The Bible and the Paranormal
A New Perspective
Part 3

Evil, Familiar, and Unclean Spirits
         The phrase "evil spirit" appears seven times in the Old Testament and every time it is found, those spirits are sent directly from God; certainly, not an evil source. The phrases "evil spirit and evil spirits" appear six times in the New Testament and refer directly to the devils, commonly called "demons", that were exorcised from people by Jesus and his apostles.
         The phrase "familiar spirits" is found only in the Old Testament and "familiar” is taken from the Hebrew word owb, pronounced obe; properly, a mumble. In the biblical event associated with the "Witch of Endor", we get a clear understanding that these entities are spirits of dead humans. In 1 Samuel 28, Saul seeks out this woman, who is not actually called a witch, but has contact with "familiar spirits", in order to communicate with the spirit of deceased Samuel, whom she is able to successfully summon. Thus, "familiar spirits” are actually the spirits of the dead and, of course, not necessarily spirits of evil or lost souls.
         The phrases "unclean spirit and unclean spirits" appear 21 times in the New Testament and refer directly to devils, commonly called demons, which are considered "evil" only within the bodies they possess. The word "unclean" is taken from the Greek word akathartos, pronounced ak-ath'-ar-tos, meaning; impure. Although devils are of a spiritual nature, there is no indication that devils have any powers they are able to project beyond their hosts.

Devils and Demons
         The word "demon" does not appear in in the Bible, but the word "devil" does. These beings that inhabit the bodies of living creatures, including humans, were the focus of many events in the New Testament. The most recognizable of those events was the encounter Jesus had with a possessed man, who lived in the tombs and mountains of the Gadarenes. Jesus’ encounter with this hoard of devils is described in Mark 5 and Luke 8. We will give a capsulation of what occurred taken from those two chapters.
         This man had been infested with about 2000 devils and had defied all previous attempts to restrain the individual they possessed, including breaking chains. He roamed around naked, crying out night and day, and cutting himself with stones. When Jesus first approached the man, the devils recognized him and knew they were about to be exorcised. They also perceived that Jesus was about to cast them all into the sea; obviously something they dreaded for some unknown reason, so they begged him to send them into a herd of swine grazing nearby.
         Jesus obliged their request, but, then, something happened, which is seldom considered from the pulpit; they suddenly bolted over a cliff right into the sea, which the devils had just begged Jesus not to send them into. We know from biblical descriptions, history, and modern revelations about demonic possession that these entities control the hosts they possess, which leaves an unasked and unanswered question. Why did the herd of swine defy that control and carry these devils exactly where they did not want to go?
         Although no reason is given as to why this suicidal event took place, it is not hard to consider a very interesting possibility. First, it does seem odd that Jesus seemed to have no problem accommodating their request to possess the swine, even though his first thought was to deep-six them. Two-thousand powerful and viciously evil entities were probably a handful, even for the human form of a god. Could it be that Jesus tricked them, by allowing them to enter the swine, which may have been easier to control, and then used his power to run the herd into the sea? Speculation, of course, but this may give new understanding to how this bizarre event ended.

Who are the Demons?
         Little is ever considered about what the demons are and how they came to be persecutors of humans, but the answer is found in the very first book of the Bible. Genesis 6:4 states:
♦ "There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown."
         But, of course, this says nothing about demons and requires we go to another book written by a patriarch, who was so loved by God that he just took him off the Earth and kept him with him:
♦ "And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." (Genesis 5:23-24)
         The Book of Enoch was known and used before the original Bible was compiled by the first theologian, Eusebius of the Universal, (Catholic), Church, which was established by the Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century. Eusebius chose not to include the writings of Enoch in that original Bible. In the writings of Enoch we find the origins of demons. We know from the single verse in Genesis that angels mated with demons and produced mutant giants, but nothing more. What Enoch tells us is that those giants became a serious threat to the environment and were killed by the flood. But, only being partially human, the spirits of those giants survived the deluge and left their original bodies. Here are excerpts from Enoch's description of what occurred before and after the flood:
♦ "And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood." (Enoch 7:2- 6)
♦ "And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; they shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called. As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling, but as for the spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth, on the earth shall be their dwelling. And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, but nevertheless hunger and thirst, and cause offences. And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them." (Enoch 15:8-12)
         Here we have the origin of the demons, which is completely ignored by the pulpit. They are called fallen angels and the Nephilim, and associated with Satan, but the truth is quite simple. They are the spirits of the Nephilim, the giants, which were hybrids produced by angels, and have no scriptural relationship to Satan.

The Biblical Bestiary
         Merriam-Webster defines cryptozoology as the study of the lore concerning legendary animals, especially in order to evaluate the possibility of their existence. The word "cryptozoology" did not appear in the English language until 1969, but it has sparked the imagination and spawned debate throughout modern history. With the uncompromising attitude of modern science and the enterprise of the sensationalist tabloid industry, it has long been the brunt of official ridicule. A classic example of scientific refusal to accept anything out of the ordinary is the infamous "Platypus Fraud". When first seen in 1797 near Sydney Australia, it generated local excitement, but scientific denial. The duck-billed, web-footed, beaver-tailed, egg-laying, warm-blooded amphibian was declared a fraud and written off as a clever taxidermist trick by science. Though somewhat more sophisticated now, science is no less skeptical; denying a wealth of cultural evidence in ancient writings that the creatures of ancient lore may have been more than myth.
         One of the more prominent ancient writings, clearly presenting evidence of anomalous creatures, is also the world's longest-running bestseller; the Bible. In the pages of the Bible are found leviathans, dragons, behemoths, unicorns, flying, fiery serpents, and cockatrices.

Leviathan: A Gigantic and Terrifying, Fire-Breathing, Smoke-Snorting, Stone-Hearted Sea Monster
         We will start at the top, the biggest of the animal kingdom; Leviathan. The detailed description of this creature, which is found in Job 41:1-33, begins with taunting from God. He asks Job if leviathan can be caught with hook and line, led around by the nose with a rope, or kept in a cage like a pet? He asks if this beast will serve man, if any can make a meal of it, could anyone ride leviathan like a horse, or could it be butchered and eaten, or sold in the market? Or, if Job could catch him with a harpoon or hurt him with spears? In other words. God is showing Job that he is powerless to control this creature.
         Just from some of the less remarkable statements about Leviathan, we can see it is not domestic and won't be tamed or ridden and cannot be caught or harmed, which obviously indicates it is large, powerful, and beyond any human effort to control or harm. Here are some of the other interesting descriptions found in Job about Leviathan:
♦ "Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? None is so fierce that dare stir him up.." (Job 41:9-10)
This indicates that just the very sight of this creature causes men to faint and even the bravest do not dare to disturb Leviathan.
♦ "Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about." (Job 41:14)
Just the teeth of Leviathan are frightful.
♦ "His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal. One is so near to another, that no air can come between them. They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered." (Job 41:15-17)
Leviathan is covered with tight-fitting, air-tight, impenetrable, shield-like scales.
♦ "By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning." (Job 41:18)
The word "neesings" comes from etiyshah, meaning; sneezing. Lights shine from the nose of Leviathan when it sneezes, and its eyes project beams of light.
♦ "Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out." (Job 41:19)
From Leviathan's mouth come bright lights and fire-like sparks.
♦ "Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.." (Job 41:20)
Steam-like vapors come from the nose of Leviathan.
♦ "His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth." (Job 41:21)
The breath of Leviathan glows and gleaming beams of light come from its mouth.
♦ "In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him." (Job 41:22)
Leviathan has great force in his neck and terror dances before it.
♦ "When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves." (Job 41:25)
To put it gently, mighty men lose control of their bowels, when Leviathan stands up.
♦ "The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon. He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble. Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear. " (Job 41:26-27)
No weapons of Job's era have any effect against Leviathan.
♦ "He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment. 32 He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary." (Job 41:31-32)
Here we see that Leviathan is amphibious, as is verified in Isaiah 27:1 and Psalms 104:26. When swimming, the water around Leviathan seems to boil like a pot, and behind him the water glows as though the water was on fire.
         The previous descriptions of Leviathan show that it is unlike any other creature known to have existed on Earth. Amazingly, the most common explanation from the pulpit for what Leviathan was, is the crocodile. Only one creature has ever been portrayed in history that very closely resembles Leviathan, which is found in the Japanese culture and called Gojira; commonly known as Godzilla.

Dragons in the Bible
         The concept of flying, fire-breathing reptiles is, to most, only the stuff of fairy tales. There is however, so much cross-culture evidence from civilizations having no known interaction that it defies the laws of chance that all are mythical accounts. There are also several historical accounts relating eyewitness testimony of dragon encounters. Dragons have appeared in such widely separated cultures as China, Europe, Iceland, Hawaii, and Vietnam. St. George, the most famous of the dragon slayers, earned his place in dragon lore as a soldier in the Roman army by ridding the city of Silene in Libya of a dragon that had been terrorizing the town, devouring its sheep, as well as its children. England is rife with historical references with actual differences in dragon types reported in several areas.
         The references to dragons in the Bible have been dismissed as everything from overactive imaginations, to hippos, to metaphor. Satan is referred to as a dragon, but the several Old Testament references to dragons are anything but metaphor. Simple observation reveals that they are described in context with well known living creatures. There are several references to dragons in the Bible: Deuteronomy 32:23, Nehemiah 2:13, Job 30:29, Psalms 44:19, 74:13, 91:3, 148:7, Isaiah 13:22, 27:1, 34:13, 35:7, 43:20, Jeremiah 9:11, 10:22, 4:6, 49:33, 51:34, 51:37, Micah 1:8, and Malachi 1:3.

Behold Now Behemoth
         The description of Behemoth can be found in Job 40:15-24. Behemoth is described as a mountain grazing animal with incredible strength, a tail as large as a cedar tree, bones like tubes of brass or rods of iron, and an incredible thirst. As with Leviathan, the church has a strange explanation of Behemoth; claiming it is either a hippo or an elephant.

The "Fearsome" Unicorn
         Contrary to popular belief, Unicorns are not the gentle "white horses with horns" commonly portrayed in paintings. Numbers 23:22 and 24:8 speak of the great strength of the Unicorn. The word "unicorn" comes from the Hebrew word r'em, pronounced reh-ame', meaning; a wild bull, from its conspicuousness.
         The Unicorn is described in Job 39:9-12 as being an incredibly strong creature that cannot be domesticated or trusted:
♦ "Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?" (Job 39:9-12)
         In history there are many references to the Unicorn:
♦ In 416 BC, the Greek physician Ctesias set out to attend to the Persian King Darius II, where he spent 18 years. He later wrote a book called Indica, in which he said: “There are in India certain wild asses which are a large as horses, and larger. They have a horn on the forehead which is about eighteen inches in length.”
♦ Pliny the Elder, in the first century AD, describes “an exceedingly wild beast called the Monoceros (one - horned)...It makes a deep lowing noise, and one black horn two cubits long projects from the middle of its forehead. This animal, they say, cannot be taken alive.”
♦ Aristotle frequently mentioned the unicorn. He said in one passage: “I have found that wild asses as large as horses are to be found in India. It has a horn on the brow, about one cubit and a half in length..”
♦ Julius Caesar said they could be found in the Hercynian Forest.
♦ Alexander the Great is said to have seen one before attempting to invade a certain territory, and took it as a sign not to attack, because the land was protected.
The church, of course, has an explanation for Unicorn, as well; a mountain goat.

Flying, Fiery Serpents
         Flying, fiery serpents are mentioned four times in scripture:
♦ And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died." (Numbers 21:6)
* "Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;" (Deuteronomy 8:15)
♦ "Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent." (Isaiah 14:29)
♦ "The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent" (Isaiah 30:6)
They are also described by the highly respected historian Flavius Josephus in his writing "Antiquities of the Jews", Book II, Chapter 10:
         "But Moses prevented the enemies, and took and led his army before those enemies were apprized of his attacking them; for he did not march by the river, but by land, where he gave a wonderful demonstration of his sagacity; for when the ground was difficult to be passed over, because of the multitude of serpents, (which it produces in vast numbers, and, indeed, is singular in some of those productions, which other countries do not breed, and yet such as are worse than others in power and mischief, and an unusual fierceness of sight, some of which ascend out of the ground unseen, and also fly in the air, and so come upon men at unawares, and do them a mischief,) Moses invented a wonderful stratagem to preserve the army safe, and without hurt; for he made baskets, like unto arks, of sedge, and filled them with ibes, and carried them along with them; which animal is the greatest enemy to serpents imaginable, for they fly from them when they come near them; and as they fly they are caught and devoured by them, as if it were done by the harts; but the ibes are tame creatures, and only enemies to the serpentine kind: but about these ibes I say no more at present, since the Greeks themselves are not unacquainted with this sort of bird. As soon, therefore, as Moses was come to the land which was the breeder of these serpents, he let loose the ibes, and by their means"
The church is conspicuously silent on the subject of flying, fiery serpents.

The Cockatrice
         Cockatrices are considered as purely mythical creatures, yet they are described 4 times in scripture:
♦ "And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den." (Isaiah 11:8)
♦ "Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent." (Isaiah 14:29)
♦ "They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper." (Isaiah 59:5)
♦ "For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 8:17)

In Conclusion
         In this series we covered descriptions of levitation, psychokinesis, astral projection, telepathy, pyrokinesis, physical transmutation, invisibility, and super human strength in scripture. None of those anomalous human powers are associated with evil. We have shown that witches, wizards, and sorcerers are associated with magic and discouraged, but not fraught with the evil the Church claims. Appearances by ghosts, and contacting the dead, have no evil associated with them. We have seen that the origin of the only truly threatening paranormal reality in the Bible, evil spirits or demons, is completely misrepresented or, at least, misunderstood by the Church. And, we have demonstrated that the pulpit is clueless, when it comes to the reality about crypto-creatures clearly described in the Bible.
         The true anomaly, and perhaps, the saddest aspect of this paradigm is that the Church condemns any of those that believe in these anomalies and labels them as a threat, at least, and satanic, at worst. Of course, with that attitude, why would this make any difference to those in the paranormal community? The Church doesn’t want them in their midst and why would they want to be? However, as has been demonstrated, the Bible does not agree with Church dogma, but since the Church misrepresents these anomalies in the Bible, most in the paranormal community view the Bible as suspect.
         We have not covered many other paranormal events found in scripture, nor have we even mentioned the hundreds of verses indicating the presence of amazing flying vehicles and technology in the Bible. But, we hope that this writing has presented enough evidence to show those who believe in the paranormal that the Bible agrees with them, and not the radical views of Christian dogma. There is a biblical verse predicting this concept:
♦ "And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (II Timothy 4:4) This verse is used by the Church to condemn those who believe in the paranormal. This closer look at scripture shows that it is, in fact, the Church that not only has made fact a fable, but is the origin of those fables.
         It gives a whole new meaning to the words of Isaiah, when he said:
♦  "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!" (Isaiah 5:20-21)

Responses to a Scholar's Rebuttal