by David Balaban

Created on: July 21, 2010

One of the most important questions that someone might ask is "what happens when we die?". What happens next? People have come up with all sorts of ideas on this subject. Some believe that you go straight to heaven or hell. Others believe that you are reincarnated to a higher or lower plain of existence. There are hundreds of explanations, but what is the truth?

The bible is a reliable source of information that God provided for man. We will take a brief look at what the scriptures say on this issue.

THE SPIRITUAL WORLD

Many people have claimed to "talk to the dead" or have been "haunted" by deceased loved ones. The bible even seems to support such experiences when looking at the appearance of Samuel the prophet when Saul summoned him through a witch. But was it really Samuel? Can dead people communicate with the living? Are the dead some kind of spirits? Take a look at these verses:

Job 14:21 - His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not, and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not (speaking of the dead).

Ecclesiastes 9:5,6,10 - The dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished. Neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun... For there is no work, nor device, now knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave.

Psalm 146:4 - His thoughts perish.

Isaiah 115:17 - The dead praise not the Lord.

Psalm 6:5 - In death there is no remembrance of thee.

Job 7:10 - He shall return no more to his house.

After analyzing these verses, something becomes apparently clear: dead people don't know anything. They don't praise God, they don't think, and "he shall return no more to his house".  So then, who was "Samuel"? We need to keep in mind that the devil is out there to deceive. Revelation 16:14 - For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles. If the bible says that the dead no nothing and "neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun", and that spirits of devils can work miracles to deceive, then we can safely assume that it wasn't Samuel. It's true that the apparition of Samuel did say some truth in his words to Saul, but doesn't the devil always mingle truth with error to deceive?

Matthew 24:24,25 - For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch

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