Chapter Thirty Four
Spiritualism
Can Our Dead Speak to Us?
The ministration of holy angels, as presented in the
Scriptures, is a truth most comforting and precious to
every follower of Christ. But the Bible teaching upon this
point has been obscured and perverted by the errors of
popular theology. The doctrine of natural immortality, first
borrowed from the pagan philosophy, and in the darkness of
the great apostasy incorporated into the Christian faith, has
supplanted the truth, so plainly taught in Scripture, that “the
dead know not anything.” Multitudes have come to believe
that it is spirits of the dead who are the “ministering spirits,
sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.”
And this notwithstanding the testimony of Scripture
to the existence of heavenly angels, and their connection with
the history of man, before the death of a human being.
The doctrine of man’s consciousness in death, especially
the belief that spirits of the dead return to minister to the
living, has prepared the way for modern spiritualism. If the
dead are admitted to the presence of God and holy angels,
and privileged with knowledge far exceeding what they before
possessed, why should they not return to the earth to
enlighten and instruct the living? If, as taught by popular
theologians, spirits of the dead are hovering about their
friends on earth, why should they not be permitted to communicate
with them, to warn them against evil, or to comfort
them in sorrow? How can those who believe in man’s
consciousness in death reject what comes to them as divine
light communicated by glorified spirits? Here is a channel
regarded as sacred, through which Satan works for the
accomplishment of his purposes. The fallen angels who do his
bidding appear as messengers from the spirit world. While
professing to bring the living into communication with the
dead, the prince of evil exercises his bewitching influence
upon their minds.
He has power to bring before men the appearance of their
departed friends. The counterfeit is perfect; the familiar
look, the words, the tone, are reproduced with marvelous
distinctness. Many are comforted with the assurance that
their loved ones are enjoying the bliss of heaven, and without
suspicion of danger, they give ear “to seducing spirits, and
doctrines of devils.”
When they have been led to believe that the dead actually
return to communicate with them, Satan causes those to
appear who went into the grave unprepared. They claim to
be happy in heaven and even to occupy exalted positions
there, and thus the error is widely taught that no difference is
made between the righteous and the wicked. The pretended
visitants from the world of spirits sometimes utter cautions
and warnings which prove to be correct. Then, as confidence
is gained, they present doctrines that directly undermine faith
in the Scriptures. With an appearance of deep interest in the
well-being of their friends on earth, they insinuate the most
dangerous errors. The fact that they state some truths, and
are able at times to foretell future events, gives to their statements
an appearance of reliability; and their false teachings
are accepted by the multitudes as readily, and believed as
implicitly, as if they were the most sacred truths of the Bible.
The law of God is set aside, the Spirit of grace despised, the
blood of the covenant counted an unholy thing. The spirits
deny the deity of Christ and place even the Creator on a level
with themselves. Thus under a new disguise the great rebel
still carries on his warfare against God, begun in heaven and
for nearly six thousand years continued upon the earth.
Many endeavor to account for spiritual manifestations by
attributing them wholly to fraud and sleight of hand on the
part of the medium. But while it is true that the results of
trickery have often been palmed off as genuine manifestations,
there have been, also, marked exhibitions of supernatural
power. The mysterious rapping with which modern
spiritualism began was not the result of human trickery or
cunning, but was the direct work of evil angels, who thus
introduced one of the most successful of soul-destroying
delusions. Many will be ensnared through the belief that
spiritualism is a merely human imposture; when brought
face to face with manifestations which they cannot but
regard as supernatural, they will be deceived, and will be led
to accept them as the great power of God.
These persons overlook the testimony of the Scriptures
concerning the wonders wrought by Satan and his agents.
It was by satanic aid that Pharaoh’s magicians were enabled
to counterfeit the work of God. Paul testifies that before the
second advent of Christ there will be similar manifestations
of satanic power. The coming of the Lord is to be preceded
by “the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness.”
2 Thessalonians 2:9,10. And the apostle John, describing the
miracle-working power that will be manifested in the last
days, declares: “He doeth great wonders, so that he maketh
fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of
those miracles which he had power to do.”
Revelation 13:13,
14. No mere impostures are here foretold. Men are deceived
by the miracles which Satan’s agents have power to do, not
which they pretend to do.
The prince of darkness, who has so long bent the powers
of his mastermind to the work of deception, skillfully adapts
his temptations to men of all classes and conditions. To
persons of culture and refinement he presents spiritualism in its
more refined and intellectual aspects, and thus succeeds in
drawing many into his snare. The wisdom which spiritualism
imparts is that described by the apostle James, which
"descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.”
James 3:15. This, however, the great deceiver conceals when
concealment will best suit his purpose. He who could appear
clothed with the brightness of the heavenly seraphs before
Christ in the wilderness of temptation, comes to men in the
most attractive manner as an angel of light. He appeals to
the reason by the presentation of elevating themes; he delights
the fancy with enrapturing scenes; and he enlists the
affections by his eloquent portrayals of love and charity. He
excites the imagination to lofty flights, leading men to take
so great pride in their own wisdom that in their hearts they
despise the Eternal One. That mighty being who could take
the world’s Redeemer to an exceedingly high mountain and
bring before Him all the kingdoms of the earth and the glory
of them, will present his temptations to men in a manner to
pervert the senses of all who are not shielded by divine power.
Satan beguiles men now as he beguiled Eve in Eden by
flattery, by kindling a desire to obtain forbidden knowledge,
by exciting ambition for self-exaltation. It was cherishing
these evils that caused his fall, and through them he aims to
compass the ruin of men. “Ye shall be as gods,” he declares,
"knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:5. Spiritualism teaches
"that man is the creature of progression; that it is his destiny
from his birth to progress, even to eternity, toward the
Godhead.” And again: “Each mind will judge itself and not
another.” “The judgment will be right, because it is the
judgment of self. . . . The throne is within you.” Said a
spiritualistic teacher, as the “spiritual consciousness” awoke
within him: “My fellow men, all were unfallen demigods.”
And another declares: “Any just and perfect being is Christ.”
Thus, in place of the righteousness and perfection of the
infinite God, the true object of adoration; in place of the
perfect righteousness of His law, the true standard of human
attainment, Satan has substituted the sinful, erring nature of
man himself as the only object of adoration, the only rule of
judgment, or standard of character. This is progress, not
upward, but downward.
It is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature
that by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually
adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell.
It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love
and reverence. Man will never rise higher than his standard
of purity or goodness or truth. If self is his loftiest ideal, he
will never attain to anything more exalted. Rather, he will
constantly sink lower and lower. The grace of God alone
has power to exalt man. Left to himself, his course must
inevitably be downward.
To the self-indulgent, the pleasure-loving, the sensual,
spiritualism presents itself under a less subtle disguise than
to the more refined and intellectual; in its grosser forms they
find that which is in harmony with their inclinations. Satan
studies every indication of the frailty of human nature, he
marks the sins which each individual is inclined to commit,
and then he takes care that opportunities shall not be wanting
to gratify the tendency to evil. He tempts men to excess in
that which is in itself lawful, causing them, through
intemperance, to weaken physical, mental, and moral power.
He has destroyed and is destroying thousands through the
indulgence of the passions, thus brutalizing the entire nature
of man. And to complete his work, he declares, through the
spirits that “true knowledge places man above all law;” that
"whatever is, is right;” that “God doth not condemn;” and
that “all sins which are committed are innocent.” When the
people are thus led to believe that desire is the highest law,
that liberty is license, and that man is accountable only to
himself, who can wonder that corruption and depravity teem
on every hand? Multitudes eagerly accept teachings that
leave them at liberty to obey the promptings of the carnal
heart. The reins of self-control are laid upon the neck of
lust, the powers of mind and soul are made subject to the
animal propensities, and Satan exultingly sweeps into his net
thousands who profess to be followers of Christ.
But none need be deceived by the lying claims of spiritualism.
God has given the world sufficient light to enable them
to discover the snare. As already shown, the theory which
forms the very foundation of spiritualism is at war with the
plainest statements of Scripture. The Bible declares that the
dead know not anything, that their thoughts have perished;
they have no part in anything that is done under the sun;
they know nothing of the joys or sorrows of those who were
dearest to them on earth.
Furthermore, God has expressly forbidden all pretended
communication with departed spirits. In the days of the
Hebrews there was a class of people who claimed, as do the
spiritualists of today, to hold communication with the dead.
But the “familiar spirits,” as these visitants from other worlds
were called, are declared by the Bible to be “the spirits of
devils.” (Compare
Numbers 25:1-3;
Psalm 106:28;
1 Corinthians 10:20;
Revelation 16:14.) The work of dealing
with familiar spirits was pronounced an abomination to the
Lord, and was solemnly forbidden under penalty of death.
Leviticus 19:31;
20:27. The very name of witchcraft is now
held in contempt. The claim that men can hold intercourse
with evil spirits is regarded as a fable of the Dark Ages. But
spiritualism, which numbers its converts by hundreds of
thousands, yea, by millions, which has made its way into
scientific circles, which has invaded churches, and has found
favor in legislative bodies, and even in the courts of kings—
this mammoth deception is but a revival, in a new disguise,
of the witchcraft condemned and prohibited of old.
If there were no other evidence of the real character of
spiritualism, it should be enough for the Christian that the
spirits make no difference between righteousness and sin,
between the noblest and purest of the apostles of Christ and
the most corrupt of the servants of Satan. By representing the
basest of men as in heaven, and highly exalted there, Satan
says to the world: “No matter how wicked you are; no matter
whether you believe or disbelieve God and the Bible. Live
as you please; heaven is your home.” The spiritualist teachers
virtually declare: “Everyone that doeth evil is good in the
sight of the Lord, and He delighteth in them; or, Where is
the God of judgment?”
Malachi 2:17. Saith the word of
God: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that
put darkness for light, and light for darkness.”
Isaiah 5:20.
The apostles, as personated by these lying spirits, are made
to contradict what they wrote at the dictation of the Holy
Spirit when on earth. They deny the divine origin of the
Bible, and thus tear away the foundation of the Christian’s
hope and put out the light that reveals the way to heaven.
Satan is making the world believe that the Bible is a mere
fiction, or at least a book suited to the infancy of the race,
but now to be lightly regarded, or cast aside as obsolete. And
to take the place of the word of God he holds our spiritual
manifestations. Here is a channel wholly under his control;
by this means he can make the world believe what he will.
The Book that is to judge him and his followers he puts in
the shade, just where he wants it; the Saviour of the world
he makes to be no more than a common man. And as the
Roman guard that watched the tomb of Jesus spread the
lying report which the priests and elders put into their
mouths to disprove His resurrection, so do the believers in
spiritual manifestations try to make it appear that there is
nothing miraculous in the circumstances of our Saviour’s
life. After thus seeking to put Jesus in the background, they
call attention to their own miracles, declaring that these far
exceed the works of Christ.
It is true that spiritualism is now changing its form and,
veiling some of its more objectionable features, is assuming
a Christian guise. But its utterances from the platform and
the press have been before the public for many years, and
in these its real character stands revealed. These teachings
cannot be denied or hidden.
Even in its present form, so far from being more worthy of
toleration than formerly, it is really a more dangerous,
because a more subtle, deception. While it formerly denounced
Christ and the Bible, it now professes to accept both. But the
Bible is interpreted in a manner that is pleasing to the
unrenewed heart, while its solemn and vital truths are made of
no effect. Love is dwelt upon as the chief attribute of God,
but it is degraded to a weak sentimentalism, making little
distinction between good and evil. God’s justice, His
denunciations of sin, the requirements of His holy law, are all kept
out of sight. The people are taught to regard the Decalogue
as a dead letter. Pleasing, bewitching fables captivate the
senses and lead men to reject the Bible as the foundation of
their faith. Christ is as verily denied as before; but Satan has
so blinded the eyes of the people that the deception is not
discerned.
There are few who have any just conception of the
deceptive power of spiritualism and the danger of coming
under its influence. Many tamper with it merely to gratify their
curiosity. They have no real faith in it and would be filled
with horror at the thought of yielding themselves to the
spirits’ control. But they venture upon the forbidden ground,
and the mighty destroyer exercises his power upon them
against their will. Let them once be induced to submit their
minds to his direction, and he holds them captive. It is
impossible, in their own strength, to break away from the
bewitching, alluring spell. Nothing but the power of God,
granted in answer to the earnest prayer of faith, can deliver
these ensnared souls.
All who indulge sinful traits of character, or willfully
cherish a known sin, are inviting the temptations of Satan.
They separate themselves from God and from the watchcare
of His angels; as the evil one presents his deceptions, they are
without defense and fall an easy prey. Those who thus place
themselves in his power little realize where their course will
end. Having achieved their overthrow, the tempter will
employ them as his agents to lure others to ruin.
Says the prophet Isaiah: “When they shall say unto you,
Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards
that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto
their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to
the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is
because there is no light in them.”
Isaiah 8:19, 20. If men
had been willing to receive the truth so plainly stated in the
Scriptures concerning the nature of man and the state of the
dead, they would see in the claims and manifestations of
spiritualism the working of Satan with power and signs and
lying wonders. But rather than yield the liberty so agreeable
to the carnal heart, and renounce the sins which they love,
multitudes close their eyes to the light and walk straight on,
regardless of warnings, while Satan weaves his snares about
them, and they become his prey. “Because they received not
the love of the truth, that they might be saved,” therefore
"God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe
a lie.”
2 Thessalonians 2:10, 11.
Those who oppose the teachings of spiritualism are assailing,
not men alone, but Satan and his angels. They have
entered upon a contest against principalities and powers and
wicked spirits in high places. Satan will not yield one inch
of ground except as he is driven back by the power of
heavenly messengers. The people of God should be able to
meet him, as did our Saviour, with the words: “It is written.”
Satan can quote Scripture now as in the days of Christ, and
he will pervert its teachings to sustain his delusions. Those
who would stand in this time of peril must understand for
themselves the testimony of the Scriptures.
Many will be confronted by the spirits of devils personating
beloved relatives or friends and declaring the most dangerous
heresies. These visitants will appeal to our tenderest
sympathies and will work miracles to sustain their pretensions.
We must be prepared to withstand them with the
Bible truth that the dead know not anything and that they
who thus appear are the spirits of devils.
Just before us is “the hour of temptation, which shall come
upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”
Revelation 3:10. All whose faith is not firmly established
upon the word of God will be deceived and overcome. Satan
"works with all deceivableness of unrighteousness” to gain
control of the children of men, and his deceptions will
continually increase. But he can gain his object only as men
voluntarily yield to his temptations. Those who are earnestly
seeking a knowledge of the truth and are striving to purify
their souls through obedience, thus doing what they can to
prepare for the conflict, will find, in the God of truth, a sure
defense. “Because thou hast kept the word of My patience,
I also will keep thee” (verse 10), is the Saviour’s promise.
He would sooner send every angel out of heaven to protect
His people than leave one soul that trusts in Him to be overcome
by Satan.
The prophet Isaiah brings to view the fearful deception
which will come upon the wicked, causing them to count
themselves secure from the judgments of God: “We have
made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement;
when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it
shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and
under falsehood have we hid ourselves.”
Isaiah 28:15. In the
class here described are included those who in their stubborn
impenitence comfort themselves with the assurance that
there is to be no punishment for the sinner; that all mankind,
it matters not how corrupt, are to be exalted to heaven, to
become as the angels of God. But still more emphatically
are those making a covenant with death and an agreement
with hell, who renounce the truths which Heaven has provided
as a defense for the righteous in the day of trouble, and
accept the refuge of lies offered by Satan in its stead—the
delusive pretensions of spiritualism.
Marvelous beyond expression is the blindness of the people
of this generation. Thousands reject the word of God as
unworthy of belief and with eager confidence receive the
deceptions of Satan. Skeptics and scoffers denounce the
bigotry of those who contend for the faith of prophets and
apostles, and they divert themselves by holding up to ridicule
the solemn declarations of the Scriptures concerning Christ
and the plan of salvation, and the retribution to be visited
upon the rejecters of the truth. They affect great pity for
minds so narrow, weak, and superstitious as to acknowledge
the claims of God and obey the requirements of His law.
They manifest as much assurance as if, indeed, they had
made a covenant with death and an agreement with hell—
as if they had erected an impassable, impenetrable barrier
between themselves and the vengeance of God. Nothing can
arouse their fears. So fully have they yielded to the tempter,
so closely are they united with him, and so thoroughly
imbued with his spirit, that they have no power and no
inclination to break away from his snare.
Satan has long been preparing for his final effort to deceive
the world. The foundation of his work was laid by the
assurance given to Eve in Eden: “Ye shall not surely die.”
"In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened,
and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis
3:4, 5. Little by little he has prepared the way for his masterpiece
of deception in the development of spiritualism. He
has not yet reached the full accomplishment of his designs;
but it will be reached in the last remnant of time. Says the
prophet: “I saw three unclean spirits like frogs; . . . they
are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth
unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather
them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
Revelation 16:13, 14. Except those who are kept by the
power of God, through faith in His word, the whole world
will be swept into the ranks of this delusion. The people are
fast being lulled to a fatal security, to be awakened only by
the outpouring of the wrath of God.
Saith the Lord God: “Judgment also will I lay to the line,
and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep
away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the
hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be
disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand;
when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye
shall be trodden down by it.”
Isaiah 28:17, 18.
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