BIBLICAL BRIEFS 99
The slogan in the film The Sixth Sense, “I see dead people”, has articulated the crux of this endeavour. Through television and radio programs by John Edwards and Mariëtta Theunissen, it became a popular industry to communicate with the dead. In 1Sam. 28 we read of the calling forth of the spirit of a deceased. The prophet Samuel died and was buried. The king of that time, Saul, banned all mediums and fortune tellers from the land. A medium, according to the AMP, mediates between the living and the dead. The KJV refers to it as “those that had familiar spirits”. The JPS translation calls it “those that divined by a ghost or a familiar spirit”. The word in Hebrew for these mediums is ‘ôb’, which is used frequently in Scripture, of which Isa. 8:19 perhaps clarifies it best: “When they say to you, ‘Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,’ should not a person consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?” This word “ôb” therefore indicates “mumble, that is, a water skin (from its hollow sound)”, according to Strong. However, it is interesting that the word is derived from the basic word ‘âb’, which means “father”! Now who would the “father” be in this case? The devil, of course! (John 8:44, AMP). This is a very important key in dealing with so called human spirits (commonly referred to as ghosts), and in African culture called Ancestral Spirits. It is clear that they can never be human spirits, but they are demons that represent themselves as deceased persons. It’s part of the lying nature of the devil. It is then also clear why they are also described as “ventriloquist, as from a jar”. In fact, it is logical – any born-again person who dies’ spirit goes to God (Eccl. 12: 7) and thus can not wander nor return as a ghost. Unbelievers, on the other hand, do not have a spirit dimension, and therefore can not wander or act as ghosts. Eccl. 9: 5 clearly states: “the dead do not know anything”. When Jesus came walking towards the boat on the sea in the fourth night watch, as Matt 14:26 describes it: “When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear.” The word used for “ghost” does not give legitimacy to the essence, as the Greek also spells out “a show, a performance, an appearance”, which is derived from a word that means “to cause to appear.” Back to the ANC – it is heart wrecking that the reborn president of the ANC has been seduced to consult the spirits of deceased as well as mediums. Unfortunately, it has influenced the way forward of this party, the country, but especially the president of the ANC. We as believers will remind God of the true Spirit-driven legacy of ANC founders who were devoted sons of God: Langalibalele Dube, Sefako Makgatho, Zacharias Mahabane, Josiah Gumede, Pixley Ka Isaka Seme, Alfred Bitini, Sol Plaatje, D.D.T. Jabavu, James Calata, Selby Msimang, James Moroka, and many others who now, spiritually alive in the cloud of witnesses, encourage all believers to fix our eyes on Jesus the Christ and to solemnly give shape to God’s agenda for South Africa (Heb. 12: 1-2). “God is not a God of the dead, but of the living.” (Matt. 22:32).
Dr Tom Gouws
