Human beings have a fascination with ghosts. Do they exist? What are they? What are the moral implications of the answers to both of the previous questions? In this article, I will attempt to answer these questions.
First off, do ghosts exist? This is a question with many answers, because it really depends on what is meant by the term "ghost". In pop culture, the term typically refers to the disembodied spirit of a deceased person (or animal) that remains on the earth, usually haunting a place familiar to them, especially their house, place of death, or grave. Regarding specifically humans, the answer is no, this type of ghost does not exist. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that men are appointed to die only once, and after this, they face judgement. For the unsaved, this is not a pleasant judgement. They are taken to a place called "Hades" (Luke 16:22-24), where they are kept until they are formally judged and cast into Hell (Revelation 20:13). One might consider Hades as being the difference between a prison bus and an actual prison. For the believer, this is not so unpleasant, as we go immediately to be with Christ in our spirits (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23).
But what about when we expand the definition of ghost to mean simply spiritual being? The answer to this is a positive yes. It is almost a silly question. Of course the Bible mentions spiritual beings. Angels, demons, even God Himself is a spirit (John 4:24). This is to the point where the KJV, and indeed many people who were alive when it was translated, referred to the Holy Spirit as the "Holy Ghost". I could go off on a tangent about the moral implications of such a term in today's world, but I'd like to save that for another day.
So, depending on your definition, ghosts can be real. The question is, then, what are they? More specifically, what is it that appears to cause hauntings, psychics, possessions, and the like? In a way, we've already answered that, but to be specific, the spiritual beings that do exist can imitate those that don't. Now, I want to be clear here: God Himself never imitates ghosts. The transparent apparition pretending to be some long-dead owner of a manor is certainly not God playing tricks on people. Nor can an angel, at least not one truly loyal to God, play such foolish games. But what about the devil and his angels?
The Bible clearly tells us that the devil and his servants (not all of whom are demonic) have access to the earth. In Job 1:7, for example, we read "And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”" So, clearly, Satan can come here and wonder around (and contrary to popular belief, he actually goes to and from Heaven, not Hell, where he will eventually be cast as punishment, not to be its ruler). While here, the devil has one purpose: To "devour" human beings (1 Peter 5:8). In order to do this, he has a number of tricks at his disposal. The Bible calls him the father of lies (John 8:44), and he can even take the form of an angel (2 Corinthians 11:14). Only one verse later, we see that "his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness". Given that the demons are spirits themselves, it's hardly surprising that demons can pretend to be "ghosts", whether "righteous" ghosts who help us, or evil ghosts who haunt us.
Before we even get into God's explicit commands, there are a few logical conclusions we can draw about the moral implications of ghosts. First, if ghosts are demonic, it makes sense that those who seek ghosts are virtually guaranteed to receive a demonic answer. What would be the implications of seeking out the minions of the father of lies? There are only two reasons to seek such beings. Either you yourself are evil (or foolish), or you are a faithful Christian who, knowing what these things are, seeks to banish them from their place in the name of the Lord. Quick piece of advice: Unless you are driven by the Lord to do so, don't (Acts 19:14-16).
In Luke 16:19-31, we read a possible parable of a rich man who died. He begged Abraham to send someone to his surviving brothers to warn them of their possible fate. The souls of the condemned, then, are not only trapped in the prison of Hades (and apparently accepting of that, since he didn't even ask for a chance to escape), but also desire that their surviving loved ones do not join them. This would make sense. But the "ghosts" of the unsaved never seem to have anything truthful to say about the afterlife. They never seek to spread the Gospel they rejected in their lives. This makes two things clear: The spirits of the unsaved can't come back, and any claim that they have must be fraudulent in one way or another.
But what about the dead in Christ? Can they come back? It is left open ended about whether or not they can see us from Heaven, but it is not so open ended about whether or not they would want to. Paul, for example, said that the only reason he wanted to remain on this earth was for the sake of the Church, because he could do more for the Kingdom of God while on the earth (Philippians 1:21-24). If Paul believed he could come back as a ghost, surely he would have just killed himself and done so. Similarly, if he believed he could, he wouldn't have said he would be better able to serve the Philippians while living, especially since having the ghost of an Apostle floating around would be really rather useful. Imagine how many theological issues he could solve!
What's more is that the saved would not want to be called back to earth. We see this from the only example of a successful séance recorded in the entire Bible. In 1 Samuel 28:3-25, Saul seeks the counsel of the so called Witch of En Dor. Distressed by the Lord's silence, and the mounting armies of the Philistines, Saul sought the dead prophet, Samuel, who upon being brought up from the dead, asked "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Clearly, Samuel wasn't thrilled about having been brought back to the earth.
A question that arises here is how was Samuel even brought back? If all mediums are fake, why wasn't this one? First, let us consider that this is evidently a special case. It's in scripture, and is designed to impart truth. It was also intended by God that history should go in a certain direction. What's also of note is the witch's reaction. She heard the name "Samuel", and proceeded to do her "usual" thing. It wasn't until Samuel appeared that she realised she was speaking to Saul. This is speculative, but it's likely that the Witch knew who Saul was because it actually worked this time. Whatever the reason Samuel was successfully summoned, it is clear that this is a unique event.
After being quite cross about being summoned, Samuel's response to Saul was just as Godly as we would expect. I would encourage you to read the passage for yourself, but to paraphrase, Samuel told Saul that summoning him was utterly useless. God had already spoken, so Saul knew the answer. Summoning Samuel would not help.
Which brings me on to the words of Isaiah concerning mediums and communication with the dead. In Isaiah 8:19-20, Isaiah effectively said the same thing as our paraphrase of Samuel: "And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
Consulting the dead on behalf of the living is impossible, fruitless, and wrong. Even if we grant the highly unlikely assumption that the dead can hear us, we certainly can't hear them. By contrast, God can hear us, and He is more than sufficient. There is only one mediator between us and Him, that being Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). What's more is that He knows what we need ahead of time (Matthew 6:8, 32; Luke 12:30), and that when we don't even know what to pray for, the Holy Spirit does that job for us (Romans 8:26). But what's most important for our question about the moral implications of ghosts is that He has explicitly forbidden us to seek them out.
In Leviticus alone, seeking the dead is forbidden three times. It is said to defile us (19:31), to be a form of prostitution (20:6), and was punishable by death (20:27). But this is Old Testament law, some might object. Having served its purpose, Old Testament law is no longer in effect, and so pro-ghost Christians would say that we don't need to pay any attention to it.
There are two problems with this. The first is that the law may have a different purpose in the post-crucifixion world, but it is not useless. It had a purpose, specifically to set Israel apart from the other nations (Exodus 19:5) and to teach us about God (Galatians 3:19-24). In other words, looking at the law, we get an understanding as to why God gave those commands, even if we're no longer required to obey them in exactly the same way.
Deuteronomy 18:11–12 is especially relevant here, as it tells us exactly why God forbade seeking out mediums. Doing so was not just something He pulled out of thin air for no obvious reason. Communication with the dead is an actual abomination to God. In fact, it is the very reason (one of them, anyway) God took the land of Israel from its previous inhabitants and gave it to the Jews. This practice is so abominable to God that He even equates it with child sacrifice (v10). Now, we know that God both does, and has, "changed" the law. He has made different covenants with different people throughout history for different purposes, each coming with their own conditions. But these covenants always follow God's own being, which does not change (Hebrews 13:8). So, clearly, if God was so opposed to communication with the dead in the past that He drove out, and even killed people who were not under the law either, He must be opposed to it now.
Judging by what we discussed earlier, it's not hard to see why. There are three main reasons God hates communication with ghosts:
1) It can't even be done. With the lone exception of Samuel, a prophet sent back to Saul for prophetic purposes, it is impossible for anyone to communicate with the dead. The dead in sin are in a prison called Hades, never to be "released" until judgement day. The dead in Christ are living in bliss with God, and would not desire to come back here even if they could. Thus, those who purport to communicate with the dead are fakes. It is deception, and God cannot abide by it.
2) While some are fakes in that the entire thing is a sham, there are mediums who are genuinely in communion with spirits. These spirits are evil, not being genuinely ghosts, but being minions of Satan seeking to take men from God. There have even been accounts of some very convincing mediums communicating with the ghosts of people who are not even dead. Seeking the dead is very dangerous, because it leads to close encounters with beings whose sole intention is the destruction of the soul.
3) Most importantly, it robs God of His glory (Catholics, take note). When someone seeks the dead on behalf of the living, they are giving the deceased an honour due only to God. Thus Isaiah declares that those who say otherwise have no light in them.
And so we see the Bible's teachings on ghosts. Ghosts, depending on your definition, do exist, and can be spoken to, but they are not the spirits of the deceased. Rather, they are demons intent on deceiving the lost, and distracting the faithful from our worship of the only spirit we need concern ourselves with talking to. It is very dangerous to seek them out, as well as sinful.