Ben G

I’d like to discuss Halloween today; one of the funniest times of the year for millions of people and children. It’s the time to carve pumpkins, drink warm apple cider by the bonfire and collect free candy! First off, I’m not writing to condemn the sweets-filled fun holiday, or even to discourage people from enjoying the fun that come with it. In fact, I’ve always enjoyed Halloween ever since I was a child; however without delving in too much about the holiday itself, I would like to discuss one particular topic about ghosts, spooks and other spiritual concepts that seemingly dominate this holiday. I've always studied "ghosts" and supernatural phenomenon and what the bible says about these things, so I will attempt to share what I've learned with you.

According to Wikipedia, Halloween “has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints … and the celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through.”

No doubt this holiday has a huge spiritual background behind it and is often focused on the dark, spooky side of that concept; such as ghosts, goblins, demons, curses, black cats and witches, just to name a few. It is the season we all let ourselves get a little scared and listen to ghost stories and even seek out real “haunted” places for a glimpse of that rumored ghoul caught on film as streaks of light, energy orbs or the elusive apparition the maid or the janitor has sworn up and down about seeing. This of course, brings us to the next question; are there really “ghosts”? Nearly half a million Americans believe so.

I posed this question to Rapture Ready's very own gifted writer, Ron Graham recently, and he helped shed some light on a few facts regarding these spooky beings. I think the first thing we need to look at is what kind of spirits we are referring to. I use to believe human souls were able to haunt this world before moving on, and/or were cursed to relive their deaths or try dealing with problems if they had unfinished business which bound them to Earth.... but let’s see what the bible says about all this.

Hebrews 9:27 reads, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:…” This certainly blows reincarnation out of the water, but does it exclude general "spirits" as actual human spirits of the dead? As in, can human souls haunt an insane asylum or old house? For a deceased Christian, I recall this message from my studies; “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” -2 Corinthians 5:8. I interpret this as if you are a Christian and you are out of the body, you are present with God. Other scriptures make it clear that for a person, his or her spirits goes to Heaven or Hell upon death of their human shell, upon "giving up the ghost". Matthew 25:46 states; “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” This passage seems to indicate the dead generally don’t tend to stick around rattling chains or leaving obscure hints that they’ve survived death in the afterlife. See also the story about Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:22-24. They both went somewhere else after their deaths.

The Bible, however, does make it clear that 'spiritual beings' do in fact dwell around our earthly dimensions and can appear to people in their own ways. In the bible, good angels were able to appear to people in non-deceptive ways and always brought news from God. They were forthcoming and spoke the truth. Hauntings and “Ghosts” of today only confuse people and make them believe things contrary to what the bible says, or they terrify some deceived humans purposely on an on-going basis. Take a look at 2 Corinthians 11:14-15; “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”

In any cases of doubt, the bible reminds us to “test” these spirits, for 1 John 4:1-3 reads; “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”

I believe this applies to anything we are unsure of regarding potential deceit, including being tricked by spirits. Demons are fallen angels, and they’re clever buggers who prey on vulnerable people who have lost loved ones or who seek out mediums or other answers by means that are not of God.

“Ghosts” have always fascinated me when I was young and therefore have caused me to do a great deal of research about them. Over time though, God has shown me a few things which has allowed me to come to these conclusions of truth about them. Many “ghost hunters”, armed with EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) recording devices and cameras, seek out life-after-death evidence in haunted places, including old graveyards, which are popular. I wonder why demons like graveyards so much? Is it the essence of death about them? Mark 5:1-20 comes to mind about this where the man with a legion of demons haunted the graveyard and terrorized people as they came near him. I once had this theory that there are seemingly more demons in these places so they can monitor dead Christian burial sites as if waiting for their resurrection so they can dispatch the information to Satan as soon as it happens! Or perhaps they even plan on trying to interfere with the resurrection! Just a theory though of course.

Perhaps the secret mysteries of God do allow certain deceased loved ones who were saved to give the ones they left behind strength and comfort through God’s power in some way, but never would He allow them to interfere with the loved ones or draw attention to their presence if they could in fact look in or come say goodbye before crossing over. I honestly don’t know, but of course God works in mysterious ways and can do anything He pleases.

“Ghosts” have always been abound with mystery and confusion, but truth be told, that’s exactly what Satan wants to accomplish. He wants to keep people confused and seeking other avenues apart from God. Satan seeks to confuse us, whether it’s through a negative or a seemingly “positive” way. Any avenue he starts you out on will lead to something that keeps you away from your walk with God and will destroy you if he has his way. That is his goal anyway. So you see; skeletons, ghouls, goblins and witches are not always exactly an innocent component of the exciting Halloween spirit. That is not to say, however, that Halloween is all evil.

Speaking of witches however, some of you may be wondering about the witch of Endor summoning Samuel’s spirit in 1 Samuel 28:7-20. I wondered about this too but did a little more research on it. In conclusion, God allowed the witch to summon Samuel’s spirit this one time so that he could act as a messenger from God to King Saul, who had sought out the medium because Saul had felt abandoned by God and wasn’t receiving answers from Him or from dreams. Yes, mediums probably can speak with spirits, but these spirits are no doubt demons. In this one occasion regarding Saul seeking out the witch, God gave her the temporary power to raise him so he could give Saul the message that he was going to die. Such forms of sorcery, like seeking out mediums is unfavorable to God, for Leviticus 20:27 states; “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.”

So did you catch Michael Jackson's shadow "spirit" walking through his Neverland Ranch on the news a few months back? The anomaly can be seen, captured on CNN's Larry King Live cameras. What a great way for Satan to stir up confusion about the afterlife right on national television, that is, assuming it wasn't a hoax! Anyway, in conclusion, enjoy the holidays and festivities of Halloween... By all means, carve a pumpkin or two, and tell a scary story, but just keep in mind the truth about these old spirits that haunt this holiday and the deceptive powers they possess over those who seek them out.

Be safe well,

Ben G.

snowcellar@hotmail.com