A front-page story in one of the nation's leading daily newspapers reported that six persons had been pronounced dead but were revived later. The report states that they were interviewed to find out what they did while so near death. An accident victim "said he hovered over the operating table" during the surgery performed on him. A man near death as a result of a motorcycle crash "recalled stepping outside his body and calmly witnessing the sequence of events leading to the accident." A woman who had nearly died during childbirth "remembered drifting through the sky" and "tried to convince a God-like voice that she could not die because she had two children to care for."

Do those stories seem "spooky"? Why would such a revived accident victim not remember how he left his body to hover over it, and when and how he got back into it? Nothing is said of the motorcycle-crash victim stepping back into his body, and which exit he used in going in and out of it.

Interesting is the fact that the news report states twice concerning the six persons interviewed that "they nearly died," and refers to them as "near death victims." This poses still another question: Can a person leave his body while it is still alive and go "drifting through the sky"?

That news report reminds me of "Old Jake," who lived a short distance from a farm on which I spent part of my boyhood days. His neighbors spoke of him as "the old goat" because of his profuse profanity and infidel scorn for religion. Neighbors who "sat up" with him and his family the night he died, told us young folks the next morning that before Old Jake breathed his last breath he deliriously screamed and cursed because he thought the devil was eagerly tugging hard at his toes in an effort to pull the old man's soul out of his body, like pulling an ear of corn out of its shucks, to roast it in hell fire! When I heard that, my hair seemed to stand on end.

Of course, since then I have heard of other cases of delirium experienced by persons near death in which strange things were said and seen. Even I myself had an unusual experience one night after hours of hard work and a substantial evening meal. My wife awoke and, sensing that something was wrong, roused me quickly out of my deep sleep. And how glad I was that she did! I was having a nightmare in which I thought myself to be dead and was being taken in a coffin to the cemetery. What agony it was, for I knew I was not dead but could not tell the men so, who were bearing my body in the casket to the open grave. Stranger yet is the coincidence that she woke me just at the right time--before they could lower the box into the hole in the ground. Of course, I having been aroused from my slumber at that point, I cannot imagine how I could have gotten out of the casket and what would have happened if my dream had continued longer.

I personally have known of surgical cases in which an anesthetized patient has unwittingly talked in the recovery room and thereby revealed to nursing attendants some surprising secrets of a personal sort that were never intended to be known to others.

To what extent does a person know what is going on around him when he is really dead? Does the Bible teach that a person becomes a ghost when he dies? I have searched the Bible carefully--including the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament--and I have not found it teaching that a person becomes a ghost when he dies.

In Genesis 25:8, for example, it is said that "Abraham gave up the ghost, and died." In nine other instances the Old Testament in our King James (Authorized) Version of the Bible in English similarly speaks of a dying person. In all those 10 cases a single Hebrew verb (gawa) is translated into the four-word English phrase "gave up the ghost" or "yielded up the ghost." In other instances in that same version gawa is translate as "be dead" once, "die" 11 times, "Perish" twice, and (as a participle) "ready to die" once.

In Hebrew that verb gawa means "to gasp out," "to breathe out." Hence it is no surprise to find the Revised Version saying that "Abraham breathed his last and died." So say The New American Standard Bible, The New American Bible (Roman Catholic), and The Jerusalem Bible (also Roman Catholic). The English translation long published by the Jewish Publications Society of America simply says that "Abraham expired," which is a more accurate rendering.

How can we account for the wording "gave up the ghost" and "yielded up the ghost" in our beloved English version authorized by King James I of England, as the legal head of the Anglican Church? It was first published in 1611 A.D., when the great religious reformation in Europe was calling all Christians to return to the Bible, and the Bible only, as the infallible standard of true religious doctrines, and the true basis of reform. The Reformation had not yet completed its work of discarding the erroneous teachings and superstitious practices which the state church of the Dark Ages had accumulated during centuries of apostasy and handed down as ecclesiastical tradition.

Furthermore, the old English words "ghost" and "ghostly" in 1611 were not in those days so limited to the pagan concept of spooks, hobgoblins, imps, phantoms, etc., as they are today. The Anglican scholars, plus a few Puritan ones, who produced the English version of 1611, were accustomed to speaking of the "Holy Ghost." As "ghostly advisers," pastors gave "ghostly counsel" and "ghostly comfort" to people, for a clergyman was supposed to be a "ghostly man." Such terms as "ghost" and "ghostly" make sense when we remember that they were then common English equivalents of "spirit" and "spiritual," terms, which we have inherited from the Latin language. Today the terms "ghost" and "ghostly" are mainly limited to supposed apparitions of the dead; though we still hear it said at times that such-and-such a person or thing "doesn't have a ghost of a chance," or you "don't have a ghost of an idea" of what may have happened in certain cases.

At any rate, the King James Version is still my favorite Bible text in English, and I prefer it over some modern versions which are often mainly paraphrasings of the Bible text.

Now this fact stands out clearly: While the Bible does not say in any instance that a man becomes a ghost when he dies, it tells us plainly and beyond a shadow of a doubt that he gives up, or is deprived of, something when he dies. What is it?

The Good Book says that "God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath [neshamah] of life; and man became a living soul [nephesh]." Genesis 2:7.

Note the sequence of the steps in the process of the creation of man: First, man was made of the dust of the ground. Second, God breathed into his lifeless body the breath (neshamah) of life. The result: "Man became a living soul [nephesh]."

It is logical to assume that the death of man is a reversal of the creation process. Man was told that if he should sin he would "surely die." Genesis 2:17. And when man did sin, the Lord informed him: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Genesis 3:19.

Note that when he dies, man himself goes back to the dust of the ground. Where, then, does the breath (neshamah) of life go when a man dies?

The Word of God says: "His [man's] breath [ruach] goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." Psalm 146:4. Yes, at death man himself returns to the dust of the earth. And at that time his breath, also, called ruach in Hebrew, leaves him. As a result, the man ceases to think, which is something dead persons are unable to do. "For the dead know not anything." Ecclesiastes 9:5.

Where does man's breath (ruach) go when he dies? "Then [at death] shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit [ruach] shall return unto God who gave it." Ecclesiastes 12:7. This makes it clear that at death only the "spirit" or breath of life--but not the man himself--goes back to God, the Life-giver. That, too, is logical, for "He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. ... For in Him we live, and move, and have our being." Acts 17:25,28.

Hence we find the psalmist saying to the Lord: "With Thee is the fountain of life." Psalm 36:9. Also: "Thou [God] takest away their breath [ruach], they die, and return to their dust." Psalm 104:29. Note, again, that it is man and not the breath of life that returns to dust. When a man dies, the "breath" or "spirit" returns to God, for He takes it from every one of them, the good and the bad alike.

In these Scripture passages we have seen that the terms "breath" (neshamah) and "spirit" (ruach) are used synonymously as the life-giving element that comes from God and is essential to man's existence as a living soul (nephesh).

We read concerning the family of Noah, and some animals and fowls shortly before the Flood came: "They went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath [ruach] of life." Genesis 7:15. But when the Deluge came, "All flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died." Verses 21,22. The Hebrew text says: "the breath of the spirit of life."

Hence The New American Standard Bible renders more accurately verse 22 by saying that "of all that was on the dry land died, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died." This shows that the words "breath" (neshamah) and "spirit" (ruach) were used synonymously in the Old Testament as shorter forms for the full form "the breath [neshamah] of the spirit [ruach] of life." Such, also, is the marginal reading given in the King James Version published by both the Cambridge University Press and the Oxford University Press.

In Genesis 35:18 it is said concerning Rachel that while she was giving birth to her second son, "her soul [nephesh] was in departing, (for she died)." This does not mean that she departed as a ghost, for the text explicitly states that "she died." Now, as we recall that it was when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, that "man became a living soul [nephesh]" (Genesis 2:7), we can readily see that when Rachel died, the breath of life departed from her, so that her existence as a living soul then ended. Not the slightest hint is given to show that Rachel became a ghost when she expired.

According to 1 Kings 17, the son of a widow of Zarephath became ill, "and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath [neshamah] left in him." Verse 17. In j behalf of the lad, Elijah prayed to God: "I pray Thee, let the child's soul [nephesh] come into him again." Verse 21. The Lord granted that request, "and the soul [nephesh] of the child came into him again, and he revived." Verse 22. Then the prophet said to the widow, "See, thy son liveth." Verse 23.

Inasmuch as "there was no breath left in him," it is evident that the boy had died. As a result, his condition as a living soul (nephesh) had ended. When the Lord restored him to life, the boy's condition as a living soul was resumed. No intimation is given to suggest that the lad became a ghost when "there was no breath [neshamah] left in him."

In the New Testament of the King James Version it is stated concerning four persons that each of them "gave up the ghost" or "yielded up the ghost" when he died. In two such accounts the Greek noun pneuma is rendered as "ghost But in these instances (Matthew 27:50 and John 19:30) the Greek term is used as the equivalent of the Hebrew word ruach, and means the "spirit" or the breath of life from God, by which man became "a living soul."

In Mark 15:37,39 and Luke 23:46 the Greek verb ekpneo is rendered as "gave up the ghost." The prefix ek (meanmg out) and the verb pneo ("to blow, to breathe") are combined as ekpneo, which means "to breathe out," "to exhale," or "to gasp." Several modern versions which are not paraphrasings render the verb as "breathed his last." Some simply say he "died."

In mentioning the deaths of Ananias, Sapphira, and King Herod, the King James Verson states that they "gave up the ghost" or "yielded up the ghost." Acts 5:5,10; 12:23. The Greek verb used in these instances is eksucho, which is correctly rendered as "died" in several modern translations of the New Testament. No "ghost" is mentioned here.

The answer to the question, "Will you become a ghost when you die?" is, No. The Bible tells us that when you die you will return to the dust of the earth, that the breath of life within you will return to God, the Life-giver, and you will cease to be a living soul until the resurrection of your body.

But our Saviour has said: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." John 5:28,29.

Our prayer for you, dear reader, is that you will so faithfully live that if it should be your lot to die before Christ comes to raise the dead, you will be among those who shall come forth from the grave in the resurrection of life--everlasting life. Christ has given us His pledged word: "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Revelation 2:7. And, "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." Verse 11.

"Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14.

Little did John D. Fox and his family in Hydesville, New York, imagine what would be the result of their being mysteriously awakened from their sleep night after night in 1948 by eerie noises. After many efforts to discover the cause of the nightly disturbance, Kate and Margaret, daughters of Mr. Fox, devised a system of rappings by which they were able to communicate with the spirit that made the noises. By 1849 the "rappings" going on in the Fox home became sensational news, and out of curiosity multitudes of people flocked there from far and near.

Many went away convinced that the phenomena manifested there were the work of some invisible, superhuman agency. Communications from the spirit claimed that it was the ghost of a peddler who had been murdered, robbed, and buried in the basement of the house a many years before. Conclusive evidence of the finding of the skeletal remains of a dead man in the dirt beneath the house is lacking, but if such bones had been found, the find would not have proved the claim of the spirit to be true.

That experience marked the beginning of an interest in spiritism that has spread far and wide. In its issue of April, 1941, p. 210, the Scientific American announced the inauguration of a new investigation of spiritistic phenomena. At that time that magazine added $5,000 to the standing award of $10,000 which was instituted some years earlier by the Universal Council for Psychic Research, hoping that the total of $15,000 would be an incentive for mediums and others claiming psychic powers to cooperate. Mr. Joseph Dunninger, chairman of the Universal Council for Psychic Research, was designated as head of the investigating committee approved by the Scientific American. It was stipulated that the combined award would be available for two years from March 15, 1941, to any medium or other person who could produce any effect in spiritism or any supernatural manifestation which Mr. Dunninger could not duplicate or explain through natural or scientific means.

In its issue of April, 1943, the Scientific American announced that its two-year investigation was closed, and that they "have been unable to establish any clear-cut, solid, basic authority for the supposed existence of what are commonly known as psychic phenomena." The magazine stated that although it had withdrawn its $5,000 award, "the $10,000 offer of the Universal Council for Psychic Research still stands." Page 147.

This announcement by the Scientific American ought not to lead anybody to suppose the results of the investigation it undertook conclusively proves that no such thing as genuine psychic phenomena exists. The Sacred Scriptures clearly predict that in the last days there will be an extraordinary manifestation of psychic phenomena that will be the wonder of the world at large. Jesus Himself predicted it and emphatically declared that last-day spiritistic marvels would be exceptionally delusive. "For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before." Matthew 24:24,25. He especially warned against belief in popular seances--spiritistic phenomena "in the secret chambers"--where secret communications with Christ are said to be had. "Believe it not," He declared. Verse 26.

In testing the claims of spiritism, we must seek the answers to two fundamental questions: (1) Is it certain that there exist invisible, superhuman spirit beings that are able to make contacts with men living on earth? (2) Is it possible that such spirits are human beings who have lived and died here in this world?

While it is true that much trickery has been performed by men skilled in sleight-of-hand and other means devised to produce fake spiritistic phenomena, yet spiritism can not be cast aside as chicanery of men.

The Bible repeatedly speaks of an order of heavenly intelligences called "angels" and "spirits." Hebrews 1:13,14; Psalm 104:4. But they are not ghosts of dead men. When the Lord created this world, "the morning stars and together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job 38:7. Angels are a superhuman order of beings, for man was made "a little lower than the angels." Psalm 8:5. And the angels "are greater in power and might" than man. 2 Peter 2:11. The Holy Scriptures tell of many mighty wonders performed by them. John saw "the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." Revelation 5:11. Paul speaks of them as "an innumerable company of angels." Hebrews 12:22. How long they have existed, the Bible does not say.

Lucifer, the anointed cherub attending the throne of God (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19), rebelled against the government of heaven, and a vast host of the angels--at least one third of their number--joined him in that revolt. Revelation 12:7-9. And these evil fallen angels are here on this earth. "The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Verse 9.

Angels have the power to assume the form and appearance of human beings, and can use men as mediums through whom to speak. See Genesis 18:1-35; Judges 6:22; 13:21; Hebrews 13:2. The angel that obstructed the passage of Balaam spoke to him through the medium of the ass (Numbers 22:21-25), and Satan spoke to Eve in Eden through the medium of the serpent. Genesis 3:1-4. Instances of spiritism in the New Testament times are recorded in Acts 8:9-11; 16-16,18; 19:13-20.

A sorcerer is a person who uses power gained from the assistance or control of evil spirits, especially for divining. The Bible expressly declares that sorcerers (spirit mediums) will not have a part in the better world to come. Revelation 22:15. Witchcraft is placed in the same category, for it is nothing else than a form of sorcery. Galatians 5:20, 21. The final destination of those who practice these arts will be the lake of fire if they do not repent and turn from their evil ways. Revelation 21:8.

God not only forbids the practice of spiritism, but under the theocracy of Israel He made it punishable by death. Leviticus 19:31; Exodus 22:18. To His people of old He said: "There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord." Deuteronomy 18:10-12. Note that He not only condemns "a consulter with familiar spirits," but also "a necromancer." Necromancy is the art of revealing pretended communications from spirits of the dead.

At first Saul, king of Israel (1095-1055 B.C.), faithfully enforced the nation's laws against the practice of spiritism. But in time he came to disregard the requirements of God. After many years of disobedience, the king saw the Philistine armies gathered against him. Samuel, the prophet, was then dead, having been buried in Ramah.

"And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets." 1 Samuel 28:36. God does not answer the prayer of those who are bent on disregarding His law. "If I regard iniquity in mine heart, the Lord will not hear me," said David. Psalm 66:18. "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." Proverbs 28:9. But God hears those who seek to be obedient. "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." 1 John 3:22.

Instead of humbling himself before God in repentance and confession, the wicked King Saul decided to consult a spirit medium. Because he hitherto had prosecuted those who practiced spiritism, the mediums kept themselves in hiding and did a "black market" business When he asked his servants where he might find a woman "that hath a familiar spirit, they told him that there was one at Endor. Taking two men with him, the king went by night to her abode and consulted her, saying: "Divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee....Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel." I Samuel 28:7-11.

Describing what she saw, the medium said: "I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he [Saul] said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel .... And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? and Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do." Verses 12-15.

Saul thought the medium was talking to the dead prophet, for the spirit that communicated with him through her represented himself as being the ghost of Samuel. This proves that the demons can impersonate dead persons.

The tragic result of Saul's experience is tersely recorded in these words: "So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; and inquired not of the Lord: therefore He slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David, the son of Jesse." 1 Chronicles 10:13,14; 1 Samuel 31:1-6. The Lord abandoned the wicked king to his enemies, and he died a suicide in battle. Verse 4.

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." 1 Timothy 4:1.

The fundamental "doctrine" of spiritism is what the devil taught Adam and Eve in Eden when he seduced them into sin. God had said of the forbidden tree: "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Genesis 2:16,17. Satan contradicted this statement, saying: "Ye shall not surely die." Genesis 3:4. The system of Spiritualism is built upon this satanic proposition. It alleges that men do not die at death, but have an immortal soul that will continue to live thereafter in spirit form, and that mediums can communicate with the dead and obtain information from them. In this teaching spiritism contradicts the Bible, which declares: "The living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything .... Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:5,6. The dead do not know that God exists, as David says: "In death there is no remembrance of Thee." Psalm 6:5. "The dead praise not the Lord." Psalm 115:17. The reason for this is as follows: "His [man's] breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." Psalm 146:3,4.