Do
you believe in GHOSTS?
God’s words are contained in the
Bible. Hence, true Christians adhere to the teachings written therein – seeing
to it that God’s commandments reign supreme in the conduct of their lives and
beliefs.
While many people believe that the
dead return and appear to the living as “ghosts,” such belief is unscriptural and is
against the basic tenets of the true Christianity. What does the Holy Scriptures
say concerning the existence of so-called “ghosts”?
Definition
Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary
defines “ghosts”
as the soul of a dead person believed to appear to the living in bodily
likeness.
However, scriptural citations disprove
the existence of “ghosts” as defined above. What constitutes man according to
the teachings of the Holy Writ?
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray
God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Thess. 5:23, King James Version)
Man is composed of spirit, soul and
body. While many people believe that the soul and the spirit are one and the
same, the Holy Scriptures says that man is composed of spirit, soul, and body.
The teaching of God as explained by Apostle Paul further says, thus:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper
than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12, Ibid.)
Apostle Paul mentions about “the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit.” This shows us that the soul is
different from the spirit and the spirit from the soul.
The difference between soul and spirit
is further proven by what would happen to these when man dies. What happen to
the soul when death overcomes a man? When a man dies, his soul cleaves to the
dust:
“My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according
to thy word.
“For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly
cleaveth unto the earth.” (Ps. 119:25; 44:25, Ibid.)
What about the body and spirit? What
happens to them when a man dies? When the first man, Adam, sinned against God,
the Almighty said to him “…for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return”
(cf. Gen. 3:19, Ibid.). The Holy
Scriptures further explains:
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and
the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” (Eccl. 12:7, Ibid.)
Man is dust and when he dies, his body
decomposes and eventually returns to dust as decreed by God, while his spirit
returns to God who gave it. If man is dust, how did he possess life? When is a
man considered alive? The Holy Scriptures narrate, thus:
“And the Lord
God formed man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living soul.” (Gen. 2:7, Ibid.)
With the breath of life, a man is
alive. Without breath, he is dead. Is a dead man capable of doing anything in
this world? The Bible says, thus:
“Yes, the living know they are going to die, but the dead
know nothing. They have no further reward; they are completely forgotten.
“Their loves, their hates, their passions, all died with
them. They will never again take part in anything that happens in this world.”
(Eccl. 9:5-6, Today’s
English Version)
How then could a dead man appear as a
“ghosts”?
The dead know nothing. The Bible says that the memory of them is forgotten.
They could never take part in anything that is done on earth.
What
the dead cannot do
How about the simple task of going
back to his house? Is a dead man capable of doing this? Job 7:19 says, thus:
“He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his
place know him any more.” (King James Version)
Alive, a man who lost his memory will
lose his way and possibly forget his identity. A dead man does not even have
any memory in the first place. Lifeless, how could he returned to dust, his
soul cleaving to the dust, and his spirit having returned to God? And
individual so far away from home and without any means of transportation will
not be able to go back home. How much more for a dead man six feet under the
ground? A man with a sane mind would easily find his ways home after he
temporarily lost his bearing. But a man afflicted with insanity could not
probably do so. All the more for a dead man having no soul, no mind, and no
spirit.
Some may argue that it is not the
whole man that returns, but his “ghosts,” his soul. However, the Holy
Scriptures testify that the soul of a dead man “cleaveth unto the dust” and
could not therefore return home or do anything at all.
But when will the dead rise from their
graves? The Holy Scriptures state, thus:
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which
all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
“And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the
resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of
damnation.” (Jn. 5:28-29, Ibid.)
The day of Judgment is the time when
the dead shall rise from their graves, not to return to their respective homes
but to receive their just from the Lord for whatever good or evil they have
done while still living.
With all these scriptural truths,
would you still care to believe in ghosts? :)