsel, Ahithophel went home to his city, set his house in order, and hanged himself.

• Failure can lead to suicide (Acts 16:27). The Philippian jailer, after God miraculously released Paul and Silas from jail, was about to take his life. He was going to take his life because he failed at his job to secure the prisoners. Failing to secure the prisoners meant certain death for him. Instead of waiting for a Roman soldier to kill him, he planned to take his life.

• Revenge can lead to suicide (Judges 16:21-31). Samson, in one last act of revenge, pushed down the columns and collapsed the building on all the people, including himself. This fits the category of suicide.

• Satanic influence can lead to suicide (John 8:44). When we hear about someone committing, we should automatically conclude that darker forces are at work in that person’s life. Satan hates life and was a murderer from the beginning. He will influence us with lies: “Life isn’t worth living,” “God doesn’t care about you,” “You are a failure and a loser,” Your problems are bigger than the God you serve and pray to,” Life and your family would be better off without you.” These lies come from the very mouth of Satan.

• Hating life and feeling insignificant can lead to suicide (Ecclesiastes 2:17; 4:1-3; Psalm 90:8-9).

• Depression can lead to suicide. After Jezebel had put a hit out on his life, Elijah became depressed and wanted to die (1 Kings 19:3-4). Jeremiah and Jonah wished for death (Jeremiah 15:10; Jonah 4:1-3). These men had depressive feelings and overwhelming thoughts of suicide. Depression is probably the most common reason for suicide.

According to one scholar, suicide has a broad array of other motivations – rituals intended to preserve honor (such as Samurai suicides as a ritual admission of defeat), protests (such as self-starvation to protest war and oppression), escaping punishment, or avoiding pain because of terminal illness. Certain medicines can also lead to suicide. No matter the motivation, if a person deliberately takes her life or cause someone else to take his life, it is suicide.

Is Suicide Sin?

Now, we don’t see a verse specifically prohibiting a person from taking his life. However, we can confidently say suicide is not part of God’s will for anyone. I say this for several reasons:

• Suicide usurps God’s sovereignty over life. God is Creator. Thus, he has authority over life (Deuteronomy 32:29; Job 1:21).
• Suicide is taking a life – even if it’s your own – and taking a life is sin (Exodus 20:13).
• Suicide violates the command to love ourselves (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39).
• Suicide violates the command to love others (Matthew 7:12). I know some say that suicide is an act of love for family members and friends. However, leaving family members to pick up broken pieces, to deal with guilt and shame, and the utterly unbearable pain, can be viewed as a less than loving act toward others.

Can a Genuine Christian Commit Suicide?

If a person has a real relationship with Jesus, can they have depressive feelings that are so overwhelming that they might lead to suicide? Yes. I have done several funerals of men and women, who I knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the gospel had transformed their lives. Though I don’t know all of the reasons surrounding their deaths, I can say that there were darker forces influencing the depressive feelings that led to suicide. Satan hates life. He loves convincing people that life is hopeless, that their problems are bigger than God, and that the only way out is suicide.

What Happens to Christians Who Commits Suicide?

Do Christians, who commit suicide, go to heaven or hell? This is what everybody wants to know, right? Well, God is the ultimate judge. However, based on Scripture, we can draw some conclusions. Let Romans 8:35-39 wash over your heart:

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Can suicide separate a believer from Christ’s love? According to this passage, nothing, absolutely nothing, not even suicide, can separate the believer from Christ’s love. Sometimes, depressive feelings cause us to relax our grip on Christ but know that Christ will never relax his grip on us.

“ Because we did nothing to earn our salvation, we can do nothing to keep or lose it.

Our transformation is solely an act of grace. So, not even the act of suicide can dismantle what God has constructed in and through Christ.

The Message of Gospel

People attempt and sometimes succeed at committing suicide because they don’t see life as full and hopeful. Instead, they see despair, hopelessness, pain, and desperation as their constant companions. If this is you, I want you to know that Jesus desires to meet you in the middle of your hopelessness and emptiness. The gospel is good news. The good news is Jesus lives, and he shares our pain. He died and has forgiven our guilt, sin, and shame. Jesus was raised from the dead, giving us new life. He is exalted. This means he will come back and make all things new, redeeming the pain and suffering.

Thus, this good news replaces the despair with hope, emptiness with God-ordained fullness. The gospel is the answer to the circumstances and feelings that drive a person to suicide. The message of the gospel awakens people to full life with Christ. With that said, the proper use of psychological and medical resources can help people get to a place of normalcy and where they can hear God tell them who he is and who they are.

Seeking Help and Being Help

Those who are discouraged and depressed should not walk alone. Part of our Christian responsibility is to walk through dark valleys of depression with family members and friends, intervening in appropriate ways.

If you are experiencing depressive feelings, please seek professional help, talk to your pastor, or tell a family member or friend. This doesn’t mean you’re weak or lack faith. In fact, admitting that there is a problem and seeking counsel is one of the bravest things you can do.

So, if you are battling suicidal thoughts, I want you to know that God loves you and that he can redeem the pain, the suffering, the depression, and the despair. But, if you know someone who is going through the valley of the shadow of death, then do what Christ did: enter into their pain and suffering and reflect the new and full life Christ promises.

The post What Does the Bible Say About Suicide? appeared first on Marvin Williams.

One question people consistently ask me is, how should Christians think about cremation? If Christian families opt to have a believing loved one cremated instead of being buried, are they sinning? Should we cremate or bury? How will God reunite our body with our spirit, if there is not a body to join? This post addresses these questions and more.

What Is Cremation?

Cremation, defined, is burning a dead body, reducing it to ashes. Though there are instances of cremation in the Bible, the Bible does not give any explicit teaching on cremation.

Cremation Among Ancient Israel

Ancient Israel did not typically practice cremation. The Israelites stigmatized cremation as abhorrent. They viewed it as tantamount to desecrating the body:

Though Israel did not typically practice incinerating a body as a viable burial practice, there are several reasons why they might burn a body. It seems Israel reserved cremation as punishment for the worst criminals:

The one who has stolen what was set apart for destruction will himself be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has broken the covenant of the Lord and has done a horrible thing in Israel. Joshua 7:15

Also, according to 1 Samuel 31:12-13, Israel burned bodies to prevent their enemies from further abusing the body. Furthermore, in trying circumstances, Israel might burn a corpse and bury the ashes.

Should Christians consider cremation is the $64,000 question. Now, remember there is no biblical command to affirm or prohibit cremation. As has been mentioned above, sometimes, Christians object to cremation today because it is somehow incongruent with the teaching that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Secondly, some Christians object to cremation because it doesn’t  affirm the truth that one day God will resurrect our bodies and reunite them with our spirit. How can our bodies be joined when our bodies are reduced to ashes and scattered all over the world?

But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. 1 Corinthians 15:35-38

Whereas this is a good question, sometimes believers forget that Christians who have been dead for a long time are now ashes.  In fact, as our bodies decompose, they turn back to dust. Therefore, cremation speeds up the inevitable.

God Is Greater than Scattered Ashes

Now, when we cremate a body, it doesn’t make it any harder for God to resurrect our bodies and reunite them with our spirits. The same God who, by the power of his words, spoke the world into existence, is the same God who is powerful enough to recreate scattered ashes into a glorious body. God created our bodies in the beginning, and it certainly will not be a problem for him to create them again.

So, if you decide to cremate the body of a loved one, you are not sinning. If you choose to bury the body, you are not more righteous than someone who opts for cremation. When it comes to cremation or burial, I believe we have the freedom to choose. No matter what you decide, you should ask our generous Father for discernment (James 1:5).

What did you think about cremation before reading this post? 

Do you believe God is greater than scattered ashes? 

The post What Should Christians Believe About Cremation? appeared first on Marvin Williams.

Over the last couple posts, I have attempted to answer a few burning questions: What will happen at the moment of our death? What does the Bible say is the destination for each person when they die? Do all dead people go to a better place? Will we go to heaven or will we go to hell? What does the Bible say?

Before we answer the question, I think we should say something about what the Bible says about death itself. I know that last statement sounds morbid and uninviting. Nobody likes talking or thinking about death. We would rather talk about going to the next party or having a good time. Solomon says some very startling.

Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies— so the living should take this to heart. Ecclesiastes 7:2

The reason it is better to go to a funeral than to a party is that funerals snatch us out of our dream world of facades and fakery. A funeral is as real as real can be. Death is the ultimate reality of life. Funerals force us to think about our death and what we are doing with our lives. More importantly, funerals make us reflect on where we will go when we die. So, I believe that it is important to briefly say what the Bible says about death.

What Does the Bible Say About Death?

• Death is universal 

No one can live forever; all will die. No one can escape the power of the grave. Psalm 89:48

The Bible only affirms what we already know, right? No one can escape death. We can do all we can to stave off death. We can exercise – run, lift, plank, spin, and do yoga. If we eat healthily – carb-free, cholesterol-free, gluten-free, egg-free, GMO-free, nut-free, dairy-free, nitrates-free, trans fat-free, and sugar-free, it is not enough to stop death. The truth is, we don’t have enough money, networks, and intelligence to prevent death – the ultimate reality of this life. Consequently, in the end, we will all die. Death does not discriminate:

• Death is irreversible 

For soon I must go down that road from which I will never return. Job 16:22

 What Happens at The Death of a Believer?

When a follower of Jesus dies, the Bible seems to say some very specific things about what happens:

• Our souls go into the conscious presence of the Lord. 

And Jesus replied (to the thief on the cross), “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43

Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8 

• Our bodies are buried until Jesus comes back (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18). 
• God will raise our bodies from the grave when Jesus returns.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died^[b]will rise from their graves. 1 Thessalonans 4:16

• God will reunite our body and soul, and we will be with the Lord forever.

Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:17

Heaven will far transcend any joy that we have ever known. The primary dimension of heaven is the presence of the believer with the Lord forever. We believe heaven will be better by far. Grandparent holding their grandchild – better by far! Graduation from college – better by far! Wedding – better by far! Sexual pleasure – better by far. Cubs winning the World Series – better by far.

What Happens at The Death of an Unbeliever?

When an unbeliever dies, the Bible seems to say some definite things about that as well.  

• At the moment of death, the soul of the unbeliever is sent to hell. This is a place where there will be conscious torment (Luke 16:19-31). This topic has created lots of controversy in our day. The teaching of everlasting punishment appears to some to be outmoded or even sub-Christian. This thinking comes from trying to reconcile God’s love and God’s judgment. However, eternal punishment is explicitly taught in Scripture.
• God created hell for Satan and his angels  (Matthew 25:41).
• There is a real place called hell  (Revelation 20:11-15). The Bible seems to say there will be outer darkness, anguish – whether physical or mental or both, weeping, eternal punishment. There is one characteristic of hell, in contrast to heaven, the absence of God or the banishment from his presence.
• God will raise unbelievers’ bodies at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15)
• The punishment is eternal.
• The unbeliever will be eternally separated from the presence of God.

British author and theologian, C.S. Lewis, summed it up well when he said:

 Sin is the human being saying to God throughout his/her life, ‘Go away and leave me alone.’ Hell is God finally saying to the person, ‘You may have your wish.’

It is God leaving the person to himself or herself, as that individual has chosen. This is the final destination of those who have not committed to following Jesus as Savior and Lord. To make it more personal, this is the final destination of our friends, relatives, co-workers, parents, brothers, sisters, children, and spouses.

What Will Happen When YOU die?

This question is a very, very, personal one. Only you know if you have made a commitment to follow Jesus and let him lead your life. Only you know that if you breathed your last, whether or not you would spend eternity with Jesus or be eternally separated from him. If you are following Jesus, then you will spend eternity with Jesus. However, we should not be satisfied with going to heaven; our concern should extend to others. We must pray for and weep over those who have not committed their lives to Jesus.

We must live graciously among people who are far from God. Now, this doesn’t mean we do what they do, but it does mean we place ourselves in a position to live and speak the good news.

If you have never made a commitment to follow Jesus, I want you to hear this – God is so in love with you, and he wants you to know that he created you so that you could live in relationship with him. God didn’t create you to live and then shuffle off the stage of life. He created you to know him and enjoy him and ultimately spend eternity with him. Think about these verses:

John 1:11-13

John 14:6

Romans 6:23

Therefore, good deeds won’t get you there. Going to church won’t get you there. Giving to charity won’t get you there. Being sincere won’t get you there. Good deeds outweighing the evil deeds won’t get you there. Recognizing that a holy God has holy standards, and we don’t measure up to those standards Jesus and his death on the cross are the only ticket that can get you to heaven. Surrendering to Jesus is not just saying some words and just believing facts. Surrendering to Jesus is placing the weight of your life and your future and your sins on the broad shoulders of Jesus Christ.

What happens after we die is dependent on Who we trust before we die.

Have you surrendered your life to Jesus? 

With whom will you share this? 

See also:

What Happens the Moment We Die: Why We Believe All Dead People Go to A Better Place – Part 1

What Happens the Moment We Die: Why We Believe All Dead People Go to A Better Place – Part 2

The post What Happens At The Moment of Our Death? appeared first on Marvin Williams.

Where will I go when I die?  Many people believe all dead people go to a better place. Why is this the case? On yesterday, in Part One, I said that the rise of psychics is one reason why some people believe this. Today, I want to give you two more reasons why people think all dead people go to a better place.

Near death and experiences and the belief that God grades on a curve are two more reasons why people believe that all dead people go to a better place.

2. Near-Death Experiences

Some people claim to have died and returned to their bodies to give information on the life beyond. Most near-death experiences about which I have heard are positive experiences, whether the person believes in Jesus or not.  So, are near-death experiences real?

• One Description of a near-death experience

Betty Eadie, in her bestseller, Embraced by Light, gives an account of her visit to the “other side.” She claims to have seen Christ and thus even dedicated her book to him:

To the Light, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom I owe all that I have. He is the staff I lean on; without Him I would fail.”

At first blink, this sounds consistent with Scripture. As you continue reading, it becomes apparent that the Christ she tells us about is not the Jesus of the New Testament. Eadie’s Jesus is a benevolent being of light that surrounds her in such a way that she “could not tell where her light stopped and where his began.” Whoa! I smell new age thinking here.

Jesus, she tells us, is separate from the Father and would do nothing to offend her. There was no reason to regret past deeds, for we as humans are not sinful creatures; indeed, human “spirit beings” assisted the heavenly Father at creation. Thankfully, the world is not filled with tragedy as we suppose, and in the presence of Christ, Eadie concluded, “I knew that I was worthy of embracing him.” (p.41) This brief description is inconsistent with Scripture on so many levels. I will highlight one:

Human beings are sinners from birth – Romans 3:23; 5:12.

If we are not sinful creatures, as Eadie supposes, then there would be no need for Jesus to die for our sins. We are not fundamentally good people who occasionally do bad things; we are fundamentally bad people who occasionally do good things. But, if we smoke what Eadie and others are selling, then, in the end, everyone would go to a better place.

• The Problem with Near-Death Experiences

The problem with near-death experiences is we cannot accept them without scrutiny and questions. Near-death experiences may or may not reflect real conditions of life beyond death. They must be carefully evaluated to see whether they are consistent with and conform to the biblical picture of the New Testament Jesus and the hereafter. I do believe near-death experiences can occur, but we must not normalize them.

Also, the prior beliefs of those who report what they have seen and heard, are essential in evaluating what they experienced.  Remember – and this is important – Satan would try to duplicate the same positive experiences for unbelievers that God gave to Stephen (Acts 7:55-56) and Paul (2 Corinthians 12:1-4).

The great deceiver wants to have people think that one’s relationship with Jesus has no bearing on their eternity and beauty and bliss of “the better place.” If it is true that angels await those who have been made righteous by Christ, it is understandable that Satan and demonic spirits would expect those who enter eternity without God’s forgiveness (2 Corinthians 11:14).

3. God Will Grade on a Curve When We Die

Some people believe that God grades on a curve when we die, and we will go to a better place. According to one author, many people think that life beyond the curtain operates like a scale. God weighs all of our evil deeds – murder, stealing, cheating, pride, lust, etc. Then, he weighs all of our good deeds – going to church, giving money to charity, being helpful to people at Christmas, etc. And, if the good deeds outweigh the bad deeds, then we can expect things will go well for us when we die. So, we make sure our good deeds always outpace our evil deeds.

Or, we believe that God has a comparison chart that compares ours to other people’s acts. We say to ourselves: “I can’t be the worst one in the world. There must be more people who are much more sinful than I am. I may not get an A, but a least I didn’t get an E. Based on my “now and then” church attendance and giving money to charity, I should have gotten a C. I didn’t fail the test outright. I wasn’t like John or Mary, who didn’t attend church at all, not even for Easter or Christmas. 

So, when we die, God will not evaluate us based on our relative goodness – in comparison to others, or based on our sincerity. People tend to say: I am a sincere person. It doesn’t matter what I believe, as long as I am sincere in what I believe. We hear people say all the time: I may not believe in Jesus, but I have a kind and sincere heart. That has to count for something with God when I die. God will not send me to hell if I don’t believe that Jesus is the only way. My sincerity in whatever I believe has to have a place in God’s system of compassion and justice.”  Sorry to burst your bubble. But, God does not grade on a curve, and he does not give out hall passes to the sincere:

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. ²⁵ For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Romans 3:23-25

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6

A holy God has a holy standard. He does not base that standard on how sincere we are or how bad other people are. The only standard is his complete holiness, and we fall short of that. Our complete trust in Jesus’ death on the cross is what gets us to a better place when we die.

What are some other reasons people believe that all dead people go to a better place?

If missed the first post, you can read it here: What Happens the Moment We Die: Why We Believe All Dead People Go to A Better Place.

Next post: What happens the moment we die? What does the Bible say about heaven and hell the moment we die? 

The post What Happens The Moment We Die appeared first on Marvin Williams.

Where will I go when I die? This question grips the heart of humanity. Do we simply play our part and shuffle off the stage into obscurity and nothingness?  What happens the moment we die? Do all dead people go to a better place? In the next several posts, I will attempt to help us understand what the Bible says about what happens the moment we die.

Looking To The Pastor When Loved-Ones Die

The pain of death is great and unbearable. Consequently, we make an attempt find any hope regarding the destination of our deceased family members and friends. Many times we look to the pastor to give comfort.

As a pastor, I find it a bit easier to do a funeral for a person who is a follower of Jesus. For, believers have hope in Jesus. Though still very painful, God comforts these families with the hope that their loved ones have gone to be with Jesus.

On the other hand, it is tough to do a funeral for a person who was not a follower of Jesus. Typically, the family is looking for the pastor to comfort them with the magic words: “She’s in a better place.”  The family and friends desire assurance.  I understand this. But, if they never surrendered their lives to Jesus, it is a guarantee that I can’t give. I know they want the comfort of knowing that all is well as their loved one exits through the mysterious veil of death. In cases like these, the family members believe that all dead people go to a better place. Why do we feel this way?

Why People Believe All Dead People Go to A Better Place

Even though the Bible is very clear as to what happens to people when they die, people still somehow conclude that all dead people go to a better place. Why is this? I think there may be a few reasons people continue to embrace this line of thinking.

• The Rise of Psychics  

Psychics existed in the Bible, and they live today. The work of psychics is called channeling. Channeling is when psychics and mediums claim to be able to talk to the dead. A modern example of this is Theresa Caputo: The Long Island Medium. She claims, just like others, to be able to talk to the dead and bring messages from beyond to give to family members and friends. But, God consistently condemned any attempt to speak to the dead.

And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to theLord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that theLord your God will drive them out ahead of you. Deuteronomy 18:10-12

Why did God give this command to Israel? Because, consulting psychics would prevent Israel from being a peculiar people – people that God could use to bless all nations. How could Israel be a blessing when she consulted psychics and mediums like other nations? Moreover, these practices were forbidden because it divorced life from God’s standards of living? What do you mean?

• First, the future for Israel was determined by their commitment to God and his plan, not magical manipulation of the future.
• Next, using magic or psychics to attempt to identify or manipulate one’s future or circumstance was an attempt to run away from how God desired his people to live.
• Third, the use of psychics or mediums was a refusal to acknowledge the sovereignty of God.
• Finally, reliance on these practices indicated a failure to trust the Lord with one’s life.

Wait a minute, Marvin. Some of the things these psychics say seem to be spot on. People hear things that only their deceased family members could know. Therefore, they must be real, right? How should we interpret this seemingly compelling evidence? Well, in Leviticus 19:31, necromancers or those who consult the spirits of the dead, are people who summon dead. Because we know the dead cannot return to earth (Luke 16:19-31), we can conclude that these are demons who masquerade as the dead.

In the Old Testament, God calls these spirits “familiar spirits.” This suggests the familiarity some demons have with the deceased individuals. Thus, demons have an astonishing knowledge of the dead person’s life since they carefully observe individuals while they live. Therefore, these kinds of practices are not motivated by the Holy Spirit, but are the fruit of the sinful nature:

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,  idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21

So, I believe the Spirit of God is not leading the person who seeks out psychics, horoscopes, mediums and witches. They cannot and will not please God. It is impossible for the Spirit and psychics to control us at the same time. Why?  Because, the Spirit and the flesh are always warring to gain territory in our lives.

Why Do People Attempt to Contact the Dead?

Why do believers and unbelievers, alike, try to contact the dead, even though they may know it is wrong? I think there are three reasons why people attempt to make contact with the dead:

• People desire answers 

The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will confuse their plans. They will plead with their idols for wisdom and call on spirits, mediums, and those who consult the spirits of the dead. Isaiah 19:3

When we pray to God, and we don’t receive an immediate answer, we lose heart and become impatient. Then, we begin looking for alternative answers. Sometimes, people find themselves consulting psychics.

• People are disobedient to God 1 Samuel 28:3-15 

This is an interesting example. Saul consults the witch of Endor, and somehow she summons Samuel from the dead. In this one case, it doesn’t seem like Samuel’s spirit is a masquerading demon because Samuel rebukes Saul for his consultation.

• Satan deceives people 

These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:3, 14;

Information from psychics, mediums, spiritists, or channelers is unreliable. So, those who turn to psychics for life after death knowledge are misled. Yes, there is life after death, but we cannot learn the details from demons, whose chief delight is to confuse and deceive.

Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead? Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark. Isaiah 8:19-20 

This may be difficult to hear, but no one has talked to your dead uncle, cousin, grandmother, father or mother.  According to Scripture, there are spirits that impersonate the dead, attempting to deceive us. Consequently, to try to contact the dead is to invite fellowship with hosts of darkness pretending to be helpful angels of light.

As followers of Jesus, we should diligently seek him for all our answers to life. He is omniscient. Therefore, God knows everything about the past, present, and future. Therefore, instead of consulting demons who masquerade as psychics and mediums, let talk to our gracious and loving Father about our lives.

In the next post, I’ll discuss the second and third reasons people believe that all dead people go to a better place.

Before reading this post, what were your thoughts about contacting the dead through psychics? 

What are some ways we can demonstrate that God knows your future? 

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