The Séance: Speaking With the Dead?
What the Bible Teaches About Communicating With Those Who've Died
Aug 3, 2008
Can the dead communicate with the living? Do the dead have secret knowledge they would like to share with the living?
The Devil's First Lie
The devil’s first lie in the Garden of Eden was to Eve. Satan cast doubt upon God’s honesty and character. “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” he asked her (Genesis 3: 1). Eve answered Satan that God had said that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would bring death. Satan’s reply was, “Ye shall not surely die.” It was Satan’s intent that people would believe that a person has a living, conscious soul after death. But why?
Who Comes to a Seance?
Many people believe that when someone dies, the spirit or soul separates from the body and drifts away to some other realm. As a result of this teaching, people go to séances to receive communications from the dead. So if the Bible teaches that the dead are really unconscious, who are these people communicating with?
Since Satan first lied about the state of the dead, is it possible that he is behind the delusion that one can communicate with the dead? Can devils work miracles, appearing in the form of loved ones, prophets, or even the disciples of Christ?
Miracle-Working Demons
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 11:14, “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” Yes, without a doubt, Satan can appear as something that he is not. In addition, Revelation 16: 14 speaks of a future time when Satan and his evil angels will work miracles to deceive. “They are the spirits of devils, working miracles.” (See also Revelation 13: 13, 14.) So what is his purpose in pretending to be spirits of loved ones who’ve passed away?
Jesus' Warnings
Jesus warned that in the last days, Satan and his demons would work miracles to lead astray the masses of earth. “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” If people believe that the dead do not really die, then they may also believe a demon teaching anti-biblical ideas, who claims to be John the Baptist risen from the dead, or some other person.
God's View of Communicating With "the dead"
God tried to protect the Israelites from the deceptions of Satan in this regard. His command was that any person claiming to communicate with the dead was to be stoned to death. (See Leviticus 20:27.)
The Bible is clear. The dead cannot communicate with the living. Satan uses miracles and the false teaching about the immortality of the soul to deceive many people.
