NECROMANCY - COMMUNICATING WITH THE DEAD - NYOBS 42.26

NECROMANCY COMMUNICATING WITH THE DEAD

Necromancy is a form of magic involving communication with the deceased 

either by summoning their spirit as an apparition or raising them bodily

for the purpose of divination, imparting the means to foretell future events

or discover hidden knowledge, or to use the deceased as a weapon.

The term may sometimes be used in a more general sense

to refer to black magic or witchcraft. Wikipedia

First Word

·         There is something in man that desires to operate in the supernatural.  The first lie was told to Eve by Satan that she could be as the gods. – This still continues today.

·         The first question right out of the box is “Can we communicate with the dead today?”

·         Warning - Scripture warns us to NOT seek people who act as a medium or spiritist in order to get advice from the dead. – They speak of the spiritist as having a familiar spirit or to say it another way; a spirit that is familiar with what they are seeking information about.

·         Conclusion Since we are warned that we should NOT communicate with the dead, then obviously it can be done. NYOBS 33.09 – WITCH OF ENDOR

·         So then the answer to the question is YES … Sort of… BUT … Stay tuned…

Genesis 3:5 – You shall be as gods
⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (KJV)

Leviticus 19:31 – Do not defile yourself with Mediums.
³¹ ‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God. (NIV2011)

Leviticus 20:6 – Do not seek Familiar Spirits and Wizards
⁶ And the soul that turns after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. (KJV)

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 – Sorcerer, Medium, Spiritist; Abomination
⁹ "When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.
¹⁰ There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
¹¹ or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
¹² For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD. (NKJV)

Isaiah 8:19 – People should seek God, not Mediums and Wizards
¹⁹And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? (NKJV)

Nephesh - Soul - Life

^·          Nephesh is a Hebrew word which occurs in the Hebrew Bible. The word refers to the tangible aspects of life. - Human beings and higher animals are both described as having a nephesh. - The Hebrew term literally means "living being", although it is commonly rendered as SOUL in English translations.

·         The word nephesh occurs 754 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. - The first four times nephesh is used in the Bible, it is used exclusively to describe animals: 

1.   Gen 1:20 sea life

2.   Gen 1:21 sea life

3.   Gen 1:24 land creatures 

4.   Gen 1:30 land creatures and birds

5.   Gen 2:7  This fifth time, Nephesh is used as a description of man.

·         At Creation God bends over at the river bank and scoops up some clay and makes a MAN.

·         It was only when He breathed the breath of life (Ruah) into him that he became a living SOUL. – So the body with the breath of God (Ruah) constitutes a soul; (Nephesh)

·         SOUL - It is important here to clarify, identify and define what a SOUL is – A Soul is a living creature with the breath of God. – You are a soul. – The Soul is never a conscious entity that is separate from the body. – The Soul can die and be destroyed in Hell.

Genesis 2:7 – The breath of God made man a living SOUL
⁷ And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; (Ruah) and man became a living SOUL. (Nephesh) (KJV)

Job 12:7-10 - Every living thing is endowed with a Spirit (Ruah).
⁷ But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
⁸ or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
⁹ Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?
¹⁰ In his hand is the LIFE (Nephesh) of EVERY LIVING THING and the BREATH (Spirit- Ruah) of all mankind. (ESV)

Nephesh – Soul – Death

·         When we die our body returns to the earth; dirt – dust – Our Spirit, the breath of life returns to God. (Ruah; breath, wind, spirit)

·         So once we die our breath or spirit returns to God the One who gave it. – Not the person, not the body; it’s the life force that is in us that goes back to God.

·         The person in the Grave is “awaiting” either eternal Life or eternal damnation.

2 Corinthians 5:8 –The Spirit leaves the body – returns to God.
⁸ We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (KJV)

John 5:28-29 – Raised to live or raised to be condemned
²⁸ Do not be amazed at this, for A TIME IS COMING when all who are in their graves will hear his voice
²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. (NIV2011)

The Dead – The Grave

·         If you are considering consulting the dead, YOU MUST GET THIS.

·         When the life giving breath (Ruah) departs from the man and returns to God, the man goes back to the dirt from which he was formed.

·         He can no longer think; all his plans have now perished, there is NO working, planning, knowledge or wisdom. – He cannot praise God; he is silent, not a word can be heard. – He is not aware of anything, he know nothing – He has no emotions of love, hate or envy; it has all perished.

·         Question: what then is actually going on when someone communicates with the dead? -… Stay tuned.

Psalm 146:4 – Man goes to the grave – His plans perish
⁴ When his breath (Ruah) departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. (ESV)

Ecclesiastes 9:10 - NO working, planning, knowledge or wisdom
¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. (NIV2011)

Psalm 115:17 – The dead cannot praise God – They are silent
¹⁷ Dead people can't praise GOD— not a word to be heard from those buried in the ground. (MSG)

Ecclesiastes 9:5 – The dead know nothing
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. (ESV)

Ecclesiastes 9:6 – The dead’s emotions have perished
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. (ESV)

What is death?

·         The Great Lie – “Death is the immediate transition to something better”. - So people legitimize murder, commit infanticide, abortions, euthanasia and SUICIDE. NYOBS 09.17- SUICIDE; EUTHANSIA

·         To learn what death is, we turn to Jesus Christ for the explanation. – When he spoke of Mary and Martha’s brother “Lazarus” dying; He said he had fallen asleep. (Rest)

·         Jesus further defined it – He said “point blank” Lazarus is dead – (Asleep) - That’s the best way to describe what happens to us when we are dead; we are ASLEEP.

·         When I had a surgery performed, they gave me “prophathal”, and I was talking when I went to sleep and I was still talking when I woke up; and I had no concept that the operation was over and I was somewhere else. – That’s how it will be when we wake up from the sleep of death; we will be somewhere else – In my case; still talking.

John 11:11 - Lazarus has fallen asleep
¹¹ After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.”(ESV)

John 11:13 – They thought Lazarus must be taking a nap
¹³ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. (ESV)

John 11:14 – Jesus told them plainly – Death is just Sleep
¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, (ESV)

How do we awaken?

·         In the story of Lazarus, it was the voice of Jesus Christ, the life giver that awakened him out of his sleep. – Jesus called Lazarus by name and said, come forth and he did. -  That’s the only we way we will come forth out of the grave, is when the life giver calls our name. – We will be raised up by Jesus Christ Himself on “The Last Day”.

·         NOTE: Jesus did not tell Lazarus to come UP from hell or DOWN from heaven.  He said to come forth… Lazarus was in the grave; the tomb, and he came out.

·         There is no record of Lazarus telling about any experience in Heaven, Hell or his time in the tomb.  Scripture is silent on this issue and causes us to believe that there was no story to be told.

·         There are nine other instances of resurrections besides Jesus Christ and each time there is NO STORY of heaven, hell or the grave; none indicated an “existence” in death.

·         An experience in Heaven or Hell would be so life changing, the story would have to be told.

·         When Paul was caught up to Paradise, he was not allowed to tell the story of what he saw.

·         Question: Why would the dead need a resurrection if they have already received their award of heaven or hell? – There can hardly be an interest in the return of Jesus Christ if the SOUL of the believer has immediately gone to the Lord upon death. – The Soul stays in the grave.

John 6:40 - I will raise him up on the last day
⁴⁰  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (ESV)

John 11:43-44 - Lazarus come out – No Story
⁴³ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
⁴⁴ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (ESV)

Hebrews 11:35 - Received their dead to life again – No Story
³⁵ Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. (NKJV)

Luke 8:52-55 – Jairus’s daughter was resurrected; but No Story
⁵² Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but ASLEEP.”
⁵³They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
⁵⁴ But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!”
⁵⁵ Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. (NIV2011)

Matthew 27:52-53 – Came out of the graves; but No Stories
⁵² And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which SLEPT arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection (KJV)

2 Corinthians 12:2-4 -  Paul was in Paradise and was SILENCED
² I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows--such a one was caught up to the third heaven.
⁴ how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. (NKJV)

Three Possibilities

·         There are three possibilities of what happens when we die.

1.     We are obliterated, annihilated never to be heard from again.

2.     We continue to live in some other form; Reincarnation – Transmigration.

3.     We await a resurrection.

Transmigration

·         Some teach in error that the soul Transmigrates again, again and again into another human, angel or demon. (Reincarnation) – NYOBS 34.02 - REINCARNATION

·         These religions teach that the SOUL is PLACED in the body.  Scripture teaches the body BECAME a living SOUL. - To form a SOUL; a body AND the spirit breath is required.

Genesis 2:7 – BECAME a living SOUL
⁷ And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; (Ruah) and man BECAME a living SOUL. (Nephesh) (KJV)

Buddha

·         Recently I found a book at the flea market, “The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha”

·         Buddha observed that life was an endless cycle of reincarnations and sufferings and concluded that the best thing for man was “the blowing out of the candle of life”.

·         To avoid coming back endlessly, Buddha’s disciples should follow his teachings. – Although Buddha’s sayings were inspiring, they offered NO HOPE of an afterlife with God.

·         Jesus not only talked about the Hope of a resurrection; He demonstrated it. – There are no reincarnations - We are appointed ONCE to die and then the judgment.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 - Don’t be ignorant – YOU HAVE HOPE
¹³ But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have NO HOPE.

(NKJV)

1 Corinthians 15:20 – Christ is the first fruits to be raised
²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

(NIV2011)

Hebrews 9:27 – We are appointed ONCE to die only
²⁷ And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (KJV)

Here’s where we are

·         We become a soul when the breath of life or spirit is given to us by God – When we die the spirit returns to Him; the Life Giver. – The dead go into the grave – They know nothing – They cannot plan or reason – They have no emotions – They cannot praise or speak – They are silent. - The Bible calls death SLEEP; unconsciousness.

·         The Bible offers no other way to come out of the grave except the resurrection. - When we are awakened, it will be at the voice of the Life Giver; Jesus Christ and no other way.

·         This brings us up to the question. – If none can be called up from the grave except by Jesus Christ and nothing can be heard from the grave, what are those that communicate with the dead experiencing? …. Stay tuned.

Familiar Spirits

·          Familiar Spirits are supernatural entities believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. - By those alleging to have come into contact with them, they SHIFT SHAPE in numerous guises, often as an animal, but also at times as a human or humanoid figure, and are described as a "clearly defined, three-dimensional form, vivid with color and animated with movement and sound". – NYOBS 11.16 – DEMONS – FAMILIAR SPIRITS – NYOBS 17.16 – THE OTHER FLOOD – THE GAP THEORY - DEMONS

The Witch at Endor

• There is scripture of someone asking to return from the dead (the grave) to speak to the living and the request was DENIED by God.
• Let’s look at a Bible example of someone consulting the dead for advice.
• King Saul had already barbarously massacred the High Priest and his family and could not seek their advice with the “Urim” and “Thummim”; nor did he have Devine dreams or visions; and on top of that the prophet Samuel had died. – NYOBS 33.09 – WITCH OF ENDOR
• The “divinely appointed” Saul had disobeyed God. -  Disobedience is the same as rebellion and is classified as “the sin” of WITCHCRAFT.  God had turned His face from Saul and would not hear his prayers, in fact God had become his enemy. -To whom much is given; much is expected; much is REQUIRED. - This is important… God had left Saul. – That means that Saul could NOT HEAR from God period. 
• NOTE:  There is no record of Saul ever seeking out the Prophet Samuel for advice.
• The Philistine’s army had gathered to war against Israel and Saul had tried all the ways “allowed” to seek God’s direction and heard nothing. -  Being desperate he sought out a medium.
• Getting right to the point – When the medium brought up the prophet Samuel, it scared the tater tots out of HER.  Saul receives information that he already knew; that God had departed from him and confirmed that Israel would be captured and he and his sons would die and further confirmed he was going to HELL. (Where the Demon Familiar Spirit came from.)
• NOTE:  This is important - Saul did not receive any new information that Samuel had not already told him before he died.
• So what did King Saul see? – Satan and his DEMONIC servants can transform themselves into Angels of light – Demons are neither male nor female; they SHAPE SHIFT themselves as they wish – They are lying spirits - Saul was in the presence of a FAMILIAR SPIRIT.  He was in Satan’s territory; God had already left him.
• The results – God killed Saul for consulting a Familiar Spirit.
• The Take away – Jesus Christ is the only one that can communicate with the dead. – Inquire of the living God for things concerning the living; the dead know nothing.

1 Samuel 28:12-14 - Scared the Tater Tots out of her
¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice and spoke to Saul, saying, "Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!"
¹³ The king said to her, "Do not be afraid. What did you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth."
¹⁴ So he said to her, "What is his form?" And she said, "An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle." And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and stooped with his face bowed down.to the ground.

1 Samuel 28:15-16 – Saul tells Samuel God departed from him.
¹⁵ Now Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing 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, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal what I should do."
¹⁶ Then Samuel said: "Why then do you ask me, seeing the LORD has departed from you and has become your enemy?

1 Samuel 28:17 – The reply – you did not obey.
¹⁷ And the LORD has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD

1 Samuel 28:19 – More bad news – you are going to HELL
¹⁹ Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me.

1 Chronicles 10:13-14 – Saul Died – asked counsel familiar spirit
¹³ So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;
¹⁴ And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him. (KJV)

Isaiah 8:19 – Inquire of God for the Living; not the Dead
¹⁹ And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?

1 Timothy 4:1 – Seducing Spirits – Doctrines of Devils.
¹ Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (KJV)

2 Thessalonians 2:9 - Satan has signs and lying wonders
⁹ The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, (NKJV)

2 Corinthians 11:14-15 - Satan’s servants disguised as light
¹⁴ For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
¹⁵ It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve (NIV)

Luke 16:26-31 – Request to return from the dead was DENIED
²⁶ Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.
²⁷ Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him (Lazarus) to my father's house,
²⁸ for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'
²⁹ Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'
³⁰  And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'
³¹  But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead. NKJV

Possessed – Evil Spirit or Holy Spirit

• The Medium’s practice was to mutter and make peeping noises which supposedly was communications coming from the dead.
• The use of Mediums and their “Secret Arts” opens a door in your life to demonic activity.

• Possessed - Once a demon enters into a person, the demon becomes the “DOORKEEPER” of his soul and can allow other demons to enter. – You can have many demons and become totally possessed.
• We are what we confess. Demons cannot read our mind - they only know what we speak, so speak the word of God into your own life
• The Believers Protection – There are SEVEN (complete) things that protect us from demonic attacks.

1. Submission to God 
2. The Blood of Jesus Christ
3. The Holy Spirit within us 
4. God’s Word from the Bible
5. Our Authority as Believers
6. The Gifts of the Spirit
7. Our Prayer life.

Isaiah 8:19 - Wizards that mutter and peep
¹⁹ And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead? (KJV)

LAST WORD

Fallen man is born with the desire to operate in the supernatural,

to experience discovering hidden knowledge or the foretelling of future events.

I have taken you “the long way around” just to let you see what’s actually going on in the grave.

When you hear from; or see an apparition of the dead, it’s not from God; it’s a demon.

You might think that you have control of him to do your bidding;

but in actuality he has control of you and you will do his bidding.

  It’s an evil and bitter thing to forsake the fountain of living water

and seek out broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Inquire of the living God for your needs, not the dead,

they know nothing.

Jeremiah 2:13 - Apart from God; there is no living water
¹³ For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns That can hold no water.(NASB)

Isaiah 8:19-20 – Consult God on behalf of the living
¹⁹ When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
²⁰ Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. (NIV2011)

In the multitude of counselors,

there is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:14

I am grateful to those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical information, and scripture verses.  Because of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further that I otherwise ever could have.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

American Standard Version Bible - ASV

English Standard Version Bible - ESV

Generation exile and Neo restoration (Matrix) – Paul Fontana

King James Version Bible – KJV

New American Standard Bible – NASB

New International Version Bible – NIV

New Living Translation Bible – NLT

Systematic Theology – Stanley M. Horton

The Matrix Commentary – Andrew Paul Gorman

The Matrix – Messiah Movie – awesomehouse.com/matrix

The Matrix – Wikipedia

The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha – E.A. Burtt

What the Bible says about Death - Signs of the times