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Spiritualism
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were the most sacred truths of the Bible. The law of God is set aside,
the Spirit of grace despised, the blood of the covenant counted an
unholy thing. The spirits deny the divinity of Christ, and place even
the Creator on a level with themselves. Thus under a new disguise
the great rebel still carries forward his warfare against God, begun in
Heaven, and for nearly six thousand years continued upon the earth.
Many endeavor to account for spiritual manifestations by at-
tributing them wholly to fraud and sleight of hand on the part of
the medium. But while it is true that the results of trickery have
often been palmed off as genuine manifestations, there have been,
also, marked exhibitions of supernatural power. The mysterious
rapping with which modern Spiritualism began was not the result
of human trickery or cunning, but the direct work of evil angels,
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who thus introduced one of the most successful of soul-destroying
delusions. Many will be ensnared through the belief that Spiritual-
ism is a merely human imposture; when brought face to face with
manifestations which they cannot but regard as supernatural, they
will be deceived, and will be led to accept them as the great power
of God.
These persons overlook the testimony of the Scriptures concern-
ing the wonders wrought by Satan and his agents. It was by Satanic
aid that Pharaoh’s magicians were enabled to counterfeit the work
of God. The apostle John, describing the miracle-working power
that will be manifested in the last days, declares: “He doeth great
wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth
in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by
the means of those miracles which he had power to do.” [
Revelation
13:13, 14
.] No mere impostures are here brought to view. Men are
deceived by the miracles which Satan’s agents have power to do, not
which they pretend to do.
The very name of witchcraft is now held in contempt. The claim
that men can hold intercourse with evil spirits is regarded as a fable
of the Dark Ages. But Spiritualism, which numbers its converts
by hundreds of thousands, yea, by millions, which has made its
way into scientific circles, which has invaded churches, and has
found favor in legislative bodies, and even in the courts of kings—
this mammoth deception is but a revival in a new disguise of the
witchcraft condemned and prohibited of old.
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