Do you believe in ghosts?!

[Salama]

This is kind of a spinoff of the psychic thread...

So, unlike many people, I believe in ghosts. This belief is based on a personal experience that I had as well as the accounts of some of my immediate and extended family members. Case in point...my mother, who has vivid memories of the night when my late father visited our home. He was in a distant, foreign country when he passed and this happened the day of. Mummy saw him and recognized him but was unable to speak.

I've always been curious about ghosts and I struggle to reconcile their existence with the word of God. I can't recall the exact verse but I think the Bible says somewhere that "every man is destined to die once and after that the judgement". Where do people's spirits go after they die, I wonder? Do they go to heaven/hell immediately? If so, then how can ghosts be explained?

What's your take on this?

 

[Jynlnd13]

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[Guitarhero]

A relative is studying at a college known for it's hauntings by benedictine monks lol. There are many stories of things happening like being locked in the rooms as a "ghostly" joke etc. I believe we have guardian angels.

A girl was raped last year...awful...and the guy drove off with her. She was drunk. He went to a field but she broke away. He had a flashlight chasing her because he was going to kill her. She said that at some point, a little girl appeared and told her to quickly hide behind where she went and that he would lose her trail. She did it and the little girl disappeared. The guy never found her again. She was able to get to the police and they caught this nasty individual. She recounted her story and it got around to the school. Everyone knew it was her guardian angel.

Good and bad are around us all day long. Things that happen as evil, not people, but demons. But I do believe that those who have passed on are supporting us, praying for us, aiding us. Not that G-d is lazy, but we work when we get to heaven. We have careers here, why not vocations in heaven? Sometimes G-d allows us to see those who have passed to the other side.

 

[Highly Favored8]

I believe in spirits, and spirits can deceive and know things. Ghost, I've never seen one, however, I can feel when I'm not alone, I can walk into places and tell things are off. Once I was at my friends house, and I could feel something watching me, and actually walk around the bed and stand beside me. She later said she has a ghost in her house...I didn't see anything, but I also closed my eyes, and started to pray because I was uncomfortable. When I was little I saw an angel in my room, but it was like a kids, or it seemed to be young, if that makes sense.

The bolded happened to my brother one year ago. In an old apartment he used to live in.

 

[makeupvixen]

I believe in spirits.

 

[JinaRicci]

Ghosts usually defined as spirits of people who have died- No.

Existing spirits- both evil (demons) and good (angels)- Yes. To be clear, I mean angels as defined by the Bible as heavenly beings (not/never been humans) and demons as defined by the Bible as 1/3 of angels who chose to follow Lucifer and were thrown out of heaven.

The Bible also uses the word ghost in both the Old & New testaments (gava/gaw-vah Hebrew; ekpsucho Greek). They both refer to breathing the last breath or the dying breath. E.g. when Jesus died:

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Luke 23:46 KJV

Be back to answer your other questions.

 

[JinaRicci]

OP, this is to answer your questions.

First, the text you're quoting is Heb 9:27

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, (28) so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Q: Where do people's spirits go after they die?[/

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

spirit here is the breath or the origin of life (ruach/ruakh/ruwach) that can only come from God and that made man a living soul (Genesis 2:7).

Do they go to heaven/hell immediately?

Recall every man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment. The question is when is that judgment?

Remember Jesus promised to come back for us to take us to heaven (John 14:1-3).

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

He talked about the signs of the end of times in Matthew 24. No one knows the day or the hour of His coming (Matt 24:36). What we know is that it will signal the end of the earth.

Revelation 19 describes Jesus' second coming at the end of the earth

11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

Revelation 20 describes the judgment at the end of the earth.

There is a first resurrection:

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years

And there is a second resurrection and a second death for those who are found guilty.

Rev 20 (cont'd)

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21 & 22 describe the new heaven & the new earth & those who will inherit it.

Ch 22:

12And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Q: How can ghosts be explained?

The Bible says that dead people have no knowledge.

Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

6Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

10Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

The Bible also says that the devil can imitate good.

2 Corinthians 11: 14-15

14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness

Ghosts that haunt people to instill fear or impersonate dead people are evil spirits. The danger in believing that ghosts are really our dead loved ones looking out for us is the distraction away from God & his holy angels.

We trust our loved ones so if we believe that they are giving us good advice even when they're dead then it becomes easy for those evil spirits to lead us astray & to contradict God's word. That's dangerous. There is no power in people who are dead to cause us to be fearful and we only need God who is ruler over life & death.

I know this is super long but I hope it helps.

 

[empressaja]

No But I believe in Angels and demons. I am in the opinion that these "ghosts" people encounter are demons. '

I have a catholic coworker who's daughter is very ill and during a close call last week she stated that she began to pray to her late husband and father to intercede to God for her daughter. She said that she felt there presences around her and it was helpful.

I understand why sometimes people say that there are ghosts.

When I was a little girl I used to go and spend time at my play Aunties house. She has a sitting room and there was a "presence" that was troubling to me. I would never spend time in there, I would stand at the hedge of the door and look in curious like. My mother told me later that the previous owner used that room to care for a sick person and the person later passed away there. I believe that this was the enemy

 

[Prudent1]

So as not to be redundant I have thanked those I agree with. Spirits both good and evil, yes. Ghosts no.

The bolded happened to my brother one year ago. In an old apartment he used to live in.

OT:Everyone, because we do not know all of the history of apartments, homes, land, used vehicles, etc please anoint such places and ask the Father to bless and sanctify them.

Do they go to heaven/hell immediately?
Ahh, a classic question:scratchch. (Others please weigh in here and hopefully we will all have a better understanding) From my understanding some do.
Gen 5:23-24
23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away
Heb 11:5
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
2Kings 2:1, 11,
"And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal . . . Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."

Luke 16:19-31
19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

25"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

29"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

30" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "
Seems like this says Abraham and Lazarus are already in heaven. The rich man (Dives) appears to already be in hell.
Then there's this passage from 1 Sam 28:11-15
11 Then the woman asked, "Whom shall I bring up for you?"
"Bring up Samuel," he said.

12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"

13 The king said to her, "Don't be afraid. What do you see?"
The woman said, "I see a spirit [a] coming up out of the ground."

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?"
Seems like Samuel was resting and didn't appreciate being disturbederplexed.

What about when Jesus was transfigured and talked to Moses and Elijah who had both been dead for quite some while.

There are numerous accounts of atheist and agnostics who have become Christian after having near death experiences. TBN recently aired a documentary on near death experiences and Creflo Dollar's church offered a DVD on hell that was informative.

Here are just a few things I have knowledge of IRL.
I will tell you of one of my brother's friends. The husband was just a regular guy. Not a Christian- just a good dude. He was in their bathroom one night when he had a heart attack. He says he remembers seeing his wife and daughter bending over him crying and calling 911. He says he was hovering over them in the bathroom. He could see his body but was aware that he was not in it. After he arrived at the hospital and was stabilized he coded one day. He says he left his body again but this time he could see little ugly creatures sitting all around him. He said they were laughing at him and telling him he was coming with them. He said the pure evil he felt is indescribable. According to him it was only after he called on the name of Jesus that he re-entered his body. He is convinced hell is real and so is heaven. He gave his life to Christ that day.

I also know of a woman who lives here and what the entire family witnessed as her mother passed. The mom suddenly fell down and was in clear medical distress. As the family gathered around and called 911 etc, she began to scream and cough. From what I understand she made a sound so horrific it could not be called human. She started talking about how dark it was, how hot she was, how something was poking and scratching her causing tremendous pain. Whatever it was was dragging her away against her will. She said she didn't want to go 'there'. She died. Pretty much everyone was speechless.

Then there are others who are asleep and awaiting the resurrection and judgment to follow.
What determines the difference between the different scenarios? I don't know. I just know that we are still looking through that dimly lit mirror right now. We are still in the Matrix and this is not the real world. I have to trust God b/c I know that I will not have all of the answers here. I'm ok with that. He hasn't let me down yet.

 

[Salama]

Thanks for your input ladies! I'm still a little confused but oh well.. Imma keep on pondering till I figure this all out.

 

[Prudent1]

You're welcome. I thought about 2 more things concerning ppl going immediately somewhere. There is the passage where Jesus told the man on the cross that he would be in paradise with him on that day. Not later. Then there is John's question in Revelations where he asks about the cloud and God tells him that those are the souls of his 'precious' saints who are waiting on him.

 

[Qualitee]

I highly believe there are spirits. Good = Angel Bad = Demons

 

[chicacanella]

No, I don't believe in ghosts. They are only demons trying to play games with people in order for you to say, "Hey, I think it's my great aunt trying to talk to me." Once you are open to them, the demons, they have an open door or legal ground to come into your life. I know because in Jesus Christ name, I bind demons on a regular basis and they've pushed stuff of mine on the floor. But God told me it was an evil spirit and to bind it and cast it out. Plus, I can spiritually see spirits at times when I'm wide awake. But I just bind them in the name of Jesus Christ and cast them into spiritual wilderness.

 

[Ithacagurl]

When Jesus walked on the water. One of the disciples thought that he was a ghost, that surprised me, they believed in ghosts even back then.