Are Ghosts Real? Hebrews Vs. Luke

Chrystal-J said:

Hebrews 9:27-28
27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Or
Luke 24:36-39
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”


Jesus referred to ghosts, but Hebrews states that judgment comes after death. I'm confused on this subject. Any comments appreciated.

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Why can't Christ refer to something not real, that others he is talking to consider real?

You seem to have assumed that ghosts come from Humans.

Ghosts can be fallen angles appearing to decieve or frighten.

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Chrystal-J said:

I think they could be demons--but why call them ghosts if they're demons? There are plenty of references to demons in the bible, but only a couple regarding ghosts.

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Maybe it is because they don't commonly manifest that way...

The word used in Luke 24 is pneuma, or spirit. Whenever the NT refers to the departed, it is as spirits, not souls. Thus Hebrews 12.23 speaks of ,the spirits of just men made perfect,, and likewise 1Pet 3.19 talks about ,the spirits in prison,. It's hard to fathom the difference between spirit and soul, but Heb 4.12 assures us there is one.

I think the main point of the text is to prove that the appearance of Jesus was not that of a disembodied spirit from the other side, but of Him with resurrected (though not yet glorified) body. He tells them He is in His body, and He eats food to prove it further. Thie physical resurrection is a critical point, as 1Cor 15 brings out.

As to the question about ghosts, or spirits, the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man teaches that there is a barrier set up between the realms. I personally tend to think that ghosts are demonic activity. But I certainly don't speak for the Catholic Church.

Ghosts exist. I've often claimed the night my father died, he appeared in my room, but I wouldn't call that a ghostly apparition. I think he was sent to apologise for all his cruelty, and then went to Hell going by the final terrifying scream just before he disappeared again.

So to some extent it would depend on what you mean by a "ghost"?

My old Presbyterian pastor once predicted that "I think you'll be doing a cleaning job for a short time. You won't like it much and you won't do it for long, but I think the Lord will just want you to hear about a ghost." It took 15 years, but I did a cleaning job for a few months, didn't like it much, and I heard about a ghost. It's been an interesting story, and I'm still working through it. In that case I think the "ghost" was undergoing part of his purgatory by being bound to an old store.

In this case the "ghost" was a former suicide who hanged himself at the premises sometime in the 1960's. Eventually I had a mass said for him.

Do Catholics Believe in Ghosts?: Church Teaching on Purgatory – St. Paul Center

Some of the typical indications that a human soul in purgatory may be present are sounds of a person walking or pacing, odors that were associated with that person, knocks on the walls, and, in cases of suicide, a heavy and sad feeling in the area where the suicide occurred. There is almost always a lack of speech on the part of these souls outside of the single phrase “Help me” or “Yes” in response to the question “Do you need prayer?” The souls in purgatory are aware of God’s prohibitions about seeking information from the dead (see Deut 18:9–14; Lev 19:31 and 20:6; Is 8:19; and others) and so would never draw the living into this sin by communication beyond a need for prayer or Masses.

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I see a psychiatrist a few times a year (maybe about three times on average). I don't need to, although I had depression when I started. Nowadays it's to touch base on spiritual issues. About 2.5 years ago he said to me "Something strange happened in church last weekend." I asked him what it was, and he said they announced a parishioner had died that morning. She'd also been one of his patients.

The "strange" bit was that he said "She was in the church". He could see her. She seemed to be trying to get his attention, but then gave up. He said she then moved to the other side of the church where he thought she might have had family members.

A lady I met via my last job said she had a similar experience to my father turning up the night he died. In her case it was her husband, who apologised for the way he'd treated her. What was interesting was that her eldest daughter had exactly the same experience. Of all the children he'd been most abusive to her. So on the night he died he turned up and apologised to both of them.

So I accept "ghosts" exist. Some may be demonic, some may be forlorn spirits trapped in a kind of purgatorial world, some may be putting in a short term experience to apologise or make amends, and what the rest are I wouldn't know. Your guess is as good as mine.

Christ didn't skirt the issue - with His usual verbal economy He simply said "Ghosts do not have flesh and blood as I do", which implies He accepted they existed.

As a Presbyterian pastor who used to run a home for street kids said to me "There's a very strange psychic world out there!" It exists and that's all there is to it.

In none of the above cases did any us seek out these spiritual beings - they came to us of their own accord, or were told to by higher authority. End of story.

Bob Crowley said:

Ghosts exist. I've often claimed the night my father died, he appeared in my room, but I wouldn't call that a ghostly apparition. I think he was sent to apologise for all his cruelty, and then went to Hell going by the final terrifying scream just before he disappeared again.

So to some extent it would depend on what you mean by a "ghost"?

My old Presbyterian pastor once predicted that "I think you'll be doing a cleaning job for a short time. You won't like it much and you won't do it for long, but I think the Lord will just want you to hear about a ghost." It took 15 years, but I did a cleaning job for a few months, didn't like it much, and I heard about a ghost. It's been an interesting story, and I'm still working through it. In that case I think the "ghost" was undergoing part of his purgatory by being bound to an old store.

In this case the "ghost" was a former suicide who hanged himself at the premises sometime in the 1960's. Eventually I had a mass said for him.

Do Catholics Believe in Ghosts?: Church Teaching on Purgatory – St. Paul Center



I see a psychiatrist a few times a year (maybe about three times on average). I don't need to, although I had depression when I started. Nowadays it's to touch base on spiritual issues. About 2.5 years ago he said to me "Something strange happened in church last weekend." I asked him what it was, and he said they announced a parishioner had died that morning. She'd also been one of his patients.

The "strange" bit was that he said "She was in the church". He could see her. She seemed to be trying to get his attention, but then gave up. He said she then moved to the other side of the church where he thought she might have had family members.

A lady I met via my last job said she had a similar experience to my father turning up the night he died. In her case it was her husband, who apologised for the way he'd treated her. What was interesting was that her eldest daughter had exactly the same experience. Of all the children he'd been most abusive to her. So on the night he died he turned up and apologised to both of them.

So I accept "ghosts" exist. Some may be demonic, some may be forlorn spirits trapped in a kind of purgatorial world, some may be putting in a short term experience to apologise or make amends, and what the rest are I wouldn't know. Your guess is as good as mine.

Christ didn't skirt the issue - with His usual verbal economy He simply said "Ghosts do not have flesh and blood as I do", which implies He accepted they existed.

As a Presbyterian pastor who used to run a home for street kids said to me "There's a very strange psychic world out there!" It exists and that's all there is to it.

In none of the above cases did any us seek out these spiritual beings - they came to us of their own accord, or were told to by higher authority. End of story.

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That’s really, really well expressed, and helpful. I have had similar experiences with deceased relatives; I have learned to take it as a sign to pray for them, and do what I can to help them.

Chrystal-J said:

My guess is that he wouldn't reinforce a false narrative. He would say there are no ghosts, if there were none.

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I disagree. He would not necessarily say one way or the other. If he was asked, he probably would and if he would, of course he would tell the truth. His mission was not to instruct the world on the way things work, what is and what is not.

(When a preacher tells a story, he often gets them from a book of stories or makes one up. The congregation usually well understands that the story may not be real --it is told to make a point. I think the same thing happened with Christ's parables, and particularly with the parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus after they die. The story was told to make a point, that had nothing to do with the arrangement of Heaven and Hell.)

The way people even nowadays talk, but certainly back in Christ's time, is not always to establish fact, but to infer meaning. Life, and wisdom, is about much more than scientific fact; we also operate on 'should do' and 'be careful' and so on.

Bob Crowley said:

So I accept "ghosts" exist. Some may be demonic, some may be forlorn spirits trapped in a kind of purgatorial world, some may be putting in a short term experience to apologise or make amends, and what the rest are I wouldn't know. Your guess is as good as mine.

Christ didn't skirt the issue - with His usual verbal economy He simply said "Ghosts do not have flesh and blood as I do", which implies He accepted they existed.

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In other versions it says, 'A spirit', not Ghosts. Demons and angels are spirits.

Chrystal-J said:

Thanks for the link. I've seen supernatural beings in my house regularly. But, I'm sure they're demonic because they are black-shadow figures who are there to intimidate. I even saw a shadow figure of the grim reaper once. It was walking through a crowd of shadow figures that were standing in a doorway of my house. I don't think I've ever seen a ghost, because the things I see have no facial features--the it has the shape of a human, but is dark like a void.
I'm reading the book of John right now and it talks about the resurrection of the dead at the end of time.
John 5:28-29
Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

I was confused by the passage in Hebrews. But, if it means judgment comes at the end of time (not immediately), then that would explain that there is time in-between when a ghost could appear before they are judged. I saw a 'haunting' show where a "ghost" was a person who's soul was in hell and they were forced by demons to haunt a house. That might be an explanation too.

Thanks for all your input! I appreciate it!

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Praying! My husband can see these, too. Exactly these beings. I believe they are demons, too. Prayers! Prayers to Saint Joseph, and Saint Michael!