Do ghosts really exist? If not, what were the demons that Jesus has cast out from people?
In Matthew 14:26-27 we read “When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified .’It’s a ghost’ they said and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’”
To the disciples, apparently, ghosts did exist. It is commonly believed that ghosts are the presence of dead people returning to the real world. But is that true? Let’s see what the Bible says in Hebrews 9:27: “.. man is destined to die once and after that to face judgement.” People don’t return to the world as ghosts. After they die, they face judgement. The ghosts that people claim they have seen are actually demons impersonating dead people.
Evil spirits exist
To find out more about demons we need to turn to the Bible which clearly teaches that evil spirits or demons exist (James 2:19). There is only one Devil, but there are many demons. They enter into people and control them (Matthew 8:28-34). They are under the power of the Devil or Satan, the chief of all evil spirits (Matthew 12:24). They often cause sickness in the people they enter such as not being able to speak or see (Matthew 12:22); insanity or madness (Luke 8:26-36); personal injuries (Mark 9:14-26); and other bodily infirmities (Luke 13:11-17). Demons know who Jesus is. They know why He has come into the world (Luke 4:41). They believe in God (James 2:19). They fear the judgment and eternal punishment (Matthew 8:29). Demons are spirit beings who think, speak, and act. Jesus not only cast demons out of people (Matthew 8:16), He also gave the ability to cast out demons to His apostles (Luke 10:17; Mark 16:17-18; Acts 5:16, 8:7, 16:16-18, 19:12). The apostles were able to give miraculous gifts to others by laying their hands on them (Acts 6:6-8, 8:14-21, 19:1-6). This included the power to cast out demons (Acts 8:5-8).
Devil in the Old Testament
The Devil in the Old Testament was called Lucifer. He was an ‘angel of light’ and Jesus speaks of him thus: “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven.” (Luke 10:18). The reason for his downfall is likely that he wanted to make himself equal to God (Isaiah 14:13-15). This happened even before the creation of the world. The goal of the Devil and his demons is to oppose God and drag into hell every human being. Let us then heed James 4:7: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” For no matter how powerful Satan might be, God is infinitely greater!