By Sonya Delgado
The Bible is regarded as a book of life and love. So who would think there are pretty scary stories written in it? These stories may have been the inspiration for some modern horror flicks we see. Here are some:
1. Saul speaks to a dead prophet Samuel
Saul was the first king of Israel. He was tall and handsome, but a little insecure. Towards the end of his reign his insecurity got the best of him and he defied God’s recurring warning not to engage in witchcraft.
In 1 Samuel 28, a story unfolds where Saul has come to the end of his rope. He was about to go to war with the Philistines and he wanted to ask God if he would survive. Since God wasn’t answering his prayers and Samuel was already dead, he did not know who consult. So he asked his men to find him a witch.
Because Saul banned all mediums and spiritists from the land, he had to travel to Endor in disguise to consult with a spiritist. There he asked the witch to bring up Samuel.
When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Saul then asked her what she saw, and she answered, “I see a ghostly figure coming up out of the earth.”
Now, that is one scary encounter that teaches us not to dabble in sorcery.
2. Holy people rise from the dead
Zombie stories are not just found in movies, they are also in the Bible.
Matthew 27 tells of the time when Jesus died and the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. It was scary enough already when the earth shook and the rocks split. Then the tombs broke open and “the bodies of the many holy people who died were raised to life.”
You can just imagine how frightened the people they appeared to were. The centurion and the guards who witnessed all of it were certainly terrified.
This story, however, was not meant to scare people but to show that Jesus’ death and resurrection was a major event. The centurion, while he was initially terrified, came to the realization that Jesus was the Son of God.
3. Evil spirits overpower the seven sons of Sceva
The Exorcist and The Exorcism of Mary Rose brought many a sleepless nights to those who watched it. These sensationalized depictions of demonic possessions are said to be inspired by real stories.
The Bible also has a few exorcism stories. One of the scariest exorcism stories from the Bible is written in Acts 19.
The story goes that there were some Jews who went around exorcising people in the name of Jesus. The seven sons of Sceva, a chief priest, were among those doing it.
One day, as they were trying to drive out an evil spirit, it retorted, “Jesus I know, Paul I know, but who are you?” After saying this, the man who had the evil sprit jumped on them and overpowered them. The seven sons of Sceva were so severely beaten that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
This event scared the people living in Ephesus so much that others who were doing it confessed openly and those who practiced sorcery burned their scrolls publicly. The people also held the Name of Jesus in high honor after that terrifying event.
Witches summoning spirits of the dead, dead people rising from the grave, and violent evil spirits — these are not just movie plots but actual events recorded in the Bible.