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Post by waris on Dec 1, 2017 9:52:45 GMT
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. Matthew 14:26 KJV
When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. Matthew 14:26 NIV
Are ghosts real or are they all demons?
Also what were the voices in Doug’s video about meeting Jesus? Were they spirits/ ghosts?
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Post by Jeff G on Dec 1, 2017 20:36:40 GMT
To examine this I think we should first define what we mean by a 'ghost'. Perhaps this - the spirit of a deceased person, located somewhere on earth, that interacts in some way with the living. I think that basically captures what people mean by the word 'ghost'.
Something that came to mind was the incident with Saul, Samuel, and the Medium of En-Dor in 1 Samuel 28. OK, so normally we wouldn't refer to Samuel here as a ghost, but we would probably just say that he is a spirit. I mention that because he seems to fit the definition I gave above. In any case, I think this incident is relevant to your question, since here is a spirit appearing to the living. However, this is not a normal situation; this is an unusual event.
When you think about it, when Moses and Elijah appeared at the transfiguration of Jesus, it was a similar sort of thing (at least with Moses, anyway; since Elijah was taken up to heaven in the body it's a bit different with him). I guess we should keep in mind that God was clearly behind this event, but this is not the case when people think about 'ghosts'. This incident, of course, was a very extraordinary one and not a common thing.
So I would say that in the normal course of events, the spirits of deceased people are not present on earth to interact with the living. Supposed cases of this happening I would say are just demons messing with people.
As for when Jesus walked on water - I've heard that in the first century there was a legend about fishermen who had died on the Sea of Galilee, who sometimes appeared there at night (or something along those lines). So this could potentially explain what the disciples were thinking about. We should keep in mind that the verse you quoted gives us understanding about the mindset of the disciples rather than the truth concerning the existence or otherwise of ghosts.
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Post by Bro. James on Dec 9, 2017 20:32:19 GMT
Realize that ghost/spirit are interchangeable. Such as the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit. People who have encounters with Jesus on this earth are doing so by the working of the Holy Spirit. Realize Jesus is in Heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father until ALL enemies are put under His feet. The Holy Spirit is the one manifesting the reality of Jesus upon the earth and in the lives of believers. As far as spirits of deceased people appearing upon the earth, the Bible records that the righteous dead appeared in bodily form in Jerusalem after Jesus arose and took captivity captive (first fruits)see Matthew 27:52-53. Also only a couple of times the Bible records this such as Jesus transfigured with Moses and Elijah and Saul seeing Samuel have humans communed with the dead. Many Saints who have "graduated" appear in dreams to their loved ones to comfort the loss of their death or in preparation for the loved ones themselves "graduating"(surrounded by a great cloud of witnessess). We are commanded however not to search for these experiences, as it is called necromancy. Usually a familiar spirit (demonic guardian angel) masquerades as that person to deceive the inquiring human. As the time of the end winds down, angelic (holy)and fallen will have increasing manifestation. Hang on children, the ride is going to get real exciting!!!!
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