What the Bible says About Ghost

Ghosts are more celebrated in Halloween. The thought  of them being scary and spooky drives people nuts when Halloween night comes. A lot of scary stories appear. There are really spirits existing among us. God lets us know in His Word that there certainly are spirits in this world. You are probably aware of all the many references to spirits in the Bible that aren’t talking about the spirit of men. Here are just a few:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:12).

“That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.” (Matthew 8:16)

The word “ghost” itself derives from the Old English word gást. In many older versions of the Bible, the term for the Holy Spirit was often commonly said to be “Holy Ghost.” For example, in Matthew 3:11 (KJV) of the King James Version, the Holy Spirit will be referred as the “Holy Ghost,” instead of just the Holy Spirit as you will find in the New International Version (Matthew 3:11, NIV). This is probably where the original confusion about the actual existence or non-existence of ghosts began. As Christians, we should know that it is certainly possible that such things as “spirit beings” exist, but it is not possible that such a thing as the “spirit of people who have died” also exists.

Now what do really happen when we die? The bible says that when we die, it’s either heaven or hell for us. No holding grounds. Without getting into a lengthy discussion, let’s say for the moment that people who have rejected Jesus Christ go to hell and people who have accepted the atoning sacrifice of Jesus and been forgiven go to heaven.Scripture teaches that when we leave this life…… life continues either with Jesus or not with Jesus. Once we are in the place we have chosen by our acceptance or rejection of Jesus, we are there. We don’t go in and out of heaven or hell. There is no scripture that suggests that we do.

There are several passages which help to explain how it would not be possible for us to die and then to live on, in some sort of spirit form, as a ghost. Hebrews 9:27 (NIV) tells us clearly that we are “…destined to die once and, after that, to face judgment.” And when we are judged, the decision for us is heaven if we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior (John 3:16). However, if a person chooses to become an unbeliever (and continues being an unbeliever), then their destination would be hell (Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:22-24).

So, what about ghosts? Ghosts that we see or some see were spirits, not of the one that died, but of the devil. In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 11:14-15), we are told how these creatures are able to appear or disguise themselves as what Paul calls “angels of light” and “servants of righteousness.” Because of this ability, it is certainly reasonable to assume that a demon could in fact appear to someone as the spirit of a deceased person–especially that of a loved one–if it helped the demon to carry out its evil purposes.

The Bible states that the dead do not have contact with the living (Luke 16:19-31). Therefore, if one has contact with or ‘sees’ or experiences a paranormal being, you can be sure it’s not great aunt  Mary. Rather, it is a spirit pretending to be great aunt Mary. And this is why we are warned NOT to have contact with people who claim to contact the dead. We are actually contacting fallen angels, unclean spirits or demons. These are deceitful spirits under the control of the father of lies, Satan.

So, next time, be careful on what you believe in. Believe in the bible for it tells us the truth. No other basis for the truth but the Bible. For this coming Halloween, maybe it’s the best time for us to read the bible and what the bible tells about it. Look for bible believing/based church that tells about the truth about spirits.