by Dusty May Taylor
Last week we looked at a common question I receive, which is “Has my deceased loved one visited me in a dream/vision?” To summarize, we found that scripture states the deceased can’t reach the living and can’t return for unfinished business. However, we know they are frequently used symbols or representations in dreams and visions, much how a painting represents a person but isn’t literally them. (For more, see Part 1.)
When we left off, I acknowledged that sometimes “we know that we know” we have been visited by a real and true spirit. This means it wasn’t just a symbol, a comforting picture sent by God or our own soul, but definitely a spiritual being. I’m going to explain scripturally why most Christians believe these to be demons, or “familiar spirits.” I have good reason to believe what scripture teaches on this topic, but won’t get into that here.
Why do teachers say it’s not my loved one, but a demon?
If the rich man couldn’t go to his loved ones (Luke 16 – see Part 1), and the dead go to the grave (afterlife –Job 7:9, Psalm 146:4, Heb 9:27) never to return, then who was that spirit you saw? This can be a disturbing question, but there’s nothing to fear because those who call upon Jesus receive His protection (and those who believe in and follow Jesus, keep it).
Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
A medium is someone who contacts the dead (or a “spirit guide” or “angel guide”). Note that mediums and familiar spirits are lumped together in the bible’s first mention of mediums. This is because when you consult a medium you consult familiar spirits who work through the medium.
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
Yup, Satan himself will actually parade around posing as a benevolent messenger. So do his servants, human and otherwise.
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
This scripture explains why a demon would pose as a loved one: The goal of the evil one is always deception. If he can get us believing him instead of Jesus, he can maneuver us outside the protection of the Lord. His ultimate goal is to make humans face the same eternal judgment he faces. Nice guy, right?
Okay, but what about Samuel?
In 1 Samuel 28, we see something odd: A dead prophet’s spirit rises from the grave in front of a startled psychic.
And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.”
And his servants said to him, “In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.”
So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.”
Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?”
And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”
Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
To paraphrase, King Saul can’t get an answer from God, so he goes to a psychic medium and asks her to bring up the prophet Samuel. Keep in mind, by now Saul is homicidally insane and mentally ill by demonization. (This was related to his rebellion against God, extremely serious in a king under the Old Covenant Law before Jesus died on the cross. You can see his poor character just in the fact that he had all the psychics killed, supposedly to obey the Law, then went and consulted one himself.) The story continues –
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”
The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”
The woman said, “I see a ghostly figure coming up out of the earth.”
The psychic medium is so scared when she sees the actual spirit of a dead person emerge, she screams. Either she was expecting her usual familiar spirit to deliver a message, or she usually made stuff up. (She did seem to have spiritual vision Saul lacked.) Though this woman is a servant/partner of demons, God sovereignly sent his servant Samuel to prophesy Saul’s imminent death as judgment against him.
From this we can see that the bible did not condone Saul’s decision to consult a psychic medium, it merely reports on it. The bible also implies that the psychic knew only God could raise the spirits of the dead (hence her fear, and her understanding that for the dead to be rising before her eyes, she must have Israel’s king before her).
What else does the bible say about consulting psychics and mediums?
To consult a psychic medium is 100% forbidden by scripture, as is any attempt at witchcraft or communication with the dead. And as we’ve seen, it’s for good reason!
A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.
Because Jesus died for us all, nobody is required to be put to death for these things anymore, but the occult is still forbidden and brings nothing but evil into our lives. (Take it from someone who used to do most of that, and whose family has been tormented by evil as a result of generations of it.) We will all be judged one day for things we have done, whether good or evil (2 Cor 5:10, Rev 20:11). Believers who turn to Jesus and repent with a sincere heart receive forgiveness. That is whole other subject!
Okay! So to summarize Part 2. . .
- the bible makes it clear that Satan has deceiving servants who pose as benevolent
- the bible lumps people who communicate with the dead with “familiar spirits,” which is another word for demons or Satan’s spiritual servants
- Saul came under immediate judgment for going to a medium to get a word from Samuel (and she was surprised it worked)
- communication with the dead is lumped in with other forbidden acts such as sorcery, divination, etc.
If you missed the groundwork explaining how we know the dead can’t come as messengers of their own free will, head over to Part 1. Next week I’ll close the topic with Part 3, where I address the scriptural reasons why some believers think the dead in Christ (people who put their faith in Jesus and went to Heaven) can be sent to us with messages. . . even though scripture is clear that the deceased outside of Jesus are trapped in Hades, and even though communication with the dead is forbidden (and is never condoned in the New Testament). Uh oh! 😉
What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. 🙂
dustymaytaylor.com 
Communicating with the dead is called necromancy in which the Scriptures prohibits.
You can reference Leviticus 19:26, 31.