THE BIBLE AGAINST IT

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Dec 1, 1881

THE BIBLE AGAINST IT.

It is positively forbidden under the head of *necromancy, familiar spirits, etc.

"There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer; For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord." Deut. 18:9-12.

Webster gives the definition of necromancy as "pretended communication with the dead." And Spiritualists everywhere claim that their spiritual communications are from the spirits of the dead.

"Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards to be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God." Lev. 19:31.

Spiritualists do not deny that their mesmerizing, magnetizing, calling on the dead, etc., are what is called in the Bible, "charming," "enchantment," "sorcery," "witchcraft," "necromancy," "divination," "consulting with familiar spirits," etc. And every Bible student knows that these are declared in numerous places to be "abominations," and are strictly forbidden in both the Old and the New Testament. See 2 Kings 21:2, 6, 9, 11; Rev. 21:8; Gal. 5:19-21; Acts 16:16-18. Those who embrace Spiritualism, therefore, have to give up the Bible. Both cannot be true.

Brown says, "Necromancers were those who pretended to raise and consult with such persons as were dead."

Dr. Jahn says, "Necromancers pretended that they were able by their incantations to summon back departed spirits from their abodes. They uttered the communications which they pretended to receive from the dead."

Gesenius says, "Sorcerers are those who profess to call up the dead."

Webster says, "A familiar spirit is a demon, or evil spirit, supposed to attend at a call."

THEY ARE NOT SPIRITS OF THE DEAD.

1. In ancient times, when people supposed they were sacrificing to "the dead," it is positively declared that they sacrificed "unto devils." Ps. 106:28, 37; 1 Cor. 10:20.

Nearly all the crowned heads of the world are Spiritualists. Napoleon of France was a convert to Spiritualism. The following extracts show how it is welcomed by emperors and kings:—

"The New York Times London correspondent says: 'The late emperor of all the Russians received Mr. D. D. Home (Spiritualist) at his court with great marks of friendship, made him presents, and actually became god-father to his child. Spiritualism is fashionable at more than one of the European courts.' (Letter, Feb. 3, 1877.)"

"William Howitt writes: 'It would startle some people to discover in how many royal palaces in Europe Spiritualism is firmly seated.' (Journal, March 15.)"

But we have also their own confession. When challenged in the name of the Lord to tell the truth, they have acknowledged it as they did when our Saviour was on the earth. To him they said, "What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?"

The following confession of the spirits, was made to Mr. Laning, of New Jersey, through a writing medium:—

"In the name of the Lord, is the Bible true?" "Yes."

"The Bible forbids necromancy and the consulting of familiar spirits; which shall I believe, you or the Bible?" "The Bible."

"Why, then, did you tell me that it was right and useful to consult the spirits?" "Because I wished to deceive you."

"What is the business of the spirits with men?" "It is to deceive."

"Are you happy?" "No, I am miserable."

"Are you in hell?" "Not yet."

"Do you expect to go there?" "Yes."

"When?" "At the day of Judgment."

"Is there to be a day of Judgment?" "Yes."

"Have you any prospect of happiness?" "I have no hope."

"In the name of the Lord, is there a good spirit among all these rapping and writing spirits?" "No, not one."

"Are all communications of Spiritualism from personating demons?" "Yes."

HOW THEY OPERATE.

They are invisible personating demons, controlling their mediums as a magnetizer does the subject under

his influence. The Bible informs us that Satan has power to transform himself into an angel of light; if so, how easy for him to personate our friends who are dead. We have their own admission of this fact.

Mr. A. E. Newton says:—

"The operator forms an image, as of a person, a serpent, a fire, or any other object, in his own mind; when the subject, if well under control, instantly sees the same thing as an objective reality. So, positive minds in a circle, or positive spirits who are around, may present the image of any person with whom they are familiar, and it may appear as a reality to the impressible medium."

Andrew Jackson Davis, in the Herald of Progress, Oct. 27, 1860, of which he was editor, says:—

"It is known that a wise and strong-minded person, in the spirit world, has power to make visible to the eyes of mortals the exact appearance, or semblance, of the body it wore before death. This representation is elaborated sometimes to the minutest particular, even to the reproduction of the appearance of the habiliments, etc., by which the person was characterized and identified while a resident of the earth."

Again he says, in the Herald of Progress for Feb. 1, 1862: "All intelligent spirits are great artists. They can psychologize a medium to see them, and to describe them, in the style to produce the deepest impression on the receiver. . . . They can easily represent themselves as being old or young, as in worldly dress or flowing robes, as is deemed best suited to accomplish the ends of the visitation."

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, often 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."