The Invisible Dimension: Spirit-Beings, the Afterlife, and Ghosts

This is one of the most well researched and best written books Christian books I've read for a long time. The writing is clear, informative, and enjoyable. The author obviously has a great deal of knowledge of both the Bible and the paranormal. If you really want to know what the early Christians believed about life after death, this is the book for you. Highly recommended. I look forward to reading future books by this author.

Informative and absorbing from the first page. Many penny drop moments. Fabulous read so far!

Arnold's positive reviewers (no doubt sincerely motivated readers, although why do most stay anonymous?) sadly overstate the book's virtues. They even seem to be contributing to an echo chamber of sorts, as some of their more uninformed evaluations virtually border on the rhapsodic for what is a frankly pedestrian book. The book does have some worthy information on the Bible's various categories of angelic beings, which the author explains accurately & memorably, plus the author argues rightly for the 'new heavens & new earth' to come; but the main focus of the study assumes an a priori dualistic view of humans to reach unwarranted & speculative conclusions about soul-survival in an animated, bustling Sheol/Hades, itself highly questionable. The book uses some feeble biblical argumentation to get to this point e.g. alleging that the classic resurrection text Isa.26 is really about 'dwelling places in Sheol', alongside other idiosyncratic readings of Ps.23, Mt.25:31-46 (which oddly he only starts reading from v.34) & 1 Pt.4:6, to name but a few maverick interpretations on offer. The author gets the wrong Gk noun (it is pneuma, not phantasma) in Lk.24:39 as well, suggesting either poor research or sloppy editing or both. He unjustly disparages the long-standing Christian tradition of mortalism in an over-hasty & rather high-handed, even imperious fashion. Even worse, the author (who says he is a Protestant) reckons God inspired the writers of the intertestamental or 'deuterocanonical' books (sometimes called Apocrypha), a judgement which better befits an Orthodox or RC believer. His web-site even claims the LXX is inspired. Lastly & even more disconcertingly, Arnold suggests how 'voices' & 'spirit-beings' that contact people in their sleep & dreams today actually come from God, whereas the Bible specifies (Heb.1:2, 2 Tim.3:16) HOW God communicates to humans, but it isn't through spooky voices or dreams. Overall, the book is well-researched & confidently written, but only seems convincing if you switch off your Bible radar, so to speak. Full review at 'afterlife'.

I'm currently reading Matt Arnold's fascinating book called the Invisible Dimension, Spirit-Beings, Ghosts and the Afterlife. Matt is a serious bible scholar and editor of the magazine, the Christian Parapsychologist. He did a Master's thesis on Paranormal Hauntings and deliverance ministry. He is also a science teacher so approaches the subject with reason and revelation.For many Christians in the West this is an unknown topic and often kept at a distance due to fear. Rather than treating the subject with respect and wisdom, Christians in the West can be dismissive, rationalising the spirit realm as a psychological reaction to the unexplained. This results in ignorance and naivety, despite being told in 2 Corinthians 2:11 not to be ignorant of the devices of dark spiritual forces "in order that Satan might not outwit us."Yet if you go to any local bookshop, and especially the big chains such as W H Smith and Waterstones, the teenager section is full of stories of ghosts, witches, vampires and supernatural happenings. Young people are intrigued and drawn to stories of spiritual power and alternative realities. How are Christians to respond to this deep spiritual interest? Ignoring it, or being naive or dismissive will simply result in young people turning to spiritual power that is harmful. We need to be alert, aware and spiritually mature, able to discern and pray with authority.There is an intriguing bible verse in Deuteronomy 18 that forbids people to "cast spells, consult ghosts or spirits or seek oracles from the dead." That means the bible takes seriously the power of these spiritual realities. They are real and young people are discovering this for themselves. When I did youth work in Prestonpans, I discovered this all the time. Most of the teens had tried ouija boards, mock seances, seen ghosts and dabbled in a form of witchcraft using spells they bought in bookshops or watched on YouTube/Tiktok. Of course some of it was their imagination and late night ghost stories, but not all of it. I was once asked to come round to the flat of two young people who were troubled by strange noises and an eery feeling in their house. They showed me a photograph of a scary face at a window outside the second story flat. They genuinely believed (and so did I) that the apartment was experiencing some kind of phenomena. Once I had prayed, they decided to get right with God and never had trouble in the house again.This is one of the reasons I love the example of the Celtic Church, they were familiar with this realm because it was prevalent in their culture. Columba would regularly tackle spiritual forces that resisted his work, he would enlist the aid of angels. You may not agree with all of Matt's thoughts in his insightful book (he challenges some standard thinking) but I encourage you to open your eyes not just for the sake of knowledge but for the next generation of spiritual seekers to come.

Superb

I love this book. I wish I had had it several years ago. It takes other books dealing with the unseen realm to another with detail and solid exegesis - paying special attention to the teachings of cultures around the Israelites and the early church - in particular the 2nd temple period of time. I will probably read this again and as many books as I read (huh Amazon?) that’s a rare thing. Buy this book - you won’t be disappointed.