Issued: 09/20/21 Revised: 12/22/23
“Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no understanding.”
Isaiah 8:20
PLEASE NOTE: Because Bible versions sometimes differ from each other in crucial ways, the version quoted here will be the one that best clarifies the point being made. For a quick comparison between versions, please go to: http://www.biblehub.com.
All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity. These emendations will not be italicized.
The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.” The symbol “↔” is used to connect verses corroborating each other and so establishing doctrinal truths (Matthew 18:16↔2Corinthians 13:1).
In differentiating between Yahweh Son [Jesus] and Yahweh Father [the Most High God], lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the Only and Most High God. Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from Father, we have followed his lead here.
The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.
There are only two ways of approaching the Bible: It is Father‘s word, authored by the Holy Spirit and therefore true and infallible (John 16:13; 2Peter 1:20-21), or it is the work of men pursuing personal agendas, possibly false and unreliable. The first approach relies on faith, meaning certainty of belief in the absence of empirical proof (Hebrews 11:1). The second is a ‘free-for-all, anything goes’ competition to seduce minds with claims and counter-claims suited to every mindset. The first approach aims to get the faithful on the same page (Ephesians 4:2-6); the latter to ignite the fission of divisiveness, doubt, and uncertainty—Satan’s strategic stockpile—so that irradiated people cannot agree on anything: The current state of affairs foreshadowed in the Tower of Babel affair (Genesis 11:7).
Dismissing scholarly arguments, this is why Scripture calls Satan “king of Babylon,” the ruler of all worldly domains (Isaiah 14:6,12,16-20; Luke 4:6; 2Corinthians 4:4; 1John 5:19). And just as Babylon was the capital of that empire, so is “Babylon” seven-hilled Rome (1Peter 5:13; Revelation 17:9), site of the church where Satan’s throne is (Revelation 2:13↔Revelation 18:2). Thus Scripture identifies that church as “Babylon the Great,” given that though herself army-less but allied with nations beholden to her, she was empowered to mow down opponents and saints alike (Daniel 8:23-24; Revelation 13:7, 17:6,17-18).1
This is why Jeremiah 51:44, “I will execute judgment on Bel [lord or master] in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more to him: yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall,” is fulfilled in end-times prior to Armageddon: “Then I saw three disgusting spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon [Satan↔Ezekiel 29:3; Revelation 20:2], out of the mouth of the beast [Babylon the Great], and out of the mouth of the false prophet [Protestantism?], for they are spirits of demons, doing signs—which go forth to the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to bring them together to the battle of that great day of God the Almighty” (Revelation 16:13-14↔Revelation 20:7-10).
Vitally important though these things are, they fall outside the parameters of this essay, whose aim is to focus on deceptions embedded in religious and secular beliefs. The fact that satanic deceptions will be deployed to test faith is attested by Deuteronomy 13:1-3, Matthew 24:24, 2Thessalonians 2:9-12, and Revelation 13:13-14, 16:14, 20:8. Whether these deceivers be men or Satan himself (↔1Kings 22:20-23), both serve another divine objective: To discriminate amongst people who will believe or dismiss Father’s instruction. It is for this purpose that Father allows the deceptions (2Thessalonians 2:12); and why Scripture functions as a trap to separate righteous from unrighteous (Deuteronomy 29:29; Isaiah 28:13; Daniel 12:10; Mark 4:11-12; 1Corinthians 2:10-15; 2Corinthians 4:3-4).
Before we start, let us acknowledge that anything discussed here or until doomsday—as all past preaching has failed to do—will not convince anyone whose mind is impervious to truth (Zechariah 7:12). The purpose of preaching is not to amass a following in order to lord over it, but to repeat ad nauseam the warnings of Scripture to liberate souls mired in errors of whatever sort—errors, that is, not in agreement with Biblical testimony. In this way mayhap we save others from destruction while proactively sparing ourselves (Ezekiel 3:18-21; 1Corinthians 9:16).
REINCARNATION AND PAST LIFE REGRESSIONS
Reincarnation is a doctrine easy to debunk: “It is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Only one life in which to make good and reconcile with Father, the reason why Jews and Christians were apportioned “times” 2 to procure redemption. The soul that dies in sin does not return for a second try: It is consigned to the flames (Luke 16:19-24). Even in life no second chances are granted where transgression has been egregious—as in Esau’s case (Hebrews 12:16-17); as well as with those who having been “once enlightened and…tasted of the heavenly gift… the goodness of God’s word and the powers of the coming age, and having become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame” (Hebrews 6:4-6↔Matthew 12:40-45; 2Peter 2:20). This is in keeping with Father’s stipulation that anybody who “shrinks back” is toast—figuratively and literally↔Hebrews 10:38. When it comes to conviction, both Father and Jesus are extreme radicals: No middle-grounders qualify for salvation (James 1:6-8; Revelation 3:16).
Nevertheless, even when notable evangelical leaders have betrayed their commission, many congregants steadfastly rally behind them, a sure sign of the recidivist apostasy Judeo-Christians are prone to (Jeremiah 5:26-31; Acts 20:25-30; 3John 1:9-10; Revelation 13:8). Judge for yourselves if any shred of loyalty should be lavished on people who not only disgraced their ministries but duped their congregants and made of mockery of Jesus and everything he stands for.
If only one bodily existence per lifetime, what of the soul? We shall deal with this more fully when discussing the dynamics of death further on; but for now let us quote Solomon: “The dust [i.e., the body (Genesis 3:19)] returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). The dead, Solomon continues, “do not know anything, and there is no more reward to them, for their remembrance [i.e., memory] has been forgotten [cannot be recalled]. Their love also, their hatred, their envy, has already perished, and they have no more portion for all time in all that is being done under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6).
Thus the soul goes back to Father in a state of unconsciousness [or “sleep,” to borrow Scripture’s term]; and remains ‘asleep’ until awakened at one of the two resurrections (Daniel 12:2; John 5:29; Acts 24:15; Revelation 20:5-6)—as suggested by Revelation 6:9-11 in relation to Judeo-Christian martyrs. The entire resurrection process is outlined in Ezekiel 37:1-14; 1Corinthians 15:51-53; and 1Thessalonians 4:13-17.3
As we can see, no departed human being is looking down from Heaven or assisting the living in any capacity (Ecclesiastes 9:6). Moreover, there is no Purgatory: No one atones for middling-to-serious sins in the ether except during one’s lifetime (Hebrews 9:27). Plus, as David laments in Psalms 6:5, “in death, there is no memory of [God]. Who will give You thanks where the dead are?”, further corroborates Solomon’s contention that the departed do not go back to Father in a conscious state (Ecclesiastes 9:5).
Tibetan Buddhism
Now, Biblical doctrines must be comprehensive enough to encompass non Judeo-Christian worshippers; devised, as they have been, to judge the whole of humanity (Matthew 24:14; John 15:22). Let us consider Tibetan Buddhists. The current Dalai Lama, born Tenzin Gyatso, is one of the most revered, globally admired spiritual leaders. According to his website, he numbers seventy-fourth in a lineage of reincarnations tracing back to a Brahmin boy who lived in the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. He is believed to be able to choose the body for his next reincarnation; but has stated his rebirth will not take place in a country controlled by despotic regimes. It took four years to locate him in the boondocks of Tibet through a convoluted process we need not discuss here—do your own research. But Lama-location may rely on the cardinal direction of smoke wafting up from the cremated remains of former Dalai Lamas; to living High Lamas’ dreams and visions; to recognition of objects the reincarnated Lama possessed in his previous existence.
To make matters worse, since there is no Divinity involved in the process, the ultimate selection of the reincarnated Lama depends on consensus amongst High Lamas. In fact, there is no personal God in Buddhism, nor belief in the existence of eternal souls, which begs the question of what rides around in the so-called Wheel of Life—samsara, or repeated cycles of birth and death. Buddhism’s answer sounds like quantum phenomena scrambled with esoteric sophistries; still, adherents are free to believe what they will. What concerns us here is that in his argument that souls animate bodies (John 6:63), Jesus contradicts Buddha.
Admittedly, the Dalai Lama is an iconic figure exuding waves of charisma and goodwill, but the nirvana he offers is self-determined liberation from worldly attachments and release from suffering-riddled cycles of rebirths. Judeo-Christianity posits much the same outcomes in one life-cycle only, the main difference being that without Jesus, such outcomes cannot be attained (John 15:5). Whereas in Buddhism the realization of non-self, emptiness, perfect quietude and freedom are the highest forms of happiness, Christianity goes for immortal bodies (Job 19:26-27; Psalms 17:5; 1Corinthians 15:51-53; 1John 3:2), fullness of and in God (Ephesians 4:6), active participation in a new order of earthly things (Isaiah 25:6, 65:17-25, 66:18-23; Mark 14:25; Luke 12:37; Revelation 14:4, 21:24), and liberation from a tormentor who would deny men such joys.
Bottom line: Everyone is free to choose whatever works best for him/her. But at least to Judeo-Christians, one point remains: Since reincarnation cannot be, the Dalai Lama is none other than Tenzin Gyatso born in 1940 and he too will confess to Father on Judgment Day (Isaiah 45:22-23↔Romans 14:10-12).
Past life regressions
On the other hand let us touch briefly on past life regression, a form of hypnotherapy/contemplative state where people ‘phish’ memories from past existences. The regressed person may wake up absolutely convinced of having cast fish nets off the banks of the Nile in Old Kingdom Egypt or having walked amongst the gardens of Babylon. The Bible is telling us no way. It is not necessarily true that the regressed person is lying; but that having been implanted with a deceptive memory, he/she is sincerely convinced of having lived before. Again, a choice between what Father says and what the regressed person is led/chooses to believe—the perennial Judeo-Christian conundrum. In the final analysis, neither that person nor us has a time machine to test the veracity of any purported prior-to-life experience. Our ‘certainties’ are based on individual biases and predilections.
Such mindsets are subject to satanic manipulation. Any one of us with the Holy Spirit’s assistance can make head and tail of any Biblical doctrine (John 16:13; 1Corinthians 2:11-14; 1Joh 2:27); even those not fully understood or misinterpreted by Judeo-Christians at large—which is as it should be (1Corinthians 11:19). All that is required is faith, study, attention to detail, and strict adherence to the rules and regulations governing Scriptural interpretation—like corroborating testimonies of two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16; John 5:31-37; 2Corinthians 13:1).
This is the rationale underpinning the Bible; and why conflicting interpretations are settled by relying on precedents—a corpus juris of Scriptural narratives—stretching over millennia. By-passing this system to swallow dogmatic pap is no better than favoring milk over solid food (Hebrews 5:12-14). Lamas and regression therapists shape the beliefs and minds of followers/patients who uncritically accept what they are told. Any person, in any system of belief, comfortable with such blind trust is at risk of intellectual/spiritual handicaps. Even Jesus and the Apostles insisted on their listeners confirming the authenticity of their messages (Matthew 18:16; John 10:25↔1Corinthians 2:4-5; Hebrews 2:3-4; Acts 17:11).
DEATH AND SPURIOUS LIFE AFTER DEATH
The paramount Biblical teaching about death is that Satan relies on it to keep men in servitude (Hebrews 2:15). There is nothing most men will not do to save/prolong their lives; instead of regarding death as liberation [(1Corinthians 15:54-57)—at least Buddhism has the good sense to see it that way, they disparage it as defeat. Only when options on this side of the Great Equalizer are exhausted is relocation to the other side seen as “going to a better place.” The world might be a vale of tears but Heaven can wait.
Of bones…
Biblical teachings regarding death began early. Since human bones play a role in resurrection dynamics (Ezekiel 37:1-14), their preservation by people of faith was pursued in earnest. Abraham bought a cave at Machpelah in Canaan as a family crypt (Genesis 23:1-20, 25:7-11); both Jacob and Joseph, though dying and embalmed in Egypt, gave specific instructions that their bones be taken to the promised land (Genesis 47:30, 49:49-32, 50:5-13,24-26; Exodus 13:19).
Forbidden to enter Canaan, Moses died and was buried in a valley on Moabite land (Deuteronomy 34:6); though unlike the norm, he was at some point assumed into Heaven and given immortality (Zechariah 3:1-5; Jude 1:9). In this sense Moses’ experience was unique: not quite resurrected like Jesus (Colossians 1:18); not quite transposed in life like Enoch (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5) and Elijah (2Kings 2:11-12) were. Since Moses’ assumption did not fit established patterns, perhaps he was given special dispensation given his years of exemplary service (Numbers 12:3; Deuteronomy 34:10-12). Amongst the whole of mankind, Enoch, Moses, and Elijah are the sole conscious, erstwhile human beings in Heaven, a fact partly confirmed by Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus during his transfiguration on the mount (Mark 9:2-4).
Next in line comes the Elisha incident, whose body died of some unspecified illness, but whose bones remained so immanent with life that when some dead corpse was hastily thrown upon them, that corpse became alive and stood on its feet (2Kings 13:14,20-21)—Scripture’s way of telling us that Elisha is confirmed for the resurrection of the righteous. Though not much is said about David’s burial [the records of Nathan and Gad are apparently lost books (1Kings 2:10; 1Chronicles 29:26-30)], Acts 2:29 confirms the earthly location of David’s remains. And Paul, who was in no position to make burial arrangements, trusted Father to guard his “deposit” until Resurrection Day (2Timothy 1:12).
Joseph of Arimathea had made provisions for the preservation of his own remains: It was he who arranged for Jesus’ burial in his own tomb (Matthew 27:57-60; Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38:42). Luke states that Joseph of Arimathea awaited Father’s Kingdom (Luke 23:51); so presumably, having been a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 27:57), he may have believed in the resurrection Jesus had preached (Matthew 16:21). Let us not overlook the fact that though Jesus was dead, Joseph of Arimathea’s faith remained unshaken, risking censure from authority (Mark 15:43) and peers (Luke 23:51-52; John 19:38) to secure Jesus’ body—surely a faith more steadfast than that of any of Jesus’ own Disciples (Mark 14:50; Luke 22:54-62).
As we have seen there is a long-standing tradition of preserving earthly remains in expectation of an afterlife, a tradition observed throughout most nations since antiquity. Given the fact, according to the Biblical narrative, that world populations descended from Noah’s children (Genesis 9:19, 10:1-32), it is understandable—on the basis of faith, naturally (1Corinthians 2:14)—that all human-concocted religions/myths share common points with Judeo-Christianity. If Enoch, seventh from Adam, was preaching about the Jesus’ second coming and all its attendant implications (Jude 1:14-15), Noah, amongst antediluvian humanity the sole righteous and perfect man (Genesis 6:8-9), must have known and preached Enoch’s message to others (2Peter 2:5). We have no records of the conversations inside the Ark during the roughly 370-day event [using 30-day Hebrew lunar calendar↔Genesis 7:11 + 8:13-14]; but it is no stretch of the imagination to suppose that Enoch’s preaching was part of it; and continued to be preached to subsequent generations each of which modified it, reconfigured it, or adapted it to meet nationalistic exigencies.
In passing, mull over where cremation, with its romantic goals of dispersing ashes on beloved sites and pragmatic cash savings, fits within Father’s funeral plans. The making of those ashes requires crushing bones into dust, leaving departed souls without a foundation to return to; and more specifically, a slight to the God Who plans to infuse mortal remains with immortal life. That being said, when done out of ignorance or without personal consent, ashes present no challenges to Him Who out of nothing calls things into existence (Romans 4:17). What did Jesus say? “And this is the will of the Father who sent me, that all that He has given to me, I may lose none of it, but may raise it up in the last day” (John 6:39); suggesting that even the ashes of the righteous departed or unjustly burned at the stake can be reconstituted into immortal bodies. The guilt lies in consciously opting for cremation and dismissing resurrection protocols.
…and Souls
But souls are what impart life. “The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam [Jesus] became a life-giving spirit” (1Corinthians 15:45). In all cases Father being the soul-giver, Yahweh Son proxy Creator is the soul-imparter: In Adam’s case, he breathed it into Adam (Genesis 2:7); in mankind’s case, it is apparently contributed in utero (Psalms 22:10; Isaiah 46:3, 49:1; Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 2:21; Galatians 1:15); and upon his second coming, he commands it into the immortal bodies of the resurrected righteous (1Corinthians 15:51-53; 1Thessalonians 4:13-17).
The soul as the life-force has its own Biblical trajectory. Rachel died when her soul departed (Genesis 35:18), as did Isaac (35:29), Jacob (Genesis 49:33, Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8:55), and even Jesus himself (Matthew 27:50; Luke 23:45). In point of fact verbs like “expired” or “exhaled” in relation to death allude to “breathing out” the soul “breathed in.” The English word spirit comes from the Latin world for “breath”; and skipping over semantic distinctions between “spirit” and “soul,” it is suggestive that Jesus “breathed” the Holy Spirit into his Disciples (John 20:22). Obviously, the Disciples were alive and so had their souls; so that the “breathing” here had a different purpose: To open the Disciples’ understanding in order to truly assimilate the three years’ worth of Jesus’ teachings that had sailed over their heads (Mark 16:14; Luke 24:25,44-45). After all, such is the role delegated to the Holy Spirit Who Jesus imparts upon the faithful (John 16:13; 1Corinthians 2:10-14; 1John 2:27). And “breathing in” the Holy Spirit is the first step towards possible salvation (Philippians 3:12-14).
As previously stated, when souls depart their bodies, they go back to Father in an unconscious state (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 12:7). This is easily demonstrable. When Jesus told Mary Magdalene not to touch him because he had not yet gone up to the Father (John 20:17), he was talking about his resurrected form: A soul now encased in immortal flesh (↔1Corinthians 15:50-53; Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:18). Upon the cross, Jesus had exhaled his soul after affirming its return to Father: “’Into Thy hands I entrust my spirit.’ And after uttering these words he yielded up his spirit” (Luke 23:46). Between the time of death and resurrection, Jesus was ‘asleep’ to creation, meaning he was no longer a conscious entity in a position to reawaken himself: Father had to accomplish that for him (Acts 13:10; Romans 8:11). This is one of the vital clues in debunking the dogma that Jesus and Father are equals: While Father is undying (1Timothy 6:15), Son was dead from Friday evening to Sunday morning (Matthew 27:46-50; Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:54-56; John 19:42, 20:1).
Scripture likens death to sleep with good reason (Genesis 47:30; 1Kings 2:10, 11:43; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2; Matthew 9:24; Acts 7:60; 1Corinthians 15:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15): As in normal sleep, if we enjoy a night of uninterrupted sleep, we go to bed and wake up as if no time had passed. It is wrongly believed that evil men who die escape justice, perhaps men’s but not Father’s: They are re-awakened without any sense of time having elapsed—be it days, years, or millennia from their hour of death. Hitler, for example, may have died in his bunker back in 1945 but when he partakes of the second resurrection, it will be as if he had just shut his eyes. While evildoers’ egregious deeds remain fresh in their minds, unawareness of the passing of time confronts the condemned with the immediate punishment they escaped in life.
Let us approach this from another angle. What did Jesus say to the good thief crucified next to him? “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Let us pay attention to detail. If by “today” Jesus meant the Friday of the crucifixion, there is no way his promise could have been fulfilled, since as was the case with Jesus’ own soul, the thief’s had to have gone back to Father in a state of unconsciousness. And if Jesus meant Heaven, he himself did not enter it until Sunday morning; so that the “today” Jesus meant references a future time when the thief would resurrect to meet Jesus at his second coming and be taken to Heaven.
Now, Heaven is a Paradise of sorts; but the earthly Paradise is the Promised Land to be manifested post-Millennium of Rest and post-Armageddon (Revelation 20:4-10). Adam’s Eden was a sort of proto-paradise; the land of Israel prefigured the real McCoy; both shadows to the substance of God’s Kingdom with the Heavenly Jerusalem as its capital city (Isaiah 11:9-10, 66:20; Daniel 2:35; Revelation 21:1-3,9-10). And just as was the case in Adam’s Eden, so will Kingdom-animals behave as they were conceived to (Genesis 1:30; Isaiah 11:6-9). While scholars tell you Isaiah’s prophecy is cutesy pie imagery, do not believe them. It is the literal truth.
Thus what Jesus was telling the good thief was that after his death on the cross, the thief would again see Jesus in a future order of things. Even the thief’s request, “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom” (Luke 23:42), bears witness to the Holy Spirit‘s testimony through him of Jesus’ second coming and his dual role as King/High Priest over the Father‘s Kingdom. We hardly need argue that the thief himself had no a priori knowledge of these future events.
So fine, where does all this gets us to? To the realization that there can be no ghosts, ushers in lighted tunnels, or heavenly departed enjoying a “better place” while the living-righteous languish in earthly suffering. What did Paul say? “And all these [faithful], having won approval for their faith, did not receive what God had promised”(Hebrews 11:32-39), for no one who has carried Jesus’ cross gets preferential treatment ahead of anyone else (1Thessalonians 4:15). The return to the Heavenly City with Jesus heading his nation of kings and priests (Micah 2:13; 1Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6, 5:10) is mapped out in Scripture; but its discussion must wait for another time.
Still we do hear reports of people seeing ghosts; of souls levitating over deathbeds and looking down upon their bodies; of tunnels jammed with departed ones urging newcomers towards the light. There is the occasional report of someone who went to a Paradise that does not yet exist and spoke with Jesus [Satan’s spin on 2Corinthians 12:2-4?]. Scripture denies these things; therefore, they cannot be; so if they do happen—and there is no reason to doubt the sincerity of people reporting them, they have to be deceptive memories implanted for the sole purpose of undermining the veracity of Scripture.
The deceived have no way of knowing they are being tricked; naturally, the very experience makes them feel special, or that Father singled them out for a reason. But therein lies the crux of the matter: Father is no respecter of persons. If He did not cut His own Son any slack, Father is going to deal with all His children the same way (Hebrews 12:4-8; 1Peter 4:12-13, 5:6). Nobody gets preferential treatment. Even in 2Corinthians 12:2-4 Paul, while reflecting on events known personally to him, was unsure of the dynamics by which the unnamed man received his revelation—which be it said in passing, has no precedent in the whole of Scripture and lacks the corroborative testimony needed for us to take Paul at his word.
Let us instead dwell on why teachings on death-related issues should appear in Scripture: They are there to help us deflect Satan’s faith-undermining “darts” (Ephesians 6:16). So why, even if contradicting long-standing beliefs and paranormal phenomena, do these teachings continue to be accepted by ‘people of faith’? For the same old reason: Father tells men one thing; they will choose to believe what ensnares their imagination. “You admonished them to heed to Your words…but they stubbornly shrugged their shoulders…stiffened their necks and would not obey…stopped their ears from hearing… walked in [their own] counsels [and] in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward” (Nehemiah 9:29; Zechariah 7:11; Jeremiah 7:24). Until they exhaust Father’s patience, men will not stop needling Him. And Satan will continue to count souls in his abacus of damnation.
THE PUZZLING AFFAIR AT ENDOR
In reference to 1Samuel 28:3-25 one must admit no definitive answer accounts for all given particulars. Both the Endor medium and Saul willfully violated Leviticus 20:6,27 and Deuteronomy 18:11. The medium was apparently a clandestine operator: She channeled a “divining spirit” [read fallen angel], and seemed to enjoy a level of public respect (28:7). Though she knew her trade was sinful (28:9), she acceded to Saul’s demands and conjured up a presence Scripture identifies as “Samuel” (28:12,14-16). While Saul, recognizing his former mentor upon description of unseen garments the apparition was reportedly wearing (28:14), the medium was absolutely convinced “Samuel” had manifested himself (28:13).
Here is the conundrum: If Samuel’s soul had gone up to Father in a state of unconsciousness following death, where did the “Samuel” at Endor come from? Samuel’s bones had been buried in Ramah (1Samuel 25:1); and the prophecy that Saul and his sons would join “him” next day referred to the latter’s deaths and burials (1Samuel 31:13). 1Samuel 28:15 gives the impression that “Samuel” had been asleep before conjured up—this jibes with Scripture; but there are no other Biblical precedents in which the soul of a dead person has been made conscious to relay a divine message.
The medium’s remark, “Gods I have seen coming up out of the earth” (28:13) could be alluding to a vision of the first resurrection, for Scripture portrays the redeemed as “gods” (Psalms 82:6; John 10:34-35) and they do rise from the ground. But “Samuel’s” response makes that interpretation fanciful: He is protesting about being disturbed, which implies a restful state, not the joyful anticipation of joining Jesus in the clouds (1Thessalonians 4:17).
So was the conjured up presence really Samuel or not? The idea has been floated around that Satan appeared to Saul in Samuel’s form to deceive him, which would be in keeping with 2Corinthians 11:14. But Satan, though acting through worldly rulers [Pharaoh (Ezekiel 29:3; the King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4-20); the King of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:12-19)] and human minions (2Samuel 24:16; 1Kings 22:20-22; Luke 22:3; John 13:2), is never shown manifesting himself corporally in men’s affairs. We could conjecture that Satan impressed upon the medium’s mind that Samuel had been conjured up; and that Saul swallowed the deception because he craved for guidance and was willing to believe anything, especially since the medium was known to access the spirit world. Yet Scripture does not lead us quite there: Though plausible, this last conclusion lacks confirming testimonies. Whether it was Satan or Samuel at Endor must remain a moot point.
We can extrapolate some common points from Acts 16:16-23. The divining spirit Paul exorcised out of the slave girl, like the Endor medium’s, was able to recognize Father‘s bona fide servants. Nothing surprising in this: The demonic conglomerate named “Legion” recognized Jesus (Luke 8:28-30); and why would fallen angels not recognize divine beings they had known prior to being booted out of Heaven? Also, as was probably the case with the Endor medium, there was money to be made out of divination. This is why the slave girl’s owners took the Apostles to court and spun a matter of loss of revenue into political incorrectness—something along the lines of conservative charges of socialism to forestall loss of personal capital through taxation.
In terms of legit versus deceptive spirits, let us consider that the angel Gabriel who told Daniel and Mary about Jesus’ Messiahship (Daniel 9: 21-27; Luke 1:26-35) could not have been the angel Gabriel who revealed the Koran to Muhammad; for this gospel, though acknowledging Jesus’ role as a prophet of Allah, contends that Jesus’ crucifixion was a smoke and mirrors device to help Jesus and Mary escape with their lives. If Jesus did not die on the cross to remit mankind’s sins with his blood, and did not resurrect, then the Christian faith, as Paul argued, is a spiritually bankrupt pipe-dream (1Corinthians 15:13-14). Besides being told that the children of Agar [Muslims] will not inherit with those of Sarah [Judeo-Christians↔Galatians 4:21-30], this is why Galatians 1:8-9 anathematizes gospels like the Koran.
But hey, we are all free to believe what we choose: Jesus will sort out his own people on Judgment Day (Matthew 25:31-46). As to the religious eclecticism much in vogue today, do not overly fret about hurting Muslim sensibilities. Their Koran exhorts its faithful to regard Jews and Christians as enemies. Bottom line: It is the same, old human squabble of tit for tat.
DINOSAURS AND UFOs
As we approach the end of the period of grace, the finding of dinosaur bones and UFO sightings exponentially continue to skew the Biblical normal. In terms of dinosaurs, we are given two chronologies extending from Jesus back to Adam (Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38), both of which do not reach back 65 million years to the supposed mass-extinction of dinosaurs. Are dinosaurs then Biblically kosher? Well, no. On the assumption they were alive at the time of Noah,4 as air-breathers they would have boarded the Ark, at least one pair since neither Leviticus 11:1-47 nor Deuteronomy 14:3-21 rank them amongst clean or unclean animals (Genesis 7:2,8-9,22-23). Thus if there were dinosaurs inside the Ark, they would have come out when it landed and still be among us.
Satan could ostensibly manipulate radioactive-decay, measuring instruments to yield false readings, but dinosaur bones cannot be so easily dismissed: We see them and can touch them; they are as real as the reality we experience. The physical laws governing this reality, however, can be altered by supranormal forces. A humongous chunk of the animal kingdom was made to fit inside an Ark of finite dimensions; the Red Sea parted and left a pathway of dry land with walls of water rising on either side (Exodus 14:21-22); matter can neither be created nor destroyed, yet the containers of the Zarephath widow and Jesus’ baskets were miraculously replenished (1Kings 17:9-16; Mark 6:30-44); despite gravity, Jesus walked over raging waters (Matthew 14:24-32); and Philip the evangelist was teleported from the Gaza road to Azotus (Acts 8:26-40).
Human senses can also be acted upon. In answer to Elisha’s plea, the eyes of his fearful servant were “opened” so that he could see the celestial host protecting them (2Kings 6:16-17). While listening to Jesus, the Apostles’ eyes “were prevented from recognizing him” until they were “opened” (Luke 24:16,31). By blowing the Holy Spirit unto the Apostles, Jesus “opened” their understanding (Luke 24:45). In all these instances neither eyes nor minds were really closed, but prevented from seeing or understanding spiritual realities [the gist of Mark 4:12]. The implicit message here is that the faithful must look beyond sensory evidence to perceive who or what may be at play, the reason why Paul said “we walk by faith [spiritually], not by sight [as in reality]” (2Corinthians 5:7).
That deceptions can be manifested in compelling forms is clear from Matthew 24:24. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 warns that prodigies contradicting divine norms are tests of obedience; the spiritual person will be wise to them, the unspiritual will not (Daniel 12:10; 1Corinthians 2:12-14), which is why the latter is targeted for deceptions (2Thessalonians 2:11-13). Do dinosaur bones fall into this category? You be the judge. If they are authentic, the Bible is wrong; if the Bible is right, dinosaurs never existed—yet again, the decisive and fateful choice between faith and visual evidence.
UFOs
It is tempting to add UFOs to the category of “great signs from heaven” (Luke 21:11), but these specifically refer to the sun, the moon, and the stars (Isaiah 13:10 34:4; Ezekiel 32:7; Amos 8:9; Joel 2:31; Matthew 24:29; Revelation 6:12-14).5 However, it is precisely these celestial upheavals that contradict the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Where will the redeemed end up living? In Father’s Kingdom: A new earth under new heavens (Isaiah 30:26, 65:17; Revelation 21:1). Gone will be our solar system and that breathtaking cosmos the James Webb Space Telescope so magnificently photographs; gone distant planets capable of harboring life; gone hypothetical evolving organisms perhaps thriving in the ocean of Saturn’s moon, Enceladus—worthier recipients of billions of dollars in space exploration than the fully evolved human beings dying of hunger and diseases in third-world countries. What faith exalts as laudable has no room in science deplorable.
Where are those Scriptures talking about space mass-migrations to the only spot in Father’s-verse that will remain post-Armageddon? Were alien races kept immune to Satan’s wiles, so that Jesus did not have to redeem them? If faith is the pre-condition for justification and inclusion in Father’s Kingdom, what is required of extraterrestrials? Does the God Who pride Himself in treating everyone the same way have one set of standards for humans and another for alien races? No. If Father stands by what He says He is, extraterrestrials cannot exist.
Some people claim to be alien abductees, traumatized by memories of surgical victimization by oval-shaped, bulging-eyed ETs; so that even here we find the pattern discussed before: Implanted memories that feel truly experienced and are truly believed. It is not that abductees may be lying: Those who are sincere, as opposed to publicity-seekers, have no way of deconstructing the deception. Still people see UFOs and they get recorded on video, minor legerdemain for a trickster behind the Guadalupe tilma; the Turin Shroud; incorruptible bodies; relic-encased blood liquifying in advance of earthquakes; demonic stigmata; and sundry paranormal phenomena.
As to the visual ‘evidence,’ let us extrapolate from ghostly sightings and pedestrians in lighted tunnels; or from people who actually see and talk to dearly departed; or better still from Marian apparitions, especially the one at Fatima where thousands reportedly saw—and photographed—the sun darting about like Pac Man in the sky. Whereas those at Fatima were made to see such a phenomenon as well as feel it, since it had been raining and wet clothes dried up by solar heat, the rest of Portugal, Europe, and the entire hemisphere saw the sun remain where it normally is.
THE KEY TO REALLY SEE
And so we come back to Scripture’s vital and preeminent value: That of showing us the path to truth and all detours to error. Satan is wiser than any of us; and he is going to twist Scripture [as he tried with Jesus in Luke 4:9-11] to put his own spin on things.
The men Paul criticized in 2Timothy 2:17-18 may have been led to confuse Matthew 27:52-32 with the true resurrection helmed by Jesus. The practice of self-flagellation grew out of Romans 7:14-24 and 1Corinthians 9.27. Like most men Paul had a demanding libido, especially as he was unmarried and celibate by choice (1Corinthians 7: 1-7, 9:5); and though he wrestled with carnal desires until Jesus told him to chill out and focus on the benefits of self-denial (2Corinthians 12:7-10), he could not have possibly desecrated (Leviticus 19:28) his body wherein dwelled the Holy Spirit. In a perverse twist, no matter how Paul preached the straight and narrow path to salvation (Matthew 7:14), he was accused of encouraging sinful behaviors in order to receive greater blessings (Romans 3:8). In time this satanic spin gave rise to spurious Christian sects engaging in sexual orgies and self-flagellation, sinning flagrantly to obtain oodles of forgiveness.
The granddaddy of all satanic spins to deprive Father of His rightful worship is John 10:30: “The Father and I are one.” They are not in terms of Person; they are so in terms of Jesus’ submission to Father’s will. Where Father is concerned, Jesus has so obliterated his own free will that he functions as an extension of Father’s: There is no longer a Jesus, as there will be no independent minds among the redeemed, except Father in all and through all (Ephesians 4:6). The greatest lesson underlying the whole of Scripture is that men were given free will to realize how it undermines unity with Father, so that by willfully forfeiting it, absolute Oneness with the Divinity is achieved and eternally preserved.
No rocket science involved in here: The One Who is all-mighty, all-wise, and perfect should run everything He created according to His protocols. Orchestras would never substitute strings with harmonicas at the start of Beethoven’s Fifth; no one would dare paint a nose-ring in Mona Lisa’s nose; tattoos are out of bounds on Michelangelo’s David’s body; graffiti on Saint Peter’s walls would scandalize millions; guests would not dream of changing hotels’ decors; and thus far San Francisco’s iconic bridge remains golden rather than magenta. If we respect human conceptions, why object to Father’s own?
Naturally Satan is all for divisiveness and individual rights to do as men please, graphically enacted in the political free-for-all of our times. Disunity is what brings nations and religions down (Mark 3:24-25); thus Satan’s soulless minions foment chaotic situations to further personal agendas by sowing mistrust and racial/ethnic hatred. It boggles the mind that evangelicals rally behind politicians and extremists who are dismantling Judeo-Christian as well as democratic norms while placing their own lives at risk; but such is Satan’s power and so deep his contempt for mankind that he conditions people to dig their own graves with talk of personal freedoms and appeals to national greatness.
The very real facts that science deniers continue to shape public opinion as climate change exacerbates global problems; that the forces of darkness garner enablers and abettors to bring on that night when no one can work; and that abominable human beings are lionized as defenders of truth and ‘Christian’ values show us how unstoppable Satan’s deceptions are. Christianity was never meant to succeed; it was a rescue operation doomed to fail at least in this order of things; otherwise Jesus’ end times predictions would have been optimistic rather than dismal. That evangelicals behave as if everything is honky-dory with Father only goes to show the corruption festering in the present human condition. Satan must be enjoying making us run in circles.
And his deceptions will continue to escalate; bolder, more compelling, and less restrained by Father. Irrational animals are taught to behave by grinding their noses into their mess or by the occasional whipping; it seems Father has chosen those approaches with men. Operant conditioning (OC) shows that punishment extinguishes undesirable behaviors. It may be that B.F. Skinner, OC’s reputed father, may have taken his cues from the Bible (Deuteronomy 8:5; Proverbs 13:24, 19:18, 22:15, 23:13-14; Hebrews 12:7), though certainly soul salvation did not thrill him as much as eliciting specific behaviors from mildly zapped test animals. Still like clueless Caiaphas, Skinner may have been chosen to channel an incontestable truth (John 11:49-52).
So punishments are in the cards for the human race, and Satan will deal them out with glee and enthusiasm. His minions now in the ascendant will have occasion to rue their comeuppance at the hands of their soulless mentor (Revelation 9:5-6). In Satan’s playbook, good turns done him are repaid with vindictive spurns, proving indirectly that fools rush into things even angels dread (sic). Sounds familiar?
To those who know or should know better, these reminders: “Because false messiahs and false prophets will appear and display great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Remember, I’ve told you this beforehand” (Matthew 24:24-25). “Now, children, listen to Me. Don’t turn away from what I am saying… and you groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed, and you say, ‘How I hated instruction, and my heart rejected correction! I did not obey my teachers and did not listen to my instructors. I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly’” (Proverbs 5:7,11-14).
Damnation is a consequence of free will: Learn to exercise it more responsibly and reap the dividends of greater wisdom. If the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), the reward for faith and obedience is eternal life. “As certainly as I’m alive,” declares the Lord Yahweh, “I receive no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Instead, My pleasure is that the wicked repent from their behavior and live. Turn back! Turn back, all of you, from your wicked behavior! Why do you have to die, oh house of Israel'” (Ezekiel 33:11)?
The choice is up to all of us.
1 Not to mention being mother to “harlot daughters” spreading her abominations throughout the world (Revelation 17:5). This will be discussed more fully in the series All about Satan.
2 Of “ignorance” without the Holy Spirit (Acts 17:30) and “of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) with Him (John 16:13↔1Corinthians 2:10-14; Romans 11:7).
3 In Ecclesiastes 3:21 Solomon is uncertain as to whether animal souls go down to earth or return to Father like the souls of men do. Solomon is making two points: Animals do have souls; and all human souls, whether righteous or unrighteous, return to Father (↔Ecclesiastes 12:7). Now, on his return, Jesus brings with him only the souls of righteous dead, as attested by 1Thessalonians 4:13-17; these then resurrect in immortal bodies; and along with equally-made immortal righteous living at the time, they are scooped up by angels and unite with Jesus aloft. It is only in Revelation 20:5, after the Millennium, that the souls of all unrighteous dead join their remains to be destroyed at Armageddon—the second resurrection (Daniel 12:2↔John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15).
4 If anyone believes Noah did not exist, good luck to you: Yahweh did (Ezekiel 14:14), Jesus did (Luke 17:26-27) and the Holy Spirit speaking through Paul and Peter did (Hebrews 11:7; 1Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 1:20-21, 2:5). What was it John said? “For there are three witnesses, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (1John 5:7), the quorum required to establish all Scriptural facts (Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16; John 5:31-37; 2Corinthians 13:1).
5 Let us dismiss the ‘close-encounters-of-the-third-kind’ interpretation given to Ezekiel 1.
BIBLE FOR END TIMES 