The Unknown Bible - Pastor Bevans Welder

Did the woman with the familiar spirit in 1 Samuel 28 actually call up Samuel? Yes.

It is astonishing that women with familiar spirits can call up spirits that imitate the voice and knowledge of a real person who is deceased. We remember the case of one preacher who was asked by one of his church members to check out a woman leading a séance in their community. The preacher attended the séance and the woman called up his mother. The voice was his mother’s voice and the spirit proved itself by identifying two relatives of which the preacher was not aware. So he laughed off the experience as a hoax because these relatives didn’t exist, as far as he knew. However, after some research, he discovered these relatives and all of the information revealed to him by the spirit about these two people was perfectly accurate. So, he went back for a follow-up visit.

At the second séance, his mother’s voice was heard again. This time he said to the spirit, “You told me that if I want to go to heaven I need to trust the shed blood of Jesus for my salvation.” With that, the voice said, “Well, Son, it isn’t like that. If you want to be where I am you need to be a good person.” So, the spirit wouldn’t confess the blood of Jesus Christ and that is how he knew the spirit was false. The spirit was not his mother!! However, isn’t it remarkable that the spirit which spoke with his mother’s voice knew such precise details about his relatives?

Consequently, there is the concern that the spirit called up by the woman of Endor was not really Samuel but rather a spirit that imitated the appearance and voice of Samuel. After all, Israel was warned not to go to “a consulter with familiar spirits,” (Deut 18:11). Nevertheless, a study of the text will reveal that the person who spoke to Saul that day was in fact Samuel. Here is the evidence in 1 Samuel 28:

Verse 12 – The woman cried out when she saw Samuel [this was obviously something unusual for her]

Verse 12 – The woman knew immediately that the man disguised before her was Saul [she didn’t know this until she saw Samuel]

Verse 13 – the woman saw gods ascending out of the earth [evidently not the kind of vision she was used to seeing with her familiar spirit]

Verse 14 – the description of Samuel’s appearance was recognized immediately by Saul

Verse 15 – the Bible says, “And Samuel said to Saul…” If this were a familiar spirit and not really Samuel, the Bible would have said, “And the spirit said to Saul…” The person speaking was Samuel.

Verse 15 – Samuel asked Saul, “Why did you ‘bring me up?’” That is a revealing question because Samuel was in the heart of the earth in Abraham’s Bosom at that time (Lk 16:22; Matt 12:40).

Verses 16-19 – Samuel told Saul the absolute truth concerning every historical and prophetic detail that he revealed to him: the Lord is departed from thee (1 Sam 16:14); the Lord is become thine enemy (1 Sam 26:10); the Lord rent the kingdom out of thine hand (1 Sam 15:28); the Lord hath given the kingdom to David (1 Sam 16:13); you did not obey the voice of the Lord (1 Sam 15:9, 24); you did not execute the wrath of the Lord on Amalek (1 Sam 15:33); the Philistines will win the battle (1 Sam 31:7); and you and your sons will die (1 Sam 31:2). Every detail of the prophecy came to pass exactly as prophesied (Deut 18:21-22). This wouldn’t have happened if the person speaking was a familiar spirit rather than Samuel.

The evidence in the text indicates that Samuel actually came up out of Abraham’s Bosom as on old man covered with a mantle and spoke directly to King Saul about his apostasy and his impending doom.

Hope this helps,

Pastor Welder