The Story of Patriarchs and Prophets
by Ellen G. White
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. [p. 684]
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 [p. 685] 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 [p. 686] 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 [p. 687] 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 [p. 688] 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.
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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. [p. 689] 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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"David at Ziklag"
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