A Biblical look at ghosts, spirits, poltergeists, ghouls, phantoms, haunting, and exorcism

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A Biblical look at ghosts, spirits, poltergeists,
ghouls, phantoms, haunting, and exorcism
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Focus

• Definitions of what are
• ghosts
• spirits
• poltergeists
• ghouls
• phantoms
• hauntings
• exorcisms

• What the Bible says
• about the death state
• about the soul
• about the devil
• about demons
• about the Holy Ghost
• about angels
• About fairys sprites
• about phantoms
• about exorcism
• Conclusions as we go along

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Definitions

• Ghosts the soul of a dead person
• Spirits - A supernatural being, as
• An angel or a demon.
• A fairy or sprite.

• Poltergeists
• A ghost that manifests itself by noises,
  rappings, and the creation of disorder.
• Ghouls - An evil spirit or demon believed to
  plunder graves and feed on corpses

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Definitions

• Phantoms
• Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but
  having no physical reality
• An image that appears only in the mind an
  illusion.
• Hauntings
• A visit from a ghost or other supernatural being.

• Exorcisms - the rite of driving out the Devil and
  his demons from possessed persons or buildings

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The Death State

• Man is unconscious, knows nothing, and is as
  though he had never lived
• Ecclesiastes 95-10
• Psalms 64-5 Psalm 1463-4
• Isaiah 3818-19

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The Death State

• His body corrupts
• Psalm 499-14
• Psalm 309
• Psalm 8810-12
• John 1139

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What the Bible says about the Soul

• Joshua 1028 - the king destroyed and all
  the souls that were therein
• Judges 1616 soul was vexed unto death
• Job 715 My soul chooseth death rather than
  my life
• Ezekiel 1820 the soul that sinneth it shall
  die

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What the Bible says about demons

• Only found in NT - Gk daimon

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What the Bible says about the Devil

• The Devil is not a monster tempting man to rebel
  against God
• The Devil is Sin manifest in individuals and
  organisations
• The subject of the Devil Satan is regularly
  dealt with from our platforms
• James 113-15
• God punishes man with death for his sin, where is
  the righteousness of God, if he punishes innocent
  men?

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The Holy Ghost / Spirit

• Holy Set apart, special
• Spirit the power or energy of God
• Acts 18 Gods Special power
• Luke 2449 Power promised to Apostles
• Acts 24 Power given to Apostles
• 2 Peter 120-21- Inspiration

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What the Bible says about visits from angels

• Hebrews 132
• Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for
  thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
• - Cp. Abraham - Genesis 18

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What the Bible says about fairys sprites

• tiny beings in human form, depicted as clever,
  mischievous, and possessing magical powers
• Part of mythology
• Deuteronomy 18
• 10 There shall not be found among you any one
  that maketh his son or his daughter to pass
  through the fire, or that useth divination, or an
  observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
• 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar
  spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
• 12 For all that do these things are an
  abomination unto the LORD and because of these
  abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out
  from before thee.

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Conclusions

• Dead people dont know anything, they are not in
  heaven or hell, they are in the dust of the earth
• The Soul is not something separate from the body
• Ghosts are not the souls of dead people
• The Holy Ghost is a Bible description of the
  Power of God, not evidence that Ghosts are spirit
  beings
• You could be visited by an angel but not by a
  demon, fairy or sprite as these are part of
  mythology

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So what are Ghosts?

• I'm operating under the assumption that what we
  call "ghosts" are a true phenomena
• My personal theories about ghosts-
• Residual psychic energy left behind due to great
  psychological trauma or stress a person may have
  suffered during their lifetime or final moment.
• A "window in time." Perhaps what people see
  sometimes is a replay of events that took place
  in the past, a loop in time as it were.
  Theoretically it is possible.
• Additional dimensions TIME is the 4th GRAVITY is
  the 5th dimension ELECTRICITY is the 6th
  dimension, MAGNETISM is the 7th dimension. .. 13
  dimensions in string theory which we hardly know
  exist, let alone understand
• Seeing visions of angels. The Bible teaches that
  they are working amongst us.
• I'm not saying any one of these theories is
  correct, it may be a combination of all these or
  perhaps a completely different one.