"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'
"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'
"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "
Now who said that the Bible wasn't relevant for life today? What Jesus said in the above passage is this: listen to what the Scriptures say about this life and the afterlife. Don't depend on the 'miraculous sign' when you have God's testimony available already.
" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'Perhaps you are over-applying these verses. The rich man and his family were not inclined to accept, for they had Moses and the prophets already to convince them and hadn't done so. A miraculous type of experience doesn't usually convince that type of person, or sometimes may only temporarily."He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "
Now who said that the Bible wasn't relevant for life today? What Jesus said in the above passage is this: listen to what the Scriptures say about this life and the afterlife. Don't depend on the 'miraculous sign' when you have God's testimony available already.
I don't think that rules out experiences for those who might be inclined to believe, or already believe but need comfort/strenghtening/etc.
It would be a strange God indeed, to permit Satan to deceive those in the least position to discern (e.g. the stories of the various two year olds posted in this thread.). Even stranger, perhaps, for Satan to be interested in deceiving in such a way as to strenghten the faith in the Lord of the child and his family.