Trapped Spirits ... What Would Jesus Do?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Many millions are curious or confused as to how to relate to the paranormal craze. If you are a Christian, then you have likely asked yourself, “How does my Christian faith inform my views of paranormal activity…how do they relate?”

Would it not be cool if we had a record of how Jesus viewed and interacted with the paranormal realm?  The wonderful thing is that we have four inspired biographies of Jesus’ life, which explicitly reveal Jesus attitude toward, and interaction with, the paranormal realm (or heavenlies, spirit realm, invisible realm).

WWJD?  What would Jesus do?  That is, what would Jesus do today regarding how to view and interact with the paranormal realm? Of course, if we can definitively answer how Jesus interacted with the spirit realm, then that should go a long way to answering how WE should view/interact with the spirit realm, shouldn’t it? May I suggest that you read the four gospels (or choose one) and while reading, have this question on the front-burner: how often does Jesus interact with the trapped spirits of His day? (given basic ghost formation theory, then there should have been a ton of dead humans trapped here on earth) Many Christians are curious or confused as to how their faith relates to the current paranormal craze, and what better way to answer that question than to watch our Master at work.

If you read, say the gospel of Mark, then what becomes immediately obvious is how much time Jesus spent dealing with folks who had “paranormal issues.” No other spiritual leader comes close to Jesus’ near fixation on helping those with “paranormal problems.”

That being the case—how often did Jesus speak to deceased humans? Put another way, how often did they seek Jesus out for help, and how often did Jesus approach deceased humans in order to free them? If you have never done this exercise before, it is quite revealing and instructive!

The first thing we will notice in His bio’s are the innumerable folks He helps who are demon possessed! Like today, demonic activity increased when Jesus was incarnated. Hence, true diabolical possession was a terrible reality which Jesus forcefully and authoritatively dealt with thousands of times during His three year public ministry.

So, when you read the inspired biographies with fresh eyes, how many deceased humans approach their Creator, as countless demoniacs did?  ZERO   Ummm… what is the deal? Since demons and deceased humans are generally said to dwell in same paranormal spiritual ghetto-world (don’t we allegedly have a lot of evidence revealing demonic bullying beyond the grave?) Regardless, I must ask the question again—how many trapped spirits approached Jesus for help…or just revealed themselves as they are supposedly doing to us today? In all four gospels, with a wide variety of spirit realm issues arising, there is not a single recorded case of a trapped spirit trying to get Jesus attention, or vice versa.

How about the opposite—how many trapped spirits did Jesus assertively contact?  How many instances of Jesus speaking to trapped spirits in order to help them? NONE. We have many Christians attempting communication with the souls of deceased loved ones, yet Jesus never did that. Never…not according to His Spirit inspired biographies.

WWJD?That question is rooted in what Jesus has already done during His public ministry. Jesus is our Master, our Lord—we follow His example (when appropriate). AND JESUS NEVER COMMUNICATED WITH EARTHBOUND SPIRITS.

The above argument is simple. Our Master is recorded as having innumerable encounters with demons (encounters with angels as well), but He never encountered trapped human spirits. When I wrote my book, this argument was the most persuasive one I had come across—it remains so. Will you read  the gospel of Mark and ask yourself…WDJD—what did Jesus do? Then you will be ready to ask, WWJD?

God Really, Really Hates Ghosts

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

¹The Lordspoke to Moses, saying,²"Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.³I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name.

⁴And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death,⁵then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.⁶If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.


The same God, who created the universe, uttered the words above. As Creator, He has the authority to hate and be angry with whatever/whoever He wants…always in keeping with His just character. In verses 1-5 the Lord tells His covenant community that He detests the practice of child sacrifice to Molech. He hates it so much that He declares that it is a capital crime. I read this text in my personal devotion today, and it is what comes next that particularly struck me. In v.4 the Lord says that if the people fail to put the perpetrator to death, then He will cut his life short. How terrifying it would be to have the Lord set His face against a person and pledge to cut him off—which is simply another way of saying to “kill” someone. When the Jews were circumcised, the foreskin was cut off as a sign of blessing and curse—as members of God’s holy covenant community, they would be blessed if they believed and obeyed, and they would be cursed if they were disobedient. On the cross, Jesus became The Circumcised One—cut off from the Father. From the context, it is clear that the Lord would Himself kill the practitioner of child sacrifice to Molech. Does that not indicate how much He hates that practice?

However, the Lord’s pledge to avenge unpunished wrongdoing does not end there (and this is key)—in v. 6 God Almighty states that He will personally kill people for two other sins if the covenant community does not follow through with the death penalty. Along with killing one’s own child by sacrificing them to Molech, Yahweh says that seeking after mediums and necromancers will result in He Himself killing that person (if they are not properly dealt with judicially). THAT is what leapt off the page this morning when I read it…God promised that He would kill anyone who committed those three sins—that is how much He hates them. As I showed in an earlier post, there are gradations to sins seriousness…and God has revealed three that top the list.

Notice that it is not the mediums and necromancers who are singled out for His special wrath (though surely that is implied), but the people who seek them out. What does that mean for today? Since there is not a theocracy anymore, then the death penalty has been discontinued in the New Testament for being involved with mediums and attempting to traffic with the dead. (there is a distinction between sin and crime). What does carry over from the Old Testament to today is this principle: the Holy God has particular revulsion for mediumistic activity as well as any practice that involves seeking the dead. Here is what truly frightens me—all the folks actively investigating the spirit realm, are the objects of His special displeasure and wrath. Rom.1:18 explicitly says that God’s wrath iscurrently being poured out from heaven upon those who suppress the truth, and then fall into dark practices. God is immutable (unchanging), so if He actively punished those who sought mediums as well as interaction with the dead, then there is every reason to believe that is still the case.

Every square inch of the Old Testament is applicable to today, and has up to the second relevance…THE CHALLENGE IS KNOWING HOW IT IS APPLICABLE. Just because the sacrificial system has been abrogated by the once-for-all sacrifice of the Messiah, that does not mean that all the various sacrifices have no purpose for today. Each one highlights an essential aspect of Christ’s atonement, and helps us to understand the many splendored wonder of the cross. There is both continuity and dis-continuity. Similarly, the death penalty has been discontinued, but certainly God’s resolute anger towards, and special punishment of, mediums and spiritism flows with continuity into our era…especially in light of the reality of Rom.1:18ff. Why does God accent the particular repugnance of these three sins? As Creator He can pull rank and not answer that—I really think it is important that we understand God can do what He wants with or without our approval. Nevertheless, the fact that all three sins lead one into direct contact with the demonic is certainly something that sheds light on the situation. Intentional contact with the spirit realm is exceedingly dangerous, and angers God mightily.

Since God created the world, then He has the authority to hate and punish how He wishes (God does love everyone, and forgiveness is available to all who embrace the gospel).According to God, all those who mess with alleged ghosts are spiritually whoring (v. 6). Can God still hurt people? He most certainly can and does…and He has said He will severely punish all who mess with mediums and ghosts. Yes, God expresses more grace in the New Covenant, but that does not abrogate or do away with the continuity of basic principles from Old to New Testament. God really, really hates the notion of ghosts…do you?