Talk to the Dead

[Gregory Matthews]

Life after death:  According to Pew Research a large per-cent of the people in the United States believe in communicating with dead relatives.  See:

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/23/many-americans-reportinteractingwithdeadrelativesindreamsorotherways/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=1f55030af1Weekly_82623&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-1f55030af1-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

[Gustave]

I think this is fairly common across all cultures the world over. Even Ellen White communicated with her husband after he passed away. 

James is below referring to both himself and Ellen in the night season. 

Quote

Ellen Communicates with James in a dream after James passed on:

A few days since, I was pleading with the Lord for light in regard to my duty. In the night I dreamed I was in the carriage, driving, sitting at the right hand. Father was in the carriage, seated at my left hand. He was very pale, but calm and composed. "Why Father," I exclaimed, "I am so happy to have you by my side once more! I have felt that half of me was gone. Father, I saw you die; I saw you buried. Has the Lord pitied me and let you come back to me again, and we work together as we used to?" He looked very sad. He said, "The Lord knows what is best for you and for me. My work was very dear to me. We have made a mistake. We have responded to urgent invitations of our brethren to attend important meetings. We had not the heart to refuse. These meetings have worn us both more than we were aware. Our good brethren were gratified, but they did not realize that in these meetings we took upon us greater burdens than at our age we could safely carry. They will never know the result of this long-continued strain upon us. God would have had them bear the burdens we have carried for years. Our nervous energies have been continuously taxed, and then our brethren misjudging our motives and not realizing our burdens have weakened the action

162 of the heart. I have made mistakes, the greatest of which was in allowing my sympathies for the people of God to lead me to take work upon me which others should have borne. "Now, Ellen, calls will be made as they have been, desiring you to attend important meetings, as has been the case in the past. But lay this matter before God and make no response to the most earnest invitations. Your life hangs as it were upon a thread. You must have quiet rest, freedom from all excitement and from all disagreeable cares. We might have done a great deal for years with our pens, on subjects the people need that we have had light upon and can present before them, which others do not have. Thus you can work when your strength returns, as it will, and you can do far more with your pen than with your voice." He looked at me appealingly and said, "You will not neglect these cautions, will you, Ellen? Our people will never know under what infirmities we have labored to serve them because our lives were interwoven with the progress of the work, but God knows it all. I regret that I have felt so deeply and labored unreasonably in emergencies, regardless of the laws of life and health. The Lord did not require us to carry so heavy burdens and many of our brethren so few. We ought to have gone to the Pacific Coast before, and devoted our time and energies to writing. Will you do this now? Will you, as your strength returns, take your pen and write out these things we have so long anticipated, and make haste slowly? There is important matter which the people need. Make this your first business. You will have to

163 speak some to the people, but shun the responsibilities which have borne us down." "Well," said I, "James, you are always to stay with me now and we will work together." Said he, "I stayed in Battle Creek too long. I ought to have gone to California more than one year ago. But I wanted to help the work and institutions at Battle Creek. I have made a mistake. Your heart is tender. You will be inclined to make the same mistakes I have made. Your life can be of use to the cause of God. Oh, those precious subjects the Lord would have had me bring before the people, precious jewels of light!" I awoke. But this dream seemed so real. Now you can see and understand why I feel no duty to go to Battle Creek for the purpose of shouldering the responsibilities in General Conference. I have no duty to stand in General Conference. The Lord forbids me. That is enough. -- Letter 17, 1881.

 

[B/W Photodude]

5 hours ago, Gustave said:

I think this is fairly common across all cultures the world over. Even Ellen White communicated with her husband after he passed away.

I think you are very incorrect here. Ellen White may have had dreams of communicating with him, but that is not the same as actually communicating with him. I would believe that James White knew nothing of this conversation and was not a part of it.

However, dreams of talking with the deceased does not mean that the dreamer did not receive some sort of message from God thru the dream.

[pierrepaul]

18 hours ago, B/W Photodude said:

I think you are very incorrect here. Ellen White may have had dreams of communicating with him, but that is not the same as actually communicating with him. I would believe that James White knew nothing of this conversation and was not a part of it.

However, dreams of talking with the deceased does not mean that the dreamer did not receive some sort of message from God thru the dream.

Of course nobody actually communicates with the dead - the dead don't exist.

[Gustave]

On 10/1/2023 at 1:52 PM, B/W Photodude said:

I think you are very incorrect here. Ellen White may have had dreams of communicating with him, but that is not the same as actually communicating with him. I would believe that James White knew nothing of this conversation and was not a part of it.

However, dreams of talking with the deceased does not mean that the dreamer did not receive some sort of message from God thru the dream.

The article in the OP references people talking to dead loved ones in dreams. 

[8thdaypriest]

The Torah command prohibiting communication "with the dead," was the reason why Yeshua told his disciples not to tell anyone about His communication with Elijah and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration.   

NIV  Matthew 17:9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead." 

The enemies of Yeshua would have used that seeming violation of Torah, to have Him executed.  

Now, Yeshua was NOT in violation of Torah, BECAUSE Moses and Elijah were alive, not dead.  Elijah was translated up to Heaven in a "chariot," and Moses was resurrected by the pre-incarnate Son of God.  

Paul wrote that "death reigned from Adam to Moses" (Rom 5:14 KJV).   Moses was the first person resurrected from death.  

"Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" (Jude 1:9 NKJ)

And yes.  I do believe that Michael [means "like unto God"] was one name of the Father's pre-incarnate Son.  Archangel means "Chief messenger."  And WHO IS the Father's Chief messenger?   Who is the "Angel of the LORD" and "Messenger of the Covenant?"  Answer:  The Son of God the Father.  

[Leroy Myers]

I would like to take a different direction. In Romans 6 Paul seems to. be doing his level best to convince the believers that they are dead and buried with Christ. Verse 6 is even more explicit. "Your old man was crucified with Christ that the body of sin might be destroyed". He clearly is communicating that even our old fallen nature was destroyed. Also in Col. 3:3 he repeats this. "You are dead and your life is hidden with Christ in God"

We are told to live by faith, but for years this idea of living by faith was a rather nebulous concept. However, it is really quite simple. It is simply believing what God believes!

Therefore If God declares that we are dead and our fallen nature was left in the tomb, never to see the light of day shouldn't we believe Him?

When Saul went to see the witch of Endor she conjured up a familiar spirit. It was so familiar that it looked like Samuel, talked like Samuel and walked like Samuel. Must've been Samuel, Right? This is the scripture refers to as necromancy having consortiums with the dead.

So, when that old familiar spirit, with whom you have had intimacy with throughout your life prior to conversion, comes along and begins to sound like the way you use to think and tries to stir up old feelings, should we give them any heed? They are trying to convince you that the old man is not dead yet. These dark forces are doing the exact same thing they tried to do to Jesus. They are trying to get you to doubt those words which have proceeded out of the mouth of God. You are crucified with Christ and your old man / the body of sin is dead and buried. Your life is hidden with my Son within Me. 

Once you realize this Temptations have a totally different effect upon you. you can pull back the curtain and see the demon you can even tell him that I don't identify with what you say anymore I have been made free from you. If you yield to that temptation what you have done is just resurrected the old man and had communion with him you've called God of liar and you're committing necromancy of the most subtle form.

When you visit a dead person in the funeral home you don't try to strike up a conversation with him because you know they will not respond. So it should be with temptation. those thoughts and feelings are not you. It is an effort in mesmerism.

[Gregory Matthews]

On page 234. of the 2022 book on EGW and the Historians, it mentions EGW dreaming of talking to her dead  husband.

[phkrause]

On 2/25/2024 at 1:39 PM, Gregory Matthews said:

On page 234. of the 2022 book on EGW and the Historians, it mentions EGW dreaming of talking to her dead  husband.

I think I've heard that before?? Didn't she mentioned that in one of her books?? Maybe not!!

[Gregory Matthews]

See:

http://www.ellenwhiteanswers.org/media/pdf/Dead-Husband.pdf

and

https://ellenwhite.org/faq/50

 

 

[phkrause]

Thank you! 👍

[Kevin H]

Our sleeping loved ones  live in our memories, and even more important they live in God's memory. At the time of the dream she was trying to think about what James would do if he was there. As she slept with those thoughts, between her memory and God's memory and intervention, she had the dream of what he would have done.