Subject: Follow up. Was it REALLY Samuel? |
Bible Note: It’s important to consider whether or not we would want “recognition” as the qualifier in saying the spirit, called up by the witch, was Samuel or not. The passage never says that the witch recognized the spirit as Samuel but it seems a fair conclusion that she did based on verse 12 and so she would have been quite shocked that her familiar spirit did not appear instead. Still it would be a bit of a stretch for us to conclude that it was actually Samuel simply because Saul believed it based on the testimony of the witches description. Some other things to consider; Saul disguised himself initially fooling the witch into believing he was someone else. Fallen angels too can disguise themselves. 2 Corinthians 11:14 (AMP) And it is no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light; We want also to be cautious when considering the apparent authority with which the spirit spoke. Satan himself spoke with an assumed authority when he offered our Lord all the kingdoms of the world. I do believe the one who presented to Saul was in fact Samuel. I believe this only because the text seems to say so. “Then Samuel said to Saul,…” verse. 15 “and Samuel said…” verse. 16 Hope this helps, Jeff |