Theories on the Afterlife:

The Canon of Scripture:

The next question that comes up, related to ghosts, has to do with the canon of Scripture being complete and what God would allow to be happening now that the Bible is completely written? We know from the Scripture itself that its cannon is closed. God's purpose in revealing Himself, is that we'd come to believe and be redeemed. That is the whole point of the writing of Scripture to begin with. All that God wished to share that would bring about our redemption is in the Scripture, so there is no additional revelation coming from God. Christ was the fulfillment of what the prophets came to speak of, so there are no more prophets coming after him.

Now interpretation of what's written in the Scriptures about the last days and the end of time is another subject altogether; one of which I'm not going expound upon in-depth in this study. Aspects of "the end times" that are relevant to this subject, I will hit on without trying to muddy the waters too much.

We do know from the book of Revelation that Satan is loosed out of the bottomless pit just before the last day. We know that this world will come to look much like the world of Noah's day (where God wiped out nearly all of humanity because our wickedness) just before the end. There will arise systems, and philosophies etc. that are antithetical to God and His laws just before the end. The Scripture tells us of all this.

We also know though that all these things are communicated to humans through some sort of supernatural influence. Systems like communism, the eugenics movement, certain aspects of racism that postdate the "Age of Enlightenment" / "Age of Humanism", the reemergence of homosexuality as a lifestyle choice, certain aspects of post-modern thought, Social Darwinism, Darwinian evolutionary theory, the abortion industry, etc. are all "ideas strait out of hell". Some blame population explosion and industrialization, but much of this came about from the removal of moral and ethical discourse, along with its founding reference (the Bible) from the realm of public life. So, the more rare "common grace" becomes, the more we see a rise in violence, discord, economic woes, war and genocide in our "global society".

So, knowing that ideas / knowledge is "communicated" in the supernatural realm by "spirit witnessing with spirit"; how do we know what we are looking at in shows like "Ghost Hunters"? Are they disembodied human souls, demons, angels or what?

Well, first I'll tackle the question of angels and disembodied saints, because that will be the easiest to answer. Angels are defined as obedient to God, non-carbon based entities, who's "life span" equals all our current understanding of time, they do not reproduce and sometimes "take on" a carbon-based appearance. Disembodied saints are obviously believers, who throughout the course of human history, have died and who's bodies have not been resurrected yet.

Something else has popped into my head though; another idea to "throw out there". (Now that I've been wandering around my kitchen for 20 minutes drinking tea and mulling this over in my head, let me see if I can put it on virtual paper so it makes sense?)

Let me start with "the holy city".

The Scripture says that after the resurrection, some "bodies" were raised and "walked around in the holy city". There are 10 references to "the holy city" in Scripture. Half of them are in the Old Testament, half are in the New. The "holy city" is referred to, as both Jerusalem and "the new Jerusalem". The book of Revelation describes the "new Jerusalem" as "coming down from God out of heaven". The earthly Jerusalem we know, is a physical city in a geographical location.

Go back to Genesis and we have Abraham being visited by the king of Salem. The king of Salem is described as "having no beginning of days or end of life". He is what is often called in theological terms "a theophany" (visible manifestation to humans of God). "Salem" will become "Jerusalem" once the decedents of Abraham go to occupy it. These became the generations and the nation the Messiah would come through. Once Christ came, accomplished redemption and set up His kingdom (which now entails individuals from out of the entire human race, not just "revelation coming through one nation"); that which was just a picture of redemption is done away with in regards to its importance to the kingdom and purposes of God. (2 Corinthians 3) So although earthly Jerusalem still exists, the new Jerusalem, the "holy city" as it is accomplished in Christ, is what the believer is looking toward.

So, what happened when these "bodies" rose and "walked around in the holy city".

To answer this question, I'm going to give a Star Trek analogy to my hypothesis. In "Star Trek Voyager" there are several episodes where Voyager flies into a rift and ends up in what they call "fluidic space". Now "fluidic space" is kind of like a parallel universe. It is a place that has its own life forms that exist outside Voyager's known universe of material origin. Life forms from fluidic space can come into Voyager's material universe (materialized as such, as soon as they pass through the rift); and though the ship Voyager goes into fluidic space and is protected by whatever shield mechanism it has, the life forms in the ship would not be able to survive in fluidic space because it is a different type of existence.

I hypothesize that the "new Jerusalem" as it is "coming down from God" is kind of like fluidic space; although it's not an "alternate universe"; it's an "alternate state of existence" in a glorified "microcosm" of the new heavens and new earth. Just as this heavens and earth will be replaced by a glorious new heavens and new earth, I believe what this passage is telling us "walked around in the holy city" means that the "place" of that "alternate state of existence" exists now, even though the new heavens and the new earth are yet to be "created" as we understand "created".

When Christ rose from the grave, he proved to the physical world that he had paid the price and overcame the last enemy of "in the day that you eat of this fruit you shall surely die". That being accomplished, it makes sense that the promise of a new heavens and new earth would also be proven by appearing in some "microcosmic form" in current time, "in heaven". I believe that this is where the bodies of certain resurrected saints would have gone and where Christ would have gone when he ascended to "the Father" after the resurrection.

Could this be what Jesus referred to as "paradise"; seeing how we know "paradise" is in heaven. (Revelation 2:7). We also know from 2 Corinthians 12:4 that Paul had also gone to "paradise".

"Heaven" now:

Now the book of Revelation talks about "souls under the alter" in "heaven". These obviously are disembodied saints that are in the "presence of God". The passage also talks about "beasts" and "angels" being in the presence of God too.

Now this begs the question of whether this is a literal place or the (or one) "state of an alternate reality". Obviously, a soul being a component of the natural world, must "reside" somewhere. Could it be that disembodied saints are still "residing" in this current universe (no longer bound by a carbon-based body) yet existing in the "presence of God" (who is "omnipresent" to boot). This would be akin to "residing in fluid space" with creatures not known to "Voyager's universe", yet certain entities (those obedient to God) can pass freely between these two existences.

So, we have:

"paradise" (place where resurrected beings are residing awaiting the completed new heavens and new earth)

"heaven" (presence of God, that may not necessarily be a "place" but more a state of access) of which "paradise" is also in.

"earth / universe" (current residence of the elemental world which includes all carbon-based and non-carbon based entities as they have been created by God, including angels, devils and disembodied saints)

"Sheol" (holding place of unregenerate disembodied human souls that is part of the current "earth / universe")

"Bottomless pit" (That existence Satan had been chained / cast into, which is reserved unto judgement. This is described in Genesis as "the face of the deep" and possibly becomes the Lake of Fire on the other side of eternity.)

Theories on Sheol:

So here is where I jump off into theories that come to us from out of church history as well as 1st century and before Jewish traditions. I'm not sure who first articulated this idea, but here it is.

The theory is that before the death and resurrection of Christ, all the people who died prior to that point in linear history; all the souls of such were "housed" in an existence that had two parts. The "top" part was called "Abraham's bosom" and the bottom part was called "hell". (Sheol in Hebrew; Hades in Greek.) When Christ rose from the dead, the souls in "Abraham's bosom" were let into "heaven" (paradise); (place of the presence of Christ). Those condemned to the Lake of Fire as described in Revelation, were left in the bottom part called "hell".

This is commonly the interpretation given to Jesus entering hell and leading captivity captive. The theory is that he descended into the "top" of Sheol to release those out of Sheol. When we look at the gospels though, we find that just before Jesus dies he declares: "It is finished." and tells one of the thieves being crucified next to him: "This day you shall be with me in paradise." (He doesn't say "when I rise from the dead"; he says "This day...")

Now this starts to get into another area of Bible study; particularly the atonement. (What, where, when, why and how) All those questions are left for anther Bible study that God willing, I'll get to posting sometime in the future. For all intent and purposes though, of how the atonement applies to theories of Sheol; all I will say is that the entire penalty was paid / justice had been satisfied before Jesus physically died.

So, this "two part Sheol" theory does make sense on one level, but I don't think a "two part Sheol" would have been necessary. (I'll explain why in a minute.) The interesting thing we know about "Abraham's bosom" / "hell" is that the souls contained in these places are aware of each other's existence, as well as being aware of what's happening on earth. Jesus tells a parable about "the rich man and Lazarus" wherewith we get some of this information from.

Now Sheol in the Scripture is noted as "a place of silence". The literal translation is "place where they are not heard". They may not be "silent" as in not crying out for mercy, but rather they are "not heard" in that their cries go on not hearkened to. Therefore, Jesus says that it's a place of wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Also, consider the Psalm (And Acts) - "You have not left my soul in hell." (Reference to the atonement). As well as Jesus's words from the cross: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" These two statements also, (considering Jesus is still physically alive) give credence to the idea that in this current course of this universe's time, being under the condemnation of God, does not necessarily entail a particular "location"; but rather a state of positional access. At least this is true, while a person is still alive. Obviously though, when the unregenerate die, they go to Sheol (hell) which is a place where they are not heard.

Living Saints and Dead Saints?

The other thing I noted from the "rich man and Lazarus" parable, is that because the rich man requests of Lazarus to go warn his brothers, we assume that Lazarus as a disembodied saint can communicate with the living, while the rich man cannot! (This is an important concept when we consider people trying to contact deceased loved ones, so hang on to it.)

Deceased saints being able to communicate with the living does seem to hold true in other parts of the Scripture. We see this when John is in record of the book of Revelation, bowing down before an "angel" and the angel says to him. "See that you do this not; for I am your fellow servant and of your brothers the prophets and of them which keep the saying of the book: worship God." (Revelation 22:9)

Saul and Samuel's ghost?

There's also a passage in 1 Samuel 28 where King Saul speaks to whom is stated to be deceased Samuel. This passage is a little tricky to unravel, as Saul's access comes through a medium who's practicing divination; which is forbidden in Scripture. Now is this actually Samuel's spirit or is it not? There's been debate about this for hundreds of years. So let's see if we can unravel this.

The reason for Saul seeking this medium is that he is afraid of an impending conflict with the Philistines. Both encampments have met adjacent to each other and they are preparing for war. This event happened after David killed Goliath. Saul knows David is to be the king and Saul has attempted to kill David. The Philistines though have come back on Saul and Saul inquires of God about this. Saul doesn't get an answer, so he goes to find himself a medium. Now this is a little tricky for the medium because Saul has already "put out of the land" all the "psychics".

Now it seems from the context of what happens, as well as what has happened; Saul is looking for Samuel. Samuel has recently died and it appears that the reason Saul expelled all the "psychics" is because Samuel died and the people were in a stir about this. It also seems Saul believed these mediums could actually contact the dead and probably didn't want Samuel "showing up" somewhere unexpectedly to "bear bad news" concerning Saul. Well in this mix here somewhere, the Philistines show up instead! So thus Saul is like: Maybe I better seek Samuel myself; since apparently God aint wanting to talk to me. (Keep in mind that contextually; God had already spoken to Saul through Samuel.) So Saul decided to find himself a witch and request of her to call up Samuel.

First thing of interest here; this witch did not get what she expected. Her common way of divinations didn't contact the "familiar spirit" she was used to. Now what seems most logical to me, based on the description of what happened, is that she got a genuine vision from God. She "cries out" and immediately knows this man requesting this contact with Samuel; is indeed king Saul. She had made a statement before agreeing to do this, about fear of being put to death by king Saul. Who, he assures her that she won't be harmed. She knows now though that this is king Saul and this is not what usually happens between her and her "familiar spirit".

Saul asks her what she sees. She describes "gods ascending out of the earth". Note that Saul does not see this "event". She is the only one who's seeing this. Which is why I conclude it is entirely possible that God is sending her a legitimate vision that's intended to be communicated to Saul. Her experience resembles the visions of Daniel and other prophets and the intent is the same; that she communicate a message to Saul.

What I find interesting though is her description of what she's seeing; "gods ascending out of the earth". Is this actually a vision of souls being released from Sheol / Abraham's bosom? It's a good question. Let's keep going.

Saul asks her what's happening. She describes an old man coming. (Old here is also translated "ancient".) She describes him as dressed in a "mantel". Yet the most common translation for this described garment is "robe"; a vestiture / coat, something put on outside of other clothing.

The next segment says Saul "perceived" this to be Samuel. Now the word here doesn't mean he "thought" this was Samuel; but that there as a certain amount of investigatory questioning that confirmed that Saul was correct and this was indeed Samuel. Also the Scripture names this entity as Samuel.

Here's where it gets interesting. Samuel addresses Saul and asks "Why have you disquieted me; to bring me up?" (Keep in mind the witch is describing "gods ascending out of the earth"; so it's not just Samuel who's ascending. Saul's inquiry though has brought Samuel to him to answer this.

The verb "disquieted" is in the perfect tense; which means this is a one time instance, not a continuous action. Those "ascending" though is active absolute. Absolute state only means that the word is not connected to another noun. The assumed "noun" here is Samuel. The "gods" continue to ascend, even though Samuel has been "called up" / "disconnected" from the "ascending" so to speak, on account of Saul's inquiry. Samuel has been "side tracked"; although this does not mean the power to "side track" Samuel originated with Saul. What this appears to be, is God's last assignment to Samuel before he ascends. Of which Samuel appears to be a little disturbed about.

The verb disquieted is also translated "tremble", "rage", "shake", "quake"; which is used in context of either being angry or afraid. This raises the question of whether or not this passage means Samuel is "afraid" or rather "irritated" with Saul? Looking at the context of what's happening in the vision though; as well as a closer look at the Hebrew preposition which is in the "interrogative" voice (that poses a question). This Hebrew preposition can also be translated "who", "what", "why", "where", "when". So, I'm not so sure Samuel's inquiry of Saul is particularly connected to the "quaking"; assuming the "quaking" is related to the event of the "gods ascending from the earth". The question is likely more along the lines of "Why have you summoned me over here from the quaking?"

Now what actually is this quaking? Is what this witch sees, a vision of the souls released from "Abraham's bosom" to ascend to "Paradise" at the point Christ died? This is what I think is happening in this passage.

The phrase "ascending from the earth" is used a few other places in the Bible. Most commonly, the reference has to do with weather patterns. The "vapors ascend from the earth". Could this be symbolic of saints ascending? That's possible and would make contextual sense as a material world metaphor. The other most common entity described as "ascending from the earth" is God Himself. We see this in Proverbs, Ephesians and Revelation. The first to ascend from the earth was Christ; which is what makes the ascension of believers possible.

Let's go back to the Samuel a minute with "gods ascending out of the earth". "Earth" is also translated "land", "earth" "country" "ground" "world", "way", "common field" "nations" and "wilderness". This conveys the picture that these "gods" are coming from everywhere "out of the earth". Jump over to Revelation. Those who appear "out of great tribulation" (which has to do with the atonement" are out of "every kindred, tribe, tongue and nation".

Now another interesting tidbit here is that Saul's "perception" is in the imperfect tense. The imperfect tense is an action that's continuous. Which seems to me to indicate, that Saul's understanding of the event was something that continued to unfold. Probably continued to unfold into eternity. For once Saul died, he had a full understanding of what transpired with this event where this witch sees this vision.

I find this is rather interesting, because the record of this event (the witch's vision) has similar elements to parable of the rich man and Lazarus. We'll see this more clearly when we compare the events that transpired around these two records. I'll talk about Luke 16 in a minute. For now though, let's take a look at Saul's reaction to this encounter and what Samuel said to both Saul and the witch.

Verse 16; Samuel says to Saul: You're asking me, now because God won't answer you; you've become His enemy?

Verse 17; Samuel makes a joint statement to both Saul and the witch. He says to the witch: God did this to him, as He spoke by me; (what Samuel had said to Saul while Samuel was still alive). The Lord has rent the kingdom out of your hand and has given it to your neighbor, David. The Lord did this because you didn't "take care" of the Amalek situation. (David was fighting Amalek because Saul did not do what God had told him to.) Than Samuel tells Saul. This is what's going to happen to you. Tomorrow you and all the disobedient of Israel out there on this battlefield are going to die.

Saul's reaction to this message is terror. He falls on the ground. He hadn't eaten that day because he was so panicked about what was going on. The witch kills a calf and makes some unleavened bread and she and Saul's companions get him to eat this "last supper". The next day, he goes out to battle and is killed.

Deceased saints communicating with the living:

Now this passage provides us with some fascinating details. Deceased saints can communicate with the living on earth. They apparently also know the future. Samuel was very specific to Saul about what was about to happen to him. This interchange between Saul and Samuel though, was not information Saul didn't already have before Samuel died. So none of this was new revelation; which could have been why Samuel seemed "irritated" by having to address this issue one more time.

The other thing that strikes me is that this appears to be happening (from Samuel's perspective) at the point outside of earthly time where he ascends to heaven. It's the same type of paradigm as what John is seeing in Revelation. John's vision encompassed both the past and the future. Same principle applies to other prophets in the Bible. The got a "bird's eye" presentation of history, in metaphoric typology, (which was explained at times) outside of the construct of earthy time.

Could deceased saints in "Abraham's bosom" have communicated with the living if they so chose to? It's clear that if God had directed them to; they would have been able to. Did they have the ability to make that choice of their own accord? Technically the answer is probably "yes"; yet that would also be predicated on following the wishes of what God wanted them to do. Which in that sense they probably operated a lot like angels. We do know deceased saints pray for God's will on earth. It also seems logical that deceased saints would be praying along side of the living. So it's likely the extent of any communication they would have "taken on assignment", would have been limited to these types of activity.

Non-carbon based angels on the other hand, seem to serve a different purpose. We know based on other Bible passages that they assist in fighting wars, assuming that also includes protecting people. We know they can take on material form and obviously have some way of communicating among themselves, human beings and God.

Back to John and "heaven" / "paradise":

This passage raises a very important question, because the book of Revelation tells us John was "in the Spirit on the Lord's day" present in a "place" where he sees the new Jerusalem. Now where exactly is John? We assume he's in "heaven"; yet obviously, we know he isn't dead yet. Could he be in "paradise" or maybe even "Abraham's bosom"? It's a good question, since we know the living cannot pass into the presence of God without being rent from their carbon-based existence. 1 Corinthians 15 talks about how "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God".

The literal Greek says John was "in the breath"; which I think is a reference to the "breath of life" as it is given by God, being the essence that makes us alive. This is interesting to me, seeing how it seems to reiterate that John was not "dead" and "came back". He was "in the breath", which means he had to have been there (where ever there was) "body" and soul somehow, since he did not say he was having a dream. Now since we know that to be in the presence of the Lord, you must be absent from the body; I think the place John went, was most likely "paradise".

Now how did John, still being in the flesh (alive) gain access to this "paradise", if this is indeed where he went?

There are three possibilities here:

1. Either God "opened the door" so John could see "paradise", without physically entering it, or maybe that the only portion of him that could "enter" (temporarily) was the soul? (Assuming though that he'd have to be physically dead in order to do so.) In this case, it would be much more like the Star Trek Voyager analogy, where you are looking at not only an alternate state of existence; but also, a form of "parallel universe".

2. Another possibility is; like discussed in chapter 1; John may have been there in his "spiritual body". Could the soul / spirit "spiritual body" disembark from the flesh and "go to" "paradise"? This makes more congruent sense than him standing in the material world peering into this other point of access.

3. Could John have been standing in "Abraham's bosom" looking into "paradise"; or rather standing in the material world peering through "Abraham's bosom" looking into "paradise"? Thus his soul would have been somewhere between life and death; yet the flesh still maintaining the breath of life. This would make sense also, looking at Paul's description of being "in paradise"; not knowing if it was "in the spirit" or "in the body".

Could "Abraham's bosom" been a "microcosm window" into the "New Jerusalem" which is "paradise" in heaven?

It's an interesting hypothesis although I don't know how accurate it would be to say his soul was in "Abraham's bosom". Granted, John is having this vision at the point the resurrection has already happened. So if he was in "Abraham's bosom"; or somehow looking through it into Paradise; it would have been void of other souls. Yet one issue with this hypothesis is that John witnesses the deliverance of those out of Sheol and Abraham's bosom into Paradise; and it's clear in the context of Revelation, John doesn't know where these people came from. This is different from the dreams and visions of Old Testament prophets who clearly stayed on earth.

What happened to the Bodies of Moses and Elisha?

This now got me thinking about others in the Bible (before the resurrection of Christ) who had "interesting departures" from the earth. Elisha was taken up to heaven in a chariot. Satan contended with God over the body of Moses. (Moses who is said to have been "buried by God".) and then Enoch "walked with God and was not". Were these people "translated" ahead of time into "paradise" prior to the resurrection and could this be why Satan contended with God over Moses's body? I think this is entirely possible and also the reason why a two part Sheol is technically not needed.

So was the "pre-Christ's death microcosm" actually "Abraham's bosom"; which emptied it's contents into "Paradise"? This would also account for Jesus descent into Sheol; the "bottom half" holding place of the condemned who were not part of the religious commonwealth of the nation; yet who obviously Christ had atoned for.

If this is the case; why would the "righteous" who'd have access to written revelation have a "different location" than those who didn't? The "righteous" in this case would have been Old Testament believers who obeyed that written revelation.

It's another interesting question and the context of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, does give us some clues. Jesus is speaking to a bunch of pharisees. They are described as "covetous" (thus the context of the "rich man" character). Jesus says to them:

Luke 16:

16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presses into it.

17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

18 Whosoever puts away his wife, and marries another, commits adultery: and whosoever marries her that is put away from her husband commits adultery.

From here, Jesus launches right into the rich man and Lazarus parable.

So the context given before the parable is the "law and the prophets" (Old Testament Scripture); and Jesus says: "Since that time the kingdom of God is preached and every man presses into it."

Now the three characters in the parable are: the rich man, Lazarus and the dogs. Lazarus is at the gate of the rich man and the dogs lick Lazarus's wounds. The "gate" is the city. (The Old Testament commonwealth of Israel.) Lazarus is the "stranger" within the gate. The dogs lick his wounds. (I'll talk about the meaning of "stranger with in your gates" in a minute.)

Now another "parable" tells us who the dogs are. When these foreign women come to Jesus seeking healing for their children; Jesus calls them "dogs". They both respond with: "even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table". (Note Lazarus desires to be fed with the crumbs that fall from the rich man's table.) Who (these dogs) then in turn minister to Lazarus by licking his wounds. This also ties into the passage where Jesus tells the disciples to "make friends of the unrighteous mammon for when you fail they shall take you in". The "unrighteous mammon" are the gentiles (like Cornelius the centurion) who become the ecclesiastical body who absorbed the Jews who came to believe in Christ once their Jewish system came down.

Now we know Jesus had died, was buried and resurrected at a specific time in human history. We often recognize that those who lived before the resurrection were in a different predicament than those who came after the resurrection. To a certain extent, Scripturally this is true. One thing I think we tend to miss though is while the atonement took place within the parameters of linear time, it also took place outside the parameters of linear time.

Revelation tells us that Jesus was "the lamb slain from the foundations of the world". (Revelation 13:8) This "explains" to us in "somewhat simple terms" that the atonement was something special. Because it was an action performed by God in relation to dealing with His justice as it's applied to sin. The atonement itself didn't really "involve" the creation. Sure, it was human beings as well as the entire created order that became the recipients of the atoning work of Christ, but the temporal created thing could not contend with the wrath of Eternal God. Therefore, it had to be God who atoned for sin. On the flip side of this, because humans are created in the image of God (being also of material substance) God had to be incarnated in the likeness of the first Adam to overcome what the first Adam was not capable of overcoming on account of his temporal / non-eternal (and now polluted on account of sin) existence.

Other thing I noticed, when we look at the accounts of the transfiguration, who do we see has appeared with Jesus; Moses and Elisha. Interestingly, Moses and Elisha are the two individuals whom had an "interesting departure" from earth upon their deaths. Had they appeared in material form during this event because they had already received "new heavens and new earth" bodies? It's a good question; one of which I can't say I have an answer to, only this theory.

Comparing this now to the "rich man and Lazarus" parable; we see that disembodied saints can communicate with the living, but disembodied unregenerate cannot. What does this tell us about "ghosts"? Hold that thought a minute more. Back to "canon of Scripture" and what is God allowing today?

Comparisons between Saul / Samuel and the Rich man and Lazarus:

Now I've already gone through what the people in the parable represent. Let's go back a minute to Saul and Samuel. Saul was the king the people wanted of their own accord; but he wasn't the one God chose. Saul was told this and he was told specifically that David was the king God intended. David and Saul are like these pharisees and Christ. The religious system compared to the Redeemer. One wrought of the works of men (king Saul) and one wrought of the intervention of God (king David). The paradigms even fit (one system is coming down the other is being set up) while in both circumstances the reader gets a glimpse into the afterlife. And this is why I think the vision the witch saw, in relation to Saul's inquiry, fits the picture God was presenting of redemption.

The context of the rich man and Lazarus parable is the same paradigm. One system is being dismantled while the other is being established. Thus it seems to me that the two accounts are linked.

Communication with the Dead post Resurrection:

Now we know that no further direct revelation is coming from God. The Holy Spirit still does open our understanding that we can correctly interpret the Scriptures we have; but none of us are in receipt of new messages. Do disembodied saints (or angels) still have a role in the enlightening of the understanding of the living? I don't know the answer to that. "Angels" are described in the Scripture as "ministering spirits". I don't know if these are the disembodied saint type of "angels" or the non-carbon based life form type of "angels". We also know from Revelation that disembodied saints do pray for the living on earth. They pray for the expedience of the word that the elect may come into the kingdom, so the new heavens and new earth can be ushered in.

On another note; "Angels" do offer protection to the living, who are yet to complete their earthly missions in this life. If I am correct in the hypothesis that it is the non-carbon based angel that can "put on" "carbon based powers", and disembodied saints can't, (because their "carbon base" is no longer part of their current existence, for if that were possible they'd be considered "alive" again); then, reason would tell us that it would have to be non-carbon based angels that would have to be protectors.

So, I will end this segment here; since this chapter is now extra lengthy as it is and in the next chapter, I will be talking about demons.