What's the deal with "ghosts"?

[JFitz]

Hi!

Is there such things as ghosts? By that term I mean "spirits of people who have died..." I'm pretty sure that the bible negates the idea that the spirits of human beings can remain on earth and “haunt” the living but I've always heard stories of people saying "I saw my grandmother's ghost!" Is that even possible?

Thanks!

 

[chilehed]

When we die our spirits go elsewhere. If one of your relatives is in heaven and God wishes him to come and have a chat with you, I'm sure that He's capable of making that happen. But if you or anyone else thinks he's seen someone's ghost, it's best to assume that you were seeing something else or seeing things that weren't there at all.

 

[NR90]

I have been Ghost Hunting before. I was standing in a spot in the middle of a field at a supposed Paranormal area and I was with a huge crowd.
Then all of a Sudden this white figure pops up for a split second and disappears. It looked like it had a figure.
I believe I wasnt just seeing things because alot of others saw it as well.
I do not know what Ghost are.
If they are anything then they could be something that takes the form of a deceased person.
I do not know. Maybe its Purgatory but the Bible doesnt mention anything about that.

 

[Crosssword]

Heb 12:1 "We are also compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses."
1 John 4:1 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but test the spirits if they are of God."
1 Cor 15:44-46 "There is a physical body and there is a spiritual body. First that which is natural and afterwards that which is spiritual."

Well, the book 30 years among the dead gets into this, but it is not a Christian work by any means. Therefore read with skepticism as it may be necromancy. There is a chapter on Christian science though. Just read the first 10 pages maybe.

http://new-birth.net/booklet/30_years_among_the_dead.PDF

Note: if you even the least bit unsure of your faith then don't even read that may cause you to lose it. It is not my intention to lead away, but to forewarn, forearm, and debunk. Hold it in a state of possibly and remember that the Bible is absolute.

It goes on to say that ancestor worship was the earliest form of worship. There is an invisible spirit world surrounding the phsyical. It points out that many many elements of science are invisible to the human eye. Death does not make a saint of a sinner, or a wise sage of a fool. It suggests the spiritual realm surrounding us is the outer darkness mentioned in the Bible.

See the problem with Occultism for the Christian is that we don't know what was taken out of the Bible by the early roman empire, and what is actually satanic lies. Furthermore some scriptures and combination of scriptures can be taken to mean different things. In the gospel of Thomas Jesus says "not until man becomes woman and woman becomes man will ye find the kingdom of heaven." this is perhaps a reference to todays world in which sex change is actually possible.

 

[JasperJackson]

Ghosts? No.
Angels and demons? Yes

 

[whatfor]

Angels and demons yes.

Spirits also yes but not sure where to go with that.

 

[tturt]

sure haven't done extensive reading on this subject but there's Godly angels and spirits, ungodly angels and spirits.

According to Biblical scholars, the stars of heavens in Rev 12:4 is referring to angels. One third angels joined Satan and were cast out of heaven. So 2/3's are Godly. Jesus said He could have called ten thousand legions in Matt 26.

There are numerous Godly and ungodly spirits in Scripture such as: Godly - "Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud." ungodly - "And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice," (Luke 4:33)

Also, according to II Tim 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

 

[Migdala]

"Ghosts" are a trick of Satan. They are actually demons/evil spirits that have come to try to lure us into seances, fortune telling, etc....people who see a ghost of a loved one are more likely to rush out to a psychic to try to contact their loved one again. This is a trick of Satan.

The Bible clearly implies that we are not to receive our new bodies until Jesus comes back. It also says that the dead know nothing...so if they know nothing, then how can they come back in spirit form to freak someone out? I don't believe that a person automatically goes to Heaven or Hell when they die-the Bible implies that they are dead and know nothing, but we are judged at the END, and at that time, God will open His Books and we will be judged-we will then receive our new bodies.

In the OT, I think in Samuel, there's a story about a man who "conjured" up the dead. God hates stuff like that! So if he hates stuff like that, then it's obviously from Satan.

If you happen to see a ghost, rebuke it in the name of Jesus.

 

[heron]

Matthew 14:26
When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear.




Mark 6:49
But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out;

, Lexicons, Greek Lexicon

This doesn't define what a ghost is, but prevents us from following some of the dogmatic warnings to not even bring up the subject. We usually use the word apparition to mean something unexplained that appeared.

As said above, the Bible teaches us about harassing spirits. We can assume that if conscious and intentional spirits harass people, and change form and visibility, then they might be able to pawn themselves off as something else.

Leprechauns.