"Familiar spirits, . . . wizards that peep, and that mutter." Isa. 8:19.
There are many specimens of the frog-like peeping and muttering of spirits through modern mediums, and some of them have been put on record by the Spiritualists themselves. As a specimen we refer to their attempt to give a correct history of the creation. The Bible account they say is unintelligible. They seem to have a spite against the book of Genesis, which gives an account of Satan's first lie, and of the serpent being a speaking medium; so they would peep it all out of existence, or into frog-like confusion. Under the imposing head of "Disclosures from the Interior," in the Mountain Cove Journal, by T. L. Harris, a Spiritualist author and medium, "an exalted spirit" (?) croaks as follows:—
"In the beginning God, the Life in God, the Lord in God, the Holy Procedure, inhabited the dome which, burning in magnificent primeval and revolving in prismatic and undulatory spiral, appeared, and was the pavilion of the Spirit in glory inexhaustible and inconceivable, in movement spherical, unfolded in harmonious procedure disclosive.
"And God said, Let Mechanical Procedure be! and movement, rhythmical, harmonical, melodial, unfolded from the firmament.
"And God said, Let there be space! and the firmament was separated from the emanation, and the firmament, unmoved, appeared, and the emanation unfolded within the procedure. And the firmament is manifest Infinitude, and the emanation separated, is encompassed space.
"And God made two great lights to rule the zodiac, and to be for creative disclosure, disclosive manifestation, manifest glory, glorious radiation, interpenetrative aggregation; and thence vortices, vortical suns, suns of vortices, solariums, vortical planetariums, planets, floral universes, universal paradises, paradisiacal heavens, heavens of spiritual universes, celestial heavens, seraphic habitations, seraphim universes, cities of heavenly seraphima, and final consociative universal intelligence in unity of innumerable individuality, in triunity of unfolding universes, adoring and ascending in beatification unto eternal life.
"This is the Genesis of Nature; not uncreated or self-originated, but created;—not the progressive upgrowing, upheaving, upmentalizing, upspiritualizing, upreaching struggle of a germ;—but condescension infinite, creation voluntary, and bestowment merciful, of the Divine Creator; to whom be given adoration immeasurable and eternal! world without end!"
Is the reader instructed by the foregoing? or is he reminded of a scene at the frog pond in spring-time? Then hear another spirit peeping as follows:—
"God, the life in God, the Lord in God, the Holy Procedure organized the first Orb-Creation in form of appearing as one globular ovarium, which was the germ of the terrestrial universe of universes: and within the embryo of the external of universal impersonal creation, as one curvilinear ovarium; and within the curvilinear the germ of the external, of the universal, personal, or intellectual creation in form of one vortical ovarium... The universal concavity the universal convexity were co-enfolded and encompassed in the universal zodiac, and within the concavity was the visible disclosure unto the germ of the terrestrial."
The above will fairly justify the strong contrast drawn by Prof. Stuart in the Biblical Repository, of 1832, between true and false prophets and spirits:—
"I agree to the fact that the heathen seers were rightly named manteis, from mainomai, to rave; as Cicero has declared in his first book, 'De Divinatione.' But what an immeasurable distance, now, between a raving man or woman, uttering incoherent sentences; or (which was more common) a dissimulating hypocrite, uttering cunningly and artfully and equivocally constructed sentences and poetic riddles; and a Hebrew prophet, animated by the strongest and deepest feelings of reverence for Jehovah, and a holy ardor in the cause of true piety! Is there ambiguity, flattery, self-seeking enigmas, in the message of the latter? None. Are not all these stamped on more or less of the heathen oracles? They are."
The spirits at the Banner of Light circle, Boston, May 2, 1864, described how they get possession of the body:—
"I ask that spirit, 'Will you yield me up the control of your mortal form for a short time?' The answer is generally, 'I will.' . . . The spirit is subjected to the entire control of the predominating spirit. It is, in a word, magnetized by the spirit; held in perfect subjection."
Swedenborg gives the object of the spirits as follows:—
"We mean to revolutionize the whole race of man. We will write what we will, and this medium has not the power to resist what we will to be done. Such we intend shall be the condition of all men. Human destiny is now measurably in our hand."—Book of Human Nature, p. 308.
Again the same author says:—
"Nearly the whole world of spirits is fanatical, and seeks nothing else but to teach and to lead, striving even to possess the bodies of men and loosen all the bonds of conscience especially in respect of marriage."—Ib., p. 299.
In the same book is the following confession:—
"Many now in this city [Philadelphia] consult their guardian spirits with as much, yea, more, confidence than they would a kind and experienced parent, and willingly yield to their suggestions and directions in all matters both great and small."—Page 270.
SEDUCTIVE, LYING SPIRITS.
The Scripture terms describing their deceptive character are the following:—
Their flattering style is like that of the seducer. The communications from the spirits abound in such as the following:—
"Come in confidence to us." "Let our teachings deeply impress you." "You must not doubt what we say." "Learn of us." "Have confidence in us." "Obey our directions and you will be benefited." "Seek to obtain knowledge of us." "Have faith in us." "Fear not to obey." "Obey us and you will be greatly blessed."
Judge Edmonds, in his Broadway Tabernacle lecture, Feb. 16, 1855, said:—
"I assure you from my own experience and observation, that the fascination of this intercourse is so great that its tendency is to lead men away from their proper judgment, and instill a spirit of fanaticism most revolting to the calm and natural mind."
The Spiritual Telegraph, of July 11, 1857, says:—
"In giving the results of our own experience and observation upon this subject, we would premise that spirits unquestionably can, and often do, personate other spirits, and that, too, with such perfection, as, for the time being, to defy every effort to detect the deception. Not only can they represent the leading personal characteristics of the spirits whom they purport to be, but they can relate such facts in the history of said spirits as may be known to the inquirer, or to some one else with whom the communicating spirit is or has been en rapport."
Joel Tiffany says:—
"The point to which I wish to call your attention is the almost universal fact that mediums devoted to external manifestations, while under the influence of this presiding spirit, are under an influence to deceive, to cheat, which is almost irresistible. It does not matter particularly how good manifestations they get. I have seen this deceptive disposition manifested in mediums who could get very remarkable manifestations, such as the movement in the open light, of a table with several men standing upon it.—Lect., pp. 122, 123.
Dr. Child, in Banner of Light, Oct. 26, 1864, says:—
"Nor can we doubt, I think, that there are a diverse host of badly misdirected spirits. The lower spirits seek to undo the good work of the higher, and to harass, and to annoy and subject to suffering, medium and sitter. They will deceive us for their amusement. Where is the medium but what has either seen or felt this? I have both. But wise spirits, who are to us the revelators and executors of the divine will, designedly deceive us for our good."
In the above they have divided their spirits into two classes: the first deceive for their own amusement, and the second "deceive us for our good." So they are all deceivers by their own admission.543
The following is part of a list of predictions made at Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Sept. 20, 1860, by the spirits, and published by A. J. Davis. The reader will see that it must have come from the father of lies:—
"1. Next winter Congress will get into a fight. Blood will flow.
"2. This nation will be dead as a nation before the 4th of March next.
"3. We will have no more presidents. The present one (Buchanan) will not serve his time out.
"4. The Republican candidate will get the popular vote, but will not be elected.
"5. Canada will enter the new Republic in America."
Swedenborg says:—
"When spirits begin to speak with man, he must beware that he believe nothing that they say; for nearly everything they say is fabricated by them and they LIE; for if they are permitted to narrate anything, as what Heaven is and how things in the Heavens are to be understood, they will TELL SO MANY LIES that a man would be astonished."—Banner of Light, March 20, 1869.
The Crucible of April 23, 1871, says:—
"The best that can be done, a spirit cannot always make a medium speak the truth. During the last half score of years, we have had varied and extended experience as a psychological operator, which has enabled us to look with more charity on the false in Spiritualism than in former days. We have learned that, do the best we can, it is impossible to find a medium that can always be made to speak the truth. We can often make them talk eloquently, and sometimes logically, but no one can be made to always talk truthfully."
The poet Saxe aptly says:—
"If in your new estate you cannot rest,
But must return, oh! grant us this request:
Come with a noble and celestial air,
And prove your titles by the names you bear,
Give some clear tokens of your heavenly birth;
Write as good English as you wrote on earth;
And, what were once superfluous to advise,
Don't tell, I beg you, such egregious lies."