The Unseen or ‘Spirit’ World Around Us – Is It Real?

1. The ‘Unseen’ World has ‘Power’

Most people can relate to connecting an electrical appliance into a wall socket to utilize the electrical energy to operate one of many modern-day appliances. Electricity cannot be seen or heard, yet we instantly know its presence if we happen to touch one of its conductors accidentally. We readily accept that electricity exists in the ‘unseen’ world around us, and that it is associated with power (or energy). As with fire, electricity can be our servant if we remain in control of it, or it can kill us if we show it disrespect.

There are other examples of energy sources present in the ‘unseen’ world if we take the time to consider them. Magnetism is a good illustrator of this, because technology has harnessed the power contained within the invisible magnetic field surrounding a magnet to produce both small and large amounts of electrical power. Other invisible forces we can relate to in a similar manner are nuclear (power generation and medical), microwave (medical, domestic cooking), wind and solar (renewable energy), etc. – yet we simply accept the presence of these (invisible) energy sources without asking too many questions. However, their physical presence (such as poles and power lines) stand as a silent sentinel to indicate that there is possibly more to the unseen world around us than simply drawing the energy we need from it.

If we accept from the above evidence that there is an ‘unseen’ world from which we draw energy, then it is worth considering that there may be other ‘things’ that inhabit this ‘unseen’ world also.

2. The ‘Unseen’ World has ‘Spirits’

It is easy to dismiss the prospect of ‘spirit’ beings inhabiting the unseen world around us, but it is interesting to note that clairvoyants and psychics not only have the ability to contact these ‘spirits,’ but they are able to communicate with them. A quick Google search can confirm that for a number of reasons, people from all walks of life engage those who offer these spiritual services for assistance. Most psychics offer their services to business leaders and individuals when they have a need for some ‘spiritual guidance’ at difficult times in their lives. These people call upon certain ‘spirit beings’ to mediate information between this unseen world and our physical world to their earthbound clients. This claim is an established fact. It can be concluded from this that both energy and ‘spirits’ inhabit the ‘unseen’ world. These spirits not only have intelligence, but are able to communicate information to people through mediums such as clairvoyants and psychics.

If we examine human history that extends back thousands of years, a conclusion can be drawn that people from all levels of society throughout all nations and cultures have practiced some form of religion. An ancient religion that associates directly with spirits is Witchcraft. In this, witches worship and communicate with beings in the unseen world such as land, bird, water, reptile, bug, mythic and extinct spirit guides, together with brownies, elves, fairies, fauns, gnomes, leprechauns, nymphs and pixies, amongst others. This claim is easily confirmed using an appropriate Google search. Again, this means that within the ‘unseen’ world where energy and ‘spirits’ are present, religions (like Witchcraft) continue to associate with spirit beings today in the same manner as those who created their religion, thousands of years ago.

3. More about the ‘Unseen’ World’s ‘Spirits’

If we try to discover further information about religion from ancient history, any investigation would reveal that the beliefs and practices of all ancient (and modern) religions have a variety of differences. Some religions worship gods made of wood, stone or metal, whereas others use a set of beliefs termed ‘faith’ that originated in writings termed ‘holy scriptures.’ A number of these religions deal with unseen spirits in an open or direct manner, whereas others are less involved or ignore them completely. Christianity is a good example of this where some Christians simply ‘pray’ and don’t do much else, whereas other Christians cast evil spirits out of people.

If we were to accept that the Bible is a reliable source of historical information regarding the types of spirit beings that exist within the spirit world, the next question might be – can we believe what the Bible reveals to us about these things or not? If we use statistics as a guide to help resolve this question, one would discover that Moses wrote the Book of Genesis (the Book of Beginnings) some 3,800 years ago, and the Bible concluded with the New Testament writings of the apostles in the early church, approximately 2,000 years ago. According to Wikipedia, the number of copies of the Bible sold or distributed throughout the world number into “the billions,” therefore, from both a historical and spiritual perspective, the Bible is not only a rich source of information about humanity and the physical world we live in, but it reveals many things about the spirit world also. To ignore the Bible is to ignore an ancient source of information that has been available to the English-speaking world for some 400 years, that contains the ancient writings of the both the Old and New Testament books.

In respect of our question, (Is the Spirit World Real?) the Bible identifies the types of ‘beings’ that inhabit this unseen world. It also identifies where certain types of spirit beings are located. In this regard, the following spirit beings have been described as inhabiting certain ‘principalities’ that are identified below:

Heaven. God is the Creator of everything in both the physical and spiritual worlds. He is represented in the form of three separate persons – God the Father (supreme), His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
Cherubim and Seraphim are also spirit beings that serve God in Heaven
Angels are mentioned in scripture that inhabit Heaven with God. These are termed, ‘holy angels.’
The ‘Heavenlies’. There are angels mentioned in scripture who inhabit the regions of the upper atmosphere around the earth. These angels are those who oppose God’s purposes on the earth and are referred to as ‘fallen angels.’
Earth. Evil spirits walk upon the surface of the earth and seek to enter into the physical bodies of people. This usually happens when they entice people to commit acts of sin, which represents rebellion from those created in God’s image (humankind) towards their Creator. The Bible reveals that there is a variety of evil spirits in this world that cause many forms of illnesses in people (both psychologically and medically), but their aim is to bring about premature death to their victims and eternal torment to their souls.
Hell. The Bible reveals there are five separate compartments located in the centre of the earth that God created to imprison His rebel spirits – both angelic and human. As all people are spiritual beings encased in their physical body while alive on the earth, at death, their soul either ascends to its Creator God, or descends into Hell. Each soul’s eternal destiny is determined by its sinfulness (or rebellion) towards God during its lifetime on the earth.

4. What Happens when we Die?

A more serious issue that should concern every person is – what happens when we die? Is it simply “lights out” after the physical body dies as some people prefer to imagine in their ignorance, or is there an afterlife as the Bible says there is? To illustrate this point a little further, the Bible confirms that from our Creator’s perspective, the life we live doesn’t last very long at all in terms of the timelessness of eternity. The Bible illustrates how God views each person’s lifetime in the verses of scripture below:

(James 4:14) “…For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

(Psalm 90:9-10) “… we spend our years as a tale that is told. {10} The days of our years are threescore years and ten [or 70]; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years [80], yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it [our life] is soon cut off [in death], and we fly away [when our soul departs the dead body into the spirit world].”

The words of Psalm 90 (above) confirm from elsewhere in the Bible that we are spirit beings encased in an ‘Earthsuit’ that we term, the human body. While our bodies remain alive and healthy, we (as spirit beings) are able to move about on the earth to live out our lifetime as we choose. However, when our ‘Earthsuit’ dies, its spiritual inhabitant (the human soul) is then released into the timelessness of eternity and taken to either one of two places located within the spirit world (Luke 16:22).

If the soul recognized and served its Creator and His Son Jesus Christ during its earthbound lifetime, then at death, it will be transported to Heaven to wait for a judgment of rewards that will be fulfilled as ‘blessings’ that will extend into eternity (1 Cor 3:9-15). In contrast to this, the soul that has rejected its Creator and His Son Jesus Christ will be transported to the underworld (or Hell) to await the Day of Judgment.

(Luke 16:23-24) “And in hell he [the rich man] lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. {24} And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.”

The defining issue of where human souls are transported to after death is determined by their sinfulness. It is in this life that our Creator gives us our free will to determine whether eternal life or eternal death are ‘real’ – and whether we should prepare for eternal life while the time remains; or choose to ignore this opportunity and take a gamble on the Bible simply being a useless ‘fairy tale.’