Spiritualism, a satanic delusion, and a sign of the times

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Chapter I

The object of the present investigatioD is, to ascertain the character of modern Spiritualism and its significance as a sign of the Times.

This subject is one that presents to the mind of the thoughtful reader of the Word of Grod, and the careful observer of the workings of Satan in these last days, such a wide field for remark, that we scarcely know where to begin, what facts to select, or where to end. It is certain that we are now living in strange and eventful times. There are agencies at work in our world other than can be seen by the eye of man. But this has always been the case. — The facts in reference to the fall of man, and his redemption by Christ, show us most clearly, that there are opposing agencies at work in reference to his present and future state that are outside of himself; and that man is that most importent being who concentrates the thoughts of the whole invisible world upon him.

The educational training of some, and the manifest ig-

10 sriRiTUALis^r, a Satanic delusion,

norance of others of the truths of the Bible, the only true revelation of the will of God to man, hinder multitudes from admitting, in all their literality and distinctness, the statements of the Word of Grod on the subject of Spirit-agency^ In consequence of this, reasonings on this subject, the mostfalse, puerile, and stupid, often pass at par for sound logic and good scriptural argument, provided they be clothed in the garb of scientific words and technical phraseology, the true meaning of which the people cannot comprehend, and one grand design of which is, in reality, to conceal the ignorance of the men themselves, who attempt to explain what they do not understand, and who are, though unconscious to themselves, another illustration of the wonderful power of that influence, the very existence of which they so stoutly deny.

There are many good men in our midst, highly gifted, and deservedly esteemed for their scientific researches and their patient investigation of the causes of thiogs, who are bold to say that the phenomena of Modern Spiritualism, are mere optical illusions, or juggling tricks, and that all of them can easily be explained upon scientific principles, and are well understood by those who perform them. Yea, more ; boasting of their fancied wisdom and knowledge of things beyond their reach, they are not slow to say that to believe in the facts as they exist is a sad proof of a defective education, if not of imbecility of mind. But these persons, with more correctness, might say that the solutions which they and their philosophic expounders give of these latter day wonders, ascribing them all to mere natural agents, as electricity, magnetism, odic force, and we know not what else, are still more striking illustrations of the very deficiency which they so feelingly lament in the case of others.

At all events, one thing is certain : those who hold that there is a spiritual agency in connection with these manifestations, have a cause which is adequate to the production of these effects — yea, and, if need be, of others far more wonderful than any that have as yet been exhibited. They go to the Word of God for a clear and proper solution of all these phenomena, and not to the mysterious workings of some hidden law of nature, nor to the teachings of an Infidel or Atheistic Philosophy.

The writers of the Sacred Scriptures nowhere attempt to prove the existence of God. Moses takes it for granted, and proceeds to state, in the first chapters of Genesis, what God has created. Nor do they attempt to prove the existence of a Spiritual Being, whom they call in the Hebrew, Satan ; which means an opposer, a foe, an enemy. They speak of it as a fact that needs no proof; for the world is full of the evidences of his real, personal existence, and of his mighty power, and unremitted hatred of God and of man. We are fully aware of the fact that the personal existence of Satan is admitted by nearly all those who bear the Christian name. It is at least among the articles of their faith. But by the great majority of professing Christians of the present day, it is so feebly realized, and so superficially regarded, that their faith is, in a great degree, inoperative, and the fact of his existence, and influence upon the minds of the people, is virtually disbelieved. One striking difference between the experience of Christians, as recorded in the New Testament, and the frequent exhortations of our Lord and his apostles to resist the Devil, and to guard against his wiles, and the experience of Christians of our day, and the exhortations we hear on the subject now, warning us not to be ignorant of his devices, must be manifest to every one who will give the subject a mrment's reflection. They felt and acted as if there was a great and mighty adversary for them to oppose ; and they speak of their spiritual conflicts with him ; but the wisdom and philosophy of our day have looked upon his existence as a myth, or at best, but another name for the wayward disposition of man.

This, however, is not the scriptural representation of the matter. The Bible speaks of him as a mighty spirit, once holy, but now fallen through pride ; as the deceiver of man ; as the usurper of the dominion of this world, and as the Prince of this world, and also of the power of the air, and the Spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience. — Through his influence and wiles, our first parents lost the image and the likeness of God in which they were created, and also the dominion over the earth which God had bestowed on man. Satan deposed man, and took his place. Since then he has not ceased to exert his influence over man ; to enslave his mind by gross superstitions ; to debase and defile his body by vile afi'ections ; to shut him out of heaven by leaguing him in with himself in opposition to God. 4-CCordingly we find that although the agent, Satan, is the same at all times, yet the mode of his operations differs in difi*erent ages and among difi'erent people, according to the degree of their intellectual culture, or the amount of Scriptural truth and knowledge they niight possess.

The debasing and sensual rights of Paganism are well adapted to rivet the chains cf a spiritual bondage upon a people who have given up the knowledge of a true God, and who worship demons in His stead. But in an age like ours, where intellectualism and mammon are the gods to which the masses of the people bow in humble adoration, Satan must suit his wiles to the spirit of the age, and to the character of the people, if he would succeed in leading them to bow down to their gods, in the temple of reason, and to ignore their Creator and the revelation he has given them. Hence it is that no special form of Satanic delusion continues long at one time, or in one place. The Arch-Deceiver continually varies his wiles. Old forms of spiritual delusion pass away ; but from their seeds other forms spring up, which are just as far from the truth as the former. — Each successive age or generation boasts of its freedom from the follies of the past, and laughs at the ignorance and superstition of their fathers, while it is itself the victim of those Satanic delusions which are more in accordance with the circumstances, advanced knowledge, or philosophic spirit of the age. And just as we change our garments and adapt them to the season of the year upon which we may enter, while our nature remains the same — so will it be with these varied exhibitions of Satanic power ; their forms differ, but their essential features are the same ; and these varied manifestations will continue to come and to go, until the kingdom of Satan, on earth, be overthrown, the reign of sin be superseded by that of holiness, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

As the sacred writers nowhere attempt to prove the personal existence of Satan, but always take it for granted, (and base their exhortations to resist his power and influence, upon the known fact of his existence and evil character,) we need not attempt it. Still, we might ask those who deny the personal existence of Satan, and maintain that we are to understand by the term only the evil principle, or the tendency to evil that exists in human nature, how they would explain, on their theory, the history of the fall

14 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC DELI SIGN.

of man, and tlio subsequent temptation of our Lord ? In the ease of Adam, or rather of the woman, (for she was first in the transgression, she being deceived, while " Adam was not deceived" — 1. Tim. ii : 14 — but sinned understandingly,) there was evidently an influence outside of hergelf that was brought to bear upon her mind, so that she yielded to it and fell — she was conscious of that fact — and said so : nor is the truth of her statement called in question by the Lord when she, in the honesty of her heart, confessed the truth, saying, ''the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." The statement was admitted, in all its fullness, and upon that statement the Lord proceeds, at once, to pronounce His sentence upon the serpent, and which remains upon it, to the present day, and will till time shall end. The Judge of all the earth certainly does right. And if there were no tempter outside of woman, why should the Lord pronounce His curse upon her, and an additional one on a being, distinct from her, if no such being did exist, and if he had not deceived her as she declared he did ?

So also, in the case of our Lord. He had no sin. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. And yet He was tempted for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness of Judea. Demands were made of Him and proposals offered of such a character, as wholly to exclude the idea, (if we admit the record in the case to be true,) of these demands and proposals being the mere suggestions of our Lord's own mind. The thing is an impossibility. To suppose that the whole scene of the temptation as described by the inspired penman was a mere stretch of the imagination of our Lord ; that He thought He was tempted by some one ; that He thought the Tempter brought forth arguments based upon a false application ot the Scriptures to induce Him to yield to hu suggestions ; and, that He thought He answered the Tempter by correct quotations from the Word of God, requires an amount of faith (if faith it may be called,) far surpassing any thing of the kind that is necessary to embrace the simple, truthful narration of the facts as they are. But it happens to bo with such persons as it was with a Brahmin in India, who said to me once, ^' Sahib, a little truth is hard, but a big lie is easy to be believed." It is just so ; and we doubt not, that the father of lies assists them in their monstrous credulity as well as in their unreasonable unbelief.

We admit the fact, then, in all its fullness, that there is such a being as Satan, and we fully believe all the statements that the Sacred Scriptures give of him, and of his workings in our world. Our Lord calls him " the Prince of this world," and the " god of this world ;" and he is. That he will, ere long, be deposed, and his usurped power will be taken from him, and he be cast out of this world, are facts clearly made known to us in the Word of God. He knows well that the kingdoms of this world will be taken from him, and that it will be done by Him who is ^* the seed of the woman." Hence it was that Satan offered to deliver up to our Lord the kingdoms of the world, which he then held, and still holds by usurpation, if He, the Messiah, would but fall down and do him honor, or thank him for them, or even accept them from his hand. We give Satan full credit for honesty in this case. Let him have his due. We believe he would have done just as he said he would do. He had the kingdoms of the world. He has them yet.* And he, doubtless, would have deliv-

* For Satan to offer that which lie could not bestow, and over ered tlicm to our Lord, and would have laid down the usurped sceptre of power over earth, if he could, by that act, have acquired a greater glory, and a more exalted sway. And who, in the matters of trade, and of seeking after the wealth and the honors of this world, would not part with the less for the sake of the greater ? So with Satan. The honor received from man, or from a world of men, would be as naught when compared with honor and obeisance from ^' the Son of man." Most cheerfully would he have parted with all this world for one act of obeisance from our Lord. But, that he must not have. Satan was foiled in his deep-laid scheme for the final and eternal ruin of all the human race. No compromise in the case can be made with the Son of man, the rightful heir to earth, and all upon it. Satan will not resign his usurped authority and power on earth of his own free will, nor can the Son of man lay aside the glory and the dignity of His exalted nature and office, to enter upon any efforts of negociation with Satan for the redemption of the world from his power. On the contrary, He will in due time, lay hold on the usurper, bind him in chains, and cast him out of the governments of this world for ever.

Satan is fully aware of this fact. He knew when our Lord was upon the earth, that that was not the time for

wMch he had no power, would be no temptation even to marbj much less to Christ, who of course knew the facts in the case. — But Christ was really tempted — therefore Satan had something of value to offer to him, namely, the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Christ was tempted in all points like as we are, and do we not see in the allurements of worldly ambition that seduce the heart from right and godliness, this same temptation of the adversary 7 We are not ignorant of his devices.— Ed.

his dethronement. But the time is now at hand. This he knows ; and hence it is that he is making special efforts, in various ways, throughout the whole world, to retain his possession of the earth to the last moment, and to ruin for time and eternity all he can, before he himself shall be cast out, and be shut up in the bottomless pit for the thousand years.

Paganism and the gross forms of heathen idolatry, are not adapted to our present enlightened and social state. — The scenes of iniquity that have been witnessed in the public assembly, or in the secret chambers of heathen temples, in days past, would be too much at present for the eye of the refined of our day. But similar scenes may be witnessed, doubtless, even now, by those who are privileged to enter within the gates that shut them out •from the vulgar gaze. It only needs another name : the name of ^' Love," or " Love" made " free," and the sanction of laws which Satan himself has helped to frame, to give currency and popularity to any forms of iniquity that have ever yet found favor in the eyes of a world at enmity with God. Some can be led as the willing slaves of their lusts. For these there is a lure in the shape of Socialism, Free-love-ism, and Mormonism, that last form of political iniquity that has been enthroned in our land, and which if it receives not the sanction of this mighty nation, is permitted to grow unmolested, and to flourish in our midst, under the fostering care of Satan himself

But, there are others, whose instinctive horror of bodily defilement would separate them forever from those, who *^ corrupt themselves in those things which, as brute beasts, they know naturally" (Jude 10). These Satan must secure by other means. Reason is their god. To them, the revelations of the Most High are, at least, but enigmatical hints of things they cannot comprehend. For the god of this world hath blinded their minds', lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine into their hearts, and give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. iv. 4-6. They must hare certain knowledge, and such a knowledge of secret and future things, as God, in His infinite wisdom, withholds from man ; for he would have man ^^ walk by faith, not by sight," 2 Cor. v. 7. But, what God withholds, Satan offers to impart. They would lift the veil that hides the unseen world from them, and seek to know from those who inhabit it, the things which God has hidden from them, and purposes they shall not know. The knowledge of Satan is not like oiTrs. We can know nothing of the invisible world from our own observation. Satan can and does. — The invisible world is all untrodden ground to us. To him it is all known and familiar. He, doubtless, does and can know facts, and reveal them too, which it would gratify the curiosity of our nature to know. Facts, long since transpired, even before the birth of any now on earth, are not blotted out of the memory of Satan, who, we may suppose, retains all the knowledge he has ever had of our world for the past 6000 years. These facts he may communicate to man, (and none can prove that he cannot) ; and these facts being found to-be true, the door is now opened wide for the full belief of any number, or any kind of real or supposed facts that Satan may see fit to communicate. The reality of one truth will pave the way for many falsehoods, all of which may be believed with equal faith. In this way, Satan will satisfy the minds of multitudes of the philosophically wise. And as they judge they can find that knowledge in and through his communications which they cannot

INTRODltCTICN. 19

obtain from the Word of God, the result is easily foreseen. They will reject the revelation which God has given them, as a work behind the age, and not meeting the demands of the times. If this be not so with those who now believe in the revelations that God has made to them in His Word, they will superadd to it these supposed revelations of facts by Satan, and thus will they virtually set aside the Word of God entirely as a rule of life.

As it is certainly revealed to us, that Satan will be cast out from this world, and as his efforts will be made untiringly to retain his hold upon the minds of the people, we may reasonably look for some special manifestations of his power and delusive workings before that event. These manifestations and miraculous workings will be so apparent to all those, who are savingly enlightened by the Spirit of God, that they will not fail to perceive, in due time, that they are of Satanic origin. '' They that trust in the Lord shall be," in these times of coming trial, " as Mount Zion which cannot be removed, but abideth forever," Ps. cxxv. 1. While those who may trust to their own fallible reasoning and the desires of their hearts, will be as the chaff before the wind, or as the stubble before the flame.

By multitudes of Christians in our day, and of Christian ministers also, the study of the prophecies of God's Word is either neglected, or condemned. What God declares to be " a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the Day-Star arise" (2 Peter i. 19), they, in their presumption have declared to be impenetrable obscurity. — Hence the utter misapprehension which so extensively prevails in the Church at the present time, as to the character and design and end of this dispensation. Peace, prosperity and stability are confidently predicted and fondly anticipated by tlic men of our progressive times , "whereas conflict and destruction are distinctly foretold by the prophets of the Lord. And so intense is this deception, that, by many, the very workings of Satan are confounded with or taken for the operations of God's Spirit. They look for a coming glory and a brighter age for this world ; but it is not such as God predicts. They raise their superstructure, Babel-like, out of material which God purposes to destroy. There is a future glory in reserve for this world. But, it is not to be effected by the wisdom of man, the progressive development of the age, nor by a careful observance and study of the mere laws of nature. It will be the work of the Spirit and power of the Lord.

CHAPTER 11.

THE CASE STATED.

That we may the better understand the nature of these spiritual manifestations, which now exist in our world, and which will continue to increase, though they will, doubtless, be varied in their form, until Satan himself, the grand originator of them all, shall be cast out of this world, it may be well to take a brief survey of his operations, in our world, from the fall of man to the present time. " To the law and to the testimony," the revealed will of God, let us then go for the true light that we need on this subject. If we speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in us. — Is. viii : 20. The opinions of Pagan, of Jewish, and of Christian writers on this subject, are not without their value. But our object is to look at this whole subject in the light which the inspired Word of Grod throws upon it.

Taking then, in our hand, the inspired volume, the Word bi God, *'as a lamp to our path, and a light to our feet," let us enter the garden of Eden. There we find nature smiling in her garments of glory, as she was first robed by the hand of her all-wise and bountiful Creator.

Creatures, formed by the Divine Word, and exhibiting at the same time, the wisdom, the goodness, and the power of God, dwelt in peace and harmony with each other. There was no ferocity in any nature. There was no enmity in

22 SriRlTUALISM, A SATANIC DELUSION

any heart. Man, created in the image of God^ and accord ing to His likeness, with his beloved and sinle&s companion by his side, the progenitor of the race of man on the earth, stood up in all the Godlike dignity of his nature, the installed king over earth and all the creatures that dwelt upon it. How long this primeval state of purity, of blessedness and of peace remained, we know not. On this point the Word of God sheds no light. "We simply know the fact that man'was sinless, and that he felL

Before the creation of man, a rebellion against the authority of God, broke out among the angels in the heavenly world. Satan led the way. Insolence, pride, ambition, a being puffed up (as the Greek word tiiphotheis^ 1 Tim. ii. 16, signifies), in consequence, probably, of some exalted honor conferred upon him by his Creator, led to his sin. Multitudes must have united with him in his schemes and plans of rebellion against God, whatever they may have been. — But in their plans they failed. They lost the glory that they formerly possessed, and henceforth they were deprived of the favor of God, and were shut out from all communion with God, and with the holy angels. On the particular sin of Satan, and the precise time when he first transgressed, the Bible reveals nothing positive, and hence we cannot know with certainty, what it was, or when it took place. — The only thing we do know, is that it was before the fall of man, and that Satan was instrumental in that fall. This must satisfy us now.

There is a great ana important fact here, which it may be well to consider a moment. It is one of those mysteries which we cannot now fully comprehend, but we may hereafter. The fact is this : Although Satan and his angels are shut out from all communion and fellowship with God

THE CASE STATED. 23

and the holy angels, still, they are not wholly debarred from all communication with heaven and holy beings. The testimony of the Bible is clear on this point, though Christians may seldom think of it, or if they do, may reject it without much thought. Twice in the book of Job, viz : chap. i. 6, and ii. 1, we are told that there was a day when the sons of God, the holy angels, came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. While there, the Lord spoke to him and asked him, ^^ From whence comest thou ?" To which Satan replied, '^ From going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it." Or, as the Septuagint renders it — '' Having gone round the earth, and having walked over all that is under heaven, I am come hither."

In 1 Kings xxii. 19, Micah, the prophet, saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing before Him, on His right hand and on His left. ^' And the Lord said, who shall persuade Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Grilead ? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, wherewith ? And he said, I will go forth and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said, thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also ; go forth and do so." We would merely remark here, that God in scriptural language, is often said to do what he permits to be done.

Again, Zechariah, the prophet, chap. iii. 1, ^^ saw Joshua, the High Priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at His right hand to resist him. And the Lord said to Satan, the Lord reVike thee, 0, Satan."

In Jude, verse 9, we read that " Michael, the Archangel,

24 SPIRITUALISM, A SATANIC BELUSHON.

wlien contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, (or, as the Greek might be read, did not pass judgment upon him for blasphemy, but referred the case to the Lord,) saying, the Lord rebuke thee."

Again, in Rev. xii, the same thing is brought to our view. There we are told that there is to be a war in heaven — Michael and his angels fighting against Satan and his angels. And the Dragon and his angels were cast out of heaven. — Their place was found no more in heaven. Satan, who deceived the whole world, was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then it is, after Satan's complete expulsion from all access to the heavenly beings, and from his long held empire in the air, that we hear the heavenly hosts, who never sinned against God, and the ransomed Church from earth, proclaiming with a loud voice in heaven, ^^ now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ ; for the Accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accused them before God day and night. Then there is rejoicing in heaven by the angels, and the ransomed Church; but there is woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea, for the Devil is come down to the earth, having great wrath, for he hath but a.short time then to remain upon it.

Now, without attempting to enter into any critical examination, or extended explanation of these passages already quoted, we learn from them several important facts, some of which we will here state, We learn,

1. That Satan, and it may be evil spirits, are not wholly debarred from all communicatian with God, and the holy angels. It does not appear that they have anv intercourse