INSIGHTS ON EVIL
SPIRITS AND THEIR DECEIVING DEVICES, BY W. H. BACON, A. HISLOP, RAPHAEL GASSON,
V. P. WIERWILLE, ETC.
W. H. BACON:
"Spiritualism (Spiritism) is by no means a new thing, but is
a repetition of that which has been before; the present phase of the evil,
however, has not yet come to a head, although it is fast hastening thereto...
The first detailed account of the outbreak is recorded for our learning in
Genesis 6.1-8… every family, therefore, with the solitary exception of Noah’s,
was thoroughly contaminated through the wickedness of the unlawful marriages
referred to in v. 2... whereas the purpose of Satan in the first and second
irruptions of the fallen angels was to thwart the purpose of God, concerning
THE SEED which is CHRIST, the next attempt... is the bringing into the world
"the mystery of iniquity,” Satan manifest in the flesh, the personal
Antichrist, who will for a time pose as the Messiah, and whom the Jews will
receive as such... The Antichrist… is to be born by the agency of Spirit
Materialization… spiritist materialization is no fiction... Many Christians
deny the possibility of materialization on the ground-they say-that
materialization is creation and that God alone can create. It is perfectly true
that God alone can create, i.e., "bring into being out of nothing,” but
materialization is the reducing of something which already exists to a state of
matter of which our senses can take cognizance… angels actually appearing and
being, therefore, regarded as men…-although fallen-... have still the power to
materialize and de-materialize...
Indeed, through the grace of God,
in the manifestation of His goodness and mercy to me in October, 1887, in
Instantaneously Delivering me from demonic possession which had come about
through my tampering with Spiritism, I was led by the spirit of God to true
repentance and to follow on to know the Lord… it may well be imagined,
therefore, that I am deeply anxious not only to preach the gospel of the grace
of God, but also to warn all against the diabolical evil of "Spiritism-Spiritualism”
so-called-but which in dread reality is demonism, root and branch… I was
easily beguiled into Spiritism by a "religious” aunt, in whom I had then great
confidence, as being assuredly a good woman. She had lost a son, and upon my
paying her a visit she amazed me by stating that she had attended a "séance”
where she was able to communicate "with him”… after that, I have seen…
materialization of spirit in the process, and de-materialization also... I have
seen materialized spirits purporting to be dead friends but still "alive,” and
I have proved them to be merely LYING SPIRITS, and not the deceased person whom
they pretended to be… The dead… are dead; so dead indeed, that the dead know
not anything, as it is written: "For the living know that they shall die; but
the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory
of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy is now
perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is
done under the sun” (Ecc. 9.5-6)… Spiritism in its present phase could not
exist a single day, if all believed the Word of God concerning them that
"sleep”-neither could Romish (The Roman Catholicism) purgatory-but as long as men
prefer Satan’s lie to God’s truth, Spiritism will grow and develop until it
covers the earth, as it did in Noah’s days… [you need to] prove from the
Scriptures the fact that death is death, for only by this means can Spiritism
be successfully combated.”
[Bacon, W. H., Spiritism,
1915, Things to Come, 21(4):41-42; 21(5):57-58 and 21(7):79]
RAPHAEL GASSON:
"Part of the explication is that the ectoplasm used for this
purpose will extend from the medium’s own body [the "direct voice medium”]
to the trumpet [trumpet shaped microphone] and will form an ectoplasmic rod.
The trumpet will then rise from the floor and float around the room. Eventually
the voice of the spirit will be heard speaking through the trumpet. The
ectoplasm will become solid around the vocal chord of the spirit who is trying
to communicate in this way, thus enabling it to speak...” (Chap. 11, "Physical
Phenomena”),
"The spirit guide takes control of the medium… this places
the medium in great danger… sitters start the ball rolling by singing lively
songs to arouse vibrations, while dimly visible in the darkness will be seen
the semi-luminous ectoplasm emanating from the medium. As this pours out into
the center of the room it gradually builds up into a definite form. At first it
appears as a column of mist, but slowly the features begin to clarify
themselves. The gradual process of building holds the sitters spellbound, as
they see the body forming, first the feet, then legs, body, arms and face. The
complete form of the spirit will then walk around (being very careful not to
walk on the feet of the siters and to step over anything that may be in its
way) until it finds the person with whom it wishes to hold a conversation… I
once had water thrown over me by a "jolly” spirit for not singing –
materialized spirit water, presumably, since there was no other water in the
room to my knowledge. I can also recall shaking hands with a [materialized]
spirit and it would be beyond words to describe the peculiar sensation caused
at the realization that one is actually holding the hand of what is supposed to
be [one is deceived by believing that it is] the spirit of one raised from the
dead! The coldness of the touch, the hardness of the grip, and the feel of the
"bones” and "knuckles” sends a chill throughout one’s body… there is a feeling
of awe at the fact that a spirit has actually been handled.
On another occasion I was permitted to cut a lock of hair
from a spirit and to pat a spirit "dog” and to stroke a spirit "cat”. Spirit
animals are produced together with birds and other creatures in these séances
as well as spirit people. This draws animal lovers naturally, especially those
who have been particularly attached to pets that have gone the way of all flesh
(entrance to these séances is limited exclusively to those who can be trusted
not to cause untoward disturbances, although some do manage to enter under
false credentials). What is supposed to have once been a living human being now
has to depend on another human frame to provide ectoplasm to enable it to
materialize!
We hear from our missionaries of idol worshippers, how
figures are created from stone and wood and the heathen worshipers call on the
spirits to come in and dwell in them. They tell us that these people
worship the idols because they realize that an evil spirit has actually come to
dwell in their handmade gods. Missionaries state that the evil power is
definitely there, that it is not mere superstition but demons really do dwell
in these idols of stone and wood… ordinary [spirit] control and trance is
more common than materialization because they can have a body to dwell in, thus
giving relief… spirits encourage… to sit in Developing Circles to prepare
people for trance conditions so that demons may enter in to gain this relief
even if for only a short time. It also explains why the are not many of these
physical mediums and why it ["normally”] takes so long to develop such
phenomena as this. I know of a medium who was so desirous of being a physical
one that he sat with a trumpet every night for thirteen years before he managed
to produce even a little tapping in the trumpet. Then it was another nine years
before he was able to successfully produce the voice. The best part of his
life-time, twenty-two years, waiting for demons!
Demons who impersonate the dead in séances try to prove the
first recorded lie of the Devil by teaching that "there is no death” and that
it is only a delusion. Satan gives himself away by going too far and becoming
unable to retract. Once he starts he has to carry on with his blasphemy
deluding people to believe his old lie, "Ye shall not surely die,” and thereby
showing them a way into a realm of [a deceiving] knowledge that has been
forbidden by God. By assuring them that there is no death, he also keeps their
minds from thinking of the "second” death, which should be of even greater
consideration to their eternal destiny. The practice of Spiritualism, as is
called in the Western world, going under various names of witchcraft, demon
worship and priestly superstition in the East, is bringing millions of blinded
believers into darkness and ensuring their eternal damnation… Again we need to
ask ourselves if we are fulfilling the commission which the Lord has given to
us. He instructed His disciples not only to preach that the kingdom of heaven
is at hand but also to raise the dead. He is as ready to honor His Word as ever
He was, and our faith likewise if we are obedient to His commands. The signs
following would indeed follow…” (Chap. 12, "Materialization”)
God is saying today… "Ye shall not touch this tree
(Spiritualism), ye may not eat of it, lest ye die.” Satan says, "In the day ye
eat of it your eyes will be opened to a new and wider revelation – ye shall
surely not die”… Spiritualism can be nothing but communion with demons –
against Scripture – and we must remember that God passed the death sentence on
all mediums that had familiar spirits and also upon people consulting with
them. It is sternly forbidden by God as defiling. It certainly is no new thing,
but a backward movement to the worst form of heathenism and not an advance as
so many Spiritualists claim. Sir A. C. Doyle [guided by seducing spirits] says,
"No common sense man can see any justice in vicarious sacrifice… too much
attention has been given to the death of Christ” [who says this is the same
author of the histories of the detective "Sherlock Holmes”]… Spiritualism is
one of the most fiendish of Satan’s methods of instilling lying deceptions into
the minds of people. Having tested the spirits and the claims they make through
their mediums, we most certainly find them contrary to the Word of God, which
tells us most explicitly that "in the latter times, some shall depart from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils” (1 Tim. 4:1).
"If they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in
them” (Isa 8:20)” (Chap. 12, "Trying the Spirits”)
[References taken from: Raphael Gasson, The Challenging
Counterfeit, The Real Power Behind Spiritualism As Seen From The Inside By A
Former Medium, 1979 (first printing 1966), Logos International,
Plainfield, New Jersey, 160 p.]
ALEXANDER HISLOP:
"Now the secret system of the Mysteries gave vast facilities
for imposing on the senses of the initiated by means of the various tricks and
artifices of magic. Notwithstanding all the care and precautions of those who
conducted these initiations, enough has transpired to give us a very clear
insight into their real character. Everything was so contrived as to wind up
the minds of the novices to the highest pitch of excitement, that, after having
surrendered themselves implicitly to the priests, they might be prepared to
receive anything. After the candidates for initiation had passed through the
confessional, and sworn the required oaths, "strange and amazing
objects," says Wilkinson, "presented themselves (Wilkinson was the
writer of the Encyclopedia of the Ancient Egyptians,
where he says: "Even among the
initiated there was a difference. Some were admitted only to the "Lesser
Mysteries"; the "Greater" were for a favoured few”).
Sometimes the place they were in seemed to shake around
them; sometimes it appeared bright and resplendent with light and radiant fire,
and then again covered with black darkness, sometimes thunder and lightning,
sometimes frightful noises and bellowings, sometimes terrible apparitions
astonished the trembling spectators." Then, at last, "the great
god", the central object of their worship, Osiris, Tammuz, Nimrod or
Adonis, was revealed to them in the way most fitted to soothe their feelings
and engage their blind affections.
An account of such a manifestation is thus given by an
ancient Pagan, cautiously indeed, but yet in such a way as shows the nature of
the magic secret by which such an apparent miracle was accomplished: "In a
manifestation which one must not reveal...there is seen on a wall of the temple
a mass of light, which appears at first at a very great distance. It is
transformed, while unfolding itself, into a visage evidently divine and
supernatural, of an aspect severe, but with a touch of sweetness. Following the
teachings of a mysterious religion, the Alexandrians honour it as Osiris or
Adonis." From this statement, there can hardly be a doubt that the magical
art here employed was none other than that now made use of in the modern
phantasmagoria. Such or similar means were used in the very earliest periods
for presenting to the view of the living, in the secret Mysteries, those who
were dead.
We have statements in ancient history referring to the very
time of Semiramis, which imply that magic rites were practised for this very
purpose [Moses of Chorene in his Armenian
History, referring to the answer made by Semiramis to the friends of
Araeus, who had been slain in battle: "I have given commands, says
Semiramis, to my gods to lick the wounds of Araeus, and to raise him from the
dead. The gods, says she, have licked Araeus, and recalled him to
life"… Now, unless the sham miracle of raising the dead [for a brief
period] by magical arts had already been known to be practised in the days of
Semiramis, it is not likely that she would have given such an answer to those
whom she wished to propitiate; for, on the one hand, how could she ever have
thought of such an answer, and on the other, how could she expect that it would
have the intended effect, if there was no current belief in the practice of
necromancy? We find that in Egypt, about the same age, such magic arts must
have been practised, if Manetho is to be believed. "Manetho says,"
according to Josephus, "that he [the elder Horus, evidently spoken of as a
human and mortal king] was admitted to the sight of the gods, and that
Amenophis desired the same privilege." This pretended admission to the
right of the gods evidently implied the use of the magic art referred to in
the text…
This casts light upon the language of the 106th
Psalm, where the Lord, upbraiding Israel for their apostacy, says: "They
joined themselves to Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead");
and as the magic lantern, or something akin to it, was manifestly used in later
times for such an end, it is reasonable to conclude that the same means, or
similar, were employed in the most ancient times, when the same effects
were produced. Now, in the hands of crafty, designing men, this was a powerful
means of imposing upon those who were willing to be imposed upon…”
[Alexander Hislop, "The Two Babylons or The Papal Worship
Proved to be the Worship of Nimrod and His Wife, 1858, Chapter II, Objects of
Worship; Section II, The Mother and Child, and the Original of the Child; Sub-Section
V, The Deification of the Child”, Online Edition]
V. P. WIERWILLE:
"To understand… one must know that anything that has been
manifested and is known in the senses world is accessible to Satan’s knowledge.
All the facts listed in 1 Samuel were well known to Satan. [For Saul,] the
séance with the woman of Endor is only the climax of the deceiving power of
Satan working through a woman who was possessed and controlled
by a specific kind of evil spirit called "familiar” (1 Sam. 28:3, 7) because
they are well aware of and acquainted with all that has happened in a person’s
earthly life in the senses world.”
"The one fact to keep uppermost in our minds is that Satan always
produces a counterfeit, never a genuine. A counterfeit always resembles the
genuine so perfectly that only a qualified person in that certain field can
distinguish between them. Therefore, Satan’s deceit can often be so effective.”
"Satan can imitate and counterfeit anything so long as he is
familiar with the original. Satan has access to the knowledge of everything
that a man does while on earth. Satan knew all about Samuel: what he looked
like, how he dressed, what his voice sounded like, what he had said and done,
and so on. Thus Satan used the woman ["the séance medium”] of Endor who had a
familiar spirit (1 Sam. 28:3, 7), a spirit obedient to the woman’s own beck and
call, to counterfeit Samuel by materialization and impersonation. Not one fact
in 1 Samuel 28 brings out any evidence which Satan could not know about Saul’s
person and circumstance for all these things had been told before except for
Saul’s death, and death is of Satan anyway.”
"…The dead stay dead until the return or the resurrections…
Satan simply is impersonating the departed dead by familiar spirits who dwell
in people’s minds, operating and controlling the individual they possess even
to the end of using their vocal organs, and changing the possessed-one’s
physical appearance. By these imitative means Satan tries to deceive the very
elect of God. Since the dead remain dead until the return [of Jesus Christ],
Satan’s impersonations are all frauds, the work of familiar spirits (1 Sam.
28:3, 7)… the dead are dead and stay dead until the return [of Jesus]… anyone
who… supposedly reproduces them [the dead] in any way is absolutely a fraud.
Such acts are perpetrated by Satan himself in order to deceive and to cause
people to worship and obey him.”
"Satan… worked through people to destroy Saul and cause him
to sin. Saul was now Satan’s man and Satan could carry on his evil intentions
without God’s intervention. It is only when we will to belong to God that Satan
cannot be certain of the outcome, for the Lord watches over His own.” "[In 1
Sam. 35 Samuel] breaks off relations with Saul [read 1 Sam. 15, noting
especially verses 23-24, 35, 3, 9, 13-14, 20-22, 26, 29].” "Thus, without a
relationship with God or Samuel, King Saul is beside himself (1 Sam 16:14).”
"”Samuel anointed David as king and then soon Samuel died.” "Saul had lost all
communications with the True God [1 Sam. 28:3-6]. Although Saul tried, his
efforts could not restore the lost connection. So in desperation, after having
put away all those with familiar spirits (1 Sam. 28:3, 7), Saul demands to have
personal audience with such a person (1 Sam. 28:7).”
"Having lost his connection with God through disobedience to
God’s Word, Saul grasps for suggestions from Satan. Satan put ideas into Saul’s
mind because he knew that he could influence Saul through a familiar spirit (1
Sam. 28:3, 7), and thus, not only cause Saul’s death, but the death of Saul’s
sons, the destruction of the army of Israel, and misfortune to the entire
nation (1 Sam. 28:8-20).”
1 Sam. 15:23-24 gives the account of King Saul's rejection
by God after the battle with the Amalekites (Saul refused to obey God)
Later, in 1 Sam. 15:35, Samuel, the man of God breaks off
relations with Saul (Saul refused to repent and justified himself time after
time)
Thus, without a relationship with God or with His Prophet,
King Saul is beside himself in 1 Sam. 16:14.
Saul had lost any communication with the True God (as seen
in 1 Sam. 28:3-6)
So, in desperation, after, as told in 1 Sam. 28:3, having
put Saul himself away all those with familiar spirits (here, the woman of Endor
it is not a person acting under the holy spirit from God, but under an evil
spirit, called a "familiar spirit" in 1 Sam. 28:7. Those evil spirits
are so deceiving, that with them Satan will even try to deceive in this present
time the people elect of God, can you see that today in any TV show, being B.
Walters or Osteen Sr. almost all the people thinks that dead people stills
alive?)
As we can see, by carefully reading 1 Sam., we can see who
really was Saul, a man who having lost his connection with God through
disobedience to God's Word, gasped for suggestions from Satan's realm.
Why for God were forbidden in His Law all the mediums,
spiritists-spiritualists, witches, and every one dealing whit the idea that the
dead still alive after their death? That woman of Endor was not a Godly woman.
Because the adversary is enough smart as to mimic the dead to deceive people.
1Chr 10:13: So 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 enquire
of it {Verses that include the expression "familiar spirits" in the
OT: 1Chr 10:13, 1Sam 28:3,7,8,9; 2Kgs 21:6; 2Chr 33:6; 2Kgs 23:24; Lev 19:31;
Lev 20:6; Lev 20:27; Deut 18:11-12}
[Wierwille, V. P., Chapter Ten, "The Prophetess of
Endor” (1 Samuel 28:7-25), pp. 89-96, Are the dead alive now?, American
Christian Press (The Devin-Adair Co., 1971)]
THE SPIRITISM OF THE UFO PHENOMENON:
In the
same category we can locate the UFO phenomenon, the next quotations for your
consideration have been taken from the book written by Eastman and Missler "Alien
Encounters”, which resume the "superphysics of UFOs” as things that:
"materialize and dematerialize, change shape, travel at 20,000 mph or greater,
right angle turns at 15,000 mph, no sonic booms, sudden starts and stops, UFOs
have been seen to merge and breakup into more than one object”, "only spiritual
discernment alone will detect the deception”, then they quote: "The folklore of
every culture… had a rich reservoir of stories about humanoid beings that flew
in the sky, [and] used devices that seemed in advance of the technology of the
time” (Vallee, J. Passport to Magonia, 1993, p. vii); "Why is it, I
wondered, that the ‘occupants’ of UFOs behave so much like the denizens of
fairy tales and the elves of ancient folklore? Why is the picture we can form
of their world so much closer to the medieval concept of Magonia, the magical
land above the clouds, than to a description of an extraterrestrial planetary
environment? And why are UFOs becoming a new religious form” (Vallee, J., Messenger
of Deception, p. 8); "I am also tempted to accept as a working hypothesis
that in times remote, contact occurred between human consciousness and another
consciousness, variously described as demonic, angelic, or simply alien…
Consider what these sightings have in common. In each case the so-called
"spacecraft” did not dissapear by moving away, even at high speed. It simply
vanished on the spot, or it slowly faded away like the Cheshire cat, sometimes
leaving behind a whitish cloud, sometimes also producing the sound of an
explosion. In other cases UFOs have been reported to enter the ground. I hardly
need to point out that this behavior is contrary to what physical objects do
and quite impossible to duplicate with our current spacecraft technology…If they are no spacecraft what else could
UFOs be? What research framework can account for the physical effects, for the
impact on society, for the appearance of the occupants and for the seemingly
absurd, dream like elements of their behavior, how can we explain that the
phenomenon makes itself obvious to rural populations but avoids overt contact,
choosing instead to deliver its message in bizarre abductions, in highly
strange incidents? The theory that suggests itself, as we analyze and reanalyze
the forces at play, goes beyond the notion that these are simply technological
vehicles produced by an advanced race… Instead I believe that the UFO
phenomenon represents evidence for other dimensions beyond space-time; the UFOs
may not come from ordinary space but from a multiverse which is all around us,
and of which we have stubbornly refused to consider the disturbing reality in spite
of the evidence available to us for centuries. Such a theory is required in
order to explain both the modern cases and the chronicles of Magonia – the
abductions and the psychic component. I believe that there is a system around
us that transcends time and it transcends space. Other researchers have reached
the same conclusion” (Vallee, J., Dimensions, 1988, pp. 32, 231-232,
252-253); "I have the impression that abductees as a group are usually open and
intuitive individuals less tolerant than usual of societal authoritarianism,
and more flexible in accepting diversity and the unusual experiences of other
people. Some of my cases report a variety of psychic experiences, which has
been noted by other researchers… My own impression is that we may be witnessing
something far more complex, namely an awkward joining of two species,
engineered by a intelligence we are unable to fathom… I base this view on the
evidence presented by the abductees themselves” (Mack, J., Abduction,
1995, p. 5); "The UFOs do not seem to exist as tangible, manufactured objects.
They do not conform to the accepted natural laws of our environment… the UFO
manifestations seem to be, by and large, merely minor variations of the age-old
demonological phenomenon” (Keel, J. Operation Trojan Horse, 1996, p.
266); "there seems to be no evidence yet that any of these craft or beings
originate from Outer Space. The whole phenomenon involves a mass of features
that conflict with modern science, and many researchers now believe that more
than one type of being may be involved… some of them of an interdimensional
nature, and consequently possibly from some unknown aspect of our own World”
(Creighton, G., 1996, FSR Official Position Statement).