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Gary :
This is Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call.
Still ahead, answers to your questions in Contending for the Faith, and in Understanding the Scriptures, Dave and Tom will continue their discussion of God’s salvation. In addition to this radio program, we publish a monthly newsletter, which we make available free of charge. We also produce and distribute wide variety of teaching materials including books in print, e-book and audio book formats, CD’s, DVD’s, and other items to encourage the serious study of God’s Word. For a complete list of materials, or to get a copy of today’s broadcast, write to us at POB 7019, Bend , Oregon 97708 , call our toll free order number 877-882-4253, that’s 877-88Bible, or visit our website at www.thebereancall.org . If you would like a copy of this broadcast on compact disk, ask for Program #1108, and be sure to mention the call letters of this station. And if you would like to watch Dave and Tom, our weekly broadcast is available on DVD; ask about a subscription when you contact us. You can also download both audio and video podcast at our website. We’ll repeat this information at the end of the program. Now:
RELIGION IN THE NEWS
A report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media. This week’s item is from Christian Newswire , December 16, 2007 , with a headline: “Let the News Be Told Again, Heaven is Real and Beautiful.” The following are excerpts: Our son David was involved in an accident where he was killed instantly while on his way to work. A couple nights before his death he told his dad, if I don’t see you in the morning, then I will see you in heaven. The loss was tremendous due to the love David had for everyone. His sister was especially lost because they were so close. However, she prayed to God for her peace and understanding of why. One night while she was asleep, David came to her in her dream, and they were in communication for a long time. This was not the first time for her to know he was there and with her, but that night, after the Lord had prepared her for him, she and David talked about many things. She asked David if there really was a heaven. David told her yes. She then asked him was it pretty? David told her, no, he told her it was beautiful. She asked David if he would come to mom to give here comfort. David told her it was easier for him to come to her. There are a lot of questions in this life, the answers will not be revealed to us until it is our time to pass. However, through their absolute love for each other, and for many, many other reasons that only God has the answer to, our faith is being strengthened. This is as beautiful as anything I have ever witnessed. God is great, and his Son, who gave His life for us all to have eternal life and in the hope that we would love each other as He loved us, is again showing us that He is the truth and the light.
Tom:
Dave, I find this interesting, because it’s amazing, through the internet, through e-mails, and so on, how that’s become a vehicle to present information. I remember when the production of “The Passion of the Christ” was taking place, that there were a lot of e-mails sent by Christians, evangelical Christians to support this, and so on. So, somehow, you got on these lists and people sent you their e-mails, either for prayer support, or to explain something, or to present something. My point here is that there are lots of new avenues now for people to disseminate information, and some of them like this are…. There’s no doubt that there really is a sincerity here about what’s taking place, certainly, in these days of so much feelings-oriented, psychologies and so on, that people want to be comforted, but there also demonstrates in much of this, a lack of Biblical discernment. Not unlike what we were talking about in the first segment, but here you have something that just, I’m sure it will warm people’s hearts, but this is not true to the God of the Bible, the very God that they are trying to exalt.
Dave:
Right, yeah Tom, it’s the same old thing. What we were talking about before, it applies here in this situation. Are we going to go by the Bible? Now, Paul was caught up to the third heaven, he says he was. He said he heard words that it was not lawful to utter. In other words, he had no permission to tell anybody about anything up there. No one else has that permission, and yet we’ve got all kinds of people on Christian TV, we’ve got books being written—When I was in heaven. One of them even said, “When I got there I found Peter’s footprints in the gold streets because Peter got there so soon, the gold had just been poured.”
Tom:
Oh yeah!
Dave:
And then another one, “Because God does say in Psalm 91, He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will trust.” Now, I’m not even naming these people, but— he got so close to God he touched Him and he felt His feathers. Now, what is going on here? Well, this lady is getting involved, or she is being led into necromancy, absolutely forbidden! Now, why should she trust what her deceased brother David says in a dream? Now, is this a dream, or this a—she doesn’t say it’s a vision, but they had a long conversation! Now you don’t usually talk to people in your dream, well, maybe you do, but this is very, very dangerous, because now what are we going to do? Who is our authority? Well, I would sure like to know something about heaven—well, let me tell you about this girl, and her brother David came to her and here’s what he says heaven is like. Really? They’ve been doing this; this is called “spiritism” or “spiritualism.”
Tom:
If it’s not just a dream that she had because of her heart wanting this, but that still opens the door for something that could be very wrong.
Dave:
She’s making it more than a dream now, relating it in detail. So, down through the ages, King Saul, well, he wanted to know what was going to happen, and so forth.
Tom:
Now, expand on that, Dave, was it really Samuel who came to Saul?
Dave:
I believe it was, in that case. In other words, because the medium was shocked. What it said was true, was a rebuke.
Tom:
It also brought about the death of Saul, so obviously, God allowed it, but then Saul had to pay the consequences.
Dave:
That would be an exception, but this is dangerous stuff. So, here we are, we’re going to take David’s word for this because he’s on the other side. Tom, I used to investigate this kind of stuff, as you did, and it’s amazing how Aunt Jane, who wasn’t that bright when she was alive, but now that she’s gone on to the other side, woooo, they consult her as the all-knowing oracle. And suddenly, Aunt Jane, she knows everything, because she’s over there now and we can consult her. I’m afraid that’s what these people are being led into.
Tom:
Dave, again, we have sincerity, we have emotionalism, we have people tied to what they desire, what they want, and that’s the check that I think they need to do. As you said, is this true to God’s Word? Yes, I want to be comforted, yes, I want to hear, I want to know that my deceased loved one is in heaven with the Lord—but again, nowhere in Scripture do we find that there’s an example of that.
Dave:
Right, even something against it. We’ve got these books written: I Was in Heaven and I Was in Hell and I Came Back to Tell You . We have the story, true, not a parable, of the rich man in hell and he lift up his eyes, being in torment—you remember, he didn’t want his brothers to come to this place and he said, “Please send Lazarus back, they will believe if someone comes back from the dead.” Abraham said they have Moses and the prophets, if they will not hear Moses and the prophets, neither would they believe the one came back from the dead and told them. So this is to no purpose, but it can lead you into some real problems.
