“Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God” (Hebrews 9:27 GNT).
Hebrews 9:27 presents us with an opportunity to address another question related to the afterlife and the spiritual world: Do “ghosts” really exist? Considering the way television and movie studios churn out feature presentations related to that subject, it may be easy to think so.
In reality, many so-called “ghosts” are often traceable to pranks, shadows, natural occurrences, graphic technologies, or optical illusions. However, there are other instances where “ghosts” cannot be explained so easily. So what’s the answer? Well, let’s start by defining our terms.
A “ghost” refers to “the spirit of a dead person, especially one believed to appear in bodily likeness to living persons or to haunt former habitats.” (1) Since Hebrews 9:27 tells us that “…it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” this eliminates the possibility of human beings coming back from the dead as ghosts.
The Old Testament book of 2 Samuel touches upon this subject as well. That portion of Scripture relates the account of Israel’s king David and the passing of his infant son. In response to that unfortunate event, David made a remorseful observation: “Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23 NIV). This response indicates that David expected to see his son again in the afterlife, but not during his remaining time on earth.
Barring a miraculous concession from God, these passages tell us that our interaction with other human beings comes to an end when we pass from this earthly life. Therefore, we have a reasonable Scriptural basis to conclude that there are no such things as ghosts.
So how can we account for “ghosts” that cannot be easily explained? Well, the New Testament book of 2 Corinthians offers one potential explanation…
“…Even Satan can disguise himself to look like an angel of light! So it is no great thing if his servants disguise themselves to look like servants of righteousness….” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15 GNT).
2 Thessalonians 2:9 also reminds us that Satan is known for his “lying wonders.” Therefore, it is possible that some individuals who encounter “ghosts” are those who have come into contact with malevolent spiritual entities masquerading as human beings who have passed away. The media rush to sensationalize this topic further serves to harm those who are naïve or misguided regarding the true nature of such encounters. We’ll consider some Biblical admonitions against these interactions next.
Image Credit: Jeanmilost, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
(1) “Ghost.” Retrieved 28 September 2022 from American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.