Saul, Samuel & the Medium of En-Dor

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

1 Samuel 28:1-25 (PLEASE READ…TOO LONG TO INCLUDE HERE)

“So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.” (1 Chron. 10:13-14)

This unique text has often been scrutinized for it’s details regarding what it has to say about human nature and the after-life. May I suggest that this is missing the Holy Spirit’s main intent for this text?  Every text of Scripture was inspired, in the first place, to expand our knowledge of God, and that every inch of the Old Testament points to the perfection of the Person and Work of Christ. When we read any passage of the bible, our primary question should be—what does this teach me about God? And then we can make personal application…We tend to be anthropocentric (man-centered) in our approach to this text, while it is meant to viewed theo-centricaly (God-centered).

The text above from 1 Chron. is an inspired interpretation of this event. Hence, it should be the spectacles through which we view it. I’m not saying that discussing the finer points of the passage is inappropriate, but rather let us not miss the forest for the trees. .Put bluntly, how can we even think about using this text to support spiritism (belief in, and communicating with, trapped souls), when we are told that our holy God killed Saul for that very practice? (please see text above)

. Let me put it this way: if the sovereign majesty, glory, and holiness of God were grasped, we would not be having this discussion regarding whether ghosts exist or not. The very notion of trapped spirits is monstrous in light of God’s absolute sovereignty and the glorious perfection of the Person and work of Christ. Our theology affects our anthropology—if we have a deficient view of God’s greatness then we will have a deficient view of human nature, and what happens when we die. The dearth of truly God-centered preaching today is the primary reason the notion of ghosts has blossomed…along with pastors refusing to come to terms with its significance.

This episode with Saul and the medium comes at a crucial juncture in the drama of redemption— (establishment of the monarchy and the Davidic covenant).  The inauguration of each stage was crucial and was often attended by unusual occurrences. Saul was the first king of Israel, and he would be replaced by its greatest king (David), and this is where we find ourselves in this text—THE DAY BEFORE SAUL DIES. In the flow of biblical history, or the drama of redemption, this is a key moment…THAT EXPLAINS WHY WE HAVE THIS UNIQUE AND EXTRAORDINARY APPEARANCE OF A DECEASED PROPHET. As first in a long list of kings, Saul figures prominently for that reason—and for that reason we have God doing something extraordinary…nowhere else in scripture do we have a disembodied soul talking to another human (excluding Jesus with Moses and Elijah)…the oddities during Jesus/apostles day were resurrections from the dead, and not disembodied spirits.…

The specific context of this unique text is Saul’s. terrible fright due to the impending battle with the Philistines. He desperately wanted and needed the Lord’s wisdom and guidance, but the Lord was not answering his prayers (v.15.). Hence, he secretly (and very sinfully) approached a medium to see if she could contact Samuel, who he thought would be able to guide him. It seems that King Saul believed in the end justified the means…It is similar to, “since I am trying to get guidance from a godly deceased prophet, it is okay if I look to a demon inspired medium.” Is that so different from “I can get assurance that there is an afterlife, if only I can speak to my deceased mom.”? Is not our motive for being fascinated with the paranormal—fear of death or curiosity about the future—often quite similar to Saul’s? Please do not misunderstand me—curiosity regarding the supernatural is one thing, but what we do with that curiosity is another thing altogether! It was entirely proper for Saul to feel fear and to desire supernatural insight, but for believers, the end never justifies the means! (Prov. 3:5-6) He knew it was wrong in that he had previously expelled the mediums and necromancers (v. 3)

The woman that Saul found was similar to the mediums that practice today—she was not a witch as we understand it. (‘ob…according to The Theological Wordbook of  the Old Testament means medium) No, in v. 7 Saul told his servants to seek out a medium, and in his initial request in v. 8.—“…divine for me by a spirit….”  This phrase is often overlooked, but it reveals why Saul had earlier banished mediums…they used a spirit (demon) in their attempts to contact the dead. Saul knew that he was trafficking with the demonic in order to contact Samuel. It is said that desperate people do desperate things, but what Saul did wittingly (consciously communicate with demons) was extremely foolish—but don’t we do the same foolish thing unwittingly?.

Doubtless the medium did her usual ritual in order to bring the trance-like state in which she brought up the individual asked for with the help of her collaborating demon. The text is silent regarding any misgivings she might have felt regarding contacting the holy prophet. It is obvious she had been down this road many times, and  I’m confident that her demonic accomplice was always eager to deceive everyone that  it was the soul of a deceased person it was impersonating.

However, the whole occult practice was cut short when the real Samuel makes a grand entrance, which terrified the medium   She screamed in fear when it became apparent the God Himself had taken over and brought in the spirit of Samuel.. She rallied long enough to answer Saul’s inquiry as to who it was….Samuel. Any way you slice it, this was a unique and extraordinary occurrence which our Lord caused for His purposes at this crucial juncture of redemptive history. Saul was about to be killed by the Lord, and David anointed king—the Davidic covenant and many of his psalms looked forward to the coming of king David’s greater Son.—the Lord Jesus. Because of the sovereign in-breaking of God on the proceedings, can you see that the first question that should occupy our minds is NOT who is this masked man, but rather what kind of God cold do this? Theology precedes anthropology.

V.16 dispels any doubt as to who this mystery man really is: the inspired narrator says it was Samuel. The following verses either state explicitly or imply that this was Samuel: 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20…Moreover, since it is obvious that the disembodied soul was delivering a true message of judgment from the Lord, and refers to himself as the prophet, then that really settles the issue.

Here is the rub though—the hallmark of a ghost is that they are trapped souls due to traumatic or premature death—right? But Samuel’s soul was anything but trapped! He complained that Saul had disrupted his tranquility.(v.15).That one detail immediately disqualifies this text as evidence of the existence of ghosts. In addition, it is obvious that Samuel’s soul was not resting in what we think of as the paranormal realm or second heaven. Whatever else it may mean, coming up from the ground indicates that Samuel was not existing in any realm we have access to via EVP’s. To use this as an example of an earthbound spirit is to do violence to the text, and is a grievous example of scripture twisting.. .

At a crucial point in the flow of the unfolding drama of redemption, our sovereign God completely nullified the medium’s wicked attempt at necromancy, and instead raised up His deceased holy servant to bring His message of judgment upon Saul. That disembodied souls exist after death is a biblical notion, What is un-biblical is the notion that souls of deceased humans can get trapped here. This text does not support that idea at all—quite the opposite. This where we must drop idle curiosity and remember to look at this text from a God-saturated perspective...       

Sadly, the bible reveals that Saul, and his sons, died in battle the next day. We are not left to our own interpretation of this turn of events. In 1 Chronicles 10:13-14—(above) we are given an inspired theological and theo-centric interpretation of Saul’s death. God the Holy Spirit tells us that He put Saul to death for two reasons: not obeying His command to utterly slaughter the Amalekites, and for attempting to speak to the dead.(v.13) Please note that in  Lev. 20:4-6 we are told that the Lord detests attempts to speak to the dead (necromancy or spiritism) so passionately, that is was punishable by death. However, He goes even further: if the covenant community fails to kill those caught speaking to the dead, then He Himself would hunt them down and kill them. .As  I said in another newsletter, I know of no other list of sins in which God makes this threat—and the text in 1 Chron. tells us that God killed Saul for seeking out the medium of En-dor. Is that not both sobering and instructive?   

 The New Testament does not change God’s character, nor does God begin to love or accept what He hated with such a singular passion in the Old Testament. Because we are not a theocracy, spiritism is no longer a crime, but it is still a heinous sin. How can we avoid that conclusion if we have an ounce of respect for the authority of holy writ? What is spelled out so clearly in Deut 18 and Lev. 20, is ILLUSTRATED in this episode and in Saul’s subsequent death in battle.

Recently I was on Dave Schrader’s popular radio show Darkness Radio, and he agreed that every investigator he knew was experiencing paranormal activity, and/or many were sick and dying—or already dead. Our Lord killed Saul for attempting to speak to the dead. What a dreadful madness or demonic delusion has blinded our dear friends. From the depths of my heart, I beg you to stop, and to persuade others to stop. .Can God hurt people today? You bet your neck He can…and is. We must repent..or perish...

Breaking God’s commands and seeking guidance from the prince of this world brought Saul under God’s curse. However, it was Saul’s death that transitioned the monarchy to David, and ultimately to Christ the King. Because we all disobey God’s commands everyday, and look in all the wrong places for guidance, Jesus took all of this upon Himself—He became a curse for us. Jesus experienced every temptation that Saul did, and yet was without sin….His blood can wash away all occultic sin. Hallelujah, what a Savior!!

The Purpose of Christian Demonology

If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

Matthew 12:26

By Paul D. Joao

For quite some now, studying Demonology from many Christian People in the community of theology to the paranormal to counseling, non Christian and last but not least secular, this verse is a solid Biblical statement that is explains everything. That Jesus was trying to make, we as Christians if we believe in Demons or Not, often hear stories of people have experience these beings that have resulted either in a exorcists or a learning experience that enable to become a teacher.  Even in the “not of” Christianity teachings sometimes they will change the belief and make it sound that Demons are a good thing if that something. Even though from the many resources out there available either on the website or Christian or Non Christian book store. People will read a version of that author's belief in the subject. Therefore, my view this is what it is, a battle for a soul that is in stake when people often forget that when preaching or teaching any topic of demonology that the heart of it all is a person soul. In this report, a person will comprehend that aspect to look for and what to know when engaging this Demonology.

One of the first things is Prayer of protection and knowing that any sins in the past is past must be forgiven by God because when engaging in this field, a person that might be under a influence of a Demonic oppression or attachment will know the difference. Demons do not like binging discussed about so they will do everything in their power to keep you away from the Truth and use what a person has done in the past to haunt them. Verses a person who been forgiven but always keeps in the prayer mood and knowing that in any event anything might distract that person. 

Another thing is having a Biblical understanding of the nature of Demons. It is  common that people that is not Christian who may be in crafts that deals in Demonology may try to deceive a person in any way like Astral projection, where a person’s spirit can be transported to another location while the body remains back in the original location. The rule is if the Bible states anywhere such as Apostle John going to the third Heaven and receive a message from Jesus to write a book like Revelation then it must come from Jesus then. Perhaps, but not all AP is one of the many methods that Satan has used or tricked many to believe that is possible, knowing the differences can help people understanding what is allowed and what is not allowed in the Christian context, with Biblical verses to support the claim, if any. As Satan has copied God Word and use it for other than what God intended. Finely we have an understanding from a Christian view that can make a person who might have experience in these kinds of things before, coming to Christ.   

So what about people who have or had experiences it seems like every year a author comes out with a book or story on their encounters, and for those who are going through a form of struggle so what then. Call the author for help, sometimes reading the Bible might make since, perhaps if a person took the Christian Demonology cover and placed it around a Bible like these some Bible names such as Apologetics study Bible or a Christian Spiritual Warfare, whatever the case is. It is good to have a person write their story or come out with a theology Book that contains some sort of knowledge of how to deal or learn from. However, the person must state that God has saved them, or shown that it is a real account. In the past, there been attempts of Books by people who were false and the people who had their material thought was real, and it’s another form of false thinking been around.  Needless to say, for those who been writing and helping others these are a great way to get the message of Jesus out to the world. 

Even the Counseling is great source to know because what a person knows where or how demons feed off negative thoughts such as pain or events in the past, it creates a foothold in the person life. They can live a life however, when they come near any Christian environment it sometimes stirs things such as attachment or a memory in the past that does not allow the message of Jesus to come into the person life. This of course blocks and triggers the person to stay away, its effective in this manner. In some Christian counseling it helps to get to the root of the problem so the person can feel relax while he or she can attempt overcome this area and possibility build a relationship of Jesus Christ.  What a person should look for author or groups that have an insight to Christian Counseling, that might or near to relative to Demonology. This way as the sessions between the client and a counselor is in the process a healing of Jesus can begin in their lives. In the opposite aspect, in the some groups or people who treat in counseling may cause the client from not knowing the real treatment from Jesus.

Knowing there is a worldwide Christians who deal with Demonology in the paranormal or similar fields a person should be grounded in a Church and knowing that in some aspects people would consider it as outreach ministries than a “typical” group that is common misleading in Christian communities. Or having a both aspects helps bear witness to others who may wish to teach in the Christian Churches as an example is a Christian Demonologist or a Christian Paranormal team comes into the church and help others to understand a hidden danger that is not always welcomed in Christian communities. As people who are dealing with a form of demons in their home, a Church is sometimes called to help and does not help because of what the church may believe in. so the family is restored to asking a New Ager or a person who may be in the dark practice for help. So if the Church knew some knowledge or knows a team to help the family that family could come into the Christianity is it that what soul winning about.

What is the true form of soul winning in Demonology after all, why is easier to tell a Demon In the name of Jesus I cast you out phrase then telling that Jesus died for us and taking a point to tell them about Jesus. However, in our modern time people look for demonstrating act, such as seeing a power of Jesus or the power of Satan. People get so conceived that people probability do not know what to believe. As Christians who engage in the Demonology should conduct sermons on street corners  whatever the  outlet there is, that the message is clear that Jesus loves people and people should not feel threaten to call on Jesus and in times of trouble Jesus is near and he will protect the person. While Satan does the opposite he will do everything in his power to keep in harm, danger, trap, confuse until they been shown the truth of how much Jesus can do for them.

In the end, a  person who reads this should think as the person who is not a Christian have ever tried calling on Jesus and reaching out to a Christian Demonologist or a relative in the field. Or have they been trying every form of help with not getting to the root of the problem. That Jesus is the answer and we as Christian should work together with “Christian outreaches ministries” for help is in that the purpose of soul winning after all. Therefore, the person can now live with peace of Jesus in their lives. 

Musings on Energy & Epistemology (How We Gain Knowledge) Part 1

Reverend Mark Hunnemann

We continue our analysis of the demonic energy-centric worldview that has the world in a choke-hold. Our focus is epistemology, which is that branch of philosophy that deals with the nature, limits, and validity of knowledge—it is THE presupposition of presuppositions. How we know what we know is as basic as it gets! WHAT IS GOD LIKE?’; WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DEATH?; HOW DO WE DETERMINE WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG?; WHAT IS OUR PURPOSE IN LIFE?; WHERE IS HISTORY GOING?...Where do we turn to get accurate knowledge regarding these crucial questions?...where do we find the right answers? Where and how can we gain accurate knowledge for such questions is what epistemology is all about—so you can see it is far from being dry-as-dust academic theory. Ladies and gentlemen…this is where it’s at! (those questions are also basic to one’s worldview).

I have studied epistemology for decades, but we can accurately say that our epistemic foundation is either speculation or revelation—those are the only two options (besides nihilism). The answers to the very basic and profound questions above can be sought either in the vain speculations of man, or we can seek them from God’s inerrant revelation to us in the holy bible. Below are examples of both speculation and revelation regarding how we gain knowledge; the first quote is from a friend who is a non-Christian investigator-- it deals specifically with memory-knowledge, the second is from God’s revelation to us from the book of Numbers. Please read both and then I will comment.

                             SPECULATION                    

                                                                         Vertical Memory

                           

 Beyond the three types of memory -- mechanical, logical and moral ...,  there is still the  kind of memory that we have designated as "vertical or revelatory memory". It is not a memory of the past in the sense of the horizontal line: today, yesterday, the day before, etc., but rather in the sense of the vertical line: here, higher, still higher, etc. It is a "memory" which does not link the present to the past on the plane of the physical, psychic and intellectual life, but which links the plane of ordinary consciousness to planes or states of consciousness higher than ordinary consciousness. It is the faculty of the "lower self" to reproduce the experience and knowledge of the "higher self" or, if you like, the faculty of the "higher self" to imprint its experience and knowledge upon the consciousness of the "lower self". It is the link between the 'higher eye" and the "lower eye", which renders us authentically religious and wise, and immune to the assaults of skepticism, materialism and determinism. It is this which also is the source of certainty of God and the spiritual world with its hierarchical entities, and the immortality of being…and of reincarnation. (emp. added…source not given)

REVELATION

Chapter 14 of Numbers

37 The LORD said to Moses, 38 "Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 39 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. 41I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD your God."

I realize the first quote is rather heavy (may want to read it again), but the thrust of the passage is direct. It is ironic that, in this highly speculative epistemology, that the author states that it is revelatory! Methinks not... They state that certain knowledge is gained by accessing our higher consciousness and bringing it into our ordinary consciousness or memories. This has become very popular, so it is incumbent upon us to understand the quest for higher consciousness. What is not stated is that this higher knowledge is usually gained by content-less meditation (you know…ooommm), and that this brings us into contact with higher/rapid energy vibrations…thus, the energy connection (sometimes you have to read between the vibrating lines…sorry about that!).

This higher state of consciousness is said to be “revelatory”. Having formally studied theology in seminary, I know that this word (revelatory) is often used as a synonym for revelation—God speaks or reveals Himself in the bible…or the bible is revelatory. And just who might be revealing themselves in this higher state of consciousness? If we are allegedly tapping into energy, then it cannot communicate because it is not personal. The author is claiming virtual inerrant status for this faculty, so we need to know who or what is revealing this certain knowledge of God, spirit beings, immortality, and reincarnation, and so on. During our consciousness ascension—VERTICAL memory and not horizontal memory of the past-- who do we encounter since we are on an INNER trip? I’m not denying that our consciousness can be altered to a degree, but there is no evidence to suggest that these states will yield inerrant knowledge of God and the cosmos. An acid trip may yield interesting insights to some aspect of reality, but purple-haze lyrics can hardly be called revelatory. There needs to be a personal Being outside of us for that to happen.

Notice that it is by looking within ourselves, on a higher plane of consciousness, that we gain certitude regarding the nature of God, spirit beings (uh oh), immortality, and reincarnation. This hearkens back to our comments regarding what epistemology is all about…finding true knowledge of answers to life’s most basic questions. The author makes an explicit epistemological claim—how to gain certain knowledge of these profound questions. Despite the author’s claim, their whole epistemic system is nothing but speculation wrapped up in neo-gnostic or New Age garb. Again, the alleged higher consciousness knowledge that is gained comes from within us. That, my friends, is the essence of a speculative epistemology; it is subjective, autonomous reasoning (thinking not under the Lordship of Christ)… or speculation for short. And speculation is precisely that…speculating or guessing…which is hardly revelatory.

Read Part 2