Ghosts?

Today, my devotion continued with what Jesus did after God raised Him from the grave.  It has been refreshing to continue the Easter story as that is really what happened.  There wasn't a big Easter celebration and then everyone moved on to their busy lives and forgot about it.

No, Jesus Christ came back physically and showed the disciples He was alive, had scars from the cross, could eat, walk, talk. Then he taught them. He showed them how the Old Testament scriptures had been fulfilled by Him.  He taught them that they were to go and tell all nations.  The story continues from Easter through all eternity!  HALLELUJAH!

However, I noticed in the responses to this devotion today, that ghosts were brought up.  Do they exist or not and can we Biblically prove or disprove this...as everything should go back to the Bible. So, I went to GotQuestions.com which I have used on many occasions to gather information to answer my Biblical questions.

You are probably thinking, is this a Snopes kind of thing? Well, please know that Snopes is the opinion of two people;  so do with that what you want.  On the other hand, Got Questions is Biblically based. That doesn't mean I have to agree with everything; I still need to verify with the scriptures, and prayer, the truth about what I have read or heard. Having said that, here is what GotQuestions.com says about ghosts:

Hebrews 9:27 declares, "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." That is what happens to a person's soul-spirit after death"judgment. The result of this judgment is heaven for the believer (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23) and hell for the unbeliever (Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:22-24). There is no in-between. There is no possibility of remaining on earth in spirit form as a "ghost." If there are such things as ghosts, according to the Bible, they absolutely cannot be the disembodied spirits of deceased human beings.The Bible teaches very clearly that there are indeed spirit beings who can connect with and appear in our physical world. The Bible identifies these beings as angels and demons. Angels are spirit beings who are faithful in serving God. Angels are righteous, good, and holy. Demons are fallen angels, angels who rebelled against God. Demons are evil, deceptive, and destructive. According to 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, demons masquerade as "angels of light" and as "servants of righteousness." Appearing as a "ghost" and impersonating a deceased human being definitely seem to be within the power and abilities that demons possess.

I thought that was interesting.  I already knew from reading the Bible that there were angels and demons. However, how do you explain people saying they have seen a ghost? 

Well, let's assume they have seen something. According to this explaination (which is based on scripture), the ghosts are either angels or demons. That makes sense to me, both scripturally and after a short prayer.  

On the Got Questions website, they go on to state that all of the fortune telling, etc. would be a great way for a demon to force a person's attention off of God in understanding things and on to the person telling them what they want to hear or even giving then real information as demons have access to that as well as angels. 

It is scary to think that our society enjoys psychics, ghost hunters, ouija boards, tarot cards, s'ances, etc. and these are really machinations of demons getting a foothold in that person's life! Pulling them further from God. So, the next time I hear someone state they use these, I will hope the Holy Spirit tells me to help this person see the truth...I just hope I follow the Holy Spirit's prodding and pray before I open my mouth.

So, are there ghosts? No, I am obligated to agree with scripture in that I don't think there are dead people coming back to haunt people if that is what people are referring to.  However, I do believe, scriptural, there are angels and demons who can either help us or hurt us based on which one they are. The angels help us walk with God in a closer relationship. The demons hurt us and pull us away from a close relationship with God! 

What do you think?