Communicating With The Deceased

Q

We lost our 19 year old daughter 3 and 1/2 years ago. I joined an internet group of grieving mothers, mostly Christian women. A lot of them talk about receiving “signs” from their child. Is this Biblical? I can’t say that I have ever had a sign, although I do dream about her. I am troubled that if it is possible to receive signs, why am I not receiving any?

A

In Old Testament times, communicating with the dead was forbidden in Israel (Deut. 18:11). This is because there is no way to determine whether a spirit is who he or she claims to be. Many well meaning people have been misled by spirits claiming to be deceased relatives. A quick search of the word necromancy (speaking with the dead) reveals over 70 verses in the Old and New Testaments that deal with the practice in either general or specific ways and all of them oppose it.