The Dead Still Living?

Scripture teaches us the facts about the dead:

• Psalms 6:3-5 My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long? Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake. For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

• Psalms 115:17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
• Psalms 146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish
• Ecclesiastes 9:5,6  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

• Isaiah 38:18-19, "For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth."

The dead cannot communicate with anyone, cannot think, cannot praise God, cannot dream “his thoughts perish,” the dead do not know anything. They are asleep.  A majority of times the word  “sleep” is used as a metaphor for “dead.”  (1Kings 2:10, 11:43, 14:31, 15:8, 15:24, 16:6, 16:28, 22:40, 22:50 2 Kings 8:24,10:35, 13:9, 13:13, 14:16, 14:22, 14:29, 15:7, 15:22, 15:38,16:20, 20:21,21:18, 24:6, 2 Chron 9:31, 12:16, 14:1, 16:13, 21:21, 26:2, 26:23, 27:9, 28:27,32:33, 33:20; John 11:11-13; 1 Cor. 11:30; 1 Cor. 15:51; 1 Thess. 4:14; 1Thess. 5:10).

There are objections, and I will go over one of them. It has to do with Samuel coming up from the grave when Saul went to visit a medium, a person who can supposedly bring up and communicate with the dead.  The reader might want to stop and read 1 Samuel 28:7-19.

In 1 Samuel 28:7 it says:

“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.”

The Young’s Literal translation says:

 “And Saul saith to his servants, ‘Seek for me a woman possessing a familiar spirit, and I go unto her, and inquire of her;’ and his servants say unto him, ‘Lo, a woman possessing a familiar spirit in Endor.’”

Notice the term “familiar spirit.”  In some translations it has “medium” or “divining spirit.”  The term “familiar spirit” actually means “a mutterer,” or speaking with a strange, hollow sound -as if one were "channeling," with a dead person speaking through them.

Now God was against anyone who was involved with familiar spirits and they were to be put to death:

• “There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God,” Deuteronomy 18:10-13
• “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.”  Leviticus 19:31
• "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." Leviticus 20:27

Was God so against this because it’s possible that humans do exist in a disembodied state and continue to live once they die and are able to communicate with the living?  No. This incident is not for the purpose of proving that the dead still live. God sent prophets and angels to tell the people what they needed to know.  The people were to seek God, not other people who made false claims. Those in the occult practice only hear from demons. Those who claim to be able to communicate with the dead are really under deception of a demonic spirit. 

In 1 Samuel 25:1 we read of Samuel’s death. Samuel was a great prophet and friend and mentor to Saul. When Saul rebelled against the LORD, Samuel would do his best to challenge Saul to repent and turn to God.

When it came to driving out those in the practice of occultic arts, Saul was obedient to follow God’s command. (Leviticus 19:31; 20:6, 27 and in Deuteronomy 18:9-14)

After the death of Samuel, a time came when the Philistines were gaining further entrance into Saul’s kingdom and he was losing courage.  When he prayed he was not hearing from the LORD nor hearing any messages through prophets or through dreams.  God was silent. 1 Samuel 28:6 reads:

“And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.”

So what does Saul do?  He turns to a medium, a woman who has a familiar spirit.  In verse 8 it reads:

“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.”

Now what Saul did was bad.  He went against what God told His people not to do. There is a passage in 1 Chronicles 10:13 that relates to this incident:

“ So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one who had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it.”

So Saul wants his servants to find a medium and when they tell him of one, he disguises himself and pays her a visit. In verses 7, 8 and 9 it reads:

So Saul instructed his servants,“Find me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants replied to him, “There is a woman who is a medium in Endor.”  So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing and left, accompanied by two of his men. They came to the woman at night and said, “Use your ritual pit to conjure up for me the one I tell you.”  But the woman said to him, “Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed the mediums and magicians from the land! Why are you trapping me so you can put me to death?”

This woman knew the penalty was death and thought these guys were trying to trap her.  And the story continues:

“But Saul swore to her by the LORD, "As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing." Then the woman said, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" He said, "Bring up Samuel for me." 1 Sam. 28:10-11

Now the following verses are going to bring some difficulty after what we have learned about living soul, spirit, death, and sleep and how no one continues to live in a disembodied state once they die.  People will use this story to prove that one does continue to exist in a disembodied state once they are dead. 

Some will say it’s actually a demon she sees.  But I have a problem with this being a demon for near the end this supposed demon gives an accurate prophesy concerning Saul's life and that of his sons.

In the next verse we read:

“When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed. Then she turned to Saul and said, "You've tricked me! You're the king!" v. 12

Now I want to say that people who say they can bring up the dead and communicate with them are deceivers.  They cannot communicate with the dead and they know it, for this woman screams out with a loud voice. In other words, she is SHOCKED by what she sees and hears because she has encountered something genuinely real and not fake. It also appears she has been told who Saul was and asks Saul why did he deceive her!  She was afraid by what she saw, and was told, and also feared for her life since she knew the consequences of her practice.  And for that matter, why would one fear for their life if they believe they still live after they die?

This woman saw something and she was traumatized, which I believe sent a message to her as well since she knew she was nothing but a fake who made bogus claims to be able to contact and communicate with the dead.

But Saul tells her:

Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. (v.13)

She didn’t say she saw Samuel, but “gods.” The Hebrew word for “god” is “Elohim,”which can apply to the One True God, false gods, angels, and human leaders or kings and judges.  Saul didn’t see this manifestation.  He asked the woman, the medium, to describe what she saw. Verse 14 says:

“And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh 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 himself.” (v14)

Note it says Saul perceived it was Samuel because of the medium’s description.  However, in the next verse we read:

And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.” (v. 15)

But now we have Samuel talking with Saul. I personally do not believe, in the literal sense, that Samuel literally ascended out of the earth.  But I do believe that this was a genuine appearance of some sort because of the reaction of the medium. I believe it was a vision of Samuel just as Moses and Elijah (who are still in the grave) appeared with Jesus on the mountain and seen by the three disciples and described by Jesus as a vision. Matthew 17:1-9

I do not believe the woman of Endor had any power to bring up Samuel. I believe that what she saw was by no power of her own, for she did not have such ability, but God used the opportunity and used the appearance of Samuel, this apparition, for the purpose of rebuking Saul and pronouncing his destiny that would follow the next day. We read:

And Samuel said, "Why then do you ask me, since the LORD has turned from you and become your enemy?  The LORD has done to you as he spoke by me, for the LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the LORD has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the LORD will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me.The LORD will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines." Vvs. 16-18

God departed from Saul because Saul had departed from God.  Samuel says the LORD turned away from Saul and God was his enemy.  Why?  We find that answer in 1 Samuel chapter 15.  And because of Saul’s disobedience, God had torn the kingdom out of Saul’s hand. Also note where Samuel says, “and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me.”  A couple of things to note:

1. If we are to believe that when a person dies they go to be with the LORD, Samuel would have to be “brought down” and not “brought up!”   Samuel was “brought up.”
2. And if one lives in the presence of the LORD in a disembodied state when he dies, and Samuel tells Saul “tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me,”  then this would mean that this disobedient King would also be in and enjoying the presence of the LORD!

To be with Samuel does not mean to continue to live in a disembodied state and enjoying the presence of the LORD, but  simply means to join him in the state of the dead, Sheol (“gravedom”).

It isn’t until we get to 1 Samuel 31:3-4 that we find out what happened to Saul.  It states:

“And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.

What is obvious is that Saul committed suicide! In 1 Chronicles 10:13 we read:

“So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it.”

Do those who promote that a person goes to be with the LORD when they die really advocating that those who have not repented, commit suicide, and die in their sins are really enjoying heavenly benefits of being with God? 

I remember a story a Christian sister told me one day.  Her daughter tried to commit suicide.  When her mother asked her why, her daughter’s response was that she was going to be with Jesus anyway.  What a sad mistaken idea.  I believe there would be fewer suicides if people were told the truth about death and the judgment to come for the just and the unjust, and this judgment is not when we immediately die!  No one goes to heaven or hell immediately upon death.  They go to the grave and await the resurrection.