An enquirer goes to a Spiritist seance, and gets into touch with a medium; and is amazed how he can be told secrets in his life which the medium has no chance of knowing by ordinary methods. Moreover he hears a prophecy as to what will happen to him in the near future, and lo! the prophecy comes true.
What is the enquirer to do? Is it not logical to be convinced of the truth of Spiritism when such extraordinary things happen, and thus many a seeker mistakes darkness for light and error for truth, and gets entangled in demonism.
The Bible puts its finger on the spot, and helps us at such a juncture where help is most needed. Circumstances arise which cause bewilderment. Where can we find help and guidance? The Bible furnishes help in the clearest and most lucid fashion.
Turn to Deuteronomy 13:1-5. Here are words written by a sharp instrument on tablets of baked clay—words written by Moses more than three millenniums ago, and yet adapting themselves without effort to the circumstances of the 20th (and 21st) century after Christ.
“If there arise among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams and gives thee a sign or wonder. And the sign and wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto thee saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou has not known, and let us serve them, thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proves you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul. Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put evil away from the midst of thee.”
A fulfilled prophecy is to be judged not by its bare fulfilment, but by its teaching, by its moral and spiritual influence exerted upon the individual. In other words, a tree is known by its fruit.
There are, indeed, two kinds of prophecy—one true, the other false—one divine, the other satanic; one of God, the other of the devil. Spiritual help will draw the individual nearer to God, strengthen him in the truth and lead him in the paths of righteousness. Satanic deceit will lead him away from God and the truth and draw him into evil paths and entangle his soul in satanic toils, and lead him to eternal destruction.
Take Spiritism. Suppose I go to a seance and the medium relates to me the very secrets of my life, unknown to any but myself. Of what use is this to me? None whatever. Its use is to enable the medium or the Spiritist system behind the medium to get me into their toils. By and by I am led on, and I find out eventually that Spiritism is against the Bible and the gospel of the grace of God.
Therefore I am not to be impressed by the uncanny knowledge of all my inner secrets manifested by the medium; nor by prophecy coming true, but judge the system by its fruits. These fruits are corrupt and satanic and tend to moral and physical destruction of its dupes. Shun it as you would the pestilence.
A tragic example of what has been before us occurred in the closing days of the reign of Saul, the first King of Israel—according to the commandment of Deuteronomy 13 Saul had cut off out of the land of Israel those who had familiar spirits, in other words those who were mediums.
Saul, forsaken of God because of his evil way, is hard pressed by the Philistines. In his perplexity and sore distress he turns to the aid of the evil he had sought to exterminate. He enquires after a woman with a familiar spirit, and hears of one at En-dor. Disguised to allay her fears, he bids her bring up the prophet Samuel — Samuel the wise and godly man of God, who had given good counsel in the past.
As a medium the witch of En-dor expected to bring up a personating demon, who should deceive Saul that he was brought into touch with Samuel.
But when God intervened, and allowed Samuel himself to appear she cried out in her utter astonishment. In a moment she saw through the disguise of the King. His excessive tallness, head and shoulders above all his subjects, would give him away. This is the only place in Scripture where the living is said to have intercourse with the dead. The exception proves the rule only broken by God’s behest by the one solitary exception.
In the New Testament the Spirit of God speaks, expressly warning us of latter day deceits when seducing spirits and doctrines of demons will lead men away from the faith of the Scriptures (see 1 Tim. 4:1-3). We judge of things, by the ultimate end, and on this Spiritism is condemned as diabolic, corrupting, destroying.