A "DANGEROUS DRIFT." by C. P. Bollman

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Dec 15, 1887

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 13, No. 48.

A "DANGEROUS DRIFT."

By C. P. Bollman

To drift in the wrong direction, or from truth to error, is always dangerous; and the apostle Paul foretold a drift of this sort when in writing to Timothy (1 Tim. 4:1) he said that in the latter days some should "depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." And again, in his second letter (2 Tim. 4:3, 4), the apostle says: "For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears [Revised Version], will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables."

Such is the "dangerous drift" against which the apostle would warn those who live in the last days; but it is not the "drift" against which a late writer in a religious paper published in the city of Chicago, warns his readers; he says:—

"As to the influence of spirits upon mortals, either for good or evil, there seems to have been no doubt in the minds of early Christians. The dangerous drift toward gross materialism is, perhaps, no more plainly manifested in any direction than in the silence of religious journals and of the pulpit in respect to these things. We scarce hear a word concerning angelic presences or of the position and condition of those who, once here, have long since departed. . . . We do not yet know ourselves or our surroundings. God is always trying to enlighten and instruct us; but, alas! we are dull scholars. There are discoveries to be made yet in spiritual things, as there has been and doubtless are still in material things. . . . Modern Spiritualists will have lost their hold upon the masses of their followers when certain strange phenomena which cannot be denied are better understood. The phenomena now so strange will be familiar when we follow more closely the leadings of God's unerring Spirit and his word."

"As to the influence of spirits upon mortals, either for good or evil, there" not only "seems to have been no doubt in the minds of early Christians," but there certainly was no doubt of this in the apostolic churches; and there can be no doubt now in the minds of any who accept heartily the testimony of the Scriptures upon this important subject. Speaking of the good angels the apostle says (Heb. 1:14), "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" And in the texts quoted in the outset we are explicitly warned against the influence of evil spirits. Then, too, we have the testimony of many other texts which might be quoted; but the limits of this article forbid their citation; and a mere reference to the fact that our Lord himself recognized this very influence must suffice on this point.

The writer whose language has been quoted, errs, however, in confounding the good and evil spirits which the Scriptures recognize, with the spirits of the dead. This is a view which, though quite common, is none the less unscriptural. The well-known song, "I Want to Be an Angel," rests upon no better foundation than the imagination of the author; for no human being ever has been or ever will be an angel, either good or bad. A single scripture will suffice to satisfy any candid mind upon this point. When our Lord was questioned by the Sadducees relative to the relation which in the resurrection a certain woman should bear to seven brethren each of whom had in turn had her to wife, he answered (Luke 20:35, 36): "They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any more; for they are equal unto the angels."

Our Lord did not say, they shall be angels, but they shall be "equal unto the angels," and equality certainly disproves identity. Then, too, the angels were certainly created before man was, for in Job 38:7 we read that when the foundations of the earth were laid all the sons of God shouted for joy. Again, we know that the angels which kept not their first estate, but sinned against God, fell before the fall of man, for it was their leader who tempted Eve, when as yet there were but two human beings upon the face of the whole earth. It is certainly needless to dwell longer upon this part of the subject.

The dangerous drift of the present day is not towards a "gross materialism," but towards a gross spiritualism, or devil worship. The Bible teaches that good and bad angels come to this earth, and that they exert an influence in keeping with their characters. Avowed Spiritualists and a host of professed Christians, who are really Spiritualists, but not professedly (sometimes even unwittingly), teach that these angels are the spirits of the dead; and thus tens of thousands of souls are led captive by Satan at his will, supposing that they are following the leadings of the spirits of friends whom in life they dearly loved.

If the language quoted from the Chicago journal means anything, it is simply this, that "Modern Spiritualists," as such or under the name of "Spiritualists," "will have lost their hold upon the masses" when the churches have all become (as they are rapidly becoming) Spiritualist. And the sentence, "The phenomena now so strange will be familiar when we follow more closely the leadings of God's unerring Spirit and his word," might justly be paraphrased thus: "The phenomena now so strange will be familiar when we surrender ourselves fully to the leadings of seducing spirits (supposing that we are following God's Spirit), and when, contrary to the express command of the Lord (Isa. 8:19, 20), we seek 'unto wizards that peep, and that mutter,' instead of seeking unto our God."

The Scriptures plainly teach that "the dead know not anything" (Eccl. 9:5), and that when a man is dead "his sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them" (Job 14:21); nevertheless men professing to accept the Bible as the word of God, presume to endow the spirits of the dead with both knowledge and power and send them forth to do the very work which the Scriptures plainly tell us is done by good and evil angels. It is indeed a "dangerous drift" when both pulpit and press unite in proclaiming to the world that "the phenomena now so strange" is only the workings of the Spirit of God imperfectly understood! Our Saviour when on earth taught that it was blasphemy to attribute to demons the work of the Spirit of God. Are not they in danger of incurring this guilt who attribute to that Spirit the unclean and unholy works and doctrines of Spiritualism?

That there is real phenomena connected with Spiritualism is generally admitted by the well-informed; but if we accept the testimony of the Scriptures we must conclude that the spirits which produce this phenomena are the spirits of devils spoken of in Rev. 16:14; and it is at the very time that they are accomplishing their work of deception that the Saviour says: "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." Brethren, "the coming of the Lord draweth nigh," "therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober."