How Do We Know the Witch of Endor Didn't Just Summon a Familiar Spirit? — Michael Heiser
- Andy McIlvain
- 12 hours ago
- 1 min read
Video from John 14:6
How Do We Know the Witch of Endor Didn't Just Summon a Familiar Spirit? — Michael Heiser
'How Do We Know the Witch of Endor Didn't Just Summon a Familiar Spirit? In a discussion on 1 Samuel 28, where Saul consults the Witch of Endor to summon Samuel, the speaker affirms it was genuinely Samuel—not a familiar spirit or demonic counterfeit—based on the conversation's content (reiterating Samuel's prior warnings to Saul) and the absence of any textual reason to doubt it, while noting God sovereignly permitted the event for reasons unknown. Old Testament prohibitions on divination (Deut. 18) aren't because such practices don't work but because humans lack authority to solicit or control the spiritual realm, which is dangerous and deceptive; God regulates access via approved means like the ephod, Urim/Thummim, lots, or prophets prompted by divine initiative (not human solicitation), as validated by direct encounters with God. Necromancy is forbidden, yet prophetic acts overlap with divination when God-directed, emphasising authority and source over the method itself. Post-New Testament, no permission exists to seek spirit information—we have Scripture instead—protecting believers from harm in a realm filled with deceiving entities; the speaker urges caution against modern "revelation" claiming scriptural authority (baloney), though God may provide personal guidance like dreams without binding the church. Afterlife language (e.g., "other side") is metaphorical for embodied humans, lacking physical geography, so precision shouldn't be over-forced; ultimately, seek divine info only through God's prescribed channels.' from the video introduction
Comments