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passages like the one in 1 Samuel 28:7-20, in which King Saul uses a medium (referred to as the Witch of Endor) to communicate with the dead spirit of God’s prophet Samuel. Other than the Transfiguration (an exceptional case in which Jesus appeared before a few of his disciples in his full glory with Moses and Elijah), it’s the only Bible story to explicitly feature someone attempting to communicate with the dead.

In this case, it does seem to work, though scholars are divided as to whether the spirit Saul talked to was actually the ghost of Samuel, a demonic apparition or something else. The traditional rabbinical view is that the figure was indeed Samuel, and that this was an exceptionally rare case, as evidenced by the fact that the witch herself seems more surprised by Samuel’s appearance than anyone. Modern evangelical experts are more likely to interpret this as a different force altogether.

All, however, are sure of one thing: In attempting to communicate with the dead, Saul was doing something that God has expressly forbidden. The point of the story is not to help believers get an understanding of ghosts—it’s to show how far Saul had fallen out of God’s will.

On Fri, Feb 28, 2020, 8:27 PM Ray Hackett <3659745> wrote:

Deuteronomy 18:10-12a forbids communicating with the dead:
“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.”
..
verses that suggest the soul may “sleep” or enter a “holding place” until Judgment Day, such as Revelation 20:11-15 and Matthew 26:31-46.