Seventh-day Adventist® Church

What does the Bible say about ghosts?

In the King James Version of the Bible, the word ghost appears 108 times. Of these, the word is never used in the sense of the disembodied spirit of someone who has died. It is used in only two ways. First, it appears in the phrase “to give up the ghost,” meaning “to die.” Second, it occurs as the title, “the Holy Ghost,” the third person of the Godhead or Trinity. The Bible refers to ghosts or spirits of the dead as “familiar spirits” and warns us against having anything to do with them. (see Leviticus 19:31; Deuteronomy 18:11; 2 Kings 21:6; Isaiah 8:19).

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Can the dead haunt houses?

It’s in the Bible, Job 7:9-10, NKJV. “As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, so he who goes down to the grave does not come up. He shall never return to his house, nor shall his place know him anymore."

If people die with unfinished business to care for, do they become ghosts and haunt the places and people they knew in life? It’s in the Bible, Psalm 146:4, ESV. "When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.”

Can the dead talk with the living?

“For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, NKJV.)

What does the Bible say about communicating with "familiar spirits", or ghosts? It’s in the Bible, Isaiah 8:19, NASB. “And when they say to you, ‘Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter.’ Should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?” In verse 20 of the King James Version the Bible goes on to say, “To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

What does the Bible say about those who communicate with familiar spirits? It's in the Bible, Leviticus 19:31, NKJV. "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God."

Are ghosts real?

Ghosts are real, but they are not angels from God or our dead loved ones. They are fallen angels trying to deceive us. It’s in the Bible, Ephesians 6:11-12, KJV. "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

It’s in the Bible, 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, NIV. "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve."

Do good people become angels when they die? God’s angels are heavenly beings, not spirits of dead humans. Angels have existed before humans were created. It’s in the Bible, Psalm 8:4-5, NKJV. “What is man that You [Lord] are mindful of him, and the son of man, that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.”

There are evil spirits in this world that are the fallen angels who followed Satan in rebellion against God. It’s in the Bible, Revelation 12:9, NKJV. "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." 

Should we be afraid of ghosts?

We do not have to be afraid of Satan and his impersonations of the living and the dead, if we give our hearts to Jesus and stay away from all satanic activities such as séances, ouija boards, and other activities of spiritism. It’s in the Bible, 1 John 4:1,4, NKJV. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God. . . You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” It's in the Bible, James 4:7-8, NKJV. “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

God’s angels guide and protect us; they do not hurt us, play tricks on us, or lie to us. It's in the Bible, Psalm 91:9-11, NKJV. “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”

If we are true to Jesus and obey Him by faith, we do not need to be afraid of Satan’s power. It's in the Bible, Luke 10:19, NKJV. “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

It's in the Bible, Romans 8:31, NKJV. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

It's in the Bible, Romans 8:38-39, NIV. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."