There appears to be another category of spirits that is not demonic in essence, but seems to be a ghost, a departed person who has not found rest. This kind of spirit seems to make its dwelling in places and occasionally in people who still have bodies. It is not a new or foreign concept. There have been ghost stories circulating for centuries.

The church has been in the business of laying these spirits to rest for centuries. It is assumed that they are in need of being loosed on earth that they might be loosed in heaven. Mt 16:19 That was the purpose of giving Peter the keys to the Kingdom.

Though there is a rejection of the idea of ghosts in some segments of the church. There is abundant evidence that they are around, and a good medium is able to talk to them and listen to them. That is the basis for prohibiting necromancy (communication with the departed). If it were not possible, why should God forbid it?

When Saul went to the Witch of Endor to contact Samuel, Samuel came on the scene. Some say that it was a spirit that pretended to be Samuel, but he acted just like Samuel. The text clearly says that it was Samuel.

The other two citations that I would make are the two in which the disciples thought that Jesus was a ghost. First when He was walking on the water, then when He had just come through a closed door. That is not to say that Jesus was a Ghost, but that "ghost" was a possibility in that day among the disciples.

The departed were unclean. The people who handled dead bodies were unclean until they had purified themselves and put on clean clothes. They were not to touch or be near dead bodies lest they be contaminated by the spirits of the departed. The spirits were not demonic, so we will refer to them as unclean to differentiate between the two.

We have been given authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, but we are not given power OVER human spirits. We have to make up our minds what the Lord would have us do with them.

In First Peter we read that Jesus descended into hell and "preached to the spirits in prison." 3:19 Later he writes, "This is why the gospel was preached even to the dead, that though judged in the flesh like men, they might live in the spirit like God." 4:6

Since we cannot judge the departed, it seems wise to send them to Jesus. He will know precisely how to deal with them. Since we have the authority to remit sin, we might also absolve them from their sins, and set them free to go to Jesus, who will escort them to their place. While it may be true that there are those who are bound for hell, "the gates of hell will not prevail against the church." Mt 16:18 They can neither shut us in nor keep us out.

If we are dealing with the presence of such a spirit in the life of another person, it may show up as anything from a mild ambivalence to a schizophrenia. There will be times when the spirit might assume control of the body to make itself known, or to use the body to fulfill its own desires.

The first account I read about such spirits was of a nun in an English convent who started to hear a voice, when George Bennett, Warden of one of the Healing Homes was called to minister to her, he found that the spirit was that of a young atheist who had been killed in WW II. He had come to the nun because she was the only person who had ever shown him any kindness.

When the conversation was engaged the young man was sent to Jesus. He knew Him as the Shining One. When he was given the freedom and permission to go, he left, and the nun was set free from the voice.

When there is a ghost in a house, they may make a place feel clammy and uncomfortable. They may make noise or move articles. A poltergeist is a "noisy spirit." There are some that seem hostile and some that seem friendly. They are just like the people they were when they had a body.

A friend of mine who was blessing a house ran into one who proceeded to speak through his wife. She said, "Get out of here. This is not your house and you have no right to come in here to bless it."

When we determined what it was, he went back into the room, told the ghost that she did not have to stay there to guard the house, Jesus would send angels to do that. He assured her of Jesus' love, absolved her sins, and directed her to Jesus. At that point she left, and the room changed.

It is always a good idea to ask God for protection when dealing with anything in the spiritual realm. I will use the prayer, "I claim the power and protection of the Holy Trinity for all who are present and all who are near from every spirit contrary to Holy Spirit, and I call upon the power of the Name of Jesus that this child might be set free."

If there is a name available, you might address the spirit by name. We are forbidden to listen to the spirits of the departed, not to preach to them. I always assure the spirit that Jesus loves him or her, as the case may be. I tell them that this is not their place, and assure them that Jesus has a place for them, and that they are free to go to Him to find their place. Using the authority that Jesus gave the church, I absolve them from all their sins. I set them free and send them on their way.

There are times when a spirit is not ready to leave even with the reassurance that it is free to go to Jesus. They can see Him as Light, but they are often afraid that the light will burn them. They need the assurance that the light will not burn, that there is no condemnation and no punishment.

When I am working with a spirit I will ask Jesus to come and take its hand so that it will know the light does not burn, and that there is no condemnation. He can then lead them where He has prepared a place for them.

People who have been playing with ouija boards, attending seances or practicing automatic writing ala Ruth Montgomery are apt to have picked up such a spirit as they have to yield their members to other spirits for those things to work. Other openings for their entry into living humans come through major traumas that seem to break down the safety barriers surrounding a person.

One of the ways that has become widely used in this area of ministry is the use of a Requiem Mass for the Healing of the Family Tree in generational healing. It will frequently change the feeling within an environment when it is used to open the way for the Cross of Jesus Christ to be brought into play in the lives of the departed that they might be brought into a new relationship with Him.

If there is anyone who seems to be plagued with any of the symptoms, or if there is any place that seems to have the characteristics, it would seem a good idea to send the spirits to Jesus for His judgment and disposal. If they are human, they will go to the One who died for them. If they are demonic, they will go to the one who has defeated them.

At any rate, they will go and the healing that results from the departure issues in a diminished stress factor in the life of the host, or the lives of the people who are living in the house that has been cleaned up.

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