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Chapter 67
Ancient and Modern Sorcery
THE Scripture account of Saul's visit to the woman of Endor has been a
source of perplexity to many students of the Bible. There are some who
take the position that Samuel was actually present at the interview with
Saul, but the Bible itself furnishes sufficient ground for a contrary
conclusion. If, as claimed by some, Samuel was in heaven, he must have
been summoned thence, either by the power of God or by that of Satan.
None can believe for a moment that Satan had power to call the holy
prophet of God from heaven to honor the incantations of an abandoned
woman. Nor can we conclude that God summoned him to the witch's cave;
for the Lord had already refused to communicate with Saul, by dreams, by
Urim, or by prophets. 1 Samuel 28:6. These were God's own appointed
mediums of communication, and He did not pass them by to deliver the
message through the agent of Satan.
The message itself is sufficient evidence of its origin. Its object was
not to lead Saul to repentance, but to urge him on to ruin; and this is
not the work of God, but of Satan. Furthermore, the act of Saul in
consulting a sorceress is cited in Scripture as one reason why he was
rejected by God and abandoned to destruction: "Saul died for his
transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word
of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that
had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; and inquired not of the Lord:
therefore He slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of
Jesse." 1 Chronicles 10:13, 14. Here it is distinctly stated that Saul
inquired of the familiar spirit, not of the Lord. He did not communicate
with Samuel, the prophet of God; but through the sorceress he held
intercourse with Satan. Satan could not present the real Samuel, but he
did present a counterfeit, that served his purpose of deception.
Nearly all forms of ancient sorcery and witchcraft were founded upon a
belief in communion with the dead. Those who practiced the arts of
necromancy claimed to have intercourse with departed spirits, and to
obtain through them a knowledge of future events. This custom of
consulting the dead is referred to in the prophecy of Isaiah: "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?" Isaiah 8:19.
This same belief in communion with the dead formed the cornerstone of
heathen idolatry. The gods of the heathen were believed to be the
deified spirits of departed heroes. Thus the religion of the heathen was
a worship of the dead. This is evident from the Scriptures. In the
account of the sin of Israel at Bethpeor, it is stated: "Israel abode in
Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of
Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and
the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined
himself unto Baalpeor." Numbers 25:1-3. The psalmist tells us to what
kind of gods these sacrifices were offered. Speaking of the same
apostasy of the Israelites, he says, "They joined themselves also unto
Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead" (Psalm 106:28); that is,
sacrifices that had been offered to the dead.
The deification of the dead has held a prominent place in nearly every
system of heathenism, as has also the supposed communion with the dead.
The gods were believed to communicate their will to men, and also, when
consulted, to give them counsel. Of this character were the famous
oracles of Greece and Rome.
The belief in communion with the dead is still held, even in professedly
Christian lands. Under the name of spiritualism the practice of
communicating with beings claiming to be the spirits of the departed has
become widespread. It is calculated to take hold of the sympathies of
those who have laid their loved ones in the grave. Spiritual beings
sometimes appear to persons in the form of their deceased friends, and
relate incidents connected with their lives and perform acts which they
performed while living. In this way they lead men to believe that their
dead friends are angels, hovering over them and communicating with them.
Those who thus assume to be the spirits of the departed are regarded
with a certain idolatry, and with many their word has greater weight
than the word of God.
There are many, however, who regard spiritualism as a mere imposture.
The manifestations by which it supports its claims to a supernatural
character are attributed to fraud 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 also been marked evidences of
supernatural power. And many who reject spiritualism as the result of
human skill or cunning will, when confronted with manifestations which
they cannot account for upon this ground, be led to acknowledge its
claims.
Modern spiritualism and the forms of ancient witchcraft and idol
worship--all having communion with the dead as their vital
principle--are founded upon that first lie by which Satan beguiled Eve
in Eden: "Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye
eat thereof, . . . ye shall be as gods." Genesis 3:4, 5. Alike based
upon falsehood and perpetuating the same, they are alike from the father
of lies.
The Hebrews were expressly forbidden to engage in any manner in
pretended communion with the dead. God closed this door effectually when
He said: "The dead know not anything. . . . Neither have they any more a
portion forever in anything that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes
9:5, 6. "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very
day his thoughts perish." Psalm 146:4. And the Lord declared to Israel:
"The soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after
wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set My face against
that soul, and will cut him off from among his people." Leviticus 20:6.
The "familiar spirits" were not the spirits of the dead, but evil
angels, the messengers of Satan. Ancient idolatry, which, as we have
seen, comprises both worship of the dead and pretended communion with
them, is declared by the Bible to have been demon worship. The apostle
Paul, in warning his brethren against participating, in any manner, in
the idolatry of their heathen neighbors, says, "The things which the
Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God, and I
would not that ye should have fellowship with devils." 1 Corinthians
10:20. The psalmist, speaking of Israel, says that "they sacrificed
their sons and their daughters unto devils," and in the next verse he
explains that they sacrificed them "unto the idols of Canaan." Psalm
106:37, 38. In their supposed worship of dead men they were in reality
worshiping demons.
Modern spiritualism, resting upon the same foundation, is but a revival
in a new form of the witchcraft and demon worship that God condemned and
prohibited of old. It is foretold in the Scriptures, which declare that
"in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to
seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." 1 Timothy 4:1. Paul, in his
second letter to the Thessalonians, points to the special working of
Satan in spiritualism as an event to take place immediately before the
second advent of Christ. Speaking of Christ's second coming, he declares
that it is "after the working of Satan with all power and signs and
lying wonders." 2 Thessalonians 2:9. And Peter, describing the dangers
to which the church was to be exposed in the last days, says that as
there were false prophets who led Israel into sin, so there will be
false teachers, "who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even
denying the Lord that bought them. . . . And many shall follow their
pernicious ways." 2 Peter 2:1, 2. Here the apostle has pointed out one
of the marked characteristics of spiritualist teachers. They refuse to
acknowledge Christ as the Son of God. Concerning such teachers the
beloved John declares: "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is
the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father." 1 John 2:22,
23. Spiritualism, by denying Christ, denies both the Father and the Son,
and the Bible pronounces it the manifestation of antichrist.
By the prediction of Saul's doom, given through the woman of Endor,
Satan planned to ensnare the people of Israel. He hoped that they would
be inspired with confidence in the sorceress, and would be led to
consult her. Thus they would turn from God as their counselor and would
place themselves under the guidance of Satan. The lure by which
spiritualism attracts the multitudes is its pretended power to draw
aside the veil from the future and reveal to men what God has hidden.
God has in His word opened before us the great events of the future--all
that it is essential for us to know--and He has given us a safe guide
for our feet amid all its perils; but it is Satan's purpose to destroy
men's confidence in God, to make them dissatisfied with their condition
in life, and to lead them to seek a knowledge of what God has wisely
veiled from them, and to despise what He has revealed in His Holy Word.
There are many who become restless when they cannot know the definite
outcome of affairs. They cannot endure uncertainty, and in their
impatience they refuse to wait to see the salvation of God. Apprehended
evils drive them nearly distracted. They give way to their rebellious
feelings, and run hither and thither in passionate grief, seeking
intelligence concerning that which has not been revealed. If they would
but trust in God, and watch unto prayer, they would find divine
consolation. Their spirit would be calmed by communion with God. The
weary and the heavy-laden would find rest unto their souls if they would
only go to Jesus; but when they neglect the means that God has ordained
for their comfort, and resort to other sources, hoping to learn what God
has withheld, they commit the error of Saul, and thereby gain only a
knowledge of evil.
God is not pleased with this course, and has expressed it in the most
explicit terms. This impatient haste to tear away the veil from the
future reveals a lack of faith in God and leaves the soul open to the
suggestions of the master deceiver. Satan leads men to consult those
that have familiar spirits; and by revealing hidden things of the past,
he inspires confidence in his power to foretell things to come. By
experience gained through the long ages he can reason from cause to
effect and often forecast, with a degree of accuracy, some of the future
events of man's life. Thus he in enabled to deceive poor, misguided
souls and bring them under his power and lead them captive at his will.
God has given us the warning by His prophet: "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." Isaiah
8:19, 20.
Shall those who have a holy God, infinite in wisdom and power, go unto
wizards, whose knowledge comes from intimacy with the enemy of our Lord?
God Himself is the light of His people; He bids them fix their eyes by
faith upon the glories that are veiled from human sight. The Sun of
Righteousness sends its bright beams into their hearts; they have light
from the throne of heaven, and they have no desire to turn away from the
source of light to the messengers of Satan.
The demon's message to Saul, although it was a denunciation of sin and a
prophecy of retribution, was not meant to reform him, but to goad him to
despair and ruin. Oftener, however, it serves the tempter's purpose best
to lure men to destruction by flattery. The teaching of the demon gods
in ancient times fostered the vilest license. The divine precepts
condemning sin and enforcing righteousness were set aside; truth was
light regarded, and impurity was not only permitted but enjoined.
Spiritualism declares that there is no death, no sin, no judgment, no
retribution; that "men are unfallen demigods;" that desire is the
highest law; and that man is accountable only to himself. The barriers
that God has erected to guard truth, purity, and reverence are broken
down, and many are thus emboldened in sin. Does not such teaching
suggest an origin similar to that of demon worship?
The Lord presented before Israel the results of holding communion with
evil spirits, in the abominations of the Canaanites: they were without
natural affection, idolaters, adulterers, murderers, and abominable by
every corrupt thought and revolting practice. Men do not know their own
hearts; for "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked." Jeremiah 17:9. But God understands the tendencies of the
depraved nature of man. Then, as now, Satan was watching to bring about
conditions favorable to rebellion, that the people of Israel might make
themselves as abhorrent to God as were the Canaanites. The adversary of
souls is ever on the alert to open channels for the unrestrained flow of
evil in us; for he desires that we may be ruined, and be condemned
before God.
Satan was determined to keep his hold on the land of Canaan, and when it
was made the habitation of the children of Israel, and the law of God
was made the law of the land, he hated Israel with a cruel and malignant
hatred and plotted their destruction. Through the agency of evil spirits
strange gods were introduced; and because of transgression, the chosen
people were finally scattered from the Land of Promise. This history
Satan is striving to repeat in our day. God is leading His people out
from the abominations of the world, that they may keep His law; and
because of this, the rage of "the accuser of our brethren" knows no
bounds. "The devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he
knoweth that he hath but a short time." Revelation 12:10, 12. The
antitypical land of promise is just before us, and Satan is determined
to destroy the people of God and cut them off from their inheritance.
The admonition, "Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation" (Mark
14:38), was never more needed than now.
The word of the Lord to ancient Israel is addressed also to His people
in this age: "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek
after wizards, to be defiled by them;" "for all that do these things are
an abomination unto the Lord." Leviticus 19:31; Deuteronomy 18:12.
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