Expert: Dr Don Howe - 10/20/2009

Question
Hello! I have a question about the Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior. I know and believe Jesus was sinless, but I would like to ask you how did Jesus talk to Moses without violating the Mosaic Law against talking to the dead? I understand that Moses was alive in Paradise, but so was Samuel and Saul was still charged with necromancy. Please clarify this confusing question of mine! Thank you!

Answer
 Joshua, blessing to you. Thank you for your questions. Many people become confused about that the Transfiguration and what it meant. The Transfiguration is not about whether Jesus was just talking with Moses or Elijah, but He was preparing his 3 disciples of the telling of his death and resurrection, and that God the Father, Himself, would speak to these three disciples in affirmation of what Jesus was going do when he went to the cross.

  The word “transfiguration” is  trans-fig-o-ra’-shun (metamorphoomai, "to be transformed.” Probably the better word is Jesus Transformation. Just every Christian accepts Christ as their Savior, and they are transformed into a new creatures. Luke Chapter 9 tells the story of the Transfiguration or Transformation.

  Luke already prepares us that Elijah will make an appearance and this was done by Herod.    Lk 9:7-9 states “Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead; And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.” Herod had heard of the miracles that Jesus was doing and he raised a question. If I cut off the head of John the Baptist, does this mean that John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. So Herod thinks John the Baptist has been resurrected and he is doing all these great works. But he also asks the question could this be one of the old prophets, Elijah. Matt. 14:2 and Mk. 6:16 tells that Herod thought that Jesus was John the Baptist resurrected.

  The idea of Elijah comes up again when Jesus asks “Who do you say that I am.” Lk 9:18-21 tells us about this event. Verse 18 states  “And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?” Notice Jesus is being sneaky here and asks in third person “whom do the people say that I am.”
Verse 19 states “They answering said, John the Baptist; but some [say], Elias; and others [say], that one of the old prophets is risen again.” The disciples state that people were saying that Jesus was John the Baptist (same as what Herod was saying) or that Jesus was Elijah the prophet risen from the dead. Same thing crossed Herod’s mind.
Verse 20 states “He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.” Jesus gets real personal now. He asks the disciples in first person who do you say that I am? Peter gets it right that Jesus is “The Christ of God.” The terms “The Christ of God” gives emphasis of the messianic role of Jesus. He is the Promised One who was ushering in a new era.
Verse 21-22 states “And he straitly charged them, and commanded [them] to tell no man that thing; Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.” Jesus wanted the disciples to not tell anyone yet about his being slain for the sins of the world and raised on the third day as the Jews were not ready for it yet. Jesus knew that the messianic role that the people and the disciples expected was much different from His actual role as the Messiah. And Jesus “commanded [them] to tell no man that thing.”

Joshua this sets up the scene for the Transfiguration which takes place in Lk 9:28-35. These verses are rich and amazing. Let’s rightly divide the Word of Truth and see what is going on.
The transfiguration involves 7 people, 6 who were visible and God who was invisible. This event probably took place upon Mt Hermon and not Mt Tabor as some theologians think. Mt Tabor would have been too far away to walk to it in  one day as the Jesus and the disciples did to reach the mountain. They probably walked during the afternoon to get to Mt Hermon and then night time came and this why they were drowsy from sleep when the Transfiguration took place i.e. at night.

  Lk 9:28 states “And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.” It is interesting to note that Jesus choose these three men to be in the His inner circle. There three events in which Jesus singled these three disciples: the raising of Jairus’ daughter, the Transfiguration, and Garden of Gethesmane.  Mark and Matthew states 6 days and Luke states 8 days, but this is not contradictory. Mark is speaking of the intervening days and Luke is including the days of Jesus’ teaching as well as the day of the transfiguration took place.
Jesus went up on Mt Hermon to pray as he usually did.    
  Lk 9:29 states “And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment [was] white [and] glistering.” So Jesus was praying but something was different about. The text the fashion of his countenance was altered. The Greek word for fashion is eidos which is referring to his external appearance. And the word countenance in the Greek is prosōpon means presence. So his outward appearance of his presence was altered. How was it altered? His raiment (clothing) was white and glistering. Now, glistering in the Greek is exastraptō which means to flash out like lightning, to shine, be radiant. So Jesus’ clothing was white and it was radiant or shined like lightening. He was very bright to the eyes. Peter, John, and James knew without a doubt Jesus had transfigured or transformed into a glorious external presence. See Joshua, when you go to the Greek you get the full meaning of how wonderful this appearance was.
John Walvoord and Roy Zuck states about this brightness of Jesus’ clothes “This would have immediately reminded those present of Moses’ face shining with a bright light when he received the tablets of the Law (Ex. 34:29-35).
Why did Jesus transfigure or transform or metamorphisize in front of Peter, John, and James. David Guzik tells us. “Why did Jesus do this, and why at this time? Because Jesus had just told His disciples that He was going the way of the cross, and that they should follow Him spiritually. It would have been easy for them to lose confidence in Jesus after such a "negative" statement. But now, as Jesus displays His glory as King over all God’s Kingdom, the disciples know that Jesus knows what He is doing; if He is to suffer, be rejected and killed, He is still in control. Jesus is showing in a dramatic way that cross bearers will be glory receivers. The end isn’t the cross, the end is the glory of God.”
So Jesus’ outward clothing was white and shined like lightening to show these three mean His glory as King over all God’s Kingdom.
  Lk. 9:30 states “And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias.” Why was Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah? Why could it not have been to King David or Solomon. David Guzik tells about his question “Because they represent those who are caught up to God (Jude 1:9 and 2 Kings 2:11). Moses represents those who die and go to glory, and Elijah represents those who are caught up to heaven without death (as in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Also because they represent the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah). The sum of Old Testament revelation comes to meet with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration.” So Moses represents those who are caught up to glory and Elijah represents those who are caught up to heaven without death.
Walvoord and Zuck expands on this theme a little more. “The bodies of Moses and Elijah were never found. God buried Moses’ body (Deut. 34:5-6), and Elijah did not die but was taken up to heaven (2 Kings 2:11-12, 15-18). These two men represent the beginning and the end of Israel, for Moses, as the Lawgiver, founded the nation, and Elijah is the to comeback before the great terrible day of the Lord (Mal 4:5-6). So both of these men were never found dead and/or experience death. We know for sure Elijah did not.

So this would answer your question “how did Jesus talk to Moses without violating the Mosaic Law against talking to the dead?” First, Jesus was not under the Mosaic Law in fact he fulfilled the Law (Matt. 5:8; Lk. 24:44; Jn. 15:25) even down to the last jot and tittle. Second,  Moses and Elijah were never found dead, and they were not dead when they were speaking with Jesus. They were alive. So Jesus was not speaking to dead men as the necromancer’s do. So Jesus did not break the Mosaic Law as he was not under the Mosaic Law because he fulfilled the Mosaic Law down to the last jot and tittle. And Moses and Elijah were never found dead and they were alive in Paradise when they were pulled in to talk to Jesus at the Transfiguration.

  Lk. 9:31 states “Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.” Moses and Elijah also appeared in glory. And Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were speaking of to each other about his death in Jerusalem. The word decease is exodus in the Greek means departure or exit. “Departure” referred to Jesus’ leaving the world through which He would bring salvation—much as Yahweh had brought deliverance to Israel in it Exodus (departure) from Egypt. This departure would be fulfilled in Jerusalem” (Walvoord and Zuck).
Walvoord and Zuck bring up a good point about why Moses was chosen to appear with the other two. Moses was never found dead, Moses was the Lawgiver, founded the nation of Israel, and had already experienced the departure (exodus) from Egypt which would correspond to Jesus’ departure to take the penalty of all man’s sins to the cross. Just something to think about.
Lk. 9:32 states “But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.” So Peter, John, and James woke up and saw all these three men in their glory.
  Lk 9:33 states “And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.” So Peter, James, and John saw as Moses and Elijah departed, and Peter wanted to build a tabernacle in the honor of all three. There is a problem here with Peter’s wanting to build these three tabernacles. I believe this is another one of those moments in Peter’s life that he suffered from letting his alligator mouth overload his mockingbird rear-end. Peter did the same thing when he told Jesus “I will not deny you Lord.”  Peter is saying “I will build a tabernacle for all three.” Peter was putting Moses and Elijah on the same level as Jesus. Moses and Elijah were mortal men who had gone up to Heaven to be with God, but Jesus was God who came down to Earth in the form of mortal man. Jesus is God in the flesh and he putting Moses and Elijah on the same level. This is a big mistake.
Peter catches his mistake as Luke states “not knowing what he said.” So Peter may have caught the mistake made or Luke is saying he did not know what he was saying. In either case, Peter shot off his big mouth without thinking. We all do this sometime or other, but not in the very presence of Jesus who shown to him in all of his Glory earlier.

  Lk. 9:34-35 states “While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.” This maybe where God Himself corrects their thinking since Peter had mistakenly sinned by putting Moses and Elijah on the same level as Jesus.  God Himself spoke to Peter, James, and John in the cloud that “This is my beloved Son: hear him.”
Guzik states about this “Being in the presence of God’s glory in this way was not really a pleasant experience, especially because Peter had just sinned and needed correcting. Sometimes the glory of God is shown in His correction of us. The voice from the cloud of glory makes it clear that Jesus is not on the same level as Moses and Elijah. He is the beloved Son - so Hear Him!” We all need to hear the voice of Jesus in our lives.

Joshua, this is an small explanation of the Transfiguration of Jesus and what it means. But Jesus was not breaking the Mosaic Law when he was talking to Moses and Elijah.

Joshua, you asked “but so was Samuel and Saul was still charged with necromancy. Please clarify this confusing question of mine!”

NECROMANCY is speaking to the dead and you are right this is wrong and God does not want us to have contact with such mediums. Deut. 18:9-12 tells about this “When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 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: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.”

SAUL AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR
In 1 Sam. 28:11-16 tells of Samuel seeking the Witch of Endor. But Saul’s problem really starts in 1 Sam. 28:6 which states “And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.”
  David Guzik makes some interesting observations about this “Saul is in a terrible place. The Philistines threaten Israel, Saul’s courage has failed him, and now God is silent when Saul seeks Him. Saul hoped that God would speak to him through dreams, but God was silent. He hoped God would speak to him through the Urim, but God was silent. He wanted to hear from God through the prophets, but God would not talk to Saul. Why is God silent towards Saul? Won’t God answer everyone who seeks Him? Not always; not when a man is in a place of judgment as Saul is. King Saul has rejected and is currently rejecting God’s previously revealed will. Since Saul doesn’t care to obey God in what he already knows, God will not give him more to know.”
  POINT: “When we reject the word of the LORD, we can still be comforted by the fact that He is speaking to us. As we continue to reject His word, He will stop speaking to us - and we will lose even that comfort.”

  1 Sam. 28:7 states “Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, [there is] a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.” It is interesting that Saul knew that this medium would be a woman “that hath a familiar spirit.” Guzik makes this comment about this “Saul recognized that a medium would likely be a woman. It is a persistent fact that women are more drawn to such occultic arts than men are. If we were to ask the Apostle Paul why this is the case, he would reply as he did in 1 Timothy 2:14 - that Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.”
  He states about the Witch of Endor “Traditionally, this woman is known as the Witch of Endor. It may be appropriate to call her a witch, but it is more accurate to call her a medium or a necromancer - one who makes contact with the dead. The Hebrew word for medium is owb, and it has the idea of “mumbling” or speaking with a strange, hollow sound - as if one were “channeling,” with a dead person speaking through them. The Hebrew word has in mind the sound the channel makes as they speak. The English word medium has in mind the concept of a channel - they stand in-between the world of the living and the dead, and communicate between the two worlds.” So speaking to the dead is speaking to the satanic world. Speaking to demons.

  1 Sam. 28:8 states “And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me [him] up, whom I shall name unto thee.”
  Why would Saul want to disguise himself? One is because he is the King and next is the closeness of Endor to Saul and Saul to the Philistines. “Endor was only a short distance away, on the north of the Hill of Moreh, and accessible despite the Philistine forces close by.” (Baldwin) Endor was “located four miles northeast of Shunem and thus dangerously close to where the Philistines were encamped.” (Youngblood). So Saul was only 4 miles where the Philistines were camped.
  Saul had come to the witch at night and told her to “divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me [him] up, whom I shall name unto thee.”
  By wanting the Witch of Endor to call up Samuel he is putting a curse on himself. “Saul seeks the medium, he brings upon himself a curse. God said in Leviticus 20:6: And the person who turns after mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people” (Guzik).

  1 Sam. 28:9 states “And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?” The Witch of Endor has caught onto Saul. And she confronts him that he has cut off all the witches who can call up familiar spirits, and wizards out of the land. And she tells him that he is setting a trap to snare her and kill her too as he had all other mediums and witches.

  1 Sam. 28:10 states “And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, [As] the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.” Saul swears by using the name of the LORD that as the LORD lives, there shall be no punishment that comes to the Witch. Saul has sinned very badly again here. “Saul’s oath in the name of the LORD reminds us that spiritual jargon means nothing. As certainly as the LORD lives, Saul was in complete disobedience and darkness! This is the last time Saul uses the name of the LORD. He uses it to swear to a medium that she will not be punished!” (Guzik).
  “Saul swore to her by the LORD: while engaging in a practice that was practically a denial of God’s sovereign control of everything, Saul swore in God’s name that he would protect the woman” (Nelson Study Bible).

1 Sam. 28:11 “Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.” Why would Saul want to call up Samuel as he was the one who got his case the most when he was sinning.
“Why did Saul want to see Samuel? Considering the times Samuel strongly rebuked Saul (such as in 1 Samuel 15:22-29), we might think that Samuel was the last person Saul would want to see. Probably, Saul wanted to remember his “good old days” with Samuel, when the prophet was his guide and mentor (1 Samuel 9:25-26). In the midst of his sin, depression and demonic influence, Saul forgot that Samuel was in fact his adversary when he slipped into sin (1 Samuel 13:13-14 and 15:22-29)” (Guzik).
Merrill Unger shines more light on why Saul would want to call up Samuel. He states “Saul asked that Samuel be brought up, that is, from the realm of the spirits, because he knew there was none like the venerable prophet and judge who knew God’s mind and future events so well. The woman doubtlessly began her custom preparations for her control to take over, entering into a trancelike state to be used by her control or divining demon, who would then proceed to impersonate the individual called for.”  Mediums usually impersonated the one they were asked to call up and they manipulate the person wanting the dead called up by telling them what they want to hear. They do not really see real spirits called back, but the Witch of Endor does by the power of Almighty God.  



1 Samuel 28:12 states “And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou [art] Saul.” The Hebrew word for saw is ra'ah which means to see, to perceive, inspect, or discerned. So the Witch of Endor perceived that she had seen Samuel and  she cried with a loud voice. Why did the witch shout with a loud voice?  “Probably she was a fraud, and most of her dealings with the spirit realm were mere tricks. Now, Samuel really appears from the world beyond, and she is completely surprised to have a real encounter with the spirit realm” (Guzik). The Witch only dealt with divining spirits and manipulated her clients by impersonating the dead person that was called up.
Unger brings more light on this as the Witch actually saw the spirit of Samuel because God allowed it to happen so Samuel could relay something to Saul that God wanted to tell him. “The startling thing, however, was that the usual occult procedure was abruptly cut short by the sudden and totally unexpected appearance of the spirit of Samuel. Transfixed with terror, the woman screamed out with shock as she perceived that God had stepped in. Samuel’[s actual spirit was presented to pronounce final doom upon Saul. Ecclesiasticus 46:20 agrees on Samuel’s appearance: “After death the [Samuel] prophesied and showed the king his latter end.”
  The medium’s terrified conduct as the appearance of a real spirit of a deceased person constitutes a complete scriptural disclosure of the fraudulency of all spiitistic mediumship. The woman, to be sure, had the power to communicate with wicked spirits. Such deceiving demons represent themselves to their mediums, and through them to their clients. But actually their messages do not emanate from the deceased at all, but from themselves as lying spirits who cleverly impersonate the dead.”  
  The Nelson Study Bible gives some insight on the different views that have been given on whether Saul and the Witch actually saw the spirit of Samuel or not. “The appearance of Samuel has been interpreted in various ways. It has been suggested that he appearance took place in Saul’s mind, as part of his psychological breakdown. The church fathers believed that a demon impersonated Samuel and appeared to Saul. Others have thought that the medium was a fraud who tricked Saul into thinking that he saw Samuel. It seems best to follow the early view that this was a genuine appearance of Samuel which God Himself brought about. Several points favor this interpretation: (1) The medium was surprised (v. 12); (2) Saul identified the figure as Samuel (v. 14); (3) the message Samuel spoke was clearly from God (vv. 16-19); (4) the text says that the figure was Samuel (vv. 12, 15, 16). There is not inherent difficulty with God bringing back the spirit of Samuel from heaven and allowing him to appear to Saul—in spite of the women’s evil profession.”
  Baldwin makes an interesting observation that maybe the Witch was familiar with demonic spirits but not the Holy Spirit. “we can say that this medium was familiar with the presence of demonic spirits, the presence of the Holy Spirit was probably completely unfamiliar to her. The holy presence of the Holy Spirit may have seemed terrifying to her. “The indications are that this was an extraordinary event for her, and a frightening one because she was not in control.”

  So it can be said that God allowed for Saul to see the spirit of Samuel and it was nothing that the Witch did to bring him back. God had a message for Samuel to give to Saul. As noted earlier that in Deut. 18:9-12, God told the nation of Israel not to use necromancers, but God is control all things in this world and He alone can call up any spirits He wants, for any purpose He wants to accomplish, anytime He wants to do it, and it is not our place to question it. We are only to be obedient to His Word and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
  The Witch had noticed that the person requesting the calling on Samuel was Saul and she said “why have you deceived me.”

  1 Sam. 28:13-14 states “And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form [is] he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he [is] covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it [was] Samuel, and he stooped with [his] face to the ground, and bowed himself.” The woman say gods which in the Hebrew is 'elohiym which means “literally, “gods,” but often applied to the One God in plural form, to both reflect the truth of the Trinity and God’s greatness, which is indicated in the Hebrew by the plural form. When the medium says she saw an elohim, does she mean that she saw the One True God? Does she mean that Samuel is deified? No; speaking from her own pagan context, she calls this appearing of Samuel an elohim because that was what it seemed to be in her pagan vocabulary. It is only she who calls Samuel an elohim” (Guzik).
  “The term god, as used here, refers (in accordance with a well-established Hebrew usage) to a “judge” or a “prophet,” as those “unto whom the word of God came” (John 10:35; Psalm 82:6). God consequently dignified such men with the authority to bear His own name (Ex. 21:6; 22:8). The designation was preeminently apropos of Samuel, God’s representative as judge and prophet” (Merrill Unger).
  In verse 14, the witch furthers distinguishes Samuel and identifies him as “An old man cometh up; and he [is] covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it [was] Samuel.” Saul recognized the Prophet as the witch had described as Samuel and he stooped his face to the ground and bowed himself.”
  Joshua, we have to understand that Samuel made himself appear to the point that the medium and Saul recognized him. Interesting.

  1 Sam. 28:15 states “And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.” Samuel asks Saul why have you disquieted or disturbed me and bring me up.  “ This is an indication to us of the reality of the world beyond. Though he passed from this world, Samuel was in a real place, living a real existence. We need to live every day with the understanding of the reality of eternity, of the world beyond. Much of this life will only make sense in light of the world to come. Properly speaking, Samuel was not in heaven. Jesus explained in the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) that before the finished work of Jesus on the cross, the believing dead went to a place of comfort and blessing known as Abraham’s bosom. When Jesus finished his work on the cross, the sin’s penalty was paid for these believing dead, and they were then ushered into heaven” (Guzik).
  Saul tells Samuel that God has departed from him and will not answer him, not by prophets, or by dreams. Saul brought Samuel up so Samuel would tell him what to do. Saul knew that God would not speak to him in any other way, or through any of the other prophets, he thought that somehow or some way the godly prophet Samuel, conjured by a medium, would speak wisdom to him!

  1 Samuel 28:16-19  states “Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, [even] to David:  Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow [shalt] thou and thy sons [be] with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”
  “Samuel’s pointed and stinging rebuke to Saul is added evidence that his spirit had actually appeared and that it was not an impersonating demon. In several terms Samuel announced that the LORD had wrested the kingdom form Saul and that Saul and his sons would die the next day” (Unger).
  Because Saul did not obey LORD by not executing the Amalekites, Israel would be rented out of the hands of Saul. Israel, Saul, and his sons would be delivered under the sword of the Philistines the next day. Also Saul and his sons would die at that time.
  Saul asked in verse 16 what should I do. Samuel never told Saul what to do because it was too late, but Samuel told Saul what was going to happen. He and his sons would die by the hand of the Philistines the next day.

  To sum it up. God had departed from Saul and Saul sinned by seeking a necromancer and to call upon the medium to call upon Samuel. But the witch was surprised because most of the time she faked a spiritual encounter by impersonating the called upon spirit, but this time God used a real spiritual encounter. And God brought Samuel back, not the witch, to tell him that he was going to die the next day. Saul did get his answer he was seeking. Saul sinned by using necromancy. All Saul would have done was to repent of his sins.

  Joshua, this maybe clear as mud to you. But I went to great extent to  explain and gave references so you will no longer be confused. I hope this helps.

Blessings.

Dr Don Howe, RN, PhD, ThD