If the living cannot communicate with the dead, then how do you explain King Saul’s experience with the witch of Endor in 1 Samuel 28?
First, let’s remind ourselves of the Lord’s attitude toward witches and necromancers:
“Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:31
“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.” Leviticus 20:27
“And when they say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:19–20
God makes it clear in the Bible that we should stay away from mediums, witches, sorcerers, necromancers, and people who practice spiritualism. In fact, Saul knew the Lord’s feelings toward such practices and had banned all spiritists from the land at one time (1 Samuel 28:9). So by entertaining this witch and her practices, Saul set himself up for deception. The Spirit of the Lord had already left him, and had been replaced by an evil spirit (1 Samuel 16:14).
So, was Saul actually visited by the dead spirit of Samuel the prophet? The following verses give us clear insight (emphasis supplied):
“And the king said to her, ‘Do not be afraid. What did you see?’ And the woman said to Saul, ‘I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.’ So he said to her, ‘What is his form?’ And she said, ‘An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle.’ And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down.” 1 Samuel 28:13–14
You will notice two things by reading those texts. First, Saul doesn’t actually see Samuel’s “dead spirit.” He’s trusting the description given to him by the witch. Secondly, verse 14 says that Saul “perceived” that it was Samuel. In other words, he relied on the description of the witch and thought it to be Samuel. However, based on a deeper study of God’s Word, we know this was impossible because “the dead know nothing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5–6, 10).
Therefore, Saul did not see Samuel, but was deceived by a witch who conjured up a demonic spirit impersonating the prophet. Remember, even demons can deceive, work miracles, and appear as Christ’s messengers (2 Corinthians 11:13–15; Revelation 16:14; 1 Timothy 4:1).