Holy
Spirit or Holy Ghost
Or both?
By Dr. Ken
Matto
I indeed have
baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
(Mark 1:8)
If ye then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
(Luke 11:13)
One of the main
objections that the modern version proponents have is that the King James Bible
uses two different ways to describe the Holy Spirit.
The description “Holy Spirit” is used 7 times in seven verses and the
term “Holy Ghost” is used 90 times in 89 verses.
Both words are taken from the Greek word “pneûma”
which carries with it the meaning of “spirit.”
So why then does the King James Bible use both words when describing the
Holy Spirit?
First we must
understand that there is no such thing as a ghost.
When a believer physically dies they instantly go into the presence of
the Lord in Heaven.
We are confident, I say, and willing
rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
(2 Corinthians 5:8) 2
Corinthians 5:8 confirms there is no purgatory, no waiting time and no separate
place called “Abraham’s Bosom.”
When the unbeliever dies, they go to a place of silence, not soul sleep, but a
place of silence until they are resurrected at the last day for judgment.
The dead praise not the LORD,
neither any that go down into silence.
(Psalm 115:17) There are
only two groups of people on this earth, the saved and the unsaved, which means
the Bible covers both groups as to their final destination.
This means that
it is an impossibility for a dead person to be a ghost and haunt graveyards, old
buildings, or other places. We have
all heard the stories such as the following: There is an old house in Metuchen,
NJ which was built in 1770 and it is reported that some people have seen
Hessians and Revolutionary War soldiers walking around.
There are films on YouTube of the battlefield of Gettysburg which shows
ghosts walking around. In Chicago
where the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre took place, people have reported seeing
figures dressed in suits walking around claiming it was the ghosts of some of
the murdered. TV Programs like Ghost
Hunters and Paranormal TV have piqued the interest of many and have enhanced the
belief in ghosts. Now if there is
no such things as ghosts, then what are we seeing?
Here is where the King James Bible gives us insight into that subject
also while the modern versions are silent on it.
Isaiah 19:3
(KJB) And the
spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel
thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that
have familiar spirits, and to
the wizards.
(NASV)
“Then the spirit of the Egyptians
will be demoralized within them; And I will confound their strategy, So that
they will resort to idols and ghosts
of the dead And to mediums and spiritists.
(NIV)
The Egyptians will lose heart, and
I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the
spirits of the dead, the
mediums and the spiritists.
(NRSV)
the spirit of the Egyptians within
them will be emptied out, and I will confound their plans; they will consult the
idols and the spirits of the dead and
the ghosts and the familiar spirits;
The term
“familiar spirits” has to do with the fact that devils who were in the rebellion
with Satan have attached themselves to a person and learned their ways and their
life so when people go to a séance and try to contact their mother or father,
the devils will be able to deceive the people into believing that they are
actually talking to their dead loved ones when in essence they are being
deceived. The reason for this is
deception where the devils tell the people their loved one is in Heaven and are
waiting for them even though there is no mention of having to become saved to
get to Heaven.
The King
James Bible uses the term “familiar spirits” when dealing with the occult.
The term “familiar spirits” is used 9 times in 9 verses and the term
“familiar spirit” is used 7 times in 6 verses.
I want you to look at Isaiah 19:3 above and look how the modern versions
encourage belief in ghosts of dead people.
The NASV uses the term “ghosts of the dead.”
The NIV uses the term “spirits of the dead.”
The NRSV uses the term “the spirits of the dead and ghosts.”
Notice the King James Bible uses the term “familiar spirits” which is the
correct description based on the fact the spirit of dead people go to one of two
destinations upon physical death and does not remain on the earth as we saw
openly in the two scriptures above, Psalm 115:17 and 2 Corinthians 5:8.
The modern versions are encouraging the belief in ghosts and the spirits
of the dead remaining on earth.
This is horrible translating because it emboldens people to think they can
contact the dead and playing with the occult can be deadly.
Mark 6:49
(ESV)
but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost,
and cried out,
(NIV) but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost.
They cried out,
(CSB) When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and
cried out,
(NKJV) And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost,
and cried out;
(NASV) But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost,
and cried out;
(KJB) But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a
spirit, and cried out:
It is not only
in the Old Testament that the modern versions are promoting their belief in
ghosts of dead people but also in the New Testament.
Look above at Mark 6:49, the five most popular modern versions all use
the word ghost making it look like the disciples were seeing the ghost of a dead
man. I realize that the belief in
ghosts is ancient but do the modern versions have to continue to encourage
people to believe in them? The King
James Bible uses the word “spirit” which is neuter thus not denoting its
attachment to anyone who has previously died.
I went through
all of this to guarantee you that the King James Bible does not endorse the
false belief of ghosts of dead people, as the modern versions do, when using the
term Holy Ghost.
Holy Ghost
This term is
used 90 times in 89 verses and refers to the times when he is acting out of his
own personhood.
And ye became
followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction,
with joy of the Holy Ghost:
(1 Thessalonians 1:6)
Whereof the
Holy Ghost also is a witness to us:
for after that he had said before,
(Hebrews 10:15)
For the
prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
(2 Peter 1:21)
If you notice
in these three verses we have the Holy Ghost operating out of his own power.
1 Thessalonians 1:6 he brings joy.
Hebrews 10:15 he is a witness.
In 2 Peter 1:21 he moved certain men to write the Holy Scriptures.
Holy Spirit
This term is used 7
times in the Scriptures and refers to the times when he is the empowering member
of the godhead.
If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall
your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him?
(Luke 11:13)
In whom ye also
trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in
whom also after that ye believed, ye were
sealed with that holy Spirit of
promise, (Ephesians 1:13)
He therefore that
despiseth, despiseth not man, but God,
who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
(1 Thessalonians 4:8)
If you notice in
these three verses we have the Holy Spirit as empowering individuals in
different ways as part of the Godhead.
In Luke 11:13 we read that the Holy Spirit is dispatched by the Father to
those who are saved. In Ephesians
1:13 we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise which is in concert with
Luke 24:49. And, behold, I send the
promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye
be endued with power from on high.
(Luke 24:49) 1 Thessalonians
4:8 speaks about the Holy Spirit who is given by the Father unto the true
believer. In all cases he is
empowering the believer to be able to live the Christian life.
This empowerment can easily be seen in Christians who have faced
martyrdom rather than surrendering to Satan’s false gospels.
I am throwing this
in for free. The Bible gives us a
great example of one of the biggest con jobs by Satan to an unbeliever.
In 1 Samuel 28 King Saul goes to the witch of Endor to attempt to contact
Samuel who had been dead. Remember,
Samuel was a saved person and he would have went directly into the presence of
the Lord and no witch has the authority to bring anyone out of Heaven.
King Saul was dealing with a familiar spirit but he was an unbeliever,
and just like many today who think they can contact their loved one or friends,
Saul thought he could contact Samuel.
I wrote an article on this and here is the link where I go into much more
detail.
Summary
The King James Bible once again shows its superiority by using terms “Ghost” and “Spirit” when speaking about the Holy Spirit. These two terms designate two specific works of the Holy Spirit and are used to clarify those designations. The modern versions do not use the term “Holy Ghost” but have no problem endorsing occult activity among their readers by applying the term “ghost” to a supposed dead person’s spirit still remaining on earth after their physical death which the real Bible shows is an impossibility. Those who think they can contact the dead are just fools being fooled by deception from Satan’s kingdom and should be rejected totally. Just on this fact alone I would reject every modern version for my own spiritual safety.