4 April 2013 by Rev Dr Steven Kau –
Is there such a thing as ghost? The answer to this question depends on what precisely is meant by the term "ghosts." If the term means "spirit beings," the answer is a qualified "yes." If the term means "spirits of people who have died," the answer is "no." The Bible makes it abundantly clear that there are spirit beings, both good and evil. But the Bible negates the idea that the spirits of deceased beings can remain on earth and "haunt" the living.
Hebrews 9:27 declares:
"Man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment." That is what happens to a person’s soul after death – judgment. The result of this judgment is heaven for the believer (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Phil. 1:23) and hell for the unbeliever. (Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:22-24)
There is no in-between. There is no possibility or remaining on earth in spirit form as a "ghost." If there are such things as ghosts, according to the Bible, they absolutely cannot be the disembodied spirits of deceased human beings.
The Bible teaches very clearly that there are indeed spirit beings who can connect with and appear in our physical world. The Bible identifies these beings as angels and demons. Angels are spirit beings who are faithful in serving God. Angels are righteous, good and holy. Demons are fallen angels, angels who rebelled against God. Demons are evil, deceptive and destructive. According to 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, demons masquerades as "angels of light" and as "servant of righteousness.’ Appearing as a "ghost" and impersonating a deceased human being definitely seem to be within the power and abilities that demons possessed.
The closest biblical example of a "haunting" is found in Mark 5:1-20. A legion of demons possessed a man and used the man to haunt a graveyard. There were no ghosts involved. It was a case of a normal person being controlled by demons to terrorize the people of that area. Demons only seek to "kill, steal and destroy." (John 10:10) They will do anything within their power to deceive people, to lead people away from God. This is very likely the explanation of "ghostly" activity today. Whether it is called a ghost, a ghoul or a poltergeist, if there is genuine evil spiritual activity occurring, it is the work of demons.
What about instances in which "ghosts" act in "positive" ways? What about psychics who claim to summon the deceased and gain true and useful information from them? Again, it is crucial to remember that the goal of demons is to deceive. If the result is that people trust in a psychic instead of God, a demon will be more than willing to reveal true information. Even good and true information, if from a source with evil motives can be used to mislead, corrupt and destroy.
Some wonder about the incident described in 1 Samuel 28:7-20. King Saul was preparing to do battle against the Philistines but the LORD had departed from him. Saul wanted to get a prediction on the outcome of the battle, so he consulted a medium (which God specifically prohibited) the witch of Endor. He ordered her to call up the spirit of Samuel the prophet. Since when does evil have authority to summon the souls of God’s servants?
Anyway, a "ghostly figure" of an old man appeared and the medium was startled. The figure scolded Saul, then told him he would not only lose the battle but also his life and the lives of his sons.
Scholars are split over what the apparition was. Some say it was a demon, impersonating Samuel. They note that that it came up out of the earth, instead of down from heaven and that Saul did not actually look at it. Saul had his face to the ground. Other experts feel God intervened and did cause Samuel’s spirit to manifest itself to Saul. Scripturally, that is not acceptable. To do so God would have to violate His Word in Deuteronomy and Leviticus and prohibitions against communicating with the death and consulting mediums.
So called ghosts are demons posing as dead people. Satan and his followers are liars, intent on spreading confusion, fear and distrust of God. If they can convince mediums, like the woman at Endor that they are actually communicating with the dead, those demons can lure many away from the true God. (2 Cor. 2:11)
The Bible tells us that a spiritual realm exist, invisible to the human eyes. It is populated by God and His angels; Satan and his fallen angels, or demons. Despite the claims of unbelievers, there are no ghosts wandering about the earth. The spirits of deceased humans inhabit one of two places: heaven or hell. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus clearly tell us that souls in heaven and hell cannot leave that realm at will. The Festival of the Hungry Ghost where the souls in hell are loosed for a period of time to roam the earth and then return to hell is ridiculous. But I observe that people are really scared stiff that they may accidentally bump into one of these "ghost." Don’t be silly.
Interest in the paranormal is becoming increasingly common. There are individuals and businesses that claim to be "ghost-hunters," who for a price will rid your home of ghosts. Human beings are innately aware of the spiritual world. Sadly, instead of seeking the truth about the spirit world by communing with the true God and studying His Word, many people allow themselves to be led astray by the spirit world. The demons surely laugh at the spiritual mass-deception that exists in the world today.
Oh, by the way, to convince you that "ghosts" does exist, demons will gladly put on a show, complete with audio-visual manifestations for effect.
Rev. Dr. Steven Kau is the pastor of Faith Covenant Church. The church address is at 1-1 Jalan Putra Mahkota 7/5B, 47650 Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, Selangor. Sunday service in English starts at 10 am. His email contact – kausteven@gmail.com
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Reference for pictures:
http://www.explorespiritism.com/images/Spiritism%20Spirits.jpg
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Fallen_angel.jpg
http://www.davidduke.com/images/see-no-evil-81.jpg
https://www.wizards.com/mtg/images/daily/ld/ld54_divination.jpg
thanks ! this helps alot
Why would God allow these demons to come haunt the living as dead relatives? I can see how anyone who lost a child or a parent to cold heartlessly believe these being are the actual family member.