The Witch of Endor, a Familiar Spirit, and the State of the Dead.

The Witch of Endor, a Familiar Spirit,
and the State of the Dead.
________________________________________
When discussing the state of the dead, that the dead are really dead and not in heaven, hell, or purgatory, the case of the Witch of Endor may be presented as proof that people don't really die, that they continue in some conscious state even after death. So let's examine what happened regarding King Saul and the Witch of Endor.
King Saul was given very explicit instructions by God through the prophet Samuel::
1 Sam 15:1 Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.
1 Sam 15:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
1 Sam 15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
So, just what did King Saul do? Did he follow God's instructions?
1 Sam 15:7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
1 Sam 15:8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
1 Sam 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
1 Sam 15:10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,
1 Sam 15:11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
King Saul disobeyed God. He spared the King of the Amalekites and the finest of the animals in direct opposition to the command of God. Now when Samuel confronted Saul, note what Saul said:
1 Sam 15:13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
Saul had the temerity to tell Samuel that he had done exactly as commanded by God! But Samuel knew better than that, after all, he had give Saul the instructions from God in the first place. So Samuel asks:
1 Sam 15:14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
1 Sam 15:19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
Saul, his disobedience now exposed, actually tries to blame the people for his actions:
1 Sam 15:20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
1 Sam 15:21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
Note how Samuel characterizes Saul's disobedience:
1 Sam 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
1 Sam 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Saul's transgression was of so great a magnitude that God was removing him as King of Israel, even though Saul then admitted his sin:
1 Sam 15:24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
1 Sam 15:25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.
1 Sam 15:26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
1 Sam 15:27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
1 Sam 15:28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
After slaying Agag, Samuel departed from Saul, and never returned, even to the day Samuel died:
1 Sam 15:35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
In fact, the spirit of God departed from Saul completely. God no longer spoke to Saul:
1 Sam 16:14 But the spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
Then later, the elderly Samuel died:
1 Sam 25:1 And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah.
So, now when faced by an enemy, Saul was no longer hearing from God or his prophets:
1 Sam 28:4 And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.
1 Sam 28:5 And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.
1 Sam 28:6 And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
So who does Saul seek council from? Who does he seek to tell him what he must do?
Seeking After A Familiar Spirit
1 Sam 28:7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.
God strongly condemned in scripture what Saul was going to do:
Lev 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.
Deu 18:10 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,
Deu 18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
Deu 18:12 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.
Deu 18:13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
Deu 18:14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
So, knowing that God condemned it, Saul still went to consult with a witch, a spirit medium and a necromancer (one who claims to consult with the dead).
1 Sam 28:8 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.
1 Sam 28:9 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?
1 Sam 28:10 And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
1 Sam 28:11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
Now, consider an important point. Was the witch to summon the spirit of Samuel down from heaven? No. Saul knew the state of the dead, that Samuel was dead in the grave. He was actually asking the witch to call Samuel up from the grave, not down from heaven.
Note also that God was no longer speaking to Saul, and God's prophets were not speaking with Saul (1 Sam 28:6). So now, are we to believe that a witch was going to thwart the will of God by conjuring up Samuel from the grave, so that Saul could speak with a prophet of God, against the explicit will of God? No witch could do such a thing.
Remember also, the witch at Endor was known for having a familiar spirit. What is a familiar spirit anyway? It is not an angel of God, surely, because of God's strong condemnation against consulting with them. A familiar spirit is a demonic spirit, a fallen angel in league with Satan. This is what the woman at Endor had, communication with a demon, a demon who was quite capable of impersonating Samuel. It was NOT Samuel who appeared at her summons, it was a demon masquerading as Samuel. The first thing that the demon did was expose Saul's masquerade to the witch:
1 Sam 28:12 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.
Now exposed to the witch, Saul continues to consult her:
1 Sam 28:13 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.
1 Sam 28:14 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.
Note that Saul did not actually see anything himself, he had to ask the witch who is was that she saw. So based on what the witch said, Saul presumed it was Samuel who he was communicating with, that Samuel had been summoned from the grave to speak with him, since the witch said she could see Samuel coming up from out of the earth (not down from heaven). King Saul was putting his trust completely in a spirit medium, a witch, a necromancer, against the expressed will of God. So the following conversation was not between Saul and Samuel, but between Saul and a witch with a familiar (demonic) spirit:
1 Sam 28:15 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.
Again, note that Samuel is represented as coming up from the grave, not down from heaven. Saul also affirms that he knows that God refuses to communicate with him any more by any means, yet he expected to get guidance from a dead prophet of God via a familiar (demonic) spirit. The counsel Saul gets predicts the defeat of Israel and his imminent death, along with his sons:
1 Sam 28:16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?
1 Sam 28:17 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:
1 Sam 28:18 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.
1 Sam 28:19 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.
1 Sam 28:20 Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.
Conclusion
King Saul was looking for help from the witch of Endor, to contact someone in the grave, a dead Samuel, so that he could know from God how he could gain a victory over the Philistines. But God was not talking to Saul any more. By knowing what the Bible teaches about the state of the dead, and the circumstances regarding Saul's relationship with God at the time, we can be quite certain that it was not actually Samuel raised from the dead speaking to him, but a fallen angel, a demonic spirit. That Saul even attempted this séance with a spirit medium (witch) was an abomination, a further rebellion against God, and Saul paid for his rebellion with his life.
1 Chr 10:13 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 inquire of it;
1 Chr 10:14 And inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
The words in italics in verse 13 are supplied by the translator, as they are not in the original text. So if you drop those words, it reads:
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 of a familiar spirit, to inquire;
So the passage above clearly states, Saul communicated with a demonic spirit, not Samuel.










The Souls Under The Altar
________________________________________
The following passage in the book of Revelation is often cited in support of the belief that people are created with an immortal soul that survives in a conscious state after death:
Rev 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
Rev 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
Rev 6:11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Here you seemingly have John the revelator observing the conscious living immortal souls of martyred Christians in direct conversation with the Lord. Oddly enough, though, these "souls" are seen under an altar. Where this altar is, is not openly stated, but the assumption by those who believe in an immortal soul is that this altar must be in the heavenly temple of God. For example:
"(1.) Where he saw them— under the altar; at the foot of the altar of incense, in the most holy place; he saw them in heaven, at the foot of Christ." ― Matthew Henry's Commentary on Revelation 6:9.
Why the martyrs are described as being "under the altar", Matthew Henry does not really explain adequately. Obviously, if this assumption is true, the altar of incense in heaven must be extremely large in order for thousands of martyrs to be there. That would be a literal interpretation, and makes about as much sense as all the dead saints literally going to Abraham's bosom (Luke 16:22), but Revelation is a book full of symbols.
The First Martyr: Abel
As a point of reference, it will be helpful to look first at the biblical account of the first martyr, Abel:
Gen 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
Gen 4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
Gen 4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
Gen 4:11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
Abel's blood, not Abel himself, cried out to the Lord. Clearly this did not happen in a literal sense. Abel's shed blood cried out from the ground to the Lord symbolically, for justice to be done, for his blood to be avenged, just like in Rev 6:10.
Nephesh
The book of Leviticus give us some interesting information about blood:
Lev 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
It is the Hebrew word nephesh that gives us the key:
Lev 17:11 For the life [H5315 nephesh] of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: [H5315 nephesh] for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul [H5315 nephesh].
The word nephesh occurs three times in that verse, and it is translated life, souls, and soul. So it would be just as proper to translate the verse as follows:
Lev 17:11 For the soul of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Nephesh, according to Strong's dictionary, also has the meaning of breath, so this is also valid:
Lev 17:11 For the breath of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Now as most people will probably recognize, that is a medically correct statement. The blood carries the oxygen from the lungs throughout the body. The body's breath is literally carried in the blood! So this verse draws a parallel between breath, soul, and blood. They are, in effect, synonymous in this case. Note this Messianic prophecy in Isaiah:
Isa 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul [H5315 nephesh] unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Since the life is in the blood (Lev 17:11), it was Jesus' blood that was poured out unto death at the cross.
Psuche
The word translated "souls" in Revelation 6:9 in the Greek is psuche, G5590 in Strong's dictionary, which also has the meaning of life or breath. Since we have concluded that the blood carries the life and breath in Leviticus 17:11, and life, breath, soul, and blood are synonymous in this case, the following is also a proper translation:
Rev 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the blood of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
Rev 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
Now verses 9 and 10 are coherent. It is the shed blood of the martyrs that is seen "under the altar", not immortal bodiless souls. Just as Abel's blood cries out symbolically for justice to the Lord, so does the blood of the martyrs "under the altar". So, just what does "under the altar" mean, and where is this altar. For the answers we need to look at the altars of the Hebrew sanctuary or temple.
The Sanctuary
(9) 2nd Apartment
The Holy of Holies
(8) The Ark of the Testimony of God containing the 10 commandments
(7) The Table of Showbread
(6) The Golden Altar
of Incense
(5) 1st Apartment
The Holy place
(4) The Golden Candlestick
(3) The Laver
(2) The Brazen Altar of Burnt Offerings
(1) The Sacrifice of the Lamb
The graphics of the sanctuary are adapted, with very minor revision, from an illustration by Tom Dunbebin.
In the above illustration, two altars are depicted. The altar of burnt offerings in the outer court (2), and the altar of incense (6) in the first apartment of the sanctuary, or holy place.
The Brazen Altar of Burnt Offering
Now again, we have determined that Revelation 6:9 refers to the blood of Christian martyrs as being "under the altar". This expression "under the altar" is explained by how sacrificial blood was used in the sanctuary: Here is one example:
Lev 4:7 And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
(See also: Exo 29:12, Lev 4:18, 25, 30, 34, 5:9, 8:15, 9:9)
Note that only a small amount of the blood of the sacrifice was applied to the horns (at the top) of the altar of incense, but, most of it was poured out on the ground at the bottom of the altar of burnt offerings. Now as Christians are aware, the animal sacrifices of the Hebrew sanctuary were symbolic for the sacrifice and death of the lamb of God, those sacrifices represented the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The animal blood poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering was symbolic of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, spilled on the ground under the cross! Therefore, the altar of burnt offering is symbolic of Christ's sacrifice, which occurred on this earth. (The Laver, which was between the altar of burnt offering and the entrance to the sanctuary, symbolically represents baptism, which is also on this earth.)
Now note what Paul says about the saints of God:
1 Cor 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
And note what Jesus said to Paul, then Saul, on the road to Damascus:
Acts 22:7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Acts 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
Saul was killing and persecuting Christians, yet Jesus accuses Saul of persecuting Him! Then there is this, also from Jesus:
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
So martyring Christians is spiritually like crucifying Christ anew, and His blood was repeatedly poured out symbolically "under the alter" of burnt sacrifice, which represented the cross, which was on this earth.
The Golden Altar of Incense
The altar of incense however, is in the heavenly sanctuary before the throne of God:
Rev 8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
Rev 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Rev 8:4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
Rev 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
However, because the golden altar of incense never had sacrificial blood poured out under it, it is not the altar spoken of in Rev. 6:9.
Two Groups of Martyrs
Now note that there will clearly be two groups of martyrs.
Rev 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
Rev 6:11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
This first group in Rev 6:9-11 are told they are to rest for a while until they are joined by a second group of martyrs, which are also mentioned in Revelation 14:
Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
These Christian dead "rest" from their labors, asleep in their graves. They are not alive as an immortal soul in heaven, A similar verse about Abel being quite dead is found in Heb 11:4-
Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
The Persecutor Drunken with the Blood of the Saints
The context of Revelation 14 (Mystery Babylon and the mark of the beast), and the following verses in Revelation 17, 19 and 20 describe the persecutor of the saints:
Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Rev 19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Interestingly enough, Revelation 17 tells us there are two phases of the "beast" which the woman rides:
Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
The Beast that Was Is Not And Yet Is
Papal sovereignty and persecution
1260 years (538-1798 A.D.)
The 1st group of Martyrs Papal sovereignty lost
(1798-1929 A.D.)
Pre-Advent Judgment
begins -1844 Papal sovereignty restored
(1929 - ?)
The 2nd group of Martyrs
See: Revelation 17 Expounded and The Scriptures on Judgment.

The first group of Christian martyrs, the group that must rest a while, are from the first persecution phase of the beast, the "beast that was". The second group of martyrs are to be martyred during the second phase of the beast, the beast that "yet is".
The White Robes of Judgment
Rev 6:11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
The "white robes" are the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Isa 61:10) otherwise spoken of as the "wedding garment" (Matt 22:11,12), and the "father's robe" (Luke 15:22). So Rev 6:11 indicates that the righteous dead are judged prior to the beginning of the second phase of persecution of the saints by the woman riding the beast, the apostate church. This is the beginning of what is called the pre-advent judgment which starts with the house of God (1 Pet 4:17).
Conclusion
So by all of the above, we can conclude that in Revelation 6:9 it is the blood of dead Christian martyrs that cries out symbolically, from where it was shed: on the ground "under the (brazen) altar (of burnt offering)", which represents the cross, which is to say on the Earth, not in heaven.
________________________________________
For more information:
What Really Happens When You Die?
"God is not the God of the dead, but of the living," ... Proof of the state of the dead?
The Witch of Endor, a Familiar Spirit, and the State of the Dead.
The Hebrew Sanctuary - The Illustrated Plan of Salvation
The Scriptures on Judgment.
Revelation 17 Expounded
What Does the Word Vatican Mean?
The Deadly Wound of Revelation 13:3
Antichrist, 666, and the Harlot Church Dressed in Purple and Scarlet
________________________________________