Can The Dead Communicate With Us?
Once a person dies, if they are saved, they go to heaven, and if they are not saved, they go to hades/sheol, awaiting the Great White Throne of judgment.
They no longer have any input into earth’s realm as Jesus says in this story about the rich man and Lazarus:
Luke 16:26 “And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.” (ESV)
Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (ESV)
There are only two instances in Scripture of the dead rising to speak to the living: Elisha to Saul; and Moses & Elijah to Jesus. But these were the exceptions, and were brought about by God’s power, not the power of the medium, as we see by the mediums terror, when Elisha did appear:
1 Samuel 28:12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” (ESV)
Matthew 17:1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. (ESV)
Although Elijah never actually died, he was taken up, so his case is a little different.
God Forbids Necromancy
God forbids and strongly warn humans not to try to communicate with the dead:
Deuteronomy 18:10–12 “There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer, or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD.” (ESV)
Isaiah 8:19 “And when they say to you, ‘Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,’ should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?” (ESV)
The reason for this is that it is not possible to communicate with the dead, but demons can assume the personality of a loved one and communicate with you. This is what the Bible in old English calls a ‘familiar spirit.’ A demon pretending to be the person you want to communicate with.
Demons Pretending To Be A Person You Know
“Familiar spirits” are not departed saints but deceptive spiritual entities (demonic) invoked by mediums.
Obviously demons have existed from the beginning and can be aware of the history of a dead person. They can communicate things that no one on earth could know, making it appear that the person really is communicating with the loved one they desperately want to hear from.
Leviticus 19:31 ‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. (NKJ)
In the ESV Bible it reads:
“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.
Meaning, do not consult a medium that it communicating with a demon that is pretending to be someone you love.
Is It A Problem To Casually Speak To A Deceased Loved One?
There are times that we speak to the air as though speaking to a deceased loved one, and this is not a problem. For instance, grief often involves “speaking as if the loved one were still present,” but this must be understood psychologically, not spiritually. It is emotional expression, not spiritual communication.
The danger comes if a grieving person begins to believe that their loved one actually hears or responds, since this contradicts Scripture (Eccl 9:6; Luke 16:26).
It can be a comfort to let one’s feelings out as if to the person.
In fact, a ‘laments’ often addressed the memory of the departed (e.g., 2 Sam 1:17–27, David’s lament for Jonathan and Saul). These are poetic addresses, not attempts to converse.
Who Knows, They may Hear Us
Our departed believing loved ones may hear us, as these and other verses may suggest. Those in heaven now, do know of some of what is happening on earth, it is clear that they have some knowledge of events. But it is a problem if we want answers from them.
Revelation 6:9–11 – “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain… They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord… how long before you will judge…?’”
Luke 15:7, 10 – “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents… there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Revelation 18:20 – “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”