~ Heaven Is The Face..."

But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. (2 Sam 12:23)

When our loved ones die, we would like nothing more than to continue to communicate with them.  The thought that they are gone from us causes unbearable pain.  That pain will subside (for lack of a better word) in time.  It never fully goes away.  There will always be moments of grief throughout the remainder of our lives on earth.  They have gone on to a better, brighter place.  They are with God!  

Our dead loved ones are not angels, for the Bible tells us that we will judge the angels (1 Cor 6:3).  They do not look down from heaven and guide us, nor do they watch over and protect us.  God watches over us, protects us and guides us.  They do not appear to us nor do they talk to us.  Often, our mind fills in the words we think they would say.  There have been (and still are) manifestations of "spirits".  Take heed!  These do not come from God, nor are they the spirits of our dearly departed.  The real force at work in these "apparitions" is deception: demonic activity, evil spirits. Satan disguises himself as "an angel of light" (2 Cor 11:14).  When someone claims to have received a "vision" of a dead person, it's really a deception of the enemy. Luke 16 contains the information we need with regard to the dead. There is a "great gulf fixed" between living and the dead. Those in the "next world", saved or unsaved, simply do not return to deliver messages to those of us who are still living.

Many Christian "religions" that lack discernment and knowledge of the Scriptures ("My people perish for lack of knowledge") trust the hierarchy of their church.  They fail to "test the spirits and see whether they be of God" (1 John 4:1). They assume their priests do that for them! Think and act for yourselves!!!  We are called individually to test those spirits, to read and study the Word of God!

If a "sign" or "premonition" comes to pass, and it causes people to follow or worship someone other than the the living God, we are to reject it. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5) If it is contrary to the Word of God then it is not from God (Isaiah 8:20; 2 Timothy 3:16). Some religious messages don't glorify Jesus in any way, shape or form. Most often, the "vision" is glorified and, repeated again and again, creating a tradition that misleads and gives glory to itself.  No one is deserving of our praises but God!  Pray only to Him through Jesus!  There is no other intercessor!  Accept no substitute for HIS prophecies!  Put the enemy on notice! His end is certain! Do you want to be one with him or with the truth???  JESUS, alone, is the light, the truth and the way!!! Only through HIM can you receive everlasting life!!!

Heaven Is The Place...Steven Curtis Chapman