Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001338
00:06 It has stood the test of time.
00:09 God's book. 00:13 The Bible. 00:16 Still relevant in today's complex world. 00:22 It is written sharing hope around the globe. 00:37 It seems hard to deny the fascination that exists 00:39 in today's society with the subject of death. 00:41 Look in the media - books and television programs 00:45 abound on the subject of death and the hereafter. 00:49 And people consume them like they're going out of fashion. 00:53 In 1997, a new program began airing on what was then a new 00:57 television network, drawing as many as six million 01:01 viewers per episode. 01:03 Buffy The Vampire Slayer was the story of a teenage girl 01:07 who battled against demons and vampires. 01:11 Vampires are said to be corpses that periodically come back 01:14 from the dead to disturb or harass the living 01:18 - and Buffy went toe-to-toe against the best of them, 01:21 as well as against ghosts and zombies, other 'things' 01:26 that are said to be 'back from the dead'. 01:29 In recent years, vampires have become big business. 01:32 Huge business, in fact. 01:34 In 2005, the first of the series of four Twilight books 01:40 was released telling the story of a teenage girl 01:43 from Forks, Washington who fell in love with a 104 year 01:48 old vampire. 01:50 In 5 years more than 120 million copies of the Twilight books 01:54 were sold worldwide and they spent more 01:56 than 200 weeks on the New York Times best-seller lists. 02:00 They were extremely popular with children, even young 02:03 children, in spite of the fact that the books were, 02:06 in the words of one writer, one long, bodice-ripping 02:10 romance. 02:12 Maybe that's a story or a discussion 02:14 for another time. 02:15 The author of the Twilight books said that idea for the series 02:19 of books came to her in a dream. 02:23 Now, of course, the Twilight books aren't the first books 02:26 written on the subject of somebody coming back 02:29 from the dead. 02:30 Years ago, Emily Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights 02:33 had Wuthering Heights had Healthcliff communicating 02:37 with the ghost of Catherine. 02:39 Go back even further. 02:40 Shakespeare's writings featured ghosts and spirits 02:44 left and right. 02:45 It's like Shakespeare never met a ghost he didn't like 02:48 or at least didn't want to write about. 02:50 But what we have got today are the mainstreaming 02:54 of books, and movies about the subject that has become 02:59 cultural phenomena. 03:02 Now someone is going to ask: Is there a problem with that? 03:05 From a Biblical point of view, you bet there is. 03:09 I will tell you what the problem is in just a moment. 03:14 It is written is dedicated to sharing the gospel around 03:16 the world. 03:17 To discover more about It Is Written, I invite you 03:19 to visit our website itiswritten.com and browse 03:23 the dozens of pages that describe what we do 03:25 and how we do it. 03:26 Let's get to know each other better. 03:28 Visit our website itiswritten.com today. 03:33 There is no doubt an increasing fascination in society today 03:36 with death, and life after death, and the occult. 03:42 Many people are more than happy to part with their hard 03:45 earned money to be entertained by books and television programs 03:49 and movies which deal with subjects which, 03:52 when you really think about it - are pretty bizarre. 03:55 A teenage girl fighting off vampires and werewolves? 03:59 That was the theme of a very successful television 04:03 program. 04:04 Well what about the idea of a young girl barely out 04:06 of her teens getting... 04:08 intimate with a vampire? 04:11 That idea was behind one of the most successful series 04:14 of books in all of literary history. 04:18 Hollywood has been playing to society's fascination 04:21 with death and the beyond for decades. 04:23 In 1990 the late Patrick Swayze starred in the movie 04:28 Ghost, which promoted the idea of a dead man coming 04:32 back and communicating with his grieving wife. 04:35 Now I am not suggesting that that movie was a documentary 04:39 or was supposed to portray life as it really is, but what 04:43 it did succeed in doing is causing millions of people 04:48 to contemplate the idea of communicating with people 04:53 who have passed away. 04:55 That same year, 1990, another movie was released, 04:58 this one featuring a host of up-and-coming hot, young 05:01 Hollywood stars. 05:03 Now the idea behind this movie, flatliners, was this: 05:06 a group of medical students experimented with experiencing 05:09 clinical death and then they were brought 05:13 back from clinical death so they could talk about 05:16 what death was like. 05:18 Here is what you are going to find. 05:22 More people than ever before have encouraged, have been 05:27 educated to think about this idea that it is possible 05:30 to communicate with those who are dead and gone 05:33 on to the other side. 05:35 Here is something else that is true. 05:38 I'm pretty sure you know this from experience. 05:40 There are many, many, many people who would be very 05:43 uncomfortable in a situation like this - they'd be 05:47 uncomfortable in a cemetery. 05:50 Why? 05:51 Because they have watched programs, read books, 05:54 seen movies about people that come back from the dead 05:57 or about ghosts or gouls or goblins or vampires, 06:00 the werewolves and this sort of thing. 06:03 Are the people here in this cemetery really going 06:06 to hurt anybody? 06:07 I think we both know that the answer to that question 06:10 is "No!" 06:11 I've told people many times before, "it's not the dead 06:14 you need to worry about, it's t he living. 06:16 But there has been an education process that has gone on, 06:21 causing people to become very comfortable with the idea 06:24 that people really do come back from the dead. 06:28 Now let's consider this from a Biblical perspective. 06:32 Does the Bible comment on it? 06:34 Oh yes, the Bible does. 06:35 We read now from Job 7:9 & 10. 06:40 "As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, so he 06:45 that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. 06:48 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall 06:52 his place know him any more." 06:55 So if we're going to take what the Bible says on this subject 06:58 as the guide for what we believe, we would have 07:00 to conclude that the dead do not come back to visit 07:04 the living and they certainly don't come back to suck blood 07:08 out of the necks of unsuspecting victims. 07:11 Yet society is fascinated with this idea of the dead 07:15 coming back to visit the living. 07:17 Where did this allure of death come from? 07:21 There are some societies who embrace this idea very, very 07:25 enthusiastically. 07:26 Every year November the 2nd is in Mexico known as "Dia de 07:32 los Muertos", or, the Day of the Dead. 07:36 It's treated somewhat like a National Holiday. 07:38 It's held very close, or it's related to All Saints' 07:42 Day and All Souls' Day. 07:44 Altars are erected where offerings are left 07:47 for the spirits of dead people. 07:49 Candied skulls are made and left and eaten. 07:54 Various food and drink items are presented as offerings 07:58 for those who have departed and passed over 08:01 to the other side. 08:02 The roots of the Dia de los Muertos go back hundreds 08:06 or even thousands of years, to the traditions practiced 08:09 by indigenous cultures. 08:11 Today, people will visit cemeteries. 08:14 They will go down there in the hope that their prayers 08:17 and conversations will be heard by the spirits of the departed 08:22 who would then come back and tarry and visit with 08:26 the living. 08:27 For a dead child, a gift of a toy may be purchased 08:31 and given, maybe alcohol will be bought as a gift 08:35 or an offering for a dead adult. 08:38 This homage to the dead penetrates Mexican culture 08:42 so far that even government-run schools 08:46 and government buildings have small altars erected 08:49 in honor of Dia de los muertos. 08:53 Skulls and skeletons are commonly seen. 08:56 It is believed that these symbols can be used to honor 09:01 and pay respect to those who have passed on. 09:06 But what was it Job said? 09:09 Job said: "The dead...do not return no more to their 09:14 houses anymore." 09:15 So the Bible comes at this subject from an altogether 09:21 different angle. 09:23 Now North of the border, in the United States, there 09:26 is a different annual homage to the dead. 09:30 So what is it with Halloween? 09:33 We'll talk about that in just a moment. 09:39 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says "It is written 09:42 'Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word 09:46 that proceeds out of the mouth of God'." 09:48 Every Word is a one minute Bible-based daily devotional 09:52 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed 09:55 especially for busy people like you. 09:58 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch 10:02 it on-line everyday on our website itiswritten.com. 10:06 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 10:09 Watch Every Word. 10:10 You'll be glad you did. 10:13 Death is a pretty serious business. 10:16 It's also pretty ugly business. 10:18 Death causes people to experience intensely painful 10:23 emotions. 10:24 Anguish. 10:25 Grief. 10:26 Death brings a whole lot of difficulty. 10:30 And there is a reason for that. 10:32 When God created Adam and Eve back in the beginning, 10:35 he created them with the idea that they would live forever. 10:39 Death was not a part of God's original plan. 10:44 Adam and Eve were created to experience joy and peace 10:48 and gladness and happiness and contentment. 10:52 Death came into the picture as an intruder, and brought 10:56 emotions that were foreign to the human family. 10:59 Emotions that today, we still wrestle with some real 11:04 difficulty. 11:05 You see, God told Adam and Eve that everything would 11:07 work out if they simply followed his perfect 11:10 prescription for a happy life. 11:12 He said in the Garden of Eden they could do anything 11:15 they wanted, pretty much, and eat absolutely anything 11:17 they liked, except for the fruit that grew on the tree 11:20 of the knowledge of good and evil. 11:22 God said "if you eat that, then you will die." 11:25 Death will come. 11:27 Today, we are still bearing the consequences of what 11:32 Adam and Eve did long ago in the Garden of Eden. 11:35 What they did proved Paul's words to be true. 11:38 Paul said" The wages of sin is death." 11:43 So what, about the subject of Halloween, which 11:46 glorifies death and makes death almost something 11:51 to be laughed at, enjoyed, something of sport and fun? 11:56 You see the houses in the United States, and perhaps in some 11:59 other parts of the world, towards the end of every 12:01 October. 12:03 Now, you've got the run of the mill Halloween 12:05 decorations: the jack-o-lanterns - 12:07 they're the carved out pumpkins - and then 12:09 maybe some fake cobwebs on the sides of houses 12:12 or on doors, something like that. 12:14 But then you've got the homes that really. 12:16 And on the front yard there are fake caskets 12:20 and there are tombstones on the lawn and there might even 12:23 be life-size witches hanging from trees or fixed to the 12:27 sides of homes. 12:28 I have seen them up on roofs. 12:30 Halloween celebrates that idea that there is life 12:33 after death in another dimension on the other side. 12:37 Halloween celebrates the idea of the dead coming back 12:41 and not only communicating with but bothering those 12:45 that are living. 12:47 Is that really something that you think God smiles 12:49 upon and blesses? 12:50 Is that something that Bible-believing Christians 12:53 could really, conscientiously participate 12:55 in, knowing that they have got the blessing of God? 13:00 I'd like you to consider this. 13:04 Halloween really muddies the Biblical waters. 13:09 I'll tell you why. 13:10 Halloween celebrates the idea that people live 13:14 on after death, but what does the Bible say? 13:19 Consider these allusions in Bible verses from the Old 13:22 Testament. 13:23 You will read about King "so and so". 13:25 He lived and died and then what does the Bible say? 13:28 He slept with his fathers. 13:30 This other king lived, died, was buried and he slept 13:33 with his fathers. 13:34 The Bible uses that phrase in relation to the kings 13:37 many times. 13:39 Now remember the story of Stephen, the martyr 13:43 of the book of Acts, right around 13:45 the end of Acts Chapter 7, beginning of Acts Chapter 8. 13:48 Stephen was stoned with stones. 13:50 The Bible says " after he had spoken with God, he fell 13:54 asleep." 13:56 Now, what did that mean? 13:57 You know that he didn't fall asleep, that "I'll see you 14:00 in the morning sleep". 14:01 This was a sleep that you would call a sleep of death, 14:07 where Stephen would sleep in his grave until Jesus comes 14:12 and wakes him up in the resurrection. 14:15 You know, the Bible says things like this: "I would 14:18 not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them 14:22 which are asleep." 14:25 What does the Bible mean when it says that? 14:28 It certainly doesn't mean a person lived and died 14:31 and went to heaven. 14:32 How can you be sleeping when you are in heaven? 14:35 Ah, and somebody is going to say - the body is sleeping 14:37 but the spirit is in ...... 14:39 Do you know what the Word of God teaches? 14:42 The Word of God teaches that a person is a combination 14:45 of body plus breath. 14:47 You go back to Genesis 2. 14:49 God made the body Adam and then he breathed the breath 14:54 of life into his nostrils and the Bible says Adam 14:57 became a living soul. 14:59 The Word of God does not say God gave Adam a soul, which 15:04 then would depart his body when he died. 15:08 Instead, the Bible says Adam, like everybody else 15:11 from Adam down to here, with the exception of Enoch 15:14 and Elijah, who were taken straight to heaven ... 15:16 everybody else lives and dies and sleeps. 15:20 A dreamless sleep. 15:22 Sleeping in the grave or wherever the final resting 15:25 place might be, waiting for the resurrection. 15:30 Have you ever wondered why there would even be 15:33 a resurrection if people, when they die, go to heaven 15:38 or hell or purgatory or some other place? 15:42 I remember as a child, wrestling with that. 15:44 Standing at the graveside while someone is being 15:47 buried and the officiant saying, "Well, now we commit 15:50 this person's body to grave where it waits 15:53 for the resurrection. 15:54 But back in the church, that same person celebrating 15:57 the funeral service had said "now we can all be glad 16:02 because Mr. or Mrs. So and So, Brother or Sister So 16:05 and So is in heaven." 16:07 How can they be in heaven and in the grave at exactly 16:10 the same time? 16:11 No. 16:12 The Bible says that a person lives, dies and sleeps. 16:18 A dreamless, peaceful sleep waiting for the resurrection. 16:23 That's the only interpretation of what 16:25 happens in death that can possibly make sense. 16:28 If people go to heaven or go to hell when they die 16:31 or that makes communication with the dead possible, 16:34 that breathes life into Halloween celebration 16:37 and one says, well, maybe that's kind 16:40 of what happens. 16:41 But no. 16:42 God has got a better plan. 16:43 His people live. 16:45 They die in faith in Christ. 16:46 They sleep the sleep of death and wake up in the resurrection 16:50 when Jesus comes back to take them home. 16:54 In recent years, the idea of communicating with the dead 16:57 has gotten a big boost through the resurgents 17:03 of spiritist mediums. 17:05 We'll talk about them in just a moment. 17:09 Perhaps something in today's program has sparked your 17:12 interest in greater Bible study. 17:14 We invite you to visit our website itiswritten.com 17:17 where you will find a host of inspirational resources 17:21 including free Bible study guides, there's also a complete 17:24 archive of past television programs and special video 17:26 seminars that you can view on-line or download. 17:29 Discover more at itiswritten.com The subject of death 17:35 and life after death really seems to have gone 17:38 mainstream in the last few years. 17:41 The media, and I am referring to books, movies 17:44 and television have really strongly promoted the idea 17:47 that spirits from the other side can come back 17:50 and communicate with the living. 17:52 And something else that has gone strongly mainstream 17:55 in the last few years is the popularity of spiritist 18:00 Mediums. 18:01 People who claim to be able to put the living in touch 18:05 with the dead. 18:07 What a comforting thought. 18:08 A grieving, lonely spouse might be able to receive 18:12 a visit from a departed spouse. 18:14 Maybe surviving children can receive communications 18:17 from their departed parents or living parents might be able 18:20 to receive visits from their dead children. 18:23 It's easy to see how that thought might be 18:25 comforting to some. 18:27 I was watching a popular television program a few years 18:30 ago in which a well-known spiritist medium offered to put 18:35 somebody in contact with her departed sister. 18:37 This somebody was Denise Brown and her departed 18:42 sister was Nicole Brown Simpson who had been the wife 18:46 of O J Simpson and who had been tragically murdered 18:50 a few years before. 18:52 The crowd watched on with real interest as the medium 18:55 started to, in just a short amount of time bring 18:59 messages purportedly from Denise's dead sister. 19:04 Denise was very impressed. 19:07 She said that the medium was bringing back messages 19:10 that could only have come from Nicole. 19:12 Some of the details were very personal, 19:14 known only to Nicole and the surviving Denise. 19:19 But how could that be when the Bible says that the dead 19:24 do not communicate with the living. 19:26 As a matter of fact, the prophet Isaiah stated 19:29 strongly that God is against people communicating 19:33 with the dead. 19:34 He said that God was against people going to those 19:37 that have familiar spirits. 19:39 That would be going to people who are spiritist 19:43 mediums. 19:45 Again and again, Denise said: Well, what I'm hearing 19:48 could only come from Nicole. 19:53 She is the only one who could have known that. 19:55 The crowd looked as though they wanted to know 19:57 more and more. 19:58 And I am referring to the studio audience. 20:00 Were they ever impressed. 20:02 That must be Nicole, Denise said. 20:05 Only she knows that. 20:07 Well, what I couldn't figure is that if she was really 20:09 Nicole, how come Nicole couldn't tell Denise whether 20:13 O.J was the real killer or not? 20:19 So, let's ask the question: If communicating with the dead 20:24 is something that God does not sanction, 20:26 can this communication really have come from God? 20:31 If God has outlawed human beings speaking to the dead 20:36 via the instrument of a spirit medium, could this really have 20:41 been something that came with God's blessing? 20:44 You know, I've read where one spirit medium said, 20:46 "My work is very powerful. 20:49 It is God's work." 20:50 Now, if you're not familiar with what the Bible says 20:54 about this subject, you might think 20:56 it is God's work. 20:57 But if you are familiar with what the Bible says, 21:01 you might have to come to a different conclusion. 21:04 And what conclusion might that be? 21:08 I think we need to admit that the Devil is more than 21:12 capable of communicating with the minds of people 21:15 and of pressing them with certain thoughts 21:18 and certain ideas. 21:20 You know, one of the movies I mentioned earlier 21:22 in today's program had a promotional line 21:24 which said, Some lines shouldn't be crossed. 21:29 And that's very good advice. 21:30 Some lines shouldn't be crossed. 21:34 While vampires, werewolves and zombies aren't true, 21:39 aren't real and are simply the product overactive 21:43 imaginations, do you think it's safe or right that we 21:47 should treat them like harmless playthings? 21:50 If people don't really come back from the dead, 21:54 if people don't really communicate with the other 21:57 side, if that's not good, if that's not right, if that 22:00 doesn't have God's blessing, is that the sort of thing 22:04 that we want to make our entertainment? 22:07 Is it really appropriate that people ought to be 22:09 reading books, watching movies and television 22:12 programs that deal with those themes and treat those untrue, 22:17 unbiblical ideas as though they are accurate and right? 22:22 Is that the sort of things we want to bring 22:24 into our minds? 22:25 It's hard to imagine that that would be appropriate 22:29 or healthy. 22:30 It's hard to imagine that it would be harmless. 22:33 And it's pretty easy to imagine that it might 22:36 be harmful. 22:39 It's pretty hard to imagine that vampires are God's gift 22:43 to the literary world, not so hard to imagine that they 22:47 might have sprung from some other place. 22:51 Now look - I'm not suggesting that if somebody were to read 22:53 one of the Twilight books they are automatically 22:55 going straight away turn into the devil. 22:57 That's not what I am suggesting at all. 23:01 I know that people want to be entertained and I know 23:03 that people want to have fun, but what the Bible 23:05 is suggesting is that it is not harmless for us to 23:09 entertain ideas that are directly opposed to the truths 23:12 of God's word. 23:13 It isn't safe for us to get away from the platform, 23:17 the strong foundation of the Bible and then go 23:20 and live our lives entertaining ideas and feeding our minds 23:25 with ideas that don't come from God but instead 23:31 come from the enemy. 23:32 and wander onto ground that God does not bless. 23:34 You see, there's One who conquered death, and His 23:37 name is Jesus. 23:38 If we are going to be celebrating anybody at all 23:41 coming up out of the grave, we ought to be rejoicing 23:44 today that Jesus has triumphed over the grave, 23:47 that he has come out of the grave and that today 23:50 he is not dead but he is alive. 23:53 Anything else that you might be celebrating regarding 23:56 somebody coming back from the dead, that's a deception 24:00 and that's a counterfeit. 24:02 The Bible teaches that death and the grave will one day 24:07 be cast into the lake of fire. 24:09 Revelation 21:4 says this: "God shall wipe away all 24:15 tears from their eyes. 24:16 And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, 24:22 nor crying." 24:23 (Rev 21:4.) When Jesus died on a cross 2000 years ago, 24:28 he died to pay the penalty for your sins and mine. 24:32 Jesus died after having lived a perfect life. 24:35 And he died and then says to us: If you will accept me 24:39 you're your life, if you will trust me then my death 24:44 will stand in the place of your death and I will give 24:48 you as a gift the everlasting life, not that 24:53 you deserved, but that I deserved, I will give it to 24:56 you as a gift so that you can live with me forever. 25:00 That's a gift God wants you to accept. 25:06 You can have it today. 25:07 The demons, the zombies, the vampires, the ghosts, 25:15 the goblins-- Distractions. 25:18 Designed very purposefully to lead us away from 25:22 the wonderful truths of the Bible. 25:25 Yes, somebody came out of the grave. 25:27 Jesus. 25:28 He went to heaven where he was at the right hand 25:32 of the Father, interceding for people like you and me. 25:36 And one day he is coming back. 25:39 He is coming back for you. 25:41 He wants to take you with him to be with him forever. 25:45 By choosing Jesus today, you're saying "Count me in. 25:49 I'd like to trust in you. 25:50 I thank you Jesus, that you are the resurrection 25:54 and the life. 25:56 Let's pray together. 25:57 Father in heaven, we thank you today for the truth 26:01 that Jesus has triumphed over death, that Jesus has conquered 26:06 the grave and that one day there will be no more death 26:10 and we will be able to live in a place where there is life, 26:15 where there is life and only life 26:19 forever. Lord, by your grace thank you 26:20 that we can be part of that and we pray in Jesus' 26:23 name, Amen. 26:28 Perhaps our program today has touched your heart 26:30 and impressed you with a personal need for deeper 26:32 Bible study. 26:33 If you desire to listen to God and follow where 26:36 he leads, we've got a wonderful resource that can help you 26:39 do that in a systemic way, the Discover Bible Guides. 26:43 These study guides will take you through the essential 26:45 truths taught in Scripture. 26:46 They give you the big picture showing how it all 26:49 fits together. 26:51 The Discover Bible Guides are a wonderful way for you 26:53 to become grounded in the Word of God and to see how 26:56 Jesus Christ relates to all the areas of our lives. 27:00 Please call or write us and the Discover Bible Guides 27:03 will be on their way to you. 27:05 If you live in North America, we'll mail these 27:07 Bible guides free of charge. 27:09 Or for easier and immediate access from anywhere around 27:12 the world, you can get these Bible lessons on our website, 27:16 itiswritten.com. 27:19 Request the Discover Bible Guides by calling our number 27:23 1 800 253 3000. 27:26 Call right now and tell us the name of today's free 27:29 offer, the Discover Bible Guides. 27:31 You can also request today's offer by writing to 27:34 It Is Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, CA 91359. 27:40 Thank you for your letters and continued support. 27:45 Thanks for joining me today. 27:47 I hope you'll join me again next time. 27:49 And until then, please Iremember: It is written, 27:52 Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word 27:56 that proceeds from the mouth of God. |
Revised 2015-02-05