The Bible warns strongly against talking to the dead or attempting to contact spirits. This practice is often referred to as necromancy or consulting familiar spirits. Here are the main passages that address it:
🕎 Old Testament References
1. Deuteronomy 18:10–12 (KJV)
“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…”
👉 This is the clearest prohibition — necromancy (talking to the dead) is explicitly forbidden.
2. Leviticus 19:31 (KJV)
“Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.”
3. Leviticus 20:6 (KJV)
“And the soul that turneth 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.”
These verses describe divine punishment for consulting spirits or mediums.
4. 1 Samuel 28:7–20 — The Witch of Endor
King Saul, desperate for guidance, visits a medium to summon the spirit of the prophet Samuel.
Samuel’s spirit does appear and rebukes Saul, saying that his kingdom will fall and his death is imminent.
👉 This story demonstrates that while such contact might be possible, it is condemned and brings judgment rather than help.
✝️ New Testament References
5. Luke 16:19–31 — The Rich Man and Lazarus
In Jesus’s parable, Abraham tells the rich man that no one can cross between the realms of the living and the dead, saying:
“Neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
👉 This shows that communication between the living and the dead is not permitted.
6. Acts 16:16–18
Paul encounters a slave girl with “a spirit of divination.” He casts the spirit out in Jesus’s name — again reinforcing that such spiritual communication is unholy.
⚖️ Summary
The Bible’s stance is consistent:
- Speaking to or summoning the dead is forbidden.
- Such acts are considered rebellion against God and open one to deception by evil spirits.
- Divine communication is meant to come only through God, His Word, or His prophets — not through the dead.
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