Monday: The Old Lie of Immortality
Read Revelation 16:13-14, and Revelation 18:2, Revelation 18:23. What allusions to spiritualism do you find in these verses?
Such expressions as the “dwelling place of demons” or the “spirits of demons” and “sorcery” all indicate demonic activity. No wonder we have been warned that of the two great deceptions in the last days, one will be “the immortality of the soul” (see Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 588).
Image © Steve Creitz at Goodsalt.com
Of course, that’s so easy to see today. Even in the Christian world, the idea of the soul being immortal is all but staple Christian doctrine. Many Christians believe that, at death, the saved go soaring off to heaven, and the lost descend into hell. How often, for instance, after the great evangelist Billy Graham died, did we hear that “Billy Graham is safe now in heaven, in the loving arms of Jesus,” or the like? This kind of thing is taught all the time from pulpits, in classrooms, and, especially, at funerals.
Read Ecclesiastes 9:5; Job 19:25-27; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; and Revelation 14:13. What clear instruction did God give His people about life after death, and where do we find our hope?
One of the pillars of Babylonian deception is a false understanding of death, which, centered on the idea of the immortality of the soul, prepares the way for the deceptive influence of spiritualism. If you believe that the dead, in some form, live on and might even be able to communicate with us, then what protection do you have from any of the myriad deceptions that Satan has? If someone whom you thought were your dead mother or child, or someone else beloved, were suddenly to appear and talk to you, how easy would it be to be fooled by your senses? This has happened in the past, happens now, and, certainly, as we near the very final days, will happen again. Our only protection is to stand firmly rooted in what the Bible teaches and to cling to the biblical teaching about death as a sleep until the second coming of Jesus.
| What examples of modern spiritualism exist in your culture today? Why is firm adherence to the Word of God our only protection? |
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I have to admit that I do not see a lot of outright spiritualism in Australian society. Our society tends to dismiss anything associated with the supernatural. True, you will often hear comments, particularly when there has been an tragic death involving children that they are now stars in the heavens or that Jesus has another angel, but I see those more as statements of comfort rather than belief.
The big lie in our modern society is that our current life is all we have. A typical comment is that "There is no divine scorekeeper! I can do what I like!" Such an attitude permeates much of the thinking of the secular mind. The consequence of that thinking is that we can do whatever feels good and leads ultimately to a lack of concern for others.
The media portrayal of the supernatural is often cynically dismissive and that applies to both supernatural good and bad. In the face of such denial, what does that mean for us? My answer is that the biggest demonstration of the supernatural is our love for one another. Our love tolerance and understanding for the "least of these" is a powerful statement of the supernatural love of God.
Spiritualism is alive & thriving in the American culture. The movies, the television shows, the children's programs and games, the music all have spiritualistic undertones, and often blatant representations. Yoga & other mindfulness classes are becoming very popular even among "Christians". It is very difficult to get children interested in spiritual things because their minds are so caught up by the spiritualistic. Spiritualism is now so mainstream that no one thinks of it as something to watch out for. In our Christian schools there is a constant battle for the minds of our students who are so preoccupied with the many ways Satan has devised to keep their minds busy.
I'm more than grateful for this lesson, dealing with spiritualism (the immortality of the soul). There are things that the old devil used in my childhood days that are not as prevalent as back then. For example, the belief that when someone dies he/she is not really dead. Thank God for a mother that I had. We were taught from a very early age that the dead has no power, and to prove herself right she would send us to the shop to buy anything she needed at anytime in the night.
I must hasten to say that there were all kinds of belief, in ghost, duppy, (back in Jamaica 🇯🇲 where I'm from) there was a common belief that after person dies, three days after the death the person's 😳 spirit rises and that spirit can haunt the life out of people. Therefore if you should happen to pass where that person lives, your tongue would get heavy, cold sweat would be all over you, your head would swell, and the list goes on.
Back to mother again, she did not play that. In other words, since she would already sit us down as children and caution us on the spiritualism, you would have a whole lot of explaining to do. 50 years later, those beliefs are not as prevalent. However, in the last days the old serpent will rehash those beliefs and many will be deceived. Our only hope is in the study of the Word.
In the 1970s there was a big spiritual movement of the Transcendental Meditation spreading globally, a technique which was developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India. This technique was even practiced by celebrities such as the Beatles, using a silent mantra aiming at stress relief, self- development and well being- as you levitate in mid-air and your mind is hovering outside of your body.
I was a young student at university back them, when I got drawn together with a friend to a Yogi who happened to be preaching in our town. So to make the story short, I gave offerings to receive a mantra and started to meditate regularly realizing that my mind got sharper, that I was always calm and peaceful and that my energies were endless. I even became a dedicated Hindu without knowing that I was moving on the devil‘s ground. Surely enough the advantages were real, but that‘s how our foe works to entice us into his spiritual fallen realm.
By God‘s grace I was freed few years after that experience, received the Holy Spirit and got baptized at the SDA church.
Praise Him for the great treasure of His wonderful truth.
"...teach them your word, which is truth". (John 17:17). God's word, the Bible, has all the truth we need to survive in our fallen reality. It puts us back on the right track given to us when we were born. It is light in all senses, pointing to the Father through the Son, the God of love we can never doubt. We may die or sleep, but by faith, we will wake up for eternal joy.
Satan often applies a fresh coat of paint to cloak his ancient schemes. Now he is doing it through technology and video games. Satan neutralizes the power of the word of God by the mantras of postmodern spiritualism. Satan tries in every way to misrepresent Gods character.
The teaching of an eternally burning hell scared me away from God at a young age and drove me into secularism which Satan used to cause me (except by the pure grace of God) to almost be killed in a drug deal when I was 21 years old.
Amen Michael Z. From your post last Friday and today, I do believe you turned to God. I also believe sometimes God allows a near death situation to wake us up. Initially we wake up to the fact that if we we don't turn to the God of our father and mother, we lose eternal life. We then turn to God for help. He gives us the will to live for Him; turning us to helping others, squleching fear, eliminating unhealthy dependence on emotions. By the way helping others is very important in mind healing. Doing for ourselves breeds selfcenteredness, which leads to mind degradation, not only breeds, litterly puts us on a downhill course. Being now awake we access our direction. And you know the rest of the story of your way back to Him. Thank you so much for your testimony.
I would encourage you to continue contributing to Sabbath School Net blog.
God Bless You!
Thank you LORD for your amazing grace.
Then there is the idea of something that came from India called "Reincarnation." This idea is that the "Spirit" never dies but that somehow God makes this "Spirit" after a human dies to go and start again another life as a dog or a cat or a lion etc. and etc. and just keep on the "Cycle of life" on and on and on but that no one ever really dies at all in the "Spiritual Realm," of eternal existence.
How to protect us from the reincarnation lie. Seek God. Submit to godly principles which are truth, love, and freedom (slave to God rather than to Satan Romans 6:22). Let our thoughts be led by the Holy Spirit. Prioritize facts of the Bible over feelings. Prioritize Biblical evidence over opinion. Be careful whom we trust. Psalms 28:7. See Satan's deception; don't get lost in his misinformation. Resist peer pressure and group pressure; they are free to be wrong; we can love them anyway. Ask questions, voice disagreement, in a loving way. 1 Peter 3:15-16.
Satan clubs are the fastest growing after-school clubs in America right now. And yes, they are called Satan clubs. Not even hiding behind anything else.
"One of the pillars of Babylonian deception is a false understanding of death, which, centered on the idea of the immortality of the soul, prepares the way for the deceptive influence of spiritualism."
Can Christians be deceived on this point?
Remember Matthew 24:5,11,24 and it's warnings of many false Christs.
False Christs are not just strange people pretending to be Jesus. False Christs are also messages, false messages believed to be from Christ. They will "deceive many", not just a few little groups, but many. Many false Christs will be demons pretending to speak for Christ or appear as messengers from heaven. (i.e. Mary, Joseph, an apostle, etc.) Satan himself will personate Christ in an overwhelming way. (2Cor. 11:14-15) In Revelation 12:9 God tells us through the apostle John, that this whole world is deceived.
How much do these deceptions influence powerful, earthly leaders in both religion and politics? More than we may think.
One of the biggest jumps in technology can now allow people to talk to the dead. AI promises you can actually communicate with dead loved ones.
"HereAfter" is a platform which lets the dead chat with you on demand, and it sounds just like the deceased, their voices having been recorded. Surviving loved ones interact with the customized voice avatar via smart speaker, mobile or desktop app, and it responds. Another program called "Black Mirror", even lets one see their loved one, and their facial expressions as they "chat".
Of course that technology is still in its infancy, but if it takes off, one can only speculate how easy it is for demonic participation.
And for those who don't believe in any "supernatural" involvement. That suits the devil fine. Not only does it cause people to deny the existence of God, it also takes away the realization there is an enemy going about like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Thus no need to fear, since a devil is only a mythical thing.
Scripture warns over and over that there will be supernatural displays that will deceive the world. Those supernatural displays will be extremely hard to dismiss.
Revelation 13:13-14, Matthew 24:24, 2Thess.2:9-10, Mark 13:22
Both sides will have miracles that will make it very evident there are supernatural forces involved over the destiny of every human being. We need to be committed and anchored in Christ and His Word, or the powers of evil will overwhelm us.