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GHOSTS VS. GOD

"And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people." (Leviticus 20:6)

Most of us have heard the old saying "curiosity killed the cat." Well, it can be said also that "curiosity can kill the soul" as well. It is mostly through curiosity that people get involved with various things that could be very dangerous, especially within the realm of the spirit world. According to the Bible, there is a spiritual side to life that exists around us that is unseen by the naked eye. Many people in the occult and withcraft have somewhat of a realization of this, but they never consider the fact that this "spirit world" is divided between the forces of good and evil. Everything that falls in the category of the supernatural is automatically placed as an act of God.

We know that this is absolutely false from reading God's Word. It says in 1 John 4:1, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." If you were to read the rest of this chapter, it would tell you how to "try the spirits" to know which ones are of God and the ones that are of Satan. There is a rise in the discussion of whether or not ghosts exist. This is always seen as unharmful fun and games during the time of Halloween. On the contrary, Halloween is a very important event for worshippers in the occult and Satanism.

Let me throw something in very briefly about Halloween. It is not called Halloween among these worshippers, but is referred to as Samhain. It goes back many years ago by people known as the Druids. The Druids are very pagan and occultic in their beliefs that go entirely different from the teachings of the Bible. They would carve a pumpkin in the image of a demonic spirit named "Jack" and make a lantern out of it. Thus, we have today the "jack-o-lantern." They would walk through the villages during the time of Samhain (Halloween) dressed in black robes and come to houses that was known to have a virgin girl living inside. They would shout outside the house the words "trick or treat'' to let the people know inside the house that they wanted the virgin (most of the time a small child), which was considered their "treat." Or the people of the house, if they refused, would receive the "trick," which was a certain curse the Druids would put upon the house.

They would symbolize that the house was cursed by leaving the "jack-o-lantern" on the doorstep of that particular house. This is why I am personally not too crazy about having a "jack-o-lantern" around my house because my house is to be blessed by the Lord and not cursed by the Devil. But now, getting back to the subject of ghosts. We know when we hear this word we think about the souls of people who come back to haunt us. However, according to the Bible a person's soul is in one of two places. The soul is either in Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:8) or Hell (Luke 16:23).

Notice the verse I used at the beginning of this Highlight, which was Leviticus 20:6. It mentions "familiar spirits." These familiar spirits are called "familiar" because they resemble someone who has lived before. If you study your Bible, you would find out that these are actually demons transforming themselves into someone that looks familiar. Even the appearances of angels are not to be fully trusted according to 2 Corinthians 11:14 and Galatians 1:8. And also to make a long story short, I know from personal experience and Bible study that certain houses are "haunted" or possessed because at least someone who lives there or used to live there dabbled into some strange arts of divination.

I know that there can be more said about this interesting subject, but I will leave you with an important closing statement. If you think it is all fun and games to explore the art of witchcraft, I know you are probably thinking that you are just expanding your imagination. I want you to know that God has something to say about your imagination in 2 Corinthians 10:5 which says: "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Also read Deuteronomy 18:10-14 and Isaiah 47:12-15 in your Bible. Anyone who has to keep looking for divine guidance through witchcraft and the occult means they still haven't the Answer, Jesus Christ (John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5).

If you're interested in this topic, also see my other highlight, Harry is not my Potter.

- James S. Hodges

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