Personations and Other Appearances
Similar to necromancy are the demonic personations of the dead
and other demonic appearances. The personations can be in the form
of a deceased family member, friend, or anyone. Both the physical
appearance and the voice are very similar to those of the deceased.
All these satanic deceptions will be used to deceive those who are not
firmly grounded in God’s Word. Ellen G. White warns, “The apostles,
as personated by these lying spirits, are made to contradict what they
wrote at the dictation of the Holy Spirit when on earth.”—The Great
Controversy, p. 557. And further, “As the crowning act in the great
drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ.”—The Great
Controversy, p. 624.
Read 2 Corinthians 11:14, 15 and Ephesians 6:10–18. What should be
our safeguards against such demonic deceptions?
The apostle Paul warns us that “our struggle is not against enemies
of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against
the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces
of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12, NRSV). We can be protected
against these deceptions only by being clothed with “the whole armor
of God” (Eph. 6:13, NKJV) described in Ephesians 6:13–18.
The satanic personations and appearances can be very frightening and
deceiving, but they cannot mislead those who are sheltered by God and
grounded in God’s Word. From a doctrinal perspective, those who believe
in the biblical doctrine of the conditional immortality of human beings
know that any appearance of or communication with the dead is of a satanic
origin and needs to be rejected by God’s powerful grace. Again, no mat-
ter how powerful, convincing, and seemingly real the manifestation is, we
must always stand firm on the teaching that the dead are asleep in the grave.
Imagine, though, losing a loved one and then believing that this same
loved one appears to you. And expresses love to you. And tells you how
much they miss you. And says things that, yes, only they would know.
And says that they are now in a better place. If a person is not abso-
lutely grounded in what the Bible teaches about the state of the dead,
think of how easily he or she could fall for this deception, especially
because they want to believe it, as well.
What does it mean to put on the “whole armor of God”? In a
day-to-day, practical sense, how do we do this in every area of our
lives, not just in dealing with end-time deceptions?
