Aliens and the Antichrist: Unveiling the End Times Deception (7 page)

Luke 16:19—31
(bold emphasis added)

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Because of this, it is commonly assumed by most Christians that no one would ever be allowed to leave hell (even the paradise portion of hell, which no longer exists) for any reason. I see a valid point in this reasoning, because I’ve never heard of anyone being warned by a deceased relative to repent or burn in hell. But I still don’t think this one parable about this one person is sufficient to draw a conclusion that applies to every situation. This one parable does not definitively disprove the existence of ghosts. The simple fact remains that the Bible documents many demonic possessions, and there has to be an explanation as to how this takes place.

What if, for example, a murder curses the ground and creates an atmospheric anomaly that allows specific cursed beings access into that region of space? After all, Satan and his minions only have power in places where they’re given a foothold. This rule probably applies to people too. The rich man clearly had no right or authority to enter into Abraham’s bosom, nor did he have any right or authority to be given special access so he could warn his family members who were still alive—but then again, the rich man wasn’t brutally murdered. If he were, he might have been given special access to the location of his murder. Having conducted a little research of my own into the phenomenon of haunting, I have found that premature death, especially in cases involving murder, is a key factor in what creates haunting phenomenon. According to a wide variety of sources referenced in
Harper’s Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience,
“haunted sites seem to be places merely frequented or liked by the deceased, or places where violent death has occurred.”
¹⁵

Scripture speaks a great deal about the importance ofkeeping a land spiritually clean and free of sin, and I suspect this has something to do with spiritually cursed, disincarnate entities gaining access into the realm of the living, at least to some limited extent. Once they have limited access, they test their boundaries, the same as any criminal would in a situation where freedom might be obtainable. How exactly do people get possessed, anyway? Clearly when the conditions are right (for example, when a person who is lost, spiritually weak, and living in sin, and on top of all of that goes to places like palm-reading shops, cemeteries, satanic churches, or haunted houses—which are most likely cursed ground), demonic possession becomes possible. If this were not the case, it would never occur. Certainly something has to happen. Because demonic possession is possible, and it entails a cursed disincarnate entity managing to escape its confines in hell, then I see no reason why disincarnate human spirits can’t do the same thing. Dr. Edith Fiore, author of
The Unquiet Dead: A Psychologist Treats Spirit Possession,
seems to think so as well. While Dr. Fiore’s work relies heavily on hypnotherapy, and is tarnished with her beliefs in reincarnation, her findings, which document numerous cases of people being possessed by spirits of the deceased, are certainly worthy of further investigation.

While many people believe that all ghostly activity is solely the work of demons, I don’t think the Bible supports this view. In addition to what I’ve already stated, the Bible provides an array of terms used to describe possession, some of which may refer to spirits that are not necessarily demons. Terms such as “evil spirits” (Judges 9:23; 1 Samuel 16:14-16, 16:23, 18:10, 19:9; Acts 19:1213, 19:15-16; Luke 7:21, 8:2), “unclean spirits” (Matthew 10:1; Mark 1:27, 3:11, 5:13, 6:7; Luke 4:36, 6:18; Acts 5:16, 8:7; Revelation 16:13), “foul spirits” (Mark 9:25; Revelation 18:2), and “familiar spirits” (Leviticus 19:31, 20:6; Deuteronomy 18:11; 1 Samuel 28:3, 28:9; 2 Kings 21:6, 23:24; Isaiah 8:19, 19:3) might refer to the deceased spirits of people, rather than demons.

In any case, being possessed is not healthy, whether it’s by a demon or a deceased person. Furthermore, in today’s New Age climate, being possessed by a disincarnate person may deceive people into believing false doctrines like reincarnation, which according to Hebrews 9:27 can’t be true. A person possessed with the disincarnate spirits of other people may misinterpret the memories of the spirits that possess them as their own memories and think that they are remembering their own past lives; but these people aren’t reincarnated, they’re possessed! This was exactly the case with many of Dr. Fiore’s patients. These people needed deliverance and healing, rather than hypnotherapy sessions to investigate their past lives with enthusiasm, as Dr. Fiore and other psychologists, such as Dr. Bruce Goldberg, have been known to do.

Hebrews 9:27

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.

4.2.3. Interaction with Cursed Disincarnate Entities

Concerning the ghosts of cursed disincarnate entities, one fact is made abundantly clear in scripture: people are forbidden to seek them out to interact with them (Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 18:9—15; 2 Kings 17:17—18; 2 Chronicles 33:6).

Leviticus 19:26

Ye shall not eat anything with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.

Deuteronomy 18:9—15

When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God gives thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do. The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.

Nowadays mediums even have their own TV shows, where members of an audience are given an opportunity to communicate with the deceased.
¹⁶
These mediums will speak about God and spread their teachings and philosophies of the spiritual realm, as if they are spiritually enlightened, yet they make their living by glorifying their sinful activities on national television. They obviously don’t think they’re sinning, but it should be noted that they don’t take their definition of sin from the Bible.

Just about everyone has a few ghost stories, and I don’t see how it could be a sin if someone just happens to see a ghost. Some people see and hear them all the time, however (I actually know a few people who have this ability), and here’s where a distinction must be made. People who have this ability should use it for what God wants them to use it for, rather than blindly wandering about in the dangers of the spiritual realm, believing the words of every voice that speaks. All true mediums probably start out with a God-given spiritual gift, but it becomes corrupted after years of subjection to deception.

Interaction with the deceased should only be taken to the point of testing the spirits (1 John 4:1-4), but once the test results are in, if the spirits in question don’t pass the tests, all communication should immediately cease. Interaction with the deceased is dangerous because the lower realms are full of evil spirits seeking ways to penetrate the physical realm for the sole purpose ofpursuing their own agendas, which vary widely but never include the will of God.

1 John 4:1-4

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Interaction with
spirits
isn’t completely forbidden, because if it were, the prophets Daniel, Ezekiel, the apostle John, and Jesus himself would be guilty of sin, but this is clearly not the case. John spoke with the deceased spirit of a prophet (Revelation 22:9), Daniel and Ezekiel spoke with beings (angels) who could’ve been construed as ghosts, and Jesus spoke with Moses after Moses was physically deceased (Matthew 17:3; Mark 9:4). The difference in all of these cases, however, is that these spirits
passed the test.
They were
good spirits,
faithful to God, not evil spirits.

The reason for the prohibition of interaction with deceased spirits should be obvious. The barrier that divides dimensions from each other is there to keep the corruption of lower realms from spreading into the higher realms. If beings are stuck in the lower realms, it’s because they are cursed in great measure. Their appearances, questions, activities, and requests can never fully be trusted, and that is why they must be tested if encountered (1 John 4:1—3). Personally I would include even more tests over and above 1 John 4:1—4 because spirits can be very tricky! (I know—and don’t ask how.) In short what they say should line up with all of the truths outlined in the Bible. If they say something that doesn’t quite fit—then bingo! They need to take a hike.

A demon-possessed man can serve prominently in ministry (Judas Iscariot did), and a true believing man of God might murder an innocent man in order to ensure a marriage to that man’s wife (King David did), so the human capacity to judge good and evil is hampered already without adding the element of being dis- incarnate. It is possible that disincarnate spirits may want simple things, and some of them may even do good things, just as non-Christian people who are living may want simple things and even do good things—but the bottom line is that cursed, disincarnate spirits are not in heaven for a reason. This fact cannot be ignored, and neither can the warnings clearly outlined in scripture.

4.2.4. Advice for People Who See and Hear Spirits of the Deceased

For anyone with the spiritual gift of being able to see and hear spirits, this gift may be a powerful gift from God, with a God-given purpose. Simply reviewing all the spiritual gifts listed in scripture can give a clue as to what this ability might entail (1 Corinthians 12). For example, if someone sees or hears deceased spirits, then that should be a cue to pray with specific knowledge over people and places. In other words, if you see a demon possessing or manipulating someone, cast it out in the name of Jesus! That’s what Jesus did. He had the ability to detect spirits because he knew when Satan and demons were hanging around, manipulating people (Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:33; Luke 4:8). He never wasted his time in casual conversation with such entities either. He cast them out and rebuked them left and right (Matthew 8:16, 8:31; Mark 1:34, 6:13, 16:9; Luke 13:32, and many more). We should do the same. I imagine such a gift would be particularly handy for keeping one’s eyes on the true enemy, rather than on all the pawns. One person I know personally who has this ability serves in deliverance ministry in my church, and conducts spiritual warfare of an unusual nature; the results are remarkable.

The ability to channel spirits is also a God-given gift, though it is intended
only
for channeling the power of the Holy Spirit, and none other. The satanic perversion of this is doing exactly the opposite. In today’s New Age climate, apparently anyone can learn how to channel spirits by following instructions in a number of widely available books. Mediums are magnets for demonic posses- sion—probably more susceptible to it than people without such gifts are. Demons seek out people who can perceive them because they can exude a greater influence through these people who are natural conduits. In essence the people whom God intends to use to free people from satanic oppression and possession can sometimes become slaves to Satan when they fall into the seduction of glorifying themselves and obtaining profit and prosperity by doing things with their spiritual gifts that are forbidden in scripture. The temptation to misuse powers is a constant temptation for many psychics, according to an article found in
The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research.17