11. End-Time Deceptions (1Samuel 28:3-25)

Sabbath afternoon

Prayer Thought

Though he [Satan] appears as an angel of light, these first words betray his character: “If thou be the Son of God.” Here is the insinuation of distrust. Should Jesus do that which Satan suggests, it would be an acceptance of the doubt. If Christ’s confidence in God could be shaken, Satan knew that the victory in the whole controversy would be his. He hoped that under the force of despondency and extreme hunger, Christ would lose faith in His Father and work a miracle in His own behalf. {CTr 193.2}

Not without a struggle could Jesus listen in silence to the archdeceiver. But the Son of God was not to prove His divinity to Satan. He met the tempter with the words of Scripture. “It is written,” He said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” In every temptation the weapon of His warfare was the Word of God. {CTr 193.3}

Memory Text

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore [it is] no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. {2 Corinthians 11:14, 15}

This week's SS Lesson will consider different devices of Satan to deceive by introducing the waves of religious perspective that unites human and divine spiritual experience, so-called mysticism. It also includes the dangerous subjects of reincarnation, necromancy, near-death experience, and ancestor worship.

Outline of the Study

Deceptions Inspired by Demons

Sunday: Mysticism "What you believe is true for you"

Matt. 7:21-27

Monday: Near-Death Experiences Life after Death

1Kings 17:22-24; 2Kings 4:34-37; Mk 5:41-43; Lk. 7:14-17; Jn. 11:39-44; Job 3:11-13; Ps. 115:17; 146:4; Eccl. 9:10; 2Cor. 11:14;

Tuesday: Reincarnation

Heb. 9:25-28; 1Pet 3:18; Heb. 9:28; 1Pet. 3:18; 1Thess. 4:13-18; Eph. 2:8-10; Matt. 22:1-14; 25:31-46; Jn. 14:1-3; Heb. 9:27

Demonic Activity

Wednesday: Necromancy and Ancestor Worship Consulting the Dead

1Sam. 28:3-25; Lev. 19:31; 20:6, 27; Deut. 18:9-14; 1Sam. 28:3, 6, 7, 9, 13-19; Josh. 17:11; Ps. 83:10; Isa. 8:19, 20; 19:3

Thursday: Personations and other Appearances Seeing dead People

2Cor. 11:14, 15; Eph. 6:10-18;

Defending Ourselves against Deception

Friday: Further Study and Meditation

Deceptions Inspired by Demons

Sunday: Mysticism "What you believe is true for you"

Matt. 7:21-27

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

False Religion and the Splendor of Idolatrous Worship

Moses had been learning much that he must unlearn. The influences that had surrounded him in Egypt--the love of his foster mother, his own high position as the king's grandson, the dissipation on every hand, the refinement, the subtlety, and the mysticism of a false religion, the splendor of idolatrous worship, the solemn grandeur of architecture and sculpture--all had left deep impressions upon his developing mind and had molded, to some extent, his habits and character. Time, change of surroundings, and communion with God could remove these impressions. It would require on the part of Moses himself a struggle as for life to renounce error and accept truth, but God would be his helper when the conflict should be too severe for human strength. . . . {CC 86.3}

In order to receive God's help, man must realize his weakness and deficiency; he must apply his own mind to the great change to be wrought in himself. . . . Many never attain to the position that they might occupy, because they wait for God to do for them that which He has given them the power to do for themselves. . . {CC 86.4}

Mysticism, the practice of religious ecstasies (religious experiences during alternate states of consciousness), together with whatever ideologies, ethics, rites, myths, legends, and magic may be related to them. The term mystic is derived from the Greek noun mystes, which originally designated an initiate of a secret cult or mystery religion.

Truth Only Reveals through a Divinely Appointed Time

Ever since John recorded this imposing symbolization, church history has repeatedly throughout her pages had to make the entry that every attempt made to unlock its mystery has resulted more in barricading it with mysticism and confusion. It is necessary, therefore, in clearing the mysticism, first of all, to find THE REASON FOR THE CONFUSION. {TN5: 4.3}

The very fact that nineteen centuries of prying at the subject to open it up has only made it more impenetrable, is the strongest possible evidence that God controls the Scriptures and reveals Them only at the divinely appointed time. The truth of this statement is conclusively substantiated by the angel's words: "I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your Prince." Dan. 10:21. {TN5: 5.1}

Consider the following

— Someone may prophesy, cast out demons, and perform miracles. However, God might reject them because they are not doing His will (Matthew 7:21-23). Therefore, it’s important to understand God’s will.

— Truth is considered something relative in today’s society. If it were relative, we would use our thoughts, interests, and feelings to determine God’s will. The Bible doesn’t teach this. God’s will doesn’t depend on what we think.

— Jesus encouraged us to build on the rock (Matthew 7:24-25). We must act according to His words which are written in the Bible.

Luke 4:18, 19 -- "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

Inspiration's Own Code of Mysticism

Here you have it in Inspiration's own code of mysticism, freshly unveiled that Jesus Christ is indeed a heaven-sent Being, the Saviour of the world... Now the plain fact that the Christian era began with the sounding of the fifth Trumpet, the truth of the first four Trumpets must be sought in the Old Testament era... We have now seen the nature and time where the Seven Seals and the Seven Trumpets begin and end, and those who want to know the subjects in all their details can do so by studying the tracts, -- "The Final Warning," and "The Breaking of the Seals," -- which will be mailed *free upon request. {2TG13: 11.1-3}

For advanced studies please visit the following links:

1. Meat In Due Season - 18. The Judgment and the Seven Seals (google.com)

2. Meat In Due Season - 23. The Seven Trumpet (google.com)

3. Present Truth Lessons 2020 - Lesson 27a: The Seven Seals (google.com)

4. Present Truth Lessons 2020 - Lesson 27b: The Seven Seals (google.com)

5. Present Truth Lessons 2020 - Lesson 28: The Seven Trumpets (google.com)

Monday: Near-Death Experiences Life after Death

1 Kings 17:22-24; 2 Kings 4:34-37; Mk 5:41-43; Lk. 7:14-17; Jn. 11:39-44; Job 3:11-13; Ps. 115:17; 146:4; Eccl. 9:10; 2Cor. 11:14

As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. (Psalms 17:15)

Ponder Upon these Questions

1. Can the Dead Speak to Us?

2. Can the dead communicate with the living?

3. What happens when you die?

4. What about those who have reported a “near-death experience”?

5. What is the truth about life after death?

Pagan Philosophy: Doctrine of Natural Immortality

The ministration of holy angels, as presented in the Scriptures, is a truth most comforting and precious to every follower of Christ. But the Bible teaching upon this point has been obscured and perverted by the errors of popular theology. The doctrine of natural immortality, first borrowed from the pagan philosophy, and in the darkness of the great apostasy incorporated into the Christian faith, has supplanted the truth, so plainly taught in Scripture, that "the dead know not anything." Multitudes have come to believe that it is spirits of the dead who are the "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." And this notwithstanding the testimony of Scripture to the existence of heavenly angels, and their connection with the history of man, before the death of a human being. {DD 18.1-2}

Consider the following

— Some people try to prove life after death scientifically. They use “near-death experiences” to do so. In those experiences, people who experienced clinical death and were revived explain that they saw something like a “light,” a celestial being, or a dead relative before coming back to life.

— Notice that they didn’t actually die. They went through the sensorial experience of the dying process, but not an experience after death.

— The Bible clearly states that we will see God’s face only when He will awake us from death at His Second Coming (Psalm 17:15).

Tuesday: Reincarnation

Heb. 9:25-28; 1Pet 3:18; Heb. 9:28; 1Pet. 3:18; 1Thess. 4:13-18; Eph. 2:8-10; Matt. 22:1-14; 25:31-46; Jn. 14:1-3; Heb. 9:27

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27)

Last Great Crisis - Babylon the Symbol of Apostate Church

In this time of prevailing iniquity we may know that the last great crisis is at hand. When the defiance of God's law is almost universal, when His people are oppressed and afflicted by their fellow men, the Lord will interpose. {COL 178.3}

The time is near when He will say, "Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." Isaiah 26:20, 21. Men who claim to be Christians may now defraud and oppress the poor; they may rob the widow and fatherless; they may indulge their Satanic hatred because they cannot control the consciences of God's people; but for all this God will bring them into judgment. They "shall have judgment without mercy" that have "showed no mercy." (James 2:13.) Not long hence they will stand before the Judge of all the earth, to render an account for the pain they have caused to the bodies and souls of His heritage. They may now indulge in false accusations, they may deride those whom God has appointed to do His work, they may consign His believing ones to prison, to the chain gang, to banishment, to death; but for every pang of anguish, every tear shed, they must answer. God will reward them double for their sins. Concerning Babylon, the symbol of the apostate church, He says to His ministers of judgment, "Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double." Revelation 18:5, 6. {COL 178.4}

Consider the following

— Reincarnation means that people live several lives in order to become better in each one until they’re good enough to enter a state worthy of living in “paradise.” This doctrine…

(1) Makes the doctrine of resurrection and victory over death unnecessary (1 Corinthians 15:52-55)

(2) Replaces salvation by grace with salvation by works (Ephesians 2:8)

(3) Makes the Second Coming useless (2 Timothy 4:8)

(4) Means that we can make decisions after death, which is contrary to the Bible (Hebrews 9:27)

Demonic Activity

Wednesday: Necromancy and Ancestor Worship Consulting the Dead

1Sam. 28:3-25; Lev. 19:31; 20:6, 27; Deut. 18:9-14; 1Sam. 28:3, 6, 7, 9, 13-19; Josh. 17:11; Ps. 83:10; Isa. 8:19, 20; 19:3

There shall not be found among you [anyone] that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, [or] that useth divination, [or] an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,

Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. (Deut. 18:10-11)

All Forms of Ancient Sorcery and Witchcraft

Nearly all forms of ancient sorcery and witchcraft were founded upon a belief in communion with the dead. Those who practiced the arts of necromancy claimed to have intercourse with departed spirits, and to obtain through them a knowledge of future events. This custom of consulting the dead is referred to in the prophecy of Isaiah: "When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?" Isaiah 8:19. {PP 684.1}

Consult the Divine Oracle Not the Dead

The word is the great lesson book for the students in our schools. The Bible teaches the whole will of God concerning the sons and daughters of Adam. The Bible is the rule of life, teaching us of the character we must form for the future, immortal life. Our faith, our practice, may make us living epistles, known and read of all men. Men need not the dim light of tradition and custom to make the Scriptures comprehensible. It is just as sensible to suppose that the sun, shining in the heavens at noon-day, needs the glimmerings of the torchlight of earth to increase its glory. The fables or the utterances of priests or of ministers, are not needed to save the student from error. Consult the divine Oracle, and you have light. In the Bible every duty is made plain, every lesson is comprehensible, able to fit men with a preparation for eternal life. The gift of Christ and the illumination of the Holy Spirit reveal to us the Father and the Son. The word is exactly adapted to make men and women and youth wise unto salvation. In the word is the science of salvation plainly revealed. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." "Search the Scriptures," for therein is the counsel of God, the voice of God speaking to the soul.--"Special Testimonies on Education," December 1, 1895. {FE 390.3}

Consider the following

— The Bible exposes consulting the dead through mediums or fortune-tellers as a deception. Such practices are prohibited in the Bible (Deuteronomy 18:9-14; Leviticus 19:31; Leviticus 20:6, 27; Isaiah 8:19-20).

— Following this principle, Saul removed “the mediums and the spiritists” from Israel (1 Samuel 28:9). However, he went to them when he didn’t receive an answer from God, even knowing it was the devil’s work (1 Samuel 28:5-7). And he found the devil.

— Saul never saw Samuel actually. It was the medium who told him she was seeing Samuel, and she transmitted the message (1 Samuel 28:11-20).

Thursday: Personations and other Appearances Seeing dead People

2Cor. 11:14, 15; Eph. 6:10-18

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. (Eph. 6:12)

Angels from heaven communicate with the human family, and not one of us by anything we can do may uphold or keep ourselves. We are where we are, kept every moment by the power of God. I have thought that we do not make the ministration of heavenly angels as important as we should. . . . What would we do without them? I want you to consider what kind of position we should be left in if we had not the ministry of holy angels. . . . {CTr 333.2}

The Vast Confederacy of Evil: A Christian Warfare

Those who have any realization of what this warfare means will not turn their weapons against the church militant, but with all their powers will wrestle with the people of God against the confederacy of evil. {CCh 243.4}

The Christian's warfare is not a warfare waged against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against spiritual wickedness in high places. The Christian must contend with supernatural forces, but he is not to be left alone to engage in the conflict. The Saviour is the captain of his salvation, and with Him man may be more than conqueror. {FW 92.3}

The world's Redeemer would not have man in ignorance of Satan's devices. The vast confederacy of evil is arrayed against those who would overcome; but Christ would have us look to the things that are not seen, to the armies of heaven that encamp round about those who love God, to deliver them. The angels of heaven are interested in behalf of man. The power of Omnipotence is at the service of those who trust in God. The Father accepts the righteousness of Christ in behalf of His followers, and they are surrounded with light and holiness which Satan cannot penetrate. The voice of the Captain of our salvation speaks to His followers, saying, "'Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.' I am your defense; advance to victory." {FW 93.1}

Two Powers Struggled for the Mastery

Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Psalm 28:1. {CTr 151.1}

David was a representative human being. His history is of interest to every soul who is striving for eternal victories. In his life two powers struggled for the mastery. Unbelief marshaled its forces, and tried to eclipse the light shining upon him from the throne of God. Day by day the battle went on in his heart, Satan disputing every step of advance made by the forces of righteousness. David understood what it meant to fight against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world. At times it seemed that the enemy must gain the victory. But in the end, faith conquered, and David rejoiced in the saving power of Jehovah. {CTr 151.2}

We fight not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places, and God is with us. {CTr 300.5}

Consider the following

— One thing is to hear a medium seeing that they see and talk to spirits of dead people. Another thing is to actually see and hear a dead person with your own eyes.

— Remember that demons can appear in the shape of dead people and imitate them (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

Defending Ourselves against Deception

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)

How is it with us?

Are we standing with the whole armor on, so that we can work in harmony with the angels of God who are working for us?

If we separate ourselves from these angels by taking our own course of action, then we place ourselves where the wicked one can tempt us.—Manuscript 1, 1890 (Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, pp. 57-59). {CTr 333.6}

Walk Humbly Before Him

Take unto you the whole armor of God, and never forget the gospel shoes of peace. Go not to any man with a heavy tread or with anger in your voice. Let all God's servants, from those occupying the highest positions to those in the lowliest service, walk humbly before Him.--Manuscript 140, 1902. {ChL 11.1}

Consider the following

Paul explained how we can defend ourselves from the fallen angels in Ephesians 6:14-18:

— The belt of truth (v. 14a): We must cling to the truth and reject anything against it

— The breastplate of righteousness (v. 14b): We must put the righteousness of Christ on, not our own

— The shoes of the gospel (v. 15): We must live and share the gospel of peace

— The shield of faith (v. 16): We must use our faith to reject the enemy’s deceptions

— The helmet of salvation (v. 17a): We must always remember the salvation Jesus has given us

— The sword of the Spirit (v. 17b): We must study the Bible and follow its teachings

— Prayer (v. 18): It is our essential source of power and victory

Friday: Further Study and Meditation

The Danger of Looking to Men--A great crisis is coming upon us. If men still yield to men, as they have been doing for the last fifteen years, they will lose their own souls, and their example will lead others astray. God's soldiers must put on the whole armor of God. We are not required to put on human armor, but to gird ourselves with God's strength. If we keep God's glory ever in view, our eyes will be anointed with the heavenly eye salve; we will be able to look deeper, and see afar off what the world is. As we discern its dishonesty, its craftiness, its selfish eye service, its pretense, and its boasting, its want of fair honest dealing in the ordinary intercourse of life, and its grasping covetousness, we can take our stand, by precept and example, to represent Christ, and convert souls from the world by our sound principles, our firm integrity, our hatred of all dissembling, and our holy boldness in acknowledging Christ.--Letter 4, 1896, pp. 13, 15, 16 (July 1, 1896 to Men in Responsible Positions). {ChL 24.3}

Questions to Ponder

1. What is mysticism in the context of Christianity and how it relates to cultist religion?

2. How can we deal with emotions and desires in religion as a human tendency in contradiction with the principles of the Bible?

3. What danger does science foster with regard to the near-death experience?

4. How can we prove that there’s no such reincarnation in the Christian life as believed by a lot of people today?

5. What spiritual lesson can we glean from 1 Sam.28:3-25?

6. What are our sure defense against the allurement of spiritualism and other end-time deceptions?

7. Based on the statement above {ChL 24.3}, what danger does men of today face when they just cling on men’s wisdom and tradition? How to overcome the trap and deception of Satan?

From the Pen of Inspiration

“We are in the time when tribulations such as the world has never yet seen will prevail. ‘Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.’ But God has set bounds that Satan cannot pass. Our most holy faith is this barrier; and if we build ourselves up in the faith, we shall be safe in the keeping of the Mighty One.” E. G. W. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, cp. 30, p. 297)

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