The Clarity of the Word of God

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Continued from The Necessity of Scripture

Last time we began a series on the attributes of the Word of God, and their ramifications for the paranormal. The necessity of the Word of God, the clarity, sufficiency, and comprehensiveness--all these speak of why scripture is important for us, and the ways it is to have preeminence in our lives. The purpose of this newsletter is to analyze, from a biblical perspective, what is happening in the paranormal community in general, and the notion of ghosts in particular. So, what we have to say about the clarity of the written Word, will be applied to these issues. If you did not read the last one on the necessity of the Word of God, it would be useful if you did, but this should stand on its own.

Why has there been a nuclear explosion in the number of people who have come to believe in ghosts in the last fifteen years? That can be accurately answered in a number of different ways, but for our purposes, folks attitude towards the bible is a huge factor.Last time we looked at the necessity of the written Word of God, and asking the above question brings us to a brief review of what we have already said, as well as sharpening our current application focus.

The bible is the ultimate presupposition for Christians in every area of life--including our reasoning, knowledge acquisition, and interpretation of God's world...this is merely the outworking of the Lordship of Christ in the area of human thought--it applies the the doctrine of scriptural infallibility to the realm of knowing. Human knowledge is servant knowledge (or primary vs. derivative).That is, in seeking to know anything, our first concern is to discover what our Lord thinks about it and to agree with His judgment, to think His thoughts after Him (seeing EVERYTHING through God's eyes!). There are no "neutral" facts because God's pre-interpretation of the facts logically precedes the existence of all facts. Hence, we must align our interpretation of paranormal phenomena with our Lord's infallible interpretation of the same. Put another way, we are obligated to re-interpret accurately what our Lord has already interpreted. Can any Christian seriously suggest otherwise? We shouldn't, but we do--remember what we said about autonomous thinking? Talk about foolish-- how could anyone imagine that contradicting the Master of the universe would be a wise decision? All sin, whether Adam and Eve's or ours today, is a result of sinful, autonomous thinking.

How does this apply to our paranormal focus, and our question? Just this, it is the seeking of knowledge about part of God's creation (the spirit realm), without being subject to God's revelation, that has been the primary cause for the explosion of belief in ghosts. How else can you explain the belief in, or "knowledge" of, something that does not exist? In fact, it would be wrong to speak of "knowledge of ghosts" because the category or class known as "trapped spirits" is the null set...it does not correspond to reality. Put another way, with the marginalizing of the God of the Bible, and the bible of God, in our culture, then intellectual autonomy is the inevitable result...as well as incurring God's wrath (Psalm 2; Rom.1). Folks sinfully prefer their reasoning, their intuition, their years of experience, their perceptions, and their interpretation of the paranormal facts over God Almighty's interpretation of the same facts. This is blatant intellectual arrogance."The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Those in the paranormal community, Christians and otherwise, have spent all their academic training in an environment which disassociates the facts of creation from their Creator--by jettisoning from the classroom His authoritative interpretation of His cosmos (the bible). So, when faced with the facts of the paranormal (and the very real experiences which have become pandemic), the paranormal community does what they have been taught--disassociate the paranormal facts of creation from their Creator. We are not re-interpreting these facts in servant/creaturely submission to God's own authoritative interpretation of these realities. Consequently, they are creating their own fantasy land.

At this point we can now turn our attention to the clarity of the Word of God. The perspicuity or clarity of the bible is how evangelical/Reformed theologians have spoken about one of the attributes of the bible...indeed that is what the written Word of God affirms about itself. Scripture ( as in Deut. 8:3; Pss. 19:7; 119; Matt. 4:4) says that God's written Word is for everybody to understand and live by. The Westminster Confession of Faith speaks of how some doctrines are clearer than others. For example, what is necessary for salvation is very clear. However, it would be a mistake to say that even a single word in the bible does not, in some sense, speak of salvation in a broader sense--every inch of the bible enriches our understanding of the cosmic sweep of the drama of redemption. Nevertheless, that which is required for a credible profession of faith is quite simple (but profound)...and is very clear.

God is THE Great Communicator...He is fully in control of His communication to human beings. When He communicates with us the Lord always does so successfully (human rejection of His successful communication is a commentary regarding mankind's sinfulness...not His Word) But another name for successful communication is clarity. Since God's word is clear, it will always accomplish its purpose (Isa. 55:10-11)--it won't come back void. If a person rejects that Word, then it has still accomplished it's work--much like Jesus perfectly accomplished His Father's work, even though more people rejected the Incarnate Word than accepted Him.

As I point out in Seeing Ghosts through God's Eyes,the notion of ghosts touches on several crucial biblical themes--what happens to us when we die? And what is our hope? And others...many others! Certainly the two I mentioned are so significant that we would rightly assume that the Great Communicator would communicate ultra clearly regarding these, and He does! I am aware that there are those who disagree--saying the bible is not clear regarding what happens to us after death--butdo you see what that implies about God's communication skills? Fear of death is the most universal fear of humans...is it any wonder that hope (certain faith applied to the future) is a central Resurrection motif? The perceived un-clarity is inexcusable and sinful--yes, misinterpreting the Word of God is a sin.

When we consider the clarity of the bible in relation to the Lordship of Christ, it creates ethical obligation in its hearers: obligation to believe what it says, to do what it commands, and so on. To quote Frame, "The clarity of God's Word means that we have no excuse for failing to meet it obligations. To say that God's Word is clear is to say that we have no excuse for misunderstanding or disobeying it. So the clarity of Scripture has ethical implications." (pg 206...The Doctrine of the Word of God)

Again, how does all this relate to the notion of trapped spirits? Since it is inextricably tied to the central biblical doctrines of hope, the afterlife, and the Person and Work of Christ...to name but a few, then one would expect that the Word of God will be ultra clear. It is...very clear! Clear enough to create an ethical obligation to reject this demonic fabrication. Clear enough to make it sinful to believe in the notion of ghosts. Clear enough that there is no excuse for misunderstanding the bible's teaching regarding the matter. Clear enough that there is no excuse for believing in or attempting to speak to demons mimicking humans. And it is certainly clear enough that we do not need to hear a supplemental word from the "other side of the veil" to clarify what happens after death...implying that God's Word is unclear and defective. God, in His written Word, has clearly told us what happens when we die. If we are in union with Jesus, then we will see Him, with glorious clarity, face-to-face!

(The biblical texts are so extensive, and clear, regarding the afterlife, and related themes, it would be a monumental task to amass them--all biblical doctrines are inter-related.)

11 Reasons Soul Sleep Is Not Biblical

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

1. A book frequently appealed to is Ecclesiastes, where it seems to teach soul sleep…..One should NEVER appeal primarily to this book for doctrinal support because the stated perspective is “under the sun”(life without God), which leads to meaningless existence.

An increasing number of Christians are appealing to the notion of soul sleep as their primary argument against the notion of ghosts.  This is an in-family discussion, and while I deeply rejoice in their courage to confront a very serious issue, I am also concerned that the biblical view of the afterlife is being distorted. What is soul sleep? It has to do with what is known as the intermediate state—the time between a person’s death and the Second Coming of Christ. It is the belief that when we die, our souls remain asleep until Jesus returns. Of course if this were true, it would be a profound argument against ghosts, but it is not, and using it is counter-productive. Besides, as I point out in Seeing Ghosts through God’s Eyes, there are many other cogent arguments which stand on solid biblical ground.

I have to ask this question: why do people believe in this notion? They sincerely believe the bible teaches it. I respect that. But, historically there is another reason this notion has arisen. The reasoning goes like this: if the body cannot exist without the soul, then the soul cannot exist without the body. That is fallacious reasoning because it leads to a non-sequitor or false conclusion. When the soul leaves the body, then that person is dead, and their body will decay. However, there is no scriptural or anecdotal evidence to support the notion that the soul cannot exist apart from the body. The soul is the consciousness/essence of a person…it is spiritual in nature. If in principle we think that a spiritual soul cannot exist without a body, then how do we explain God, angels, and demons….all of whom have spirits without bodies—except for Jesus’ body in heaven? They are disembodied consciousness and personality, so why not the same for humans when they become disembodied?

2. Also, it is asserted that since Jesus referred to dead people as sleeping, then that clearly indicated the souls of dead people are sleeping;  Is that not what Jesus said? No. He said they were asleep…He did not say their soul was asleep. What is asleep, the soul or the body? Clearly the bible and experience teach that our bodies rest or sleep until they are resurrected. More to the point, we need to be familiar with the culture of the time—calling death, sleep was simply a common euphemism of the day for death—it was not a technical term used to indicate the soul’s awareness level. Meaning is determined by context, and in this case it is the whole bible.

3. A survey of church history shows that all three branches (Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant) have staunchly supported conscious existence after death. From the early church fathers to today, conscious existence after death has been a crucial aspect of classical Christianity. All the Reformers, historical confessions (e.g., Westminster Confession) as well as the great Revivalists (Edwards, Whitfield, Wesley, Spurgeon, and Moody) all robustly affirmed the importance of “when they are dead, they will have never been more alive!” Moody. John Calvin’s first book was a refutation of the notion of soul sleep.    

4. Today, the two main groups that affirm soul sleep are Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses; regarding the latter, the late great Walter Martin saw soul sleep as one of the hallmarks of a cult.

5. Enoch and Elijah were beamed up into heaven very much conscious….would God take them only to put them to sleep?

6. Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the Mt. of Transfiguration and were talking to Him. The simplest explanation is continuity of conscious existence.

7. In Acts 7 Jesus stands to celebrate Stephen’s homecoming while he is being stoned to death.

8. Rev. 6:9-11 The current activity and communication of the souls of believers is seen and heard by John. The topic of their discussion could only occur during the intermediate state. Crucial text.

9. “…away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Cor.5:8) one reason I don’t reference Hebrew and Greek more often is that it can inadvertently cause folks to lose confidence in their English bibles…which are exceedingly accurate. Clearly Paul anticipates that death will propel his soul into heaven.

10. Phil.1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Paul succinctly summarizes his dilemma and then elaborates. Life or death, Jesus is everything to Paul. If he stays then he will have a fruitful ministry with them by being a minister of their joy in Christ. But if he dies…Paul’s longing to be with Jesus will be fulfilled. Paul yearns for the latter, but his Jesus-like servant heart will choose to continue to help them. But the point is clear—death is seen as an immediate entry into Christ’s presence. How could it be considered gain if he said, “I’m excited about being asleep for 2,000 years…”? Remember Paul had already had a direct vision of heaven which was unspeakably wonderful. THAT is what he desired above all else.

11. “But you have come to Mt Zion and to the city of the living God….and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.” Heb.12:22-24 Note that it says… you have come…a present reality (same in Greek as in English). This is a reference to the church militant (us) worshipping with the church triumphant…NOW!. The righteous made perfect are the glorified souls of believers in heaven who are worshipping God now. Dr. Edmund Clowney, commenting on these amazing verses, states that when believers join for corporate worship, then we are mystically united with the departed saints in worship of the living God--with Jesus as the choirmaster (2:12)! “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (emp. added) Lk23:43 If one has a solid grasp of the central doctrine of union with Christ, there is no way to believe in soul sleep. By virtue of being in Christ we are already in heaven! (Col.3:1f)