The Gist on GIVING and TITHING

All believers will stand before the Lord and give an account of their lives for what they do or don’t do at the Judgment Seat of Christ. This includes what we do with our income. More is expected of those with greater knowledge, talents and spiritual maturity. As Christ said, “To whom much is given, much will be required” (Luke 12:48).

New Covenant believers are not UNDER the Mosaic Law, rather we fulfill the moral Law by walking in the spirit (Romans 7:6).

Believers are under the law of Christ, which is the law of love — loving God and loving people as we love ourselves. If we are walking in love toward the diligent ministers & ministries that we receive from and are blessed by, we’ll support them from our income (whatever form that may be) and with our time & talents, not to mention respect (1 Timothy 5:17 & 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).*

* Although we shouldn’t support or tolerate abusive ministers & ministries. Abuse is the misuse of power.

We are instructed in the New Testament to “grow in the grace of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7 & Luke 6:38), but no amount is set because it will be different for each believer according to their means & talents and how the Spirit leads. For instance, in the book of Acts, some believers were selling whole properties and giving the money to the Church (Acts 4:33-36). This was way beyond 10% of their income.

However, 10% is a good starting place because Abraham gave Melchizedek 10% of the booty (Hebrews 7:1-2). Melchizedek was a type of Christ and this was BEFORE the Mosaic Law, not to mention Abraham is the Father of Faith and New Covenant believers are children of faith (Romans 4:16).

As such, if a believer is part of an assembly and receiving from it, 10% of one’s income is a good place to start in regards to giving. If you have 10 eggs, give one. If you have a 100, give 10. From there you can “grow in the grace of giving” as led of the Spirit. While New Covenant believers are not under the Mosaic Law, giving 10% to support a ministry is considered “tithing” because tithe in the Hebrew simply means 10%.

But, please, it’s important to understand that the LORD only wants believers to give out of a giving heart that’s happy to give; He doesn’t want believers to give reluctantly or under compulsion — which includes being coerced by ministers preaching condemnation, aka ‘condo.’ There’s no condo in Paul’s request for funds for needy Christians in Jerusalem, as chronicled in 2 Corinthians 8-9. He shares the need, encourages the believers to give, stresses that they’ll be rewarded, and then adds that they should only give what they decide to gladly give (2 Corinthians 9:7). This is the only way they’ll be blessed for their giving; otherwise they’d be giving from the flesh to earn salvation or whatever, which is what Hindus, Muslims and other religionists do.

Another thing we can get from this passage is that Paul didn’t view believers as pawns to fund ministry projects which Paul considered important, including altruistic ones. He respected and loved the believers where they were spiritually and permitted them to make up their own minds as led of the Spirit (or not led of the Spirit).

Something else important to keep in mind is the fact that believers “are not their own” because we were “bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), which explains why we’re instructed to be “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1-2). In other words, our whole lives are God’s possession already, not just 10% of our financial earnings. Our bodies, our thoughts, our material possessions, our earnings — they’re all God’s already. This frees us up to happily “grow in the grace of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7).

Thus the principle of giving 10% is, at best, a starting point in the New Covenant. The LORD wants believers to become living sacrifices every day wherein we grasp that everything we are & everything we own has already been purchased by our Mighty Maker. “We are not our own.”

Of course believers have to grow into this powerful revelation, which is where the day-to-day process of sanctification comes into play.

This is the gist on giving for New Covenant believers; for details see this article.

Related Topics:

Provision, Money and “Prosperity”

GREED — What is it? Why is it Bad?

SPIRITUAL WARFARE — Do You Know What You’re Fighting For?

Spiritual Growth — The Four Stages

Is CHRIST’S BODY After Resurrection PHYSICAL or SPIRITUAL (or Both)?

Jehovah’s (false) Witnesses make the claim that Christ’s body after his resurrection is spiritual in nature, not physical. In other words, they argue that the risen Lord is a spirit creature only, which they base on a myopic reading of 1 Peter 3:18 and Paul’s statement “I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:50).

While they admit that the resurrected Christ has the ability to manifest in the physical realm — for instance, he was touched by the disciples and ate food after his resurrection (Luke 24:36-43) — they insist that his new body cannot be described as physical in nature. They thus deny the physical resurrection of the Lord. Keep in mind that the resurrection of Christ is a vital doctrine in light of Paul’s statement: “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:14). While it’s true that Paul does not specify in this verse whether Jesus’ resurrection was physical or spiritual (or both), it certainly reveals the importance of this doctrine.

The problem with the argumentation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) on this issue, amongst others, is that it’s a case of taking a couple verses and drawing dubious conclusions while dismissing other pertinent passages that offer vital details which, needless to say, is essential to properly understanding the topic. While this approach might grant a partial understanding of a subject, it fails to provide the whole picture and therefore leads to an erroneous conclusion or, at least, a partially erroneous conclusion.

The wise learner of Christ, by contrast, will be balanced in their studies by looking at all the relevant verses on a topic in order to “rightly divide” the Holy Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15).

It’s also important to resist sectarianism as much as possible because it is always biased. The problem with rigid sectarianism, as is the case with the JWs, is that sectarians tend to ‘write off’ relevant passages on a subject if they conflict with the official doctrines of their sect. Wise students of the Scriptures are not like this. We must allow the Scriptures to properly form our understanding of a doctrine with the clearer and more detailed passages taking prominence over the more ambiguous, sketchy ones. This is common sense exegesis — which means drawing from the Scriptures — as opposed to eisegesis — which is reading into the Scriptures.

With this understanding, the most fitting place to start this somewhat complex subject is with…

What the Lord Himself Said Regarding His Resurrection Body

See for yourself:

¹⁹Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

²⁰They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹But the temple he had spoken of was his body.

John 2:19-21

This is actually a prophecy from Jesus Christ, The Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15 & 18:18), and it speaks for itself: The LORD would raise up his body after three days and it would be the same body — the same molecules regathered — yet wondrously changed or glorified so that it would no longer be subject to age, disease or even injury, not to mention death. Furthermore, Christ was able to walk through solid objects (John 20:19,26) and instantly appear out of nowhere and disappear (Luke 24:31,36-37), which suggests some form of teleportation, perhaps entering the spiritual realm which then provides access to anywhere in the natural realm.

Even more, Christ in his glorified form looked different enough compared to his former aging body that the disciples failed to immediately recognize him on a few occasions (Luke 24:30-31, 24:35, John 20:14-16 & 21:4-7). At the appropriate moment the Lord apparently enabled the disciples to see that it was, in fact, him, just in a glorified form.

Why couldn’t they recognize him? Simple: The resurrection body that Christ received was/is Jesus in perfect natural form because his glorified body was no longer subject to aging, stress, injury and death. Consider the favorite photo or video of yourself when you were at a certain age. You never looked better. If you’re past 50, some people can barely recognize it’s you in that photo or video. For instance, I went to a high school reunion in 2017 and the daughter of a friend saw my senior photo and frankly said that she couldn’t tell I was the same person. (Kids say the darnedest things, don’t they?) The same principle applies here with Christ in his resurrection body.

This reminds me of a Christian woman my wife & I know who said she had a dream or vision wherein she saw this stunningly beautiful woman. She asked the Lord, “Who is this woman?” and he answered, “It’s you in your glorified body.” If this woman couldn’t even recognize herself in her future glorified body, how much more so the disciples recognizing the Messiah?

Now someone might point out that Christ’s resurrection body obviously wasn’t “perfect” because it still had holes in the hands & side from huge nails and a spear jab on his day of crucifixion (John 20:24-29). Obviously the Lord allowed these imperfections as an eternal reminder to his people — his “bride” — of what he did to obtain our redemption from the wages of sin, which is death (John 3:16 & Romans 6:23).

Now let’s look at something else the Lord Himself said about his resurrection body:

“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.”

Luke 24:39 (ESV)

This reveals beyond any shadow of doubt that Christ in his resurrection body is more than just a spirit creature. He had flesh & bones and stressed that “a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have,” which means he was a physical person, the difference being that he was now glorified and therefore imperishable and un-aging. The passage goes on to say that he desired and ate food, which also bespeaks of a physical body (Luke 24:39-43). Jehovah’s Witnesses hate this passage — and John 2:19-21 — because the Lord Himself utterly refutes their doctrine that he is solely a spiritual creature in his resurrected body and not a physical person.

Was Jesus lying here? Was he deceiving his disciples about the nature of his new body? Since Christ was without sin, obviously not (2 Corinthians 5:21 & Hebrews 4:15).

The Lord stressed to his disciples that his body was physical, albeit in glorified form, and then they saw him ascend to Heaven in this awesome physical body. Two angels commented that he’d return the same way they saw him leave (Luke 24:50-51 & Acts 1:9-11).

Further support that the resurrected Christ has a physical body can be observed in this verse:

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus

1 Timothy 2:5

Please notice that it does not say “the spirit creature Christ Jesus.” Rather Christ is said to be a man — and this is in the present tense, not past tense. Obviously Christ wouldn’t be described as a “man” if He was not raised with a physical body.

Believers Will Receive the SAME KIND OF RESURRECTION BODY Christ Did

This is one of the many reasons the gospel of Christ is such good news! Since spiritually-regenerated believers are “co-heirs in Christ” (Romans 8:17) — that is, joint participants — we are going to receive this same kind of resurrection body he did. This is why John said, “we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2). And Paul stressed that our current lowly bodies will be transformed “so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21).

With this understanding, how exactly does the Bible describe this resurrection body? See for yourself:

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44

As you can see, the resurrection body that Christ currently has and believers will have for eternity is described as imperishable, glorified, powerful and spiritual in nature. Let’s briefly consider what each of these mean:

Imperishable indicates that our resurrection bodies will not be able to perish. In short, we’ll be immortal, which is one of the benefits of the message of Christ (2 Timothy 1:10). You can read more here.
Glorified: The Greek word for “glory” here is doxa, which means “honor, renown; glory, an especially divine quality, the unspoken manifestation of God, splendor.” In short, there will be nothing dishonorable about our resurrection bodies; they will reflect God’s splendor in every way. After all, are we not children of God, born of God’s seed? (John 1:12-13 & 1 John 3:9).
Powerful: This word in the Greek is dunamis (DOO-nah-miss), which is where we get the English dynamite. It means power, might, strength, force, energy. With our new resurrected bodies we can say goodbye to the maladies that commonly mar our current bodies, like fatigue, disease and injury. We’ll be invulnerable like Superman.
Spiritual: This word in the Greek is pneumatikos (nyoo-mat-ik-OSS), which comes from the term for spirit, wind, breath (pneuma). This indicates that our resurrection bodies will not have a sinful nature and thus the proclivity to sin will be absent. You see, the flesh — that is, the sinful nature — cannot inhabit the redeemed universe-to-come (2 Peter 3:13) and so it must be purged from the resurrection body of the redeemed.

Also, we’ll be able to “fly” by floating in the air or ‘riding the wind.’ Christ was able to walk on water by faith while in his mortal body (Matthew 14:22-33), how much more will we be able to do such things with glorified bodies?

Lastly, as noted earlier, the resurrected Messiah was able to appear seemingly from nowhere and disappear just as easily (Luke 24:31,36-37). How was he able to do this? Since his glorified body had a spiritual component, he likely entered into the spiritual dimension, which then gave him access to anywhere in the physical realm.

Speaking of which, although we cannot fully grasp now how wondrous life will be in these new resurrection bodies in the eternal age-to-come, we can get an idea simply by observing what the Bible says about Christ after his resurrection since we’re going to receive the same type of glorified body he did. In light of this, we’ll be able to walk through solid objects (John 20:26), instantly appear out of nowhere and disappear (Luke 24:31,36-37); in short, we’ll be able to teleport at will. With this understanding, we’ll no doubt be able to take “quantum leaps” to anywhere on the New Earth, Moon, Mars or Universe — distances and space will no longer limit us. For details on the nature of eternal life see this article.

The Physical Nature of the New Heavens and New Earth Require a Physical Body for Its Inhabitants

Additional proof that the resurrection bodies which believers will receive are physical in nature (as well as spiritual, as detailed above) is that our eternal home is physical in nature. See for yourself:

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

¹¹Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹²as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

2 Peter 3:10-13

The passage points out how our current Earth and Universe will be destroyed —the physical universe — but concludes by promising a New Heavens and New Earth where righteousness will dwell for eternity. The devil will no longer be the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) in this new universe and everything will be made right. What’s my point? The New Heavens and New Earth is the eternal state for the redeemed, which John elaborated on in his vision of Revelation:

¹Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:1-4

The heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, will come down out of Heaven — that is, out of the spiritual realm — to rest on the New Earth in the physical realm (this is repeated verbatim in verse 10). In other words, the New Heavens and New Earth refer to a physical reality and therefore the inhabitants — the redeemed in Christ — must have physical bodies in order to dwell there eternally. The “Lamb” is the husband of his “wife,” i.e. redeemed people, and He is there too in his glorified body (verse 9 & verses 22-23). Neither the Lord Christ nor the redeemed are merely spirit creatures; they have physical glorified bodies.

Another thing to think about: If Christ is the figurative “husband” and the redeemed are the figurative “wife,” we’ll both have to have the same kinds of bodies to enjoy our “marriage” in eternity. Hence, both Christ and the redeemed have physical glorified bodies, which also have a spiritual component, as already noted.

Yet another thing to consider is that neither 1 Peter 3:13 nor Revelation 21:1-4 say anything about the New Heavens and New Earth being spiritual in nature. For instance, there’s no statement that says something like: “Now the new heaven and new earth are not a physical realm, but rather spiritual, and therefore its inhabitants are solely spirit creatures.” Why doesn’t the Bible say anything like this anywhere? Because it’s a false doctrine.

With everything we now know from the plain Scriptures on this topic, let’s look at the few verses JW’s cite as proof texts for their belief that the resurrected Christ is solely a spirit creature:

1 Peter 3:18

This verse is a reference to Christ’s resurrection from the dead (Sheol), as observed by reading it along with the next couple of verses, which is the context (and “Context is King” in hermeneutics):

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit. ¹⁹ After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits — ²⁰ to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,”

1 Peter 3:18-20 (NIV)

Was the Messiah “made alive by the Spirit,” as the original NIV and some other English translations put it — including the KJV and NKJV — or was he “made alive in the spirit” as several other translations render it? You can compare myriad English versions of the text here. Either way, it’s clear that the phrase refers to Christ being “made alive” — that is, resurrected — as shown above; and we know for a fact from key verses already covered, like John 2:19-21 and Luke 24:39, that Yeshua’s resurrection body is physical in nature and therefore he’s not solely a “spirit creature.”

1 Corinthians 15:50

This is the other verse JWs like to quote to support their doctrine that the resurrected Christ is merely a spirit being wherein Paul says: “I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” As with the previous text, let’s read the surrounding verses to accurately understand what the apostle meant in context:

³⁵But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” ³⁶How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. ³⁸But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. ³⁹Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. ⁴⁰There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. ⁴¹The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

⁴²So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. ⁴⁷The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. ⁴⁸As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

⁵⁰I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — ⁵²in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

1 Corinthians 15:35-54

This is the longest, most detailed passage on the bodily resurrection with other clear passages offering us framework to correctly interpret it (“Scripture interprets Scripture” is a hermeneutical rule for a reason). For instance, we know from Christ’s own descriptions of his glorified body that it is physical in nature and therefore he cannot be described in terms of only being a “spirit creature” (Luke 24:39 & John 2:19-21), although the resurrection body is described in terms of being “spiritual,” as detailed in verse 44. So our resurrections bodies will indeed by physical, but with spiritual qualities, as covered earlier.

Paul starts with the questions: “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” “The dead” people he’s talking about were fellow believers and thus physical people. So when he addresses the question of what kind of body will they be raised in, it’s understood to be physical. He responds: “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.” Moved by the Spirit, he relates the death of our mortal bodies to the planting of a natural seed, like wheat. What ultimately springs from that seed is not the same as the seed that was planted. For instance, an apple seed will produce an apple tree. And so it is with the resurrection bodies that will spring forth from the “seed” of our “planted” mortal bodies. This shows beyond any doubt that the resurrection body Christ received — and the new bodies believers will receive at the bodily resurrection — are not the same old aging, weak bodies that we currently have.

This is when Paul goes on to describe our resurrection bodies as imperishable, glorified, powerful and spiritual, as chronicled above (verses 42-44).

This great change between the “seed” that is planted — the “seed” that dies — and the new body that is birthed from that “seed” is the foundation for Paul’s statement that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” The “flesh and blood” that cannot inherit the eternal kingdom of God — aka the New Heavens and New Earth — is contextually the perishable flesh and blood of our current mortal bodies! He goes on to stress that, at the bodily resurrection, the perishable will be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. Thus redeemed humanity finally triumphs thru Christ over the universal disease of aging, pain and death… forever. Praise God!

1 Corinthians 15:45

This verse is the third supposed proof text that JWs like to cite to support their doctrine that the resurrected Christ is a spirit creature and does not have a physical body. While it appears in the long scripture quoted above, let’s read it again:

So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

1 Corinthians 15:45

This verse compares the first Adam with the second “Adam.” Paul quotes Genesis 2:7 in reference to the first Adam and contrasts him with the second “Adam,” who is Jesus Christ. Adam brought death to the human race whereas Christ brought life. See for yourself:

¹⁵But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! ¹⁶Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. ¹⁷For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

¹⁸Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. ¹⁹For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Romans 5:15-19

The passage repeatedly compares “the one man,” Adam, with “the one man, Jesus Christ.” The first brought death, condemnation and sinfulness whereas the second brought grace, justification, life and righteousness. They’re like night and day. Yet notice that both are described as “one man” and this epistle was written 24 years after the resurrection of Christ. It’s the same Greek word used for “man” in 1 Timothy 2:5. This discounts the idea that Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 15:45 means that Christ is only a spirit creature. Speaking of that verse, let’s reread it along with the following three verses, which offer important exposition:

⁴⁵So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. ⁴⁷The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. ⁴⁸As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:45-48

While God breathed the breath of life into Adam, he was born of the dust of the Earth whereas Christ is the Son of God, who has always existed and came from Heaven (John 1:1-5). Yet notice how verse 47 refers to the incarnated Christ, who came from Heaven, as “the second man.”

Verse 48 then contrasts those born of the seed of the “earthly man,” the first Adam, with those born of the seed of the “heavenly man,” the second Adam. This is what the message of Christ is all about and why it’s such Good News — sinful, mortal people born of Adam having the opportunity to be born of the imperishable seed of Christ via spiritual regeneration (1 Peter 1:23 & Titus 3:5).

This leaves us with…

The Final Argument by JWs That the Resurrected Christ Is Only a Spirit Creature

Consider these two passages:

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

John 6:51

“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:28

JWs cite these verses to stress that Christ gave his flesh on behalf of “the life of the world” as a ransom for humankind. Their reasoning is that if the Lord had taken back his flesh when he was resurrected, he would have canceled that ransom sacrifice. This could not have happened, they argue, for the Bible says that Jesus sacrificed his flesh and blood “once for all time,” as noted here:

¹¹ But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. ¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:11-12

This is frankly weak argumentation. The first passage above, John 6:51, points out that Christ would give his flesh for the life of the world while the second passage, Matthew 20:28, more specifically acknowledges that he gave his life as a ransom for the world, which corresponds to the basic truth of the most popular verse of the Bible, John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This bespeaks of substitutionary death, the fact that Christ “suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). It is through the sinless Christ’s death in our place that we can escape the wages of sin, eternal death (Romans 6:23), reconcile to our Creator and obtain eternal life!

Yet it’s not just through Christ’s death that we are justified, but his resurrection as well (Romans 10:9 & 1 Corinthians 15:1-3). Notice what the Lord Himself said about his resurrection:

“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

John 10:17-18

Was Christ’s resurrection merely a spiritual resurrection, as JWs insist, or was it a physical resurrection as well? We know from clear passages already covered that the Lord’s resurrection consisted of a physical resurrection in a glorious imperishable body (John 2:19-21, Luke 24:39 & 1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus Himself made this clear.

The JW’s emphasis on the fact that Christ gave up his body & his blood (aka his life) “once for all time” as a ransom sacrifice followed by their questionable conclusion that he could not take back his flesh & blood when he was resurrected because it would cancel his ransom sacrifice is a very curious belief since Jesus plainly said he would be resurrected in physical form, albeit in a glorified, immortal body!

Furthermore, how exactly does the statement that Christ offered his blood “once for all time” negate his being miraculously resurrected in a physical glorified body? It doesn’t, they just wrongly think it does because it contradicts their sect’s official doctrines.

Now let’s consider something that complicates the issue, but is easily explained by rightly dividing the Scriptures…

Differentiating Christ & Believers in Their Resurrection Bodies From Angels Who Can Manifest in the Physical Realm

JWs will argue that angels are spirit creatures who have the ability to manifest in the physical realm, so what is the difference between them and the resurrected Christ & believers in glorified bodies?

It is true that angels are able to manifest in the physical world and appear like people on occasion to perform their God-ordained services (Hebrews 13:2). This can be observed in Genesis 18:1-19:29, which pertains to the divine judgment of Sodom & Gomorrah, wherein one of the three “men” turns out to be the LORD, as observed in verses 3, 10, 13, 17, 20, 22, etc. The other two were chief angels assisting in the situation.

The LORD in this case is not Father God because the Bible plainly says that no one has ever seen — nor can see — Father God (John 1:18 & 1 Timothy 6:16). Rather, this is an example of the pre-incarnate Christ — the Son of God — revealing the Father in the guise of a man with the assistance of two mighty angels.

No one has ever seen God, the Father, but the Son — who also is God — has made God known in both the Old and New Testaments:

Christ made the Father known through His incarnation, which is confirmed by Jesus’ statements: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), “whoever sees me sees him who sent me” (John 12:45 ESV) and “If you knew me, you would know my Father also” (John 8:19).
Christ also made the Father known in Old Testament times before his incarnation, as illustrated when Hagar saw God via The Angel of the LORD (Genesis 16:7-13).

There are several other appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ — aka “the Angel of the LORD” — in the Old Testament, which you can read about here.

All of this makes sense when you grasp that God is triune in nature, consisting of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which you can find clear biblical support for here. (For the record, human beings are triune as well — spirit, mind & body).

Getting back to Genesis 18:1-19:29 where the LORD & two angels appeared to Abraham as three men, the passage shows that they were not merely spirits who could be seen by Abraham, but rather they manifested in physical form because they were plainly able to eat food (Genesis 18:7-8 & 19:3).

How is this any different from Christ in his resurrection body being able to eat with the disciples, as observed in Luke 24:39-43? Simple, the LORD & the two angels from Genesis 18:1-19:29 didn’t have permanent glorified bodies, but they were able to manifest physically. Angels are able to manifest physically for periods of time in God’s service, as observed in Hebrews 13:2, but they don’t have glorified physical bodies, like the resurrected Christ or like believers will have in eternity.

Fallen angels, by contrast, are not permitted by the Sovereign LORD to manifest as human beings, which explains why they desire to possess people or animals, since it’s the only way they can concretely manifest in the natural world. In Genesis 6:1-4 some fallen angels “abandoned their proper dwelling” — meaning they became physical — and appeared as men to have sex with women for diabolical purposes. These evil spirits were incarcerated in tartaroo by God (Jude 1:6 & 2 Peter 2:4) and thus other demons haven’t done this since. You can read more on this fascinating topic here:

Keep in mind that angels and humans are two separate creations of God, but there are interesting parallels to consider, which you can read about in this article.

For important details on angelic spirits in general (including fallen ones), see this article.

The Jehovah’s (False) Witnesses — Why You Should HEAD FOR THE HILLS

Why Are Both Lucifer and Christ Called the MORNING STAR?

Before his fall from Heaven (Luke 10:18), Satan is referred to in the Bible as “Lucifer, son of the morning” (Isaiah 14:12 KJV), a ruling spiritual being (paralleled in this context with the king of Babylon, Sennacherib). The word translated as “Lucifer” (in the King James Version) is helel (hay-LAYL); other English translations say “morning star,” “shining star, “day star” and the like, which you can compare here. The word literally means “shining one” and is only used this sole time in Scripture.

What we get from this is that Satan was “Lucifer” — aka “shining one” — before his angelic rebellion and fall from Heaven. In other words, he’s no longer God’s “shining one”; rather he’s a dark archangel (a ruling angel) who functions outside of God’s grace and, in fact, foolishly opposes the LORD’s kingdom, which you can read details about here.

The fact that Satan used to be Lucifer, the “shining one,” explains how he can effectively disguise himself as an “angel of light” to deceive ignorant people (2 Corinthians 11:14 & Revelation 12:9).

As for Jesus Christ, he described himself as the “bright morning star” in Revelation 22:16. “Morning star” here is two words in the Greek: próinos (pro-ee-NOHS) means “early morning” and astér (aws-TAIR) means “star.” Not only is the Mighty Christ like a morning star, he’s a bright morning star, meaning “shining, magnificent, splendid.” I was just outside under the starry panorama and to the southeast there was one star that was far brighter than any other — none other was comparable. Similarly Yeshua is the bright morning star.

As you can see, the descriptions of Lucifer and Christ as “shining one” and “bright morning star” respectively are different Hebrew and Greek words. While the descriptions may be similar they are not references to the same person.

How about another comparison between the two? Elsewhere in the Scriptures the Messiah is called the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5). Jacob — renamed “Israel” (Genesis 32:28) — described his son Judah as a “lion’s cub” (Genesis 49:9) and thus the lion became the symbol and standard of that tribe. The lion is of course the “king of beasts” and hence represents strength, boldness and sovereignty. Spiritually speaking, the true Lion of Judah is Christ Himself. Interestingly, Judah means “praise” and thus Judah was the tribe that led Israel into battle (Judges 20:18).

The devil is also likened to a lion, but only in the sense of a ferocious predator scaring its potential prey immobile with its intimidating roar (1 Peter 5:8). New Covenant believers, however, don’t have to fear Satan or his filthy minions because they’re defeated; and disciples of Christ have authority over them (Colossians 2:15 & Luke 10:19), which you can learn more about here. In other words, although Satan is a lion in the above sense, to believers he’s a toothless, sinew-less cat on his last leg (yet still very formidable if one isn’t applying spiritual warfare truths).

Although both are referred to as lions in the Scriptures, they couldn’t be more different:

Christ is the Word of God (John 1:1-5), one with the Father and Holy Spirit (John 10:30, John 14:9, Matthew 28:19 & 2 Corinthians 13:14), who created all things, including Lucifer who rebelled and became the devil (Colossians 1:16).
Satan is a created spiritual being, an ex-employee of Heaven and Ultimate Loser who was kicked out due to his gross folly, which you can read more about here.

While Satan is an archangel — a ruling angel — he’s a morally filthy slanderer, liar and murderer (Revelation 12:10 & John 8:44).

Christ, by contrast, is The Angel of the LORD. The term ‘angel’ means “messenger” and thus the Messiah is God’s ultimate message to humanity. He’s the living Word of God (John 1:1-5).

As you can see, comparing the Mighty LORD with evil spirits is an amusing parallel at best, whether the wicked spirit is Satan or any of his sheeple underlings. Want to know what happens when Yeshua and demonic spirits come face to face in a confrontation? The demons shriek in horror at the mere sight of the Christ and literally beg the Lord not to torture them and throw their filthy hind ends into the Abyss! See for yourself:

²⁶They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. ²⁷When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. ²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” ²⁹For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

³⁰Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. ³¹And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

Luke 8:26-31

So when misguided souls try to parallel satan with the Lord Jesus Christ — or even equate them — it’s pretty laughable.

Related Topics:

Demons Vs. Jesus Christ — No Contest!

ANGELS — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

the Mighty LORD

Comparing Jesus Christ With… Superman

Evil Spirits (Demons) — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

How Big Will the NEW JERUSALEM Be on the New Earth?

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We’ve all heard about the gates of Heaven referred to as “the pearly gates,” yet in the Bible this is actually a description of the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem, a very large city that is presently in the spiritual realm of God, aka Heaven (Revelation 21:21). Guess what ultimately happens to this city? After God recreates a New Earth and Universe, the New Jerusalem will come “down out of heaven from God.” This is plainly stated three times in Scripture: Revelation 3:12, 21:2 and 21:10. My point is that this awesome city will not stay in Heaven; it will come down “out of heaven” to rest on the New Earth. Who knows? It may even be able to hover over the planet and more, like traverse the galaxies (after all, it’s going to travel from Heaven to Earth intact).

–

As to the size of the New Jerusalem, it will be 1400 miles long and wide (Revelation 21:16). That’s approximately the distance from New York City to Wichita, Kansas. Can you imagine a city that colossal? It would take a trip of about 6000 miles just to travel around it! What’s more, the magnificent golden buildings will extend up into space 1400 miles — these will be skyscrapers indeed!

–

Henry Morris in his book The Revelation Record did the math and pointed out that if, say, 20 billion people lived there and their homes & property took up merely 25% of the space of the city, each individual would have a cubical block of about 75 acres of space on each face! The rest of he colossal city would involve streets, parks, public buildings and the like.

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I should point out that the New Jerusalem & the New Earth will only be the home-base of the redeemed since we are equally inheriting the “new heavens,” aka the new universe, and not just the Earth (2 Peter 3:13). In fact, that verse lists the new heavens first, which gives the impression that we’re to look forward to it even more than the new Earth. Why? Because the New Earth is merely one planet in an incomprehensibly vast Universe!

Related Topics:–

ETERNAL LIFE (“Heaven”): Questions & Answers

Eternal Life (“Heaven”) — What Will It Be Like?

Will People Marry and Have Sex in Eternity?

Will We See Our PETS Again in Eternity?

Universalism, Inclusivism, Restrictivism, Purgatory and the Judgment Seat of Christ

IMMORTALITY — Only Available Through the Gospel

Will People Marry and Have Sex IN ETERNITY?

Christ said “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). He didn’t say they would be angels, just that they wouldn’t marry or be given in marriage (not to mention they’d be immortal like angels, if you compare the verse with the fuller account in Luke 20:34-36).

A possible reason there will be no marriage is that in the eternal age of the New Heavens and New Earth we will experience the transparency and intimacy with the Lord that some of us enjoy now with our spouses, albeit to the nth degree. Keep in mind that the Church is called the “bride of Christ” and will in essence be married to the Lord in eternity (2 Corinthians 11:2 & Revelation 19:7-9).

Furthermore, since the redeemed are collectively the “bride,” it suggests transparency and closeness with all fellow redeemed people.

Think about it, what separates us from other people, including fellow believers? What keeps us all from being close? What keeps us from being honest and transparent with each other? Either 1. issues of the flesh, i.e. sin, or 2. because of lies and error.

For instance, you might have to separate from confessing Christians because they’re impenitent gossips/slanderers and the Bible instructs us to not even eat with such people (1 Corinthians 5:11). Or someone believes lies about you and thus refuses to associate with you, like your neighbors. Or the assembly down the street embraces grossly false doctrines, which naturally hinders fellowship with them.

Thankfully, sin, lies and error will no longer exist in the eternal New Heavens and New Earth (Revelation 21:7-8,26-27). Since these maladies will no longer hinder relationships and keep us apart, there will be true unity, closeness, honesty and harmony in eternity. Praise God!

A secondary reason might be that the LORD doesn’t want humans propagating any further since there will be more than enough for his purposes in the eternal age.

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Eternal Life (“Heaven”) — What Will It Be Like?

What IS Marriage? (and Related Topics)

Does the Bible support Monogamy or Polygamy?

Beauty, Objectification and Lust

Does the Bible Acknowledge GERMS?

Yes, the Bible does acknowledge germs, albeit not directly. God gave the Hebrews laws on diet, sanitation and quarantining, as observed in Leviticus 11-13, which was well over 3000 years before germs were discovered in recent centuries.

BEREAN SPIRIT — What Is It? How Do You Cultivate It?

HEALING — How Do You Receive?

Should You Get the Surgery or BELIEVE FOR HEALING?

Are Christians Commissioned to RAISE THE DEAD?

Why Do Unclean Spirits Seek Out DRY PLACES?

Christ said impure spirits naturally seek “arid places,” which means dry, waterless areas (Matthew 12:43). This isn’t referring to places that are physically dry, like deserts, but rather spaces that are spiritually dry; that is, places where God is absent. You see, the LORD is likened to Living Water in the Bible — God is The Fountain of Life who gushes forth life (Psalm 36:9). This corresponds to what Christ said about Himself and the Holy Spirit:

…Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

John 7:37-39

The Lord encourages those who are spiritually thirsty — spiritually dry — to come to Him and drink. He then points out that those who receive the Holy Spirit will have “rivers of living water” flowing within them.

Furthermore, it is through “the washing with water through the word” that Christ cleanses his Church, making ‘her’ holy (Ephesians 5:26), which refers to the process of sanctification.

So the key to repelling demonic spirits in your personal life is to stay well-watered by cultivating a relationship with the LORD. Saturate yourself with the things of God: prayer, simple communion, Scripture reading & meditation, praise & worship, fellowship with genuine believers, mutual submission (Ephesians 5:21), etc. As you do this, you automatically stave off wicked spirits. How so? Because demons seek dry places — waterless spaces absent of God’s presence.

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How Can GHOSTLY Sightings or Activity Be Explained?

Although I’ve encountered people who were demonically possessed/oppressed, I’ve personally never seen an apparition or experienced ghostly activity. But some individuals insist that they have seen paranormal goings-on and it’s highly doubtful that all of them are lying. How can such things be explained from a Scripture-focused Christian perspective?

Let’s start with the question: Are ghosts mentioned in the Bible? They are, but the specific meaning is uncertain. To explain, the disciples mistook Christ for a “ghost” when they were out on the Sea of Galilee after 3:00 AM and the Lord miraculously walked on the water to meet them on their boat (Matthew 14:26; Mark 6:49). The Greek word for “ghost” in these two verses is phantasma (FAN-tas-mah), which is where we get the English word phantom. It literally refers to the manifestation of an apparition. Of course the person seeing the ‘phantom’ doesn’t know its actual nature because it’s a supernatural phenomenon (assuming of course that what they’re experiencing is authentic). In the case of Christ walking on the water, he obviously wasn’t a phantom, but the disciples mistook him for one.

Christ was again mistaken for a ghost by the disciples after his resurrection when he suddenly appeared to them in his glorified body:

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

³⁷They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

Luke 24:36-39

The Greek word for “ghost” in this case (verses 37 & 39) is pneuma (NYOO-mah), which is the common word for spirit in the Greek. Depending on the context, this word can refer to the human spirit, the Holy Spirit, an unclean spirit, an angelic spirit, breath or wind.

This brings us to the uncertain nature of the apparition that people claim to witness; and I mean uncertain to the person seeing the phantasmal phenomenon in question:

Is it the activity of a demon (fallen angel or evil spirit) mistaken to be a ghost (the soul/spirit of a person who has physically died)? If so, is the demon merely carrying out its usual business or is it intentionally deceiving people into thinking it’s a ghost?
Is it a disembodied soul of a physically dead person stuck on this plane or returning to this plane for some purpose?
Is it “flash from the past” or “residual energies”?

Interestingly, the iconic movie Ghostbusters entertains all three of these possibilities.

Another possibility, of course is that the person claiming to see the paranormal happening is either delusional or simply lying. Needless to say, if the individual is known for telling dubious stories and drawing attention to himself/herself, their claims should be dismissed out of hand. In this article we are solely talking about ghostly goings-on that people have actually encountered.

Now let’s address each of the three prospects in more detail including potential biblical support:

1. Demonic activity

This is the typical explanation for spectral phenomena from Christian ministers. In other words, the paranormal activity that someone encounters is the actions of evil spirits and mistaken by witnesses as ghostly hauntings. Since demons are deceptive by nature it’s possible that the filthy spirits are deliberately misleading people into believing they’re encountering ghosts, at least in some cases (John 8:44; Revelation 12:9).

We know from the Scriptures that satan can masquerade as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), which means that his demonic underlings can do the same thing and this could include masquerading as one’s departed spouse or what have you. Perhaps this is why the Torah expressly forbids contact with the dead or dubious spirits (e.g. Deuteronomy 18:9-14).

What about ghostly activity in a manor, such as the sound of chains in the attic or the appearance of an apparition? Could this be the presence of an evil spirit? Yes. Let me explain: The Bible reveals that there are demonic hierarchies (Ephesians 6:12) and so higher ranking devils rule over whole countries, like “the prince of Persia” and “the prince of Greece” noted in Daniel 10:13 & 10:20. Lower ranking demons would be dispatched to smaller areas accordingly. For instance, the conglomerate of demons named “Legion” begged the Mighty Christ not to send them out of the region of Gerasenes (JAIR-uh-seens) (Mark 5:9-10), which suggests that this area was their assigned territory, their ‘home.’

This is supported by the fact that the devil is “the god of this world” and thus “the whole world is under the control” of the kingdom of darkness to one degree or another (2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 5:19). Some places are under greater satanic control than others, as witnessed by what Christ said about the city of Pergamum in Revelation 2:13. To carry out this diabolic control, demonic underlings are assigned areas according to their rank — countries, counties, cities, villages, neighborhoods and, hence, abodes within these neighborhoods.

Now consider that Christ said impure spirits naturally seek “arid places,” which means dry, waterless areas (Matthew 12:43). This isn’t referring to places that are physically dry, like deserts, but rather spaces that are spiritually dry; that is, places where God is absent. You see, the LORD is likened to Living Water in the Bible — God is The Fountain of Life who gushes forth life (Psalm 36:9). This corresponds to what Christ said about Himself and the Holy Spirit:

…Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

John 7:37-39

The key to repelling demonic spirits in your personal life is to stay well-watered by cultivating a relationship with the LORD. Saturate yourself with the things of God: prayer, simple communion, Scripture reading & meditation, praise & worship, fellowship with genuine believers, mutual submission (Ephesians 5:21), etc. As you do this, you automatically stave off wicked spirits. How so? Because demons seek dry places — waterless spaces absent of God’s presence.

Another thing to consider is familiar spirits and I’m not talking about the human “spiritists” noted in Leviticus 19:31 & 20:6,27; Deuteronomy 18:9-14. These sorcerers (not cons) have regular contact with a spirit guide — a demon — and hence mislead people accordingly. The evil spirit in these cases would be the “familiar spirit” since it is familiar with the spiritist with whom it regularly makes contact.

Yet, it is presumed that there are demons that become familiar with the person to which they’re assigned. To explain, there are angelic spirits who are assigned to individuals (Hebrews 1:14; Matthew 18:10) and thus it is assumed that the kingdom of darkness does likewise since satan’s kingdom habitually counterfeits God’s kingdom. The evil spirit in question naturally becomes familiar with the person it’s assigned to because it’s around him/her all the time. Thus, when the individual physically dies, the spirit is able to mimic him/her and deceive living loved ones. Two plus two equals four.

What does all this have to do with ghostly activity? As detailed above, the scriptural evidence shows that evil spirits are assigned to nations and regions and, therefore, cities, towns, neighborhoods and… domiciles. But they are most entrenched in “dry places,” places where God’s manifest presence & influence is absent. For instance, in the late 1st Century satan set up shop in Pergamum in what is today western Turkey (Revelation 2:13).

This explains why houses should ideally be blessed and consecrated to the LORD, as well as church facilities. When I purchase a motel room I immediately bless it and play some praise & worship music. Why? It drives filthy spirits away (they might be in the next room, but they won’t be in my room). Meanwhile church facilities can have religious demons lurking in them to hinder biblical truth and effective ministry. They need to be driven out. You can read more about this kind of spiritual warfare here.

While all of this reveals that demonic spirits can be the cause of ghost-like happenings, and perhaps are likely the cause, there are no accounts in the Scriptures of evil spirits being mistaken for ghosts by rattling chains in the attic or what have you.

However, since most cases of supposed hauntings are associated with feelings of fear, disturbances, insomnia, strange noises, bad odors, scratches on walls, broken objects, shadowy figures and possessions — not to mention the occasional involvement of occultic items, like Ouija boards, and the typical eerie nature of the locales — all of this lends credibility to this explanation, aka demonic activity. Think about it: Why would there be this in-built dread of ghosts if they were merely people who have passed from this natural realm, including loved ones?

2. A person who has physically died, but has delayed entry to Heaven or Sheol and is therefore stuck on this plane (or returns to this plane from Heaven or Sheol)

This is the typical definition of the term ‘ghost’ — a person who has passed away appearing to someone still alive on Earth, typically as an apparition. Are there any examples of this in the Bible? Yes, but only in reference to the Sovereign God permitting people to return from Sheol/Hades or Heaven for a brief time:

God allowed the prophet Samuel to be resurrected from Sheol to prophesy to King Saul and be a witness to the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28:3-20). This was actually Samuel, albeit in disembodied form, and not an illusion or evil spirit, as proven here.
Moses and Elijah visited from Heaven during Christ’s earthly ministry (Matthew 17:1-8), which you can read about here.

In both of these cases they (Samuel, Moses and Elijah) would technically be ghosts — physically dead people manifesting to individuals in the natural realm.

Another possibility (I stress possibility) is that witnesses of a ghostly sighting are observing the passing of a person’s soul to Heaven or Sheol. For instance, there was a horrible traffic accident wherein a woman died. A passing motorist snapped a shot at the scene on her phone. It showed a light going up to the sky with an orb in it, which experts said wasn’t doctored. While not definitive proof, the mother of the woman who died was understandably comforted by the picture since it presumably showed her daughter’s soul going to Heaven.

What about a delayed entry to Sheol or Heaven, if indeed such a thing even occurs? Again, I’m just listing this as a possibility. The classic movie Ghost entertains this option and features characters having a delayed entry to Heaven or immediately being escorted down to Sheol. One character, a ghost, is shown haunting a train car because he was not yet willing to pass from this plane and had a fixation for the train car for one reason or another. Meanwhile Evil spirits are also depicted in the film as shadowy figures. Of course this is just a movie and the scriptwriters were merely speculating on the afterlife.

While the Bible shows Samuel being resurrected from Sheol to give a message to Saul, as well as Moses & Elijah visiting Christ on the mountain, there’s no evidence of a deceased person having a delayed entry into Sheol or Heaven, the latter being depicted in Ghost. However, this doesn’t mean it absolutely cannot happen, just that the Bible is silent on the topic. Opponents of this possibility argue that the Scriptures say “people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27), but this verse contains zero details, not to mention judgment for unsaved people doesn’t occur until after the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:11-15), which means souls are held in Sheol for a very long time before resurrection & judgment and the verse says nothing about these important details. In other words, the verse is a simple statement of general truth rather than a detailed one of more complex truth.

3. “Flashes from the past” or “residual energies”

This proposed explanation means that the person seeing the ghost is simply picking up residual images of former events. In other words, he or she perceives something that happened in the same location on the timeline, but at some point in the past. For instance, a man testified that he saw a wounded Civil War soldier moaning in pain on the ground of a path while visiting Gettysburg. He was convinced of what he saw and others supposedly saw the same apparition on separate occasions.

To understand this principle on a much smaller scale, simply wave your hand in front of your eyes and you’ll observe images of your hand in its trail. These fleeting images aren’t your real hand because your hand is no longer there, yet you saw them.

A variation of this explanation is that the paranormal activity is due to residual “energies.”

While the Bible is silent on this possibility, it doesn’t necessarily negate it as a valid explanation on certain occasions. The Scriptures don’t directly mention germs either, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. (Germs are indirectly acknowledged in the Bible via God’s laws for the Hebrews on diet, sanitation and quarantining, as observed in Leviticus 11-13, which was well over 3000 years before germs were discovered in recent centuries).

Closing Word

This covers the spectrum of possibilities, although I’m sure there are minor or mixed variants. Even if one discovers evidence that most cases can be pinpointed to one reason, this doesn’t discount that some cases may be attributed to others. For instance, the go-to response from ministers is that any ghostly goings-on a person experiences is absolutely the activity of evil spirits, but when Samuel was resurrected from Sheol to prophesy to Saul he wasn’t a demon, neither were Moses & Elijah when they visited Christ on the mount of transfiguration; on both occasions they were the real persons who had passed from this plane to the other side. In short, they were what we would understand as ‘ghosts.’

I think it’s pointless and perhaps even unhealthy to pursue the topic further since the Torah expressly forbids contact with the dead and unclean spirits (e.g. Deuteronomy 18:9-14) and therefore people who are overly interested with the subject are treading the borders. Paul had a guideline for New Testament doctrine: “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6). So, with subjects like this, my advice is to stay within the wise parameters of God’s Word and leave mysteries as they are. Some things will remain a mystery on this side of glory (Deuteronomy 29:29) yet, ultimately, everything will be revealed in eternity (Luke 12:3); for now we know in part, but then we shall know fully, even as we are fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Did MOSES & ELIJAH Really Appear to Christ on the Mount?

The “transfiguration” refers to the occasion where Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain whereupon the Lord was gloriously transfigured before them. Moses and Elijah then appeared and talked to Christ. Let’s read the passage:

Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. ² And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. ⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. ⁷ And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” ⁸ And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”

Matthew 17:1-9 (NRSV)

Did Moses and Elijah actually appear to Christ on the mountain and talk to him? If so, how was this possible? There are two general explanations:

1. After his spectacular transfiguration, Jesus said to his disciples, “Tell the vision to no man” (Matthew 17:9). The Lord referred to what they saw as a vision. A vision is not a material reality, but a supernatural picture seen in the mind or eyes. This same Greek word for “vision” was used in reference to Peter’s vision of the unclean beasts being made clean (Acts 10:3,17,19 &11:5). This leads to the possibility that Elijah and Moses were not real but a supernatural picture. If this was the case, the transfiguration was perhaps a prophetic vision of that which would take place in the distant future. Peter, James and John saw the Son of Man glorified in the Kingdom and communing with Moses & Elijah in this vision.

Although this seems like a plausible explanation since the Messiah himself specifically called it a vision, it’s weak in that Christ was seen talking to Moses and Elijah. If these two figures were, in fact, a vision why would Jesus—who is real in this situation, not a vision—talk with “them”? It makes no sense.

There’s a better explanation:

2. Elijah & Moses literally came “down” from Heaven and visited Jesus on the mountain. The evidence for this position is that Elijah escaped death and Sheol altogether and was spectacularly translated to heaven (2 Kings 2:11). This is apparently what happened to Enoch as well (Genesis 5:24). As for Moses, we know he wasn’t translated to heaven like Elijah because the Bible shows that he died and the LORD kept his gravesite hidden, but there’s evidence that he was resurrected from Sheol and went to heaven.

To explain, in the Old Testament period people’s souls went to Sheol at the point of physical death and the animating breath of life returned to the Almighty (Psalm 146:4 & Ecclesiastes 12:7). Elijah and Enoch were exceptions. They bypassed death — Sheol — and were supernaturally translated to Heaven in the same manner that believers will be during the Rapture of the Church. God is the all-knowing, all-powerful Sovereign Creator of the universe who occasionally chooses to treat some differently; and he chose to spare these two from death — Sheol. What was God’s purpose in making these exceptions? To offer Old Testament examples of the resurrection of New Testament believers, specifically translation to Heaven, which is what will happen when the Rapture occurs. Believers who die before the Rapture are translated as well, it’s just that their souls are translated to Heaven first — when they physically die — and subsequently experience a bodily resurrection at the time of the Rapture where they receive new glorified bodies.

Since Elijah was already alive in Heaven it wouldn’t be a problem for him to appear to Jesus on the mountain and speak with him. The Scriptures also offer evidence that Moses was in Heaven, along with Elijah and Enoch; in other words, although Moses certainly died and his body was buried, he too was resurrected to Heaven after a brief time in Sheol. What proof is there of this?

Deuteronomy 34:5-6 shows that Moses physically died and his body was buried in Moab, but no one knows exactly where because the LORD—who buried him—intentionally wanted it kept hidden, likely to keep his gravesite from becoming an idolatrous shrine, which would’ve been a stumbling block to the Israelites. With this understanding, there’s a curious passage about Moses’ body in the New Testament:

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

Jude 1:9

This passage leaves you scratching your head. Why would Michael be arguing with Satan over Moses’ body after his death? Obviously the LORD did something extraordinary with Moses.

As you can see in the verse, Michael is described as an “archangel,” literally meaning an angel of the highest ranking. The Greek word for “archangel” is only used twice in the New Testament — here and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 — the latter addressing the bodily resurrection of believers. Michael is also associated with the resurrection of the dead in Daniel 12:1-2. This offers evidence that Michael is God’s chief servant in the process of the resurrection of the dead. With this in mind, Jude 1:9 shows Michael arguing with the devil about Moses’ body, which suggests that Moses was resurrected from the dead at some point after his death.

The Scriptures are like a puzzle when it comes to topics like this and we have to put the pieces together based on the evidence God provides in his Word. From this evidence — even if it’s scant — we can draw possible conclusions; and the evidence at hand points to Moses being bodily resurrected sometime after his death and going to Heaven. Before this resurrection his soul was dead in Sheol for a time, as shown in this article in the section “Gathered to His People” (scroll down to it).

After Christ’s transfiguration, Jesus told his three closest disciples not to mention the supernatural event to anyone else until he was resurrected from the dead (Matthew 17:9 & Mark 9:9). Why? Because they didn’t yet understand the resurrection unto eternal life, which includes three general types:

Believers going straight to heaven when they die and their later bodily resurrection at the time of the Rapture of the church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18); this type of resurrection also includes people who become believers during the Tribulation and die (Revelation 20:4-6), as well as mortal believers during the Millennium; the latter will be similar to the time of the Rapture in which dead believers will be resurrected and living believers will be transformed from mortal to immortal.
The translation of physically living believers at the Rapture, which includes the miraculous transformation of their bodies from mortal to immortal (1 Corinthians 15:51-54 & 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). This will take place at the end of the Millennium as well.
The resurrection of the righteous from periods preceding the resurrection of Christ, which will take place at the time of Christ’s Second Coming after the Tribulation and before the millennial reign (Daniel 12:1-2 & Matthew 19:28-30).

What Peter, James and John saw on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured were examples of these three types of resurrections. Think about it: Elijah was supernaturally translated to Heaven while Moses and Jesus were resurrected sometime after their physical decease. As such, Elijah represents the “type 2” resurrection specifically and “type 1” generally (as does Enoch); and Moses and Jesus represent “type 3.”

Another reason Moses & Elijah appeared to Jesus is that they represent the law and prophets respectively. Jesus was The Prophet who fulfilled the law and implemented a superior covenant (Hebrews 8:6). Again, Enoch, Moses and Elijah were types of the first resurrection, which is the resurrection of the righteous (covered here). Perhaps the LORD wanted types from each era of history: Enoch represented the righteous populace before the flood; Moses the deliverance of the Hebrews from Egypt and establishment of the theocracy of Israel; and Elijah the kingdom of Israel.