Short answer: The Bible forbids going to mediums. God told Israel not to turn to mediums or consult the dead, and the New Testament treats spiritual counterfeits as deception. A Christian should not use one, however kind or convincing the person seems. For grief, God offers himself, his people and his promise of resurrection.
In This Article
Most people who search this are not curious about the occult. They are hurting. Someone died, and a friend suggested a reading, or a show on television made it look gentle and harmless. I understand the longing, and I want to treat it seriously, because the Bible does too.
Here is what Scripture says about mediums, why God says it, and where a grieving person can turn instead.
What Does God Say About Going To Mediums?
He says no, plainly and more than once. A medium, in the Bible's sense, is someone who claims to contact the dead or spirits and to relay messages. The Law puts it in the same list as other practices God's people must stay away from.
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.
Deuteronomy 18:10-11 (NIV)
Another command speaks directly to the person who might be tempted to go.
Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 19:31 (NIV)
Notice the reason. God does not say "avoid them because they are frauds," though many are. He says they defile, and then he reminds the people who he is. The issue is whom you trust. Isaiah puts it as a question.
When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
Isaiah 8:19 (NIV)
The Law took the sin seriously enough to attach heavy penalties in Israel (Leviticus 20:27). Those civil penalties belonged to ancient Israel as a nation under the Law, and Christians do not carry them out. The underlying moral point still stands: seeking the dead for guidance is seeking someone other than God.
The Story Of King Saul
The best-known account is in 1 Samuel 28. Saul had earlier removed mediums and spiritists from the land. Then, terrified before a battle and unable to get an answer from God, he disguised himself and went to a woman at Endor to call up the prophet Samuel. The result was not comfort. The message delivered was one of judgment, and Saul died in battle soon after.
Bible students disagree on exactly what happened at Endor, and whether it was really Samuel appearing or something else. I do not think we can settle that, and I would be careful of anyone who claims to. What the Bible itself says about it is clear. The chronicler summarizes Saul's death by saying he was unfaithful to the Lord, and that he consulted a medium instead of seeking guidance from the Lord (1 Chronicles 10:13-14). Saul went to a medium because he had stopped listening to God.
Can Christians Use Mediums?
No. Nothing in the New Testament cancels the warning, and several passages confirm it. When Paul and Silas met a slave girl with a spirit of divination in Philippi, Paul did not treat her as a legitimate source of insight. He drove the spirit out in the name of Jesus (Acts 16:16-18). Later, the new believers in Ephesus burned their scrolls of magic arts as they turned to Christ (Acts 19:18-19). And Paul lists sorcery among the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21).
"But the medium seems so nice and loving," people tell me. That may be true. Kindness is not the test. John tells believers not to trust every spirit but to test them (1 John 4:1), and Paul warns that Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). A pleasant face is exactly what a deception would wear.
Some modern mediums even claim to channel Jesus, God or Mary. That should raise the alarm, not lower it. Jesus warned that false messiahs and false prophets would arise and perform signs to deceive (Matthew 24:24), and Paul said that in later times some would follow deceiving spirits (1 Timothy 4:1).
Are Mediums Demonic?
I need to be careful and fair here. There are three possible explanations for what a medium does, and the Bible leaves room for more than one.
| Possibility | What It Means | Biblical Concern |
|---|---|---|
| Deliberate fraud | The person uses technique to appear to know things | Deceiving the grieving violates the call to truthfulness |
| Self-deception | The person sincerely believes they hear the dead | Sincere error is still error, and it leads people away from God |
| Spiritual counterfeit | A deceiving spirit supplies information or an appearance | Scripture says there are real spiritual powers that deceive |
Skeptics have long observed that many mediums rely on general statements, reading a person's reactions, and information the sitter gives away without noticing. That is how many readings appear to be accurate. Not all of them are only tricks, though, and the Bible does not claim that every case is fraud. When the New Testament encounters a person with a spirit of divination, it names a real spiritual source behind it.
So is mediumship demonic? Where the power is real, Scripture points to spirits that are not from God. Where it is not, the practice is still deception. In both cases the same guidance applies: stay away. You do not have to decide which kind a given medium is. Mediumship is also not the same as witchcraft in every detail, but the Bible groups them together as ways of seeking hidden knowledge or power apart from God. You can read more at what the Bible says about witchcraft and tarot cards.
Can The Dead Speak To Us?
This is the question underneath the others, and a good many people ask it with a lump in their throat: when a person passes away, do they know? Can they hear me when I talk to them?
Scripture does not give us a lot of detail, and I do not want to say more than it does. A few things are clear.
- Death is real and is followed by judgment, and the dead do not return to the living (Hebrews 9:27).
- For the believer, death means being with the Lord. Paul says he would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:8 (NIV)
- Jesus' story of the rich man and Lazarus describes a great gulf fixed between the dead and the living, and it says that people who will not listen to Moses and the Prophets will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead (Luke 16:19-31).
The Bible never teaches that we should speak to the dead or that they hear our words. Some Christians believe that those with Christ may be aware of things on earth, since Hebrews 12:1 speaks of a great cloud of witnesses, and others read that passage differently. I think the humble answer is that we do not know. What we do know is that we are told not to seek messages from them. If you talk to a lost loved one in prayer-like grief, remember that your prayers go to God, who hears you. Grief is not a sin.
If you have experienced what feels like contact, for example in dreams or a sense of presence, I wrote carefully about that in loved ones visiting us in dreams and in what the Bible says about ghosts.
Where Should Grieving People Turn?
I do not want to tell anyone to stay away from mediums and then leave them with nothing. The Bible offers real help, and it is better than a stranger's guess.
To God, Who Is Near
He does not stand at a distance from sorrow.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
Jesus himself wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus (John 11:35). He understands. You can bring him the questions you would have brought to a medium, and he will not mock them.
To The Hope Of Resurrection
Paul wrote so that believers would not grieve without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). The promise is not a message from the dead but the return of Christ and the reunion of believers. That is a stronger comfort than any reading.
To God's People
Grief was never meant to be carried alone. Find a church, a small group, a pastor or a trusted friend. Let people sit with you and bring meals and say the dead person's name. If the loss is a child, what the Bible says about miscarriage may help, and if you are wondering about a funeral decision, see cremation.
If you have already visited a medium, you are not beyond forgiveness. Confess it, turn from it, and receive the grace that God promises (1 John 1:9). Many believers have been where you are. See also Does God Forgive All Sins?
Key Bible Verses About Mediums
- Leviticus 19:31: do not turn to mediums or spiritists
- Deuteronomy 18:10-11: a list of practices God's people must avoid, including consulting the dead
- Isaiah 8:19: inquire of your God instead of consulting the dead
- 1 Samuel 28:3-25: Saul visits the medium at Endor
- Acts 16:16-18: Paul drives out a spirit of divination
- 2 Corinthians 11:14: Satan masquerades as an angel of light
- 2 Corinthians 5:8: to be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord
- Psalm 34:18: the Lord is close to the brokenhearted
Frequently Asked Questions
What does God say about going to mediums?
God says not to turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, because doing so defiles us (Leviticus 19:31). He tells his people to inquire of him instead. The prohibition is repeated in Deuteronomy 18 and Isaiah 8.
Can Christians use mediums?
No. The New Testament repeats the warnings, shows the apostles confronting a spirit of divination, and tells believers to test every spirit. A medium who seems gentle and sincere is still a substitute for trusting God.
Are mediums considered demonic?
Some may be frauds and some sincerely mistaken, while the Bible also describes real deceiving spirits behind divination. You do not need to decide which, since the instruction is the same either way: do not consult them.
Is mediumship witchcraft?
The Bible lists mediums beside witchcraft, sorcery and divination as ways of seeking hidden power or knowledge outside God. Read my article on witchcraft for more.
When a person passes away, do they know?
Scripture does not give a full answer. It says believers are at home with the Lord and that the dead do not return to the living. Whether they are aware of events on earth is not clearly taught, so we leave that with God.
Can the deceased hear us when we talk to them?
The Bible never tells us to speak to the dead or promises that they hear. Pray to God instead, who always hears. He can carry your love and grief in ways we cannot, and it is not wrong to grieve out loud.
