The Israelites endured many tests and trials after leaving Egypt and often fell short of what was required of them. One test was to have serious consequences that would affect so many. That was when the spies were sent into Canaan.  

In Numbers 13:1-2, we read: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.’” In the following verses, Moses “sent them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the Lord, all of the men who were heads of the children of Israel.”  Their task was to spy out the land and to “see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not” (verses 18-20).

At first sight, this passage might imply that all the tribes, including the tribe of Levi, send out one man from each tribe to spy out the land. However, note the following comments by Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, regarding Numbers 13:2:

“Send thou men… of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man; excepting the tribe of Levi; the reason of which was because they were to have no inheritance in the land, [Deuteronomy] 10:9; but then, to make up the number twelve, the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, are reckoned as two tribes…”

We will address Gill’s rationale, excluding the Levites from the spying mission and God’s subsequent punishment, throughout this Q&A. The outcome of this spying mission was that the spies returned after 40 days (verse 25) and reported on their findings. Of the twelve spies, ten reported that “the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there” (verse 28). In spite of Caleb wanting to go and take immediate possession, the spies (except for Joshua and Caleb) were fearful: “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, ‘The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.’”

Then we read, in Numbers 14:1-3, that all the congregation “lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, ‘If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’” Joshua was, like Caleb, positive about what they could achieve with God’s help (verses 6-9), but the congregation “said to stone them with stones” (verse 10). Moses then interceded for the people (verses 11-19), and God said: “I have pardoned according to your word” (verse 20), but with the proviso that “they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it” (verse 23). 

We read that “all the children of Israel” complained against Moses, but we understand that in the Hebrew, the word for “all” (“kole”) does not have to mean, “every single one.”  It can also mean, “enough,” or “as many as.” We know that Joshua and Caleb did not complain, and there could have been others, such as Miriam, Moses’ and Aaron’s sister, or Eliazar, Aaron’s son. The word “all” can be used to mean a big majority or most of them. For example, when the children of Israel agreed to the conditions laid down by God in Exodus 19:8, “all the people answered together” that they agreed to the conditions. But it stands to reason that some of the constant troublemakers would not have done so.

In Matthew 4:23 we read that “Jesus went about all Galilee.” As with the Hebrew word for “all,” the Greek word, “holos,” can also mean, “throughout.” Christ went throughout much of Galilee, but He did not necessarily visit every little spot in the region. Likewise, the Church of God is commissioned to preach the gospel in all the world as a witness, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14). But this does not mean that every single person will have heard the message, as we also read that after Christ’s return, He will send his messengers to places on the earth that had not heard of Christ (Isaiah 66:19).

God said to Moses that all those who had rejected Him would not see the Promised Land, but this could exclude the Levites, if they had not sent out a spy and if they had not rejected God by siding with those who brought an evil report over the land.

In Numbers 14, verses 29-30, we read: “The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.” These words are interesting, pertaining to those who would not enter the Promised Land: “… all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above Except for Caleb and Joshua…” 

Only those who were numbered and who were at least 20 years of age were not to enter the Promised Land. However, the Levites were not numbered (Numbers 1:47-50). Therefore, they were not included in God’s punishment, and apparently, as Gill’s Exposition surmised, they did not present a man to spy out the land. 

The concept that Levi did not send a spy into the Promised Land is also confirmed by Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed, stating the following:

“The tribe of Levi was not meant to make their living by farming or pasturing the land; their ‘job’ was to serve as priests and Levites in the temple and teach the Torah to the rest of the people. They lived off their sacrificial dues in the Temple… and other tribes were required to give them (their tithes). They lived in special cities that were set aside for them, which were surrounded by parks, but they possessed no agricultural territory. Thus, since they were not ‘interested’ in the land per se, no representative of their tribe was sent to spy out the land.”

God had delivered them out of Egypt with a tremendous display of His awesome power, but when He saw their negative attitudes and their lack of faith and belief in Him and His power, He made His pronouncement and told them that all of the men who had been numbered and who were 20 years and older would not enter into the Promised Land, due to their lack of faith and belief in Him. He said they would all wander in the desert for the next 40 years until they all literally died in the desert, something that they had in fact requested (Numbers 14:2).

It is clear from the above that Joshua and Caleb and those who were under 20 years of age entered the Promised Land, but were these the only ones? In Numbers 1:2-3, the first census of Israel took place, “from twenty years old and above – all who are able to go to war in Israel.”  But remember that we read in verse 49 of the same chapter, that “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel.”

It is also interesting that we are given some idea of the size of the tribe of Levi with the information that it had 22,000 male babies one month old and upward (Numbers 3:39), and 8,580 able-bodied priests from ages thirty to fifty (Numbers 4:47-48).

Talking about the Levites, Matthew Henry’s Commentary states the following: “It was their further honour that as Israel, being a holy people, was not reckoned among the nations, so they, being a holy tribe, were not reckoned among other Israelites, but numbered afterwards by themselves… The service which the Levites were to do about the sanctuary is called (as we render it in the margin) a warfare, [Numbers] 4:23. And, being engaged in that warfare, they were discharged from military services, and therefore not numbered with those that were to go out to war.”  

Therefore, the Levites would not have been included in the punishment of those who were numbered from twenty years and older. Eleazar who was a son of Aaron is a good example (Numbers 4:16). In verse 23, we read that those who performed service in the tabernacle had to be at least 30 years old. Therefore, he and other Levites older than 20 would also have been allowed to enter the Promised Land. We specifically read in Joshua 14:1 that Eleazar the priest distributed the countries of the Promised Land’s inheritance, together with Joshua, to the children of Israel. This means that Eleazar entered the Promised Land, even though he was at least 30 years old when God pronounced His punishment over those who had been numbered from “20 years and older.”  Still, he, as a Levite, entered the Promised Land because the Levites were excluded from the punishment of God.

Lead Writers: Brian Gale and Norbert Link

As we have explained before, the Bible teaches three resurrections—one to eternal life, and two to physical life. But does the Bible tell us anything about the location as to WHERE, exactly, those who have died will be resurrected?

In our Q&A on the “resurrection of the physical body,” we addressed the question as to HOW God will resurrect those who have died. We wrote the following:

“Regarding the resurrection of those who died ‘in Christ,’ that is, in whom God’s Holy Spirit dwelled when they died, we read that they are resurrected with an immortal SPIRITUAL body. God will raise them up to spiritual, immortal and eternal life. God will not first resurrect their dead ‘physical bodies’ and then ‘change’ them into spiritual bodies. Rather, God will resurrect or raise the Christians with spiritual bodies…

“When we die in Christ, our bodies decay. The bodies of those who died in Christ thousands of years ago have completely decayed. They became dust and ashes, as God said that they would (Genesis 3:19)… HOW exactly, will God resurrect those who died in Christ? We know that God gives every man a spirit which separates him from the animals (1 Corinthians 2:11)… The spirit in man records all our thoughts and retains all of our memories, as well as our general outward appearance. We read that the spirit in man goes back to God when man dies. In addition, a Christian receives in his life God’s Holy Spirit, which will also return to God, together with the spirit in man, when the Christian dies… It is through the spirit in man (combined with the Holy Spirit) that God will raise Christians with immortal spiritual bodies…

“The Bible also teaches that all those who did NOT die ‘in Christ’ will be resurrected AFTER the Millennium to be given their chance to choose God’s Way of Life. This is commonly referred to in the Bible as the ‘second resurrection.’ But they will be resurrected as physical beings, not as Spirit beings. When they are raised from the dead, they will receive a new physical body–not a spiritual body. But this does not mean that God will resurrect their identical physical bodies, which they had when they died, and which subsequently decayed in their graves–or which were obliterated in atomic and nuclear blasts in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and in a nuclear war still prophesied to come, or which became ashes during the Holocaust, or which were cremated.

“HOW, exactly, will God resurrect them? God will not raise their physical bodies which had been decayed and decomposed. Rather, He will resurrect them in the same way (albeit to physical life) as He will raise those who died in Christ… When those in the second resurrection are being given physical life, God is not resurrecting their physical bodies, per se… The resurrection to a physical existence in Ezekiel 37, describing the ‘valley of dry bones,’ is of course a vision, and uses figurative terms, to describe a resurrection to physical life. It cannot be used literally to teach a resurrection of the same dead physical bodies. After all, in the vision, the very dry bones speak, verse 11…

“Insofar as the second resurrection is concerned of those who died [about] 1,000 years or even [about] 7,000 years earlier, and whose bodies decayed or were obliterated, God will be using their spirit in man (which returned to God upon death) to create through it a new physical body for them. God will give them a new flesh and blood physical body, as He pleases, using the spirit in man as a ‘mold’ which has retained even the outward appearance of the person.

“This is not to say that the persons will be raised exactly to the same physical existence that they had when they died. For instance, we don’t believe that a person who, through an accident or a birth defect, had only one arm or one leg, will be resurrected to exactly that identical state, but, in all likelihood, with two arms and two legs. We find it reasonable to conclude that blind persons will be raised with eyesight. An aborted fetus will obviously not be resurrected as a fetus, but as a human being who will be capable of living on his own. When Adam and Eve were created, God did not create them as little children, but as grown adults, perhaps in their early or mid-twenties, and He placed in them the spirit in man, even though they were without any prior experience.

“We don’t know how, exactly, God will raise those in the second resurrection. The Bible does not reveal whether a person who died at age 90 will look like a 90-year old person in the second resurrection, or whether he will look like the person that he was when he was in his twenties. But it stands to reason that all will be resurrected to live healthy lives for about one hundred years, which–as the Bible indicates–is most likely the time allotted to them during the Great White Throne Judgment period…”

There are many additional questions regarding the exact way in which God will raise the dead in the resurrections. One question which is repeatedly asked is WHERE exactly the resurrections will take place. Will they take place at the exact location where they were buried? If so, what will happen after their resurrection?

The Bible gives us several indications as to what is going to occur regarding those in the FIRST resurrection to eternal life. First of all, we read that ALL who are in their graves (that would include those who died “in Christ”) will hear the voice of Christ and come forth (John 5:28-29). It appears, therefore, that they will be resurrected at the place of their burial and come forth from there. Of course, as was explained above, their bones decayed, and their resurrection will be to spirit existence; still, it appears that God will raise their spiritual bodies at the place of their burial.

This is apparently generally the case, but not exclusively. For instance, over the millennia, some, if not many Christians, were not buried in a grave, but they might have been cremated or burned, and their ashes might not be deposited anywhere. Or, they might be “buried” in the ocean. Although the Bible does not specifically state this, if no exact location for a “burial” exists, they might be raised at the place where they died.

What will happen immediately after they are raised in the first resurrection? We read that they will be brought to the returning Christ, meeting Him in the air. But how exactly will that occur? Will they know precisely, when they are raised from the dead, that they need to lift themselves up to meet Christ?

The Bible indicates that angels will have an active part in this. We read that when Christ returns, He will send out His angels to gather His elect: “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, FROM ONE END OF HEAVEN TO THE OTHER” (Matthew 24:31).

Notice what we wrote in our Q&A on the “four winds”:

“Consider that some converted Christians will be at the place of safety when Christ returns (compare Revelation 12:14; 3:10). But this is not true for everybody. Others will have survived the Great Tribulation in their respective localities, but some, if not many, will have been, as captives, brought to all kinds of places all over the world (compare Deuteronomy 28:64-68). Others, over the millennia, died in Christ, and they were buried in diverse places. When Christ returns, they will hear His voice and be resurrected to immortality, coming out of their graves (John 5:28-29), or they will be changed to immortality (if they are still alive and Christ’s Spirit dwells in them, 1 Corinthians 15:50-52). Then, the angels of God will gather all of them (Psalm 50:5) and bring them to Christ to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Christ and His saints will then descend together to the Mount of Olives to begin to rule in the KINGDOM OF GOD here on earth (Zechariah 14:4-5; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; Jude 14-15; Daniel 7:14, 22, 27; Revelation 5:10; 20:4).”

It appears, then, that those who died in Christ will basically be raised at the (approximate) location where they were buried or their remains were kept, or, if no such location exists, they might be raised at the place where they died. In any event, after they are raised, angels will come and bring them to the returning Christ, meeting Him in the air.

We might also notice the account of the two witnesses. Judging from the context of the passage, they will be resurrected to eternal life at the time of the first resurrection of all Christians, and at the place of their death. They will hear a voice from heaven, saying to them to come up here, and they will ascend in a cloud (as all Christians will rise on clouds at the time of their resurrection).  It is not specifically mentioned here that angels will be actively guiding them in this process, but the voice from heaven, which might very well be an angelic voice (compare 1 Thessalonians 4:16), suggests this—it most certainly does not contradict Christ’s statement in Matthew 24:31.

Where will those in the SECOND and THIRD resurrections to physical life be raised?

It appears that the dead will also be raised at the (approximate) locations WHERE they were buried or where their remains were kept, or where they died.

For instance, we read in Ezekiel 37—even though this passage is just a vision—that the dry bones of the Israelites are being resurrected at a certain location, and that afterwards, the resurrected people will be transported to the land of Israel; that is, however one wants to look at this vision, the thought is being conveyed here that they are not resurrected right away in the Promised Land where they will finally end up living. Notice God’s words in Ezekiel 37:12: “O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves [they will hear the voice of Christ and come out of their graves, as we read in John 5:28-29], and BRING YOU into the land of Israel.”

We find also an interesting passage regarding those who will be resurrected in the third resurrection: “The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades [the grave] delivered up the dead who were in them” (Revelation 20:13). This seems to indicate that their resurrection to physical life will take place approximately at the location where their death and/or their burial took place. But what is going to happen next, especially for those who died at sea—both in the third and the second resurrection? (We might think of all the Egyptians, for example, who drowned and died in the Red Sea). Since they will be resurrected to physical life, they would not be able to survive for long in the sea, unless some supernatural event would occur. And the Bible says that it will.

In regard to the third resurrection, we are specifically told that God will send His angels to gather the incorruptible wicked out of the kingdom and cast them into the lake of fire (Matthew 13:41-42). So, wherever those who have committed the unpardonable sin will be resurrected, angels will transport them supernaturally from there to the place where the lake of fire will be situated, to be burned up and destroyed. But before they are destroyed, they will appear before the judgment seat of Christ (apparently in Jerusalem), to be judged and condemned by Him, each one according to his works (Revelation 20:13-14).

It stands to reason, then, that angels will also be actively involved in regard to those who will be raised in the second resurrection. They too will end up standing before God (Revelation 20:12). In fact, we read that ALL will stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10-12). Somehow, they have to be brought to Christ. Undoubtedly, angels will play a part in this, but remember that those who have qualified to become God beings in the Kingdom of God will also rule and judge, under Christ (compare Daniel 7:18, 21-22, 27; Revelation 22:5). Even though the Bible does not specifically explain the exact nature of their involvement at the time of the second resurrection of their loved ones who had died, without having been called to salvation in this day and age, we feel rather confident that those immortal God beings will be right there, with Christ, when their physical loved ones will be brought by the angels to Jesus Christ. Some of the immortal God beings might even be there at the very place of the resurrection of their loved ones, to bring them, with the angels, to Christ.

When Christ was resurrected, He manifested himself and appeared to Mary Magdalene, to the other Mary, the eleven disciples, to other disciples and to His half-brothers, and these appearances confirmed to His unconverted family members what He had told them before, and they had undoubtedly a major impact on their conversion.

Now assume that you have been called in this day and age, and that you will qualify for the Kingdom of God and enter into eternal life at the time of Christ’s return. Continue to think of your loved ones, friends and relatives who had heard the truth to an extent, but had died before Christ’s return, unable to accept the truth, because they were not called then. Imagine that they will be resurrected in the second resurrection and see you right there and then (as you will manifest yourself to their eyes, as Christ did in front of His relatives and friends). What a great impact will that fact have on them? They will realize that God’s Word, which they had been taught, had been true, and it can be assumed that most will gladly embrace the opportunity then to become converted and enter the Family of God.

Realizing all of this, what a great and tremendous responsibility we have today—those of us who have been called and chosen in this life to salvation—to make our calling and election sure, so that we can be there, as immortal God beings, to help our loved ones, friends and relatives in the second resurrection, to also come to the knowledge of the truth!

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

There have indeed been many reports over the centuries about the White House being haunted and visited by “ghosts,” and quite recently, it was claimed that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has had encounters with ghosts.

“Roll Call” wrote on June 6, 2012, that “Pelosi… recounted an unusual anecdote about how the ghosts of past women leaders spoke to her at her first White House meeting as Speaker… in 2006… ‘I realized that on that chair with me was Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Hall, Lucretia Mott, you name it, they were all there… And I could hear them say “at last we have a seat at the table,”’ Pelosi said.”

The “Wikipedia Encyclopedia” writes: “There have been several stories about ghosts of former Presidents revisiting the White House. However, the most common and popular is that of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln’s Ghost, or to others as The White House Ghost, is said to have haunted the White House since his death.”

The website of haunted-places.com states: “The White House has a reputation for being one of the most haunted homes in America. President Harry Truman said the place was haunted ‘sure as shooting.’ Kennedy’s Press Secretary James Haggerty admitted to sensing the presence of Lincoln’s ghost in the White House, and Clinton’s Press Secretary Mike McCurry admitted he was a believer… Hillary Rodham Clinton said: ‘There is something about the house at night that you just feel like you are summoning up the spirits of all the people who have lived there and worked there and walked through the halls there.’…

“There have been many séances in the White House, but the majority occurred during the administration of Abraham Lincoln. While living in the White House, he and his wife held several séances in the Green Room in an attempt to contact the spirit of their son, Willie, who died there… [Some claim that while Mrs. Lincoln had numerous séances in the White House, Abraham only participated in one]. In his book The Choice, Bob Woodward of Watergate fame describes how in 1995, a séance was held by psychic Jean Houston in the White House solarium, during which Hillary sank into a trance and channeled the spirits of Eleanor Roosevelt and Mahatma Gandhi… [While some White House officials have disputed the use of the term, ‘séance,’ they did not dispute the events described by Woodward.]

“Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was a guest of the White House when she heard a knock on her bedroom door in the middle of the night. When she answered it, Lincoln stood before her with his famous top hat and all. The Queen fainted, and when she came [to], he was gone. Britain’s Winston Churchill refused to sleep there after sighting President Abraham Lincoln’s ghost lurking about… in the Lincoln Bedroom… He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Abraham Lincoln standing by the fireplace in the room, leaning on the mantle. The two men looked each other in the face… as Lincoln’s apparition slowly faded away.

“Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Margaret Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy, Ladybird Johnson [wife of Lyndon Johnson], Susan Ford [Gerald Ford’s daughter], and Maureen Reagan [Ronald Reagan’s daughter] have all admitted sensing the presence of the Civil War president in the White House… Maureen and her husband, Dennis Revell, both saw Lincoln’s transparent form next to the bedroom’s fireplace.”

On July 9, 2009, “Weekly World News” reported this:

“Just as Bill Clinton did before him, President Barack Obama is now getting help in the White House – from Abraham Lincoln’s ghost! A government insider has revealed that Honest Abe’s apparition has been seen in the Oval Office on several occasions, quietly conferring with the President on vital world issues!… In a 1993 issue, Weekly World News stunned the world with its exclusive story that the Great Emancipator was helping President Clinton guide America’s ship of state through troubled waters…”

History.com adds:

“The most famous address in America–1600 Pennsylvania Avenue–is also perhaps the country’s most famous haunted house. Presidents, first ladies, White House staff members and guests have reported feeling ghostly presences, hearing unexplained noises and even running into actual apparitions–even on the way out of the bathtub, in one particularly famous case [that of Winston Churchill].”

The Daily Mail wrote on November 5, 2009:

“The daughter of former President George W. Bush… Jenna Bush Hager told chat show host Jay Leno she had been terrified by spooky events near the fireplace in her bedroom [in the White House]. The 27-year-old teacher, who now works as an education correspondent for the Today Show, said: ‘I heard a ghost. I was asleep, there was a fireplace in my room and all of a sudden I heard 1920’s music coming out. I could feel it, I freaked out and ran into my sister’s room. She was like “Please go back to sleep this is ridiculous.”

“The next week we were both asleep in my room, the phone had rang and woke us up. We were talking and going back to bed when all of a sudden we heard this opera, coming out of the fireplace. We couldn’t believe it, we both jumped in bed and were asking the people that worked there the next morning “Are we crazy?” We tried to rationalise it, but they said they heard it there all the time.’…

“The former first daughter confessed she had never seen Abraham Lincoln’s ghost – which is said to regularly haunt the White House – but wished she had.”

So, are there ghosts of those who died, which may appear to us or haunt us? And, can we get in touch with and communicate with them, either directly or through a medium in a séance? And—should we try to do this? Closely related to these questions is the concept of necromancy.

The “Wikipedia Encyclopedia” has this to say:

“Early necromancy was related to – and most likely evolved from – shamanism, which calls upon spirits such as the ghosts of ancestors… Necromancy was prevalent throughout Western antiquity with records of its practice in Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome… There are also several references to necromancers… in the Bible. The Book of Deuteronomy… explicitly warns the Israelites against engaging in the Canaanite practice of divination from the dead…

“Some Christian writers later rejected the idea that humans could bring back the spirits of the dead and interpreted such shades as disguised demons instead, thus conflating necromancy with demon summoning. Caesarius of Arles entreats his audience to put no stock in any demons or gods other than the Christian God, even if the working of spells appears to provide benefit. He states that demons only act with divine permission and are permitted by God to test Christian people…”

Here we have indeed the answer to the questions as to the existence of ghosts, haunted houses and the attempts of the living to communicate with the ghosts or the souls of the dead. In short, ghosts of deceased people do not exist, but demons do. And if there is a place which is truly haunted, it signifies the presence or activities of demons. And if one is successful in communicating with the “other side,” either directly or during a séance or through a medium, he is not communicating with the ghosts of loved ones, but with demons.

In our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”, we explain that the dead are asleep in their graves, waiting for the resurrection. They have no consciousness, and their “ghosts” or spirits do not live on. We then explain the following regarding alleged “communications with the dead”:

The attempts to communicate with the dead seem to be as old as mankind. Ancient Israel was specifically warned not to try to engage in such practices. We read in Leviticus 19:31, “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them…” So it is possible, although prohibited by God, to seek after “familiar spirits.” But are those “familiar spirits” the departed spirits or souls of dead people, as some claim?… Leviticus 20:6 and 27 tell us, “And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person…A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death.” (NKJB)….

Acts 16:16–19 gives us a clue who or what those familiar spirits are: “Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, ‘These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.’ And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And he came out that very hour.” (NKJB).

This spirit of divination was a familiar spirit—a demon. It was not a departed soul…

We read in 1 Samuel 28, in the New King James Bible, that Saul consulted a woman who was a medium. The Authorized Version describes her as a woman “with a familiar spirit.” [In the Hebrew it says literally that she was “the possessor of a spirit,” in other words, of a demon.]… Saul consulted a witch possessed with a demon. This witch was asked by Saul to bring up Samuel. We read in Verse 12, “When the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice.” (NKJB). The following passage tells us that Saul saw nothing. He asked the woman, “What did you see?” Notice her answer, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.” (Verse 13—NKJB). When she described the form of that spirit as one of an old man, we are told that “Saul perceived that it [was] Samuel.” (Verse 14). The word “was” is not in the original. So one could add “pretended to be,” “appeared to be,” “claimed to be,” etc….

Saul did not see the “spirit” or “ghost” or “soul” of Samuel at all. Samuel had died and had been dead for a while (cp. 1 Samuel 25:1; 1 Samuel 27:7–8; 1 Samuel 31:6; 2 Samuel 1:1–2). God did not answer Saul in dreams or by the prophets (1 Samuel 28:6)—and Samuel was a prophet (Acts 13:20; 1 Samuel 3:20). When the “old man” appeared and answered Saul, that could not have been Samuel or his spirit or departed soul—otherwise, Samuel would have answered Saul in the capacity of a prophet of God. We also read in 1 Chronicles 10:13–14, that this séance was not of God—rather, Saul was killed by God because of conducting it. Saul died “for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; and inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him.”

We read that “Samuel” answered Saul and told him that Saul would die the next day. The real Samuel, dead and in the grave, could not have known that [because] the dead “know not any thing.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5). But Satan and demons do sometimes know God’s plan and purpose (cp. 1 Kings 22:19–23; Revelation 12:12; James 2:19). So it is clear that the demon, the familiar spirit, pretended to be Samuel, and spoke as Samuel to the witch…

The true Samuel… would have never spoken to Saul through a witch, especially after God had refused to talk to Saul. And God would not have supernaturally brought Samuel—or his soul or his spirit—back to life, to allow him to speak to Saul through a witch—after God had refused to speak to Saul directly.

The concept that the souls or spirits of dead people can be contacted is demonic. Isaiah 8:19 tells us, “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?” (NKJB). To consult mediums (those possessed with demons or familiar spirits) and God is incompatible. Also, Isaiah is not saying here that the spirits of the dead can be consulted. He is asking, “Should anyone try to seek the dead?’

Notice, too, Isaiah 29:4, “…thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground.” This is a reference to the voice of a demon, a familiar spirit that has possessed the medium. It may appear as if the medium speaks, but it is, in fact, the demon within the medium that does the speaking. That is why Paul, in Acts 16:16–19, spoke to the familiar spirit or demon of the possessed slave girl—and not to the slave girl herself.

Notice Deuteronomy 18:10–11, “There shall not be found among you any one that… useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.” A “necromancer” is somebody who “consults with the dead, or with a spirit to answer questions.” Note, how the New American Bible brings this phrase, “…one who consults ghosts and spirits or seeks oracles from the dead.” This phrase does not say that communication with the dead is possible—it tells us, though, not to try it, as this will bring us in contact with demons.

The very concept of communication with the dead is demonic. If people feel the presence of a ghost or “see” an apparition, thinking they have seen the ghost of Abraham Lincoln or another famous figure, they have either had a vivid imagination, or they have been fooled by demons. To wish to meet a “ghost” or communicate with one is not only foolish, it is VERY dangerous.

We should not allow ourselves to be fooled by strange events, stemming from the occult, which may be “entertaining,” “interesting” or “appealing to our senses.” The author of this article was present once at a show with a famous hypnotizer who told several volunteers on stage that they could not remember their names, and when they were asked, they did not answer. Later, the author talked to one of the volunteers, who told him that he could of course remember his name, but that it felt as if a powerful force prevented him from saying it.

In another incident, a person known to the author had engaged in the practice of Transcendental Meditation, which requires the repeated silent repetition of a certain Indian word—a mantra. These words are derived from Indian mysticism and designate the name of a god—and in the Indian belief system, these gods are both good and evil. The person told the author that he had been sensing that someone was following him, but when turning his head, there was nobody there.

This incident is interesting in light of the following account, which was published by the late Earl Murray in “Ghosts of the Old West,” pertaining to a personal experience with a “haunted house”:

“For a botany class, a girlfriend and I were collecting wild plants on a lonely hillside below the Gellatin River some distance from town. Along the river bottom was an old abandoned house… My girlfriend commented on the strange feelings she was getting from the house and I had to agree with her… At dusk we began the trip back to Bozeman. A short way down the road, my girlfriend broke off what she was saying in midsentence. We looked at each other, then turned to the backseat. We saw nothing, but both of us felt a presence back there—a strong presence that scared us. 

“The remainder of the trip was a mixture of confusion and near terror. Who or what was in the backseat and why was it there? Why wouldn’t it go away?… Finally, the presence seemed to go away and we relaxed. I dropped her off at her dormitory and parked my car. Later, in my own dorm room, whatever it was came back. It was late and I had just gotten into bed. I was lying on my stomach with my pillow curled up under my head, nearly asleep, when I felt something enter the room. Now I was wide awake. Then I felt the edge of my bed settling, as if someone had just sat down. I couldn’t move; fear had petrified me. My arms and legs, my whole body, seemed numbed with shock. I couldn’t make my mouth move even to yell.

“Finally, after what seemed an intolerable long time, the pressure on the edge of my bed lessened and the feeling in the room dissipated… Whatever had been there was gone.”

Apparently, Murray concluded that the presence stemmed from the ghost of a departed one, which had followed him from the “haunted house.” However, in reality, this presence would have stemmed from a demon. The author of this article is familiar with accounts of people who had very similar experiences. In some cases, they occurred when a person did things, unrelated to the “occult,” which he or she knew were wrong. In other cases, persons allowed themselves to get involved with strange phenomena “from the other side” or “the occult,” including getting hypnotized, attending séances, or getting engaged in far eastern “meditation” practices.

Whatever the case may be, the only lasting way to free oneself from such occurrences is to pray to the true God of heaven for help and to stop doing what is wrong. Any further engagement with the “occult” must cease at once. In the book of Acts, those who had been involved with witchcraft, sorcery and other dark practices burnt their books of magic in the presence of all, when they began to believe in the true God and realized that such “dark” practices were wrong and dangerous (Acts 19:18-19). In some cases, it might be necessary to request an anointed cloth to be freed from the presence of demons (Acts 19:11-12). In cases of real possession, the casting out of demons through a true minister of God may be necessary (Mark 16:17).

In any event, the safest course of action is NEVER to want to get involved with spirits or ghosts (in reality, with demons) in any way. This would include, staying away from alleged haunted houses, participating in séances, consulting mediums, or becoming hypnotized or engaged in obscure far eastern meditation practices. Even the viewing of certain scary movies with ghosts and demons could lead to undesired results. The same is true for participation in wrong and ungodly religious practices. Paul warns us not to come in contact with demons in any way (1 Corinthians 10:14-22).

For further information, please view our StandingWatch program, “Does Lincoln’s Ghost Haunt the White House?”

Lead Writer: Norbert Link