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Notice below in the following verse the words “calls up the dead,” is tied to God saying that this is an abomination in His eyes! When you are attempting to call up the dead, you are attempting to try and directly communicate with them.
“When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. 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 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.” (Deuteronomy 18:9).
During Christ’s Earthly ministry – He specifically told his disciples that an example of the Lord’s prayer was to pray to God the Father if we have any specific needs that must be met.
We are also told by John that we can pray to Jesus, for we are told we have an advocate named Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1); And there is one mediator between God the Father and man, who is Christ Jesus.
There is not one verse that I am aware of where He told us that we could also pray direct to dead saints. If God the Father wanted this possibility as an option, then I believe Jesus would have specifically told us so in the New Testament – but He did not!
The fact, that there is Scripture condemning calling up of the dead, it should give us pause that we should not do so!
Scripture continues to say,
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)
“And the person who turns after mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.” (Leviticus 20:6).
Familiar spirits are spirits that you would consider as being familiar to you like the spirit of a dead family member, etc. So if a person turns after communing with familiar spirits (dead family members or even dead saints they think they know), they are prostituting themselves according to God’s Word. Because the Lord our God is a jealous God.
“So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.” (1 Chronicles 10:13).
Saul consulted with a familiar spirit by a witch or medium. He talked with somebody (a spirit) in whom he was familiar with, but this was merely a demon in disguise. This was not really Samuel. The fact, that God condemned Saul for contacting a medium shows that God was not endorsing this particular encounter in any way!
A Hebrew prayer, emphasizing the need to trust solely in Jehovah, declares that “Abraham knows us not” (Isaiah 63:16), i.e., he is unaware of earthly activity, hence, is unable to assist the Israelite people.
It is certain that the dead cannot bring spiritual admonitions from their abode as evidenced by the narrative concerning the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Here are the facts: The rich man had died and his spirit was in the hadean (unseen) realm. He remembered that his brothers who survived him on earth were unprepared to meet God; hence, he wanted them warned. It is obvious that he could not get a message to them, otherwise he would not have requested that Lazarus be sent.
God says in Isaiah 8,
19 “When someone tells 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?
20 Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light…” (Isaiah 8:19-20) (NIV).
...
“When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. 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 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.” (Deuteronomy 18:9).
During Christ’s Earthly ministry – He specifically told his disciples that an example of the Lord’s prayer was to pray to God the Father if we have any specific needs that must be met.
We are also told by John that we can pray to Jesus, for we are told we have an advocate named Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1); And there is one mediator between God the Father and man, who is Christ Jesus.
There is not one verse that I am aware of where He told us that we could also pray direct to dead saints. If God the Father wanted this possibility as an option, then I believe Jesus would have specifically told us so in the New Testament – but He did not!
The fact, that there is Scripture condemning calling up of the dead, it should give us pause that we should not do so!
Scripture continues to say,
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)
“And the person who turns after mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.” (Leviticus 20:6).
Familiar spirits are spirits that you would consider as being familiar to you like the spirit of a dead family member, etc. So if a person turns after communing with familiar spirits (dead family members or even dead saints they think they know), they are prostituting themselves according to God’s Word. Because the Lord our God is a jealous God.
“So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.” (1 Chronicles 10:13).
Saul consulted with a familiar spirit by a witch or medium. He talked with somebody (a spirit) in whom he was familiar with, but this was merely a demon in disguise. This was not really Samuel. The fact, that God condemned Saul for contacting a medium shows that God was not endorsing this particular encounter in any way!
A Hebrew prayer, emphasizing the need to trust solely in Jehovah, declares that “Abraham knows us not” (Isaiah 63:16), i.e., he is unaware of earthly activity, hence, is unable to assist the Israelite people.
It is certain that the dead cannot bring spiritual admonitions from their abode as evidenced by the narrative concerning the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Here are the facts: The rich man had died and his spirit was in the hadean (unseen) realm. He remembered that his brothers who survived him on earth were unprepared to meet God; hence, he wanted them warned. It is obvious that he could not get a message to them, otherwise he would not have requested that Lazarus be sent.
God says in Isaiah 8,
19 “When someone tells 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?
20 Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light…” (Isaiah 8:19-20) (NIV).
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