There is a supposedly true story of a preacher who was holding a gospel meeting several years ago in a little town in Arkansas. One day, while carrying his Bible as he walking to the church building for the gospel meeting, the preacher heard the sound of someone running up behind him. Soon, the preacher was overtaken by a young man who accosted him, saying, “So, are you a Christian?” The preacher looked the young man directly in the eye and responded by saying, “Yes, I am a Christian!”
The young man, caught off guard by the preacher’s forthright admission, stuttered and stammered a bit, eventually saying, “Well, the Holy Ghost told me to ask you that question!” Without missing a beat, the preacher looked the young man right in the eye and told him, “No, He didn’t, because I was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. He already knows me! You, sir, are running from some other ghost!”
This is an amusing tale, and it makes for a good lead-in for this topic, which is Ghosts in the Bible. I have known many Christians who struggle with their privately held personal belief in the paranormal versus what they have been taught is “church doctrine.” But what does the Bible actually say about ghostly phantoms and apparitions? What are they? Is it heretical to believe such things exist?
Many, if not most in the church, claim that the popular concept of a ghost and spectral hauntings are unbiblical. Some people claim that what are believed to be ghosts are in actuality demonic spirit activity mimicking the behavior of expired human beings in order to lead people astray from “pure” Christian faith, while others say that even demonic activity is no longer possible. As with all matters pertaining to Christianity, the best thing to do is to study it for yourself, because obviously there is not agreement within the brotherhood on this topic.
Others believe that ghosts are merely the physical residue left behind of a past life that does not have anything to do with the actual person’s soul or spirit. In other words, they believe there is a natural, heretofore unknown physical anomaly explanation in which the natural world captured an event from the past and replays them over and again, such as what happens when we take photographs or videos today. This would explain the stories of hauntings in which the alleged ghosts reenact the same event over and over, seemingly oblivious to those around them.
But what it really all comes down to is what is the view the person takes regarding the afterlife. Where do we go when we die? Does the soul just sleep, as many believe and teach, unconscious of anything, including the passing of time, until called by the Lord on the Last Day? Or do we immediately receive a reward, as others believe and teach? Once again, even within the brotherhood there is wide disagreement between good people. There are many references in the Bible that point to the destination of the person after death. Let us take a few moments to first look at these.
The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:1, 6-8 [RSV], 1. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.
6. So we are always of good courage; we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7. for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8. We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Many people who argue against ghosts as unbiblical point to verses 6-8. When we are dead, they say Paul states we are with God in Heaven. So according to this view, there can be no such thing as a real haunting because the soul and spirit are in Heaven when we die, if we are in Christ. However, it is possible this view may be taking the Scripture out of context. The Apostle Paul’s purpose in writing this must be taken into account. He was writing this epistle from a Roman prison. He was about to give his life for the cause of Christ. Christianity was an illegal religion at this time and those who aligned themselves with believers faced persecution, torture and even death. Paul was easing the troubled hearts and minds of the Corinthian congregation. Our lives on this world here are but passing, but the afterlife is eternal. That is what is most important. Our mortal body will die, but we will be given a new one that is immortal by Christ, if we are a part of His body in this life. The Apostle Paul was speaking of his desire to be in that new immortal body so he can physically be with the Lord. And what seems to be the teaching of the New Testament is that it is on the Day of Judgment that we will be given a glorified, resurrected body like the Lord’s, not when we die. So it would seem is the teaching of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:20-21 [RSV] as well: 20. But our commonwealth is in Heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21. Who will change our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power which enables Him even to subject all things to Himself. So writes the beloved Apostle John in agreement with Paul: “Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2 [RSV]).
It is on Judgment Day that Jesus will descend from Heaven at the end of days and resurrect all His followers just as He was resurrected after He died. The mortal body will be replaced with a supernatural, immortal body. Two additional Biblical passages that give details about this are found in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, as well as in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. I will not supply all of these passages now, but will suffice to include three of these verses that are, in my opinion, the most telling and revealing: 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 [RSV] and 1 Thessalonians 4:13 [RSV]: 51. Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
13. But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
The term “sleep” here used by Paul is a euphemism for death in Christian Scripture. The writer of the passages we just read was the Apostle Paul. So rather than supporting the idea that when we die we are unconscious and asleep, as some teach, it seems that Paul is teaching that it is the body that sleeps, and not the spirit or soul or one’s consciousness. It would seem that Paul is only reiterating what his Lord taught while He walked the Earth. Listen closely to this familiar passage from the Gospel of John: 11. Thus He spoke, and then He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep." 12. The disciples said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." 13. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He meant taking rest in sleep. 14. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead; 15. and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." (John 11:1-15 [RSV])
So how do we know that it is the body that sleeps, and not the spirit, soul or consciousness? Because that is the context of what Jesus was teaching His disciples. He was teaching of a bodily resurrection, and how that would be accomplished through Him. Further down in this chapter John writes, 21. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22. And even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You." 23. Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24. Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 25. Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26. and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
39. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." 40. Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" 41. So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. 42. I knew that Thou hearest Me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me." 43. When He had said this, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." 44. The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." (John 11:21-26; 39-44 [RSV])
So it would seem that in light of the context, it is the body that sleeps, the body that is changed. Lazarus’ body would have begun decaying and putrefying, just as Martha had said. But Jesus was demonstrating that He is the power of the resurrection. He was giving the people a preview of what was to come on the Day of Judgment, the Last Day. The body sleeps at death until it is changed into a new supernatural one at the end of days.
So what happens to our invisible part, the spirit or soul after death? Can the spirit still roam the Earth after death? It is true that the Bible does talk about ghosts, and the spirits of the dead returning to the Earth.
Almost everyone has heard the story of Jesus walking on water, and teaching Peter to have faith and to trust in Him. However, just before the text tells us about Peter’s attempt to walk to Jesus on the water, the text also tells us something else quite unusual: 25. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26. But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27. But immediately He spoke to them, saying, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." (Matthew 14:25-27 [RSV])
The disciples were afraid because they thought Jesus was a ghost. Now if it is true that ghostly apparitions are all demonic presences as some Christians proclaim, then why were the disciples afraid? Just a few chapters earlier Jesus had demonstrated how to exorcise evil spirits and then He had even commissioned the disciples to go all over the land and do so themselves (Matthew 8:28-34; Matthew 10:1-4). It would seem that they should have had some personal experience in exorcism of demons by themselves. “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!” (Luke 10:17 [RSV]) So why were they afraid? They were afraid because they believed in ghosts. They believed disembodied spirits of the dead could still roam and haunt the Earth. Additionally, it is also very telling that Jesus did not rebuke them for thinking He was a ghost. Instead, He chose to calm them down and let them know it was Him. If the concept of a ghost is so foreign to the Scriptures, if it is so unbiblical, as some claim, then why did Jesus not take that opportunity to teach them the truth? I cannot think of a single case that exists whereby Jesus let a teaching opportunity slip by without correction.
In fact, I believe a positive statement of the existence of ghosts is made by Jesus Himself in Luke 24:36-39 [RSV]: 36. As they were saying this, Jesus Himself stood among them. 37. But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. 38. And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? 39. See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have."
Not only do we have a second event in which the apostles believed they were seeing a spirit, once again Jesus remained silent. He did not take the opportunity to correct them by teaching them the supposed truth that there are no such things as ghosts. But instead of correcting them by saying, "there are no such things as ghosts," Jesus says, "a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have." When we look at His actual words as well as notice the words that are conspicuously missing from this statement, it seems to me to offer up the proof that ghosts or spirits could be encountered by the living.
In the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel chapter 28:7-25 we see Saul, King of Israel, visit a medium when God does not answer him when war approaches. The Prophet Samuel had died and King Saul asked the medium to bring up Samuel from the dead. The ghost of Samuel talked to the king and told him his fate was sealed, just as he told him while he was alive. Verses 11-15 [RSV] talk about the appearance of the ghost of Samuel:
11. Then the woman said, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" He said, "Bring up Samuel for me." 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." 13. The king said to her, "Have no fear; what do you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I see a god coming up out of the Earth."
14. He said to her, "What is his appearance?" And she said, "An old man is coming up; and he is wrapped in a robe." And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.
15. Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am in great distress; for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams; therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do."
The Bible clearly states that this is the ghost of the prophet Samuel. Nowhere in the text does it state that he is otherwise. The spirit is the disembodied essence of the man, and he is recognizable. He is “brought up” from the Earth by the Witch of Endor, brought from the grave to their presence. Therefore, according to the Old Testament and the gospels, the concept of a ghost or disembodied spirit of a deceased person is not only real, it is Scriptural.
Some people believe that the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus proves that ghosts cannot exist. We cannot even agree if this is a parable or a true story, so how can we make doctrine about ghosts from it when we cannot even agree what it is? Secondly, what is the context of the passage? Is the reason the true story/parable is told to us in order for us to make a doctrine regarding the existence of ghosts and the paranormal? I say, absolutely not! The purpose of the real story/parable is to teach us that judgment occurs at the point of death, and we should never put our trust in the riches of this life, but place them where they rightfully belong, in God and Him alone.
To conclude that the dead cannot come to the Earth from this passage is erroneous. The passage does not teach this at all. It says a gulf existed between the dead where the Rich Man was, and the dead where Lazarus was that could not be bridged. This proves again that death is when judgment occurs, also agreeing with the teaching of Hebrews 9:27. There are no second chances once we die. One place of the dead was for punishment, and the other place was designed for reward. Once it was established that this gulf cannot be crossed, it is then that the Rich Man begs Abraham to send Lazarus to his living brothers. Abraham does not say that is impossible at all. We make that assumption. He just says that in this case, it would be fruitless. Fruitless, but not impossible. "They have Moses and the prophets," says Abraham. If they will not listen to them, then neither will they listen to Someone Who is dead and comes back to life. And in this case, I believe Jesus has Abraham referring to Himself. He was the One Who was going to "rise from the dead," and still these hard-hearted Pharisees would not believe. Why? Because as Jesus said, Moses and the prophets spoke of Him (John 5:46).
Please go back and read this passage and see that what I have written is true. Abraham says nothing at all about it being impossible for the dead to go and visit the living.
Let us examine another passage routinely used to "prove" that ghosts cannot come back and interact with the living, Ecclesiastes 9:5 [RSV], which says, "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward; but the memory of them is lost."
Wow! If we are going to form doctrine from this verse and teach that it is impossible for ghosts to walk the Earth then we MUST also conclude that no one will be living when Jesus returns, and all other passages that teach otherwise are in error. This verse does not add a clause that says, "Except for those living when Jesus returns." It simply says that "the living know that they will die." If we are going to take it literally that the only explanation for the clause "but the dead know nothing" is that the spirits of the dead cannot have intelligent interaction with those who are living, then we must hold the same hard and fast standard in our interpretation of "the living know that they will die." There cannot be any living person on the Earth when Jesus returns.
Secondly, we also MUST teach that no one can remember anything about a loved one who has passed away, and if they think they are remembering their deceased grandmother they are really being deceived through the counterfeit actions of a demon. Why? Because the exact words from this verse say "the memory of them is lost." Some claim that what we perceive are the spirits of the dead are really all counterfeit, demonic manifestations in order to deceive us because this verse teaches that the dead cannot appear as a spirit or a ghost to the living. If that is what we conclude from this verse about the existence of ghosts, then we also must conclude the same thing about our memories of the dead: They are demonic manifestations. Do we really want to go down these roads, too? I daresay the answer is no. So if these conclusions are wrong, then so, too, are the conclusions wrong about the context of what is being discussed here.
By the way, we also must conclude that the same fate awaits everyone, regardless of whether or not they are good or evil, or in Christ or not in Christ, because verse 2 of this same chapter says so [RSV]: "since one fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good man, so is the sinner; and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath." Are you going to tell me (rightly) that I am taking this out of context if I interpret it to mean that everyone goes to the same place? Then I am going to tell you (rightly) that interpreting verse 5 to say it forbids the existence of ghosts is also taking it out of context. Solomon is making no declaration one way or another about the existence or lack of the existence of ghosts. He is teaching as he does in this entire book that everything we do in this life is fruitless, it is "vanity of vanities," if we forget our purpose, our whole duty of man, in being here in the first place, and summed in chapter 12:13 [RSV], which is: "Fear God, and keep His commandments." That is it! That is the meaning of this verse! Our lives are worthless if we do otherwise. It has nothing whatsoever to do with creating a doctrine about ghosts!
Lastly, we cannot ignore the appearance of Moses and Elijah with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. They had to have appeared as spirits or ghosts, because this was before Jesus had been resurrected. He is the first to receive a glorified, resurrected body (1 Corinthians 15:20). It is not until Jesus returns that we will be resurrected (if dead) or translated (if living) into a glorified body like His (1 John 3:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). Once again, we have an historical record of the appearance of ghosts or spirits of men who have died and interacted with the living in an intelligent manner. Dare we say this was a demonic counterfeit?
We should never allow anyone to fool us. I could be wrong, but it would seem from what we have read that belief in the existence of ghosts, the disembodied spirits of the dead, is Scriptural, and not heresy. It would seem to me that later Bible readers and teachers have read into the text their own preconceived notions which led to faulty conclusions, instead of reading from the texts and basing their ideas from the Scripture itself.
The young man, caught off guard by the preacher’s forthright admission, stuttered and stammered a bit, eventually saying, “Well, the Holy Ghost told me to ask you that question!” Without missing a beat, the preacher looked the young man right in the eye and told him, “No, He didn’t, because I was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. He already knows me! You, sir, are running from some other ghost!”
This is an amusing tale, and it makes for a good lead-in for this topic, which is Ghosts in the Bible. I have known many Christians who struggle with their privately held personal belief in the paranormal versus what they have been taught is “church doctrine.” But what does the Bible actually say about ghostly phantoms and apparitions? What are they? Is it heretical to believe such things exist?
Many, if not most in the church, claim that the popular concept of a ghost and spectral hauntings are unbiblical. Some people claim that what are believed to be ghosts are in actuality demonic spirit activity mimicking the behavior of expired human beings in order to lead people astray from “pure” Christian faith, while others say that even demonic activity is no longer possible. As with all matters pertaining to Christianity, the best thing to do is to study it for yourself, because obviously there is not agreement within the brotherhood on this topic.
Others believe that ghosts are merely the physical residue left behind of a past life that does not have anything to do with the actual person’s soul or spirit. In other words, they believe there is a natural, heretofore unknown physical anomaly explanation in which the natural world captured an event from the past and replays them over and again, such as what happens when we take photographs or videos today. This would explain the stories of hauntings in which the alleged ghosts reenact the same event over and over, seemingly oblivious to those around them.
But what it really all comes down to is what is the view the person takes regarding the afterlife. Where do we go when we die? Does the soul just sleep, as many believe and teach, unconscious of anything, including the passing of time, until called by the Lord on the Last Day? Or do we immediately receive a reward, as others believe and teach? Once again, even within the brotherhood there is wide disagreement between good people. There are many references in the Bible that point to the destination of the person after death. Let us take a few moments to first look at these.
The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:1, 6-8 [RSV], 1. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.
6. So we are always of good courage; we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7. for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8. We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Many people who argue against ghosts as unbiblical point to verses 6-8. When we are dead, they say Paul states we are with God in Heaven. So according to this view, there can be no such thing as a real haunting because the soul and spirit are in Heaven when we die, if we are in Christ. However, it is possible this view may be taking the Scripture out of context. The Apostle Paul’s purpose in writing this must be taken into account. He was writing this epistle from a Roman prison. He was about to give his life for the cause of Christ. Christianity was an illegal religion at this time and those who aligned themselves with believers faced persecution, torture and even death. Paul was easing the troubled hearts and minds of the Corinthian congregation. Our lives on this world here are but passing, but the afterlife is eternal. That is what is most important. Our mortal body will die, but we will be given a new one that is immortal by Christ, if we are a part of His body in this life. The Apostle Paul was speaking of his desire to be in that new immortal body so he can physically be with the Lord. And what seems to be the teaching of the New Testament is that it is on the Day of Judgment that we will be given a glorified, resurrected body like the Lord’s, not when we die. So it would seem is the teaching of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:20-21 [RSV] as well: 20. But our commonwealth is in Heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21. Who will change our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power which enables Him even to subject all things to Himself. So writes the beloved Apostle John in agreement with Paul: “Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2 [RSV]).
It is on Judgment Day that Jesus will descend from Heaven at the end of days and resurrect all His followers just as He was resurrected after He died. The mortal body will be replaced with a supernatural, immortal body. Two additional Biblical passages that give details about this are found in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, as well as in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. I will not supply all of these passages now, but will suffice to include three of these verses that are, in my opinion, the most telling and revealing: 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 [RSV] and 1 Thessalonians 4:13 [RSV]: 51. Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
13. But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
The term “sleep” here used by Paul is a euphemism for death in Christian Scripture. The writer of the passages we just read was the Apostle Paul. So rather than supporting the idea that when we die we are unconscious and asleep, as some teach, it seems that Paul is teaching that it is the body that sleeps, and not the spirit or soul or one’s consciousness. It would seem that Paul is only reiterating what his Lord taught while He walked the Earth. Listen closely to this familiar passage from the Gospel of John: 11. Thus He spoke, and then He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep." 12. The disciples said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." 13. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He meant taking rest in sleep. 14. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead; 15. and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." (John 11:1-15 [RSV])
So how do we know that it is the body that sleeps, and not the spirit, soul or consciousness? Because that is the context of what Jesus was teaching His disciples. He was teaching of a bodily resurrection, and how that would be accomplished through Him. Further down in this chapter John writes, 21. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22. And even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You." 23. Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24. Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 25. Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26. and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
39. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." 40. Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" 41. So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. 42. I knew that Thou hearest Me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me." 43. When He had said this, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." 44. The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." (John 11:21-26; 39-44 [RSV])
So it would seem that in light of the context, it is the body that sleeps, the body that is changed. Lazarus’ body would have begun decaying and putrefying, just as Martha had said. But Jesus was demonstrating that He is the power of the resurrection. He was giving the people a preview of what was to come on the Day of Judgment, the Last Day. The body sleeps at death until it is changed into a new supernatural one at the end of days.
So what happens to our invisible part, the spirit or soul after death? Can the spirit still roam the Earth after death? It is true that the Bible does talk about ghosts, and the spirits of the dead returning to the Earth.
Almost everyone has heard the story of Jesus walking on water, and teaching Peter to have faith and to trust in Him. However, just before the text tells us about Peter’s attempt to walk to Jesus on the water, the text also tells us something else quite unusual: 25. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26. But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27. But immediately He spoke to them, saying, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." (Matthew 14:25-27 [RSV])
The disciples were afraid because they thought Jesus was a ghost. Now if it is true that ghostly apparitions are all demonic presences as some Christians proclaim, then why were the disciples afraid? Just a few chapters earlier Jesus had demonstrated how to exorcise evil spirits and then He had even commissioned the disciples to go all over the land and do so themselves (Matthew 8:28-34; Matthew 10:1-4). It would seem that they should have had some personal experience in exorcism of demons by themselves. “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!” (Luke 10:17 [RSV]) So why were they afraid? They were afraid because they believed in ghosts. They believed disembodied spirits of the dead could still roam and haunt the Earth. Additionally, it is also very telling that Jesus did not rebuke them for thinking He was a ghost. Instead, He chose to calm them down and let them know it was Him. If the concept of a ghost is so foreign to the Scriptures, if it is so unbiblical, as some claim, then why did Jesus not take that opportunity to teach them the truth? I cannot think of a single case that exists whereby Jesus let a teaching opportunity slip by without correction.
In fact, I believe a positive statement of the existence of ghosts is made by Jesus Himself in Luke 24:36-39 [RSV]: 36. As they were saying this, Jesus Himself stood among them. 37. But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. 38. And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? 39. See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have."
Not only do we have a second event in which the apostles believed they were seeing a spirit, once again Jesus remained silent. He did not take the opportunity to correct them by teaching them the supposed truth that there are no such things as ghosts. But instead of correcting them by saying, "there are no such things as ghosts," Jesus says, "a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have." When we look at His actual words as well as notice the words that are conspicuously missing from this statement, it seems to me to offer up the proof that ghosts or spirits could be encountered by the living.
In the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel chapter 28:7-25 we see Saul, King of Israel, visit a medium when God does not answer him when war approaches. The Prophet Samuel had died and King Saul asked the medium to bring up Samuel from the dead. The ghost of Samuel talked to the king and told him his fate was sealed, just as he told him while he was alive. Verses 11-15 [RSV] talk about the appearance of the ghost of Samuel:
11. Then the woman said, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" He said, "Bring up Samuel for me." 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." 13. The king said to her, "Have no fear; what do you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I see a god coming up out of the Earth."
14. He said to her, "What is his appearance?" And she said, "An old man is coming up; and he is wrapped in a robe." And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.
15. Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am in great distress; for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams; therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do."
The Bible clearly states that this is the ghost of the prophet Samuel. Nowhere in the text does it state that he is otherwise. The spirit is the disembodied essence of the man, and he is recognizable. He is “brought up” from the Earth by the Witch of Endor, brought from the grave to their presence. Therefore, according to the Old Testament and the gospels, the concept of a ghost or disembodied spirit of a deceased person is not only real, it is Scriptural.
Some people believe that the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus proves that ghosts cannot exist. We cannot even agree if this is a parable or a true story, so how can we make doctrine about ghosts from it when we cannot even agree what it is? Secondly, what is the context of the passage? Is the reason the true story/parable is told to us in order for us to make a doctrine regarding the existence of ghosts and the paranormal? I say, absolutely not! The purpose of the real story/parable is to teach us that judgment occurs at the point of death, and we should never put our trust in the riches of this life, but place them where they rightfully belong, in God and Him alone.
To conclude that the dead cannot come to the Earth from this passage is erroneous. The passage does not teach this at all. It says a gulf existed between the dead where the Rich Man was, and the dead where Lazarus was that could not be bridged. This proves again that death is when judgment occurs, also agreeing with the teaching of Hebrews 9:27. There are no second chances once we die. One place of the dead was for punishment, and the other place was designed for reward. Once it was established that this gulf cannot be crossed, it is then that the Rich Man begs Abraham to send Lazarus to his living brothers. Abraham does not say that is impossible at all. We make that assumption. He just says that in this case, it would be fruitless. Fruitless, but not impossible. "They have Moses and the prophets," says Abraham. If they will not listen to them, then neither will they listen to Someone Who is dead and comes back to life. And in this case, I believe Jesus has Abraham referring to Himself. He was the One Who was going to "rise from the dead," and still these hard-hearted Pharisees would not believe. Why? Because as Jesus said, Moses and the prophets spoke of Him (John 5:46).
Please go back and read this passage and see that what I have written is true. Abraham says nothing at all about it being impossible for the dead to go and visit the living.
Let us examine another passage routinely used to "prove" that ghosts cannot come back and interact with the living, Ecclesiastes 9:5 [RSV], which says, "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward; but the memory of them is lost."
Wow! If we are going to form doctrine from this verse and teach that it is impossible for ghosts to walk the Earth then we MUST also conclude that no one will be living when Jesus returns, and all other passages that teach otherwise are in error. This verse does not add a clause that says, "Except for those living when Jesus returns." It simply says that "the living know that they will die." If we are going to take it literally that the only explanation for the clause "but the dead know nothing" is that the spirits of the dead cannot have intelligent interaction with those who are living, then we must hold the same hard and fast standard in our interpretation of "the living know that they will die." There cannot be any living person on the Earth when Jesus returns.
Secondly, we also MUST teach that no one can remember anything about a loved one who has passed away, and if they think they are remembering their deceased grandmother they are really being deceived through the counterfeit actions of a demon. Why? Because the exact words from this verse say "the memory of them is lost." Some claim that what we perceive are the spirits of the dead are really all counterfeit, demonic manifestations in order to deceive us because this verse teaches that the dead cannot appear as a spirit or a ghost to the living. If that is what we conclude from this verse about the existence of ghosts, then we also must conclude the same thing about our memories of the dead: They are demonic manifestations. Do we really want to go down these roads, too? I daresay the answer is no. So if these conclusions are wrong, then so, too, are the conclusions wrong about the context of what is being discussed here.
By the way, we also must conclude that the same fate awaits everyone, regardless of whether or not they are good or evil, or in Christ or not in Christ, because verse 2 of this same chapter says so [RSV]: "since one fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good man, so is the sinner; and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath." Are you going to tell me (rightly) that I am taking this out of context if I interpret it to mean that everyone goes to the same place? Then I am going to tell you (rightly) that interpreting verse 5 to say it forbids the existence of ghosts is also taking it out of context. Solomon is making no declaration one way or another about the existence or lack of the existence of ghosts. He is teaching as he does in this entire book that everything we do in this life is fruitless, it is "vanity of vanities," if we forget our purpose, our whole duty of man, in being here in the first place, and summed in chapter 12:13 [RSV], which is: "Fear God, and keep His commandments." That is it! That is the meaning of this verse! Our lives are worthless if we do otherwise. It has nothing whatsoever to do with creating a doctrine about ghosts!
Lastly, we cannot ignore the appearance of Moses and Elijah with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. They had to have appeared as spirits or ghosts, because this was before Jesus had been resurrected. He is the first to receive a glorified, resurrected body (1 Corinthians 15:20). It is not until Jesus returns that we will be resurrected (if dead) or translated (if living) into a glorified body like His (1 John 3:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). Once again, we have an historical record of the appearance of ghosts or spirits of men who have died and interacted with the living in an intelligent manner. Dare we say this was a demonic counterfeit?
We should never allow anyone to fool us. I could be wrong, but it would seem from what we have read that belief in the existence of ghosts, the disembodied spirits of the dead, is Scriptural, and not heresy. It would seem to me that later Bible readers and teachers have read into the text their own preconceived notions which led to faulty conclusions, instead of reading from the texts and basing their ideas from the Scripture itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment