WAS SAMUEL RESURRECTED AT ENDOR?
People who are inclined to credit the delusions of Spiritism are prone to cite the assumed calling to life of the prophet Samuel by the witch at Endor. A few facts and Scripture principles will show the unreasonableness of the theory that Samuel appeared at all. Samuel was dead, and buried at Ramah. 1 Sam. 25: 1; 28: 3. Now the Scriptures positively assert that “the dead know not anything;” that “their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished.” Eccl. 9: 5, 6; also Ps. 146: 3, 4. Therefore there could be no possible way for any communication with Samuel, excepting by a resurrection of the dead. The power of raising the dead lies with the Lord and His recognized servants to whom He may choose to delegate such power. Then the question arises, Would the Lord work through the medium of a witch? We think the Word is quite clear on this point. The Lord positively forbade any kind of witchcraft among His people. “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” Ex. 22: 18. “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or 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. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord.” Deut. 18: 10-12. Surely no reasonable person will suppose for a moment that the Lord would thus positively forbid all communication with such mediums, and then deliberately make use of one of them Himself. Moreover the Lord had utterly cast off Saul, and had refused to have anything more to say to him at all. Being confronted by a great host of Philistines, he was very much alarmed; but when he inquired of the Lord, “the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” 1 Sam. 28: 6, 7. In great desperation, in utter despair, “Saul said unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.” Verse 7. Then Saul disguised himself, and took two men with him, and when he had found the woman, he asked her to bring up whom he should name. This request was after the regular modern Spiritism style. But the woman was wily; for Saul had been trying to regain favor with the Lord by putting away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards. Verse 3. So she expressed a suspicion that the men were laying a trap for her to put her to death. But “Saul sware to her by the Lord” that no punishment should come to her. Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up unto thee?” assuming, in the common medium fashion, that she could “bring up” any one whom a patron might desire. “And he said, Bring me up Samuel.” Then the devil appeared, and the woman saw Samuel. Note that no one but the woman saw anything. It was one of those “dark seances,” in which no one but the medium sees anything. When the woman saw the impersonation of Samuel, immediately her fears were again aroused for her own safety, and her former suspicions were renewed. She would of course associate the prophet with the king, and be more than ever certain of a plot to entrap her. She “cried with a loud voice,” saying to Saul, “Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.” “And the king said unto her, Be not afraid; for what sawest thou?” And the woman said, “I saw gods ascending out of the earth.” Surely no thoughtful person is credulous enough to believe that the woman really saw any such thing. It must be clear to any reasonable mind that the Bible is telling what the woman saw in imagination, just what she said she saw; that the devil, who had control of her mind, and therefore of her tongue, was deluding her, and deluding Saul through her. He had forsaken the Lord, and in turn was given up to “strong delusion” (2 Thess. 2: 10-12). Then Saul asked, “What form is he of?” And the woman answered, “An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle.” And “Saul perceived that it was Samuel.” Why not? He had called for Samuel through the medium; he did not see anything; but when she gave a description that any one might have given, he was ready to believe it. The rest was easy. The Lord, who had refused to let Samuel speak to the king while he was yet alive, would hardly bring His servant up from the grave to repeat what had already been repeated, and then send him back to the grave. So the remainder of the account is simply a record of the conversation that passed between the deceiver (the devil) and the deceived king, through the medium, or witch. It was easy for the devil, or any one, for that matter, to know that Saul and his army could not stand in the pending battle when the God of Israel had forsaken him. Such a thing never had been known in all the history of Israel. That Satan knows what is going on in the world, and can control the minds and speech of those whom he can overcome, is amply illustrated by instances that occurred during our Saviour’s ministration. See Mark 1: 23-26, 34; Matt. 8: 28, 29. That he can personate individuals is shown by the fact that he can make himself appear as an angel of light. 2 Cor. 11: 14, 15. If men would believe the word of God concerning the condition of the dead, and heed His warnings against tampering with the various forms of Spiritism, they would not be deceived by the seance at the hiding-place of the witch of Endor. That incident was recorded for our learning (Rom 15: 4), and not for our deception. The Lord never gave a condemned witch the power to bring up the dead.