What do We Know about Spirits?
Angels,
Ghosts, Demons, Fallen Angels
Fallen angels and demons have some similarities. Both are evil entities that work to deceive
people. The main difference I see is that fallen angels appear to have more
freedom of movement than demons do. Fallen angels do
not seem to rely on having to possess something to get a task done. A
fallen angel can physically transform and make themselves visible if they want
to deceive a person. Meanwhile, a demon seems
to have the need to possess a physical body in
order to achieve a task.
Some writers contrast the celestial beings with "fallen angels, "
of which there are two varieties. The
first consists of unimprisoned, evil beings working under
Satan's leadership, and generally regarded as demons ( Luke 4:35 ;11:15 ; John
10:21 ).
The second were
imprisoned spirits: 2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them
to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;; Jude 6 And
the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their
proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains
for judgment on the great Day.
For New Testament writers they were particularly
dangerous. The precise difference in function and character is not
explained in Scripture, but some have thought that the imprisoned were the "sons of God" who cohabited
with mortal women ( Gen
6:1-2 ). Presumably the imprisoned angels are the ones who will be
judged by the saints:
1 Corinthians 6:3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the
things of this life!
1. Definition of Ghost:
"Ghost," the middle-English word
for "breath," "spirit," appears in the King James Version
as the translation of nephesh ("breath," "the breath of
life," animal soul or spirit, the vital principle, hence,
"life").
In two places of the Old Testament,
namely, Job
11:20, "the giving up of the ghost", and Jeremiah
15:9, "She hath given up the ghost"; gawa`, "to gasp
out, "expire" (die), is also several times so translated (Genesis
25:8,17; 35:29; 49:33; Job
3:11; 10:18; 13:19; 14:10; Lamentations 1:19).
In the New Testament "to give up the
ghost" is the translation of ekpneo, "to breathe out" (Mark
15:37,39; Luke
23:46; and in John
19:30, paredoken to pneuma, are rendered respectively,
"yielded" and "gave up the ghost," the Revised Version
(British and American) "yielded up his spirit," "gave up his
spirit."
We know that ghosts do not have flesh and bones. And they cannot eat food.
Luke 24:36-42 36And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 37But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! 38“Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt? 39Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.” 40As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he ate it as they watched.2. We know that it is possible for the dead to appear on the
earth.
Matthew 17:2-3 2As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so
that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. 3Suddenly,
Moses and
Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.
- A Ghost, as with Moses and
Elijah can be called- heavenly ghosts.
- Holy people who had
died, walked around the city and appeared to many people.
Matthew 27:51-53
51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two
from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52and the tombs
broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to
life. 53They came out of
the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
*Note: We need to realize that in Old Testament times, no
one went to heaven, but everyone who died was waiting for the Resurrection of
the Messiah to open the gates of heaven.
3. The Dead can communicate with us:
We know that the dead can communicate with the living.
1 Samuel 28:3-16 3Meanwhile, Samuel
had died, and all Israel had mourned for him. He was buried in
Ramah, his hometown. And Saul had banned from the land of Israel all mediums
and those who consult the spirits of the dead....7Saul then said to his advisers, “Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her
what to do.” His advisers replied, “There is a medium at Endor.”
14“What
does he look like?” Saul asked. “He is an old man wrapped in a robe,” she
replied. Saul realized it was Samuel, and he fell to the ground before him. 15“Why have you disturbed
me by calling me back?” Samuel asked Saul. “Because I am in deep
trouble,” Saul replied..... 16But Samuel replied, “Why ask me, since the
LORD has left you and has become your enemy?
Sirach 46:20 Even after he (Samuel) had his eternal sleep, (died)
he prophesied and revealed to the king his death.
-
We know
that at least in some context allowed by God, the dead can be conjured in some fashion.
(1 Sam 28)
(1 Sam 28)
4. Definition of Fallen Angel: is a spiritual being created by God which fell out of
Heaven into a sinful/corrupted state.
Revelation 12 records the first batch of
fallen angels who fell from Heaven.
Fallen angels in the Bible are often
referred to as the “sons of God” and as Satan’s ministers.
Revelations 12:4; 7-9
4 His
tail swept away one-third of the stars in
the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give
birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born........
7Then
there was war in heaven. Michael and his
angels fought against the dragon and his angels. 8And
the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. 9This great
dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to
the earth with all his angels.
Satan and his angels: are fallen
angels who have lost the beauty they had in heaven.
Physical Visibility: Although fallen angels are spiritual beings, they appear to
have the ability to physically appear to people (like their un-fallen counterparts
in Genesis 19:1). Genesis 6 records the activities of the second batch
of fallen angels that fell from Heaven. The sons of God (fallen angels) were able to marry
human women (which strongly suggests
the women were able to see them) and produced
children (which further suggests that fallen angels were able to
appear physically to women).
Genesis
6:1-4 (1) And it came to pass, when men began to
multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, (2)
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair;
and they took them wives of all which they chose…(4) There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after
that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they
bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of
old, men of renown.”
Fallen Angels
apparently can travel out of this world. For
instance, Satan and his fallen angels one day came to present themselves in
front of God in Heaven.
Now there was a
day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan
came also among them. (Job 1:6)
Physical
Transformation and the Ability to Deceive:
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 informs us that Satan’s ministers/fallen angels have the ability to
transform themselves so that they can pose as ministers of righteousness.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (13) For such
ones are false apostles, deceitful workers transforming themselves
into apostles of Christ. (14) And did not Satan marvelously transform himself into an angel of light?
(15) It is not a great thing, then, if also his
ministers transform themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end
will be according to their works.
The Greek word for “transform”
is metaschēmatizō, which means to “transform the figure of”. Therefore,
fallen angels have the ability to deceive people by transforming themselves to resemble religious figures
that many people believe in if they choose to do that (which they sometimes
actually do).
5. Definition of Angels: In whatever form they
occurred, their general purpose was to declare and promote God's will. On
infrequent occasions they acted as agents of destruction ( Gen 19:13 ; 2 Sam 24:16 ; 2 Kings 19:35, ; etc. ). Sometimes angels addressed people in dreams, as with Jacob
( Gen 28:12 ; 31:11 ), and could be
recognized by animals before human beings became aware of them, as with Balaam
( Nu 22:22 ). Collectively
the divine messengers were described as the "angelic host" that
surrounded God ( 1 Ki 22:19 ) and praised his
majesty constantly ( Psalm 103:21 ). The Lord, their
commander, was known to the Hebrews as the "Lord of hosts."
Angels have substance. (Spiritual bodies.)
You can wrestle
with an angel. You can see them and communicate with them.
He wept and pleaded for a
blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face….
You could be
entertaining a angel and not know it.
Hebrews 13:2 "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for thereby some have
entertained angels unknowingly".
An angel rolled back the stone.
Matthew 28:2
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down
from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on
it. ..
Angels can appear and
disappear in a room
as the Angel Gabriel with Mary.
6. Definition of Demon:
A demon is a spirit-being that does not possess
a physical or angelic body and cannot, therefore, among other things, directly enjoy the
pleasures of sex. To do this a demon must enter a human body and literally
'tap' into the thoughts, feelings and physical sensations of its host, rather
as a parasite sucks chemicals and life energies. The degree of demonic
'parasitism' depends on the nature and degree of the sin which has allowed them
access to the human soul in the first place. A demon may only enter a human
being if that person disobeys certain commandments of God, specifically those
sins that exclude a person from the Kingdom of God. Most demons attempt
to influence or tempt a person from the outside (oppression) by 'whispering' to them. Once
inside, they have their hands on many of the controlling mechanisms of his
psyche and physical appetites. Once inside, (obsession) a demon subverts the soul's
processes to serve its own ends, whether it is sexual pleasure or simply the
pleasure of keeping that soul away from the demon's archenemy, Yahweh (God).
The testimony of the Scriptures regarding
demons is clear and cohesive. They are angelic entities who oppose God's
sovereign control. They seek to work out their unholy rebellion through
influencing people to live in a way contrary to God's expressed intentions.
Demons are cursed
to wander the earth while fallen angels still have the ability to stand before
God in heavenly places. Though they were banished from heaven, the fallen
angels still gave an account of their doings.
Job:1:6 "Now
there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before
the Lord, and the Adversary also came among them"
They are unclean spirits that
seeks to possess, manipulate, and to deceive people.
Demons can possess people and animals(pigs
)as in Luke 8:32
Demons have the Ability to Control the Entity they Possess:
A well-known event where Christ casted out
demons from a man to a herd of swine suggest demons can control the entity they
possess. The demons controlled the man’s actions and then the actions of the
herd of swine.
Matthew 8:28-32 And when he was come to the other side
into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils,
coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that
way. (29) And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
(30) And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. (31)
So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
(32) And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went
into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down
a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.”
Unusual Physical Strength: Earlier in the episode when Christ casted out
demons into swine also suggests that demons can give an individual they possess unusual strength:
Mark 5:11-13 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains
a great herd of swine feeding. (12) And all the devils besought him, saying,
Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. (13) And forthwith Jesus
gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine:
and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about
two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.
Demons have the ability to Inflict Harm
on their victims: Matthew 4:23-25 and Luke 4:40-41
suggest that demons have the power to inflict mental
illness and physical diseases on their victims.
(Matthew
4:23-25) And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,
and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and
all manner of disease among the people. (24) And his fame went throughout all
Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers
diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those
which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. (25) And
there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee,
and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem,
and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
Luke 4:40-41 (40) Now when the sun was setting, all they
that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his
hands on every one of them, and healed them. (41) And devils also came out of
many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he
rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was
Christ.
Job 4:2-17 2“This truth was given to me in secret, as
though whispered in my ear. 13It came to me in a disturbing vision at
night, when people are in a deep sleep. 14Fear gripped me, and my bones trembled. 15A spirit swept past my face, and my hair
stood on end. 16The spirit stopped, but I couldn’t see its
shape. There was a form before my eyes. In the silence I heard a voice say, 17‘Can a mortal be innocent before God? Can
anyone be pure before the Creator?’
7. Your soul can leave your body and
go somewhere else.
2 Corinthians
12:1-4, "I must go on
boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and
revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was
caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I
do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart
from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise. He heard
inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell."
8. Your spirit
can leave your body
Revelations 17:3 So the angel took me in the Spirit into the
wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads
and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it.
Revelation 21:10 So
he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy
city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.
9. Your body can be transported to
another place.
Acts 8:38-40 …38And he gave orders to stop the chariot.
Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized
him. 39When they came up out of thewater, the
Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing. 40But Philip appeared at Azotus and traveled through that region,
preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.…
Ezekiel 37:1 The LORD took
hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD to a valley
filled with bones.
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Courts of Heaven
If Satan in his
fallen state was among the angels who had to give an account in Job, it is
consistent to believe that other fallen angels were called upon as well.
Fallen
angels can appear in heavenly places. Therefore, fallen angels are not completely bound to
earth.
Demons
cannot appear in the courts of Heaven.
Demons,
can only wander the earth or live in a body, as Jesus explained: "When an unclean spirit
goes out of a man, it passes through dry places seeking rest, but finds
none" Matthew 12:43
An actual account from The Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta:
(Her cause for beatification is in the Roman
stage.)
Different ways of speaking with Jesus
Luisa Piccarreta
1865-1947:
Manifesting the various ways in which the Lord has
spoken to me:
It seems to me that the ways in which the Lord has spoken to me are four; but these four
ways of Jesus’ speaking are very different from inspirations.
1 – The first way is when the soul goes out of herself. However, first I want
to explain a little bit better about this going out of myself. It
happens in two ways: the first is instantaneous,
almost in a flash; and it is so sudden, that it seemed to me that the body would lift a little bit from the bed in order to
follow the soul, but then it would stay there.
And it seemed to me that the body would remain as dead,
while the soul would follow Jesus, walking
throughout the whole universe - the earth, the air, the seas, the mountains,
Purgatory and Heaven, where many times He showed me the place where I will
be after I die.
The other way, then, for the soul to go out, is more quiet. It seems that the body dozes off insensibly and remains as though
petrified at the presence of Jesus Christ; however, the soul remains with the
body, and the body no longer feels anything of external things – even if
all the universe turned upside down; even if they burned me up and reduced me
to pieces.
These two ways, so different, of going out of
myself, I have noticed sensibly, because in the first way, having to obey the
confessor when he would come to wake me up, I would see him from the place
where Jesus would lead me – that is, from the ends of the earth, or of the air,
or of the mountains, or of the sea, or of Purgatory, or even of Heaven
itself. Even more, it would seem to me that I would not have the time to
let the confessor find my soul in the body,
and therefore I would not be able to obey. It seemed that, so far away as
I was with my soul – I say, it seemed to me – that I would bustle about, and
become all anxious and worried that I might not be able to let myself be found
there by the confessor in time, and therefore I would not be able to
obey. However, I confess that I have always been there in time, and it
seemed to me that my soul would enter my body before the confessor would begin
to give me the obedience to wake up.
Even more, I tell the truth, many times, from afar, I could see the confessor coming,
but in order not to leave Jesus, it seemed that I would not be thinking that
the confessor was coming. But then Jesus Himself would hurry me to return
with the soul into my body so as to be able to obey the confessor.
And then I would feel great reluctance about leaving Jesus, but obedience would
win; and upon leaving Jesus, He Himself either kissed me or embraced me, or
would do something else to take leave of me. And I, upon leaving my dear
Jesus, would say to Him: ‘I go to the confessor, but You, my good Jesus,
come back soon, as soon as the confessor goes away.’
These are, then, the two ways in which
the soul seemed to go out of the body, and in these two ways in which the
soul goes out, God speaks to me. This way of speaking He Himself calls intellectual speaking. I will try to
explain it: after the soul has gone out of the
body, finding herself before Jesus, she has no need of words in order to
understand what the Lord wants to tell her; nor does the soul need to speak
in order to make herself understood; but through the intellect –
oh! how well we understand each other when we are together. From a light that comes from Jesus into my intellect, I feel everything that my Jesus wants to make me
understand being impressed within me. This way is very high and
sublime; so much so, that the nature can hardly adapt itself to explain it with
words – it can barely give a few ideas. This way of Jesus of making Himself understood is extremely rapid
– in one simple instant one learns many sublime
things, more than by reading entire books. Oh! what a most
ingenious teacher Jesus is – in one simple instant He teaches so many things,
while it would take entire years for someone else, if he manages at all,
because the terrestrial teacher does not have the power to draw the will of his
disciple, or to infuse things in his mind without effort and toil. But not
with Jesus: His sweetness, the loveliness of His gesture, the gentleness
of His speaking are so great - and then He is so beautiful, that as soon as the
soul sees Him, she feels so drawn that sometimes the speed with which she runs
after Jesus is so great, that almost without realizing it, she finds herself
transformed into the beloved, in such a way that
the soul is no longer capable of distinguishing her terrestrial being so much
is she identified with the Divine Being. Who can tell what the
soul feels in this state? It would take Jesus Himself, or a soul perfectly separated from the body,
because in finding herself surrounded once again by the wall of this body, and
losing that light which before kept her submerged, the soul loses very much and
remains obscured. So, if she tries to say something, she can do it only
roughly.
To give an idea, I will say that I imagine one
born blind, who has never had the good of seeing what is contained in the
entire universe, and who, for a few minutes, had the good of opening his eyes
to the light and were able to see everything that is contained in the world
- the sun, the heavens, the sea, the many cities, the many machines, the
varieties of flowers and the many other things that are in the world; and who,
after those few minutes of light, returned to the blindness of before.
Now, could he describe, distinctly, everything that he has seen? He could
give a rough outline, and say a few things confusedly. Now, something similar happens when the soul finds herself
separated, and then back into the body. I don’t know whether I am
saying nonsense, but just as that poor blind one would remain but with the
sorrow of the lost sight, the same for the soul: she lives moaning and
almost in a violent state, because the soul feels always violently drawn toward
the highest Good. The attraction toward Himself
that Jesus leaves in the soul is so great, that the soul would like to remain
always attracted within her God. But this cannot be, and therefore
she lives as if she lived in Purgatory. I add that the soul has nothing
of her own in this state – everything is operation done by the Lord.
2 - Now I will try
to explain the second way that Jesus has in speaking: finding herself outside of herself, the soul sees the
person of Jesus Christ, for example, as a child, or crucified, or in any other
posture; and the soul sees the Lord pronouncing the
words from His mouth, and the soul answers from her mouth.
Sometimes it happens that the soul begins to converse with Jesus, just as two
intimate spouses would do. The speaking of the
Lord is very moderate – just four or five words, and sometimes even just one
word; very rarely it lengthens a little bit. But in those very few
words – ah! how much light He introduces into the soul. I seem to see a
little rivulet at first sight, but in looking more closely, instead of a stream,
one can see an immense sea. Such is one word said by Jesus. The immensity of light
it leaves in the soul is such, that by chewing it
thoroughly, she discovers so many things, sublime and profitable for her
soul, as to remain astonished.
I believe that if all the learned united together,
they would all remain confused and mute at one single word of Jesus. Now,
this way is more suitable for the human nature, and it can be manifested
easily, because upon entering herself, the soul
brings with her that which she has heard from the mouth of Our Lord, and she
communicates it to the body. It is not so easy when it is
through the intellect.
To me, I think that Jesus
has this way of speaking in order to adapt Himself to the human nature.
It is not that He needs the word in order to make Himself understood, but in
this way the soul understands more easily, and she can manifest it to the
confessor. In sum, Jesus acts like a most knowledgeable, wise and
intelligent teacher, who possesses all sciences to the highest degree, and no
one can equal Him. But since He finds Himself in the midst of disciples
who have not yet learned the first syllables of the alphabet, keeping all of
the other studies within Himself, He teaches the
a,b,c to the disciples.
Oh! how good is Jesus. He adapts Himself to
the learned and speaks to them in a very high manner, in such a way that in
order to understand Him, they have to study well what He tells them. And
He adapts Himself to the ignorant, pretending to be,
He Himself, a little bit ignorant; and He speaks in a low manner, in
such a way that no one may remain on an empty stomach from the lesson of this
Divine Teacher.
3 – The third
way in which Jesus speaks to me is when, in speaking, He communicates its very substance to the soul.
It seems to me that just as when the Lord created the world, at one word things
were created, in the same way, since His word is
creative, in the very act in which He pronounces the word, He creates in the
soul that very thing which He is saying. As for example, Jesus
says to the soul: “See how beautiful things are, but as much as your eye
may flow over the earth and in Heaven, you will never find a beauty similar to
Me.” At these words of Jesus, the souls feels a
certain something divine enter herself; the soul remains so very drawn
toward this beauty, and at the same time she loses attraction
for all the other things. As beautiful and precious as they may
be, they make no impression on her soul. That which remains fixed within
her and almost transmuted into her is the beauty of Jesus: of that beauty
she thinks, with that beauty she feels invested, and she remains so enamored
that if the Lord did not operate another miracle, her heart would crack, and
the soul would breathe her last out of pure love for this beauty of Jesus, so
as to fly into Heaven and delight in this beauty of Jesus. I myself don’t
know whether I am speaking nonsense.
In order to explain myself better about this
substantial speaking of Jesus, I will say something else. Jesus
says: “See how pure I am – in you also I want to find purity in
everything.” At these words the soul feels a
divine purity enter into her. This purity is transmuted into herself, and
she arrives at living as if she no longer had a body - and so with the other
virtues. Oh! how desirable is this speaking of Jesus. As for
myself, I would give away everything that is on earth - if I could possess it -
to have one of these words of Jesus alone.
4 – The fourth
way in which Jesus speaks to me is when I find
myself inside myself – that is, in the natural state. This
also happens in two ways: the first is when, while being inside myself, recollected within the interior
of my heart, without articulation of voice or sound to the ear of the body, Jesus
speaks interiorly. The second is
just like we do it; and sometimes this happens even when I am distracted or I
am speaking with other people. But one of these words alone is
enough to make me recollect myself if I am distracted, or to give me peace if I
am disturbed, or to console me if I am afflicted.