The Perfect Storm Is Coming – Part IV

Beware The Snare

“The Invisible World of Spirits”

The connection of the visible with the invisible world, the compassionate service of heavenly angels, and the agency of evil spirits, are plainly revealed in the Scriptures, and are inseparably intertwined with human history. With too many, there is a tendency to disbelieve in the existence of evil spirits, while the holy angels, loyal to God, are believed to be spirits of the dead.

The Scriptures not only teach the existence of angels, both good and evil, but present unquestionable proof that angels are not the disembodied spirits of dead men. Before the creation of man, angels were in existence; for when the foundations of the earth were laid, “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7.

After the fall of man, angels were sent to guard the tree of life, and this before a human being had died.

Angels are superior in nature to men. The Psalmist says that man was made “a little lower than the angels.” Psalm 8:5.

Heavenly angels are sent on errands of mercy to those who fear God-to Abraham, with promises of blessing; to the gates of Sodom, to rescue Lot from its fiery doom; to Elijah, as he was about to perish from weariness and hunger in the desert; to Elisha, with chariots of fire surrounding the little town where he was shut in by his foes; to Daniel, while seeking divine wisdom in the court of a heathen king, or abandoned to become the lions’ prey; to Peter, doomed to death in Herod’s dungeon; to Paul and his companions in the night of tempest on the sea; to open the mind of Cornelius to receive the gospel; to dispatch Peter, with the message of salvation to the Gentile stranger-in like manner holy angels have, in all ages, ministered to God’s people.

Evil spirits, in the beginning created sinless, were equal in nature, power and glory wit the holy beings that are now God’s messengers. Fallen through sinful rebellion, they are leagued together for the dishonor of God and the destruction of men. United with Satan, the enemy of God and man, in his rebellion, and cast out from heaven with him, they have through the ages cooperated with him in his warfare against the Divine authority. We are told in Scripture of their confederacy and government, of their various orders, of their intelligence and deceitfulness, and of their malicious designs against the peace and happiness of men.

With the earliest history of man, Satan began his efforts to deceive and enslave our race. After inciting rebellion in heaven, he desired to convince the inhabitants of the earth to unite with him in his warfare against the government of God. Through deceptions, he sought to gain possession of the earth, and establish his kingdom here in opposition to the Most High.

Employing the serpent as his medium, he addressed himself to Eve, “Hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Genesis 3:1. “The woman said unto the serpent,

We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3: 2-5.

However, what did our first parents, after their sin, find to be the meaning of the words, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die?” Did they find them to mean, as Satan led them to believe, they were to be ushered into a more exalted state of existence? Sadly, they did not find this to be the meaning of the divine sentence. As a consequence of sin, God declared that man should return to the ground whence he was taken: “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Genesis 3:19.

The divine sentence, “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,” points to the utter extinction of life. Immortality, promised to man on condition of obedience, had been forfeited by transgression.

There would have been no hope for the fallen race had not God by the sacrifice of His Son, brought immortality within their reach. While “death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned,” Christ ‘hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” Romans 5:12; 2 Timothy 1:10.

Only through Christ can immortality be obtained. The one who promised Adam life in disobedience was the great deceiver. And the declaration of the serpent to Eve in Eden-“Ye shall not surely die”-was the first sermon ever preached upon the immortality of the soul.

Yet, this declaration, resting solely upon the authority of Satan, is echoed from the pulpits of Christendom, and is received by the majority today as readily as it was received by our first parents.

The divine sentence, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die,” (Ezekiel 18:20), is made to mean, The soul that sinneth, it shall not die, but live eternally.

One must wonder at the strange infatuation that renders men so gullible concerning the words of Satan, and so unbelieving in regard to the word of God.

In consequence of Adam’s sin, death passed upon the whole human race. All alike go down into the grave, and through the provisions of the plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves. “There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust” (Acts 24:15); “for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:22.

According to popular belief, the redeemed in heaven are acquainted with all that takes place on the earth, and especially with the lives of the friends whom they have left behind. However, how could it be a source of happiness to the dead to know the troubles of the living, to witness the sins committed by their own loved ones, and to see them enduring all the sorrows, disappointments, and anguish of life? How much of heaven’s bliss would be enjoyed by those who were hovering over their friends on earth if they should see them passing to the grave unprepared for heaven.

When, in answer to his prayer, Hezekiah’s life was prolonged fifteen years, the grateful king praised God declaring, “The grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day.” Isaiah 38: 18, 19. Popular theology represents the righteous dead as being in heaven, entered into bliss, and praising God. However, Hezekiah’s testimony agrees with that of the Psalmist:  “In death there is no remembrance of Thee; in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?” “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” Psalm 6:5; 115:17.

Upon the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the doctrine of consciousness in death, a doctrine opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures, to the dictates of reason, and to the deepest human emotions.

The doctrine of natural immortality was borrowed from pagan philosophy, and in the darkness of the great apostasy, was incorporated into the Christian faith. This doctrine has supplanted the truth, so plainly taught in Scripture, that there is no consciousness in death. Just what do the Scriptures say concerning these things?

David declares that man is not conscious in death. “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, in that very day his thoughts perish.” Psalm 146:4.  Solomon bears the same testimony: “The living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything.” “Their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” “There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10.

Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, declared that the patriarch David “is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.” “For David is not ascended into the heavens.” Acts 2: 29, 34. The fact that David remains in the grave until the resurrection, proves that the righteous do not go to heaven at death. It is only through the resurrection, and by virtue of the fact that Christ has risen, that David can at last sit at the right hand of God. And Paul said: “If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” 1 Corinthians 15: 16-18.

If for four thousand years the righteous had gone directly to heaven at death, how could Paul have said that if there is no resurrection, “they which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished?” “No resurrection would be necessary!

And Paul tells us, further, that “the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” And he adds, “Comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18.

Jesus, when about to leave His disciples, did not tell them that they would soon come to Him, Instead He said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself.” John 14: 2,3.

Scripture is clear: before any can enter the mansions of the blest, their characters and their deeds must pass in review before God. All are to be judged according to the things written in the books, and to be rewarded as their works have been.

This judgment does not take place at death. Mark the words of Paul: “He hath appointed a day, in which Hw will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.” Acts 17:31.

Here the apostle plainly stated that a specified time, then future, had been fixed upon for the judgment of the world. However, if the dead are already enjoying the bliss of heaven or writhing in the flames of hell, what need is there of a future judgment? The teachings of God’s word on these important points are neither obscure nor contradictory.

What reasoning mind can see the wisdom or justice in the current theory? Will the righteous, after the investigation of their cases at the judgment, receive the commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” “enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,” (Matthew 25:21, 41), when they have already been dwelling in His presence for long ages? Are the wicked summoned from the place of torment to receive from the Judge of all the earth, the sentence “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire?”

The Bible clearly teaches that the dead do not go immediately to heaven. They are represented as sleeping until the resurrection. 1 Thessalonians 4:14; Job 14: 10-12.

They that go down to the grave are in silence. They know no more of anything that is done under the sun. Job 14:21. Blessed rest for the weary righteous! Time, be it long or short, is but a moment to them. They sleep; after that, they are awakened by the shout of the Lifegiver to a glorious immortality. “For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible….So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this moral shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” When they arise from the tomb, their first glad thought will be echoed in the triumphal shout, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:52-55.

Regarding the doctrine of the resurrection, respected Bible scholar Dr. Adam Clarke makes this observation: “The doctrine of the resurrection appears to have been thought of much more consequence among the primitive Christians than it is now!  How is this? The apostles were continually insisting on it, and exciting the followers of God to diligence, obedience and cheerfulness through it. And their successors in the present day seldom mention it! So apostles preached, and so primitive Christians believed; so we preach, and our hearers believe. There is not a doctrine in the gospel on which more stress is laid; and there is not a doctrine in the present system of preaching which is treated with more neglect!” – Commentary, remarks on 1 Corinthians 15, paragraph 3.

Old Lie –

Modern Deception

All men should understand that Satan was once an exalted angel. His rebellion shut him out of heaven, but did not destroy his powers. He is now preparing for a final struggle against Christ and His followers. The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight. So closely will his counterfeit miracles resemble the true that it will e impossible to distinguish between them except by the test of Scripture.

The doctrine of man’s consciousness in death, especially the belief that the spirits of the dead return to minister to the living, has prepared the way for modern spiritualism. Beyond expression is the blindness of this generation. Millions reject the Word of God, while they eagerly receive the deceptions of Satan.

Among the most successful agencies of the great deceiver are the delusive teachings and lying wonders of Spiritualism. Disguised as an angel of light, he professes to bring the living into communication with the dead. He has power to bring before men the appearance of their departed loved ones and friends. The counterfeit is perfect: the familiar look, the words, the tone, are reproduced with marvelous distinctness.

Many are conformed with the assurance that their loved ones are enjoying the bliss of heaven; and without suspicion of danger, they give ear to “seducing spirits.” However, the Scriptures offer clear warning concerning the wonders wrought by Satan and his agents.

It was by satanic aid that Pharaoh’s magicians were enabled to counterfeit the work of God. Paul testifies that before the second advent of Christ there will be similar manifestations of satanic power. The coming of the Lord is to be preceded by “the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2: 9, 10.

And the apostle John, describing the miracle-working power that will be manifested in the last days, declares: “he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do.” Revelation 13: 13,14.


No mere impostures are foretold here. Men will be deceived by the miracles which Satan’s agents have power to do, not those which they merely pretend to do.

 

 

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