"Among the faithful are such men as Sardou— himself a medium-and Saint-René Taillandier, the French envoy to Morocco, and Camille Flammarion. If they are to be believed—and why not?—the ghosts are more active in unbelieving Paris than in any other city at the present moment. "Jean Lorrain, the novelist, assures me that their activity is a menace to workaday life. For a long time he called them and they came; now they come unbidden; cold hands are laid upon him in the dark. And Paul Adam, that great, serene man, was troubled for a year by the attacks of larvæ, which whispered disturbing suggestions to him. "Spiritualism is the successor of the medieval occultism and of the older magic. To-day science, without accepting its manifestations, studies them; and in these troubled waters almost all the facts upon which the new metaphysics is founded have been fished up." Na chapter referring to the last days, the Lord says by the prophet, "Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people." Isa. 60: 2. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness?" Matt. 6:23. Jesus declares of Himself, "I am the light of the world." John 8:12. DECEPTIONS. Of the deceptive workings of Satan, Colcord writes: "As has been already shown, Spiritism, at first, was strongly anti-christian and infidelic. It denied the existence of God, the divinity, incarnation, and atonement of Christ, The psalmist wrote, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." 119:105. Ps. In the teachings of Christ, in the revelations of the word of God through the prophets, the and the inspiration of the Bible. light of God is shining in the It thus adapted itself to the large class of people known as infidels or unbelievers. But later, chameleon-like, it began to take on a different aspect. It (304) darkness of this world. Satan, the prince of darkness, has always counterworked God's Spirit of light and truth. Sometimes he directly opposes the work of God, and leads his subjects in open rebellion. Sometimes he unites with the professed people of God, and, by insensible degrees, leads them into error, until the very light which is in them "becomes darkness." And then are fulfilled again the words of the Scripture which says: "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." John 1:5. Satan has ever endeavored to counterfeit the work of God. Every prophecy of the Bible he fulfills, if possible, in his own way. Any method to lead the world into darkness, and away from God's true light, is employed by himself and angels. his The Second Coming of Christ. Satan is a close student of prophecy. With a mind while in heaven second only to that of Christ, and though fallen, yet possessing a keen and brilliant intellect, sharpened through six thousand years of cunning and Of the fulfillment of Christ's prophecy in Matthew 24, regarding the deceptions of the last days, Smith says: "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 fulfills 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 fulfillment 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.” The author adds: "In this work, according to the prophecy before us, he [Satan] 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, and imposition. deception, he can quite accurately forecast the times and seasons as foretold in the Scrip tures. He knows that the time is near when Jesus will come again. To meet and forestall the solemnizing effect of the message of this great event, he employs many subterfuges. He cares not what they are, or that they may be contradictory as to fact, if they can be made to lead away from the real issue. Some are made to believe that Christ comes at death for the purpose of taking the immortal soul to glory. To others he appears at the conversion of the sinner. To some Spiritualists the coming of so-called new truths answers the requirements, while to others He appears in it gives more room for jugglery person in majestic form, from the secret cabinet of a private seance. Each variation is made to meet the peculiar "credulity" of the individual mind. Satan cares not a straw as to which error is accepted, for all are alike false and fatal. "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 But to the student of God's word our Saviour has Himself laid bare all these deceptions. In His great prophecy of Matthew 24, He says: "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Vss. 4, 5. "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." Vs. 11. II. state of things] in anything that is done under the sun.'". Modern Spiritualism, pp. 134136. IS THERE A DEVIL? A certain robber in England became so well known, and his depredations so guarded against, that it became impossible for him to work successfully. So he disappeared for many months, and had it given out that he was dead. This threw people off their guard, and he returned and was successful in "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there committing greater depreda 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. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Vss. 23-27. Satan cannot counterfeit the MANNER of the second coming of Christ, as described in the foregoing verses, but he will ap tions than ever. Spiritualism is the devil's choicest weapon with which to deceive and overthrow mankind. At first it reared its head in all its unsightly deformity. But people came to know it as it was, and turned from it in disgust. Its methods were then changed, it hid its ugly head under a cloak of morality and religion, its utterances before the world were divested of their shameless immorality and blasphemy, and it would fain have the world believe that "THE DEVIL IS DEAD." But do not be deceived. The devil is very much alive, and is only biding his time until the fears of the evils of his special great deception have worn off, and then, with greater cunning, in power never yet equalled, accompanied with convincing and |
