1st Samuel 28:11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. 12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
That could never be Samuel. Never! It does not even matter whether the writer, in this instance says so, for if the Bible is studied as it says it must be no one in their right mind should come to the conclusion that God permitted a witch to call His faithful servant from the grave. To put it bluntly, the “Old man with the mantle” is none other but satan. All angels have the ability to appear in the form of men, and this has occurred on several different occasions and continues to this day in the here and now.
1st Samuel 28:13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what did you see? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. 14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.
[Patriarchs And Prophets pp 680] All through his course of rebellion Saul had been flattered and deceived by Satan. It is the tempter's work to belittle sin, to make the path of transgression easy and inviting, to blind the mind to the warnings and threatenings of the Lord. Satan, by his bewitching power, had led Saul to justify himself in defiance of Samuel's reproofs and warning. But now, in his extremity, he turned upon him, presenting the enormity of his sin and the hopelessness of pardon, that he might goad him to desperation.
1st Samuel 28:15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore, I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!