Spiritualism made its appearance, it said in so many words, I come
to reform the world.... Spiritualism came to put the ax at the
root of the tree of human evil, it came to decide upon the most
important and vital thing connected with existence; _i. e._, Is
man only an evanescent, material, earthly being, or is he
immortal?... Spiritualism came to reform death, to resolve it into
life; came to reform fear, to resolve it into trust and knowledge;
came to reform the darkness which rests upon humanity concerning
the nature of man’s existence.”
In the same paper, April 6, 1887, was given the following prediction of
the future of Spiritualism:—
“Modern Spiritualism will grow, and deepen, and broaden, and
strengthen, until all false creeds and dogmas shall be swept from
the earth—when faith shall be buried in knowledge, when war shall
be known no more, when universal brotherhood shall prevail to
bless mankind.”
In “Nineteenth Century Miracles,” p. 79, M. Jaubert speaks as follows:—
“Affirm to your people that man never dies, that his immortality
is proved, not by books but by material and tangible facts, of
which every one can convince himself; that anon our houses of
correction, and our prisons, will disappear; suicide will be
erased from our mortuary tables; and nobly borne, the calamities
of earth shall no longer produce madness.”
Mrs. R. S. Lillie, in a speech at the Thirty-eighth Anniversary services
in Horticultural Hall, Boston, Mass., and reported in the _Banner of
Light_, of April, 1886, said:—
“Christianity never had a Pentecost to be compared with modern
Spiritualism. The latter is as far in advance of the former, as
the electric light is in advance of the tallow dip of the past;
for it is nineteen centuries ahead of it.”
These are most astounding claims; and if there is any truth in them,
Spiritualism ought to have shown itself as a great uplifting moral power,
provided it has been able to get any foothold among the people. We
therefore inquire what its success has been. On this point Professor Keck,
at the Thirty-ninth Anniversary of Modern Spiritualism, at Bridgeport,
Conn. (_Banner of Light_, April 9, 1887), said:—
“It [Spiritualism] has made converts of more scientific men and
profound thinkers than any other sect in the world. In thirty-nine
years it has grown to ten or fifteen millions of believers, with
thousands of mediums, a literature printed in every known
language, and converts in every quarter of the globe.”
With all these facilities and all this success, it surely has been able to
make good its claims, and fulfil its promises, if its nature is such as it
assumes, and its promises are good for anything; and its course should be
marked by a great decrease of crime, by the promotion of virtue and a
general improvement in the moral tone of society, wherever it has gone.
For nearly fifty years it has now been operating in the world; and with
all its glowing professions of what it was able to do, and its millions of
converts, “energized to all that is good and elevating,” its impress for
good should everywhere be seen.
But what are the facts?—Just the reverse of what has been promised. Free
love, which is free lust, has followed in its wake; homes have been
ruined, families scattered, characters blighted; while insanity and
suicide have been the fate, or the last resort, of too many of its
victims. And outside of its own ranks, in the world at large, the fifty
years since the advent of Spiritualism have been years of increase of
crime and every evil in a fast growing ratio. Liquor drinking, tobacco
using, gambling, prostitution, defalcations, robberies, bribery, municipal
corruption, divorces, thefts, insanity, suicide, and murder, have
increased in far more rapid ratio than the population itself.
The reader will remember the testimony of Dr. Randolph, p. 105, that five
of his friends destroyed themselves, and he attempted it for himself, by
direct spirit influences. The Philadelphia _Record_, of Feb. 17, 1894,
speaks of the suicide of May Brooklyn in San Francisco, Cal.:—
“The letters and papers left by the dead woman show plainly that
in her grief over the death of Lovecraft she had dabbled in
Spiritualism, and had finally reached the conclusion that her only
chance of happiness lay in joining her lover in the other world.”
A few figures, as samples, will be given just to emphasize the general
statements. The following is from the Chicago _Tribune_ of Jan. 1, 1893:—
“The number of persons who have committed suicide in the United
States during the year (1892), as gathered from telegraph and mail
report to the _Tribune_, is 3860, as compared with 3331 last year
(1891), 2640 in 1890, and 2224 in 1889. The total is much larger
than that of any of the eleven preceding years.”
The _Christian Reformer_ gives the following figures of murders, suicides,
and embezzlements from 1891-1893:—
“Murders in 1893, 6615; increase over 1891 of 709.
“Suicides in 1893, 4436; increase over 1892, 576; 1891, 1105.
“Funds embezzled in 1893, $19,929,692; increase of 100 per cent.
over 1892.”
It may be asked, What has this to do with Spiritualism?—It is a test of
the value of its promises. Spiritualism has been posing for fifty years as
the “world’s reformer,” the great energizing, uplifting force to elevate
mankind, the mighty power which has come to empty our workhouses and
prisons, abolish suicides and all crime, the “electric light” compared
with the “tallow dip” of the gospel. And yet with all these claims, with
its millions of adherents, and the funds and influence at its command, it
is allowing, year by year, crime to increase much faster than the
population. Now if Spiritualism was the purifying, renovating power which
it claims to be, such results could not have been seen. It is very
evident, that, as a power in the world in behalf of righteousness and
humanity, it has been of no account; and as between the forces of good and
evil, its weight has been on the side of evil instead of good. It is thus
that the author of Spiritualism, the father of deception, fulfils the
promises made through that channel to deceive mankind. What organized,
aggressive efforts against evil has Spiritualism ever shown? Where are its
schools and colleges? Where are its hospitals and benevolent institutions?
Where are its organized charities? and what are its millions of members
doing to relieve suffering and distress, and turn men to better ways of
living? The very aspect it presents to the world to-day, stamps the brand
of Cain upon its brow. The Boston _Herald_ of Dec. 17, 1874, said:—
“Let Spiritualism produce some idea, utter some word, or perform
some deed, which will have novelty, and yet be of manifest value
to the human race, and it will make good its claims to our serious
consideration. But it has not done this. For nearly thirty years
it has been before the world in its present shape, and in all that
time, with all its asserted command of earthly and
superterrestrial knowledge, it has never done an act, or breathed
a syllable, or supplied an idea which had any value as a
contribution to the welfare of the race, or to its stock of
knowledge. Its messages from learned men who are dead, have been
the silliest bosh; its stories about life upon the planets are
wretched guesses, many of which can be proved false by the
astronomer; its visions have frightened scores of people into
madhouses, and made semi-lunatics of hundreds of others.”
If this charge was good as late as 1874, it is equally so at the present
time. And thus are we forced to the conclusion that Spiritualism, judged
by the light of its fair promises, is one of the most lamentable of
delusions, and most stupendous of failures.
Chapter Seven.
SPIRITUALISM A SUBJECT OF PROPHECY.
We come now to one of the most timely and important features of this whole
subject; for God in his word has foretold and forewarned the world of the
movement here passing under review. He has made known the time when it
should appear, the character it would bear, and the work it is to do. He
has also connected this with the great event of all-overshadowing
importance to this world, of which it is a startling sign and sure
precursor; namely, the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We ask the
special attention of the reader to this part of the subject.
A word of digression may be allowed as to the place which prophecy holds
in the word of God. Prophecy is that feature of the sacred volume which
constitutes it a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Ps. 119:105; 2
Peter 1:19. It is that which enables that word to be a guide to the hosts
of Israel through the weary journey and the gloomy shades of time, giving
to every era its “present truth,” and showing the progress of the
slow-revolving ages toward the great consummation. It is the golden
credential which the Bible holds up to the world of its genuineness and
authenticity.
Prophecy is peculiar to the Christian Scriptures. No other so-called
sacred books contain this feature. It is not found in the Vedas, Shasters,
or Puranas of the Hindus, nor the Zend Avestas of the Parsees, nor the
Kojiki Nohonki, of the Shintos of Japan, nor the law books of Manu, nor
the Koran of the Mohammedans, nor the Kan-Ying-Peen or Tao-Te-King of the
Chinese, nor the Tripitakas of the Buddhists. The reason is obvious.
Neither the minds of men nor of angels, either good or bad, can read the
future. Divine omniscience alone can see the end from the beginning and
foretell the great events that shall mark the history of the world, and
affect the interests of the church. It is this that stamps the Bible as
divine, and lifts it immeasurably above all other books. It is indeed
passing strange that all cannot see this. Instead of being a book that
grows obsolete and out of date with the passing years, like the
productions of men, it is the only book ever seen upon the earth which is
ever abreast of the times in every age, and lifts the veil of the future
before him who honestly and reverently seeks its pages for a knowledge of
the truth. Those who ignore or despise the prophecies, rob the Bible of
one of the brightest stars in its crown of glory.
To be entitled to claim credit as divine, any book or system should be
able to show that it can correctly foretell the future. The spirits see
this, and, knowing that they cannot do it, discountenance and discourage
all such efforts. Here is a little of their teaching on the subject:—
“_Ques._—Why are so many predictions made through mediums, which
prove false?
“_Ans._—Wonderful _guesses_ are sometimes made by daring spirits.
“_Q._—Can you tell us anything of the future?
“_A._—Pharos says you must not ask questions of the future—spirits
who _prophesy_ are _not good_ spirits.
“_Q._—Do you mean that it is not best for us to know the future?
“_A._—Souls on your plane are undergoing discipline, and it would
cost more than it is worth to foretell the future of your
state.”—_“__Automatic Writing,__”__ pp. 141, 142._
Spiritualists rail at God for prohibiting from Adam and Eve, in the
garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, to keep them in
ignorance. What will they say to these spirits who coolly answer that “it
would cost more than it is worth” to give them any knowledge of future
events? This, perhaps, they will consider all right because it isn’t God
who says it.
1. Let us then see what God has said of the time and work and significance
of Spiritualism. Over seven hundred years before Christ, the prophet
Isaiah wrote of our time, as follows: “And when they shall say unto you,
Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and
that mutter, should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to
the dead? To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
Here is certainly a prophecy that a time would come when just such a work
as Spiritualism is now doing would be a distinguishing feature of the age.
The present must be the time referred to, because it has never been so in
any past age; and the present meets the specifications in every
particular. It shows that the only safety for any one now is to seek unto
his God, and make the law and the testimony, the word of God, the great
standard by which to try all spirits. 1 John 4:1. And another great event
is directly connected with this, that is, the second coming of Christ; for
according to verses 16-18, the disciples are then looking for him.
2. Matt. 24:24: “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were
possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
A deception of no ordinary power is here brought to view. It really
results in the division of Christendom; for all but the elect are carried
away by it. In its own claims, Spiritualism fulfils the “Christs” and
“prophets” part of the declaration, claiming of course to be true, while
the Bible says it is “false.” The signs and wonders are beginning to be
seen in the many “inexplicable” phenomena attending Spiritualism. But many
more startling exhibitions, as will be presently shown, are yet to appear.
We charge upon Spiritualism, so far, the fulfilment of this prophecy. But
mark! this occurs when the Son of man is about to appear “as the lightning
cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west” (verse 27); and it
is one of the prominent signs of that event. See the prophecy from verse
23 to verse 35. Mark and Luke also dwell upon the same prediction, as
gathered from the lips of our Lord himself.
3. Heb. 10:28, 29: “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under
two or three witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he
be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath
counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”
It is the bold stand which Spiritualism has taken against Christ and the
atonement, that makes this scripture applicable to that work. The apostle
is speaking of the times when the great “day is approaching” (verse 25);
when it is but a little while, and he that shall come, will come and will
not tarry (verse 37), and the introduction of verse 29, in such a
connection, becomes a prophecy that such an outbreak against Christ and
his atoning work would be seen when he is about to come again. And the
fulfilment we are now beholding in Spiritualism.
4. Rev. 12:12: “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the
devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that
he hath but a short time.”
This scripture locates itself. It is when Satan knows that he has but a
little time to work, and hence it must be in the last days. At this time
he descends upon the world in an avalanche of wrath. “Wrath” is a
misleading term. The words θυμόν μέγαν signify the strongest and most
intense emotion of the mind. If the object is to accomplish some
particular end, they would indicate the most intense, concentrated,
energetic, and persistent efforts to that purpose, using every means, and
bringing to bear every influence to reach the result in question. Satan,
as we have seen, has an object in deceiving the human family, as far as
possible, to their destruction, by signs and wonders. In this work,
according to the prophecy before us, he will go to the extent of his
power, and show his most potent signs. Bringing the supposed forms and
features of the dead before living witnesses, is his most successful
method at the present time. But as this work is, as yet, done largely in
the dark, it gives more room for jugglery and imposition. The time will
come, however, when, in open light, counterfeit materializations of the
dead will swarm on earth, and deceive, if it were possible, the very
elect—_i.e._, all who cannot meet the deception with the potent weapon—“It
is written, The dead know not anything, neither have they any more a
portion forever [in the present state of things] in anything that is done
under the sun.”
5. Rev. 13:13, 14: “And 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.”
This prophecy relates to some earthly government represented by a symbol
with two horns like a lamb. Verse 11. It is part of a prophecy beginning
with chapter twelve, and ending with verse 5 of chapter fourteen. It is
not the place here to introduce an exposition of this prophecy. It is only
necessary to state that the position taken is that the lamblike symbol
represents our own government, the United States of America.(4) And the
great wonders that he does, apply to the marvelous manifestations of
Spiritualism. It is a significant fact that Spiritualism arose in this
country, thus fitting itself exactly to the prophecy. The climax of the
wonders brought to view in the text, making “fire come down from heaven on
the earth in the sight of men,” has not yet been reached. More is
therefore to be developed. Yea, this wonder-working power is to go forward
till that which, in the time of Elijah, was the test between the false god
Baal and the Lord Jehovah, is brought to pass, and fire is made to come
down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And the sad feature of
this case will be that the multitudes, not perceiving the change of issue,
will take the act down here to be a test of truth, as it was in the days
of Elijah.
Taken in connection with other portions of the book of Revelation, this
prophecy reveals clearly what the agency that works the miracles is. The
dragon, representing paganism (Rev. 12:3, 4); the beast, representing the
papacy (Rev. 13:1-10); and the lamblike symbol, representing
Protestantism, or more specifically, Protestant America (Rev. 13:11-17),
constitute the symbols of this prophecy. For convenience, let us designate
them as _A_, _B_, and _C_; respectively. _C_ works his miracles in sight
of _B_; _B_ and _C_ are again brought to view in Rev. 19:20, and there _C_
is called “the false prophet.” We know the false prophet here is the same
as _C_, because he works miracles before _B_, the same as _C_ does in
chapter 13:14. All together, _A_, _B_, and _C_ are brought to view in Rev.
16:13, and unclean spirits like frogs are said to come out of their
mouths; and then verse 14 tells what they are: “For they are spirits of
devils, working miracles.” This, then, not the spirits of dead men, is the
agency that works the miracles of chapter 13:13, 14. We follow the subject
so far, at this point, merely to identify the agency that works the
miracles, and shall have more to say upon it. But before passing, we would
remind the reader that here also the subject is connected with the second
coming of Christ; for the prophecy of Revelation 13 ends with the
redemption of the church which immediately follows. Rev. 14:1-5.
6. 2 Thess. 2:9-12: “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan,
with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of
the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send
them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might
be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness.”
Here, again, we have the great fact brought out with still more startling
emphasis, that there is to be a great outbreaking of Satanic power among
men, just before and up to, the coming of Christ. And if we already see
the preliminary and even far-advanced working of this power in
Spiritualism, the world should stand aghast at the perils of the times in
which we live. The coming of Christ is brought to view in verse 8, and
verse 9 states that at that time Satan will be working with all power. The
common version is calculated to obscure this passage. The words “even him”
(verse 9) are wrongly and unnecessarily supplied. Literally rendered, the
last clause of verse 8, and the first of verse 9 would read as follows:
“Whom the Lord ... shall destroy with the brightness of his [Christ’s]
coming; of whom [Christ] the coming is, after [or at the time of] the
working of Satan,” etc. The word “after” is from, the Greek κατα (_kata_),
which when referring to time, as in this case, does not mean “after or
according to,” but “within the range of, during, in the course of, at,
about,” as in 2 Tim. 4:1, where it is rendered “at.”
So here is a plain declaration that at the very time when Christ comes
Satan will be working in the hight of his power, by signs and lying
wonders (wonders to prove a lie) to keep the people under falsehood and
deception. Verses 10-12 tell who his victims are, and why they become
such: they are those who preferred the pleasures of sin to the practice of
righteousness, and so would not receive the truth, nor the love of it. In
all such cases God’s throne is clear. He always, as in this case, sets
truth first before the people, gives them a chance, and calls upon them to
embrace it, and be saved. But when men, as free moral agents, whom God
will not force into his kingdom, refuse to receive the truth, shut their
eyes, close their ears, and steel their hearts against it, and find their
pleasure in unrighteousness, in going in just the opposite direction;—what
can God do for them? We leave the skeptic himself to answer. For more
years than Spiritualism, in its present phase, has been before the world,
several religious bodies have made a specialty of the great Bible truth
concerning the state of the dead, and life only in Christ, which
effectually shields all those who receive it against the rapping delusion.
7. Rev. 18:2: “And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon
the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils,
and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful
bird.”
Among the many predictions given in the word of God touching the last
days, is one which foretokens a wide-spread and lamentable declension in
the religious world. The phrase which embodies it, is the one just quoted,
“Babylon is fallen.” The term “Babylon” is not intended nor used as a term
of reproach, but rather as a descriptive word setting forth the very
undesirable condition of “mixture” and “confusion” in the religious world.
It is certainly not the Lord’s will, who prayed that all his people should
be one, that scores or hundreds of divisions and sects should exist within
his church. That is owing, exclaims the Catholic, to the Protestant rule
of private judgment. It is not. It is owing to that Pandora’s box of
mystical interpretation placed in the church by old Origen, that prince of
mischief-makers. By this method, which has no method and no standard, the
interpretations of God’s word will ever be as various and numerous as the
whims and fancies that may find a place in the minds of men.
But all this confusion must be remedied in that church which will be ready
for the second advent; for no people will be prepared for translation but
such as worship the Lord in both _spirit_ and _truth_. To bring the church
to this point, a call has been sent to Christendom in the special truths
for this time. Most turn away, but some are taking the stand to which
these circumstances summon them. The process is simple. It is but to read
and obey God’s word in the light of what is called the literal rule of
interpretation. No other rule would ever have been thought of, if the
Devil had let the minds of men alone. By this rule the true Sabbath would
always have been maintained a perfect safeguard against idolatry in the
earth; the law would have held its place as a perfect, immutable, and
eternal rule of conduct, a safeguard against the antinomianism of all ages
and the Spiritualism of to-day; the view that the dead remain unconscious
in the grave till the resurrection, would always have been held, and then
there could have been no purgatory, no masses for the dead, no Mariolatry,
no saint worship—in short, no Roman Catholicism, and no Universalism, nor
Spiritualism; the true nature of the coming and kingdom of Christ would
not have been lost sight of, and the peace and safety fable of a temporal
millennium never could have existed.