Does the passage in Luke 16 about the rich man and Lazarus deal the death blow to anyone who would say that people will be converted by great displays of power through the "charismatic gifts," or that there are revivals taking place around the world due to apparitions?

__________________
DAVIDIVS DOCTVS VTRIVSQVE LINGVAE
Husband of Emilia
Member: First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Durham (RPCNA) - Durham, NC
Currently in the process of transferring membership to an as-yet-undecided church in Chapel Hill
Student: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, German Literature and Classics

Yes.

And are there really people around the world who make such claims? I guess I need to get out more.

__________________


http://www.villagecommunitychurch.org/

I know some groups that are trying to map the evil spritis that occupy certain cities. They interview possessed people and ask for the names of the demons. Then they organize prayer walks around those cities too.

__________________
Pergamum


"If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"
-- David Livingstone

Nothing will save your soul except the grace of God.

No man was converted, ultimately, because they saw an evil spirit, or because an apparition appeared to them, or because anything at all came to them and assured them of belief. The finality of it all is the hardened state of man's heart. If the heart is hard, then whatever is seen will be distrusted, or explained away, or blatantly ignored. If the heart is soft and fleshy, then it will be receptive to the message, whether it be from Lazarus or from Ken Klein. The state of the heart is a matter of God. Anyone asserting otherwise needs Christ.

__________________
Andrew DeShazo, Deacon, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN
"All of us stumble in many ways, but if anyone is never at fault in what he says, then he is mature, able to control his whole body."(James 3:2)