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Communication
(Continuedfrom page 17)
ter wizards, to be defiled by
them ... " (Lev. 19:31).
"There shall not be found among
you any one ... that useth divina–
tion [obtaining secret knowledge
by supernatural means], or an ob–
server of times, or an enchanter, or
a witch, or a charmer, or a consul–
ter with familiar spirits, or a wiz–
ard, or a necromancer [one who
inquires of the dead]. For all that
do these things are an abomination
unto the Lord ... " (Deut. 18:10-
12).
In the New Testament- in Acts
16- the apostle Paul
exorcised
a
spirit of divination from a young
woman.
Now notice a biblical example of
just how seriously God takes
spiritism!
In 1 Samuel 28, we find an ac–
count of an ancient "séance" in–
volving king Saul of Israel. Saul
desired to know about the outcome
of a great battle with the
Philistines in which he was about
to engage. He inquired of God, but
received no answer (verse 6). God
refused to listen to Saul because of
his rebellious attitude.
Saul then defied God's clear
commands in the Jaw and ordered
his servants: "Seek me a woman
that hath a
familiar spirit,
tbat 1
may go to her, and inquire of her"
(verse 7).
Saul was told that there was a
woman at Endor that had a famil–
iar spirit. She is referred to as a
witch
in sorne translations, as a
medium
in others.
So Saul disguised himself and
went to the woman by night and
said: " 1 pray thee, divine unto me
by the familiar spi rit, and bring me
him up, whom 1 shall name unto
thee" (verse 8). Tbe practice of
"consulting the dead" was rife
among ancient Israel's heathen
neighbors. Saul had been influ–
enced by their practices.
Now notice what happened.
The medium asked whom she
should bring up. Saul said: "Bring
me up Samuel" (verse 11) .
The woman then saw a form that
she believed to
be
Samuel. Saul
himself did not see the spirit, for
he asked the woman to describe
it
20
to him. As a result of the descrip–
tion, Saul "perceived that it was
Samuel" (verse 14) .
The spirit- still invisible to
Saul-then spoke directly to Saul
and prophesied of his impending
defeat at the hands of the
Philistines (verses 18-19).
The spirit that appeared was not
Samuel. Samuel was
dead
(verse
3), and "the dead know not any
thing" (Eccl. 9:5, 10). At death,
one's thoughts perish- as the Bible
plainly teaches (Ps. 146:4).
Moreover, Scripture tells us
that God refused to answer Saul
by prophets
(1
Sam. 28:6). But
Samuel was a prophet (Acts
13:20). The spirit that spoke to
Saul thus could not have really
been Samuel.
What had appeared to the
medium and spoke to Saul was
simp1y a form that
/ooked /ike
Samuel- a demon
impersonating
Samuel!
It
was
deception,
how–
ever sincere the medium may
have been. There is
no other
ex–
planation within the teachings of
the Bible!
Saul
assumed
the demon was
Samuel- just as spiritists
assume
they are contacting the spiri ts of
the dead.
Saul
sinned
by seeking a witch.
God takes' the sin of spiritism very
seriously. "So Saul
died
for bis trans–
gression ... "
(1
Chron. 10:13).
Works of Darkness
Demons are spirits of darkness.
Spiritism is a work of
darkness.
Little wonder that it is normal
spiritist practice to conduct séances
in a
darkened
room. Strong liglit,
say spiritists, hinders communica–
tions with the spirits. This fact in
itself should tell them something
about
what kind of spirits
they are
dealing with!
One might also ask of spiritists
why the "afterlife" is apparently so
concerned with such
trivio
as is
often manifested in séances and
" hauntings": knocks and rappings,
eerie noises, screams, table levitat–
ing and the like. Is there not
more
to this alleged afterlife than the
playing of chi ldish pranks and usu–
ally trivial conversation?
The answer should
be
clear! It is
not the dead
with whom we are
dealing!
The dead cannot communicate
wit h the living!
The reason ?
They' re DEAJ>--not alive in sorne
sort of "spirit world." No sueh sur–
viva! is taught
anywhere
in the
Bible! (Why not write for our free
booklet
Lazarus and the Rich Man
for the explanation to one of the
most misunderstood passages in
this regard.)
lt is the world of
demons~seek
ing to perpetuate the
fa/se doctrine
of the immortal soul- that is
be–
hind the spi rit manifestations in
séances, spirit pbotographs and
electronic voice phenomena. Mas–
querading as "spirits of the dead,"
they deceive the biblically un–
learned- just as king Saul was de–
ceived at Endor!
Such manifestations are accom–
plished by
demon power- not
by
the Spirit of God! Most spi ritists
refuse to admit this possibility.
Man's True Destlny
Tbere is only one mediator be–
tween God and man-Jesus Christ
(1 Tim. 2:5-6). Mediums and their
familiar spi rits are not the source
of reliable spiritual knowledge, but
rather perpetuate a false concept of
man's destiny.
The Bible has much to say about
eternal life--and how one can re–
ceive it as a gift. But this truth is
much different than wbat many
have been led to believe!
lf you would know the TRUTH
about man's destiny, go to the
TRUE SOURCE of such knowledge-–
the Bible- and write for our free
booklets
Lije After Death?
and
What Wi/1 You Be Like in the
Resurrection?
Do not risk the dangers of dab–
bling in the spirit world. Follow
the example of the Ephesians,
who
burned
their books of sor–
cery, magic and divination when
they heard the truth! (Acts
19:19).
Heed the clear words of the
prophct Isaiah (8: 19-20, Moffatt
translation) , who declared:
"When they tell you to consult
mediums and gbosts that cheep and
gibber in low murmurs, ask them if
a nation should not rather consult
its God. Say, 'Wby consult the
dead on behalf of the living? Con–
sult the Message and the Counsel
of God!'" o
The
PLAIN TRUTH