Words of Hope…
Lying spirits impersonate the apostles, making them contradict what they wrote when on earth. Satan is making the world believe that the Bible is fiction, a book suited to the infancy of the race but obsolete today. The Book that is to judge him and his followers he puts in the shadows. The Savior of the world he makes to be no more than a common man. And believers in spirit appearances try
to make it seem that there is nothing miraculous in our Savior’s life.
They declare that their own miracles are far greater than the works
of Christ.
Spiritualism is now adopting a Christian appearance. But it
cannot deny or hide its teachings. In its present form it is a more
dangerous and more subtle deception. It now professes to accept
Christ and the Bible, but it interprets the Bible in a way that is
pleasing to the unrenewed heart. It dwells on love as the chief
attribute of God, but it degrades this love to a weak sentimentalism.
God’s condemnations of sin, the requirements of His holy law, are
kept out of sight. Fables lead men and women to reject the Bible as
the foundation of their faith. Christ is denied as surely as before, but most people do not recognize the deception.
Few have a proper understanding of spiritualism’s deceptive
power. Many tamper with it merely out of curiosity. They would be
horrified at the thought of yielding to the spirits’ control. But they
dare to go onto forbidden ground, and the destroyer exercises his
power on them against their will. If he can get them to submit their
minds to his direction just once, he will hold them captive. Nothing
but the power of God, in answer to earnest prayer, can deliver them.
All who willfully cherish known sin are inviting Satan’s temptations.
They separate themselves from God and the watchcare of His
angels, leaving themselves without defense.
“When they say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums and wizards,
who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God?
Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is
because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:19, 20).
If people had been willing to accept the Bible truth concerning
our human nature and the condition of the dead, they would see in
spiritualism Satan’s power and lying wonders. But so many close
their eyes to the light, and Satan weaves his snares around them.
“Because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might
be saved,” therefore “God will send them strong delusion, that they
should believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:10, 11).
Those who oppose spiritualism attack Satan and his angels. Satan
will not yield one inch of ground except as the heavenly messengers
drive him back. He can quote Scripture and will twist its
teachings. Those who intend to stand in this time of danger must
understand for themselves what the Bible teaches.
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Source: Ellen G. White, The Great Hope, pp. 41-42