And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards,
who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God?
Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? (Isaiah 8:19, NKJV)
For many of us the focus these past few weeks has been resurrection—and rightfully so. It is the very heart of Christianity, the turning point of history, the hope of the Church. It is also the driving force of people of all faiths—or of no real faith at all.
Though some say they believe that once we die, that’s it, deep down they hold out a hope for something more, something better. For instance, we see that flimsy hope reflected in the popular movies about vampires—eternal life that requires no repentance or turning to the true God, life everlasting as a result of our own endeavors, however macabre they may be.
But, plain and simple, it doesn’t work that way, though for years people who rejected God’s Word have tried to make it so. The Old Testament strictly forbids communicating with the dead, yet we see examples in Scripture of those who sought out mediums to try to do just that. God was not pleased.
Even in Christian circles we must be wary. Check out the shelves in Christian bookstores (or the bestseller list) and you will find several books written by those who claim to have died and gone to heaven, then returned to share their story. Granted, those stories can be encouraging and may very well be true. However, accepting them as such without first checking them against Scripture can be dangerous. If God’s Word doesn’t support what has been written by a human being—even one who claims to have been to heaven and back—then we must reject it. That doesn’t make it an outright lie, but it does make it erroneous if it contradicts what God says is Truth.
As we continue throughout the year to focus on resurrection, may we remember that eternal life was bought with a great price. The One who paid that price is also the One who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Resurrection, the hope of life after death, is a universal longing, but it can only be found as we heed God’s Word and submit to His Truth.
I’m not sure what “proof by scripture” you may agree with, but in my case, after having the experience of seeing and feeling Heaven the biggest revelation to me was the extreme sense of peace that I received then and has followed me afterwards. I was confused about the clarity and understanding that came from my encounter with the afterlife until one day maybe 10 years after trying to figure it out, I stood in church at a funeral Mass when the priest cites Christ’s words through this sacrament :
My Peace I give you. I nearly fell down, as this epiphany came over me and made sense of the peace I had felt then and now. To me it was a validation of His words and my experience.