Over the last week several cable channels (travel, history, etc.) have been showing programs about ghosts. The night before last I saw one which featured different people from around the USA who tried to ’study’ ghosts in their own little way. Among others, one pair of ladies used a tape recorder and some computer equipment to record ghost voices while another group had a dog trained to look for ghosts.
By the time the show was over my own curiosity was aroused. What, exactly, are ghosts? Please note that I didn’t ask, “Do ghosts really exist?” This is because my own experiences convinced me of that many years ago.
I’ve often heard “…to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV) quoted as proof that as soon as someone who is born again dies, their soul immediately goes to heaven. If this is true, then all believers from the beginning till now are gone, so they’re not the ghosts people are seeing. So who does that leave us with? The only two groups I can think of are those who died without knowing Jesus as savior and demons.
The first scripture that comes to mind that deals with immediate destination of the lost is Luke 16:22-23 (KJV)
“And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; [23] And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
So it seems that both Lazarus and the unnamed rich man where taken to their destinations immediately. If that’s the case… then who, or what, are ghosts????
