Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: SOD
Program Code: SOD000002
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00:01 If a man dies, shall he live again?
00:06 What does it mean to be absent from the body 00:09 and present with the Lord? 00:13 Did Jesus go with a thief to Paradise on Good Friday? 00:19 Did the souls of dead people really cry out 00:22 from below the altar? 00:25 Pastor Bohr answers these questions, and more, 00:28 in the amazing series, 00:35 Shall we bow our heads for prayer? 00:37 Our Father and our God, what a joy it is 00:42 to be in Your presence. 00:43 And Father, as we study tonight about the thief on the cross, 00:50 and the witch of En Dor, we ask that You will help us to learn 00:55 the lessons that will be useful for us, especially as we near 01:00 the end of time. And we thank You, Father, for the assurance 01:04 of Your presence, because we ask it in the precious name 01:08 of Jesus. Amen. In this seminar we are studying some puzzling 01:16 texts on the subject of the state of the dead. 01:19 And in the subject that we're going to study today, 01:23 we are going to take a look at two stories that we find 01:27 in the Bible. One story is found in the New Testament, 01:31 and the other one is found in the Old Testament. 01:33 The first one we're going to deal with is the story of 01:37 the thief on the cross. 01:38 And the second one is dealing with the story 01:43 of the witch of En Dor. 01:44 So let's get right into our study, and turn in our Bibles 01:48 to Luke 23:32, 33. Probably most of you know that when Jesus 01:55 was crucified, two men were crucified as well on either side 02:01 of Jesus. They were actually criminals. 02:04 They were malefactors. 02:05 And so let's read about these two thieves that were crucified; 02:09 one on the right, and one on the left-hand side of Jesus. 02:12 It says there: 02:33 Now it just so happens that the criminal that was on the left 02:37 side was impenitent. 02:39 He was unrepentant, whereas the one who was on the right 02:43 side actually repented, according to scripture. 02:46 Let's read about this in Luke 23:39-43. 02:53 Luke 23:39-43. 03:48 Now that last verse, verse 43, has been the source of much 03:53 controversy, because Jesus seems to be indicating here that the 03:57 thief was going to be in Paradise with Him that very day. 04:02 Once again, verse 43, and I'm reading from the New King James 04:06 Version which says, And Jesus said to him, Assuredly I say 04:10 to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. 04:14 The question is, is this really what Jesus was teaching? 04:18 Well, there are several factors that we need to take into 04:22 account as we look at the meaning of this specific verse, 04:27 verse 43. First of all, it's very important for us to realize 04:33 that the Greek writings of the times of Christ did not have 04:38 any punctuation marks. 04:41 In other words, they did not have question marks, 04:43 exclamation marks. They didn't have periods, and commas, etc. 04:48 All of these punctuation marks have been added 04:51 by the translators. So, basically, the translators from 04:55 the Greek to the English, or whatever other language, 04:58 have placed the punctuation marks where they feel that they 05:01 should belong. Now there are two ways in which you can understand 05:06 this verse. It all depends on where you place a comma. 05:11 We've already noticed, first of all, that the translation 05:16 that we just read says: 05:26 So, in other words, the comma is placed after the word thee, 05:32 or you. But there's another way of looking at this. 05:35 There's another place where you can put the comma, 05:38 and then it would say: Verily, verily I say unto thee today, 05:42 you will be with me in Paradise. 05:46 In other words, the comma would go after the word today. 05:50 So Jesus is saying, today I am telling you that you will be 05:54 with Me in Paradise. 05:55 Or the comma could be, Verily I say unto you, today you will be 06:01 with Me in Paradise. 06:03 Now somebody might say, Well, then, it's a matter of 06:05 subjective opinion. 06:07 You know, you say it's supposed to go after the word today, 06:13 and other people say that it's supposed to be after the word 06:17 you. So how do we know who is right? 06:21 Well, the fact is we need to look at several factors that 06:24 clearly indicate that Jesus and the thief did not go to Paradise 06:28 that very day. The first thing that we want to notice is 06:32 the location of Paradise. 06:34 Where is Paradise located? 06:36 Where Jesus said, You will be with Me in Paradise. 06:40 Let's go in our Bibles to 2 Corinthians 12:2-4. 06:44 Here the Apostle Paul is speaking about a man 06:48 that he knew many years before. 06:50 He's probably referring to himself. 06:52 And he speaks about this person being taken to the third heaven. 06:57 It says there in 2 Corinthians 12:2: 07:10 By the way, this means, I don't know whether he went there 07:13 in person, or he was there in vision, like John in the book of 07:17 Revelation. You know, he was taken to the presence of God. 07:20 His body was on Patmos, but his mind was taken up to 07:24 see the New Jerusalem. 07:25 And he continues saying, in verse 3. 07:29 Actually, let's go back to the beginning. It says: 08:03 So you'll notice here that the third heaven is the place where 08:07 Paradise is located, because the Apostle Paul says that this man 08:11 was taken to the third heaven. 08:12 Then he says that he was caught up to Paradise. 08:15 Paradise is in the third heaven. 08:17 So the question is, what is the third heaven? 08:20 Well, obviously, if there's a third heaven, there must be a 08:23 second, and a first. 08:24 So the question is, what is the first heaven? 08:27 Go with me to Genesis 1:8. 08:30 Genesis 1:8. Speaking about the first heaven, that refers to the 08:36 atmosphere where the birds fly. It says: 08:46 So notice, the firmament is called heaven; 08:49 That's the first heaven where the birds fly. 08:52 The second heaven is where the stars are. 08:55 Notice Genesis 15:5, as an example of this second heaven. 09:00 It's the heaven where the stars and the planets are found. 09:04 It says there, God is speaking here to Abraham, 09:20 So God told Abraham to look towards the heaven. 09:23 Obviously, He's talking about the starry heaven; 09:26 that is the second heaven of scripture. 09:29 Now where is the third heaven? 09:31 The third heaven is actually the place where God dwells. 09:35 It's where the New Jerusalem is. 09:38 It's beyond the sun, the moon, and the stars; 09:42 in deep space somewhere. 09:44 Now you say, How do we know that? 09:47 Well, let's examine some verses. 09:49 Go with me to Revelation 2:7. 09:52 Revelation 2:7. I want you to notice where the tree of life 09:58 is located. It says there in Revelation 2:7: 10:19 Question, where is the tree of life located? 10:22 It is located in the midst of the Paradise of God. 10:25 Is that the same place that the Apostle Paul was referring to 10:28 in 2 Corinthians 12? Absolutely! 10:31 Now, the question is, where is the tree of life located 10:35 in the Paradise of God? 10:37 Where is that Paradise of God? 10:38 Go with me to Revelation 22:1-2. 10:43 Revelation 22:1, 2. Here John, in vision, says: 11:00 What is there? The throne of God and of the Lamb. 11:04 That's the presence of God, in other words. Verse 2: 11:09 Which street, which city? 11:11 The New Jerusalem, Right? 11:32 Now let's put it all together. 11:34 The third heaven is where Paradise is. 11:37 The tree of life is in Paradise. 11:39 And Paradise is where the throne of God is found 11:43 in the New Jerusalem. 11:44 So the question is, where is the Paradise that Jesus was 11:49 referring to when He said to this thief that He would be 11:53 with him in Paradise. 11:54 It was not some intermediary place. 11:58 It was in the New Jerusalem, where the throne of God is, 12:02 where the tree of life is. 12:03 In other words, it was in the very presence of God, 12:06 so if Jesus was promising this thief that he was going 12:09 to be in Paradise, He was saying, You're going to be 12:12 in the New Jerusalem. 12:13 You're going to be before the throne of God, 12:15 where the tree of life is found. 12:18 By the way, we also want to read Revelation 22:14, 12:23 where it speaks once again about the location 12:26 of the tree of life. 12:27 The tree of life is inside the gates of the Holy City 12:30 of the New Jerusalem, in the very presence of God. 12:33 Here it says: 12:46 Now, unfortunately, during the intertestamental period, 12:49 that's the period between the Old and the New Testament. 12:52 Actually, between when the Old Testament ended 12:54 and John the Baptist began his preaching. 12:57 The Jews developed a very strange tradition 13:00 about Paradise. Basically they came up with the idea that 13:04 Paradise was kind of like a holding place, where people went 13:09 for awhile before they actually entered the presence of God. 13:13 You know, Protestants have picked up that idea, 13:16 and basically, they've taught that all of the saints of the 13:20 Old Testament, before Jesus died, their souls went off 13:24 to Paradise, and they were held there in Paradise until Jesus' 13:28 resurrected, and then they were introduced into the very 13:32 presence of God. Now the question is, does that square 13:36 with the teaching of scripture? 13:37 Absolutely not, because we already noticed that the third 13:41 heaven is where Paradise is. 13:43 And where Paradise is, is in the New Jerusalem, 13:46 where the tree of life is, and where the throne of God and the 13:51 Lamb is found. And so, very clearly, Jesus was not saying 13:55 to the thief, You're going to go to some intermediary place; 13:59 your soul is going to go to this place, and then you're going 14:03 be introduced in the presence of God. 14:05 He was saying, if Jesus was saying that it was going to 14:08 happen that very day, He was saying, This very day you are 14:12 going to be with Me in the presence of God. 14:14 If you translate the verse the way that the New King James, 14:18 and the King James have it translated, which I believe 14:21 is the wrong translation. 14:22 Now, the question that we need to ask now is, where did Jesus 14:29 go when He died, according to the Bible? 14:33 Did He go to this place called Paradise? 14:38 Yes, He might have gone to Paradise, do you think? 14:42 I don't think so. You say, How do you know? 14:46 Because the Bible tells us. 14:49 Go with me to Acts 2:25-27. 14:52 Acts 2:25-27. Peter is speaking here on the Day of Pentecost, 15:00 and he's speaking about Jesus using a Messianic prophecy 15:04 that's found in Psalms 16:10. 15:10 That is concerning Jesus. 15:28 Here Jesus is speaking Messianically is Psalms 16:10 15:31 about a thousand years before this event takes place. 15:35 Then notice verse 27: 15:47 Now I want you to notice the synonymous parallelism in this 15:52 verse. Actually, verse 27: For you will not leave My soul 15:56 in Hades, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. 16:01 Do you see the parallel? 16:02 My soul is parallel to Your Holy One. 16:05 And the word Hades is in parallel construct with 16:09 corruption. Now I'd like to read this verse as it's found in the 16:13 New International Version, because it's more accurate 16:17 in its meaning. The NIV, Acts 2:27 says this: 16:34 Now notice: Me, in other words the soul is Jesus. 16:53 So the question is, where did Jesus go when He died? 16:58 Did He go to Paradise? 17:00 Did He go to the presence of God in the New Jerusalem 17:03 before the throne where the tree of life is? 17:05 Absolutely not! Acts 2:27 tells us very clearly that He went 17:11 to the grave, and that God was not going to abandon Him 17:16 in the grave. Now we need to ask another question. 17:19 Did the thief even die that very day? 17:24 Notice John 19:31-34. 17:29 John 19:31-34. It says there: 17:45 The Jews asked Pilate, notice this, that their legs might be 17:50 broken, and that they might be taken away. 17:55 So were the thieves dead on that day when Jesus died? 17:58 Absolutely not! Let's continue, verse 32: 18:01 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, 18:04 and of the other who was crucified with him. 18:21 So the question is, were the thieves dead that day on their 18:27 crosses? Absolutely not! 18:29 When they came to where Jesus was Jesus was dead, 18:34 but the thieves were still alive. 18:37 By the way, at what hour of the day did Jesus die? 18:41 Notice Matthew 27:46, and we'll read through verse 50. 18:47 Matthew 27:46-50. It says here: 18:54 By the way, the ninth hour is about three o'clock 18:56 in the afternoon. The first hour would be six o'clock 18:59 in the morning. So they calculated time just a little 19:03 different than we do. 19:04 So it says, about the ninth hour, which is three o'clock 19:07 in the afternoon. 19:44 At what time did Jesus die? 19:46 He died at the ninth hour, which would be about three o'clock 19:49 in the afternoon. Were the thieves dead at three o'clock 19:53 in the afternoon? Absolutely not! 19:54 In fact there are cases that are known to have taken place 19:59 in Rome where thieves and malefactors were crucified 20:05 and they actually lived for days after their crucifixion. 20:09 And so the thieves were not dead that day, and therefore 20:13 the penitent thief could not have gone with Jesus that very 20:16 day to paradise. Furthermore, I want us to notice Luke 23:42. 20:23 Luke 23:42. When is it that the thief wanted Jesus to remember 20:31 him so that he could be with Jesus? 20:34 Was it at the moment of death, or was it at some future moment? 20:39 Notice Luke 23:42. 20:51 Now the question is, when did Jesus come into His kingdom? 20:54 Did Jesus come into His kingdom that very day? 20:58 Absolutely not! We know from scripture that Jesus did not 21:02 ascend to Heaven to take over the kingdom, along with His 21:06 Father, to sit at the right hand of His Father, until forty days 21:11 after the resurrection according to Acts 1. 21:14 So, in other words, Jesus did not enter His kingdom that day. 21:18 And so the thief could not have entered that kingdom with Jesus 21:23 on that very day. Another thing that we want to notice is 21:27 according to John 20:1 Jesus resurrected 21:33 the first day of the week. 21:35 Notice John 20:1. It says: 21:50 So very clearly, Jesus resurrects on the 21:54 first day of the week. 21:55 And yet we're going to find something very interesting 21:58 in that same chapter. 22:00 In verse 17 Jesus had something very interesting to say. 22:04 Notice John 20:17. 22:09 That is to Mary. 22:26 Interesting that on resurrection morning Jesus is saying to Mary, 22:30 the first day of the week, He's saying, I have not yet ascended 22:35 to My Father. So how could Jesus on Friday have gone to Paradise 22:40 to the very presence of the throne of His Father, 22:43 if the day of the resurrection He says, I have not yet ascended 22:47 to My Father? By the way, Jesus must have ascended that very day 22:52 at least for a moment, and then come back, because we're told 22:56 in Luke 24:39 that that evening Jesus encouraged His followers 23:04 to touch Him. It says there in Luke 24:39, 23:25 So there are all sorts of reasons why Jesus did not 23:29 go with the thief to Paradise that very day. 23:33 First of all, we notice that the thief probably did not die 23:38 that very day. Secondly, Jesus did not enter His Kingdom 23:43 on that very day. Furthermore, Jesus the third day said, 23:47 I have not yet ascended to My Father. 23:50 And we notice that Paradise is the place where God the Father's 23:54 throne is found in the New Jerusalem 23:57 where the tree of life is. 23:59 So on that day Jesus didn't go to Paradise, and the thief 24:05 did not go to Paradise either. 24:06 So how should we translate this verse in Luke 23? 24:13 On the basis of all of the evidence that we've looked at, 24:17 there's no doubt that it should be translated: Verily, verily, 24:22 I say unto you today, you will be with Me in Paradise. 24:26 In other words, today I'm telling you that someday 24:30 you will be with me in Paradise when I enter my Kingdom. 24:34 By the way, this was an idiomatic way of speaking 24:39 among the Jews. Notice, for example, Deuteronomy 30:18, 24:45 Deuteronomy 30:18. It says there, and it's not talking 24:51 about the same topic, but I want you to see that it was 24:54 common for the Jews to say, today something was going 24:58 to happen in the future. 24:59 It says there in Deuteronomy 30:18, 25:17 So notice once again the same idea, I announce to you today 25:22 that you shall surely perish. 25:24 They weren't going to perish that very day, 25:26 but God was saying that day that they would in the future 25:29 perish. And so, this text has no foundation for teaching that the 25:36 soul of that man, and the soul of Jesus, 25:40 went together to Paradise that very day. 25:44 The fact is the thief wasn't dead, 25:46 and Jesus went to the grave. 25:48 Jesus did not go to Paradise. 25:51 Jesus did not actually go to the presence of His Father 25:55 until the third day when He finally said that evening, 25:58 now you can touch me. 26:01 Now we need to go to the second episode that we're going to 26:05 study this evening, and that's the story 26:07 of the witch of En Dor. 26:10 It's found in 1 Samuel 28. 26:12 1 Samuel 28. Let me give you just a little bit of background. 26:18 It seems like King Saul had been more concerned about persecuting 26:24 David than he had been about administering the kingdom 26:29 wisely. And as a result he had ignored the Philistines, 26:33 and the Philistines had become very powerful, 26:36 and had taken over much of the kingdom that had belonged 26:40 to Israel. You see, Saul was so obsessed with getting rid of 26:45 David that he simply ignored the kingdom, and he did not spend 26:49 any time administrating it, and defending it from the hands 26:55 of the Philistines. And so we find in 1 Samuel 20:5 that Saul 27:00 was very much concerned and worried about the progress 27:05 and the growth of the Philistines. It says there: 27:18 And so Saul wanted to have the assurance that somehow he was 27:21 going to be delivered from the hands of the Philistines. 27:25 Now there were normal ways in which he could have consulted 27:30 the Lord to find out if when the Philistines came against him, 27:34 he was going to be delivered. 27:36 Notice 1 Samuel 28:6. 27:39 1 Samuel 28:6. It says: 27:49 Notice, the Lord did not answer him. 28:00 In other words, God did not use any of the conventional 28:04 ways of communicating His will to King Saul, 28:08 which was prophets, and visions, and the Urim and the Thummim. 28:12 God simply chose not to answer Saul. 28:17 Now it's interesting to notice that at this point the prophet 28:21 Samuel had died and he had been buried. 28:24 Notice 1 Samuel 28:3. 28:27 1 Samuel 28:3 It says: 28:52 So notice that Samuel had died and he had been buried. 28:58 And God did not answer Saul by any of the conventional means. 29:03 And then we find in this story that suddenly a being appears 29:09 to Saul, who purportedly is the spirit of Samuel, 29:15 who had died and been buried. 29:17 Now I want to share with you several reasons why this was 29:21 not really Samuel. First reason: The Bible tells us very clearly 29:28 that the living know that they are going to die, 29:31 but the dead know absolutely nothing. 29:34 Notice Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. 29:38 Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. It says there: 29:54 So in other words, the dead don't know anything. 29:57 So if the dead don't know anything, how could it be 30:00 Samuel who was appearing from among the dead to King Saul? 30:04 It would have been absolutely impossible. 30:07 Besides, would God violate the very means that He had used to 30:11 communicate with His people, and use a method that He Himself 30:15 had forbidden? Would God use forbidden methods when He 30:19 could have used the methods that He approved of? 30:21 Absolutely not. In fact, let's notice that God had strictly 30:25 forbidden Israel from trying to communicate with the dead. 30:29 Notice Leviticus 20:27; Leviticus 20:27. 30:41 Today they call them channelers. 30:57 Notice the punishment for people who tried to communicate with 31:00 the dead. In other words, they were to be put to death. 31:03 They were to be stoned. 31:05 Not only the medium, who claimed to communicate with the dead, 31:09 but also those who communicated with the dead. 31:12 Notice Leviticus 19:31. 31:15 This is another text that speaks about God's forbidding this 31:20 method. Give no regard to mediums, and familiar spirits. 31:26 Do not seek after them to be defiled by them. 31:31 I am the Lord your God. 31:34 In other words, God had forbidden strictly this idea of 31:39 trying to communicate with the dead. 31:41 And here Saul wants to have Samuel, who had died 31:45 and been buried come to speak to him. 31:47 Would God have allowed Samuel to go and speak to Saul, when God 31:53 had forbidden these methods, and He could have used one of 31:56 the conventional methods? 31:58 Absolutely not. In fact Saul knew that what he was doing 32:02 was wrong. Notice 1 Samuel 28:9. 32:06 1 Samuel 28:9. Saul had actually done what the Lord had told him 32:12 to do, and that is cast out all of these witches, 32:16 and all of these wizards from the land. 32:19 It says there in verse 9 of 1 Samuel 28: 32:38 You see, Saul knew that the method that he was using 32:42 was wrong. In fact in 1 Samuel 28:7, 8 we find that 32:46 Saul even disguised himself to try and fool this woman. 32:50 It says there: 32:59 Notice, he's not inquiring of the Lord. 33:01 He's inquiring of her. 33:15 Did he know that what he was doing was wrong, 33:17 and against God's will? 33:19 Sure! Would God answer him by a method that was contrary to His 33:23 will? Absolutely not! So it says in verse 8: 33:34 How? See he wants to hide what he's doing. 33:38 He came to the woman... 33:49 Now it's interesting to notice in verse 11, if you'll go with 33:53 me to verse 11, what the woman asks King Saul. 34:10 What do you mean bring me up Samuel? 34:12 Was Samuel a good man? 34:14 Of course he was. In fact he's on the honor roll, 34:17 we're going to notice in Hebrews 11, of those who are going to 34:20 resurrect in the better resurrection. 34:22 So the question is, where was Samuel at that point? 34:27 We already read it. Samuel had died and he was what? 34:31 He was buried. Now if he was good and the soul is really 34:36 immortal, like many people believe, then his soul should 34:39 have not gone down, his soul should have gone where? 34:42 His soul should have gone up. 34:44 But obviously there's something strange going on here, 34:48 because Saul is saying, bring me up Samuel. 34:52 In other words, Samuel did not go to be in the presence 34:56 of the Lord. By the way, I want you to notice what the woman 35:01 actually sees when this entity comes up from the earth. 35:06 Notice 1 Samuel 28:13. 35:09 1 Samuel 28:13. 35:23 You know, this is not a proper translation. 35:26 This is the New King James. 35:27 In the King James Version it says, I saw god's ascending 35:33 out of the earth. Notice, ascending out of the earth. 35:36 So what was Samuel doing down there in the earth? 35:40 If he was a good man his soul should have been at least 35:44 in Paradise up there somewhere, but she's making him come up. 35:48 And you'll notice that she says, I see a spirit, 35:53 actually it's the Hebrew word Eloheim, which is translated 35:58 God, in Genesis 1. In the beginning God created the 36:03 heavens and the earth. 36:04 In other words, this witch is actually telling Saul, 36:10 I see a god coming up out of the earth. 36:15 In other words, she was saying that Samuel was a what? 36:18 Samuel was a god when he died. 36:24 Now where does that lie come from? 36:26 Notice Genesis 3:4, 5. 36:30 The devil said the same thing to Adam and Eve; actually to Eve. 36:34 It says in verse 4: 36:53 In other words, you're not going to die; 36:55 you're going to be like God. 36:57 Is this the same thing that the witch and the devil are trying 37:02 to pan off to King Saul? Absolutely. 37:06 Now, another thing which is very interesting is found in verse 14 37:11 of chapter 28. 1 Samuel 28:14. 37:14 I want you to notice this. 37:16 It's very interesting. It says: 37:21 What does this entity look like? 37:27 Oh, so if this is the soul of Samuel, then the soul of Samuel 37:33 is pretty old, huh? Huh! 37:41 Those of you who have read about Spiritualism know that this is 37:44 the way that spirits, supposedly, use to appear 37:47 to the living at séances. 37:49 And now notice, and this is very important, 37:53 because this witch has said that she saw gods ascending 37:57 from the earth. Notice Saul's reaction. It says: 38:02 We'll come back to that a little bit later. 38:12 What is he doing? He's worshipping this entity. 38:17 That's correct, because the witch has said, I saw Eloheim. 38:23 I saw god's coming up from the earth. 38:26 So he bows down and he worships. 38:29 By the way, even angels do not receive worship. 38:32 In Revelation 19:10 the angel Gabriel appears to John, 38:38 and John falls at his feet to worship him, and the angel says, 38:42 Get up! I am a servant of God just like you are. 38:46 You remember when Peter went and met Cornelius? 38:50 You know, Cornelius bowed before him, and Peter said, 38:54 Get up! I'm a man such as you are. 38:57 So how is it that Saul is bowing and putting his face to the 39:02 ground before this entity? 39:04 Another interesting detail is what we find in 1 Samuel 28:19. 39:08 See all of these discrepancies show that there's something 39:12 strange going on here; that really this was not Samuel who 39:16 appeared to Saul. 1 Samuel 28:19. 39:20 Notice what this supposed spirit of Samuel has to say. 39:38 Huh! What is it that this supposed Samuel is saying? 39:46 He's saying, you know, tomorrow Saul, you're gong to be in the 39:52 very same place that I'm at. 39:54 So what does that mean? 39:56 The righteous and the wicked all go to the same place? 39:58 That's what modern spiritualism teaches: 40:00 universalism, the idea that everyone is going to be saved. 40:05 Everybody is going to the same place. 40:07 That's what's happening here. 40:08 And so he says, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. 40:13 The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of 40:18 the Philistines. By the way, that could not have been Samuel, 40:23 because the Bible tells us that Samuel is on the honor roll 40:27 of Hebrews 11, and his hope was found in being with God 40:31 at that better resurrection. 40:32 In fact, let's read that in Hebrews 11:32. 40:36 The name of Samuel is mentioned. 40:38 It says, And what more shall I say? for the time would fail me 40:43 to tell of Gideon, and Barak, and Samson, and Jephthah; 40:48 also of David, and Samuel, and the prophets. 40:52 And then I want you to notice verse 35. 40:54 After mentioning all of these names, it says: Women received 40:58 their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, 41:02 not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better 41:06 resurrection. So let me ask you, when is it that Samuel 41:11 is actually going to be raised up and be present with the Lord? 41:15 It was not at the moment of his death that he comes up and he 41:19 speaks to Saul. The Bible makes it very clear that it will be at 41:23 the moment of the better resurrection when Jesus comes 41:26 on the clouds of heaven, and you hear the sound of the trumpet, 41:29 and the voice of the archangel that will call Samuel 41:32 from the grave. Meanwhile the Bible tells us that Samuel is 41:38 like everybody else who has died. 41:40 He knows absolutely nothing! 41:44 By the way, we know that the entity that came up and spoke 41:50 to Saul was not Samuel, because in 1 Chronicles 10:13, 14, 41:56 if you'll go with me there; 1 Chronicles 10:13, 14. 42:00 We're told that the Lord did not answer Saul, because Saul did 42:05 not enquire of the Lord. 42:06 It says there in 1 Chronicles 10:13, 14: 42:39 Let me ask you, when Saul used the medium to try and 42:45 communicate with the Lord, was it the Lord who answered him? 42:48 Absolutely not! We're told here that: 42:54 And if he did not inquire of the Lord, the Lord did not answer 42:58 him, especially using unorthodox, forbidden methods 43:03 of determining the will of God. 43:06 By the way, Isaiah 8:19,20 tells us that we are not supposed to 43:14 seek the will of God through these forbidden methods, 43:18 but rather by going to the very Word of God. 43:21 It says there in Isaiah 8:19, 20: 43:47 In other words, we are to seek the will of God in the law. 43:51 In this time when Isaiah wrote, that is the writings of Moses. 43:55 And the testimony refers to the prophets who had been raised up 43:59 by God, and who had written up till that point, 44:01 because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 44:05 So basically this is saying, don't seek God's will among 44:08 the mediums and the wizards, but to the law and to the testimony. 44:12 And if they don't speak according to this, it's because 44:16 they have no light in them. 44:19 Now I want you to notice a very important word that is used 44:24 in 1 Samuel 28:14. 1 Samuel 28:14. 44:29 You know, you read the passage and the passage gives the 44:33 impression that it's Samuel that is actually speaking 44:37 all throughout the passage. 44:38 But there's a very important word that indicates that this 44:41 was Saul's perception. 44:44 Notice 1 Samuel 28:14. 44:46 And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his. 44:58 Now, let me ask you, what were Saul's perceptions like 45:06 at this point? Were his perceptions trustworthy? 45:10 Absolutely not! Notice 1 Samuel 16:14; 16:14. It says here: 45:30 So what was the problem with Saul before this witch of En Dor 45:34 episode? The Bible tells us that there was a spirit, 45:38 an evil spirit is says, from the Lord, that tormented him. 45:41 Does this mean that God goes around sending evil spirits 45:45 to torment people? Of course not! 45:47 You know how this worked. 45:49 You have, for example, Job. 45:51 You know, the devil comes and he takes everything away from Job. 45:55 Job thinks it's the Lord. 45:58 He says, The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. 46:00 Blessed be the name of the Lord. 46:02 But as we read the story we know that the Lord is simply 46:05 permitting the devil to work. 46:07 Another example of this is in 1 Chronicles 18:18-20. 46:12 I'll just have you look up that passage where a spirit appears 46:16 before the presence of the Lord, and he says, You know, 46:19 I'll go convince Ahab to go to battle so that he gets killed 46:22 in battle. And the Lord says to this spirit, He says, 46:25 And how are you going to convince him to go to battle? 46:27 And the spirit says, Oh, I'll be a lying spirit in the mouths 46:31 of all of his prophets. 46:32 In other words, I'll tell a lie to his prophets that's he's 46:34 going to gain the victory in the battle, but he's really going to 46:38 be killed. Now let me ask you, who was that spirit who was in 46:42 the presence of the Lord that said, I will be a lying spirit 46:45 in the mouths of all of the prophets of Ahab? 46:47 It can't be a loyal angel. 46:49 It can't be a good spirit, a ministering spirit 46:52 from the Lord, for the simple reason that angels do not use 46:57 what? they do not use lies to accomplish God's purposes. 47:03 So in other words, Saul perceived that it was Samuel. 47:09 But the Bible tells us that Saul's powers of perception 47:14 were eschewed, because an evil spirit was coming and was 47:18 tormenting Saul. And, in fact, the Bible tells us that David 47:23 would be called by Saul to play his harp so his tortured spirit 47:27 would experience some peace. 47:30 And even when David was playing his harp, you know what would 47:33 happen; the evil spirit would take possession of Saul, 47:36 and at least a couple of times he took his spirit and he hurled 47:39 it at David to try and nail David to the wall, 47:42 according to the scripture. 47:43 Let me ask you, Who had possessed Saul at this point? 47:47 It was the devil. 47:48 So could Saul trust his perceptions? 47:51 Absolutely not! He perceived that it was Samuel, 47:55 but that doesn't mean that it was Samuel. 47:58 In fact, I want to read a statement from the devotional 48:02 book, Conflict and Courage, page 172, where Ellen White 48:05 is discussing this experience of the witch of En Dor. 48:09 And she says this: When Saul inquired for Samuel, 48:13 the Lord did not cause Samuel to appear to Saul. 48:18 He saw nothing. Satan was not allowed to disturb the rest of 48:24 Samuel in the grave and bring him up in reality to the witch 48:30 of En Dor. God does not give Satan power to resurrect 48:35 the dead. But Satan's angels, listen to this, assume the 48:41 form of dead friends, and speak and act like them, 48:46 that through professed dead friends he can better carry on 48:52 his work of deception. 48:54 Satan knew Samuel well... 48:56 Now notice, Satan knew Samuel well. 48:59 ...and he knew how to represent him before the witch of En Dor 49:03 and to utter correctly the fate of Saul and his sons. 49:10 I'd like to read another statement that we find in 49:12 The Great Controversy, page 552. 49:15 Here Ellen White is talking about what's going to happen 49:17 in the future. The devil's going to do the same thing that he did 49:20 to Saul at the end of time, to try and deceive people into 49:24 believing what he's trying to teach through these supposed 49:29 spirits of the dead. 49:30 It says there, speaking about the devil: 50:18 That is a powerful statement. 50:19 So something is appearing, but it's not the loved ones. 50:25 It's really the devil disguised as those who died. 50:30 Let me ask you, does the devil know a lot about the lives 50:33 of those people who have died? 50:34 Absolutely! Now I want to read an amazing statement as we near 50:40 our close in Patriarchs and Prophets, page 687. 50:43 Say, how did the devil know that Saul was going to be killed 50:48 the next day? Well, the fact is that it wasn't the Lord who 50:52 killed him. The Lord allowed the devil to kill him, right? 50:56 So when it says that He killed him, it simply means that God 51:00 withdrew His protection from Saul, because Saul was in the 51:04 hands of the devil at that point. 51:05 Saul was demon possessed, so the devil could do anything 51:09 he wanted to him. His door of probation, so to speak, 51:13 had closed. Now how can the devil sometimes apparently 51:17 predict the future; things that are going to happen in the 51:19 future? How does he say certain things about people that no one 51:23 else knows? You know how you have these psychic's 51:25 on television who supposedly communicate with the dead. 51:28 And, you know, people call. 51:29 They say, you know, I want you to communicate with such 51:32 and such a relative, and they say some amazing things 51:35 about the relatives that are really true. 51:38 And you say, how do they know these things? 51:41 Well, the fact is the devil knows all about those relatives, 51:44 and he can come and he can whisper in the ear of the 51:47 psychic to tell the psychic exactly what transpired 51:51 in the life of that person. 51:52 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 51:53 Now look at this statement: Patriarchs and Prophets, 51:56 page 687: Satan leads men... 52:09 Does Satan know the past of everyone on Planet Earth and his 52:13 angels? Sure, because he can go even into the secret places. 52:30 Because he says things in the past that nobody knew, 52:33 except that person, people say, well, if he knows the past, 52:37 then he must also know the future. 52:39 Now how does he do this? 52:58 Just by looking at the law of cause and effect. 53:14 You know, there was one prophet that probably all of you have 53:20 heard about. Her name is Jeane Dixon. 53:22 She actually passed away. 53:25 Do you know that she prophesied with precision where 53:31 Robert Kennedy was going to be assassinated, and the month 53:35 in which Robert Kennedy was going to be assassinated? 53:38 She said it several months before. 53:40 So you say, she had to be a psychic. 53:43 She had to have the gift of reading the future, 53:45 because she predicted that Robert F. Kennedy was going 53:48 to be killed in the Ambassador Hotel in the month of June. 53:51 Only God can foretell the future, right? 53:55 How did the devil do it? 53:56 Do you think the devil knew that Robert F. Kennedy was going 54:01 to be in the Ambassador Hotel at that date? 54:03 Do you think he knew, Robert F. Kennedy's calendar? 54:07 Of course he did. Could the devil influence somebody to 54:10 take a gun and to come and to meet Robert Kennedy at the 54:14 Ambassador Hotel? Of course he could. 54:16 And so he has Jeane Dixon predict this is going to happen, 54:21 and then he molds the different events so that it will happen. 54:25 The only trouble is it doesn't happen 100% of the time, 54:28 because sometimes God intervenes and interferes with the devil's 54:32 plans, and He does not allow the devil to implement his plans. 54:35 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 54:37 And so people say, Wow, she predicted the death of Robert F. 54:41 Kennedy. That's amazing! 54:43 But what they don't realize is that she's not really predicting 54:46 anything. It's the fact of the devil revealing what he is 54:50 planning to do. He can't always do what he plans to do, 54:54 because sometimes God interrupts his plans. 54:58 Now there's a lot of spiritualism going on in the 55:02 world today: Harry Potter, supposed apparitions of the 55:08 Virgin Mary, psychics, astrologers, palm readers, 55:15 channelers, supposedly angels. 55:21 Do you know that most people believe that angels are spirits 55:24 of the departed that went to Heaven, and then they come back 55:29 to this earth disguised as human beings, to help those who 55:34 are here on earth? 55:35 You know, like the program Highway to Heaven with Michael 55:37 Landon? Probably you watched that show. 55:40 It was a long time ago where, you know, he died. 55:43 He went to Heaven, then God sent him back. 55:44 Then God sent him back. 55:45 He became an angel. 55:47 God sent him back to earth to help people as a human being. 55:53 The devil is working overtime to deceive the whole world 55:59 with the lie that he uttered at the very 56:02 beginning of human history. 56:03 The living know that they will die, the Bible says, 56:08 but the dead know not anything. 56:10 But the devil says, You will not surely die, but you shall be as 56:15 God, knowing good and evil. 56:18 The question is, who do we believe? 56:20 Do we believe God, or do we believe the devil? 56:23 That's the question that each of us have to answer. 56:27 And so the two passages that we've studied make it very clear 56:31 that neither one of them teach the immortality of the soul. 56:35 The thief on the cross did not go that very day to Paradise 56:39 with Jesus, because Jesus did not go to Paradise that day, 56:43 and the thief wasn't dead that day. 56:45 So the better translation is, Verily, verily I say unto you 56:49 today, you will be with me in Paradise. 56:52 And as far as the story of the witch of En Dor, God did not 56:56 communicate with Saul through Samuel. 56:59 Samuel is in the grave, dead, awaiting the call of Jesus 57:04 Christ, his Savior and Lord, whom he believed in as the One 57:09 who would come in the future to shed His blood to save Samuel 57:12 and all the rest of humanity through His blood from their 57:16 sins. And so folks, the book of Revelation tells us that in the 57:21 last days the devil is going to deceive the whole world. 57:25 I pray to God that none of us will be deceived. |
Revised 2014-12-17