Saul and the witch of En-dor, rightly divided...

The Word for today:
1 Samuel 27:1 -- 28:25

mark this: 1 Samuel 28:6

Did Samuel come back from the dead to speak to Saul?

The answer is 'No.'

Carefully reading chapter 28 is not enough to answer the question. Some Bible questions, like this one, demand a careful consideration of the whole Bible -- everything scripture has to say on a given topic.

Verse 28:6 tells us that God was not communicating with Saul. So Saul turned to the woman of En-dor.  Suddenly Samuel walks onto the page of your Bible? But is that really Samuel?  Let's consult the rest of the Bible:

• Communicating with the dead is expressly forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:9-14.
• Beginning at Luke 16:20, Jesus tells of the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar. From this parable, we learn that there is a great gulf fixed--a chasm standing between the dead and the living--so that no one can return from the dead to warn us.
• Furthermore, we are told in 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 that 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. But he did not inquire of the Lord.

When we consider the whole of scripture, we can conclude that what happens here is supernatural, but that God doesn't have a thing to do with it. This was Satanic from beginning to end. Saul has laid himself wide open for Satan, and Satan has moved in. So what we see in this episode is a false spirit--demons can impersonate (1)--masquerading as Samuel.

It is of the utmost importance that we study the whole Bible systematically:
Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2)

There are 66 books in the Bible. If they are not carefully studied and considered as a whole, your picture of Jesus will be distorted.

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(1) 2 Corinthians 11:14; (2) 2 Timothy 2:15