Expert: Mel and Guyna Horne - 1/14/2008

Question
QUESTION: I have a friend who claims the ability to read minds, trade souls with other people, predict the future, act as a medium for the dead to talk to, and even the extent of claiming to be an angel fallen from heaven whom God has favored, and things like that.   What does the Bible say about these claims?

ANSWER:

Hi Keith,

Your friend may just be trying to get attention or he may be seeking the help of demons, or he may already be yielding himself to demons.  This is not a game. Once a person yields himself to demon possession, he does not have the power to free himself.
Some are merely acting “Goth”, using clothing, makeup, tattoos, piercings, music, parties, and even rituals, to shock others and to get attention.  Some pretend or imagine themselves to be characters from TV shows about beings from the spirit dimension. But there are some who are actually demon possessed or demon influenced.
People do not need the help of Satan or demons to become evil. Evil can come from within us (Jer. 17:9, Jas. 4:1-10).


Mind Reading:

God has the ability to know what we are thinking (Gen. 6:5) in the same way that he hears our silent prayers (Gen. 24:42-46, “speaking in my heart”, Psa. 44:21, 139:23). Christ also has the ability to know what we are thinking (Mat. 9:3-4, 12:24-25, Lk. 9:47, 11:14-17, Jn. 13:2, 11, 26-27). [All scriptures are KJV unless noted otherwise.]


It does not appear that Satan has this ability.  If he did, he should have known that tempting Christ was futile (Mat. 4:1-11) and that Job was not going to curse God (Job 1:6-22).
The demons cannot read Christ’s mind or they would have known why Christ was on the earth the first time (Mat. 8:29, Mk. 1:24, Lk. 4:34).

So, even if your friend is possessed by a demon, he probably cannot “read minds”.
This does not mean that he cannot use the techniques of illusionists and/or the assistance of demons to produce that effect.  Some illusionists are very good at what they do. Whether they have the help of evil spirits or can be difficult to determine.  
Some can however, recognize the presence of evil spirits in another person or whether they are nearby (1Cor. 10:12 “the discerning of spirits”).

Satan does have the ability to appear as “an angel of light” (2Cor. 11:14), in order to tempt and to deceive people.

New and Used Souls For Sale or Trade?

Demons and Satan have the ability to “possess” people (control their minds, words and actions) (Mat. 8:16, 28, 33, 9:32, 12:22, Acts 8:7, 16:16).
They cannot do this without permission of the individual, or by God’s express permission on an individual basis, otherwise Satan and his demons would possess everyone and no one would have the free will to choose to obey God and Christ.
People who are mentally incompetent may not have the ability to resist possession, but neither will they be choosing to worship God, therefore Satan would not be concerned with them except perhaps to occasionally use them as tools.  People who damage their minds with harmful drugs or who yield control of their minds by the use of drugs are opening a door that Satan or his demons may be able to enter. People can also voluntarily ask Satan to possess them but with that attitude, Satan doesn’t need to.

Satan can only do what God allows him to do. He can cause us problems and even kill us, if God allows it, but he cannot take our soul (Mat. 10:28).   But Satan is still the god of this world and still has dominion over it until Christ returns (Jn 12:31, 14:30, 16:11).  God is simply using Satan to test us, whether we will choose life and blessings or cursings and death (see book of Job).

Demons may be able to imitate the people whom they have previously possessed. Thus, two demons possessing two different people could give the appearance of “trading souls”.

Souls cannot be sold or traded by humans or demons (Eze. 18:4).  We cannot sell what is not ours. God created us and has full rights of ownership.  We can choose whom we follow, the way of God, or the way of Satan, but all souls still belong to God and he has the power to give eternal life, or to end our life by death (Mat. 10:28).

Predicting the Future:

Lots of people predict the future.  Stock analysts, advertisers, marketers, manufacturers, politicians, health officials, disaster management officials, terrorists, television executives, weather forecasters, and the guy with the placard reading “The End Is Near!”.  Most have a 50/50 chance of being right.  Some are better at it than others.
There are some preachers who still make “prophecies” but most are generalizations rather than names, dates and places as specific as those fulfilled in scripture.

Demons know some of the details about God’s plan and his schedule. Some asked Christ if he was showing up earlier than they had expected (Mat. 8:29 “before the time”).

If your friend can predict the future, ask which four stocks will increase the most in the next four consecutive weeks. If he gets the first two correct, you might make some money on the other two.  Of course if he can do that, why isn’t he getting rich yet?


Mediums, Rare and Half-baked:

Some people make a lot of money by selling as entertainment, stories about “the dead” hanging around after death for various personal reasons, and communicating with or through “special” people.  Others claim to be such special people for either money or for fame.

All Christian church organizations (and many pagan ones) have doctrines about life after death.  These are usually in the form of brief doctrinal statements with reference to a few selected scriptures.
Have you ever wondered why, after 1,700 years of churches encouraging people to seek “heaven” that, it is still most often illustrated as a set of gates (which can be either to keep people out, or keep people in) beyond which are people with wings, wandering among the clouds, doing nothing?
Christ explained the Kingdom of God using parables (analogies) but that is outside the scope of your questions.

Christ also explained about death:

Jn 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

6:39  And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

44 No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

According to Christ, the resurrection to eternal life will not be until “the last day” (referring to his return).

Jn. 11:11 These things said he: and after that he said unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

13 Howbeit Jesus spoke of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had laid in the grave four days already.
23 Jesus said unto her, Your brother shall rise again.
24 Martha said unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
39 Jesus said, Take you away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto him, Lord, by this time he stinks: for he has been dead four days.
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

According to Christ, being dead is like being asleep.

This raises a lot of questions about mainstream doctrines regarding the state of the dead, and whether people go to heaven or hell immediately upon death.  But this is also beyond the scope of your question.  
We are not promoting any doctrine here, but simply pointing out what the scriptures say.
We point these scriptures out only as they relate to and are in agreement with other scriptures about those who are dead:
“The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” (Psa. 115:17).
“For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has smitten my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.” (Psa. 143:3).

“All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrifices, and to him that sacrifices not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that swears, as he that fears an oath.’
“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.” (Ecc. 9:2, 5).
“Your dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, you that dwell in dust: for your dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.” (Isa. 26:19, a prophecy of the “end time”).
“He has set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.” (Lam. 3:6).

See also Mk. 5:21-43, Lk. 8:49-56, 1Cor. 15:6, 18.

Christ was the first to be resurrected to eternal life (1Cor. 15:20).

The rest will not be resurrected until he returns (vvs. 21-23).

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:” (1Ths. 4:16). [Note: it is future tense “shall rise”, decades after Christ’s death and resurrection.]
There are three resurrections mentioned in scripture. All are resurrections “from the dead”, not from heaven.

In the meantime, “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, . . .” (Ecc. 9:5).

According to Christ and according to the rest of these scriptures, the dead are in a state that is similar to being asleep.
Therefore no one can be “talking” to the dead and the dead are not “talking” to anyone.

It could be possible that demons that have previously known some who are now dead, could know details about their lives and pretend to be them, and speak through a “medium” who allows himself/herself to be used by those demon spirits.


You asked about your friend’s “claiming to be an angel fallen from heaven whom God has favored,”:

If your friend has been possessed by a demon (angels who followed Satan [Jude 1:6]), who is the one who has “fallen” from heaven (Isa. 14:12-15), then you might want to find some new friends (Rev. 21:8, 22:15, avoid “sorcerers”; Lev. 19:31, 20:6, Isa. 8:19-22, avoid “familiar spirits”[those trying to contact the dead]).

“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;” (2Pet. 2:4).
“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” (Jude 1:6).

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (Jas. 4:7).

If or when demons or Satan himself, comes near us, all we have to do is to order him to leave in the name of Jesus Christ. Prayer and fasting always help (Mat. 17:14-21, Mk. 9:14-29).

From the examples we read in scriptures and the encounters we have had with evil spirits, your friend is probably just a pretender.  Evil spirits don’t usually reveal themselves as such much less boast about it.  It tends to scare people away or invites an exorcism, either of which makes their purposes more difficult to achieve.

We hope that this will be of help.
Sincerely,
Mel and Guyna


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for these verses and analysis.  I did not give you all the contributing factors in the situation, so some things may not have a direct application, but I would like to ask a followup question, or rather, add a contributing factor to the mix...the subject of my question bears every* medically recorded symptom of both schitzophrenia, and narcolepsy. Do you think it is valid to think that the subject goes off into trances not intentionally, sees things(hallucinations, dreams, etc.), and then misinterprets them into an elaborate story?

Answer
Hi Keith,

Narcoleptic hallucinations could be one explanation, but I would think that would be speculation on the part of anyone except the subject and his physicians.
 Perhaps you could try asking someone in the Heath/Fitness section, under sleep disorders or mental health.
  Your suggestion sounds possible.
 This discussion has gone outside our area of knowledge.  If you have other questions relating to Christianity or Bible Studies, we shall be happy to try to help.

Sincerely,
 Mel and Guyna