ARE GHOSTS REAL?
Eccles. 12:7
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
My key text is a verse by King Solomon.
1. A Sunday School teacher asked her class of small boys how Solomon happened to be so wise. One little boy said, "That’s because he had so many wives to advise him."
2. A little girl said, "King Solomon is my favorite character in the Bible. He was kind to ladies and animals." The startled teacher asked, "Who told you that?" "Nobody told me. I read it myself in the Bible," asserted the little girl. "It says Solomon kept 700 wives and 300 porcupines."
B. THE TOPIC OF GHOSTS
1. The topic of "ghosts" has been around as long as there have been human beings. “Ghost Stories” have been a mainstay on Halloween nights.
2. Casper the Friendly Ghost introduced American children to the concept. Then came the movie “Ghost Busters” and in its wake came "Ghost Hunters."
3. To me, hardly anything is as ridiculous as the reality show, "Ghost Hunters," as they go through old houses and buildings and pretend they hear or see something.
4. This brings us to the whole genre of "haunted" houses or buildings. Is all of this hocus-pocus?
5. Probably most of it is imagination, but undoubtedly, some of it has a true spiritual basis. Hopefully we'll come back to this later.
C. DEFINITION: “Ghosts” -In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost or specter, phantom, or apparition is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. (Wikipedia)
D. MENTIONED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
1. “When the disciples saw him [Jesus] walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear” Matt. 14:26. Also Mark 6:49 and Luke 24:37.
2. After Christ’s resurrection, He had them touch Him to convince them that He was not a ghost; “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.” Luke 24:39
I. SENSITIVITY TO THE SPIRITUAL REALM
A. THE SPIRITUAL REALM IS REAL
1. There is a spiritual realm. Some can see it and others can't. This is very clear in the story of Elisha and his servant.
2. “Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” 2 Kgs. 6:14-17.
B. SOME PERCEIVE IT CLEARER
1. The spiritual realm was there, but until God opened the eyes of Elisha's servant, he could not see them.
2. Just because we haven’t seen it, doesn’t justify unbelief in it. If you live long enough and draw close to God, you’ll probably experience it in some degree.
3. Sensitivity has to be developed to it. But combine that with consumption of the Word, because there’s greater chance of deception with the pursuit of knowledge. (i.e. – like Eve)
II. DIFF. BTW ANGELS & HUMAN SPIRITS
Angels and spirits are real. “The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.” Acts 23:8. Paul confessed he was a Pharisee, vs. 6.
A. ANGELIC SPIRITS
1. There is a difference between angels and humans spirits. The Angels are a finite number and were created at the beginning of creation.
2. They observed the creation of the Earth and the universe and, I suppose, the creation of human beings.
3. According to the book of Hebrews, angels are "spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation" Hebrews 1:14.
B. HUMAN SPIRITS
1. Humans spirits, however, were not all created at one time, nor is there a limited number that is not increasing, like Angels.
2. Instead, the human spirit is formed within the physical body while it is in formation in the mothers womb, Zech. 12:1; "Who forms ("fashions", Mal. 2:10) the spirit of man within him."
3. So in the Garden of Eden there were only 2 humans spirits; now there are billions! One similarity with Angels is that our spirit lives forever, in heaven or hell.
III. DISCUSSION ON SPIRITUAL MIGRATION
There are at least three different spirits in existence which could be interpreted as ghosts: spirits of Angels, spirits of humans, and spirits of animals. Let's look at each type.
A. MIGRATION OF ANGELIC SPIRITS
1. 1/3 of the Angels fell, following Satan into sin. They were "cast out" of heaven, imprisoned in the abyss or Tartarus, or degenerated into demons.
2. Evidently these demons roam freely in the earthly sphere and can possess individuals who are not safeguarded by covenant, or who open themselves up to demonic activity, or who become slaves to sin.
3. This might be one of the reasons why Paul calls Satan the Prince of the principality of the air.
4. So demon spirits are allowed to migrate around the unsanctified zones of the Earth. Undoubtedly they can’t come near nor would they desire to come near, the righteous or the wholesome; but only near that which is unclean and spiritually corrupted.
5. WHEN I SAW DEMONS.
a. Immediately after I was saved, I encountered a Christian college student (woman) who told me it was fine to dance if you were a Christian.
b. I took her word for it and we went to a bar. I got a Dr. Pepper. After a few moments I began to notice little "black clouds" zooming around the room, back and forth.
c. I asked the Lord what they were and He told me they were demons. They were evidently flying back and forth enticing different young people into sin.
d. I immediately told her, "I'm not staying here; this place has demons in it." And I left.
B. MIGRATION OF HUMAN/ANIMAL SPIRITS
1. TEXTS
“and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” Eccles. 12:7.
“Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?” Eccles. 3:21.
2. DO ANIMALS HAVE SPIRITS?
a. All physical, living beings, whether human or animal, have some sort of animating life-force beneath their physical form.
b. I would guess that just as there are gradations in physical life forms, from intelligent to non-intelligent (a worm), there are also gradations in the spiritual form of things.
c. According to Ecclesiastes 3:21, Solomon’s conjecture is that human spirits rise upward and the spirits of animals go down into the earth.
3. Although Solomon wasn’t sure, Paul was confident that “to be absent from the body, [is] to be present with the Lord” 2 Cor. 5:8.
4. According to Ecclesiastes 12:7, the human spirit
"returns to God who gave it," that is, to God to dispose of it as He sees fit.
5. In Luke 16, we see that Lazarus was immediately transported by the Angels to heaven, while the rich man woke up in hell. There is no reported period of wandering; human spirits are disposed of by God at death.
IV. THE STRANGE ACCOUNT OF THE WITCH OF ENDOR
A. TEXT
13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?” The woman said, “I see a ghostly figure coming up out of the earth.”
14 “What does he look like?” he asked. “An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said. Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.
15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” “I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.” 16 Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.” 20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words.” 1 Sam. 28:13-20.
B. HUMOR
1. This reminds me of the two old baseball players, Abe and Jake, who made a deal. Whichever one died first, he would come back and tell the other guy if there's baseball in Heaven.
2. A few months later, poor Abe passed on. Soon afterward, Jake sat in the park feeding the pigeons and heard a voice whisper, "Jake... Jake..."
3. Jake responds, "Abe! Is that you?" "Yes it’s me!"
Jake asks, "So, is there baseball in Heaven?"
4. "Well," says Abe, "I've got good news and bad news."
"Gimme the good news first," says Jake. Abe says, "Well, there is baseball in Heaven."
5. Jake says, "That's great! So what’s the bad news?"
Abe sighs and whispers, "You're pitching on tomorrow!"
C. EXPLANATION OF WITCH OF ENDOR
This episode has been understood in many different ways, among them the following:
1. God permitted the spirit of Samuel to appear to the woman;
2. The woman had contact with an evil or demon spirits in the form of Samuel by whom she was deceived and controlled. Zech. 10:2 says, “The idols speak deceit, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd.”
3. By using parapsychic powers such as telepathy or clairvoyance, the woman was able to discern Saul's thoughts and pictures Samuel in her own mind.
4. Whatever the explanation of this mysterious affair, the medium was used in some way to convey to Saul that the impending battle would bring death, would -- his hopes for a dynasty and would conclude his reign with a devastating defeat of Israel that would leave the nation at the mercy of the Philistines, the very people against whom he had struggled all his years as King. And this would come, as Samuel had previously announced (15:26, 28), because of his unfaithfulness to the Lord.
D. WE ARE COMMANDED NOT TO SEEK THE DEAD
1. “…do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who…who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.” Deut. 18:9-12.
2. So what looks so innocent or scientific on "Ghost
Hunters" where they tried to contact ghosts, isn't just goofy but is extremely evil in the sight of the Lord. God commanded us not to do it.
3. Any kind of meeting where people are trying to contact the dead will probably only end up forming a connection with some kind of demonic spirit.
4. In His wisdom, God said not to do it, to protect us from coming into contact with demon spirits and meddling in things of the spiritual realm to which he did not appoint us.
E. HAUNTED HOUSES, BAD SPIRITS
So what about haunted houses or buildings where we feel demonic oppression? What should we do about it?
1. I do not believe that human spirits are present to "haunt" a house; it may however be the presence of the demonic.
2. I have many times gone to people's houses to anoint them, pray over them, and to impart peace to them (Matt. 10:12-13).
3. It is possible, that if someone lived there before and dabbled in the occult, or, if there are occult materials in the house, or if there is a person living in that house who is connected to the demonic, that there may be some demonic presence still there.
4. That's where prayer and anointing services drive away any evil presence in the name of Jesus. There’s no set way, but most people circle the house and anoint the doors and windows and plead the blood of Jesus over the entire residence and rebuke any evil spirits and command them to go in the name of Jesus.
5. Then you ask the Lord to enshroud the residence with his Holy Spirit and peace. “Whatsoever we bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever we loose on Earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
6. Thank God for his wonderful authority in the spiritual realm and for the Name of Jesus so that we need not be troubled or afraid, but have peace and joy.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Tai Mabogungi attended seminary with me. His family had been witch doctors in Africa for many generations.
2. He had a powerful conversion to Christianity and then was filled with the baptism in the Holy Spirit with speaking in other tongues.
3. His father tried to dissuade him, but to no avail. His father wanted to send demon powers to attack him, but couldn't because they're of the same bloodline.
4. So his father hired another witch doctor to send demon forces. That night the demons attempted to attack Tai, but he resisted them in the name of Jesus and by praying in the Spirit all night long. He said it was a terrible fight in the spiritual realm, but he and Jesus prevailed.
5. The demons then went back and attacked the witch doctor who had sent them, and he in turn sent men to beat up Tai’s father, saying,
6. "You didn't tell me that we were attacking a Holy Ghost Christian! You know the demons have no power against them. You should have told me!"
7. What a great honor to know that the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit are respected in the spiritual realm!
B. SUMMARY OF POINTS
1. The spiritual realm is real.
2. We believe in angels and spirits.
3. We do not participate in any activity that contacts spirits or the dead. Those are grave and dangerous sin.
4. Don't be overly superstitious. But do recognize the name and blood of Jesus over your, and other’s, dwellings.
C. THE CALL
1. Special prayer as needed.
2. Conclude in prayer.
