Facts Against Supposition.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
IN THE SIGNS of March 6, the editor, commenting on a sermon on Spiritualism, penned the following words: "We record our emphatic denial of the assertion that the Scriptures give any instances of the spirits of the departed reappearing; and we invite any one to point out to us the texts wherein such reappearing is supposed to be given." Had the call been for texts which prove the return of departed spirits, eternity might pass before a response could be made, but the word "supposed" gives the Spiritualist considerable latitude; for there is no limit to what a man may "suppose" about a Bible text, if he only gives loose rein to his fancy. A gentleman from Boston, taking advantage of the above invitation, sends us his supposition as follows:— "Permit me to call your attention to one of the many to be found in the Bible. Luke 16, verses 9, 12, 14; Luke 24, verses 15, 29, 30, 31, 36; John 20, verses 19, 20, 26, 27, and 29. The latter part of the 29th verse contains the following: 'Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.' To what extent the above will apply to those of the present day, who have the opportunity to see and believe, and wont do either, remains to be seen." We are willing to give our correspondent credit for believing without seeing, for we doubt much if he has ever seen some of the texts to which he refers. If he had, he certainly would not have used them. We refer to those in Luke 16, not one of which contains even the most indirect allusion to a spirit either present or absent. As we said before, though, there is no accounting for what a man may "suppose," especially if he is wandering in the fog of Spiritualism. In the references made to Luke 24 and John 20, our friend is equally unfortunate. These texts speak of the appearing of Jesus to his disciples after his resurrection; but they say nothing about the return of his spirit. Jesus was then alive, not dead; and we do not question the fact that living beings may appear to whomsoever they please. Luke 24:36, one of the verses referred to, says: "And as they thus spake, Jesus himself [not his spirit] stood in the midst of them." And verses 38 and 39, verses not referred to, plainly declare that it was not a spiritual manifestation. They read thus: "And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself, handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." We are inclined to think that it is far easier to believe some things without having seen them, than after the light of truth has shone clearly upon them. We are well aware that Spiritualists, and many who are pleased to style themselves orthodox, claim that the resurrection is simply the act of the soul or spirit leaving the body at the death of the latter. In such a case there would be no resurrection from the dead; there would, in fact, be no death. But the Scriptures invariably speak of a resurrection "from the dead." Paul was willing to suffer all things if by any means he might attain unto the "resurrection from the dead;" literally, from "dead ones." Phil. 3:11. When Jesus was transfigured before his disciples, he charged them to tell no man of it until after he was "risen again from the dead," Matt. 17:9. And this resurrection was not the escaping of the spirit at the dissolution of the body, for we are told that "he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again." Mark 8:31. Those who claim that the real Christ did not die, or that it was his undying spirit that appeared to the disciples the third day after the crucifixion, must squarely deny the above and many other Scripture texts. And right here we would drop a word of warning, and urge upon all the necessity of a well-grounded, intelligent faith in the Scriptures. There is no doctrine upon which it is more necessary that we be firmly settled than that of the state of the dead. Error is wonderfully blinding and seductive. We may think that we are proof against temptation on this point, but the human heart is itself deceitful, and Satan knows how to take advantage of it, if it is left unguarded. Our only hope of safety is in having a thorough knowledge of the true teaching of the inspired word, and in being led by the Spirit of God, that when we are brought into the conflict with Satan, we may meet him at every point with, "It is written." We are to resist him steadfast "in the faith." Our correspondent says: "Your paper is good in many ways. Pray be good enough to spend half as much time in the investigation of Spiritualism as you have in attacking it, and give the readers the result of your investigations." Why, we have spent a great deal more time in the investigation of Spiritualism than we have in attacking it. But we don't propose to investigate it in the way that our friend wishes us to. We do not like to investigate in the dark. We have studied the Bible, and we find Spiritualism there exposed so plainly that we have no need to go nearer. As we said before, error is blinding; and those who investigate Spiritualism by going into it, or by going where spiritual manifestations are given, will do so at the peril of their souls. It is simply putting themselves on the devil's ground and inviting him to try his power upon them. Christ will not accompany us when we needlessly go on to the enemy's ground, and without him human strength is powerless against the prince of darkness. The man who is groping about blindfolded in a dark cavern does not have nearly so good a chance to know what it is like, as the man does who stands outside with open eyes, and holding in his hand a lamp whose beams shine into its utmost recesses. The man who sinks in the ocean knows nothing of its depth, compared with the one who stands secure in a boat and casts in a sounding line. So the man who ventures into the mazes of Spiritualism, is no proper judge of its real nature; while the man who holds in his hand the lamp of God's word can see all its terrible dangers,—dangers all the more terrible because they are so seductive. We do not need to take poison in order to know its deadly character. We learn its nature and effects from books, and are therewith content. And so we would say again to all: Study the word of God carefully; and earnestly and continually pray, "Lead us not into temptation." E. J. W.