Prophecy Matters Blog

This week, I had a radio interview with USA Radio, to promote my new book, It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine). The host asked me why more people are not aware of the amazing accuracy of Bible prophecy.

 The answer, of course, is biblical illiteracy. 

This is evident everywhere, from politics to entertainment. An interesting example of the latter will air this coming Wednesday night on the SciFi Channel. The show "Ghosthunters" will explore the Titanic exhibit, and the alleged ghosts who haunt it.

 "Ghosthunters" is almost unintentionally comical. The premise is that a team of paranormal researchers explore locations that experience "hauntings." No real evidence of "ghosts" is found, but there are a lot of double-takes and gasps as "something" brushes past the researchers.

No doubt the Titanic special will feature plenty of archival photographs and re-enactments. And gasps.

But here's the problem: there's no such thing as "ghosts."

That reality is not understood by most people because they've been more influenced by the world than by the Bible. That's why there is massive funding for projects like SETI, the search for intelligent life somewhere else in the universe. And by intelligent life, we are talking about aliens, let's be clear.

Humans want to find the mysterious: the Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, ET, Clark Gable's ghost knocking around Hollywood mansions.

Our culture is so lost that most people try to find meaning in things that don't exist, rather than meaning in Existence: Jesus Christ, Creator of everything.

Back to our original thought. Why do people believe in ghosts? A lot of reasons. We like to be scared. We want to reach out to loved ones who have died. All sorts of reasons.

But what if ghosts aren't real? Should we be looking for them, trying to contact them?

The Bible says no. "Necromancy," the attempt to communicate with the dead, is expressly prohibited. Why?

Because God reveals to us that there are dark spiritual forces at work in our world. If the Bible is true, then a third of heaven's angels rebelled with Lucifer and those angels — those demons — have extraordinary powers that are dangerous for gullible humans.

In the fourth chapter of the book of Job, there is a fascinating exchange between Eliphaz and a spirit that visited him in the night. There are important details given in the scene: Eliphaz says the spirit swept past him and stopped, but he couldn't make out its form. He was afraid.

The spirit told Eliphaz — in a hushed voice — that there was a world that mere man cannot see:

 "Can a mortal be just and upright before God? Can a person be pure before the Creator? If God cannot trust his own angels and has charged some of them with folly, how much less will he trust those made of clay! Their foundation is dust, and thye are crushed as easily as moths. They are alive in the morning, but by evening they are dead, gone forever without a trace. Their tent collapses; they die in ignorance."

Very interesting.

The spirit exhibits traits that Jesus tells us Satan has (he is a liar). There is a mixture of truth and error.

Yes, man is limited in his relationship with his Creator. Yet the Creator has given a way for man to be reconciled to Him — in the person of Jesus Christ. This reconciliation is not available to angels.

And of course man is appointed to die a physical death, but his essence lives on, so that he is not gone forever without a trace.

What we have here is a demonic spirit "complaining" to a mere man. Complaining about God's judgement on the prideful angels who rebelled and who are now forever beyond redemption.

Notice the bitterness. Notice the contempt for man.

Now, the Bible does tell us of "familiar spirits," those demons who pose as souls that want to communicate with man.

Because man exists in this world of pain and love, we are susceptible to the lure of "ghosts."

Ten years after my father's death, I went home to wrap-up my grandmother's affairs. What I found in her dining room broke my heart. My godly grandmother had missed her son so much that she had attempted to communicate with him. There in a teacup I found coupons for a session with a local "medium." Not content with reuniting in the afterlife, she wanted to talk to him right away.

When we step into this trap, we endanger ourselves. Reality is no longer available to us and so, in the hunt for ghosts, we open ourselves up to the deception that has gripped Oprah Winfrey and her spiritual guests. We begin to listen to deceiving spirits.

Ironically, we live in a time when the assertion that ghosts don't exist is thought to be insane. In fact, the real insanity is believing that friendly spirits wish to communicate with us! But this is only true if the Bible is true!

Hopefully, Eliphaz knew enough to recognize the spirit's lies mixed with truth. Hopefully he had that discernment.

We can also hope that there will be some who watch Wednesday's SciFi special who will understand the truth.

The "ghost" of John Jacob Astor — the gozillionaire who went down with the Titanic and 1,500 other souls — does not walk the earth in unrest. Astor, like all humans, went to one of two potential  destinations after death. 

If you are interested in this subject, contact me at jim@prophecymatters.com