The paranormal plays quite a big role in our modern life – with ghost stories, horror movies, ghost hunting TV shows, Halloween, and our own personal spooky experiences fueling a modern belief in the paranormal.
But, how compatible is the belief in ghosts or other paranormal entities with Christianity, the bible, and belief in God. Read on to find out what the Bible says about ghosts.
What Is Written In The Bible About Ghosts?
Despite what films, books, and TV shows say about ghosts – that they are the free spirits of dead people, and can even be friendly, or visitation from loved ones – the bible says that there is something else going on.
For Christians, the bible encourages us to not engage or get involved with the paranormal, whether that be communicating with spirits, knowing mediums, or necromancers.
This is because ghosts are just disguised demons, that have masked themselves as something more benign. Hence, they should be avoided by believers.
Does The Bible Say That Ghosts Are Real?
The bible states that once a person has passed away, they cannot return to the moral world from death. A person is destined to only die once, and then they have to stand before God, at which point he decides their fate (Hebrews 9:27).
After death, someone will immediately appear before God (Ecclesiastes 12:7), and depending on their actions in life, and whether they loved and accepted Jesus in their life, they will go to heaven, purgatory or hell.
They are not capable of returning to earth, to conclude any unfinished business.
Because of this fact, the bible says that all reports of ghosts are not actually visits from loved ones that are beyond the grave, but rather are demons impersonating a human’s idea of a ghostly haunting.
In Corinthians 11:14 to 15, Paul writes “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
This shows that demons can disguise themselves as angels, or other beings of light, and it can be drawn from this that they could be making them appear as a perished loved ones, or other human forms.
If you think that you may have experienced the presence of a dead loved one, unfortunately it wasn’t a friend or family member, but rather it was a demon, impersonating them.
Can The Dead Haunt Houses?
In the Bible there is discussion about whether houses can be haunted by spirits that have unfinished business. In Job 7:9-10, NKJV, it says “As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, so he who goes down to the grave does not come up.
He shall never return to his house, nor shall his place know him anymore.” From this, we can infer that after passing away, people cannot return to their home, or any other building, making ghosts or spirits haunting houses impossible.
This is because, according to the Bible, there is no such thing as unfinished business for someone’s deceased soul. This is proved in the passage Psalm 146:4, ESV. “When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.”
What Does The Bible Have To Say About Spiritual Beings?
Demons are classed as spiritual beings who have strong evil within them. They are seeking to harm people by hurting them physically or mentally. Demons are spiritual entities, who have no mortal body.
They can be seen as spiritual beings who have no physical body, but who are able to take over more tangible forms.
Alternately, angels are also spiritual beings, but they are powered by a motivation to do good, and have godly forces on their side.
Angels visit earth to help believers in their day-to-day life, and help to protect them for forces of evil – which is backed up by the bible, as it tells us that angels are God’s ministering spirits, who have been sent to earth help faithful believers (Hebrews 1:14).
In dire contrast to this, demons are trying to cause the downfall of mankind.
So, What Actually Is The Paranormal?
In the Bible, Paul warns Christians that you cannot have a seat at God’s table, if you already have a seat at the table of the demons (Corinthians 10:21).
Demons are aiming to harm, scare, and hurt believers, so getting involved with demons under the guise of ghosts can cause negative outcomes for you.
God is a lot more powerful than any demon and the devil, but we should never try to put the lord to the test (Deuteronomy 6:16).
After a loved one has passed on, we can be especially vulnerable to any attacks by demons, because we are stressed, and grieving, and feeling despair.
Demons are really knowledgeable on human behavior and weakness, so are able to play vulnerable people, who want to believe that their loved one is not totally gone.
A demon could try to manifest itself, and can be effective at deception through things such as dreams, visions, or encounters with your ‘loved one’, in order to manipulate you, and pull you away from the Lord.
Even during the difficult times of losing a loved one, you must still stand your ground against demons, Satan, and all of their schemes (Ephesians 6:10 – 18).
Instead, you should lean on our lord God, talk to Him and let Him know all of your sorrows (Matthew 11:28 -30). Do not try to contact your loved one with a ghost hunter or a psychic medium (Deuteronomy 18:10 – 13).
Should We Be Frightened Of Ghosts?
Given that what we think of as ghosts are actually demons, it might stand to reason that you should be frightened of them. However, the Bible says otherwise.
We shouldn’t be frightened of Satan, or his impersonations of anyone, living or dead. Instead, give all of your heart to Jesus Christ, and ardently avoid any activities like Ouija boards, séances, or other spiritualist practices.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, I would say that there are some very real dangers when dealing with ‘ghosts’, as they are always demons trying to pull us away from God, and that we should be careful about how we approach these situations.
If you are going to be doing anything involving demons or ghosts, then please make sure that you are being led by the Holy Spirit.
The Bible teaches us that we should always be cautious about practicing magic, sorcery, witchcraft, occultism, etc. (1 Corinthians 15:32; Galatians 5:19).
This means that we should avoid contacting ghosts, talking to them, or engaging in any form of divination.
I have been a devout Christian since I was a little girl, so I trust my knowledge can help more people learn and perhaps even join the religion that is Christianity.
In 2011, 75% of Americans identified as Christian. However, in 2021, that number dropped to 63%. That is a 12% decrease, and that trend is likely to continue. If more people aren’t informed about Christianity, I fear that we will suffer from fewer members and we will become a forgotten religion.
My hopes for this website are for it to be a useful resource where you can get all of your supplementary knowledge on Christianity in one place. Of course, your religion leader will be able to answer most of your questions, but when they’re not available, I’m here for you.
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