Is calling the spirit of a dead person Biblical?
Calling the spirit of a dead person is Biblical, in the
sense that it is a practice that happened in Bible days.
However, does God approve of this practice? Let us examine
the Scriptures together:
Deut 18:9-13 "When you enter the land the LORD your God is
giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of
the nations there. Let no one be found among you who
sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices
divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in
witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist
or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is
detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable
practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations
before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God."
NIV
This text is quite clear. Calling the spirit of a dead
person is detestable to God.
Let us look at another example, this time from a king named
Manasseh.
2 Kings 21:6 "He sacrificed his own son in the fire,
practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and
spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD,
provoking him to anger." NIV
Again, calling the spirit of a dead person provokes God's
anger.
Lev 19:31 "Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists,
for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God."
NIV
Here again you hear a warning from God Himself concerning
such practices. These will defile you!
Lev 20:6 "I will set my face against the person who turns to
mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following
them, and I will cut him off from his people." NIV
Another strong warning from God concerning such practices.
Is it worthwhile to try this, if God so clearly disapproves
of it? You risk to be "cut off" from God's people!
What about those who are mediums? What does the Bible say
about them?
Lev 20:27 "A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among
you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood
will be on their own heads." NIV
I wouldn't like to be in their shoes!
Please my friend, do not turn to these deceiving spirits. It
is not worth your eternal salvation! The Bible clearly warns
you against it. Even the apostle Paul warns us that:
1 Tim 4:1 "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some
will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and
things taught by demons." NIV
Why let ourselves be misled by demons, when we can consult
directly with our loving Heavenly Father? He wants a
relationship with you and will help you in your decisions.
Help is available from the highest source. In fact Jesus
promised in John 8:36 "So if the Son sets you free, you will
be free indeed." NIV
Do you want to experience real freedom? Do you want to
consult with the highest power there is: your Creator? Come
to Jesus and accept him into your life. Come to Jesus at
http://www.answers2prayer.org/saviours_call.html and
invite Him into your life. Don't be deceived. God wants you
to be His friend.
Rob Chaffart
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PREAMBLE:
Spiritism, often referred to erroneously as spiritualism,
the belief that living persons can receive messages from
dead people, usually sent through a persons with special
spiritual powers, called a medium: The Bible, the holy word
of God, says, "Let no one be found among you who practices
divination or spirits or who consults the dead. Anyone who
does these things is detestable to the Lord" (Deuteronomy
18:9-12). Do not turn to medium or seek out spirits, for you
will be defiled by them (Leviticus 19:31). I will set my
face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritism
to prostitute himself by following them (Leviticus 20:6).
DISCUSSIONS:
It is clear testimony of the Holy Scriptures, the Bible,
that spiritism is the masquerading of demonic forces, who
pretend to be departed spirits with the intent of deceiving,
through the power of Satan, those who are foolish enough to
believe the testimony of demons in preference to the
authority of the Word of God himself.
Spiritism is altogether contrary to the Word of God and is
detestable in His sight (Leviticus 20:6). But because of His
great love and mercy, he forgives the sins of all those who
truly repent of their sins and put their trust in Jesus for
eternal life (Acts 2:38; 16:31; Romans 6:23.)
Calling the spirit of a dead person is a process through
which a dead person is called upon and by so doing his/her
spirit is expected to respond as if he/she is alive. In the
Bible we saw a case where Saul the King hired a witch of
Endor to call up Samuel by familiar spirit (I Sam. 28:7-14).
It is certain that the body of Samuel was returned to the
dust to fulfill the curse on man when the first man sinned
(Gen. 3:19b).
Going deeper into the question. We need to realize what God
wants a man to be while on earth and then thereafter. The
bible says, "It is appointed unto man once to die but after
this the judgment (Heb. 9:27). God has never
given a room for man to die, buried and decayed and then to
come back to life. This is not so.
The only incidence that has the hand of God Almighty in dead
people coming to life is a special case after Jesus
resurrected and the body of the dead saints was seen on the
street and this was a special case for special reason -
Matt. 27:50-53.
The other instance was the experience of Elijah and Moses at
the transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17:1-9.
In these other two cases it was not any man calling out
another man's spirit but a special act of God for special
reasons.
It could, therefore, be further enumerated that calling the
spirit of a dead person is not biblical and it has nothing
good to offer to our faith. In actual fact it is demonic.
Those who practice such are unbelievers. The bible tells us
of the portion of those who would not believe and continue
to indulge in such act in Revelation 21:8
"But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers,
the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the
idolaters and all liars - their place will be in the fiery
lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death".
One of the reasons why people practice speaking to the dead
is probably to know the cause (reasons) of the death of
persons. It is common in certain parts of Africa. Why should
this be? It is absolutely unnecessary. Members of secret
cults indulge in this art of calling out the spirit of the
dead. They believe that they could speak to the dead and
know the cause of death so that they can revenge. The reason
why this is practiced is to take vengeance.
Romans 12:19-21 "Do not take revenge, my friends, but have
room for God's wrath; I will repay, says the Lord. On the
contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is
thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you
will heap burning coals on his head". Do not be overcome by
evil, but overcome evil with good.
Speaking to the dead is not biblical as discussed above and
should not be seen done among the Christians. If you are not
born again, today is your day of salvation- John 3:7.
Whatever God does is perfect; even if you have lost your
loved ones to physical death. Believe this concept. No one
can kill you if your live is hid in Christ Jesus!. The
Scripture says "Woe unto those people who kill the body and
are not able to kill the soul".
SUGGESTED REASONS WHY PEOPLE WILL LIKE TO SPEAK WITH THE
DEAD
One of the reasons why people speak to the dead is to
clarify certain things in the course of dispute especially
in land matters and matrimonial causes. This is common in
Africa. What are you clarifying?. Some go there to curse
themselves to be sure that facts are established during
disputes either with friends or families. The Bible says
that you brought nothing into this world and with nothing ye
shall leave the world. What do you have that is not given to
you says the Word of God. Jesus is the prince of peace.
People should focus on the tangibility of God's power rather
than on mere power of the devil.
Crave for power. I know a brother before his conversion;
because he wanted supernatural power from the devil. He used
to sleep in cemeteries. He wanted the dead to speak to him
and give him direction. If you want direction, go to Jesus -
Psalm 37:4-6. When the Pentecostal power fell on him, after
accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour he is being used
tremendously of the Lord. What he wanted before was
powerless power. Limited power. That brother and I had on
several occasions ministered the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ to the people with signs and wonders following. If
you need power come to Jesus today!
Source of Money and Security I have interacted with a lot of
people in the course of ministering to people diversely.
There was a woman who used to commune with the dead. She
actually used the bones of the dead to prepare "juju soap"
in order to get rich. She was flourishing in her business
for sometime. After a while she lost the power to get wealth
from the devil. Thank God that she was delivered in one of
our meetings. She is alive today and contented with what God
has given her!
Another man was looking for a job. He tried all he could to
get one but all to no avail. He consulted with me in the
office for counselling. Usually, I tell them to repent and
believe the Gospel. The man told me how he had tried
everything within his power to secure a tanker drivers' job.
He said he had communed with the dead many times but all to
no avail. When he came to one of our meetings, especially on
the anointing with oil service day, the power of God broke
him down. He fell flat on the floor and was delivered from
the demonic spirit he had contacted through the medium of
speaking with the dead and associating with them. After his
conversion, he was gainfully employed. The devil has nothing
to offer you! If you go to the devil to receive cure for
headache, the ache might go but he will give you something
worse; perhaps hypertension to hasten your death.
THE GOOD NEWS "Deuteronomy 8:16-18 "He gave you manna to eat
in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to
humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well
with you. You may say to yourself, "My power and the
strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me". But
remember the LORD your God, for it he who gives you the
ability to produce (get) wealth, and so confirms his
covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is
today.
A willing, obedient, believing and hardworking soul will get
the best from the Lord. The problems many people have today
is that they cannot put their trust in the Lord and follow
Him. The scripture also says that godliness with contentment
is a great gain. People are not contented with what they
have. Impatience, laziness and lack of trust are other
factors that are dragging people to "get rich quick"
business.
Fellowship. Undue fellowship drag people to crave to speak
with the dead. Look at the example of King Saul I quoted in
the above passage. Saul was enjoying good fellowship with
God. After loosing it due to the spirit of disobedience that
entered his life he sought to speak through another medium -
speaking to the dead. You need to watch out. If you have
lost the power of the Holy Ghost as a result of sin in your
life, you must confess and come back to God. Nothing can be
compared with the power of God. When the day of Pentecost
was fully come, the people were filled with the Holy Ghost
and they spoke in diverse tongues. Read Acts 1:6-8.
Afterwards mighty miracles started happening in the lives of
the Apostles. Look at it - Peter who used to be coward
preached and 3000 people gave their lives to Christ -Acts
chapter 3.
HOPE FOR THE DEAD IN CHRIST JESUS I Thessalonians 4:13-18
"Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who
fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no
hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we
believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen
asleep in him. According to the Lord 's own word, we tell
you that we who are still alive, who are left till the
coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who
have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from
heaven, with loud command, with the voice of the archangel
and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ
will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are
left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord
forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words."
CONCLUSION Take a place in the Lord today. Depart from the
way of the world. The way of the world is sin and has
demonic tendencies. Let your life be insured in the Lord by
accepting him as your Lord and personal Savior.
"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and
deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and
the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ". -
Colossians 2:8
You should, then, put your trust in Him and believe that
whatever your Lord does is perfect! "Therefore, do not let
anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to
a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath
day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the
reality however is found in Christ. Do not allow anyone who
delights in false humility and the worship of angels
disqualify you for the prize." Such a person goes into great
detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind
puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with
the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held
together by its ligaments and sinews, grow as God causes it
to grow:- Colossians 2:18-19.
With Jesus Christ on your side your are winner!
Rev Debo Adeyemo
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This is what is known in the bible as 'necromancing'. It
is one of a whole range of spiritual 'gifts', if you like
that come from the devil. They are lumped together as
'witchcraft'. Here are some relevant bible quotations.
Deu 18:9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy
God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the
abominations of those nations.
Deu 18:10 There shall not be found among you [any one] that
maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire,
[or] that useth divination, [or] an observer of times, or an
enchanter, or a witch,
Deu 18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar
spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
Deu 18:12 For all that do these things [are] an abomination
unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD
thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
To cause a son or daughter to pass through the fire is a
reference to the sacrifice of children as a burnt offering
to the false god 'Molech'; which was a figure of a large
owl.
Divination refers to fortune telling or clairvoyance, not to
finding water as some confuse it with. An observer of times
refers to astrology; an enchanter casts spells, invoking the
powers of darkness to bring about a desired result; a wizard
is the masculine of witch; a consulter with familiar spirits
would be a 'Medium' in today's jargon; and a necromancer is
a person who talks to the dead usually summoned up by a
witch or wizard or medium.
All these dark arts were punishable by death.
Exd 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Leviticus 19:31AV Regard not them that have familiar
spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them:
I [am] the LORD your God.
Leviticus 20:6AV And the soul that turneth after such as
have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring
after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and
will cut him off from among his people.
Leviticus 20:27AV A man also or woman that hath a familiar
spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death:
they shall stone them with stones: their blood [shall be]
upon them.
We know that God does not change. He has the same opinion of
these evil practitioners now as He did then. Even though
they may appear to work for good, and many do, it is a
deception because the power comes from Satan, not God. If
you would be a Christian, you must have nothing to do with
astrology, spirits of the dead, familiar spirits,
clairvoyance, ouija boards, or witchcraft in general. If you
do then God will turn His face away from you. Prayers will
be of no avail; you must repent, seek forgiveness of Christ,
and seek His salvation.
Lance Wearmouth
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Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says: Let no one be found among you
who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who
practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages
in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or
spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these
things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these
detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those
nations before you.
Isaiah 8:19 says: When men tell you to consult mediums and
spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people
inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the
living?
1Chronicles 10:13-14 tells us that Saul died because he was
unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord
and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not
inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned
the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
It is NOT biblical to contact the dead. That is a pagan
practice. Christians are ONLY to consult with the Lord for
any kind of guidance. We are only to contact Jesus Christ
our Savior.
Love
DeeDee
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What do we mean by Biblical here? If it is authorized by
the bible, the answer is no! If it is recorded in the bible,
the answer is yes. Saul is recorded to have gone to call the
spirit of the dead Samuel.
But in all the settings as recorded in the Bible, we see
that those who called the spirits of the dead did it in
pagan settings. The bible cautions us from calling the
spirits of the dead. Notice what God tells here, “And when
they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar
spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should
not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the
dead?” Isaiah 8:19
Contacting the spirits of the dead is satanic and biblically
that is devil worship! The bible says the dead know nothing.
Please carefully read the following verses without any
preconceived ideas so that you can know the state of the
dead. Psalms 146:3-4, Ecclesiastes 3:19-21, 9:5-6,10,
12:6-7. If the dead spirits know nothing, and they can never
plan or take part in the events taking place in this earth
again as the bible tells us, who then appears whenever one
contacts the spirits of the dead? It is the demons
masquerading as our dead relatives.
See 2 Corinthians 11:13-15. What about the spirit of Samuel
who appeared to Saul? Here I am going to give you a lengthy
explanation so that you can get this clearly.
When Saul inquired for Samuel, the Lord did not cause Samuel
to appear to Saul. He saw nothing. Satan was not allowed to
disturb the rest of Samuel in the grave, and bring him up in
reality to the witch of Endor. God does not give Satan power
to resurrect the dead. But Satan's angels assume the form of
dead friends, and speak and act like them, that through
professed dead friends he can the better carry on his work
of deception. Satan knew Samuel well, and he knew how to
represent him before the witch of Endor, and to utter
correctly the fate of Saul and his sons.
Satan will come in a very plausible manner to such as he can
deceive, and will insinuate himself into their favor, and
lead them almost imperceptibly from God. He wins them under
his control, cautiously at first, until their
perceptibilities become blunted. Then he will make bolder
suggestions, until he can lead them to commit almost any
degree of crime. When he has led them fully into his snare,
he is then willing that they should see where they are, and
he exults in their confusion, as in the case of Saul. He had
suffered Satan to lead him a willing captive, and now Satan
spreads before Saul a correct description of his fate. By
giving Saul a correct statement of his end, through the
woman of Endor, Satan opens a way for Israel to be
instructed by his satanic cunning, that they may, in their
rebellion against God, learn of him, and by thus doing,
sever the last link which would hold them to God.
Saul knew that in this last act, of consulting the witch of
Endor, he cut the last shred, which held him to God. He knew
that if he had not before willfully separated himself from
God, this act sealed that separation, and made it final. He
had made an agreement with death, and a covenant with hell.
The cup of his iniquity was full.
So brethrens, I beseech you then, do not entice yourself in
devil worship by contacting the demons thinking they are the
spirits of the dead.
Your fellow servant in the Lord’s vineyard.
Ezra k. Mingaine
Box 3005
Meru- Kenya
ekmingaine@yahoo.com
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In regard to your question about calling up the spirit(s) of the dead the Bible has much to say. When Saul went to the witch of Endor to call up Samuel the Bible says "So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and for asking of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it"-- 1 Chronicles 10:13. The Bible says that what appeared to Saul was "a familiar spirit", those who speak to familiar spirits were to be stoned (Leviticus 20:27). The Bible forbids the practice of necromancy (communing with the dead) (Deut. 18:11, 12). It might be argued that these texts only forbid using a spiritualist to contact the dead, that it might be alright to contact the dead yourself. Notice though, that the Lord never gave permission for communion with the dead to any one under any circumstances. What makes a spiritist is the fact that they call up the dead. Not all spiritists are professed Devil worships. Many Christians are engaged in this practice, but that does not make it right. The Bible says: "As the cloud is consumed and vanished away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him anymore"-Job 7:9, 10.
Jesse Ravencroft
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I do not believe one can speak to dead people, related or
not. When a person dies, he/she either goes to heaven or
hell. When apparitions speak or appear, I believe it demonic
activity.
The one exception is found in the incident of the witch of
Endor, where she called up Samuel from Paradise. 1 Samuel
28:7-12. "Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman
that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and
enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there
is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul
disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went,
and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night:
and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar
spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul
hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar
spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then
layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? And
Saul swear to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth,
there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he
said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she
cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul,
saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul."
Obviously the woman didn't call up Samuel because she
shrieked out in terror. It had to be God Who allowed this
phenomenon. God warns Christians to shun associations with
withcraft in all of its forms. Their are things that happen
in our world, such as "seeing:, orc "talking to", the
spirits of departed loved ones, but it is of Satan, who
comes in many guises.
Yours in the bonds of Calvary,
Delmer G. Lawson
Jesus loves you, and I do too
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1 Samuel 28 makes it Biblical, but says that it is
prohibited by God & if it actually happened it would scare
the heck out of the witch doing it. (They are used to
talking with demons, not dead people!)
Todd Shilt
