Between Death & Resurrection: What the Bible Says about Ghosts

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19–31. The end of this story is often cited as definitive proof that ghosts cannot exist:

“And [the rich man] said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send [Lazarus] to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

However, the text never says that it is impossible for the dead to visit the living; it only says that such a visitation would be ineffective in producing saving faith in the visited. This makes perfect sense in context. Jesus was addressing the Pharisees, who constantly demanded that Jesus prove his claims with miraculous signs. While Jesus did perform many miracles, he refused to put on a performance for the hard-hearted Pharisees (Matthew 12:38–39, Matthew 16:1–4, Luke 11:29). They already possessed adequate testimony to Jesus’ identity, and with this parable Jesus revealed the hypocrisy of their demands.

It is interesting to note that, in the parable, the rich man asks for Lazarus to visit the living, rather than to go himself. Does this imply that only the righteous dead can appear as ghosts? That would certainly align with the examples that will be examined later, which all describe the appearance of departed saints (Samuel, Moses, and Elijah). But to build theological doctrine upon the minutiae of a parable is to misunderstand the parable’s purpose.

Absent from the Body, Present with the Lord

Many passages of scripture strongly imply that the dead have set abodes, and these are often used to eliminate the possibility of ghosts:

And [Jesus] said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Luke 23:43

And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Acts 7:59

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

2 Corinthians 5:6–9

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

Philippians 1:21–24

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

Revelation 6:9–11

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 7:13–17

It must first be said that the common phrase “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” is a misquotation of 2 Corinthians 5:8, which actually says nothing more than that while we are on earth, we are not in heaven. Paul is not expressing a dichotomy that excludes all other possibilities. By way of illustration, one may prefer to be at home rather than work, but absence from the office does not automatically imply presence at home; one could be at the park instead, or a restaurant, or a gas station.

This same reasoning can be applied to the other passages as well: the righteous go to Paradise when they die, but that does not necessarily exclude the possibility that God sends them back from time to time. Again, just because one lives at home does not mean they cannot visit a friend’s house once in a while.

Saul and the Necromancer

1 Samuel 28:3–20 is the clearest example of ghostly activity in the Bible:

Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.” So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?” But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage. Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.” Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.

There are three common interpretations of this passage:

• The necromancer was a charlatan; there was no ghost (Korem, Powers, 176, 180).
• The necromancer summoned a demon, not a ghost (Lavater, Of Ghosts and Spirits Walking by Night).
• The necromancer summoned the ghost of Samuel.

The charlatan theory claims that it was not the spirit of Samuel that appeared, but mere trickery on the part of the necromancer. The arguments for this theory are as follows:

• The Hebrew word for necromancer can also be translated ventriloquist, betraying the method by which so-called necromancers deceived their clients.
• The vague description offered by the necromancer could apply to any old man—a common tactic of modern charlatans; Saul simply heard what he expected to hear and assumed it was Samuel.
• God disapproves of necromancy, and would never allow a necromancer to channel a real spirit.

While it’s certainly possible that, under normal circumstances, the necromancer was a charlatan, it is unlikely that this particular event was a case of human deception. When the necromancer learned that her client was King Saul, who had previously banned necromancy and exiled its practitioners, she was frightened. If she was faking the entire thing, she would have given Saul the good news that he wanted to hear. If she turned out to be right, she would have earned Saul’s favor; if she turned out to be wrong, Saul would be dead, and therefore unable to exact revenge. Instead, she delivers a message of woe that could very well have angered Saul and gotten her killed on the spot.

The charlatan theory also fails to account for the fact that the biblical narrator explicitly says that a spirit appeared, and explicitly calls it Samuel.

The argument that God would not allow a necromancer to contact the dead fails when one considers all the other sins that people successfully commit all the time. God even uses these sins to accomplish his will. For example, God used idolatrous, murderous nations—and specifically their cruel brutality—to punish Israel for its own idolatry.

The charlatan theory ultimately operates on the assumption that all evil spiritualism is fake, but this is simply untrue. One needs only skim through the New Testament to find plenty of examples of demonic activity, which leads to the second common interpretation of the passage: it was a demon, likely the same demon that the necromancer usually employed to decieve her clients. Proponents of the demon theory put forth the following evidence:

• The spirit rose from the ground instead of descending from above.
• The spirit’s message was one of despair.
• God does not allow the dead to visit the living.
• God had already purposed not to communicate with Saul via the normal means of the day (dreams, Urim, or prophets), and would not have then chosen to communicate through a forbidden practice.
• The spirit’s prediction was not completely accurate.

Regarding the first argument, spatial directions have no significance here; spiritual dimensions are not literally above or below the earth. It’s quite possible that Samuel rose from the ground simply because, in a culture that believed in an underground realm of the dead called Sheol, that is what Saul and the necromancer expected to see. He appeared that way in order to convince the witnesses of his reality.

As for the second argument, the assumption is that a message from a righteous source would contain some measure of hope or encouragement. But why must this be the case? Consider the writing on the wall in Daniel 5, a message of despair from God to Belshazzar, with no comfort to be found.

The third argument merely assumes the point it’s trying to prove, and is therefore invalid.

The fourth argument is stronger, but ultimately rests on an assumption regarding how God chooses to work. It is not inconceivable that God remained silent at first in order to convict Saul, and then used Saul’s final sin of necromancy to pronounce judgment. It is even possible that this was a test which Saul failed. 1 Chronicles 10:13–14 emphasizes his act of necromancy as one of the main reasons that Saul died in the following battle; might Saul have lived had he kept faith with God instead of seeking guidance from the dead?

The last argument—that the spirit’s prediction was inaccurate—is the most compelling, and hinges on one’s interpretation of the grammar and semantics of 1 Samuel 28:19, which reads:

“Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”

Saul and three of his sons did die in the following battle, recorded in 1 Samuel 31:2–7:

And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul…Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it…Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.

But a fourth son, appearing in 2 Samuel 2:8–10 did not:

But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim, and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel. Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years.

The spirit’s exact words could be interpreted as an absolute statement (“you and [all] your sons shall be with me”) or a relative one (“you and your sons [who go to battle] shall be with me”). If it is absolute, then the prediction was false, and the spirit was a demon. If it was relative, then it was true and the spirit most likely was Samuel.

One potentially helpful comparison is the statement in 1 Samuel 31:6, in which the inspired narrator says “all his men” died that day. This obviously only refers to those men of Saul’s who were with him at the battle; otherwise one must assume that every man in the entire nation of Israel who served Saul—including Abner the son of Ner—died that day, whether they were at the battle or not.

Note also the phrase “Saul and his sons were dead” in 1 Samuel 31:7. The context makes it clear that this only refers to the three sons who fought in the battle, so the inspired narrator can use the word sons in a relative sense without introducing any inconsistencies.

In light of these comparisons, one can safely assume that the spirit of chapter 28 was referring only to the sons who would be present at the battle, and who may also have been with Saul when he visited the necromancer.

As with the ventriloquist theory, the demon theory finds difficulty with the biblical narrator’s straightforward account: the spirit is called Samuel. The demon theory would work around this diffictulty by saying that the narrator called the spirit Samuel for simplicity’s sake. Saul certainly thought it was Samuel, and the story is told from Saul’s perspective.

The final theory is that the ghost of Samuel really did appear. Arguments in favor of the ghost theory are as follows:

• The Bible explicitly calls the spirit Samuel, rather than a demon or deception on the part of the necromancer.
• The necromancer is frightened when she sees the spirit, implying that she did not expect Samuel to actually appear.
• Everything the spirit said was true and consistent with other passages of scripture (e.g., rebuke for resorting to necromancy).
• There is no reason God, being sovereign, could not allow a dead person to visit the living.

It may be argued that the necromancer was frightened not because of the spirit’s identity, but because the spirit revealed to her that her client was Saul. Also, as mentioned earlier, the accuracy of the prediction depends entirely on how one interprets the plural “sons”. However, these objections are weak in light of the straightforward nature of this historical account: the spirit is called Samuel! The only reason to propose an alternative interpretation is to satisfy a pre-existing bias against the possibility of Samuel’s literal appearance. Therefore, the most likely interpretation is that God did allow the ghost of Samuel to appear.

The Transfiguration

The Transfiguration is recorded in three separate places: Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, and Luke 9:28–36. The account of Luke is given here, since it is the longest and most detailed:

Now about eight days after these sayings [Jesus] took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

While most would not immediately think of this as an example of ghostly activity, it does seem to satisfy the definition for ghosts given earlier. While Elijah is one of the few humans who never actually died (2 Kings 2:1–14), Moses definitely did die (Deuteronomy 34:5–8); yet here he appears to the disciples and interacts with Jesus on the physical plane.

Some might argue that Moses and Elijah were not disembodied spirits, but possessed fully resurrected bodies. This view is countered, however, by the many passages that describe the post-resurrection Jesus as the firstfruits or firstborn from the dead (Acts 26:23, 1 Corinthians 15:20–23, Philippians 3:20–21, Colossians 1:18, Revelation 1:5). Remember that at this time, Jesus himself had not yet received a resurrected body; if Moses and Elijah had theirs, then they would be the firstborn, not Jesus. Additionally, the bodily resurrection of the saints is clearly taught as an end-of-history event (1 Corinthians 15:23, Colossians 3:3–4, 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17). Therefore, the Transfiguration can safely be interpreted as a ghostly phenomenon.

The Disciples’ Confusion

It might be argued that Jesus tacitly affirmed the existence of ghosts when he appeared to the disciples after his resurrection. In Luke 24:36–39, Jesus does not correct the disciples’ erroneous belief that he is a ghost by denying the reality of such things; rather, he draws attention to those qualities which distinguish him from an apparition:

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

It must be acknowledged that Jesus was not necessarily implying that ghosts do indeed appear to the living. The situation did not require a refutation of ghosts in general, but only an assurance that Jesus himself was not a ghost. As such, this is a very weak proof on its own. In tandem with the previous examples, however, it provides another—albeit thin—leg of support.

Demons

Satan and his demons are real, and constantly try to deceive us. There are too many passages describing demonic activity and influence to present in their entirety; what follows is merely a summary:

• Worship and sacrifices offered to demons (Leviticus 17:7, Deuteronomy 32:17, Psalm 106:37, 1 Corinthians 10:19–21, Revelation 9:20)
• Jesus exorcises Legion (Matthew 8:28–34, Mark 5:1–20, Luke 8:26–36)
• Jesus exorcises a mute demon (Matthew 9:32–33, Luke 11:14)
• Jesus exorcises an epileptic demon (Matthew 17:14–18, Luke 9:37–43)
• Satan and demons deceive people (John 8:44, 1 Timothy 4:1–2, James 3:15, Revelation 12:9)
• Paul exorcises a spirit of divination (Acts 16:16–18)
• Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14)
• Evil spirits perform signs (Revelation 16:13–14)

One particularly striking and lesser-known example appears in Job 4:12–21, in which Job’s friend Eliphaz claims to have been given words of wisdom by a spirit:

“Now a word was brought to me stealthily; my ear received the whisper of it. Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice: ‘Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error; how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like the moth. Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces; they perish forever without anyone regarding it. Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them, do they not die, and that without wisdom?’”

Although this reads like a ghost story, it probably is nothing of the sort. Given the context of Job, it is more likely that the spirit was actually Satan, poisoning Job’s friend against him in an attempt to make Job curse God. Note the spirit’s spiteful attitude when speaking of God’s treatment of angels, recalling that Satan himself is a fallen angel, and compare that with the tone Satan uses with God in Job 1:9–11 and 2:4–5. Also compare the spirit’s strategy—twisting the truth in service of a lie—with that employed by the serpent in Genesis 3.

When tested, a demonic spirit…

• may or may not interact with the living,
• may or may not claim to be human, and
• if it interacts at all, will contradict scripture.

Due to the deceptive nature of demons, it is almost impossible to tell for certain if a supernatural phenomenon is not demonic in origin. The only way for an entity to escape suspicion is for it to affirm the truths of scripture, as this is the one thing a demon will not do.

Angels

Evil is not the only supernatural force at work in the world. God and his angels may also appear to us in ways that appear ghostly. Once again, examples are too numerous to list; here is but a sample:

• Jacob’s ladder (Genesis 28:12–16)
• The angel of God predicts Samson’s birth (Judges 13)
• God calls Samuel (1 Samuel 3)
• The fiery furnace (Daniel 3:24–28)
• Angels at the empty tomb (Matthew 28:1–7, Mark 16:1–8, Luke 24:1–7)
• Angels announce Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:8–15)
• An angel appears to Philip (Acts 8:26)
• An angel appears to Cornelius (Acts 10:1–8)
• An angel assures Paul that no one on the ship will die (Acts 27:22–25)

When tested, an angelic spirit…

• will interact with the living,
• will not claim to be human, and
• will affirm scripture.

This is perhaps the only supernatural phenomenon that can be identified with confidence.

Residual Hauntings

The last alternative supernatural explanation to consider comes with a heavy caveat: it is based on the dubious claims of paranormal research, which have little, if any, scientific merit.

The appearance of a dead person’s soul, such as that recorded in 1 Samuel 28 and which aligns with the definition for ghosts given at the start of this article, is classified amongst paranormal investigators as an intelligent haunting; that is, the person themself appears and can interact with the living. But there is another type of haunting known as a residual haunting. This type does not involve an actual spirit, but only what might be described as a psychic footprint, a trace of energy left behind by the deceased.

Residual hauntings do not react to the words and actions of the living. They simply play out a “pre-recorded” sequence of events that may reflect their activity in life. This explains much of a ghost’s odd behavior: walking through walls that didn’t exist during their lifetime, or climbing stairs that have since been demolished.

While such a phenomenon may rightly be called a ghost, it is in fact something entirely distinct from that which this article has discussed so far. No actual souls are involved in a residual haunting; thus are any biblical objections evaded.

When tested, a residual haunting will not interact with the living; therefore, the other tests will not apply. But note that this makes it impossible to tell for certain what the phenomenon actually is; it could be a residual human haunting, or it could be a demonic deception. Great care is required here.

Intelligent Hauntings

It is vanishingly improbable that any phenomenon will defy all the explanations proposed up to this point. However, in the unlikely event that every other alternative fails, one can conclude that they might be dealing with an actual human spirit. When tested, an intelligent human haunting…

• will interact with the living,
• will claim to be human, and
• may either affirm or contradict scripture.

But take caution: there is no way to distinguish between a human who denies the truths of scripture and a demon who claims to be human. Therefore, any spirit that contradicts scripture should be considered demonic, and must never be trusted.