Bible Study on Ghosts

Do You Believe In Ghosts?
I Think I've Seen A Ghost!
Jesus Walking On The Water: They Thought He Was A Ghost.
Bible Study On Ghosts - Amazon Resources
Do You Believe In Angels?
Is Demon Possession Real?
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Send A Ghost To Haunt My Brothers
Talking To A Ghost May Be Deadly.
The Bible And Witches?!
The Ghost In The Crypt Of Lazarus
Help Me Get The Word Out About This Bible Study On Ghosts!
Bible Study On Ghosts: What About Resurrections?
If You Want More Information On The Raising Of Lazarus
Is Your Ghost A Dybbuk?
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The Classic Film "Dybbuk"
Dybbuk On Ebay
Bible Study On Ghosts - Video - Another Point Of View!
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Sometimes it is hard to describe a near absolute darkness.  It is in such times that fear overtakes reasoning and smothers it under a phantom sheet of terror.  Imagine such darkness, in the pitch black of beating waves, as the disciples feel the very real terror of their ship being torn and blown like a paper sail in a tornado.  It is equally hard to depict the sound of such a storm.  With every thump of the disciples' hearts, a frightful reverberation could be heard and felt from the crashing waters.  The thunder roars into a crescendo, causing even the souls of grown and experienced fishermen to cringe.  Each clap is overlapping the other; each rumble raises their panic level to a new high.  Row, row, row - it is the only way, yet it seems so futile.

Mat 14:22-32  (NIV Bible) Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.  (23)  After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,  (24)  but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.   (25)  During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 

(26)  When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.   

(27)  But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."   (28)  "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."   (29)  "Come," he said.  Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  (30)  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"   (31)  Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"   (32)  And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

In the midst of the storm and the panic there is help.  This is part and parcel to the Christian experience.  Jesus Christ appears with the words, "Be not afraid."  What a beautiful outcome.  The waves they felt were over their head were under His feet, as He came walking on the water.  This is the story of a great miracle which is retold millions of times.

But wait, return to the ship for a ghost story that bears examination.  In their panic mode, someone cried out, "It is a ghost!"  Reason could have told them otherwise, but fear got the first word.  Never mind Jesus' teachings, nor the fact that they knew they were under His direction and care; they reverted to the folklore of the Pharisees, that demons in human form would come out in the night.  Surely this is such a ghost come to add fear to fear.

Yes, the disciples evidently believed in ghosts!  The word they cried is "phantasma" which means a nocturnal apparition.  The Jews, especially the sect of the Pharisees, had a notion of spirits, apparitions, and demons, appearing to be seen in the night (see Gill commentary on this text). 

Luke 16:19-31 (NIV Bible) "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.   (20)  At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores   (21)  and 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.   (23)  In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.   (24)  So 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.   (26)  And 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,   (28)  for 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.' "

Ghosts as apparitions from the dead are simply not Scriptural.  However, folklore can often seem truer than truth, especially with negative emotions such as fear caused by death, real or impending, 

As you can see, the rich man did not linger on this earth.  He woke up in hell!  Lazarus did not hang around to haunt those who had wronged him.  He woke up in paradise!  Abraham did not and could not send Lazarus back!

Hebrews 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

With this simple observation I move on.  However, For further study on the Bible story of the rich man and Lazarus:

The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) -- JesusWalk  The rich man wants Lazarus to warn his brothers of the dangers of hell. ... In a sense, the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus teaches a similar lesson to ...

Rich man and Lazarus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (also historically called Dives and Lazarus and sometimes Lazarus and Dives) is one of the stories told by Jesus. ...

The Rich Man and Lazarus by J. Patching  The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus has been told and retold many times. Sadly much has been misconstrued and because of this many have been deluded ...

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS by Charles G. Finney  Abraham, though long since in heaven, knew both this rich man and Lazarus. It was not our Lord's design directly to affirm this, yet he obviously implies it ...

Global Ministries - John Wesley, Sermon 112, The Rich Man and Lazarus  The Rich Man and Lazarus. By John Wesley. Sermon 112. (text from the 1872 edition - Thomas Jackson, editor). If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, ...

The Rich Man and Lazarus | Bible.org - Worlds Largest Bible Study Site - In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the rich man should have used his money to help Lazarus. But he only used his money for his own enjoyment. ...

The Rich Man and Lazarus Children's Sermons from Sermons4Kids - The Rich Man and Lazarus.

L. Ray Smith - Lazarus and the Rich Man That the Rich man is in a most distressful situation, there is no argument. But he is not "burning in eternal hell fire." That Lazarus is being comforted, ...

The Rich Man and Lazarus The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus illustrates the necessity of ... Characters - Meet the Rich Man, Lazarus, and other characters from this parable. ...

Richman and Lazarus - Bible ParablesThe parable of The rich man and Lazarus is truth waiting to be discovered, the truth is stored in hidden key words to be unlocked and understood. ...

(The Witch of Endor Talking to Saul)

1Sa 28:11-19  Then the woman asked, "Whose spirit should I bring up for you?"    "Bring Samuel up," he said.    (12)  When the woman saw Samuel, she let out a loud scream. She said to Saul, "Why have you tricked me? You are King Saul!"    (13)  He said to her, "Don't be afraid. Tell me what you see."   The woman said, "I see a spirit. He's coming up out of the ground."    (14)  "What does he look like?" Saul asked.   "An old man wearing a robe is coming up," she said.   Then Saul knew it was Samuel. He bowed down. He lay down flat with his face toward the ground.    (15)  Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you troubled me by bringing me up from the dead?"   "I'm having big problems," Saul said. "The Philistines are fighting against me. God has turned away from me. He doesn't answer me anymore. He doesn't speak to me through prophets or dreams. So I've called on you to tell me what to do."    (16)  Samuel said, "The Lord has turned away from you. He has become your enemy. So why are you asking me what you should do?  (17)  The Lord has spoken through me and has done what he said he would do. He has torn the kingdom out of your hands. He has given it to one of your neighbors. He has given it to David.  (18)  You didn't obey the Lord. You didn't carry out his burning anger against the Amalekites. So he's punishing you today.    (19)  "He will hand both Israel and you over to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be down here with me. The Lord will also hand Israel's army over to the Philistines."

What an eerie tale from the crypt this is.  God has given instructions not to seek out those with a "familiar Spirit" for advice.  Today, we would call these mediums or spiritists.

"'Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.'" (Leviticus 19:31, NIV)

"'I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.'" (Leviticus 20:6, NIV)

"'A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.' " (Leviticus 20:27, NIV)

As I see it, there are two things true:  First, unless God overrules the natural order of things, the dead do not linger around earth and haunt anything or anybody; Secondly, Children of God are not to seek mediums for advice.  However, here is Saul doing just that.  Whether this is actually Samuel speaking from the dead, or an evil spirit, we cannot know for certain because the context of the Bible is not clear.  Such spiritists are said to have a familiar spirit because evil spirits are familiar with the workings of men and mimic the dead to deceive and trap the innocent minded.  The word indicates actions similar to a ventriloquist where the dead are purported to speak or sound as through  the belly or a "bottle." In this case, The witch of Endor was surprised, shocked and frightened because there was an actual voice.  It spelled the end of Saul.

The story is in John 11.  Jesus loved Lazarus and his family greatly.  However, he delayed his going to Jerusalem when he heard how sick Lazarus was.  By the time he arrived, Lazarus was already in the tomb.

Joh 11:39-44  (NIV Bible) "Take away the stone," he said.            "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."  (40)  Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"    (41)  So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me.   (42)  I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."    (43)  When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"  (44)  The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.  Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

When someone dies they do not lollygag around, they move on to their destiny.  This is central to most Christian theology.  This is the spiritual law of things.  The only exception is when a greater spiritual power overtakes it.  A needle let go will fall to the ground every time; this is gravity.  However pass over it with a magnet and it will rise.  It is like the magnet cares not about gravity; it owns the needle; its magnetism is the greater force. Likewise, In the case of Lazarus, when Jesus summoned, Lazarus spirit returned to him. Lazarus' body returned to his spirit because of THE GREATER SPIRITUAL POWER OF CHRIST!

 There may have been significance in the four days.  Folklore of the day said the ghost of a man hung around the body for three days trying to get back into the body.  However, after that, the spirit would leave and pass over because decay would set in and there would be no hope for him to return.

No hope, except for a mightier than death; His name is Jesus!  As Jesus spoke, "Lazarus, come forth," a Ghost entered the crypt of the dead man.  It is not the ghost of Lazarus; It is the "Holy Ghost", God Himself who owns the crypt and the dead within it.  He beckons the breath of life to the body of Lazarus.  It is now not the ghost of Lazarus, but the very beloved disciple of Jesus that walks from the tomb.

Haunting from the dead is not a teaching of Jesus. To believe in angels, good or fallen, is not the same as believing in the spirit of some dead man clinging to a person or thing, as in the present understanding of the term "ghost." The disciples, like a lot of modern Christians, were just caught up, in the folklore of their day.

The Jews used a word, "dybbuk, to describe a similar haunting spirit. A dybbuk is a malicious (although the Jews believed it could be benign) spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person. Dybbuks are said to have escaped from Gehenna or to have been turned away from Gehenna for serious transgressions, such as suicide, for which the soul is denied entry. The word "dybbuk" is derived from a Hebrew word for "attachment". The dybbuk attaches itself to the body of a living person and inhabits the flesh. According to belief, a soul that has been unable to fulfill its function during its lifetime is given another opportunity to do so in dybbuk form. It supposedly leaves the host body once it has accomplished its goal, sometimes after being helped. Eventually, the evolution of its emphasis is that of an "unclean spirit."

The Bible teaches that the spirit of man/woman is either with the person, or it returns to God for its final destiny. Look at the following Scriptures:

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 (NIV Bible) Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. (7) We live by faith, not by sight. (8) We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.