Subject: What happens immediatly after you die? |
Bible Note: Dear Brother Tim, I've heard some teach that the one speaking in 2 Samuel 28:16-19 was but a simulacrum of the dead prophet; i.e., a deceiving spirit. I'm not fully persuaded on that count myself. On one hand, some credence is lent to that view since Saul made the assumption as to the identity of the prophet based on the description given by the witch (verse 14). On the other hand, from that point in the narrative the Scripture itself calls him "Samuel" (verse 15). If it was a deceiving spirit, we'd not be able to arrive at any conclusions, since deception would be an intrinsic aspect of anything it said. If it was Samuel, we'd nevertheless have to be cautious, since we'd necessarily shy away from building doctrine on narrative. Regardless, we stand on safer ground in building our doctrine from didactic passages. For example, in this context, "So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:6-7 ESV) Or even, "I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better." (Philippians 1:23 ESV) Just a couple thoughts, even though your excellent posts decidedly need no embellishment. I just can't help myself... you know? :-) By the way, I agree with your concern about regarding posts that take a differing view as adversarial. When we polemicize, as believers, we do not do so because we are adversaries, nor even as competitors! On the contrary, our struggle is to render truth, that we may all embrace that truth. We are coworkers and fellow students, striving jointly to achieve a proper understanding of the Word entrusted to us by our Father. If we deem our interchange as adversarial, we're in danger of shifting from the rational to the emotional; our focus will then have moved from the Word to the self. Therefore, your reminder, kindly put, is well warranted and appreciated. In Him, Doc |