Review and Herald, Vol. 40, No. 7.
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT; Or Our Business Dealings with Our Fellow-menPage 1
Earlier text: THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT; Or Our Business Dealings with Our Fellow-menThe Coming of Christ.—No. 4.
By S. S. Griswold
MATT. 19: 27–29: “Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” The time when the above-mentioned events were to transpire, was when the Son of man should sit in the throne of his glory, or, in other words, when he should come in his kingdom, which was the kingdom of God: the kingdom of Heaven so frequently spoken of by John the Baptist, and by Christ, as being near at hand, in their day. Those phrases referred to that new dispensation,—new order of things about to be introduced or established by Christ. He commenced setting up the kingdom of God, during his earth-life; that kingdom which was to endure forever. It was this kingdom to which the apostles were appointed, and in it, where they were to sit on the twelve thrones, spoken of, judging the twelve tribes of Israel, and it was as regent over this kingdom, that Christ was to sit in the throne of his glory, as the Son of man. The voice that spoke at his baptism, and on several other occasions, saying, This is my beloved Son, hear him, were the annunciations of his Father attesting Christ’s heirship to the throne; and at his resurrection, out from among the dead, Christ was solemnly and publicly inaugurated, and set down on the throne of his glory. This new order of things, the regeneration spoken of in the text, where the apostles (except one, Judas) followed; and those that followed him into this regenerated condition, were by Christ appointed to fill positions of responsibility and authority in the kingdom of God which was then being established. Christ has thus sat down upon the throne of his Father, who has clothed him with all power in Heaven and on earth, and is thus to sit, until he has subdued all things to himself; until he has subdued the rebellion, caused by sin and Satan, and restored this revolted world to allegiance to his Father, thereby delivering up the kingdom to the Father, that God may be all, and in all. During these times of the restitution of all things spoken of by the prophets since the world began, the heavens, the invisible world of spirits, are to receive or retain Christ. Thus has Christ been enthroned as king, in Zion. And, during the gospel day, called often the last day, Christ is to administer the divine government over our world, and thus reign until every knee has bowed, and every tongue confessed that he is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, to the glory of God the Father. In accordance with the above view, Christ promised to all who would forsake kindred and property for his sake and the gospel’s, that is, for this kingdom of Heaven he was setting up, an hundred-fold in this time, during their earth-life, and, in addition, eternal life, or blessedness in the life to come. Matt. 13: 24–43, contains the parable of the tares, and Christ’s explanation of it. That this parable was designed to set forth and illustrate the building up of the kingdom of Heaven, the true church, is plain. The sower was the Son of man, then sowing the good seeds of that kingdom, which were the children of the kingdom: the tares were the children of the wicked one—the devil, who sowed them; which includes all the enemies of that kingdom, especially the nation of the Jews. The field where the seed was to be sown was the world, society, community, the inhabitants of the world—mankind. The harvest, the ingathering, the result, was the end of the former dispensation; and the reapers were the angels, messengers sent forth to separate the good from the bad by the preaching of the gospel, by which the kingdom was to be purified. The bad were to be rejected, and, as a consequence, there would be weeping and wailing; and then the righteous would shine forth; stand forth conspicuously, with power and glory. That the above is something like the idea designed to be set forth in the parable is evident from the use of two terms, rendered in our translation world—and of the world. There is scarcely a more palpable violation of all rules or laws of translation than here. The field is the world. Greek (κόσμος), kosmos. Verse 39. The harvest is the end of the world. Greek (αἰῶνος), aionos. Verse 40. So shall it be in the end of this world. Greek (αἰῶνος τούτου), aionos toutou. Here are two Greek words, entirely differing in their orthography and meaning. And yet the translators have rendered them by our one word, world; while the two Greek words, κόσμος and αἰῶνος, have widely different meaning. In verse 39, 40, the harvest is the end of the world. So shall it be in the end of the world. In both of these, the Greek word, rendered world, is αἰῶνος, not κόσμος, which means an age or dispensation, and doubtless here refers to the Jewish age or dispensation. So shall it be in the end or closing up of the Jewish dispensation. The word, αἰῶνος, is never used, I think, to refer to the earth, and wherever the New Testament speaks of the end of the world, it invariably means the end of the Jewish dispensation, or, some age. The phrase, “end of the world,” I presume, is nowhere used as referring to the end of this earth, either by Christ or his apostles. In Matt. 24: 3, where the disciples ask Christ, What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world, Greek, αἰῶνος, the end of the age or dispensation. Thus the coming of Christ was to take place at the end of the Jewish dispensation or that age. The Latin translation carefully distinguishes between κόσμος and αἰῶνος, by rendering κόσμος by mundus, the world; and αἰῶνος, by consummatio, consummation, or closing up, like the consummation, or closing up of the Jewish dispensation, by the introduction of the Christian. In the parable under consideration, the Saviour most expressly taught the hopelessness of reforming the Jewish church. Any attempt to gather out the tares, would root up the wheat also. Both the wheat and the tares in that church were to stand until the harvest, the time when the dispensation would come to an end. The harvest season was doubtless primarily the days of Pentecost, when the Christian dispensation was fully inaugurated; the kingdom of God came with power, when the Son of man was coming in glory, with the angels of God, including the apostles, and also those heavenly angels, who so frequently appeared, to aid the apostles in establishing the kingdom of Heaven, the Christian church, wherein the righteous did shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Thus, before the apostles had gone over the cities of Israel the Son of man came, even while some who listened to him, had not tasted of death. Remark. The coming of the Son of man, the coming of Christ, is not an event that terminates, or ceases to be, when he has come; but is a coming represented by the progressive form of the verb—a coming that is ever transpiring, never terminating. The Greek term (παρουσία) parousia, signifies a coming, approach, or presence, but in no sense the manner of the coming or presence, whether it be in person or in spirit. Hence the manner of Christ’s coming is not determined by the word; and I question whether in the phrase, the coming of Christ or the Lord (Greek, τῆς παρουσίας), the παρουσία is used as referring to the personal coming of Christ after his ascension. The coming is a continuous event, or includes a number of events, extending over a shorter or longer period of time. The closing up of one period by the introduction of another is the end of an age. In 1 Cor. 10: 11, Paul speaks of the ends of the world coming on him and his brethren. The ends of the ages (Greek, τῶν αἰώνων), as though there were a number of ends of the world or ages, which is true, as the termination of any one special dispensation or order is an end of an age or world, as our translation has it. In the parable of the tares, the harvest season, which was the end of the world, began on the day of Pentecost and is still going on. In the end of the world, the age, or Jewish dispensation, the tares which had been sown were gathered out, and a new and more perfect order of things was instituted. The Christian dispensation superseded that of the Jews, the kingdom of God was fully set up and Christ was inaugurated as its king. Instead of a theocracy, such as the Jews had, we have a Christocracy, the divine government administered by Jesus, the Christ, who is now King of kings, and Lord of lords. On the white horse of divine truth this now celestial Captain of salvation is riding forth, conquering and going on to conquer. Such is the coming of the Son of man as set forth in the parable under consideration. The events mentioned in the parable began their fulfillment soon after the ascension of Christ, and continue to have more and more their completion as one age after another passes away and is superseded by a brighter and more perfect coming one. Thus Christ, as the Son of man, is ever coming in his kingdom, unfolding more and more the glories of the latter days when the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High God and they shall reign forever and ever. The interpretation of Matt. 19: 27-29, turns wholly upon the meaning of the word regeneration, and the time when that regeneration, whatever it is, takes place. The word is defined by Robinson thus: (παλιγγενεσία) “new birth, regeneration, reproduction, renovation, restoration, restitution,” and is applied to only two things: 1. A change by grace from a carnal nature to a Christian life, and, 2. The restoration of the outward and visible creation from its present decay and ruin to its original state. The only regeneration which takes place in this world in its present state, is a change of heart. There is no regeneration or restitution here from the evils of the curse; sin, sickness, pain, decay and death. But if Christ refers to a regeneration to be accomplished for us in this life, the comma, after the word me, should be removed and placed after regeneration. Then it would read, “Ye which have followed me in the regeneration.” But this, as Dr. Clarke well observes, would be an impossibility; for Christ was not a sinner, and needed no regeneration of that nature; and hence none could follow him in it. The regeneration must therefore be something to take place in the future. And such a regeneration (regenesis, re-creating) is promised; even new heavens and a new earth. Peter says, (2 Pet. 3: 13), “We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” And these are to be just as literal as the heavens and earth that were before the flood, verse 6, and the heavens and earth which are now, verse 7; and the destruction of this present heavens and earth, to make way for the new, is to be just as literal as the destruction of the old world by water. Verses 6, 7. And this shall be when the day of the Lord comes. Verse 10. The promise to which Peter refers is found in Isa. 65: 17, where the Lord says, “For behold I create new heavens and a new earth.” Here is the regeneration, regenesis or re-creating. And John, blessed with bright visions of future scenes, was permitted to look forward and behold the fulfillment of this prophecy. Rev. 21: 1-5. Then shall Christ’s followers sit upon their thrones of glory. Rev. 3: 21. With Bro. G.’s criticism on the meaning of the words κόσμος and αἰών, we are happy to agree. But we apprehend he utterly misinterprets our Lord’s parable of the wheat and tares by making the αἰών, age, refer to the Jewish age instead of the Christian. From such a view we dissent, because at the end of the Jewish age we find no gathering of the tares, the wicked, into bundles to burn, and no furnace of fire into which they were cast, and no weeping and wailing, except by the disciples of Christ, who were subjects of persecution and cruelty on every hand. The destruction of Jerusalem cannot be taken as a fulfillment; for that did not take place till some forty years after that age had ended. And when did the apostles shine forth in the kingdom of their Father? All but one of them are said to have suffered a violent death. And the oppression and suffering of the church in Paul’s day, led him to exclaim, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” What! Shining forth in the kingdom of their Father, and sitting on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, and yet of all men most miserable? And has there been no sowing of tares, and no growing together of righteous and wicked since the end of the Jewish age? For the benefit of this age the instructions of Christ were given. For the benefit of Christians in this age, Matthew recorded this parable six years after the resurrection of Christ, when this age was introduced. It is very evident that the parable applies wholly to this dispensation; and when this dispensation shall close, now very soon, if we read aright the startling signs of this time, events shall transpire of so terrible a nature as to leave no doubt in any mind in regard to the fulfillment of the threatening which this parable contains. In one instance, Heb. 9: 26, the expression “End of the world, (αἰών, age,)” undoubtedly refers to the end of the Jewish age, and in another, 1 Cor. 10: 11, ages are spoken of in the plural, referring to the ages which preceded the gospel dispensation. The expression “end of the world,” occurs elsewhere only in the parable of Matt. 13, in Matt. 24: 3, and 28: 20; in all which it manifestly refers to the end of the present or gospel age. Take for instance, Matt. 28: 20: “Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” These were, perhaps, the very last words our Lord gave to his disciples just before his ascension into Heaven. The Jewish age had already ended; or, if we put it at the day of Pentecost, it was to end in ten days from that time. If the end of the world means the end of that age, then our Lord told them, “Lo, I am with you alway, even for ten days!” Is this all the promise he gave them? Is this precious legacy with which the church has comforted herself through all the succeeding ages, thus to be dissipated into nothingness? No. Lo, I am with you, my disciples, you who are present, and all who shall believe on me through your word (John 17: 20), as ye go into all the world, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; I am with you till this age on which you enter, this age of gospel invitations and blessings, shall end. The language can mean nothing else. No other interpretation, if it is proper to speak of interpreting language which is already as plain as it can be, is at all possible. The harvest is the end of the world. That, says Bro. G. is the end of the Jewish age, and it commenced on the day of Pentecost; and we understand him that the harvest is still progressing. That age, then, is still ending, so we have not yet come to the end of the Jewish age. When will it end? This ending that never ends must be akin to that other theological anomaly, “the death that never dies,” which can only find its counterpart in “the life that never lives.” The verb that denotes a progressive coming of Christ, he has failed to give us. The word coming (παρουσία) which is seventeen times in the New Testament applied to the coming of Christ, means exclusively a literal personal presence. See Liddell and Scott. In every instance of its use in the N. T. except where it refers to the coming of Christ, no one would think of giving it any other meaning. See 1 Cor. 16: 17; 2 Cor. 7, 6, 7; 10: 10, &c. The idea of a spiritual coming is a theological invention. There can be no such coming of Christ; for spiritually he is with his people, and all through this dispensation has been with them, according to his promise, “Lo I am with you alway, even to the end of the world.” And when this dispensation shall end, then he returns to receive them, that they may be, not in a spiritual sense simply, but personally present with himself. John 14: 1-3. THE HOLY SABBATH.
By A. T. Robinson
“If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable . . . Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isa 58: 13, 14. LORD, in agreement with thy word,
We turn our feet away
From doing pleasures of our own
On this thy holy day. We claim the promise thou hast given,
In thy most holy word,
To those who call it a delight,
The holy of the Lord. Then for our ignorance in the past,
In breaking thy commands,
Teach us, O Lord, in haste to ask
For pardon at thy hands. And grant, O Lord, that we may have
Sufficient grace, to be
Enabled all thy law to keep
Acceptably to thee. Then with the psalmist we can say,
We love thy law, O Lord;
Our meditation all the day,
Is on thy holy word.
A. T. ROBINSON. Will It Pay?
By WASHINGTON MORSE
One year ago I ordered the REVIEW for two families, at my expense, who seemed not able to pay for it. They have become deeply interested, and are both now keeping the Sabbath. While at our good camp-meeting in Minnesota, I bought Testimony No. 21, which I have read and re-read, much of it with deep interest. The blessing which I have received in reading those thrilling truths, would well pay me for going the long journey of one hundred and twenty miles to the meeting, where I obtained it. To the brethren in Minnesota I wish to say, Read again and again from pages 139 to 158. Mark pages 139, 140, 141, also, pages 151, 157, and 158. I shall take more stock in this direction. I think it pays. WASHINGTON MORSE.
Dickinson Co., Iowa. Roman Catholic Testimony.
By Albert Weeks
“And they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.” Dan. 7:26. The following Catholic testimony is a witness that this prophecy is having a rapid fulfillment:— “CIRCULAR SENT TO ALL THE CATHOLIC PRIESTS.” Rev. Dear Sir:—Please announce to your congregation that the annual collection for the Holy Father will be made in all the churches of the Archdiocese on the fourth Sunday after Pentecost, the 16th of June. I need not remind you of the many reasons for which it is not only very desirable, but even of urgent importance, that this collection should be, if possible, a more than usually large and liberal one. It is well known to all that the trials and embarrassments of our Holy Father have been multiplied during the past two years far beyond anything he has hitherto been obliged to endure. The enemies of the church and of the Apostolic See have been pursuing and still continue to pursue with ever-increasing boldness their work of sacrilege and spoliation in the capitol of the Christian world. It is sought to reduce the Venerable Pontiff, who is already virtually a prisoner in their hands, to the still further humiliation of becoming a pensioner to the bounty of an unscrupulous government, which has usurped his rights and robbed him of his temporal goods and possessions. To this he firmly and nobly refused to submit. He looks to his faithful children throughout the world, confident that from this indignity, at least, they can and will protect and rescue him. Ours, then, is a share in the duty and privilege of supplying the wants and consoling the heart of our common father. I don’t allow myself to doubt that his children in this diocese will perform their parts cheerfully and generously. Wishing you health and blessing, I remain, Rev. dear sir,
Very truly your friend and brother in Christ, JOHN, Archbishop of New York.” The above I copy from The Boston Pilot, July 6. I have italicized that which is particularly expressive of the fulfillment of the prophecy at the head of these lines, expressing the consumption of the papal dominion. The following from the same paper shows the apparent confidence that the pope has in the ability of the church to outride the storm: “The persecution of Catholics has commenced in Germany, but they display courage under affliction and have notified the German government that the persecution of the church is folly. The church, said the Holy Father, remains triumphant. We have asked Prince Bismarck how it is that the once contented German bishops have, according to the expressed belief of the German government, been suddenly transformed into dangerous conspirators.” Gather Sunshine Instead of Clouds
Gather sunshine about you instead of clouds. Samuel and the Woman of Endor.
In all arguments for the continued life and consciousness of the dead, 1 Sam. 28: 3–20 usually holds a conspicuous place. In examining this scripture we will look at (1) the narrative, (2) the claim that is based upon it, (3) the character of the actors in the incident, (4) the facts to be considered, and (5) the conclusions to be drawn. 1. The narrative. Samuel was a prophet of God in Israel from 1112 to 1058 before Christ. Saul was king of Israel from 1096 to 1056, before Christ. Samuel appointed Saul to his office as king, and from time to time communicated instruction to him from the Lord as his counselor and adviser. At the time when the incident recorded in 1 Sam. 28: 3–20 occurred, Samuel was dead. There was war between the Israelites and the Philistines. The Philistines pressed hard upon Israel. They gathered their forces together in Shunem, and Saul, assembling all Israel to oppose them, pitched in Gilboa. Dismayed at the mighty array of the Philistine host, Saul’s heart sunk within him, and he was sore afraid. In anxiety and trembling he cast about him for help. He sought the Lord, but the Lord answered him not. No dream was given, no token by Urim appeared, no prophet had a word from the mouth of the Lord to meet the circumstances of his deep distress. He thought of his old-time friend, the prophet Samuel, to whom he had so often gone, and who had so often directed his steps in times of doubt and danger. But Samuel was dead, and how could he consult him? There was in the land a class of people who claimed to have power to communicate with the dead. This work, called necromancy (“a pretended communication with the dead”—Webster), had been strictly forbidden by the Lord Lev. 19: 31; 20: 27; Deut. 18: 9–12, &c. And Saul in obedience to the command of the Lord, Ex. 22: 18, had cut off, so far as they could be found, all persons of that class out of the land. Yet a few, controlled wholly by the devil, still practiced with caution and secrecy, their hellish orgies. Whether Saul had ever believed in the reality of this work, or not, we are not informed. But it is certain that in his present extremity, his belief gave way to the pretensions of these necromancers, and the evil thought took possession of him that he could consult in this way with the prophet Samuel. So he inquired for a woman that had a familiar spirit, and was told of one at Endor. Disguising himself, in order that the woman, knowing Saul’s decree against witchcraft, might not fear to communicate for him, and going secretly by night, he sought the woman. The woman being assured that no evil was intended and no punishment should happen to her, asked whom she should bring up. Saul answered, Bring me up Samuel. And when she saw the object which her conjuration had evoked, she cried out with fear, and said to her royal guest, Why hast thou deceived me; for thou art Saul? He told her to fear not, but tell what she saw. She answered, An old man, covered with a mantle. “And Saul perceived,” says the narrative, “that it was Samuel.” Samuel asked Saul why he had disquieted him to bring him up; and Saul answered, that he might make known what he should do; for the Philistines made war upon him, and God was departed from him, and he was sore distressed. Samuel then asked him why he came to him since God had departed from him, and had become his enemy. Then he proceeded to tell him that the kingdom was rent out of his hand because he had failed to obey the Lord; that the Philistines should triumph in the battle, and that on the morrow he and his sons should die. This was the finishing stroke to the already breaking heart of Saul, and, utterly overwhelmed with his calamities, he fell senseless to the earth. Such are the essential facts brought to view in the narrative. Let us now look at what is claimed from them. 2. The claim. This can be expressed in few words. It is claimed that Samuel actually appeared on this occasion, and that therefore the dead are conscious, or that there is a spirit in man that lives on in consciousness when the body dies; and, therefore again, the soul is immortal. The validity of this claim rests very much on the question whether the transaction here recorded was wrought by the power of God or by the devil. If by God, then the representation was a true one; if by the devil, we may look for deception; for he commenced his work by becoming the father of all the lies in the world, and continues it by assiduously circulating them. We will therefore consider, 3. The character of the actors. These actors were, first, the woman that had a familiar spirit; and familiar spirits are spirits of devils. Compare together Num. 25: 1–3; Ps. 106: 28; and 1 Cor. 10: 20. This work of dealing with familiar spirits God had declared to be an abomination to him, he had expressly forbidden it, and sentenced to death all who practiced it. The other chief actor in this scene was Saul. And what was his condition at this time? He had so long lived in violation of divine instruction that God had departed from him, and answered him no more by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets, which were the ways he had himself appointed to communicate with his people. Query: Would the Lord refuse to communicate with him in ways of his own appointing, and then come to him by means the use of which he had expressly forbidden? We see then that neither of the actors in this scene were persons through whom, or for whom, we should expect the Lord to work. We will therefore notice further, 4. The facts to be considered. a. The wonders wrought on this occasion, were all accomplished by the familiar spirit with whom this woman consorted. There were two things for this spirit to do: (1) Either to bring up in reality the dead person that was called for, or (2) to counterfeit the dead man so perfectly that those who were conversing with the familiar spirit would believe that they were conversing with their dead friend. b. That it was not Samuel, but the familiar spirit personating Samuel, that appeared, is evident from that fact that this supposed Samuel, before holding any communication with Saul, put the woman on her guard, telling her that her guest was none other than Saul himself. This is shown by the fact that the woman as soon as she saw him, cried out with fear, not because Samuel really appeared contrary to her expectations, as some have supposed; for she did not cry out, “Samuel has come, indeed!” but because of what the appearance told her; for she immediately turned to Saul and said, “Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.” This would not be the work of the real Samuel, to put the woman on her guard, to aid her in her unholy work of incantation. c. According to the claim based on this transaction, it was Samuel’s immortal soul that appeared on this occasion. But its appearance was, according to the description of the woman, an old man covered with a mantle. Do immortal souls go about in this way, in the form of old men covered with mantles? This renders it still more evident that it was the familiar spirit, imitating Samuel as he appeared while here upon earth. d. Saul did not see Samuel at all. But does it not read that “Saul perceived that it was Samuel”? Yes; but perceived how? Not by the sight of his eyes, but from the woman’s description. The words “saw,” as applied to the woman, verse 12, and “perceived,” as applied to Saul, verse 14, are in the Septuagint different words. The woman actually saw the appearance before her; and here the word eido (εἶδω) is used, which signifies, according to Liddell and Scott, “to see, behold, look at;” but when it is said that Saul perceived, the word is ginosco (γινώσκω), which signifies, according to the same authority, “to know, perceive, gain knowledge of, observe, mark, be aware of, see into, understand,” by an operation of the mind. In harmony with this view, is Saul’s language to the woman, “What sawest thou?” and “What form is he of?” If any should say that Saul might have seen all that the woman saw if he had not been prostrate upon the ground, it is sufficient to reply that it was not till after he asked these questions that he “stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.” Verse 14. If Samuel had actually been present, Saul could have seen him as well as the woman. e. The appearance which the woman saw, came up out of the earth. Was that Samuel’s immortal soul? Are these souls in the earth? We supposed they were in the heavenly glories of the world above. f. Is it said that, as the form came up out of the earth, Samuel had a resurrection? Then the conscious-soul theory is abandoned. But if this was a resurrection of Samuel, how could he come up out of the ground here at Endor, near the sea of Galilee, when he was buried in distant Ramah, verse 3, near Jerusalem? And if the old man was raised from the dead, what became of him? Did he go through the pains of a second dissolution, and enter the grave again? If so, well might he complain to Saul for disquieting him to bring him up. g. This pretended Samuel told Saul that he and his sons would be with him the following day. Verse 19. If he was an immortal spirit in glory, how could Saul, whom God had rejected for his sins, go to be with him there? h. Another sacred writer mentions this event in Saul’s life, and assigns it as one of the two reasons why he was given up by the Lord to die. 1 Chron. 10: 13. 5. Conclusions. What conclusions are inevitable from the foregoing facts? It is first of all evident that Samuel was not present on that occasion either as an immortal spirit from the third Heaven, or as one resurrected from the dead. a. It is not consistent to suppose that God, having refused to answer Saul’s petitions in any legitimate way, would have respect to them when presented through this forbidden channel. b. It is inconsistent to suppose that an immortal soul from glory would come up out of the earth, as did the form which the woman evoked with her hellish incantations. c. It is inconsistent to suppose that Samuel was resurrected bodily here in Endor, when he was buried in Ramah. d. If he was raised, it must have been by God or the devil. But the devil cannot raise the dead, and it is evident that God would not, at least in answer to these agencies, the use of which he had forbidden under pain of death. God would not thus raise up his servant to talk with Saul on the devil’s own ground. e. It is incredible that such a man as Samuel, who held witchcraft as such a heinous sin, 1 Sam. 15: 23, should first hold friendly converse with this abandoned woman in the midst of her incantations, and put her on her guard, before delivering his message to Saul. f. It is the boldest assumption to suppose that any one, through this agency of the devil, would have power to summon at will any immortal soul from glory, or to raise any one from the dead, or that this woman, through her hellish incantations would have power to behold the holy Samuel, while Saul could see nothing. But is it not said that the woman saw Samuel? Yes; and here is the only seeming difficulty in all the narrative. We find these four expressions: “The woman saw Samuel,” verse 12; “And Samuel said to Saul,” verse 15; “Then said Samuel,” verse 16; and, “because of the words of Samuel.” Verse 20. And how could it be so written, it is asked, if Samuel was not there, and the woman did not see him, and he did not say the things here recorded? Answer. This is easily explained by a very common law of language. Consider the circumstances. The woman stood ready to bring up any one that might be called for. She believed, of course, that they actually came, just as mediums now-a-days believe the forms they see are those of their departed friends. Samuel was called for, and this mantled old man appeared. She supposed it was Samuel; and Saul supposed it was Samuel; and then, according to the general law of the language of appearance, the narrative proceeds according to their supposition. When it says Samuel, it only means that form that appeared, which they supposed to be Samuel. Secondly, the conclusion is apparent, that this was only a manifestation of ancient necromancy, sorcery, witchcraft, or spiritualism; a wholesale deception palmed off upon his dupes by the devil in disguise. Between the ancient and modern there is this difference: Then he had to pretend to bring up the dead from the ground; for the people then believed that the dead were in the lower regions of the earth: now he brings them down from the upper spheres; for the prevailing belief now is that those regions are populous with the conscious spirits of the departed. Let no one then appeal to the workings of the witch of Endor to prove the immortality of the soul, unless he is prepared to claim openly that the Bible is a fiction, that ancient necromancy was a divine practice, and that modern spiritualism with all its godless blasphemies, and its reeking corruptions is the only reliable oracle of truth and purity.