By representing the basest of men as in heaven , and highly exalted there , Satan says to the world : " No matter how wicked you are ; no matter whether you believe or disbelieve God and the Bible . Live as you please ; heaven is your home ." The spiritualist teachers virtually declare : " Everyone that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord , and He delighteth in them ; or , Where is the God of judgment ?" Malachi 2:17 . Saith the word of God : " Woe unto them that call evil good , and good evil ; that put darkness for light , and light for darkness ." Isaiah 5:20 .
The apostles , as personated by these lying spirits , are made to contradict what they wrote at the dictation of the Holy Spirit when on earth . They deny the divine origin of the Bible , and thus tear away the foundation of the Christian ' s hope and put out the light that reveals the way to heaven . Satan is making the world believe that the Bible is a mere fiction , or at least a book suited to the infancy of the race , but now to be lightly regarded , or cast aside as obsolete . And to take the place of the word of God he holds our spiritual manifestations . Here is a channel wholly under his control ; by this means he can make the world believe what he will . The Book that is to judge him and his followers he puts in the shade , just where he wants it ; the Saviour of the world he makes to be no more than a common man . And as the Roman guard that watched the tomb of Jesus spread the lying report which the priests and elders put into their mouths to disprove His resurrection , so do the believers in spiritual manifestations try to make it appear that there is nothing miraculous in the circumstances of our Saviour ' s life . After thus seeking to put Jesus in the background , they call attention to their own miracles , declaring that these far exceed the works of Christ .
It is true that spiritualism is now changing its form and , veiling some of its more objectionable features , is assuming a Christian guise . But its utterances from the platform and the press have been before the public for many years , and in these its real character stands revealed . These teachings cannot be denied or hidden . Even in its present form , so far from being more worthy of toleration than formerly , it is really a more dangerous , because a more subtle , deception . While it formerly denounced Christ and the Bible , it now professes to accept both . But the Bible is interpreted in a manner that is pleasing to the unrenewed heart , while its solemn and vital truths are made of no effect . Love is dwelt upon as the chief attribute of God , but it is degraded to a weak sentimentalism , making little distinction between good and evil . God ' s justice , His denunciations of sin , the requirements of His holy law , are all kept out of sight . The people are taught to regard the Decalogue as a dead letter . Pleasing , bewitching fables captivate the senses and lead men to reject the Bible as the foundation of their faith . Christ is as verily denied as before ; but Satan has so blinded the eyes of the people that the deception is not discerned .
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