38. STAY AWAY FROM SPIRITUALISMCan the dead help us to know the future?
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What happens after someone dies? Can the dead speak to us? Can the dead help us to know the future? These are important questions. Questions that only God’s holy book can answer. In this lesson we will look at the experience of a man who wanted to know the future so bad that he visited a witch to get answers from a dead prophet. Was it right for him to do so? Was it helpful for him? Did it harm him? If you have ever thought about visiting a medicine man, or yearned to have someone help you know the future through card reading, palm reading or other supernatural arts, then this lesson is for you.
In Istanbul a man and his wife held a séance in their home. They had some land that they wanted to sell and wanted advice before making a decision. After some conversation and the reading of cards, the hodja, a graying woman, asked them if they would like to see or talk to anyone who was dead. They had already received a good fortune about the land they wanted to sell and they were in quite a good mood, so they agreed. As they drank wine together they thought it would be amusing to talk to the form of a beloved actor and comedian who had died. So they sat back, sipped their wine, and waited to see what the hodja could do. It wasn't long before the form of the actor was sitting at the table and speaking with them. Needless to say, they were amazed and delighted at the chance to see such a famous person. After listening to the ghost speak and after listening to his witty humor, they were convinced that it was the dead comedian. When the séance was over they happily paid the hodja a nice fee.
However two weeks later, while the family was watching one of the dead comedian's old black and white movies their 15 year old son suddenly began to have terrible problems. His eyes began rolling around in his head uncontrollably. He was sweating and rolling on the ground as if something were strangling him. The parents were frightened and now needed urgent help. Could the boy’s problem and the family's visit to the hodja be related? As for the family, they were certain there was a connection.
To help us understand what was happening behind the scenes in this true life story, let’s turn to the Holy Bible for wisdom.
You may remember that Saul was chosen to be king over Israel because he was especially tall and well built. But despite these masculine qualities he had problems with low self-esteem. Low self image made Saul jealous, easily irritable, moody and depressive. For example after David defeated the warrior Goliath, Saul should have been grateful for the youth having solved a big national problem. Instead, Saul began to think of ways to kill David! Ultimately, Saul’s dark, depressive thought patterns made him vulnerable to what the Bible calls “an evil spirit.” Let's begin in 1 Samuel chapter 18 verses 6-12:
6 And it happened as they were coming, as David was returning from killing the Philistine that the women came out from all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with instruments of the triad. 7 And the women responded as they played, and said: Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. 8 And Saul was very furious, and the saying made his eyes quiver; and he said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom? 9 So Saul eyed David from that day forward. 10 And it happened on the next day that the evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; and there was a spear in Saul's hand. 11 And Saul threw the spear, for he thought, I will pin David to the wall! But David turned away from his presence twice. 12 And Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah was with him, but had departed from Saul.
David was especially gifted at playing the harp. He was the Orhan Gencebay of his time! King Saul would hire David to play soothing music for him, so he could relax and find relief from the evil spirit that afflicted him. But the more David played, the more bitter and angry Saul became. Saul, overwhelmed with rage and under the in uence of the evil spirit, tried to kill David not once, but twice. You should have no doubt that every evil spirit's goal is to depress and destroy humans.
Moreover, it says that “Saul was afraid of David because Jehovah was with him.” Saul prayed, went to the temple, and did all the things a “good religious man” was supposed to do. But Saul didn’t have God in his heart and so he was afraid. For forty years Saul lived with this terrible hatred and anxiety which nally drove him to madness. Let's make a mental note of two things. First, if God isn't in your life, you will be full of fear. Second, hatred that is held close to the heart only hurts the one holding it. In Saul's case, both came to fruition.
Now the Philistines, who were Saul’s great enemies, had amassed a huge army. The scriptures tell us in 1 Samuel 28:5 that when Saul saw this huge army he trembled in fear. He began to pray, but God didn't answer him.
So what was Saul to do? Well, when God doesn’t immediately answer a prayer you should be patient, study the prophets, and pray more. Instead, Saul allowed his fear to compel him to do something that was directly against God's commandments. We can read about it in chapter 28 verse 7:
7 Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her." And his servants said to him, "Behold, there is a medium at Endor."
Now, this was directly against all that God had said was lawful for his people. Just as a parent might tell a child to never play with matches or a bottle of paint thinner; so too, God told His people not to mess with mediums. Let's read it in Deuteronomy chapter 18 verses 10-14:
10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the re, or one who practices divination, or conjuring, or fortunetelling, or sorcery, 11 or one who charms magic spells, or a medium, or a wizard, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For all who do these things are an abomination unto Jehovah, and because of these abominations Jehovah your God is dispossessing them before you. 13 You shall be perfect before Jehovah your God. 14 For these nations which you shall dispossess listened to fortunetelling and divining. But as for you, Jehovah your God has not consecrated you to such things.
God makes it clear, if you want His help and His support then stay away from witches, sorcerers, and demons. He doesn’t tell us why – other than the strong hint, that these are His enemies. Truly, if you want God as a friend, His enemies must become your enemies. There is no middle ground. Middle ground in warfare is for double agents and traitors. God’s forbidding our involvement with divination is especially important today. Through television and computer games, our children are being trained by the toy and lm industry to love wizards and witches. Could it be that children’s hearts are being trained to love the very things God hates? We can't just ignore what is happening and call these things "games" when really they are the very thing God calls an "abomination." Be careful!
Unfortunately, Saul decided to go to a cinci hodja for help which is like saying, “I decided to go to the mafia to solve my financial
problems.” Of course they might help, but you can bet there will be strings attached. The truth is, the medicine man (note: use what is culturally appropriate) works with demons, and demons have only one agenda – to play with our minds until we come to a fearful end. Let's see what happened when King Saul encountered one in 1 Samuel 28 verses 10-14:
10 “Please divine for me by necromancy, and bring up for me the one I shall say to you. 11 Then the woman said, Whom shall I bring up for you? And he said, Bring up Samuel. 12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul! 13 And the king said to her, Do not be afraid. What have you seen? And the woman said to Saul, I have seen a god- like one ascending out of the earth. 14 And he said to her, What is his appearance? And she said, An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped with a robe. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed down with his face to the ground and prostrated himself.
Here we interrupt the story to mention that what king Saul saw was not really the prophet Samuel. Nor in the story at the beginning of the lesson, was the person the family saw really the dead actor. The Bible tells us this in Solomon’s book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verses 5 and 6:
5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.
The dead don't know anything and don't have feelings. They can't be summoned from the dead and they certainly can't talk. The scriptures teach us that no one will rise from the dead until the resurrection of all men at the end of the world! So if the dead do not know anything, who appeared to King Saul pretending to be the prophet Samuel? Well, the answer is simple. If you go to a cinci hodja, you can expect to see demons! In later lessons we will study this subject in greater detail. But for now suf ce it to say, that Satan and his helpers have broad power to impersonate and even pretend to be something they are not. The demons were impersonating the form of the prophet Samuel, to deceive Saul.
As we continue reading the story in 1 Samuel chapter 28, remember that everywhere we see the name "Samuel" we should be thinking about the "demon pretending to be Samuel". Let's continue with verse 15:
15 “And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, either by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, to make known to me what I should do.”
Then demon proceeded to tell Saul that the next day his army would lose to the Philistines. We can read Saul's response in 1 Samuel 28 verses 20 and 21:
20 Then Saul quickly fell full length on the ground, and was greatly afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night. 21 And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was exceedingly terrified.
Do you think Saul gained courage by going to this witch? Do you think he could now go into battle with con dence that he would have the blessing of God, or that he would have any hope of winning? No! The words of the demon tormented him further. How many people make the same mistake and go to fortune tellers, thinking it will help them, to have more courage?
Thus, Saul’s discouragement was multiplied and his ability to lead shriveled. These are the negative results of dabbling in astrology,
palm reading and tarot cards. The dark aim of all those crafts is to plant seeds of a false destiny so strongly in people’s minds that ultimately that destiny is unavoidable. Certainly for a time, the demons will lead a person along with the sweet sugar cubes of happy, romantic words. But the end is the same, confusion and death.
The next day the armies gathered in great numbers. The scriptures tell us in detail what happened to Saul in 1 Samuel chapter 31 verses 3-5:
3 The battle was heavy against Saul; and the shooting of the archers found him, and he was writhing with exceeding pain from the shooting of the archers. 4 And Saul said to his armorbearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me. But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. 5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul had died, he also fell on his sword, and died with him.
Yes, suicide was Saul’s sad end. Dabbling in sorcery and witchcraft is like irting with death. It is a relationship that none of us should want to be in. Demons play a cruel game. They like to coerce humans by doing a favor once or twice. But you can be sure that the third time will end in misery. Their method is reminiscent of a recent story.
A pizza seller (note: use culturally appropriate word) from a tourist city on the Aegean coast needed money badly. He had unwisely bought a high priced Audi on credit. Within the rst week, before getting insurance, he hit another car. The payments to the other driver really set him back. Plus, the bank was really putting pressure on him to make payments on the Audi, which now sat unusable until he could get it fixed. Caught between these expenses, he let the rent for his Pide shop slide and he soon was four months overdue. He knew he had to do everything he could to keep the shop open. Someone asked him,
“Why don't you borrow money from a jeweler friend I know.”
But he was more than a jeweler, he was a member of the local mafia. Of course he owned a jewelry shop, but his biggest source of income was from the drug trade. So, the pideci went to the jeweler and asked for a loan. Of course he was happy to help with a little interest and the pideci took the loan. The pideci owed 7500 lira in rent which was nothing to the mafia man, but he was expected to pay back double the amount of the loan within 3 months. Now the pideci was in deep. Ninety days passed like the wind. The "jeweler" came twice in one week demanding the money. The pideci thought to himself,
“I probably have a little bit of time. If they kill me, they will never get the money. Besides, no one kills a man for 7500 lira.”
But what he didn’t know was that the banker who had lent him the money for the car owed 450,000 lira to the mafia! The mafia needed an “example” to frighten the banker, so they told him about the pideci’s debt to them. A few days later the banker read that the pideci had been murdered.
Demons are Satan’s mafia. These are filthy and dangerous, and the path they will lead you on leads to death. Don't take the risk of being caught in their net by watching them on lms, television, and video games. God says leave them alone and do not visit their terrible workers: witches, sorcerers, astrologers, and palm readers. Why would you want to go to Satan when you have the Creator of the Universe for help? God alone can give you what you really desire.
Discussion Questions
1. Why did Saul go to the witch of Endor?
2. Why didn’t the witch recognize King Saul?
3. How do we know that what King Saul saw was not really Samuel the prophet?
4. Why would Satan want people to believe that he wants to help them?
5. People sometimes believe that they can get temporary help from supernatural workers and then escape unharmed. Do you think
this is wise reasoning?
In Istanbul a man and his wife held a séance in their home. They had some land that they wanted to sell and wanted advice before making a decision. After some conversation and the reading of cards, the hodja, a graying woman, asked them if they would like to see or talk to anyone who was dead. They had already received a good fortune about the land they wanted to sell and they were in quite a good mood, so they agreed. As they drank wine together they thought it would be amusing to talk to the form of a beloved actor and comedian who had died. So they sat back, sipped their wine, and waited to see what the hodja could do. It wasn't long before the form of the actor was sitting at the table and speaking with them. Needless to say, they were amazed and delighted at the chance to see such a famous person. After listening to the ghost speak and after listening to his witty humor, they were convinced that it was the dead comedian. When the séance was over they happily paid the hodja a nice fee.
However two weeks later, while the family was watching one of the dead comedian's old black and white movies their 15 year old son suddenly began to have terrible problems. His eyes began rolling around in his head uncontrollably. He was sweating and rolling on the ground as if something were strangling him. The parents were frightened and now needed urgent help. Could the boy’s problem and the family's visit to the hodja be related? As for the family, they were certain there was a connection.
To help us understand what was happening behind the scenes in this true life story, let’s turn to the Holy Bible for wisdom.
You may remember that Saul was chosen to be king over Israel because he was especially tall and well built. But despite these masculine qualities he had problems with low self-esteem. Low self image made Saul jealous, easily irritable, moody and depressive. For example after David defeated the warrior Goliath, Saul should have been grateful for the youth having solved a big national problem. Instead, Saul began to think of ways to kill David! Ultimately, Saul’s dark, depressive thought patterns made him vulnerable to what the Bible calls “an evil spirit.” Let's begin in 1 Samuel chapter 18 verses 6-12:
6 And it happened as they were coming, as David was returning from killing the Philistine that the women came out from all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with instruments of the triad. 7 And the women responded as they played, and said: Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. 8 And Saul was very furious, and the saying made his eyes quiver; and he said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom? 9 So Saul eyed David from that day forward. 10 And it happened on the next day that the evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; and there was a spear in Saul's hand. 11 And Saul threw the spear, for he thought, I will pin David to the wall! But David turned away from his presence twice. 12 And Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah was with him, but had departed from Saul.
David was especially gifted at playing the harp. He was the Orhan Gencebay of his time! King Saul would hire David to play soothing music for him, so he could relax and find relief from the evil spirit that afflicted him. But the more David played, the more bitter and angry Saul became. Saul, overwhelmed with rage and under the in uence of the evil spirit, tried to kill David not once, but twice. You should have no doubt that every evil spirit's goal is to depress and destroy humans.
Moreover, it says that “Saul was afraid of David because Jehovah was with him.” Saul prayed, went to the temple, and did all the things a “good religious man” was supposed to do. But Saul didn’t have God in his heart and so he was afraid. For forty years Saul lived with this terrible hatred and anxiety which nally drove him to madness. Let's make a mental note of two things. First, if God isn't in your life, you will be full of fear. Second, hatred that is held close to the heart only hurts the one holding it. In Saul's case, both came to fruition.
Now the Philistines, who were Saul’s great enemies, had amassed a huge army. The scriptures tell us in 1 Samuel 28:5 that when Saul saw this huge army he trembled in fear. He began to pray, but God didn't answer him.
So what was Saul to do? Well, when God doesn’t immediately answer a prayer you should be patient, study the prophets, and pray more. Instead, Saul allowed his fear to compel him to do something that was directly against God's commandments. We can read about it in chapter 28 verse 7:
7 Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her." And his servants said to him, "Behold, there is a medium at Endor."
Now, this was directly against all that God had said was lawful for his people. Just as a parent might tell a child to never play with matches or a bottle of paint thinner; so too, God told His people not to mess with mediums. Let's read it in Deuteronomy chapter 18 verses 10-14:
10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the re, or one who practices divination, or conjuring, or fortunetelling, or sorcery, 11 or one who charms magic spells, or a medium, or a wizard, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For all who do these things are an abomination unto Jehovah, and because of these abominations Jehovah your God is dispossessing them before you. 13 You shall be perfect before Jehovah your God. 14 For these nations which you shall dispossess listened to fortunetelling and divining. But as for you, Jehovah your God has not consecrated you to such things.
God makes it clear, if you want His help and His support then stay away from witches, sorcerers, and demons. He doesn’t tell us why – other than the strong hint, that these are His enemies. Truly, if you want God as a friend, His enemies must become your enemies. There is no middle ground. Middle ground in warfare is for double agents and traitors. God’s forbidding our involvement with divination is especially important today. Through television and computer games, our children are being trained by the toy and lm industry to love wizards and witches. Could it be that children’s hearts are being trained to love the very things God hates? We can't just ignore what is happening and call these things "games" when really they are the very thing God calls an "abomination." Be careful!
Unfortunately, Saul decided to go to a cinci hodja for help which is like saying, “I decided to go to the mafia to solve my financial
problems.” Of course they might help, but you can bet there will be strings attached. The truth is, the medicine man (note: use what is culturally appropriate) works with demons, and demons have only one agenda – to play with our minds until we come to a fearful end. Let's see what happened when King Saul encountered one in 1 Samuel 28 verses 10-14:
10 “Please divine for me by necromancy, and bring up for me the one I shall say to you. 11 Then the woman said, Whom shall I bring up for you? And he said, Bring up Samuel. 12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul! 13 And the king said to her, Do not be afraid. What have you seen? And the woman said to Saul, I have seen a god- like one ascending out of the earth. 14 And he said to her, What is his appearance? And she said, An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped with a robe. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed down with his face to the ground and prostrated himself.
Here we interrupt the story to mention that what king Saul saw was not really the prophet Samuel. Nor in the story at the beginning of the lesson, was the person the family saw really the dead actor. The Bible tells us this in Solomon’s book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verses 5 and 6:
5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.
The dead don't know anything and don't have feelings. They can't be summoned from the dead and they certainly can't talk. The scriptures teach us that no one will rise from the dead until the resurrection of all men at the end of the world! So if the dead do not know anything, who appeared to King Saul pretending to be the prophet Samuel? Well, the answer is simple. If you go to a cinci hodja, you can expect to see demons! In later lessons we will study this subject in greater detail. But for now suf ce it to say, that Satan and his helpers have broad power to impersonate and even pretend to be something they are not. The demons were impersonating the form of the prophet Samuel, to deceive Saul.
As we continue reading the story in 1 Samuel chapter 28, remember that everywhere we see the name "Samuel" we should be thinking about the "demon pretending to be Samuel". Let's continue with verse 15:
15 “And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, either by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, to make known to me what I should do.”
Then demon proceeded to tell Saul that the next day his army would lose to the Philistines. We can read Saul's response in 1 Samuel 28 verses 20 and 21:
20 Then Saul quickly fell full length on the ground, and was greatly afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night. 21 And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was exceedingly terrified.
Do you think Saul gained courage by going to this witch? Do you think he could now go into battle with con dence that he would have the blessing of God, or that he would have any hope of winning? No! The words of the demon tormented him further. How many people make the same mistake and go to fortune tellers, thinking it will help them, to have more courage?
Thus, Saul’s discouragement was multiplied and his ability to lead shriveled. These are the negative results of dabbling in astrology,
palm reading and tarot cards. The dark aim of all those crafts is to plant seeds of a false destiny so strongly in people’s minds that ultimately that destiny is unavoidable. Certainly for a time, the demons will lead a person along with the sweet sugar cubes of happy, romantic words. But the end is the same, confusion and death.
The next day the armies gathered in great numbers. The scriptures tell us in detail what happened to Saul in 1 Samuel chapter 31 verses 3-5:
3 The battle was heavy against Saul; and the shooting of the archers found him, and he was writhing with exceeding pain from the shooting of the archers. 4 And Saul said to his armorbearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me. But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. 5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul had died, he also fell on his sword, and died with him.
Yes, suicide was Saul’s sad end. Dabbling in sorcery and witchcraft is like irting with death. It is a relationship that none of us should want to be in. Demons play a cruel game. They like to coerce humans by doing a favor once or twice. But you can be sure that the third time will end in misery. Their method is reminiscent of a recent story.
A pizza seller (note: use culturally appropriate word) from a tourist city on the Aegean coast needed money badly. He had unwisely bought a high priced Audi on credit. Within the rst week, before getting insurance, he hit another car. The payments to the other driver really set him back. Plus, the bank was really putting pressure on him to make payments on the Audi, which now sat unusable until he could get it fixed. Caught between these expenses, he let the rent for his Pide shop slide and he soon was four months overdue. He knew he had to do everything he could to keep the shop open. Someone asked him,
“Why don't you borrow money from a jeweler friend I know.”
But he was more than a jeweler, he was a member of the local mafia. Of course he owned a jewelry shop, but his biggest source of income was from the drug trade. So, the pideci went to the jeweler and asked for a loan. Of course he was happy to help with a little interest and the pideci took the loan. The pideci owed 7500 lira in rent which was nothing to the mafia man, but he was expected to pay back double the amount of the loan within 3 months. Now the pideci was in deep. Ninety days passed like the wind. The "jeweler" came twice in one week demanding the money. The pideci thought to himself,
“I probably have a little bit of time. If they kill me, they will never get the money. Besides, no one kills a man for 7500 lira.”
But what he didn’t know was that the banker who had lent him the money for the car owed 450,000 lira to the mafia! The mafia needed an “example” to frighten the banker, so they told him about the pideci’s debt to them. A few days later the banker read that the pideci had been murdered.
Demons are Satan’s mafia. These are filthy and dangerous, and the path they will lead you on leads to death. Don't take the risk of being caught in their net by watching them on lms, television, and video games. God says leave them alone and do not visit their terrible workers: witches, sorcerers, astrologers, and palm readers. Why would you want to go to Satan when you have the Creator of the Universe for help? God alone can give you what you really desire.
Discussion Questions
1. Why did Saul go to the witch of Endor?
2. Why didn’t the witch recognize King Saul?
3. How do we know that what King Saul saw was not really Samuel the prophet?
4. Why would Satan want people to believe that he wants to help them?
5. People sometimes believe that they can get temporary help from supernatural workers and then escape unharmed. Do you think
this is wise reasoning?