GHOST

What is this scary phenomenon?
Man does not need any revelation or information about the existence of ghost. It is inherent for human to believe about spiritual things; he believed even without any reason at all. Man is a spirit conscious creature that believed in the spirit world unlike animals, because man is the only creation of God where He formed spirit within him. God didn’t only quicken the body with the spirit of life when He created man, but at the same time forms human spirit within him by breathing into his nostrils; this is the infusion of human spirit, unlike animals were given life by the mere words of God‒‒not through breathing. The Bible has something to say about God forming the spirit within man’s soul in the following verses:

“The Lord…who forms the spirit of man within him..,” Zech. 12.

“But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him the understanding,” Job 32:8.

“The lamp of the Lord searches the spirit of a man; it searches out his inmost being,” Proverbs 20:27.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” Psalms 139:13-16.

It is a common belief that the spirit of the dead person comes back visiting the living, specially the relatives. It is a kind of unwelcome visit, because of the fear which arises among the living in the appearance of the spirit with an eerie connotation of the word‒‒ghost. Such belief becomes more relevant to some Bible readers, at least, they have a reason to believe by pointing to the Bible that there is indeed ghost mentioned in the book of Matthew 14:26, Mark 6:49 and Luke 24:39. In King James Version the term SPIRIT is use. The New International Version used the term GHOST, which sounded scary because it is believed to be definitely pertained to the spirit of the dead person who comes back and appear before the living.

The disciples knew Jesus was dead and was buried. When Jesus appeared to them they were frightened, thinking they saw a ghost (Luke 24:37-39). Jesus said, “It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” This is the verse concerning ghost that many Bible readers referred to, and give rise to the effect of [note the word] thinking that there is indeed a ghost. Indeed ghost do exist. Ghost is spirit and does not have flesh and bones as defined by our Lord. For some, this becomes a convincing statement from Jesus which some Bible readers compelled to believe that ghost is the spirit of the dead that haunt the living. Many are thinking like the disciples and King Saul, about the spirit of the dead that comes back in the world of the living that appears as ghost. No doubt, this was in the mind of the disciples, “…THINKING they saw a ghost.” It just came out from their thinking. In my study I tried to look if there is any scriptural basis of what they were thinking about the spirit of dead that comes back

This ghostly subject must not be dismissed leaving the readers without a clear biblical view as to what is really to believe. The important thing is that, the truth can set our minds free; free from fear, free from deception and, free from being troubled with the unknown.
Man is a soul spirit housed in the body of flesh (2 Cor. 5:1-2) that makes him conscious in the realm of spirit world. Learned and unlearned, civilized and uncivilized, human kind in all walks of life is inherently spirit conscious, in which animals are not. Therefore, it is natural for man to believe in ghost. He just believed without question or wondering about the phenomenon. Without God’s leading another spiritual power could direct man into superstitious belief. Satan capitalized on this nature of man that he is able to make his deception more compelling by impersonating the dead that even the elect could possibly be carried away with his deception. Satan is able to impersonate your dead love ones, your friends, or someone who is closed to you. Satan is the greatest impersonator in 2 Corinthians 11:14.

The inspired word of God declared where the spirit goes at death, and the state of the dead body, wherein none of these fits the hallucination and apparition stage by Satan.

“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun,” Ecclesiastes 9:5-6.

“Whatever your hands finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom,” verse 10.

What happen to the spirit of the dead; where does it go when man dies? Let the Bible answer that question.

“… and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it,” Ecclesiastes 12:7.

“So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord,” 2 Corinthians 5:6-8.

The Bible says the spirit of the dead is with the Lord. Who then, this spirit that appear as ghost and mingles with the affair of the living, when the Bible said, never again will they have a part in anything under the sun? Is this not the author of the greatest impersonator mentioned above?

Satan quoted the scriptures in tempting Jesus, and now Satan is quoting even the very word of Jesus in his attempt to deceive even the very elect of God, that he can sow not only the seed of fear but also to distort the truth of the Scriptures concerning the spirit that return to God at death. Satan will quote what Jesus said in the book of Luke 24:39:

“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.”
Then the deceiver will say, “You see! Jesus said there is a ghost!” Satan is not only the greatest impersonator he is also the father of all lies. He manipulated and added lies to what Jesus had said. “There is a ghost!” Sound true, and indeed it is. But his intention is to divert the focus of one’s mind from what Jesus did not say. Satan deludes the thinking of people that ghost is the SPIRIT OF THE DEAD; this is an addition to what Jesus did not say. In this verse I asked myself, Did Jesus say, that ghost is the spirit of the dead? Or was this their thinking because they saw Jesus who was dead and buried? Satan is printing his deception not on the pages of a book but directly in people’s mind. He will say, “Why Jesus did not correct the disciples that ghost is not the spirit of the dead? Therefore, His being silent is the proof that ghost is the spirit of the dead.” This is a question that will pop up in one’s mind. This is a tricky question of the devil that will compel people to believe the return of the dead. What did Jesus said to the disciples in this junction? “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?” The Bible has no mentioned of correcting the disciples, but we know in the later teachings of the apostles during their ministry that the spirit of the dead is with the Lord. Jesus had taught them many things that were not written in the Bible when they were together with Him.

“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 21:25).

Saul and the Witch of Endor
The account of King Saul with the witch of Endor is another stronghold of Satan where he quoted Scriptures to take control of people’s mind to be subjected to his deception. The prophet Samuel died. King Saul consulted a medium, so he could talk to Samuel who had been long buried. Satan who obscured the whole context of the account quoted the verse that makes it appear to be talking to Samuel’s spirit‒‒like this verse: “Samuel said to Saul, ‘Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?’” (1Samuel 28:15). Most Bible readers (including me) will be inspired to say, “There you are; it’s the spirit of Samuel speaking. The spirit of the dead do really comes back.” When I look at the context of this account as a whole I saw differently from what popped up in my mind. I have to know those things that transpired before the scene of Endor.

This is the account before King Saul’s encounter with the witch of Endor. Saul sinned against the Lord by not carrying out the Lord’s instruction through the prophet Samuel. The Lord rejected him as king over Israel (1Samuel 15). In chapter 28 of 1 Samuel, Saul saw the Philistine army‒‒terror filled his heart. He inquired of the Lord but the Lord did not answer him by dreams, neither through the prophet Samuel who refused to see him until the death of this prophet. So King Saul looked for a medium to inquire and ask for advice concerning the battle with the Philistine. He found the witch of Endor and asked her to bring up Samuel from the dead.

The following verse is the key to make the readers aware of king’s Saul state of mind in his endeavor to speak to Prophet Samuel.

And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.” So he said to her,
“What is his form?” And she said, “An old man coming up, and he is covered with a mantle.” And Saul PERCEIVED THAT IT WAS SAMUEL and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down (1 Sam. 28:13-14 NKJV).

Since it was established in the mind of Saul even without seeing and recognizing what the medium saw, for him that old man was Samuel. Note the phrase “And Saul PERCEIVED that it was Samuel…” Hence, in verse 15 is named Samuel in their conversation. Without considering the whole scenario, verse 15 will lead anyone [that includes me] to believe like Saul that it was Samuel who came out of the earth.

There are two things here to be considered:

First: Since Saul was rejected by the Lord, and Samuel refused to talk to him while yet he was alive; he even said, “I will never come back to you.” Who then is this spirit talking with Saul?

Second: The witch said she saw a spirit coming out of the ground. Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, it is the body or the dust that return to the ground; which is indeed true, Samuel was buried under the ground. And his spirit returned to the Lord. Who then this spirit that came out of the ground? Hmm…

Whoever this spirit was, it wasn’t Samuel. God may use any spirit to fulfill His purposed. We know the rest of the story, that spirit declared the fate of King Saul. #