We would become trapped in “ the snare o f the devil,” and “taken captive by him at his will” (II Tim. 2:26). Satan is “ the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2 :2 ). If God permitted us to enter his special domain, we would be exposed unnecessarily to Satan’s wiles and deceptive de vices. We who are in the flesh see now “ through a glass darkly.” At present, we do not possess a body adapted to contact with heavenly beings. Our pres ent mentality could neither understand nor debate heavenly things (II Cor. 12:3, 4). Once our Lord did permit two men from the glory to come on a mountain apart from the multi tude and to talk with Him in the presence of three of His disciples. What was the result? The record is in Luke 9 :28-36. First, the disciples “were heavy with sleep.” Second, “ They feared as they entered into the cloud.” Third, they said, “ Let us make three tabernacles; one for thee and one for Moses, and one for Elias.” I f God allowed us on earth to talk with the saints in Heaven, our reaction doubtless would be exactly the same as that of the three disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration. We, too, would sleep, dazed by the glory. We, too, would be filled with unspeakable awe and fear. We, too would respond unwisely, having only the pow er of human reasoning as the disciples had. They wished to build three tabernacles— for the Lord Jesus, for Moses, and for Elijah—thus committing the grievous sin o f placing the Son of God on a plane of equality with the departed dead! God does not want our worship to center in men, even in men who have gone to Heaven. To the blundering disciples, “ there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him” (Luke 9:35). When John, on the Isle of Patmos, saw a shin ing one, he fell at his feet to worship him. But immediately John was reproved with the words, “ See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets . . . worship God” (Rev. 22:9). Believers who are with Christ “ rest from their labours” (Rev. 14:13). The idea that saints are hovering around somewhere in the air above us, floating about in blissful wanderings, is utterly un true. Our believing dead are far above the first heaven. They cannot come to us until that blessed day when “ those who sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” And do you think that God would want us to bring back the saints who are happy in Him— to bring them back to this vale o f tears? Have they not had their day of sorrow and of testing? Now they rest from their labors. Why should we want to contact them? Is not the Lord Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, sufficient to meet all our needs, and to bear all our burdens?'
What The Bible Says About Heaven Concluding article in a »cries by Louis T . Talbot Chancellor, Biola Schools and Colleges, Inc. We believe that Heaven is real. We believe also that the believers who die go to be with a real Lord in a real place. Why, then, does God not strengthen our faith by giving us a realistic touch and contact with those saints who have left this earth? Spiritism claims to answer this question and professes that the living may have communication with the dead. Seances are held and actual “ap pearances” are claimed to have occurred. Christian people usually mock at these spiritualistic claims, saying that there is nothing to them but fraud and trickery. But God would not have given us the warnings that He has given in the Bible against spiritism if it were harmless (cf. Deut. 18:9-12; Isaiah 8:19, 20; I John 4:1-3). What is in it? We answer that the devil is in it, and his demons are a part of it. Satan is an impersonator. He will devise all kinds of lying wonders, and signs, and miracles to deceive, if possible, the very elect. We cannot now discuss at length the ruination of mind and health that have come to many who have tried to pierce the veil that hides things after death. This much we do say: All such attempts bring the seekers into contact with Satan and his powers of the air—an experience which cannot but create disastrous ef fects to the person who indulges in it. Therefore, let us beware of necromancers, wizards, spiritualis tic mediums, all of whom seek to enter forbidden realms. Let us consider briefly whether or not there are any Scriptural reasons for living saints to be denied communication with loved ones who have gone to be with Christ. We read in II Corinthians 5 :7 : “We walk by faith, not by sight.” If God gave us “ sight” into the beyond, we would be carried out o f the realm of faith and would be basing our confidence chiefly upon things that we saw.
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JUNE. 1969
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