The Spirit World: Reality or Fantasy?

Is there a spiritual realm, another mode of existence, full of invisible entities, perhaps with some intelligence, feelings and desires? And if a realistic answer to this question is "YES", are all or some of these entities able to interfere and influence humans and even world affairs, for better or worse? I do not claim to be able to prove anything concerning the spiritual realm, and I would be very skeptical if someone claimed to know everything about it. Communicating with spirits at will could be deceiving and some times even dangerous. Besides, it is not, in my opinion, a healthy (natural) activity, and I have never had the curiosity of experimenting with spiritualism. Perhaps I have been influenced by major O.T. prophets who clearly forbade such activities. The reasons they give in the Bible make sense to me, but I won't go into it in this article. Personally, during my 30 years' of spiritual quest, I have come to rather believe than disbelieve in the existence of the spirit world. Further it is supported by Scripture that there is a fierce warfare going on in the spiritual realm, which unfortunately reflects on mankind, here on earth. The more we know about this invisible spiritual warfare, the better equipped will we be to ensure that WE humans decide about the future of our planet and not any invisible, friendly or hostile, entities - angels or demons. Through meticulous and unbiased study of the Bible - which, by the way, I do not consider to be God-inspired in its entirety, as it contains many discrepancies and contradictions - I have come to classify spiritual entities into four categories, which I shall describe below: 1st: The Spirits (consciousness) of dead persons, which, under certain conditions, can "communicate" with the living. 2nd: Spirits (benevolent or malevolent) that can be released by prophets. 3rd: The Spirits of nations (principalities). 4th: Spirits which appear to be the crystallization of virtues or vices formed by the emotions, thoughts or words, i.e. by the spiritual energy of humans. All four categories of spirits are found in the Bible, although the differences among them are not always distinct. Especially the second and fourth categories could both concern man-created spirits. Regarding the Angels, the Bible seems to differentiate them from ordinary spirits, but I cannot expand on them within the limited space of this article. The New Testament is also full of references to demons, i.e. malevolent spirits, and these, too, should be the subject of a separate article. Some demons, however, might be man-made and fall into the aforementioned 4th category, while others might belong to the 2nd category of spirits. In any case, the invisible world seems to be full of inhabitants strange to us, some friendly to humans and some very hostile and dangerous, of which even the writers of the Bible appear to know rather little. The discernment of spirits is not an easy task. So I shall proceed very cautiously. None of my comments on this matter should be received unquestionably as a doctrine. It is the individual's highest responsibility, in his/her quest for spiritual Truth, to constantly seek personal revelation from God through prayer and meditation. 1st: Spirits of the Dead. Although there are a few Biblical verses to the contrary, most Bible writers believe that a soul survives the death of its body, and they refer to such entities as "spirits of the dead". Here are some relevant verses: "The Egyptians (...) will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists." (Isa.19: 3) This verse implies that the spirit of man not only survives death but it can also be contacted by the living through mediums and spiritists. A Biblical case where someone contacts the spirit of a dead person is that of king Saul. In his desperation to seek advice concerning the war of the Philistines against Israel, Saul resorted to contacting the spirit of the dead prophet Samuel, through a medium (1 Samuel 28:7-15). (Later Saul was punished for this sin - 1 Chr. 10: 13-14) 2nd: Spirits released by prophets. The Bible maintains that God intervenes in the affairs of the world only through his representatives, the prophets. They are the ones who speak on behalf of the Almighty and release His blessing or judgment upon individuals, nations or mankind as a whole. The major Old Testament prophets often judged Zion in the name of God: "When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning." (Isa. 4: 4) Isaiah, just as all the prophets of the O.T., believed that sin must be "washed away" by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning. And judgment can come through the word of a prophet much earlier and more fiercely than the natural process of recompense of the law of retribution. Some define those spirits just as "spiritual energy" released by prophets. Whether this spiritual energy is provoked and/or reinforced by some kindred spiritual entities already existing in Universe, is anybody's guess. Unfortunately, many zealous "Christians" have inherited this "spirit of judgment" from the O.T. and they are very dangerous to be around to. They use the name of the Lord to pass judgments on others. But Jesus said: "Bless and not curse." "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication (...)." (Zech. 12:10a) The spirit of grace also could (and should) be released through the intervention of a prophet, which helps people to repent of their sins and turn to God. And this is exactly what God expects his prophets and all believers to do. The following scripture confirms this: "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord; so turn and live." (Ez. 18: 32) 3rd: Spirits of Nations. >From various Biblical verses it appears that there are spirits that represent nations. They are called "princes". We read about the "prince" of Greece, the "prince" of Persia and the prince of Israel, who is Michael the Archangel! (Dan. 10:18-21) Daniel maintains that each nation has its own spiritual prince, an angel or archangel that serves its interests. Whether these princes are real angelic beings, assigned over the nations by Divine Providence in the beginning of time, or man-created ghosts formed over the millennia by the solidification of the collective subconscious of people of the same language, religion and traditions, is a difficult philosophical question that only a true mystic could closely answer. The Apostle Paul suggests that these "principalities" over nations are not of flesh and blood, but they are spiritual hosts in heavenly places. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph. 6: 10- 12) 4th: Spirits of virtues or vices. In the Bible we also find references to spirits of virtues and talents (spirit of wisdom, spirit of love, spirit of truth, spirit of discernment, spirit of science, spirit of arts, etc.) (Gen. 41: 38-39) (Ex. 31: 1-3) Apparently all virtues and talents are spirits. Are these spirits or talents man-made, inherited, cultivated in previous lives (if reincarnation is a fact) or are they separate entities existing in the Universe, i.e. "gifts" bestowed on man as God chooses? The answer to this is not a simple one. In my opinion, some virtues ("spirits") could have been formed by man's efforts, in this or previous lives, others could have been inherited, and others still could be the gifts of the Spirit of God. "And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with you. And I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take of the spirit which is upon you, and put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it alone. (...)' So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. Then the Lord came down in a cloud, and spoke unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again." (Num. 11: 16-17, 24-25) There is yet another way of obtaining spiritual gifts, namely by transference from someone who already possesses them. In the above verses we read that Moses gave some of his spirit of prophecy to seventy elders of Israel by covering them with a cloud of spiritual energy that he had projected unto them. In other cases of the O.T. this transference takes place by anointing with sacred oil (Ex. 30: 30). In the N.T. the transference of spiritual gifts from one to another takes place with the laying on of hands. However, the above scriptures reveal that the elders prophesied only at that moment. They did not do so again. Apparently, the gifts of the Spirit that one receives by transference from another stay with the recipient only temporarily. In order to keep them permanently, one has to acquire certain spiritual qualities by devotion to God. Here is another instance of spirit transference: "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand upon him; cause him to stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight." (Num. 28: 18-19) So Joshua, who already had the spirit, received some more spiritual gifts from Moses, when the latter laid his hands upon him. The next scripture confirms this: "And Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him;" (Deut. 34: 9a) The Bible also refers to spirits of vices, e.g., a spirit of pride or a haughty spirit, spirit of anger, of fear, of greed, of lust, of envy, etc. Could these "evil" spirits be what the New Testament calls "demons"? Are all or some of these "demons" created by man's free will and sustained by man's own spiritual energy? Could, some of them, have been pre-existing in the spiritual realm before they entered (possessed) the body of a person? This, too, does not seem unlikely. In any case, Jesus seems to have been very busy delivering people of demons during his ministry. This has been a brief analysis of the different categories of spirits found in the Bible. The subject of spirits is vast and the difficulty in fully grasping its various dimensions and implications partly arises from our inability to accurately define the nature and the origin of a spirit. Moreover, true knowledge of the spiritual world and how it interacts with man, presupposes true knowledge of our own spiritual nature and the purpose of our life and Creation as a whole. Personally, I have no illusions that in this life we may have the true answers to all our questions concerning the above. But this does not mean that we should not pursue knowledge, wisdom and revelation.