CAN THE DEAD VISIT YOU? One of Satan’s end-time deceptions is the impersonation of the dead. Some have received visits from what appears to be a dead family member.  But are they really deceased loved ones, or are they an impersonation? How can you know for sure? 

This series addresses the concerns we all have: the concern for sin, evil, death, dying, and what happens after we die. Is there hope after death? When God created us, humans, he intended for us to live forever in a loving, peaceful relationship with him. But this relationship has been broken by sin.

Here, we address the origin of sin and look more closely at death and dying.

But, instead of looking at death negatively, we look at it in the context of hope, the promised hope based on what Jesus did for us when he died and came back to life again.

From the Sabbath School Adult Bible Study Guide 2022 Quarter 4: Sabbath.School (See also Hope Sabbath School and 3ABN Sabbath School)

Inviting God’s Presence

Holy Father, recognizing that Satan and even the fallen angels will transform themselves into angels of light. How can we not be deceived by them? Help us stay in tune with you by allowing the Bible to be our only standard of faith. In Jesus’ Name Amen

Yes, it is evident that Satan and his fallen angels impersonate the dead. This we discovered in the previous lesson when Saul visited the witch of Endor. You can find out more about this in the previous lesson. Day 5. Review it on SabbathSchoolDaily.com

Demons, fallen angels, pretend to be our dead loved ones. These evil spirits transform themselves to look and talk like the dead person they are personating. These deceptive practices will become more and more and more as we approach the end time.

This according to the Word of God should come as no surprise for 2 Corinthians 11:14 tells us:

“Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”

Then how can we escape his deceptions?

For, we are warned in The Great Controversy that “In the end times, lying spirits will pretend to be Jesus’ disciples. It will appear that they have come back from the dead. These lying spirits will reject Bible truth and teach contrary to what is written in it. As a matter of fact, Satan Himself will personate Christ.”—The Great Controversy, page 557, 627 Adapted 

So how can we be protected from these satanic deceptions and lying demons?

Paul, in 2 Corinthians 11:14, 15, provides the warning, and then in Ephesians 6:10–18, he tells us what we can do to protect ourselves.

The warning:

II Corinthians 11:14-15

14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. (II Corinthians 11:14-15)

The protection:

Ephesians 6:10-18 

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Paul warns us in Ephesians 6:12 that

12 …our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12, NIV). And we can be protected from these lying demons only when we put on the whole-body armor of God as described in Ephesians 6:13–18. This body armor comes from God.

I agree that these satanic personations and appearances and lying demons can be pretty scary. But we must not allow them to deceive us.  They do not have the power to mislead or deceive those who are protected by God and are grounded in His Word.

We must therefore be rooted in the Word of God. We must study it for ourselves, with an open mind and with a willingness to be led by the Holy Spirit.

This is why it is so important that we become serious students of the Book, the Bible.

One surety from deception is not to fall into the common belief that the soul remains alive after the person dies. Tradition, not the Bible teaches that the soul lives on after death. In contrast, the Bible teaches that the dead can’t communicate with are appear before the living, because they are unconsciously sleeping in their grave waiting for Christ to return to this earth.

Knowing this, we must reject any evil spirit who pretends to be a dead loved one.  Any appearance of or communication with the dead is of a satanic origin and needs to be rejected by God’s powerful grace.

Even though the dead loved one may look very real. He or she may act and talk the same way our loved one did. We must refuse to entertain their presence. Again, no matter how powerful, no matter how convincing, and no matter how seemingly real the manifestation is, we must always stand firm on the teaching of the Bible that lets us know that the dead are asleep in the grave.

For, Those who are deceived are led to worship evil angels, believing them to be the spirits of their dead loved ones. The word of God expressly declares that the dead have no more a portion in anything done under the sun. Spiritualists say that the dead know everything that is done under the sun, that they communicate to their friends on earth, give valuable information, and perform wonders. Yet, Psalm 115:17 says: “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” But, Satan, transformed into an angel of light, works with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. He who could take up the Son of God, who was made a little lower than the angels, and place Him upon a pinnacle of the temple, and take Him up into an exceedingly high mountain to present before Him the kingdoms of the world, can exercise his power upon the human family, who are far inferior in strength and wisdom to the Son of God, even after He had taken upon Himself man’s nature.—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 298.

Thus, our only safety is in the full body armor of God. The armor of God is a metaphor that reminds us that:

1. The belt of truth should be fastened around our waist, and it should never be unfastened so as to be protected us from error.
2. The breastplate of righteousness is to be placed over our hearts so that we think about what Christ has done for us. We are reminded that we are covered by His righteousness because our righteousness is useless.
3. The gospel of peace shod on our feet: This is the good news of Jesus Christ’s saving grace. It is peace to us. It goes where we go and should be shared with others.
4. Shield of faith – is a reminder that our faith should be in Jesus and his saving grace stands as a shield of protection from any attacks of the evil one. Regardless of what dart he throws, whatever the temptation though we are weak, through Jesus we are strong and able to resist every temptation Satan shoots at us.
5. The helmet of salvation – is a reminder that our hope of eternal life comes because of Christ’s death and His resurrection. In this, our minds are kept at peace because of our assurance of eternal life through him.
6. Finally, the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. It is our weapon of mass destruction against the schemes of the devil. We place it in our minds by studying it, reading it, and memorizing it as if we are preparing for a major exam. Our foundation is the word of God, as it is present in the Bible. By putting it in our minds, the Holy Spirit brings it back to our remembrance when Satan comes with his deceptions. In other words, by the Word of God and the Power of the Holy Spirit, we become deception-proof.

But Paul does not stop there. He tells us to always pray in the spirit. This is a reminder that we need to pray for the Holy Spirit. Pray for the power to stand, pray for strength against temptation, pray for wisdom to make good decisions, pray for faith, pray to have a love for people, pray for boldness to speak for Christ. Pray, Pray, Pray

With this body armor, we can be sure that we have protection from any deceptions Satan and his demons bring our way. Put on the whole armor of God and pray always!

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