“The people of Arcadia, Missouri are forever changed when their deceased loved ones suddenly start to return. An 8-year-old American boy (Landon Gimenez) wakes up alone in a rice paddy in a rural Chinese province with no idea how he got there.
Details start to emerge when the boy, who calls himself Jacob, recalls that his hometown is Arcadia, and an Immigration agent, J. Martin Bellamy (Omar Epps), takes him there. The home he claims as his own is occupied by an elderly couple, Henry (Kurtwood Smith) and Lucille Langston (Frances Fisher), who lost their son, Jacob, more than 30 years ago. While they look different, young Jacob recognizes them as his parents. Those closest to the family try to unravel this impossible mystery, including Sheriff Fred Langston (Matt Craven), whose wife, Barbara, drowned 30 years ago while trying to save Jacob. But this boy who claims to be the deceased Jacob knows secrets about his own death that no one else knows — secrets that Fred’s daughter, Maggie Langston (Devin Kelly), will begin to investigate and discover to be true.” From ABC’s website about the show (http://abc.go.com/shows/resurrection/about-the-show)
This television series premiered Sunday, March 9, 2014, at 9/9c. This series was aired for millions across the globe to view. Does these series have anything to do with an agenda that the enemy of our souls, the Devil, is trying to use to deceive many (Mathew 24:4). But even some Christians today would confess, “It is only a series! It is fiction! Oh please! Let me enjoy a show for once!” yet many are unaware of the cunning devices of the devil. Do you know that the media is one of the most powerful tools to introduce any idea? God’s word sets us free not only from errors but free from influences that lead to destruction. What does the bible have to say about this series?
Does Jacob know secrets about his own death?
“The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” “There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10). “The dead praise not the Lord.” (Psalms 115:17).
Answer: God says that the dead know absolutely nothing! Therefore, Jacob is clueless. Though millions think it is possible, the dead cannot communicate with the living. If the dead were communicating with the living, they would have known something. But the bible is absolutely clear, stating that the dead knows nothing. So David is still in his tomb up to this day and he knows nothing (Acts 2:29,34). He is waiting for the voice of Jesus so that he could be resurrected. The dead can neither love, envy, hate. Neither do they have knowledge or wisdom for they know nothing?
But can Jacob communicate with his parents, family or friends?
“So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” “His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.” (Job 14:12, 21.) “Neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 9:6).
Answer: No, the dead cannot contact the living, nor do they know what the living are doing. They are dead. Their thoughts have perished (Psalms 146:4). The bible calls his state “Sleep”. And in this state he knows nothing neither does he recognizes anything. So why then does the “doctor” in the series seek to ask the boy if he remembers anything during his death?
Jesus calls death “sleep.” It is a state of total unconsciousness.
But where can you find that Jacob is asleep in the new testament?
“He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.” (Matthew 9:24)
Sleepeth (εὕδω heudō ) which means: to lie down to rest
Answer: Here Jesus is trying to teach the same concept of the dead as a state of “Sleep”, but those who heard him laughed at him. The same way some today laugh when they hear this wonderful teaching that Jesus himself taught about the state of the dead. This series is teaching a belief contrary to Jesus; so in that light, who really inspired the script? The Devil! Whiles Jesus is trying to teach many today the truth on this subject, the Devil is teaching contrary (Revelation 12:12).
Jesus called the unconscious state of the dead “sleep” in (John 11:11-14). How long will they sleep?
“So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more.” (Job 14:12). “The day of the Lord will come … in the which the heavens shall pass away.”(2 Peter 3:10).
Answer: The dead will sleep until the great day of the Lord at the end of the world. In death, humans are totally unconscious with no activity or knowledge of any kind. The righteous will be raised to life and given immortality at Jesus second coming. The bible teaches that at the second coming of Jesus Christ, the righteous dead would be raised. Why then is Jacob in the series being raised from the dead before Jesus’ coming?
What happens to the righteous dead at the second coming of Christ?
“Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” (Revelation 22:12). “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, … and the dead in Christ shall rise … and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17). “We shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, … and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. … For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53).
Answer: They will be rewarded. They will be raised, given immortal bodies, and caught up to meet the Lord in the air. There would be no purpose in a resurrection if people were taken to heaven at death. The devil’s first lie to Eve was “You won’t die” – a statement completely contrary to all Scripture.
What was the devil’s first lie?
“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.” (Genesis 3:4). Who is the old serpent? “That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.” (Revelation 12:9).
Answer: Satan told Eve that sin would not bring death. “Ye shall not surely die,” he said. Those who believe the dead are alive become easy targets for the devil deceptions. So if Jacob is alive after he has died, is this saying that “ye shall not surely die?”. Yes!
Why did the devil lie to Eve about death? Could this subject be more important than many think?
Answer: It is one of the cornerstones of the devil’s kingdom. He has worked powerful miracles down through the ages, through people who claim to receive their power from the spirits of the dead. (Examples: Magicians of Egypt (Exodus 7:11), Woman of Endor (1 Samuel 28:3-25), Sorcerers (Daniel 2:2), A certain damsel (Acts 16:16-18.)
A Solemn Warning
In the end-time Satan will again use sorcery as he did in Daniel’s day to deceive the world (Revelation 18:23). Sorcery is a supernatural agency that claims to receive its power and wisdom from the spirits of the dead. Posing as godly loved ones who have died, saintly clergymen who are now dead, Bible prophets, or even the apostles or disciples of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13), Satan and his angels will deceive billions. One way he is doing it, is through the media: music, movies, fashion, etc. Those who believe the dead are alive, in any form, will most assuredly be deceived. All miracle working is not from God because devils also work miracles.
Do devils really work miracles?
“They are the spirits of devils, working miracles.” (Revelation 16:14). “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”(Matthew 24:24).
Answer: Yes, indeed! Devils work incredibly convincing miracles (Revelation 13:13, 14). Especially in the last days, these miraculous works would be more prevalent. You are already watching it happen through actors in this series; desensitizing you before the real thing. Satan and his angels will appear as angels of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) and, even more shocking, as Christ Himself (Matthew 24:23, 24). The universal feeling will be that Christ and His angels are leading out in a fantastic worldwide revival. The entire emphasis will seem so spiritual and be so supernatural that only God’s elect will not be deceived. The elect will not be deceived because they firmly reject everything that is contrary to Scripture.
Why will God’s people not be deceived?
“They received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11.) “If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20).
Answer: God’s people will know from their earnest study of His book that the dead are dead, not alive. Spirits of the dead do not exist. Therefore, God’s people will reject all miracle workers and teachers who claim to receive special “light” or work miracles by contacting the spirits of the dead. In this case, some mystical miracle occurred and Jacob is “alive”. And God’s people will likewise reject as dangerous and false all teachings that claim the dead are alive in any form, anywhere. In Moses’ day, people who claimed the power to communicate with the dead were stoned to death.
Back in Moses day, what did God command should be done to people who taught that the dead were alive?
“A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones.” (Leviticus 20:27).
Answer: God insisted that wizards and others with “familiar spirits” (who claimed to be able to contact the dead) should be stoned to death. This shows how God regards the false teaching that the dead are alive. No one in God’s new kingdom will ever die. Death will cease at the destruction of Satan.
Will the righteous people who are raised in the resurrection ever die again?
“They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, … Neither can they die any more.” (Luke 20:35,36). “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:4).
Answer: No! Death, sorrow, crying, and tragedy will never enter into God’s new kingdom. Reincarnation is impossible. Because God says all who died, both good and evil, are in their graves. According to the bible, Jacob is in the grave, and according to this series he is “alive”. So then who really is this young boy Jacob?
Belief in reincarnation is expanding rapidly today. Is this teaching biblical?
“The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing. … Neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6).
Answer: Almost half the people on earth believe in reincarnation, a teaching that the soul never dies but is instead continually reborn in a different kind of body with each succeeding generation. This teaching, however, is contrary to Scripture. The Bible Says After death a person: returns to dust (Psalms 104:29), knows nothing (Ecclesiastes 9:5), possesses no mental powers (Psalms 146:4), has nothing to do with anything on earth (Ecclesiastes 9:6), does not live (2 Kings 20:1), waits in the grave (Job 17:13), and continues not (Job 14:1, 2). Satan’s Invention We learned that Satan invented the teaching that the dead are alive. Reincarnation, channeling, communication with spirits, spirit worship, and the “undying soul” are all inventions of Satan, with one aim to convince people that when you die you are not really dead. When people believe that the dead are alive, “spirits of devils, working miracles” (Revelation 16:14) and posing as spirits of the dead will be able to deceive and lead them astray virtually 100 percent of the time (Matthew 24:24).
Imagine wasting so much time watching a series like this, which can be spent studying your bible. Is temporal life really more valuable to you than eternal life? If Jesus is coming soon, why waste so much time being deceived. All this series seeks to portray is a fabrication of the scriptures, and a mission to unsettle you in truly believing in the bible. Jesus wants to liberate you who may be under this deception and lead you into His truth. He desires that none perish, but all have eternal life (John 3:15,16). Maybe you have been hooked on this series or any other particular one. The lord is calling for total surrender, to spend more time with him in his word, in communion with Him, to know Him day by day. Are you willing to surrender your heart today? You are to receive the precious Savior as your very best friend and honor Him by doing His will. “As many as received Him,” — choosing Him above all other friends, — “to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on His name.” Receive Him as your light and life. He so loved you that He died that you might live forever. Believe in Him. Regard Him as your best and truest friend. Come to Him, saying, “Lord, I give myself to Thee just as I am. I have wasted many years of the life that Thou didst redeem by the sacrifice of Thine own life. Wilt Thou forgive me?” Choose to follow Christ today friend.