Question from a reader:

I have a spirit friend who comes to me and teaches me and tells me about what life was like centuries ago. I believe in Jesus Christ and see no problem with this. What do you think?

Answer from Randy Alcorn:

Read carefully this passage from Deuteronomy 18:

9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in [a] the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.

If you have a spirit friend who communicates with you, you are (or think you are) in fact “consulting the dead.” Even if he is coming on his own initiative, the spirit is disguising himself as someone who is being welcomed by you, instead of being told to stay away on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus. Of course, if you are not a believer, you don’t have the protection of the indwelling spirit, or the authority to call upon Christ. First and foremost, you need Jesus. He promises not only to be your Lord but your friend, and is an infinitely better friend than a spirit passing himself off as your friend, with a hidden agenda to destroy you.

I would refer you to 2 Corinthians 11:14 “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” He’s a master of disguise, and though spirit guides are sometimes imaginary, sometimes they are indeed real. But they are “familiar spirits,” passing themselves off as departed humans when they are in fact fallen angels who are very effective at persuading people that they are deceased historical figures or relatives.

Satan is a liar who skillfully communicates his lies in the guise of truth. Jesus says in John 8 that Satan was a liar from the beginning, “when he lies he speaks his native language” (NIV). The most effective lies come off sounding most truthful.

You are being deceived and are violating Scripture, which explicitly forbids even the attempt to consult departed spirits, as Deut 18 makes so clear.

You may not listen to someone who hasn’t known the Gnostic thrill of having your own spirit guide. You may think, “If only you knew what I knew.” But after reading both the relevant Scriptures, I would also ask you to read the following articles. You could invite further contact, but tell her you’ll only interact with her if she reads those three articles and tells you her response to them.

These articles, I think, could be helpful, because they are written by those who have tasted the dark fruit of the spirit realm. Hope one or both of these are of help:

• Helpful article by someone who has had “spirit guides” 
• Article from another person once involved in spiritism