Someone Is Out There​—But Who?

In Europe, an elderly woman enters a church, rosary in hand, and kneels reverently before a statue of Mary. In Africa, a family pours out gin at the graveside of a respected relative. In the Americas, a young man fasts and meditates, hoping to contact what he believes to be his guardian angel. In Asia, a priest burns colorful paper objects as an offering to ancestral spirits.

WHAT do these people have in common? All believe that there are intelligent beings in the spirit realm who can be contacted and who have the ability to influence profoundly the lives of humans. Of course, this belief is neither new nor surprising. What is surprising is that there are so many conflicting ideas about who live in the spirit realm.

Muslims worship one God​—Allah.a People in Christendom say that God is a Trinity, made up of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Hindus believe in the existence of more than a thousand gods and goddesses. Other people say that spirits reside in certain animals, trees, rocks, and streams. Still others are influenced by books, movies, and television programs about angels and demons, ghosts and goblins, gods and goddesses.

Just as there are many varied and conflicting ideas about gods and deities, there are also many varied and conflicting ideas about how to approach them. Logic tells us that not all approaches can be correct. Think of it this way: Before we make a telephone call, we need to know whom we are calling and we need to be confident that the person really exists and will be receptive to our call. To try to contact an imaginary person would be pointless. Worse yet, to contact an impostor could be dangerous.

So, then, who really live in the spirit realm? The Bible not only answers this question but also explains whom to communicate with and what to expect in return. Read on. You may be surprised at what the Bible reveals.

[Footnote]

Visions of the Spirit Realm

GAZE intently into the sky as long as you like, but you will not see a spirit person. Listen, but you will not hear one. Yet, you may be sure that spirits exist. Highly intelligent and powerful, they have distinct names and personalities. Some do us good; others want to harm us. All are interested in us.

The true God himself is a Spirit. (John 4:24) He has a unique name that distinguishes him from the many false gods. His name is Jehovah. (Psalm 83:18) The psalmist wrote: “Jehovah is great and very much to be praised. He is fear-inspiring above all other gods. For all the gods of the peoples are valueless gods; but as for Jehovah, he has made the very heavens. Dignity and splendor are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.”​—Psalm 96:4-6.

Visions of the True God

“No man has seen God at any time,” the Bible tells us. (John 1:18) His appearance and his splendor are beyond our comprehension, as colors are beyond a person born blind. But just as a good teacher explains complicated matters to students in terms they can relate to, so God, through his Word, the Bible, describes things we cannot see by means of things we can see. By inspired visions given to faithful ones of old, Jehovah helps us to picture the heavenly courtyards and to understand our relationship to those who reside there.

One vision given to the prophet Ezekiel, for example, associates the glory of Jehovah with fire, brightness, sapphire stone, and a rainbow. In another vision, the apostle John observes Jehovah on his throne and states that God “is, in appearance, like a jasper stone and a precious red-colored stone,” adding that “round about the throne there is a rainbow like an emerald in appearance.” Such descriptions tell us that Jehovah’s presence is one of rare and dazzling beauty, pleasantness, and serenity.​—Revelation 4:2, 3; Ezekiel 1:26-28.

The prophet Daniel too had a vision of Jehovah, in which he saw “ten thousand times ten thousand [angelic creatures] that kept standing right before [Jehovah].” (Daniel 7:10) What a sight that must have been! To see, even in vision, one angel would be awe-inspiring, but try to imagine myriads of perfect angelic creatures!

Angels are mentioned nearly 400 times in the Bible, and their ranks include seraphs and cherubs. The Greek and Hebrew words translated “angel” in the Bible both mean “messenger.” Angels can therefore communicate with one another, and they have in the past communicated with humans. The angels are not former humans who lived on earth. Jehovah created these spirit beings long before the creation of man.​—Job 38:4-7.

In Daniel’s vision, the multitudes of angels had gathered to witness a remarkable event. Daniel then saw “someone like a son of man” approach Jehovah’s throne to be given “rulership and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even him.” (Daniel 7:13, 14) The “son of man,” a central figure in the spirit realm, is the resurrected Jesus Christ, who is granted rulership over all the earth. His rule will soon replace all human governments and bring an end to sickness, sorrow, oppression, poverty, and even death.​—Daniel 2:44.

The enthronement of Jesus surely brought great joy to the multitudes of faithful angels, who want the best for humankind. Sadly, though, not all spirit creatures felt that way.

Enemies of God and Man

At the very start of human history, one of the angels, consumed by a desire to be worshipped, turned against Jehovah and made himself Satan, meaning “Resister.” The ultimate personification of evil, Satan stands in bitter opposition to Jehovah, who personifies love. Other angels joined Satan in his rebellion. The Bible calls them demons. Like Satan, the demons have turned themselves into cruel enemies of mankind. Much of the suffering on earth, the injustice, the sickness, the poverty, and the wars are results of their influence.

Though talking about Satan has become unfashionable in many of the churches of Christendom, the Bible book of Job provides insight into the character and motives of this rebel angel. It says: “Now it came to be the day when the sons of the true God entered to take their station before Jehovah, and even Satan proceeded to enter right among them.” In the exchange that followed, Satan insolently charged that the man Job served God only for what he received in return. In an attempt to prove his contention, Satan brought great tribulation upon Job, killing his livestock and all ten of his children. After that, he struck Job with malignant boils that covered his whole body. All of Satan’s attacks failed to make his point.​—Job 1:6-19; 2:7.

There are good reasons why Jehovah has tolerated Satan for so long, but he will not do so indefinitely. Soon the Devil will be done away with. Initial steps have already been taken and are described in the book of Revelation, where the curtain is drawn back to reveal yet another important event in the spirit realm that we could otherwise never see. We read: “War broke out in heaven: Michael [the resurrected Jesus Christ] and his angels battled with the dragon [Satan], and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.”​—Revelation 12:7-9.

Notice that Satan is said to be “misleading the entire inhabited earth.” He misleads people by promoting religious lies to turn them away from Jehovah and his Word. One such lie is that at death everyone passes on to the spirit realm. There are many variations of this idea. For example, in Africa and Asia, many believe that at death people pass on to a spirit world inhabited by their ancestors. The teachings of purgatory and hell are also based on the idea that a person goes on living after death.

After Death​—Heavenly Life?

What, though, about the belief, held by millions worldwide, that all good people go to heaven? It is true that some good people go there, but their number is small compared to the billions who have passed away in death. The Bible reveals that 144,000 people will be “bought from the earth” and will serve as “priests” and “kings over the earth.” (Revelation 5:9, 10; 14:1, 3) Together with the Son of man, Jesus Christ, they will make up a heavenly government, God’s Kingdom. That government will bring an end to Satan and his demons and will make the earth a paradise. Most of those who died will be restored to life at a future time with the prospect of living forever in that Paradise on earth.​—Luke 23:43.

To sum up, then, multitudes dwell in the spirit realm. Supreme among them is Jehovah God, the Creator of all life. Faithfully serving him are myriads of angels. Other angels, led by Satan, turned against Jehovah and work to mislead humans. In addition, a limited number of humans have been “bought,” or chosen, from the earth to take up special responsibilities in heaven. With this in mind, let us now consider who can be contacted in the spirit realm and how we should go about making the contact.

Contact With the Spirit Realm

ALMIGHTY GOD has entrusted certain responsibilities to other spirit creatures. He has, for example, placed rulership of the earth in the hands of Jesus Christ, and he has appointed faithful angels to help direct the declaring of the good news. (Revelation 14:6) Prayers, though, are different. He has not delegated the hearing of prayers. Our prayers are rightly directed only to God himself.

Jehovah is the “Hearer of prayer.” (Psalm 65:2) He listens to our prayers, and he answers them. Regarding prayer, the apostle John wrote to fellow servants of Jehovah: “No matter what it is that we ask according to his will, [God] hears us. Further, if we know he hears us respecting whatever we are asking, we know we are to have the things asked since we have asked them of him.”​—1 John 5:14, 15.

The faithful angels do not want us to call upon or pray to them. They understand and cooperate with God’s arrangement for prayer, which sometimes directly involves them. In what way? Well, when the prophet Daniel prayed to Jehovah about the desolation of Jerusalem, God answered Daniel’s prayer by sending the angel Gabriel with an encouraging message.​—Daniel 9:3, 20-22.

Messages From the Dead?

Should we try to contact those who have died? Many stories tell of conversations people supposedly have had with spirits of the dead. For example, a woman in Ireland was contacted by a spirit medium who said that the night before, she had a conversation with Fred, the woman’s husband. Yet, Fred had died a few weeks earlier. The medium went on to relate what “Fred” had said, matters that his wife believed were known only to her. How easy it would have been for her to conclude that Fred was alive in the spirit world and was trying to make contact through the stranger. That conclusion, however, would contradict what the Bible clearly says about the condition of the dead.​—See box below.

How, then, can stories like this be explained? One tool of deception that the demons employ is that of impersonating the dead, in this case, Fred. The motive? To turn people away from what the Bible teaches and to weaken faith and trust in Jehovah. Unquestionably, Satan and the demons mislead people “with every powerful work and lying signs and portents and with every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing.”​—2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10.

To be sure, there are spirit mediums and those who are associated with them who truly believe that they are contacting people who have died. In reality, if they are contacting anyone, they are contacting spirits who are in opposition to Jehovah. Similarly, there are those who believe that they are worshipping God but who are mistaken. The apostle Paul was inspired to pen this sober warning: “The things which the nations sacrifice they sacrifice to demons, and not to God.”​—1 Corinthians 10:20, 21.

Knowing that we can pray to the Supreme One, who loves and cares for us, why would we want to pray to anyone else? After all, the Bible gives this assurance: “As regards Jehovah, his eyes are roving about through all the earth to show his strength in behalf of those whose heart is complete toward him.”​—2 Chronicles 16:9.

[Blurb on page 9]

Knowing that we can pray to the Supreme One, who loves and cares for us, why would we want to pray to anyone else?

[Box/​Picture on page 8, 9]

Fact and Fiction

FACT: SATAN IS A REAL PERSON

“Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light.”​—2 Corinthians 11:14.

“Keep your senses, be watchful. Your adversary, the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone.”​—1 Peter 5:8.

“He who carries on sin originates with the Devil, because the Devil has been sinning from the beginning.”​—1 John 3:8.

“Subject yourselves, therefore, to God; but oppose the Devil, and he will flee from you.”​—James 4:7.

“The Devil . . . was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie.”​—John 8:44.

FICTION: AT DEATH ALL PASS ON TO THE SPIRIT REALM

“In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.”​—Genesis 3:19.

“The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.”​—Ecclesiastes 9:5.

“All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol [the grave], the place to which you are going.”​—Ecclesiastes 9:10.

“His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.”​—Psalm 146:4.

FACT: FAITHFUL ANGELS CARE ABOUT US

“The angel of Jehovah is camping all around those fearing him, and he rescues them.”​—Psalm 34:7; 91:11.

“Are they [angels] not all spirits for public service, sent forth to minister for those who are going to inherit salvation?”​—Hebrews 1:14.

“I saw another angel flying in midheaven, and he had everlasting good news to declare as glad tidings to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, saying in a loud voice: ‘Fear God and give him glory.’”​—Revelation 14:6, 7.

FICTION: JESUS IS EQUAL TO GOD

“I want you to know that the head of every man is the Christ; in turn the head of a woman is the man; in turn the head of the Christ is God.”​—1 Corinthians 11:3.

“When all things will have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also subject himself to the One who subjected all things to him, that God may be all things to everyone.”​—1 Corinthians 15:28.

“Most truly I say to you, The Son cannot do a single thing of his own initiative, but only what he beholds the Father doing.”​—John 5:19.