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