Our Firm Foundation - Hope International 1986.pdf · this last remnant of time, what effect would...

Our Firm FoundationThe 7t h Day Sabbath Immutable Law of God

.; .The Everlasting Gospel

Non-Immortality of the Soul Three Angels' Messages., _;The Sanctuary

VoL I. No. 10 August, 1986

Special Edition-Spiritualism

EditorialT 00 MANY Seventh-day Adven-

tists are unprepared for theoverwhelming surprises the devil willsoon bring to all the world. Are wenow prepared to withstand the masterspiritualist by the word of God if aloved one should appear, giving hopeand comfort in the crisis hour? Howmany leaders, pastors, and laity couldwithstand the overwhelming evi-dences which the devil is capable ofproducing?We are told the disciples will be

personated by lying spirits claimingthat Christ changed the Sabbath fromSaturday to Sunday. See The GreatControversy, 624, 557What if Ellen White were to be

personated? To those of us who haveaccepted her as God's messenger forthis last remnant of time, what effectwould tha t ha ve on the remna n tchurch?But spiritualism is more wide-

spread than the seance chamber. Onevery hand we see the insidious work-ing of Satan to prepare our minds toreceive his deceitful, miracle-workingpower. The occult has invaded our so-called "Christian" culture in everyform imaginable from the apparentpeace and tranquility of yoga andtranscendental meditation to theblatant Satanism of rock music.---_._- -We must learn now, before it is too

late, to know God's pure truth fromthe attractive and subtle errors ofspiritualism which are already leaven-ing every level of society."Rapidly are men ranging them-

selves under the banner they havechosen, restlessly waiting and watch-ing the movements of their leaders.There are those who are watchingand waiting and working for ourLord's appearing; while the otherparty are rapidly falling into lineunder the generalship of the firstgreat apostate. They look for a god inhumanity, and Satan personifies theone they seek. Multitudes will be sodeluded through their rejection oftruth that they will accept thecounterfeit. Humanity is hailed asGod."One has corne from the heavenly

courts to represent God in humanform. The Son of God was made man,and dwelt among us. 'In Him was life;

and the life was the light of men.And the light shineth in darkness;and the darkness comprehended itnot. ... That was the true Light,which lighteth every man that comethinto the world. He was in the world,and the world was made by Him, andthe world knew Him not. He carneunto His own, and His own receivedHim not. But as many as receivedHim, to them gave He power to be-come the sons of God.' [John 1:4, 5, 9-II]"There are but two parties. Satan

works with his crooked, deceivingpower, and through strong delusionshe catches all who do not abide in thetruth, who have turned away theirears from the truth and have turnedunto fables. Satan himself abode notin the truth; he is the mystery ofiniquity. Through his sublety he givesto his soul-destroying errors the ap-pearance of truth. Herein is theirpower to deceive. It is because theyare a counterfeit of the truth thatspiritualism, theosophy, and the likedeceptions gain such power over theminds of men. Herein is the masterlyworking of Satan. He pretends to bethe savior of man, the benefactor ofthe human race, and thus he morereadily lures his victims to de-struction." Testimonies to Ministers,364, 365Again the prophet speaks: "At the

great heart of the work, Satan willuse his hellish arts to the utmost. Hewill seek in every way possible to in-terpose himself between the peopleand God, and shut away the light."Review and Herald, December 24, 1889"The conflict is to wax fiercer and

fiercer. Satan will take the field andpersonate Christ. He will misrep-resent, misapply, and pervert every-thing he possibly can, to deceive, ifpossible, the very elect. Even in ourday there have been and will con-tinue to be entire families who haveonce rejoiced in the truth, but whowill lose faith because of calumniesand falsehoods brought to them inregard to those whom they have lovedand with whom they have had sweetcounseL" Testimonies to Ministers, 411And finally these two paragraphs

from Ellen White:"Rebellion and apostasy are in the

very air we breathe. We shall be af-fected by them unless we by faithhang our helpless souls upon Christ.I[ men are so easily misled now, howwill they stand when Satan shall per-sonate Christ, and work miracles?Who will be unmoved by his misrep-resentations then-professing to beChrist when it is only Satan assumingthe person of Christ, and apparentlyworking the works of Christ? Whatwill hold God's people from givingtheir allegiance to false christs? 'Gonot after them.' Luke 17:23"The doctrines must be plainly

understood. The men accepted topreach the truth must be anchored;then their vessel will hold againststorm and tempest, because the an-chor holds them firmly. The decep-.tions will increase, and we are to callrebellion by its right name. We are tostand with the whole armor on. Inthis conflict we do not meet menonly, but principalities and powers.We wrestle not against flesh andblood. Let Ephesians 6:10-18 be readcarefully and impressively in ourchurches." Selected Messages, Book 2,394, 395The overmastering delusion will

take the world captive, and at thattime the majority of Seventh-day Ad-ventists will join the enemy in thefinal shaking and sifting of thechurch. What tragedy! See Testimonies,vol. 5, 50, 10; vol. 1,608, 609; vol. 8,41"When the religion of Christ is

most held in contempt, when His lawis most despised, then should our zea)be the warmest and our courage andfirmness the most unflinching. Tostand in defense of truth and right-eousness when the majority forsakeus, to fight the battles of the Lordwhen champions are few-this will beour test. At this time we must gatherwarmth from the coldness of others,'courage from their cowardice, andloyalty from their treason. The nationwill be on the side of the great rebelleader." Testimonies, vol. 5, 136May God prepare His people to

withstand these deceptions. Webelieve that this special edition onspiritualism is much needed now.RON SPEAR-EDITOR

- -- ,---- - -- ----- ----- --------

2 Our Firm Foundation August, 1996

Table of Contents

Lying SpiritsThe rise of modern spiritism

It is the mission of Hope Interna-tional and the editors of Our FirmFoundation to give the straight tes-timony and to present Christ and Himcrucified. The days that yet remainof this world are few, and what wedo we must do quickly. We mustboldly proclaim the truths that placeus on so firm a foundation in themidst of this troubled world.-THEEDITORS

Vol. 1, No. 10

ARTICLES

August. 1986

Ron Spear 4

Shall We Consult Spiritualist Physicians? Ellen G. WhiteYesteryear's question, now back to haunt us

Science Falsely So Called Ellen G. WhiteBeware the sophistication that contradicts the Word

DEPARTMENTS

Editorial 2 Letters to the Editor 24

Melange 10 Religious Liberty Update 30

Looking Back 16 Books and Tapes 31

Line Upon Line 23

Mind Cure Ellen G. WhiteRight methods, wrong methods; be sure you know

Editor Ron SpearManaging Editor Dave FiedlerAssociate Editor Vern JenningsAssistant Editor Joseph LeathermanCopy Editor Lila Rae FrederickEditorial Secretary Clarissa FiedlerContributing Editors Colin Standish,Ralph Larson,John Osborne

Art Director Bob BresnahanLayout Sharilyn KendallTypography Phyllis CovingtonCirculation Joseph LeathermanCirculation Assistant Karen Winkler

.TO SUBSCRIBEIf you wish to subscribe, send your

order and donation to Our FirmFoundation, P.O. Box 940, Eatonville,WA 98328.Suggested donations for the annual

subscription are listed below. We havekept our prices as low as possible, butif your finances cannot meet the re-quested donation, just send whateveryou can. We want no one to be unableto receive this material because oflack of funds. If you are impressed togive a donation to assist in providingsubscriptions for those whose fundsmay be limited, send your giftmarked "Subscription Assistance" tothe address above. Your donation istax deductible.

United States $14.50Canada US $19.75Overseas (surface mail) US $24.50Inquire for overseas air rates.

Matters of the MindYour most precious possession-protect it

The New SpiritualismIt's here-have you recognized it?

Angelic Light or Demonic Darkness?Now Adventists must decide

Snares of SatanThe devil hasn't forgotten you

Mystical Medicine"Spiritualist physicians" abound today

Lois Eggers

Vincent Cherry

Dave Fiedler

Ellen G. White

Warren Peters

8

11

14

17

19

22

25

28

Our Firm FoundationEditorial Office:P.O. Box 940Eatonville, WA 98328(206) 832·6602

Copyright CJ 1986Hope International

Invitation to WritersWe are accepting article-length (1800-2800 words) manuscripts for

possible publication in Our Firm Foundation. We are not in a positionto give consideration to longer submissions. When sending materialfor our consideration, please retain your original manuscript and, send us a photo copy. Should you desire advance notice of a decisionto publish your article, please include a self-addressed, stampedenvelope. Address all editorial correspondence to Managing Editor,Our Firm Foundation, P.O. Box 940, Eatonville, WA 98328

AU8ust, 1986 Our Firm Foundation 3

LyingSpiritsRon Spear ••• says top

surgeon who sawChinese b . Ybeings circle the patient,- ealer clai AN's touch cures can: « •. DHaL>" 1\

'I Will Cast A S

M ANY PEOPLE today believe inghosts, haunted houses, voodoo

and other phenomena from the spiritworld. Ouija boards are best sellers indepartment stores. Gossip tabloidsfeature stories of haunted houses andof loved ones communicating withtheir departed dead. They report menand women being taken captive byvisitors from outer space. Televisionhas captured the minds of young andold alike with programs glamorizingthe supernatural. There are moviesthat deal more specifically with theoccult, as Hollywood productionsbring millions of people to movietheaters. For many years the media,influenced by Satan, has bombardedthe minds of children with super-natural phenomena. Spiritualism is asold as the devil himself. As far as theworld is concerned, it goes back tothe Garden of Eden when Sa tan spoketo Eve through the spiritualisticmedium.- Modern spiritualism had its begin-nings in the manifestations thatbegan with the Fox family inHydesville, New York, in 1848.Shortly thereafter the Fox familymoved to Rochester, New York, andbeca use the knockings becamemanifest there, they came to beknown as the "Rochester Knockings."Such manifestations have increasedand spread until now there arerapping, writing, speaking, and heal-ing mediums in every part of the


world. In the United States andEngland millions of people believe insupernatural phenomena. Every can-did man who has had a fair chance towitness the progress of spiritualism inthe media is compelled to acknowl-edge that it must be the work of in-visible spirits that have both powerand more than human intelligence.Even the scientific world has

taken up the investigation of spir-itism. It can no longer be treated withsilent contempt. Until recently,

Those who embracespiritualism, in

essence, have to giveup the Bible-

both cannot be true

science ignored the alleged phe-nomenon of spiritualism. But now anoteworthy change has come aspsychic and ESP researchers delveinto the secrets of the invisible world.The Bible positively forbids com-munication with familiar spirits."When thou art come into the landwhich the Lord thy God giveth thee,

thou shalt not learn to do after theabominations of those nations. Thereshall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daugh-ter to pass through the fire, or thatuseth divination, or an observer oftimes, or an enchanter, or a witch, ora charmer, or a consulter withfamiliar spirits, or a wizard, or anecromancer. For all that do thesethings are an abomination' unto theLord." (Deuteronomy 18:9-12) Webstergives the definition of "necromancy"as pretended communica tions withthe dead. And spiritualists every-where claim that spiritual 'com-munications are from the spirits ofthe "dead.""Regard not them that have

familiar spirits, neither seek afterwizards, to be defiled by them: I amthe Lord your God." Leviticus 19:31Spiritualists do not deny that they

are "calling on the dead." The Biblerefers to them as charmers, en-chanters, sorcerers and practicers ofwitchcraft and necromancy. It speaksspecifically against divinations andconsultation with the familiar spiritsdeclaring them to be an abomination.Such practices are strictly forbiddenin both the Old and the New Testa-ments. (See 2 Kings 21:2-6, 9, 11;Revelation 21:8) Those who embracespiritualism, in essence, have to giveup the Bible-both cannot be true.What people see in seances are not

spirits of the dead. In ancient times

when people supposed they were sacri-ficing to the dead, it was positivelydeclared that they were sacrificingunto devils. (1 Corinthians 10:20;Psalm 106:27, 28) The dead have noknowledge of things done in theworld, says Job. "His tohonor and he knoweth it not; andthey are brought low, but he per-ceiveth it not of them." (Job 14:21)"His breath goeth forth; he returnethto his earth; in that very day histhoughts perish." (Psalm 146:4) "Theliving know that they shall die: butthe dead know not anything, neitherhave they any more a reward; for thememory of them is forgotten. Alsotheir love, and their hatred, and theirenvy, is now perished; neither havethey any more a portion for ever inany thing that is done under the sun.Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6

Any just and perfectbeing is Christ, they

say

In I Timoth-y 4:1, we read, "Givingheed to seducing spirits, .anddoctrines of devils." Revelation 16:14adds: "For they are the spirits ofdevils, working miracles, which goforth unto the kings of the earth andof the whole world, to gather them tothe battle of that great day of GodAlmighty.""By their fruits ye shall know

them" the Bible says. What is thefruitage of the spirit's teachings?They teach and strive to lead menand women to loosen the bonds ofconscience particularly in respect tothe sacredness of marriage. Manypeople today consult their "guardianspirits" with much more trust andconfidence than they would a kindand experienced parent, and willinglyyield to their suggestions and direc-tions in matters both great and small.But to do so is not safe. The Scripturedescribes the deceptive character ofthese evil spirits and calls themseducing spirits, speaking lies andhypocrisy, deceivers, lying wonders.See 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:13;2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10Though some spiritualists may

honestly believe otherwise, the devilis their god and their father. "Ye are

of your father the devil, and the lustsof your father ye will do. He was amurderer from the beginning, andabode not in the truth, because thereis no truth in him. When he speaketha lie, he speaketh of his own: for he isliar, and the father of it." (John 8:44)Humans are so constituted that theyworship any being or power that theyregard as superior to themselves.When spiritualists refuse allegiance toGod and the Bible, it is not surprisingthat they choose Satan as their godand father. History shows that suchhas always been the case.Concerning demon worship in the

early Christian world, it is theuniversal sentiment both of thechurch and of heretics that demonswere the authors, patrons, and objectsof idolatry. Those rebellious spiritswho had been degraded from therank of angels and cast down into theinfernal pit were still permitted toroam upon the earth and torment thebodies and seduce the minds of sinfulbeings. Demons discovered andabused the natural propensities of thehuman heart towards devotion, andartfully withdrew the adorations ofhumanity from the Creator. Theyusurped the place of honor thatbelongs to the supreme Deity. By thesuccess through the ages of theirmalicious contrivance, the forces ofSatan not only have gratified theirown sense of vanity and revenge; buthave obtained the only comfort theywere able to find-the hope of involv-ing the human race in their guilt andmisery.As demons acknowledge Satan to

be their god and father, we shouldnaturally expect that when they praythrough people they would pray toSatan. The spiritualist's prayer iscalled an invocation and this, ofcourse, means nothing other than in-voking Satan who is called the princeof the power of the air. (Ephesians2:2) No doubt Satan inspires theprayers to himself, for he wants to sethimself up as god in the world.The apostle Peter tells us that

"God spared not the angels thatsinned, but cast them down to hell,and delivered them into chains ofdarkness." 2 Peter 2:4What meaning do spiritualists give

the word Christ? To them it is not, asgenerally supposed, the Son, t!te Crea-tor of all things. Any just and perfectbeing is Christ, they say. But we readin Romans 1:21-23, 25: "Because that,when they knew God, they glorifiedHim not as God, neither were thank-ful; but became vain in their imagina-tions, and their foolish heart wasdarkened. Professing themselves to be

wise, they became fools, and changedthe glory of the uncorruptible Godinto an image made like to corrupt-ible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things."

Spiritualists take theside of the devil every

time

"Who changed the truth of Godinto a lie, and worshiped and servedthe creature more than the Creator,who is blessed forever. Amen."(Romans 1:21-23, 25) About 6,000years ago Satan, the father of lies,said, "Ye shall be as gods." And nowwe see spiritualists preaching thesame old lie. They take the side of thedevil every time. They despise theBible. Almost the first thing thatspirits do with their converts is todestroy their confidence in the Bible.Why is this? Evidently because theBible so fully cautions and warnsagainst Satan's last-day deceptions.Because the Bible is against thespirits, the spirits are against theBible. One spirit is reported to havesaid the Book of Genesis is the skinof the old serpent. There are 300 liesin this book alone, it claimed.Some claim that spiritualism is a

better guide for human conduct thanthe Bible. But it is a strange guide,one that inevitably points towards de-struction.

Spiritualists Are At War With Marriage

Spiritualists openly war against themarriage institution and advocate thedoctrine of free love. I quote from aknown spiri tualist on "Marriage andReligion": "The present laws of mar-riage that now give birth to regretsand sorrows unnumbered, to prostitu-tion with its long train of curses andagonies will be abandoned for aholier, purer, diviner revelation thatis to be given to the people. A religionmore spiritual will be discovered andacknowledged, resting upon no cer-tain outside standard of rectitude,upon no dogma of another, no purityof earthly life, no glory for earthlyperfection. This religion is simplydesire. With everyone desire is spon-taneous and sincere, pure and holy.

August, 1986 Ollr Firm FOllndation 5

No matter what the desire is, whetherit be called good or bad, it is naturalGod-gi ven religion of the soul."Taken from Dr. Child's book, Christand the People, 27, 29.Spiritualism has much to say about

the beauties of its "sublime phi-losophy" and loudly rants against theBible as containing absurd andridiculous things. We should supposefrom the way its advocates talk thatthe visions and doctrines of spirit-ualism were a perfect model of dig-nity and sublimity. But let us judgethem by their fruits.A London paper reports that ac-

cording to prophecy there is soon tobe a perfect avalanche of spiritmanifestations-one of the most as-tounding influxes the world has everknown. Modern spiritualism may as-sume a different guise, but it is stillidentical to ancient heathenism.There are strange inconsistencies-spiritualists reject the Bible as unwor-thy of confidence because they say itis contradictory and then blindlycling to a system composed of absurd-ties and contradictions, which arebeyond all description. They declarethe God of the Bible to be unjust be-cause in His general judgments Hedestroyed infants, but they exalt thegod of nature manifested in the furyof tornadoes, earthquakes, pestilencesand famines that has swept away mil-lions of innocent mothers and infants.

Through spiritualisticphenomena the devilis working to preparethe world for hismasterpiece

Spiritualists openly advocate andpractice abominations and fellowshipwith those who teach immoralitiesopenly and boldly. They ridicule theidea of a Creator who can raise thedead and yet teach that the humansoul is composed of particles likecondensed steam and that it resur-rects itself. They warn against theBible as though it would be fatal toour eternal interests to follow it andyet admit that even those who do sowill share the progressive spheresafter death. If spiritualism is true, weare just as well off as they, but, if theBible is true, they are lost. By theirown judgment, we have a double


assurance. If there be doubt in whatwe believe, which we do not admit,we are on the safe side of that doubt.Yet every Bible believer clings to asure foundation.Spiritualism is nothing other than

the greatest tool in the hands ofSatan. He has deceived much of theChristian world with the doctrinethat humans never die but go to hellor heaven at death. Half the world ispagan and there too he has deceivedmost pagans with the same great lie,that humans never. die but go onliving in another state or sphere. Tothe heathen, the spirits are just peoplewho have found a new state of exist-ence and now restlessly roam theearth.

Satan's Crowning Deceptions

Through the mass media Satan hasprepared the world for his masterdeception, his crowning act in the lastdrama of the ages. Just before thecurtain comes down on the final act,Satan will try to personate the comingof Christ. Although God will notpermit him to perfectly counterfeitthe second coming in the clouds ofheaven, Satan is a master planner andnearly three hundred years ago beganlaying the foundation of his finalmaster deception with the doctrine offuturism introduced at the Council ofTrent. Francisco Ribera, a Jesuit, wasthe architect.Later, toward the beginning of the

nineteenth century, Irving and Darbyadopted this decepti ve teaching andcalled it the new dispensationalism orBritish Israelism. Scofield multipliedit on the North American continentby incorporating it in his Bible. Thisfalse teaching now is known as thesecret rapture. It teaches one thingbasically-tha t Jesus comes toJerusalem and reigns on David'sthrone in Jerusalem for 1,000 yearsand that the tribulation comes afterthe rapture.It is through spiritualistic phe-

nomena that the devil is working nowto prepare the world for his master-piece. He has always wanted to beGod. (See Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14)By this use of spiritualistic phe-nomena he may sweep into Jerusalemwith his hosts of angels in UFOs,declaring that he is the Christreturned. Paul declares he will trans-form himself into an angel of light.See 2 Corinthians 11:14; The GreatCOlltroversy, 557, 624; Testimollies toMillisters, 62, 411At this point the world will be in

its worst crisis. To fulfill the predic-tions found in the book of Rev-

elation, I see the possiblility of war inthe Middle East with the MasterSpiritualist masquerading as the Kingof kings stepping in to bring worldpeace. Then the whole world (nearly)will wonder after him.Let us remember the beast in Bible

prophecy primarily represents thedevil, and secondly the agenciesthrough which he works to accom-plish his master plan.

Our surety is in thewritten word. Onlythe "It is written" ofGod can keep us from

Satan's snares

Ellen White vividly portrays theday in which we are now living:"It was by the display of super-

natural power, in making the serpenthis medium, that Satan caused thefall of Adam and Eve in Eden. Beforethe close of time he will work stillgreater wonders. So far as his powerextends, he will perform actualmiracles. Says the Scripture: 'He....deceiveth them that dwell on theearth by the means of those miracleswhich he had power to do,' notmerely those which he pretends to do.Something more than mere imposturesis brought to view in this Scripture.But there is a limit beyond whichSatan cannot go, and here he callsdeception to his aid and counterfeitsthe work which he has not power ac-tually to perform. In the last days hewill appear in such a manner as tomake men believe him to be Christcome the second time into the world.He will indeed transform himself intoan angel of light. But while he willbear the appearance of Christ inevery particular, so far as mere ap-pearance goes, it will deceive nonebut those who, like Pharaoh, are seek-ing to resist the truth." Testimollies,vol. 5,698In the closing scenes of this

world's history we can only dependupon the Bible and the Spirit ofProphecy and walking with Jesusmoment by moment to keep us frombeing deceived. Our surety is in thewritten word. Satan's deception willbe so convincing that we will not beable to trust our senses; only the "It iswritten" of God can keep us from hissnares. g

i·_·_·_·__·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·__·_·_·_·_·-ii

A Right Perspective

The Desire oj Ages, 493

There are Christians who think and speakaltogether too n1uch about the power of Satan.

They think of their adversary, .they pray about him, they talk about him,and he looms up greater and greater

in their imagination.It is true that Satan is a powerful being;but, thank God, we have a Inighty Saviour,who cast out the evil one fron1 heaven.

Satan is pleased when we magnify his power.Why not talk of Jesus?

Why not magnify His power and His love?The rainbow of promise encircling

the throne on high is aneverlasting testimony that "God so loved the world,

that He gave His only-begotten Son,that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,

but have everlasting life."It testifies to the universe that Godwill never forsake His peoplein their struggle with evil.

It is an assurance to us of strength and protectionas long as the throne itself shall endure.

tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'1tiiiii ..-... . ....... ......

August, 1986 Oil,. Firm Foundalion 7

tiiiiiiiiiiiii

teOts ifygrrsT HE TIME is 1904. A conflict is

raging between Ellen White andDr. J. H. Kellogg. A 568-page bookissued the year before titled TheLiving Temple by Dr. Kellogg is thesubject of concern. Listen to Mrs.White's words:"The battle is on. Satan and his

angels are working with all deceiv-ableness of unrighteousness. They areuntiring in their efforts to draw soulsaway from the truth, away from right-eousness, to spread ruin throughoutthe universe. They work with marvel-ous industry to furnish a multitudeof deceptions to take souls captive.Their efforts are unceasing. The en-emy is ever seeking to lead souls intoinfidelity and skepticism. He woulddo away with God, and with Christ,who was made flesh and dwelt amongus to teach us that in obedience toGod's will we may be victorious oversin."Every form of evil is waiting for

an opportunity to assail us. Flattery,bribes, inducements, promises of won-derful exaltation, will be most as-siduously employed....

8 Our Firm Foundation August. 1986

"Satan and his angels are makingevery effort to obtain control ofminds, that men may be swayed byfalsehood and pleasing fa bles...."The sentiments of the enemy are

being scattered everywhere. Seeds ofdiscord, of unbelief, of infidelity, arebeing sown broadcast."The dangers coming upon us are

continually increasing. It is high timethat we put on the whole armor ofGod, and work earnestly to keepSatan from gaining any furtheradvantage. Angels of God, that excelin strength, are waiting for us to callthem to our aid, that our faith maynot be eclipsed by the fierceness ofthe conflict. Renewed energy is nowneeded. Vigilant action is called for.Indifference and sloth will result inthe loss of personal religion and ofheaven."At this time the Laodicean mes-

,sage is to be given, to arouse a slum-bering church. Let the thought of theshortness of time stimulate you toearnest, untiring effort. Rememberthat Satan has come down with greatpower, to work with all deceivable-

ness of unrighteousness in them thatperish...."Be not deceived; many will depart

from the faith, giving heed to seduc-ing spirits and doctrines of devils. Weha ve now before us the alpha of thisdanger. The omega will be of a moststartling nature."I am instructed to speak plainly.

'Meet it,' is the word spoken to me.'Meet it firmly, and without delay.'But it is not to be met by our takingour working forces from the field toinvestigate doctrines and points ofdifference. We have no such investi-gation to make. In the book TheLiving Temple there is presented thealpha of deadly heresies. The omegawill follow, and will be received bythose who are not willing to heed thewarning God has given." SelectedMessages, Book 1, 194-200; see alsoTestimonies, vol. 8, 255-318; The Minis-try 0/ Healing, 427-438Eighty-two years have passed.

Pantheism, the error in The LivingTemple was identified as the Alpha ofdeadly heresies, spiritualistic in na-ture and influence. Has the Omega

ltfrw Aburutists srrm awarr t17at iu tnbay'surnrIb Zpreifie mnurmrutz arr urry subtly aubiusibinusly prnmntiug spiritualism

appeared? Will we recognize it whenit comes? Various speculations havebeen made and conjectures given asto what the Omega is or will be. It ispossible that the Omega will have todo with the medical profession(s) asthe Alpha did. Will the joining of thehands of medical science, mentalscience, and religion result in theOmega? Could it be that the "threeunclean spirits, like devils" ofRevelation 13 are not only politicaland theological, but are also medicaland psychological? Remember thewarning, "the omega will be of amost startling na ture."

What is coming, if it isn't alreadyhere, is the refinement of spir-itualism. I see it developing steadilyand insidiously. And it appears thatChristians, even Seventh-dayAdventists, are drifting into the net.Unfortunately, Adventists are not soconcerned about spiritualism as theyonce were. We used to hear a greatdeal about it, but I am aware of onlya few voices now raised to exposespiritualism in its various forms.I was speaking to a group of

charismatic women and mentionedspiritualism. Not one of the groupknew what I was talking about. Andwhen dealing with Adventists, itseems many are aware only that it hasto do with evil spirits impersonatingthe dead. I am finding thatknowledge of the doctrines ofspiritualism is almost totally lackingin many of my audiences.In order to recognize the tenets of

spiritualism, there are a few basicconcepts we must be aware of: I)Spiritualism is Satan's own religion,with doctrines, worship, rituals, andhymns. 2) Satan is adept at using themedia to promulgate his doctrines tothe extent that people are accepting"doctrines of devils." 3) Spiritualismis a counterfeit of the truth as it is inScripture. (Testimonies to Ministers,365) A counterfeit is so like thegenuine that only those who know thegenuine can distinguish it from thetrue. I have been amazed at the spe-cific teachings of spiritualism as· theyparallel the teachings of the Bibleand the Spirit of Prophecy. 4) Satanhas long been preparing for his final'effort to deceive the world. Little bylittle he has prepared the way for hismasterpiece of deception in the de-velopment of spiritualism. He has notyet reached the fuB accomplishmentof his designs, but it wiB be reachedin the last remnant of time.

We need to be aware of the doc-trines of spiritualism in order to rec-ognize it before its subtleties ensnareour thinking. The Spirit of Prophecyprovides detailed information of theteachings of spiritualism; it behooves

us to beware. Note the following,doctrines, and the comments on themby Ellen White:I) Man naturally possesses im-mortality. The Great Controversy,55 I; Evangelism, 603, 608

2) Christ is not a divine Being.Patriarchs and Prophets, 686; TheGreat Controversy, 524

3) Satan has no existence as a per-sonal being. The Great Controversy,516

4) Prayer is not essential. Tes-timonies, vol. I, 295, 296; The GreatControversy, 525

5) The Bible is erroneous or un-reliable. Acts of the Apostles 474;The Desire of Ages, 258; The GreatControversy, 595

6) God is an essence pervadingna ture-the doctrine of pan theism.Evangelism 601; The Ministry ofHealing, 428

7) Man is accountable only to self-which is will worship. The GreatControversy, 555

8) Desire is the highest law,Evangelism, 608

9) Man is a creature of progression.. The Great Controversy, 554

Can we calculate the number ofpeople in the world who believe andteach spiritualistic doctrines? First,the belief in the immortality of thesoul is embraced by most Protestants,Catholics, and non-Christian religionsi(eastern, heathen, and pagan). Add to,this group evolutionists who teachprogression, identified as a doctrineof spiritualism (The Great Controversy,554, 555), and those who teach trans-migration of the soul and rein-carnation. It does not require a statis-tician to compute that the number in-cludes almost the entire population ofthe globe.It should be noted here how the

foundations of spiritualism are laidin Western society."This entering in of Satan through

the sciences is weB devised. Throughthe channel of phrenology, psychol-ogy, and mesmerism, he comes moredirectly to the people of this gener-ation and works with that powerwhich is to characterize his effortsnear the close of probation. The

minds of thousands have thus beenpoisoned and led into infidelity."While it is believed that one

human mind so wonderfully affectsanother, Satan, who is ready to pressevery advantage, insinuates himselfand works on the right hand and onthe left. And while those who aredevoted to these sciences laud them tothe heavens because of the great andgood works which they affirm arewrought by them, they little knowwhat a power for evil they are cher-ishing; but it is a power which willyet work with all signs and lyingwonders-with all deceivableness ofunrighteousness. Mark the influenceof these sciences, dear reader, for theconflict between Christ and Satan 'isnot yet ended."Through these sciences, virtue is

destroyed and the foundations ofspiritualism are laid." Mind, Char-acter, and Personality, 19, 20

We are 100 years closer to thattime than when these words werewritten. Few Adventists seem awarethat in today's world specific move-ments are very subtly and insidiouslypromotin g spiritualism. Generall y

speaking, Adventists tend not to hestudents of modern psychology, al-though this is rapidly changing. WhenI point out the dangers of the mindsciences laying the foundation forspiritualism, the response is almostalways "But even Sister White says'they are good in their place.' ""Their place" seems to be eve-

rywhere, and almost anything printedas psychology is accepted as safe andsound.

Most denominational schools havedepartments of psychology, some un-der the title of behavioral science.Teachers who were originaBy hired tofill these departments had to receivetheir degrees from secular or non-Seven th-da y Adven tist universities,because we have only recently beenable to offer degrees in these fields. Ibelieve it only natural for one toteach what he/she has been taught, soI am extremely apprehensive thatspurious information may be dissemi-nated right within Seventh-day Ad-ventist colleges. I have been told by

August, 1986 Our Firm Foundation 9

([qosr wqo UrI' uUrmpiing to trur-q fiJI' tru!'prinr-iplrs of pzyr-qology arr air-raby f rrhngtqr opposition unb wraiq of tqr orugon

heads of psychology departments thatneither the Bible nor the Spirit ofProphecy can be depended upon forinformation in psychology. This is inspite of the specific statement that"the true principles of psychology arefound in the Holy Scriptures." (MyLife Today, 176) None of these state-ments are meant to be critical, but in-stead to voice a real concern that wenot be deceived."He [Satan] is sweeping the world

into his ranks, and the few who arefaithful to God's requirements are theonly ones who can ever withstandhim, and even these he is trying toovercome. Go to God for yourselves,pray for divine enlightenment, thatyou may know that you do knowwhat is truth, that when the wonder-ful miracle-working power of Satanshall be displayed, and the enemyshall come as an angel of light, youmay distinguish between the genuinework of God and the imitative workof the power of darkness." Review andHerald, December 24, 1889The mind sciences of the present

ha ve their roots in mesmerism, a termderived from its propounder, a Ger-

errors that are finding acceptanceamong professedly Christian people,none is a more dangerous deception,none'more certa'in to separate manfrom God, than is this. Innocentthough it may appear, if exercisedupon patients, it will tend to theirdestruction, not to their restora tion. Itopens a door through which Satanwill enter to take possession both ofthe mind that is given up to be con-trolled by another and of the mindthat controls." Mind, Character, andPersonality, 712, 713If Satan does indeed control both

the mind that controls and the mindthat is controlled, then one could as-sume that textbooks coming from thepens of these founders of modern psy-chology may be unsafe to read. It isnot difficult to imagine Satan dictat-ing psychological truth mixed with er-ror which in turn is studied by un-suspecting students in every uni-versity. You may be sure that what-ever Satan passes on to us is spirit-ualistic in nature. Thus it is not dif-ficult to see that the mind sciencescould lay the foundation for spirit-ualism.

Me[ange

BobVun

Subject: Radiocarbon Dating

From Science 'News, "New Datesfor 'Early' Tools," May 10, 1986, page294; "Four bone artifacts thought toprovide evidence for human occupa-tion of North America approximately30,000 years ago are, at most, onlyabout 3,000 years old." The articlegoes on to admit that from the samepiece of borie, two "significantly"different dates were obtained byradiocarbon dating. The first date as-signed was 27,000 years. A second testreduced that to 1,350 years. The ar-,tide goes on to admit that "The timesand circumstances surroundinghuman colonization of the New Worldprior to I J ,500 yea rsag a arecan troversial."Who could possibly put any

credence in a system that admits tothese kin.ds ofereors?

Subject: Shellfishman physician named Mesmer (1733-1815). He put his patients in a trance-like state known now as hypnosis, and'gained attention both in Europe andAmerica. Jean-Martin Charcot was his'student and Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) studied with Charcot. Freudand Jung (1875-1961) were co-workersfor a time and both practiced hyp-nosis which Freud had learned fromCharcot. Freud, Jung, and Charcotwere contemporaneous with Ellen G.White. This fact seems significant inthat, while she never referred to anyof these individuals by name in herpublished works, she did speak em-phatically against mesmerism.It should be emphasized that tem-

porary psychological relief may befelt through these techniques, but cer-tainly at great risk that the mind maynever again be so strong and reliable,"The theory of mind controlling

mind was originated by Satan to in-troduce himself as the chief worker,to put human philosophy where di-vine philosophy should be. Of all the

10 Our Firm Foundation 1986

But more than a foundation is inevidence today. We now have an en-tire building of spiritualistic doctrinerising ever higher on the psychologi-cal skyline.Those who arc attempting to teach

the true principles of psychology arealready feeling the opposition andwrath of the dragon, even withinAdventism.

We have been warned in solemnwords. Will the Omega's "startlingnature" startle us? Will we be amongthe hypnotized majority led captiveby the devil? Or will we heed God'swords, and learn to identify Satan'straps, and sound a warning to thosearound us? The choice is ours."Spiritualism is about to take the

world captive. There are many whothink that spiritualism is upheldthrough trickery and imposture, butthis is far from the truth, Super-human power is working in a varietyof ways, and few have any idea as towhat will be the manifestations ofspiritualism in the future." Evange-lism, 602, 603 III

It was announced Ma.rch 12, 1986,on National Public Radio that theNew York State Health Commissionhas determined, after. a two yearstudy, that the eating' of shellfishdefinitely can cause gastroenteritisand hepatitis. It seems that there havebeen nUmerous cases of both diseasesafter eating clams and/or oysters, andthat the cases were scattered over theentire country. The probable cause isa viral contamination of the shellfish.The report went on to note that to

kill the viruses it would be necessaryto boil the shellfish for about fiveminutes. Unfortunately, if shellfishare more than lightly steamed for a'minute or so, they become too rub-bery to eat.Perhaps the Lord knew what He

was doing when he had all fish miss-ing either gi11s or scales declared un-fit for human consumption.

Ellen G, White

Sholl We ConsultSpiritualist Physicians?

"A HAZIAH FELL down through alattice in his upper chamber that

was in Samaria, and was sick: and hesent messengers, and said unto them,Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god ofEkron whether I shall recover of thisdisease. But the angel of the Lordsaid to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, goup to meet the messengers of the kingof Samaria, and say unto them, Is itnot because there is not a God inIsrael, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? Now there-fore thus saith the Lord, Thou shaltnot come down from that bed onwhich thou art gone up, but shallsurely die." [2 Kings 1:2-4]This narrative most strikingly dis-

plays the divine displeasure againstthose who turn from God to satanicagencies. A short time previous to theevents above recorded the kingdom ofIsrael had changed rulers. Ahab hadfallen under the judgment of Godand had been succeeded by his sonAhaziah, a worthless character, whodid only evil in the sight of the Lord,walking in the ways of his father andmother, and causing Israel to sin. Heserved Baal and worshiped him andprovoked the Lord God of Israel toanger, as his father Ahab had done.But judgments followed close uponthe sins of the rebellious king. A warwith Moab, and then the accident bywhich his own life was threatened,attested the wrath of God againstAhaziah.How much had the king of Israel

heard and seen in his father's time ofthe wondrous works of the Most .High!

What terrible evidence of His severityand jealousy had God given apostateIsraelI Of all this, Ahaziah was cog-nizant; yet he acted as though theseawful realities, and even the fearfulend of his own father, were only anidle tale. Instead of humbling hisheart before the Lord he venturedupon the most daring act of impietywhich marked his life. He command-ed his servants: "Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether Ishall recover of this disease."[2 Kings 2:2]

Satan's agentsstill claim to curedisease

The idol of Ekron was supposed togive information, through themedium of its priests, concerning fu-ture events. It had obtained suchgcneral credence that it was resortedto by large numbers from a consid-erable distance. The predictions thereuttered and the information givenproceeded directly from the prince of

darkness. It is Satan who created andwho maintains the worship of idols,to divert the minds of men from God.It is by his agency that the kingdomof darkness and falsehood is sup-ported.The history of King Ahaziah's sin

and punishment has a lesson of warn-ing which none can disregard withimpunity. Though we do not payhomage to heathen gods, yet thou-sands are worshiping at Satan's shrineas verily as did the king of Israel.The very spirit of heathen idolatry isrife today, though under the in-fluence of science and education ithas assumed a more refined and at-tractive form. Every day adds sor-rowful evidence that faith in the sureword of prophecy is fast decreasing,and that in its stead superstition andsatanic witchery are captivating theminds of men. All who do not earnest-ly search the Scriptures and submitevery desire and purpose of life totha t unerring test, all who do not seekGod in prayer for a knowledge of Hiswill, will surely wander from theright path and fall under the decep-tion of Sa tan.The heathen oracles have their

counterpart in the spiritualisticmediums, the clairvoyants, and for-tune tellers of today. The mysticvoices that spoke at Ekron and Endorare still by their lying words mislead-ing the children of men. The princeof darkness has but appeared under anew guise. The mysteries of heathenworship are replaced by the secret as-sociations and seances, the obscur-ities and wonders, of the sorcerers ofour time. Their disclosures are ea-gerly received by thousands whorefuse to accept light from God'sword or from His Spirit. While theyspeak with scorn of the magicians ofold, the great deceiver laughs in tri-umph as they yield to his arts under adifferent form.His agents still claim to cure

disease. They attribute their power toelectricity, magnetism, or the so-called "sympathetic remedies." Intruth, they are but channels forSatan's electric currents. By thismeans he casts his spell over thebodies and souls of men.I have from time to time received

letters both from ministers and laymembers of the church, inquiring if Ithink it wrong to consult spiritualistand clairvoyant physicians. I have notanswered these letters for want oftime. But just now the subject is againurged upon my attention. So num-erous are these agents of Satan be-coming, and so general is the practiceof seeking counsel from them, that itseems needful to uttcr words of warn-ing.

August, 1986 O"r Firm FOll/ldalioll II

Angels of God will preserveHis people while they walk

in the path of duty

God has placed it in our power toobtain a knowledge of the laws ofhealth. He has made it our duty topreserve our physical powers in thebest possible condition, that we mayrender to Him acceptable service.Those who refuse to improve the lightand knowledge that has been merci-fully placed within their reach arerejecting one of the means which Godhas granted them to promote spiritualas well as physical life. They areplacing themselves where they will beexposed to the delusions of Satan.Not a few in this Christian age

and Christian nation resort to evilspirits rather than trust to the powerof the living God. The mother, watch-ing by the sickbed of her child, ex-claims: "I can do no more. Is there nophysician who has power to restoremy child?" She is told of the wonder-S?l cures performed by some clair-voyant or magnetic healer, and shetrusts her dear one to his charge,placing it as verily in the hands ofSatan as if he were standing by herside. In many instances the future lifeof the child is controlled by a satanicpower which it seems impossible tobreak.Many are unwilling to put forth

the needed effort to obtain a knowl-edge of the laws of life and thesimple means to be employed for therestoration of health. They do notplace themselves in right relation tolife. When sickness is the result oftheir transgression of law, they donot seek to correct their errors andthen ask the blessing of God, but theyresort to the physicians. If they re-cover health they give to drugs anddoctors all the honor. They are everready to idolize human power andwisdom, seeming to know no otherGod than the creature-dust and ashes.I have heard a mother pleading

with some infidel physician to savethe life of her child; but when Ientreated her to seek help from theGreat Physician who is able to save tothe uttermost all who come unto Himin faith, she turned away with im-patience. Here we see the same spiritthat was manifested by Ahaziah.

12 Our Firm FoundatIOn August. 1986

It is not safe to trust to physicianswho have not the fear of God beforethem. Without the influence of divinegrace the hearts of men are "deceit-ful above all things, and desperatelywicked." [Jeremiah 17:9] Self-aggran-dizement is their aim. Under thecover of the medical profession whatiniquities have been concealed, whatdelusions supported! The physicianmay claim to possess great wisdomand marvelous skill, when his charac-ter is abandoned and his practice con-trary to the laws of life. The Lordour God assures us that He is waitingto be gracious; He invites us to callupon Him in the day of trouble. Howcan we turn from Him to trust in anarm of flesh?Go with me to yonder sickroom.

There lies a husband and father, aman who is a blessing to society andto the cause of God. He has been sud-denly stricken down by disease. Thefire of fever seems consuming him.He longs for pure water to moistenthe parched lips, to quench the ragingthirst, and cool the fevered brow. But,no; the doctor has forbidden water.The stimulus of strong drink is givenand adds fuel to the fire. The blessed,heaven-sent water, skillfully applied,would quench the devouring flame;but it is set aside for poisonous drugs.For a time nature wrestles for her

rights; but at last, overcome, she givesup the contest, and death sets the suf-ferer free. God desired that man tolive, to be a blessing to the world;Satan determined to destroy him, andthrough the agency of the physicianhe succeeded. How long shall we per-mit our most precious lights to bethus extinguished?Ahaziah sent his servants to in-

quire of Baal-zebub, at Ekron; but in-stead of a message from the idol, heheard the awful denunciation fromthe God of Israel: "Thou shalt notcome down from that bed on whichthou art gone up, but shalt surelydie." It was Christ that bade Elijahspeak these words to the apostateking. Jehovah Immanuel had cause tobe greatly displeased at Ahaziah'simpiety. What had Christ not done to

win the hearts of sinncrs and to in-spire them with unwavering con-fidence in Himself? For ages He hadvisited His people with manifesta-tions of the most condescendingkindness and unexampled love. Fromthe times of the patriarchs He hadshown how His "delights were withthe sons of men." [Proverbs 8:31] Hehad been a very present help to allwho sought Him in sincerity. "In alltheir affliction He was afflicted, andthe angel of His presence saved them:in His love and in His pity Heredeemed them." [Isaiah 63:9] Yet Is-rael had revolted from God andturned for help to the Lord's worstenemy.The Hebrews were the only nation

fa vored with a knowledge of the trueGod. When the king of Israel sent toinquire of a pagan oracle, he pro-claimed to the heathen that he hadmore confidence in their idols than inthe God of his people, the Creator ofthe heavens and the earth. In thesame manner do those who profess to.have a knowledge of God's word dis-honor Him when they turn from theSource of strength and wisdom to askhelp or counsel from the powers ofdarkness. If God's wrath was kindledby such a course on the part of awicked, idolatrous king, how can Heregard a similar course pursued bythose who profess to be His servants?Why is it that men are so unwilling

to trust Him who created man, andwho can by a touch, a word, a look,heal all manner of disease? Who ismore worthy of our confidence thanthe One who made so great a sacrificefor redemption? Our Lord has givenus definite instruction through theapostle James as to our duty in caseof sickness. When human help fails,God will be the helper of His people."Is any sick among you? let him callfor the elders of the church; and letthem pray over him, anointing himwith oil in the name of the Lord: andthe prayer of faith shall save thesick, and the Lord shall raise himup." [James 5:14, 15] If the professedfollowers of Christ would, with pu-rity of heart, exercise as much faith

, , ,but there is no assurance ofsuch protection for those who

deliberately venture uponSatan's ground

in the promises of God as they reposein satanic agencies, they would real-ize in soul and body the life-givingpower of the Holy Spirit.God has granted to this people

great light, yet we are not placedbeyond the reach of temptation. Whoamong us are seeking help from thegods of Ekron? Look on this picture-not drawn from imagination. In howmany, even among Seventh-dayAdventists, may its leading charac-teristics be seen? An invalid-ap-parently very conscientious, yet big-oted and self-sufficient-freely a vowshis contempt for the laws of healthand life, which divine mer9 has ledus as a people to accept. His foodmust be prepared in a manner tosatisfy his morbid cravings. Ratherthan sit at a table where wholesomefood is provided, he will patronizerestaurants, because he can there in-dulge appetite without restraint. Afluent advocate of temperance, hedisregards its foundation principles.He wants relief, but refuses to obtainit at the price of self-denial. Thatman is worshiping at the shrine ofperverted appetite. He is an idolater.The powers which, sanctified and en-nobled, might be employed to honorGod, are weakened and rendered oflittle service. An irritable temper, aconfused brain, and unstrung nervesare among the results of his disregardof nature's laws. He is inefficient,unreliable.Whoever has the courage and hon-

esty to warn him of danger therebyincurs his displeasure. The slightestremonstrance or opposition is suffi-cient to rouse his combative spirit.But now an opportunity is presentedto seek help from one whose powercomes through the medium of witch-craft. To this source he applies witheagerness, freely expending time andmoney in hope of securing the prof-fered boon. He is deceived, infat-uated. The sorcerer's power is madethe theme of praise, and others areinfluenced to seek his aid. Thus theGod of Israel is dishonored, whileSatan's power is revered and exalted.In the name of Christ I would

address His professed followers:.Abide in the faith which you havereceived from the beginning. Shunprofane and vain babblings. Insteadof putting your trust in witchcraft,have faith in the living God. Cursedis the path that leads to Endor or toEkron. The feet will stumble and fallthat venture upon the forbiddenground. There is a God in Israel, withwhom is deliverance for all that areoppressed. Righ teousness is the hab-itation of His throne.There is danger in departing in the

least from the Lord's instruction.When we deviate from the plain pathof duty, a train of circumstances willarise that seems irresistible to drawus further and further from the right."Needless intimacies with those whohave no respect for God will seduceus ere we are aware. Fear to offendworldly friends will deter us fromexpressing our gratitude to God oracknowledging our dependence uponHim. We must keep close to the wordof God. We need its warnings and en-couragement, its threatenings andpromises. We need the perfect ex-ample given only in the life andcharacter of our Sa viour.Angels of God will preserve His

people while they walk in the path ofduty, but there is no assurance ofsuch protection for those who de-liberately venture upon Satan'sground. An agent of the great de-ceiver will say and do anything togain his object. It matters littlewhether he calls himself a spiritual-ist, an "electric physician," or a"magnetic healer." By specious pre-tenses he wins the confidence of theunwary. He pretends to read the lifehistory and to understand all the dif-ficulties and afflictions of those whoresort to him. Disguising himself asan angel of light, while the blacknessof the pit is in his heart, he manifestsgreat interest in women who seek hiscounsel. He tells them that all theirtroubles are due to an unhappy mar-riage. This may be too true, but sucha counselor does not better their con-dition. He tells them that they needlove and sympathy. Pretending great

interest in their welfare, he casts aspell over his unsuspecting victims,charming them as the serpent charmsthe trembling bird. Soon they are com-pletely in his power; sin, disgrace,and ruin are the terrible sequel.These workers of iniquity are not

few. Their path is marked by desolatehomes, blasted reputations, and bro-ken hearts. But of all this the worldknows little; still they go on makingfresh victims, and Satan exults in theruin he has wrought.The visible and the invisible world

are in close contact. Could the veil belifted, we would see evil angels press-ing their darkness around us andworking with all their power to de-ceive and destroy. Wicked men aresurrounded, influenced, and aided byevil spirits. The man of faith andprayer has yielded his soul to divineguidance, and angels of God bring tohim light and strength from heaven.No man can serve two masters.

Light and darkness are no more op-posites than are the service of Godand the service of Satan. The prophetElijah presented the matter in thetrue light when he fearlessly appealedto apostate Israel: "If the Lord beGod, follow Him: but if Baal, thenfollow him." [I King 18:21]Those who give themselves up to

the sorcery of Satan may boast ofgreat benefit received thereby, butdoes this prove their course to be wiseor safe? What if life should be pro-longed? What if temporal gain shouldbe secured? Will it pay in the end todisregard the will of God? All suchapparent gain will prove at last an ir-recoverable loss. We cannot with im-punity break down a single barrierwhich God has erected to guard Hispeople from Satan's power.Our only safety is in preserving

the ancient landmarks. "To the lawand to the testimony: if they speaknot according to this word, it is be-cause there is no light in them."[Isaiah 8:20] iiiTestimonies, vol. 5,191-197

August, 1986 Ollr Firm FOlllldal101I 13

The NewSpiritualism

SATAN HAS long been preparingfor his final effort to deceive the

world. In numerical terms he will to agreat extent prove successful, fornearly the entire world population(now exceeding five billion) will fallinto his fatal deception. Except forthose few who trust and follow theword of God explicitly, all-men,women, and children alike-will ac-cept the teachings of "seducingspirits and doctrines of devils."1 Timothy 4:1Looking back at past ages it is not

difficult to distinguish witchcraftand demon worship from the truth ofGod. But the subtlety of Satan's finaldeceptions is almost beyond imagina-tion. Yet God has not left us defense-lcss. Spiritualism's basic doctrines areclearly spelled out for us. These have

never changed, except for the mannerin which they are presented. You canlocate them in The Great Controversy,552-562.Here's a quick review: Man is

progressing toward godhead; he isnaturally immortal; Christ was notGod, yet man is an unfallen demigod;"Judgment is of self," and self is thesource of all things, so naturally"Whatever is, is right"; knowledgeplaces man above all law, but nomatter-God does not condemn underany circumstance for "all sins com-mitted are innocent"; and finally, anyjust and perfect being (which meanseveryone, since all are innocent) isChI ist.How could Satan get any rational

person to follow such contradictorygibberish? The answer is "power."

"Spiritualism, which numbers itsconverts by hundreds of thousands,yea, by millions, which has made itsway into scientific circles, which hasinvaded churches, and has foundfavor in legislative bodies, and evenin the courts of kings-this mammothdeception is but a revival, in a newdisguise, of the witchcraft con-demned and prohibited of old.,,1

Today? Really?

Yes, witchcraft, devil worship,snake charming, necromancy, mysti-cism, fortune telling, and even witchdoctors, are with us still in today'ssociety, but they now possess a new.credibility, an air of sophistication-and a new guise.The greatest bulwark of the occult

in Western culture today is not thefanatic fringe, but the mushroomingnumber of "respectable people" beinginfluenced by corporate success semi-nars and the greed-tainted "religion"of a newly emerged class of "pros-perity prophets."Modern man, full of wisdom, is

seeking ways to improve himself, andthe devil has a host of "humanpotential," "positive thinking," and"success seminar" books and tapes toJill the void. There are literallyhundreds of these programs for thebusiness man, housewife, professor,and the kindergarten/preschool tot.This so-called self-improvement

was brought to the world by the devilthrough Napoleon Hill. Think andGrolV Rich, is the title of his well-known book in which he discloses the"supreme secret." The secret itself isof interest, but first, let's take a mo-ment to hear how he came by thisknowledge. A simple "visualization"exercise led to the formation of Hill's"imaginary" group of "Counselors."He says:"These nine men were Emerson,

Paine, Edison, Darwin, Lincoln,Burbank, Napoleon, Ford, andCarnegie. Every night... I held animaginary council meeting with thisgroup whom I called my 'InvisibleCounselors.'..."After some months of this nightly

procedure, I was astounded by the dis-.covery that these imaginary figuresbecame apparently real. ..."These meetings became so realis-

tic that I became fearful of their con-sequences, and discontinued them forseveral months. The experiences wereso uncanny, I was afraid if I con-.tinued them I would lose sight of thefact that the meetings were purelyexperiences of my imagination.',2Imagination, he said. But he said

------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!J Vincent Cherry I!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!------14 Our Firm Foundation August, 19&6

more. "In my studies I discoveredthere is a group of strange beings whomaintain a school of wisdom...."The School has Masters who can

disembody themselves and travel in-'stantly to any place they choose.... Iknew that one of these Masters hadcome across thousands of miles,through the night, into my study...." 'You have earned the right to

reveal a Supreme Secret to others,'said the vibrant voice. 'You havebeen under the guidance of the GreatSchool. ... Now you must give theworld a blueprint.' ,,3From such a source we might ex-

pect any blasphemy, any outrageouslie. But what was the blueprint, thesupreme secret? "Anything the humanmind can believe, the human mindcan achieve.'"

Is That So Bad?

Really, this "secret" .has a POSItIvering. It sounds hopeful, some mighteven say healthy. But God says the"heart (mind) is deceitful above allthings, and desperately wicked, whocan know it?" A very little reflectionon the matter shows that Hill's secret,whatever it is, it isn't Christian.Instead, it neatly wraps up the

very essence of spiritualism. If thepower of the human mind (or spirit)is invincible, what then is death?What need is there for God? Indeed,what god could there be but man? Ifall men can work "miracles," what isso special about Jesus Christ?It is amazing to what extents man

has allowed his "sophistication" tosink, as he chases fanciful delusionsof grandeur. And the devil is sure tohave a program for every whim. Thelist is probably exhaustless, but hereare a few of the most common:

Even Christians havebought the devil's

line

T. M. (Transcendental Meditation),Arica, Zen, Psycho-cybernetics, Chris-'tian Science, Rolfing, EST (ErhardtSeminars Training), New Thought,

Silva Mind Control, PositiveThinking, Hypnosis/Psychology,Parapsychology, New Age Seminars,Sufism, Neuro-Linguistic Pro-gramming, Martial Arts, I Ching,Yoga, and Visualization/Imaging.And for every program, for every

"cause," there is someone to play therole of champion. These names youmay have heard:Isaac Asimov, Buckminster Fuller,

Zig Zigler, Marilyn Ferguson,Elizabeth Claire Prophet, MaxwellMaltz, Adam Smith, Norman VincentPeale, Robert Schuller, KennethCopeland, Shirley MacLaine, DagHammerskold, Mother Teresa, andPierre Teilhard de Chardin (theJesuit priest/paleontologist known asthe father of the New Age).

Spiritualism is aboutto take the world

captive

Yes, even Christians have boughtthe devil's line. Satan has infiltratedthe Christian world, presenting anew, enlightened, approach to becom-ing better people and workers forGod. He has deceived many Christianleaders and led them to absorb andpropagate his darling deceptions. "Asspiritualism more closely imitates thenominal Christianity of the day, ithas greater power to deceive andensnare."sPeale writes "Imaging (use of the

mind to produce a material reality)has been ... implicit in all the speak-ing and writing I have done.... ,,6Robert Schuller, of Crystal

Cathedral fame in California, states:"I believe that the responsibility [of aminister) in this [New) Age is to'positivize' religion.... I talk a greatdeal to groups that are not positive...even to what we would call Funda-mentalists who deal constantly withwords like sin, salvation, repentance,and guilt, that sort of thing."So when I'm dealing with these

people ... what we have to do ispositivize the words that have classi-cally only had a negative interpre-tation.,,7 He also offers this advice:"The most effective mantras employ

the 'M' sound. [Mantras are Hinduprayers to demons.} You can get thefeel of it 'by repeating the words, 'Iam, I am,' many times over. . . .Transcendental Meditation or TM isnot a religion nor is it necessarilyanti-Christian."s Unfortunately, forboth him and all who believe him,such teaching is nothing short ofsoul-destroying error.With enough material for volumes

of expose let us look to the Word oftruth for our protection. The devil isout to destroy the very least vestigeof Christ in His ·people. Church afterchurch is falling, and has fallen.The Romim Church, for one, is

honest in admitting its fall from thetruth, (though such admissions arenot widely broadcast). "Confidingthen in the power of Christianity toresist the infection of evil, and totransmute the instruments and ap-pendages of demon worship to anevangelical use ... the rulers of the'church were prepared, should occa-sion arise, to adopt, or initiate, orsanction the existing rites and cus-toms of the populace." "All of paganorigin and sanctified by adoptioninto the church.',gAs we view these things we must

see that without Christ we will bedeceived and overcome. So powerfulis to be the final delusions that,"Spiritualism is about to take theworld captive.',l0Should we fail to keep our eyes on,

Christ we will be ensnared. "All whoneglect the word of God to studyconvenience and policy, that theymay not be at variance with theworld, will be left to receive dam-nable heresy for religious truth.Every conceivable form of error willbe accepted by those who willfullyreject the truth." You may not rejectthe truth, but a failure to study is

God is leading Hispeople out from theabominations of the

world

equally dangerous. "Satan well knowsthat all whom he can lead to neglectprayer and the searching of the Scrip-tures, will be overcome by his

August, 1986 alii" Firm Fou"datiu" 15

attacks." "All whose faith is notfirmly established upon the word ofGod will be deceived and overcome."llObserving just a small portion of

the inroads of spiritualism, let noneof us think ourselves secure, in anyposition, or connection with any bodyof faith."Through the agency of evil spirits

strange gods were introduced' and be-cause of transgression, th; chosenpeople were finally scattered fromthe Land of Promise. This historySatan is striving to repeat in our day.God is leading His people out fromthe abominations of the world thatthey may keep His law.... The an-titypical land of promise is justbefore us, and Satan is determined todestroy the people of God and cutthem off from their inheritance. Theadmonition, 'Watch ye and pray, lestye enter into temptation' (Mark14:38), was never more needed thannow."The word of the Lord to ancient

Israel is addressed also to His peoplein this age; 'Regard not them thathave familiar spirits, neither seekafter wizards, [not even "positivewizards"] to be defiled by them;' 'forall that do these things are an abomi-nation unto the Lord.' Leviticus 19:31;Deuteronomy 18: 12"12Take time each morning to know

God and His truth. He has promisedit will keep you and make you wiseunto salvation. It will cause you to"hate every false way." Psalm 119:104"Because thou hast kept the word

of My patience, I also will keep thee."Revelation 3:10 III

I. The Great Controversy, 5562. Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

215, 216 (Fawcett, 1979) emphasisoriginal

3. Hill, Grow Rich with Peace of Mind,158, 160) Ballantine Books, 1967)4. Ibid., 1765. The Great Controversy, 5886. Norman Vincent Peale Positive

Imaging, introduction (Fleming H.. Revell:1982)7. Robert Schuller, address at Unity

Village, Unity tape8. Schuller, Peace of Mind Through

Possibility Thinking, 131, 132 (Fleming H.Revell, 1977)9. Cardinal Newman, Development of

Christian Doctrine, 37210. Evangelism, 602II. The Great Controversy, 523, 519, 56012. Patriarchs and Prophets, 689


When modern spiritualism made itsdebut in the mid 1800s the Adventbelievers saw it as a sign of fulfillingprophecy. As such. it deserved to bewatched. and watch it they did. Theback page of the July 4, 1854. Reviewand Herald carried an account of the"Address of the National Society forthe Diffusion of Spiritual Knowledge."It portrays the rapid rise to prominencewhich spiritism enjoyed at that time.and brings to mind-132 years later-thequestion. "Could it happen again?"

TO THE Citizens of the UnitedStates: But a few short years ago,

in an obscure locality, and under cir-cumstances which seemed to warrantthe belief in an early termination ofthe so-called dream, Spiritualism, inits present form was born. Its fewadvocates, in the early days of itslife, were looked upon as lunatic-were despised for their faith' andmen of respectability and standing insociety could hardly be found whowere willing to examine into the factsconnected with the alleged phe-nomena, for fear of the reproach ofthe entire unbelieving community.Since that period, Spiritualism has ex-tended with a rapidity unprecedentedin the annals of the world-untiltoday, it has become apower in society. Men whose educa-tion and whose genius have fittedthem for occupying the highest sta-tions, either in politics ,or in thechurch, have sacrificed all positionsof earthly aggrandizement for thesake of what they believe to be theenjoyment of high and holy truth.Connected with that movement todayare many hundreds and thousands ofmen who are respected by their neigh-bors for their integrity and worth-.esteemed and loved by their friendsfor their many amiable qualities. Thesubject has arrested the attention ofthe learned all over this land, and inmany other lands. It has producedbooks, for and against. Many of thepublications on both sides of the

are marked by ability andstrength.Within the last two years, Spirit-

ualism has increased in strength and

stature with a growth unprecedentedin the history of mental giants. If itbe a lie, there is every prospect of itsenveloping this world, and by itsweight, sinking this world one degreelower in the depth of degradation. Ifit be a lie, it has come in so lovely agarb that men will seek it unless theybe warned by a strong voice; men willflee to it as though it were an angelsent from heaven-will become en-veloped in its false light, and will beborne down to death by the weight ofits false glory. If it be a lie, ye menof America, who have one thought to-wards the good of your fellows, it isyour duty to come forward as oneman, to tear the veil from the face ofthe lie, and expose it in all itshideousness. We challenge you asmen--as earnest men, as men desiringthe good of your fellows ...... to comeforth and meet us in the fight, exposeour errors, draw the shroud away,and enable the world to see us as weare. We challenge you to come and dothat thing.Citizens of the Unites States! We

feel authority for saying that the dayfor raising the cry of humbug, chi-canery, delusion, has passed awayforever. You know-all of you whohave reflective minds-that the ap-plication of these terms to this sub-ject can no longer produce results; butthat rather these invectives, launchedat your supposed enemies, will re-bound upon yourselves, and cover youwith weakness. Your professed teach-ers, your men in high places, thelearned of your universities, theeloquent of your pulpits have dealt inthem long enough. And what resultshave they achieved? The theorieswhich the universities sent forth toaccount for the alleged phenomena, asthey were pleased to term them, havenot only rendered their authors, butthe universities, ridiculous in theminds of intelligent men. All thetheories which they reared havecrumbled to the dust, and theirauthors cannot shake that dust fromoff their clothing.

ScienceFalselySoCalled

I N TI-IESE days when skepticismand infidelity so often appear in

a scientific garb, we need to beguarded on every hand. Through thismeans our great adversary is deceiv-ing thousands, and leading them cap-tive according to his will. The advan-tage he takes of the sciences, scienceswhich pertain to the human mind, istremendous. Here, serpent-like, heimperceptibly creeps in to corrupt thework of God.This entering in of Satan through

the sciences is well devised. Throughthe channel of phrenology, psychol-ogy, and mesmerism, he comes moredirectly to the people of this gener-ation, and works with that powerwhich is to characterize his effortsnear the close of probation. Theminds of thousands have thus beenpoisoned, and led into infidelity.While it is believed that one humanmind so wonderfully affects another,Satan, who is ready to press everyadvantage, insinuates himself, andworks on the right hand and on theleft. And while those who are devotedto these sciences, laud them to theheavens because of the great andgood works which they affirm arewrought by them, they little knowwhat a power for evil they arecherishing; but it is a power whichwill yet work with all signs and lyingwonders-with all deceivableness ofunrighteousness. Mark the influence.of these sciences, dear reader; for the

all true faith in Christ as the Messiah,the Son of God.Satan worked in a similar manner

when through Moses the power ofGod was manifested in Egypt. Hewell knew that Moses was chosen ofGod to break the yoke of bondagefrom off the children of Israel; andhe also knew that in this work Moseswas a type of Christ, who was tocome to break the reign of sin overthe human family and to deliverthose who were captives to its power.He was aware that when Christshould appear, mighty works andmiracles would be wrought by Himthat the world might know that theFather had sent Him. He trembled forhis power. He resolved to accomplisha work which should answer atwofold purpose: (I) To destroy theinfluence of Moses as the servant ofGod, by using his agents to counter-feit the true work of God; (2) To ex-ert an influence by his work throughthe magicians which would reachdown through all ages, and in manyminds destroy true faith in themighty miracles to be performed byChrist when He should come to thisworld.It was the power of God, and no

human influence or power possessedby Moses, that produced thosemiracles wrought before Pharaoh.Those signs and wonders weredesigned to convince Pharaoh that thegreat "I AM" had sent Moses, andthat it was the duty of the king to letIsrael go that they might serve theliving God. Pharaoh called for themagicians to work with theirenchantments. They also showed signsand wonders; for they wrought not bytheir own science alone,' but by the·power of their god, the devil, whothrough them ingeniously carried outhis deceptive work. Yet even here thepower of God was shown to be supe-rior to that of Satan; for themagicians were unable to perform allthe miracles which God wroughtthrough Moses. Only a few of themcould they do. The magicians' rodsdid become serpents, but Aaron's rodswallowed them up. And when theysought to produce lice, and could not;they were compelled to acknowledgeeven to Pharaoh, "This is the finger'of God." [Exodus 8:19)Satan was unwilling to have the

children of Israel released frombondage that they might serve God.He wrought through the magicians ina manner to harden the heart of thetyrant against the miraculous mani-festations of God's power. He alsothought to stagger the faith of Mosesand Aaron in the divine origin of

No human influenceor power produced

those miracles

conflict between Christ and Satan isnot yet ended.If Satan were to make an open and

bold attack upon Christianity, itwould bring the Christian at once tothe feet of his mighty Deliverer, whoalone could put the adversary tofligh t. He does not generally do this.He is artful, and knows that the mosteffectual way for him to accomplishhis designs is to come to poor, fallenman in the form of an angel of light.In this disguise he works upon the

mind to allure from the safe andright path. He has ever been am-bitious to counterfeit the work ofChrist, and establish his own powerand claims. He leads deceived mortalsto account for the works and miraclesof Christ upon scientific principles;he makes them appear as the result ofhuman skill and power. In manyminds he will thus eventually destroy

G.Ellell

August, 1986 Ollr Firm FmmdoliOll 17".

their mISSIon, and then his instru.ments would prevail. But after themagicians had failed to produce theplague of lice, they could no more im-itate Moses and Aaron. God wouldnot suffer Satanic deception toproceed further. His controllingpower cut off the channel throughwhich Satan worked, and even the in-struments through whom Satanwrought so wonderfully could notsave themselves from the plagues. Weread: "The magicians could not standbefore Moses because of the boils; forthe boil was upon the magicians, andupon all the Egyptians." [9: II]When Christ came to earth, Satan

renewed his attack. He came to theSaviour in the wilderness in the formof a beautiful young man-more likea monarch than a fallen angel-withScripture in his mouth. Said he, "It iswritten." He spread the world beforeChrist in the most attract"ive light,and intimated to Him that He neednot endure so much suffering to gainits kingdoms; Satan would yield allhis claims if Christ would but wor-ship him.Satan was dissatisfied iit- heaven

because he could not be first andhighest in command equal with theFather, exalted above Christ. In thewilderness he hoped to gain advan-tage through the weakness and suf-fering of Christ and obtain from Himthat homage which he could not winin heaven. Could he have succeeded,then the plan of salvation would havefailed, and mankind would have beenplunged in hopeless misery. But Jesusyielded not to the suggestion of thetempter for a moment; on the con-trary, he asserted his superior powerby bidding him, "Get thee hence."[See Matthew 4:1-11] Satan wasbaffled. He then turned his attentionto accomplishing his purpose inanother way, by winning from thehuman race that honor which wasrefused him in heaven, and by Jesuson earth; and here he has been onlytoo successful.The plan of redemption was not

defeated. The dear price has beenpaid for man's ransom. And now ourgreat adversary seeks to tear awaythe foundation of the Christian'shope, by turning men's minds intosuch a channel that they may not bebenefited through the great sacrificeoffered. He leads them to believe thatthey can do very well without anatonement; that they need not dependupon a crucified and risen Saviour;that their own merits will entitlethem to God's favor. And then hedestroys confidence in the Bible, wellknowing that if he succeeds here, and

August, 1986

faith in the detector which places amark upon himself is destroyed, there"are no bounds to the victories he maygain.If the tempter can so deceive the

human mind as to lead mortals tothink that they possess the inherentpower to perform great and goodworks, they cease to rely upon God.They acknowledge not a superiorpower. They give not God the glorywhich He claims, and which is due toHis great and excellent Majesty.Satan's object is thus accomplished;and he exults that fallen men pre-sumptuously exalt themselves, as heexalted himself in heaven, and wascast out. He knows that if they takethis course, their ruin is just as cer-tain as was his own.

Virtue is destroyedand the foundationsof spiritualism are

laid

Another means by which Satanseeks to separate the soul from God isto make man believe that prayer isbut a useless form. He well knowshow needful are meditation andprayer; and by his devices he woulddivert the mind from these importantexercises, that the soul may not lean"for help upon the Mighty One, andobtain strength to resist his attacks.The prayer of faith is the greatstrength of the Christian, and will as-suredly prevail. This is why Satan in-sinuates that we have no need ofprayer.Neglect of prayer leads men to rely

on their own stren"gth, and opens the,door to temptation. In many cases the,imagination is captivated by scien-tific research, and men are flatteredthrough the consciousness of theirown powers. The sciences which treatof the human mind are very muchexalted. They are good in their place;but they are seized upon by Satan ashis powerful agents to deceive anddestroy souls. His arts are accepted asfrom heaven, and he thus receives theworship which suits "him well. Theworld, which is supposed to bebenefited so much by phrenology andanimal magnetism, never was so cor-rupt as now. Through these sciences,virtue is destroyed, and the founda-tions of Spiritualism are laid. And

thousands are conversing with, andreceiving instructions from, thisdemon-god, and are acting accordingto his teachings, all the while suppos-ing that they are obeying the voice ofGod through their dead friends. iiiSigns of the Times, November 6, 1884

EDITORS NOTE: The article printedabove is. of special interest to those"seeking to understand Ellen White'scounsel on the subject of hypnotism.The overall tenor of her writings isconsistently unfavorable to hypnosis(or mesmerism, as it was first named).From her earliest reference to mes-merism (Early Writings, 21) until theend of her life, Elien Whit"e's advice"did not change. "This is the sciencethat Satan teaches," she wrote in1905. "We are to resist everything ofthe kind. We are not to tamper withmesmerism and hypnotism." MedicalMinistry, 110, IIIAs clear as the whole of her coun-

sel would seem to be, questions havebeen raised concerning one seeminglycontradictory statement. An 1862Review and Herald article entitled"Philosophy and Vain Deceit," laterreprinted in Testimonies, vol. I, 290-302, contains the following: "Phre-nology and mesmerism are very much"exalted. They are good in their place,but they are seized upon by Satan as"his most powerful agents to deceiveand destroy souls." This single, iso-lated statement has occasionally beentaken up by those enamored with thedevil's methods as sufficient jus-tification for ignoring the over-whelming clarity of Ellen White'slife-long position.Fortunately there is no need for

perplexity. In 1884, Sister White re-worked her presentation of thismaterial, drawing heavily from herearlier article. The result was the ar-ticle we have printed above. In pre-senting again what she had previouslywritten, she said: "The sciences thattreat of the human mind are verymuch exalted. They are good in theirplace; but they are seized upon bySatan as his powerful agents todeceive and destroy souls."Her intention when writing in

1862 is clear. In saying "they aregood" in their place," she referred tothe broader scope of her article, the"sciences of the human mind." That•there is a proper manner to dealhuman minds is made clear in the ar-ticle "Mind Cure." That there is aproper use of "phrenology andmesmerism," Satan's "most powerfulagents," Ellen White never said. "II

1'I8/>.

Angplir illigl1t? Or

Demonic Darkness?T HE CASSETTE tape was free.

And-coming from a friend as itdid-there seemed no reason to refuseit. Besides, it was supposed to be"really interesting," just the thing fora good Sabbath afternoon. In thesedays of hard-sell, unchristian, mind-numbing propaganda, a person couldwell afford to be on the lookout forinteresting spiritual food.Of course, caution was in order

still, for-sad to say-even within theSeventh-day Adventist Church therehad been cases of 'subtle heresy. Des-mond Ford for example, and it wasrumored that there might be others aswell. One really should be careful inthis sort of thing....Shortly after finishing a good Sab-

bath dinner, our imaginary averageAdventist settles himself in a chair,and the tape begins to play. "Let me

assure you of one thing," the woman'svoice intones, "my husband and I aregood old twenty-three hundred-day,1844, sanctuary, judgment-hour,Spirit-of-Prophecy Seventh-dayAdventists."lA pretty good start, one must

admit, but there's more: "My husbandis a retired Seventh-day Adventistminister. He has been preaching thegood old three angels' messages nowfor forty-two years. He has been apastor, a departmental man in theSabbath School and Personal Minis-tries Departments, a chaplain inseveral Seventh-day Adventist medi-cal institutions, both in the UnitedStates and in Canada, and we havebeen missionaries in Ethiopia.,,2

Dave Fiedlel

Whew! Now that was about as gooda resume as you could ask for. Thistape should be "kosher" for sure. Andso it was that another average Adven-tist got his first look into a wholenew world. A world peopled not onlyby the normal folk he lived with eachday, but by powerful forces as well.Forces for good and evil, fiercely bat-tling for the supremacy. A worldwhere knowledge was lifesaving,where proper technique could mean--all too literally-the difference be-tween life and death.It was a world of adventure. Each

moment, each movement, was fraughtwith eternal results. Fortunately,there was a source of inspiredinstruction-the pastor's wife, thewoman on the tape, was a prophet ofGod, a source of encouraging counsel.No, our average Adventist had nC?t

August, 1986 Ollr Firm FOlll/da/iol/ 19

become ensnared in the mind-twistingfantasies of "Dungeons and Dragons."He knew better than to get caught upin the occult.Or did he? Perhaps it's time for us

"average Adventists" to take a longhard look at "spiritual warfare" andits growing number of prophets.

Did You Say "Prophets"?

Yes, its true. But for readers whomay not be aware of recent develop-ments, perhaps a brief overview is inorder: In the late 1970s a retired Ad-ventist minister and an Adventistdoctor were confronted with cases ofdemon possession. In an effort toproperly deal with the problem they"looked at recent cases wheredemonic forces had been successfullyremoved. They checked the methodsof these recent cases with the Bibleand the Spirit of Prophecy andeliminated, to the best 0/ theirknowledge at that time, everythingthat did not measure up."sOne might reasonably ask, "Where

did they go looking, that their find-ings needed to be compared with theBible and the Spirit of Prophecy?"All evidence links this early researchto the writings of "DeliveranceMinistry" authors from a number ofdifferent Protestant denominations.This fact is significant. The

volume quoted above-althoughclearly a defense of their course andconclusions-points out unmistakablythat these two individuals drew theiroriginal premises of action from asource which was at least partially inerror. What is more, the authorstrongly implies that these two meninitially accepted theories or practiceswhich they subsequently deemed tobe erroneous.It is, of course, true that "all have

sinned," and we might say as wellthat all have made poor decisions inthe course of their lives. Yet, in amatter of this importance, one woulddo well to carefully scrutinize everyaspect before making a decision as toits validi ty.As this new ministry expanded its

scope of activity and influencewithin the denomination, a patternemerged: beginning with an emphasison the "legal aspects" of the grea tcontroversy, techniques, systems, andmethodologies were developed to meetthe various situations these menencountered. Considerable importancewas placed on prayer-especiallyprayers of confession and intercession.

Legal Confession

It is very important, of course, thatall sin be confessed and expelled

20 ·Our Firm Foundation August, 1986

from the life. This tru th is agreed toby all mature Adventists. "Spiritualwarriors," however, see an extra legalrequirement involved in confession:"If Christ would move upon whatwas recorded from a person'sthoughts, He would be placing Him-self on shaky ground. The demonicforces and the rest of the worlds thatare witnessing the conflict cannotread our thoughts. That's why Christchooses not to move without our con-fessions being spoken aloud in ourpri va te prayers.,,4This seemingly whimsical point is

actually a crucial issue. The matter tobe decided is this: When God wishesto bestow a blessing upon one of Hischildren, is the recipient's eligibilitydependent solely upon the conditionof his heart, or are there additionalrequirements to be met and duties tobe performed?Please consider carefully. It is true

that certain duties are required of anindividual in order to enter covenantrelation with God. The most obviousof these might be confession and resti-tution, but notice that these are notindependent requirements on theirown right which in some way entitleus to God's blessings. Rather they arethe fruits of a convicted and con-verted heart. It is the condi tion of theheart which is accepted of God, no.tthe performance of duty.

It is just such "legal"technicalities thatform the basis of"spiritual warfare"

Is speaking aloud likewise a fruitof true conversion? If not, then it fol-lows that either audible confession isnot a requirement of God, or the be-stowal of God's blessings is dependentto some extent upon our own works.Some will respond, "Yes, it does

depend on our works. Ellen Whitesays, 'It is a part of God's plan togrant us, in answer to the prayer offaith, that which He would not be-stow did we not thus ask.'s So asking,then, is a work which is required ofus."Really? Asking, for asking's sake,

is a requirement? Ellen White alsosays, "Our prayers do not always

seem to receive an immediate answer;but Christ teaches tha t we should notcease to pray. Prayer is not to workany change in God; it is to bring usinto harmony with God.',6Far from being a mechanical re-

quirement to be performed for itsown sake, prayer is intended tochange us, to bring our hearts intoharmony with God. And note as wellthat the un fallen worlds were left outof the discussion. Nowhere can it beshown from an inspired source thatconfession must be made audibly forthe benefit of unfallen worlds. In-stead we find that "the silent, ferventprayer of the soul will rise like holyincense to the throne of grace andwill be as acceptable to God as if of-fered in the sanctuary.',7Surely, if confession required

audible prayer, the Lord would havetold us. And if it is required, forgiveme, please, for asking what hope adeaf-mute has.This whole discussion rna y seem

ludicrous, but it is just such "legal"technicalities that form the basis of"spiritual warfare."

In tercession

The second distinctive feature ofthis "ministry" is its concept of in-tercession and intercessory prayer.They hold that, "just as Christ ... be-came the intermediary between thegodhead and man, He is asking eachone of us to accept the privilege andhonor of becoming intercessors forour fellow men by His working in usand through US.',8It is this concept of intercession

that leads the "warriors," whennecessary, to confess and/or revealanother's sins. They may claimpromises or victories for someone whois incapable of doing so for himself.They may even take upon themselvesanother's sins (or demons) to assist infreeing the powerless individual.The alternative, of course, is a de-

pendence upon Him who "ever livethto make intercession." Hebrews 7:25

The Theory in Practice

These two root concepts (a "legalba ttle" as exemplified in the matterof confession and many other areas,and intercession in another's behalf)find their culmination in theceremony of "direct confrontation."This procedure is the most severeemployment of "deliverance" prin-ciples. It is an attempt to meet the"legal" requirements for the exorcismof demon powers from the life of onewho-theoretically, at least-no longerhas the ability to choose for himself.In practice, there has been great con-

cern that these dramatic, full-scalemeasures have been used somewhatindiscriminately, and with ques-tionable results, particularly on thelong range.When the "spiritual warriors" con-

clude that direct confrontation is inorder, the "patient" is asked to liedown on a mattress on the floor, fortwo reasons: first, for the sake ofcomfort during a session which maylast for many hours, and second, forhis own physical protection should hedevelop seizures.

Jesus did not castthem out in an

orderly one-at-a-timesequence. He sent thewhole lot fleeing at

once.

Ga thering around the mattressupon their knees, each "warrior"prays for the Lord's blessing. The"patient" (we will call 'him John) isasked to pray in his own behalf. If hecannot, one of the group prays in hisstead. "Dear heavenly Father, I comein the name of John, because thedemonic forces will not give himutterance. But Father, he has alreadyexpressed his desire for freedom.... Inow come before the throne knowinghis will and expressing that willthrough my voice. I, John, through anunderstanding of the conditions thatneed to be met for you to legallymove on my behalf. .. invite the HolySpirit to fulfill each conditionthrough me.,,9Following a detailed procedure,

the "warriors" deal methodicallywith what they see to be the problem:"I declare that all demonic forcesthat have come in illegally becausethe will has been down will beremoved by [holy] angels.... I fur-ther declare that all demons notspecifically assigned to John will nowleave this room and stay removed....Thank You, Lord, that this is done."Furthermore, demons, you cannot

molest anyone in this room. You cando no harm, physically, emotionally,maritally, mentally, or spiritually toanyone in this room.... I furtherdeclare that this room is totally inquarantine to any outside evil forcesthat would desire to enter this battle.Thank You, Lord, that this is done."l0

In the course of this procedure wesee the third distinctive characteristicof "spiritual warfare." The deliberatecontacting of demonic forces-con-sidered a necessity by the warriors-is.perhaps the most controversial aspectof this whole philosophy. "Nowdemons.... when you are compelledto identify your presence in [John's]life.... you are authorized to useonly the avenues in John that you al-ready have legal access to...."[Jesus Christ] has shown His an-

gels the order in which each com-mander is to be brought up to thisbattle. The one He has personallychosen to be first will be forced byholy angels to show his presence andgive his name. ['Confusion' is the ex-ample used.]"Demon of confusion, ... you will

be taken from John by angels thatexcel in strength. You will be takento a place that Christ wishes you togo. You will be held there until Jesuspersonally releases you at the end oftime.... You will go out through thebreath."nAccording to the teachings of

"spiritual warfare," John is on theway to becoming a free man. Theprocess may require hours, days, oreven extend over a period of weeks,but when the last demon is finallycast out, John should be free to servethe Lord. Actual case histories indi-ca te that the devil must still havesome tricks up his sleeve, since expec-tations are not always fulfilled-buttha t result is beyond the scope of thisarticle.What about talking with demons?

"Spiritual warfare" declares it anecessary step in the "battle." What isthe biblical evidence?The well-known accounts' of the

healing of the demoniacs of Gadara(see Mark 5:6-13, Luke 8:27-33) docontain reference to Jesus conversingbriefly with the demons controllingthe two men. These passages form thebiblical base for this aspect of"spiritual warfare." But is this basereally supporting the practices justdescribed?No, for at least five reasons:

I) Though there arc two accounts,they represent only one incident-certainly not Christ's general practice.2) Jesus did not initiate the conver-sation with the devils as do modernday "warriors"; ceitainly He did not'consider discussion a prerequisite toexorcism, for He had already "com-manded the unclean spirit to comeout of the man." 3) Though Jesus didask "What is thy name?" He waseasily satisfied with the answer of"Legion," and made no effort topursue the individual names of thethousands of devils thus indicated.

4) Nor did He cast them out in anorderly one-at-a-time sequence, butra ther sent the whole lot fleeing atonce. 5) Lastly, the biblical accountindicates a short time span for the en-tire exchange, not hours, days, norweeks, but minutes.As for support from the Spirit of

Prophecy, it is fragmentary at best.Perhaps the clearest statement isfound in Testimonies to Ministers, 249:"In this period of the world's historywe have altogether too great a workto begin a new kind of warfare inmeeting the supernatural power ofsatanic agencies."

But What About the Prophets?

"Spiritual warfare" has spun off anew subculture within the last twoand a half years. Across the UnitedStates more than twenty individuals-all of whom have had previous in-volvement in "spiritual warfare"-have begun to hear a supernatural"thought voice" which identifies it-self as Jesus Christ. This voice saysmuch with which any conservativeAdventist could agree. But it also saysmore, specifically using the vocab-ulary, and encouraging the practices,of the "warriors." Many individualshave received letters of instructionand warning from these "prophets."And many have been faced with thedecision to either accept or rejecttheir work. What are our people to do?One interesting development of all

this is that some have tried to selec-tively take one or the other of thetwo phenomena while leaving the onethey don't care for. Some "warriors"are reluctant to claim that .the gift ofprophecy has been revived in thechurch. Others have accepted one ormore of the prophets, but are hesitantto become involved with the sensation-alism of "spiritual warfare." But thefact is, they are so closely related andcomplementary that they must eitherstand or fall together.

More than twentypeople all testify tothe same process

Continued on 31

August, 1986 Our Firm Foul/datiol/ 21

Mind Cure

T HE RELATION that exists be-tween the mind and the body is

very intimate. When one is affected,the other sympathizes. The conditionof the mind affects the health to afar greater degree than many realize.Many of the diseases from which mensuffer are the result of mental de-pression. Grief, anxiety, discontent,remorse, guilt, distrust, all tend tobreak down the life forces, and to in-vite decay and death.Disease is sometimes produced, and

is often greatly aggravated, by theimagination. Many are lifelong inva-lids who might be well if they onlythought so. Many imagine that everyslight exposure will cause illness, andthe evil effect is produced because itis expected. Many die from disease,the cause of which is wholly im-aginary.Courage, hope, faith, sympathy,

love, promote health and prolong life.A contented mind, a cheerful spirit,is health to the body and strength tothe soul. "A merry [rejoicing] heartdoeth good like a medicine."In the treatment of the sick, the

effect of mental influence should notbe overlooked. Rightly used, this in-fluence affords one of the most ef-fective agencies for combatingdisease.

Ellen G. Wllite

Control of Mind over Mind

There is, however, a form of mind-cure that is one of the most effectiveagencies for evil. Through this so-called science, one mind is broughtunder the control of another, so thatthe individuality of the weaker ismerged in that of the stronger mind.

The theory of mindcontrolling mind wasoriginated by Satan tointroduce himself as

the chiefworker

One person acts out the will ofanother. Thus it is claimed that thetenor of the thoughts may bechanged, that health-giving impulsesmay be imparted, and patients may beenabled to resist and overcomedisease.This method of cure has been

employed by persons who were ig-norant of its real nature and

tendency, and who believed it to be ameans of benefit to the sick. But theso-called science is based upon falseprinciples. It is foreign to the natureand spirit of Christ. It does not leadto Him who is life and salvation. Theone who attracts minds to himselfleads them to separate from the trueSource of their strength.It is not God's purpose that any

human being should yield his mindand will to the control of another, be-coming a passive instrument in hishands. No one is to merge his in-dividuality in that of another. He isnot to look to any human being as thesource of healing. His dependencemust be in God. In the dignity of hisGod-given manhood, he is to be con-trolled by God Himself, not by anyhuman intelligence.God desires to bring men into

direct relation with Himself. In allHis dealings with human beings Herecognizes the principle of personalresponsibility. He seeks to encouragea sense of personal dependence, andto impress the need of personalguidance. He desires to bring thehuman into association with thedivine, that men may be transformedinto the divine likeness. Satan worksto thwart this purpose. He seeks toencourage dependence upon men.When minds are turned away fromGod, the tempter can bring them un-der his rule. He can control humanity.The theory of mind controlling

mind was originated by Satan, to in-troduce himself as the chief worker,to put human philosophy wheredivine philosophy should be. Of allthe errors tha t are finding acceptanceamong professedly Christian people,none is a more dangerous deception,none more certain to separate manfrom God, than is this. Innocentthough it may appear, if exercisedupon patients it will tend to theirdestruction, not to their restoration. Itopens a door through which Satanwill enter to take possession both ofthe mind that is given up to be con-trolled by another, and of the mindthat controls. Fearful is the powerthus given to evil-minded men andwomen. What opportunities it affordsto those who live by taking advantageof other's weaknesses or follies! Howmany, through control of mindsfeeble or diseased, will find a meansof gratifying lustful passion or greedof gain! .There is something better for us to

engage in than the control of hu-manity by humanity. The physicianshould educate the people to lookfrom the human to the divine. Insteadof teaching the sick to depend uponhuman beings for the cure of souland body, he should direct them to


the One who can save to the utter-most all who come unto Him. He whomade man's mind knows what themind needs. God alone is the One whocan heal. Those whose minds andbodies are diseased are to behold inChrist the restorer. "Because I live,"He says, "Ye shall live also." This isthe life we are to present to the sick,telling them that if they have faith inChrist as the restorer, if they co-operate with Him, obeying the lawsof health, and striving to perfectholiness in His fear, He will impart tothem His life. When we present Christ.to them in this way, we are impartinga power, a strength, that is of value;for it comes from above. This is thetrue science of healing for body andsoul. ...

The Power of the Will

• The power of the wiII is notvalued as it should be. Let the will bekept awake and rightly directed, andit will impart energy to the wholebeing, and will be a wonderful aid inthe maintenance of health. It is apower also in dealing with disease.Exercised in the right direction, itwould control the imagination, and bea potent means of resisting and over-coming disease of both mind andbody. By the exercise of the will-power in placing themselves in rightrelation to life, patients can do muchto co-operate with the physician's ef-forts for their recovery. There arethousands who can recover health ifthey will. The Lord does not wantthem to be sick. He desires them to bewell and happy, and they shouldmake up their minds to be well. Often

invalids can resist disease, simply byrefusing to yield to ailments andsettle down in a state of inactivity.Rising above their ·aches and pains,let them engage in useful employmentsuited to their strength. By suchemployment and the free use of airand sunlight, many an emaciated in-valid might recover health andstrength.

When the sunlight ofGod's love illuminatesthe darkened chambersof the soul, restlessweariness and

dissatisfaction will cease

Bible Principles 01 Cure

For those who would regain orpreserve health there is a lesson inthe words of Scripture, "Be not drunkwith wine, wherein is excess; but befilled with the Spirit." Not throughthe excitement or oblivion producedby unnatural or unhealthful stim-ulants; not through indulgence of thelower appetites or passions, is to befound true healing or refreshment forthe body or the soul. Among the sickare many who are without God andwithout hope. They suffer fromungratified desires, disordered pas-sions, and the condemnation of theirown consciences; they are losing their

.hold upon this life, and they have no·prospect for the life to come. Let notthe attendants upon the sick hope tobenefit these patients by grantingthem frivolous, exciting indulgences..These have been the curse of theirlives. The hungry, thirsting soul willcontinue to hunger and thirst so longas it seeks to find satisfaction here.Those who drink at the fountain ofselfish pleasure are deceived. Theymistake hilarity for strength, andwhen the excitement ceases, their in-spiration ends, and they are left todiscontent and despondency.Abiding peace, true rest of spirit,

has but one Source. It was of this -thatChrist spoke when He said, "Comeunto Me, all ye that labor and areheavy laden, and I will give yourest." "Peace I leave with you, Mypeace I give unto you; not as theworld giveth, give I unto you." Thispeace is not something that He givesapart from Himself. It is in Christ,and we can receive it only by receiv-ing·Him.Christ is the well-spring of life.

That which many need is to have aclearer knowledge of Him; they needto be patiently and kindly, yetearnestly, taught how the whole beingmay be thrown open to the healingagencies of heaven. When the sunlightof God's love illuminates thedarkened chambers of the soul, rest-less weariness and dissatisfaction willcease; and satisfying joys will givevigor to the mind, and health andenergy to the body. II

Ministry of Healing, 241-244, 246, 247

para..aea.....earaeaPJPa'

We may gain a better knowledge of God through tribulation than through any other experience; lor we maythen learn to trust God in the dark. Signs of the Times, March 28, 1892

I have been shown that in the future we shall see how closely all our trials were connected with our salvation,and how these light afflictions worked out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Sel'enth-dayAdventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1099 .

When brought into trial, we are not to fret and complain. We should not rebel, or worry ourselves out of thehand of Christ. We are to humble the soul before God. The ways 01 the Lord are obscure to him who desires tosee things in a light pleasing to himself. Desire of Ages, 301

The very trials that test our faith most severely, and make it seem that God has forsaken us are· designed tolead us more closely to Christ, that we may lay all our burdens at His feet, and experience the peace He wlll giveus in exchange. Testimonies, vol. 4, 220 .

If injuries and insults are meekly borne, if insulting words are responded to by gentle answers, and oppressheacts by kindness, this is evidence that the Spirit of Christ dwells In the heart. Testimonies, vol. 5, 344

Augusl, 1986 Ol/r Firm FOIIl/da/ioll 23

LEITERS TO THE EDITOR

", -=-'::'1'- -

Last night I received the impres-sion that I should enroll my dearmother (a devout Catholic) in yourBible Course. I hope that you willsend the course to her please.

Osvaldo and Antonia GonzalezArecibo, Puerto Rico

[EDITORS NOTE: The Gonzalez's secondletter, bringing an update on theBible Course, is one of our favorites.]

We would like to inform you thatas a result of sending the HappinessDigest to Mother in Colorado, she isspending an hour every day studyingthe word of God. We are so thankfulfor that. She even has a friend that isinterested in studying also.

Osvaldo and Antonia GonzalezArecibo, Puerto Rico

For many years now I've beenlooking for someone to publish basicAdventist truths, not as the peoplewant to hear it, but the way it is. Afriend of mine introduced me to thisremarka ble magazine and eventhough he lets me read some of his, Iwould like to have my own.

Donald R. TardiffWinter Garden, Florida

The March issue of Our FirmFoundation is excellent, outstanding,great, inspiring, and right on target asfar as our Truth and Message are con-cerned. I love it. I wish everySeventh-day Adventist in the worldcould read this excellent issue. It isexactly what we need in this endtime. If this publication could notreach the reader, wha! could?

James R. and Charlotte CherrySccttsdale, Arizona

24 Our Firm Foundation August. 1986

Have been reading the specialHealth edition of Our Firm FOItIlda-lion and really like it. For a long timewe have needed information abouthealth to hand out. We feel this issueis excellent to give to people inter-ested in health reform or to open eyesabout our health situation. We wouldappreciate whatever amount you havein the above range.

Rodger and Rose KimbrellAquona, North Carolina

Being new Adventists of almostthree years, we have noticed what isnew news to us, is old news and some-times forgotten news to others in thechurches.

We pray that Our Firm Foundationwill let the light shine through for usall, so that God's work can getfinished.

Everett and Connie HopperWinchester, Tennessee

Might I first commend you on theexcellent work you've done in pre-paring each issue of such an inspira-tional magazine. I've very much en-joyed every issue that I have read atthe Union Springs Academy library;and am now enjoying those I receiveat home. God's blessings upon the soulwho thought of Union Springs whendona ting subscriptions!

John Charles SchumacherStill River, Massachusetts

I had to go to Knoxville,Tennessee, to find that you are put-ting out the pure "Three Angels'Messages." As long as you stick to theSpirit of Prophecy and the puredoctrine of the founding fathers ofthis truth, I'll be with you.May God bless you as you attempt

to turn this denomination from mod-ernism to the pure Word.Robert E. WilliamsTonasket, Washington

What a marvelous, solemn time tobe living. It seems to us that we seean awakening, more studying, andpraying,May your magazine eventually

find its way into every home. What ablessing it is to us!

Ken and Doris GlantzCalton, Oregon

I received a free issue of Our FirmFoundation from a good friend and Ilove it. I've been in the church forabout four years and I see the bannerof truth being lowered in so manyplaces, I praise God you are lifting itback up. I want to help hold it up. Iwant a magazine that gives me"solid" spiritual food.Thanks again for doing the right

thing for Jesus. May He bless andopen new doors for you as we getcloser to the promised land. It is notfar off as I see things going.

Mr. and Mrs. Gorden F. PehlerArcadia, Wisconsin

We surely do appreciate the serviceyou folks are giving to awaken God'speople.We are glad you don't emphasize

the errors in the church as much asyou do the real message.

We don't need criticism but weneed to be pointed to Jesus andobedience to His commands.

Mr. and Mrs. Ed JohnsonMattawa, Washington

SnaresOfSatan

Ellen G. White

A s THE people of God approachthe perils of the last days, Satan

holds earnest consultation with hisangels as to the most successful planof overthrowing their faith. He seesthat the popular churches are alreadylulled to sleep by his deceptive power.By pleasing sophistry and lying won-ders he can continue to hold themunder his control. Therefore he di-rects his angels to lay their snaresespecially for those who are lookingfor the second advent of Christ, andendeavoring to keep all the com-mandments of God.Says the great deceiver: "We must

watch those who are calling the atten-tion of the people to the Sabbath ofJehovah; they will lead many to seethe claims of the law of God; and thesame light which reveals the trueSabbath, reveals also the ministrationof Christ in the heavenly sanctuary,and shows that the last work forman's salvation is now going forward.Hold the minds of the people indarkness till that work is ended, andwe shall secure the world and thechurch also."The Sabbath is the great question

which is to decide the destiny ofsouls. We must exalt the Sabbath ofour creating. We have caused it to beaccepted by both worldlings andchurch members; now the church

must be led to unite with the world inits support. We must work by signsand wonders to blind their eyes to thetruth, and lead them to lay asidereason and the fear of God, and fol-low custom and tradition.

Many who arenow ranked withcommandmentkeepers will corne

over to ourside

"I will influence popular ministersto turn the attention of their hearersfrom the commandments of God. Thatwhich the Scriptures declare to be aperfect law of liberty shall be repre-sented as a yoke of bondage. Thepeople accept their ministers' expla-nations of Scripture, and do not in-vestigate for themselves. Therefore byworking through the ministers, I cancontrol the people according to mywill.

"But our principal concern is to si-lence this sect of Sabbath-keepers. Wemust excite popular indignationagainst them. We will enlist great menand worldly wise men upon our side,and induce those in authority tocarry out our purposes. Then the Sab-bath which I have set up shall be en-forced by laws the most severe andexacting. Those who disregard themshall be driven out from the citiesand villages, and made to sufferhunger and privation. When once we'have the power, we will show whatwe can do with those who will notswerve from their allegiance to God.We led the Romish Church to inflict.imprisonment, torture, and deathupon those who refused to yield toher decrees, and now that we arebringing the Protestant churches andthe world into harmony with thisright arm of our strength, we willfinally have a law to exterminate allwho will not submit to our authority.When death shall be made the penaltyof violating our Sabbath, then manywho are now ranked with command-ment keepers will come over to our·side."But before proceeding to these

extreme measures we must exert allour wisdom and subtlety to deceiveand en.snare those who honor the trueSabbath. We can separate many from

August, 1996 0111' Firm FOlllldalioll 25

It is Satan's plan to bring into thechurch insincere, unregenerate

elements that will encourage doubt

Christ by worldliness, lust, and pride.They may 'think fhemselves safe be-cause they believe the truth, but in-dulgence of appetite or the lowerpassions, which will confuse judg-ment and destroy discrimination, willcause their fall."Go, make the possessors of lands

and money drunk with the cares ofthis life. Present the world beforethem in its most attractive light, thatthey may lay up their treasure here,and fix their affections upon earthlythings. We must do our utmost toprevent those who labor in God'scause from obtaining means to useagainst us. Keep the money in ourown ranks. The more means theyobtain, the more they will injure ourkingdom by taking from us oursubjects. Make them care more formoney than for the upbuilding ofChrist's kingdom and the spread ofthe truths we hate, and we need notfear their influence; for we knowthat every selfish, covetous personwill fall under our power, and willfinally be separated from God'speople."Through those that have a form

of godliness but know not the power,we can gain many who would other-wise do us great harm. Lovers ofpleasure more than lovers of God willbe our most effective helpers. Thoseof this class who are apt and intel-ligent will serve as decoys to drawothers into our snares. Many will notfear their influence, because theyprofess the same faith. We will thuslead them to conclude that the re-quirements of Christ are less strictthan they once believed, and that byconformity to the world they wouldexert a greater influence with world-lings. Thus they will separate fromChrist; then they will have nostrength to resist our power, anderelong they will be ready to ridiculetheir former zeal and devotion."Until the great decisive blow

shall be struck, our efforts againstcommandment keepers must be untir-ing. We must exercise great vigilance,and employ all our seductive arts toprevent souls from hearing the truthand becoming impressed by it."I will have upon the ground, as

my agents, men holding false doc-trines mingled with just enough truthto deceive souls. I will also have un-believing ones present, who willexpress doubts in regard to the Lord'smessages of warning to His church.Should the people read and believethese admonitions, we could havelittle hope of overcoming them. But ifwe can divert their attention fromthese warnings, they will remain ig-norant of our power and cunning andwe shall secure them in our ranks at


last. God will not permit His words tobe slighted with impunity. If we cankeep souls deceived for a time, God'smercy will be withdrawn, and He willgive them up to our full control."We must cause distraction and

division. We must destroy theiranxiety for their own souls, and leadthem to criticize, to judge, and to ac-cuse and condemn one another, and tocherish selfishness and enmity. Forthese sins, God banished us from Hispresence, and all who follow our ex-ample will meet a similar fate."The Scriptures declare that upon

one occasion, when the angels of Godcame to present themselves before theLord, Satan came also among them,not to bow before the Eternal King,but to further his own maliciousdesigns against the righteous. With

the same object he is in 'attendancewhen men assemble for the worshipof God. Though hidden from sight, heis working with all diligence to con-trol the minds of the worshipers. Likea skillful general, he lays his plansbeforehand. As he sees the messengerof God searching the Scripures, hetakes note of the subject to bepresen ted to the peop Ie. Then heemploys all his cunning and shrewd-ness to so control circumstances thatthe message may not reach thosewhom he is deceiving on that verypoint. The one who most needs thewarning will be urged into some busi-ness transaction which requires hispresence, or will by some other meansbe prevented from hearing the wordsthat might prove to him a savor oflife unto life.Again, Satan sees the Lord's ser-

vants burdened because of the spiri-tual darkness that enshrouds thepeople. He hears their earnest prayersfor divine grace and power to breakthe spell of indifference, carelessness,and idolence. Then with renewed zealhe plies his arts. He tempts men to theindulgence of appetite or to someother form of self gratification, andthus benumbs their sensibilities, so

that they fail to hear the very thingswhich they most need to learn. .Satan well knows that all whom he

can lead to neglect prayer and thesearching of the Scriptures will beovercome by his attacks. Therefore heinvents every possible device toengross the mind. There has ever beena class professing godliness who, in-stead of following on to know thetruth, make it their religion to seeksome fault of character or error offaith in those with whom they do notagree. Such are Satan's right-handhelpers. Accusers of the brethren arenot few; and they are always activewhen God is at work, and His ser-vants are rendering to Him truehomage. They will put a false color-ing upon the words and acts of thosewho love and obey the truth. They

will represent the most earnest,zealous, self-denying servants ofChrist as deceived or deceivers. It istheir work to misrepresent the mo-tives of every true and noble deed, tocirculate insinuations, and arouse sus-picion in the minds of the inexperi-enced. In every conceivable mannerthey will seek to cause that which ispure and righteous to be regarded asfoul and deceptive. And in this work'.the agents of Satan have their masterand his angels to help them.But none need be deceived con-

cerning them. It may be readily seenwhose children they are, whose ex-ample they follow, and whose workthey do. "Ye shall know them bytheir fruits" (Matthew 7:16). Theyclosely resemble Satan, the enven-omed slanderer, the accuser of thebrethren.It is Satan's plan to bring into the

church insincere, unregenerate ele-ments that will encourage doubt andunbelief, and hinder all who desire tosee the work of God advance, and toadvance with it. Many who have noreal faith in God or in His word, as-sent to some principles of truth, andpass as Christians; and thus they areenabled to introduce their errors as

Tltose WllO are unrwilling to accept theplain, cutting truths of the Bible arecontinually seeking for pleasing

fables that will quiet their consciences

scriptural doctrines.The position that it is of no con-

sequence what men believe, is one ofSatan's most successful deceptions. Heknows that the truth, received in thelove of it, sanctifies the soul of thereceiver; therefore he is constantlyseeking to substitute false theories,fables, another gospel. From the begin-ning, the servants of God have con-tended against false teachers, notmerely as vicious men, but as incul-cators of falsehoods that were fatal tothe soul. Elijah, Jeremiah, Paul,firmly and fearlessly opposed thoseholy defenders of the truth....The Bible was designed to be a

guide to all who wish to become ac-quainted with the will of theirMaker. God ga ve to men the sureword of prophecy; angels and even

Christ Himself came to make knownto Daniel and John the things thatmust shortly come to pass. Those im-portant matters that concern our sal-vation were not left involved inmystery. They were not revealed insuch a way as to perplex and misleadthe honest seeker after truth. Said theLord by the prophet Habakkuk,"Write the vision, and make it plainupon tables, that he may run thatreadeth it." (Habakkuk 2:2, 3) Theword of God is plain to all who studyit with a prayerful heart. Every trulyhonest soul will come to the light o(truth. "Light is sown for the right-eous." (Psalm 97:11) No church canadvance in holiness unless its mem-bers ,are earnestly seeking for truth asfor hid treasure.By the cry of liberality, men are

blinded to the devices of theiradversary, while he is all the timeworking steadily for the accomplish-ment of his object. As he succeeds insupplanting the word of truth byhuman speculations, the law of God isset aside, and the churches are under,the bondage of sin while they claimto be free.To many, scientific research has

become a curse; their finite minds are

so weak that they lose their bala·nce.They cannot harmonize their views ofscience with Scripture statements, andthey· think that the Bible is to betested by their standard of "sciencefalsely so called." Thus they err fromthe faith, and are seduced by thedevil. Men have endeavored to bewiser than their Creator; human philo-sophy has attempted to search out andexplain mysteries which will never berevealed, through the eternal ages. Ifmen would but search and understandwhat God has made known of Him-self and His purposes, they would. ob-tain such a view of the glory, majes-ty, and power of Jehovah, that theywould realize their own littleness,and would be content with that whichhas been revealed for themselves andtheir children.

It is a masterpiece of Satan'sdeceptions to keep the minds of mensearching and conjecturing in regardto that which God has not madeknown, and which He does not intendthat we shall understand. It was thusthat Lucifer himself was cast out ofheaven. He became dissatisfied be-cause all the secrets of God's purposeswere not confided to him, and he en-tirely disregarded that which wasrevealed concerning his own work inthe lofty position assigned him. Byarousing the same discontent in theangels under his command, he caused'their fall. Now he seeks to imbue theminds of men with the same spirit,and to lead them also to disregard thedirect commands of God.Those who are unwilling to accept

the plain, cutting truths of the Bibleare continually seeking for pleasingfables that will quiet their conscien-ces, The less spiritual, self-denying,and humiliating the doctrines pre-sented, the greater the favor withwhich they are received. These per-sons degrade the intellectual powersto serve their carnal desires. Too wisein their own conceit to search theword of God with contrition of souland earnest prayer for divine

guidance, they have no shield fromdelusion. Satan is ready to supply theheart's desire, and he palms off hisdeceptions in the place of truth. Itwas thus' 'that the Papacy gained itspower over the minds of men; and byrejection of the truth because it in-volves a cross, Protestants are follow-in'g the same path. All who neglectthe word of God to study convenienceand policy, that they may not be atvariance with the world, will be leftto receive damnable heresy for reli-gious truth. The apostle Paul speaksof a class who "received not the loveof the truth, that they might besaved." He says of these, "For thiscause God shall send them strongdelusion, that they should believe alie, that they all might be damnedwho believed not the truth, but hadpleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thes-salonians 2:10-12) With such a warn-ing before us, it behooves us to be onour guard as to what doctrines wereceive....Innumerable are the erroneous

doctrines and fanciful ideas that areobtaining among the churches ofChristendom. It is impossible to es-timate the evil results of removingone of the landmarks fixed by theword of God. Few who venture to dothis, stop with the rejection of asingle truth. The majority continue toset aside one after another of itsprinciples, until they become actualinfidels.And this is the object which Satan

seeks to accomplish. There is nothingthat he desires more than to destroyconfidence in God and in His word.Satan stands at the head of the greatarmy of doubters, and he works tothe utmost of his power to beguilesouls into his ranks. It is becomingfashionable to doubt. There are manywho seem to feel that it is a virtue tostand on the side of unbelief, skepti-cism, and infidelity. But underneathan appearance of candor and humil-ity, it will be found that such personsarc actuated by self-confidence andpride. It is a terrible thing to losefaith in God or in His word. Unbeliefstrengthens as it is encouraged. Thereis danger in even once giving expres-sion to doubt; a seed is sown which'produces a harvest of its kind. Satanwill nourish the crop every moment.Those who allow themselves to talk oftheir doubts will find them con-stantly be"oming more confirmed.God will never remove every occasionfor doubt. He will never work amiracle to remove unbelief when Hehas given sufficient evidence forfaith.

Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 337-349

August, 1986 Ollr Firm FOIIl/datiol/ 27

MedicineMystical

Warren Peters) M.D.

T ODAY MANY Christians are be-coming aware of the relationship

that exists between the mind, thebody, and the spirit for achieving to-tal health. As a Christian physicianwith nine years of traditional human-istic medical and surgical training, Iwas awakening to the concept of the"whole man." I began to study booksauthored by Hans Selye, MD., NathanPritikin, O. Carl Simonton, MD.,Rene Dubos, Norman Cousins andJames Lynch. I even "dabbled" forthe first time in Christian books likeMinistry of Healing and MedicalMinistry. It seemed that I could see acommon thread of world brotherhoodand mind expansion which couldsolve the tension I felt in thematerialistic and technocratic surgi-cal world that I lived in. Perhaps thepractice of surgery did hold morechallenge than just another by-passsurgery, which I knew from ex-perience merely postponed death butdid little to change the cause of theunderlying disease condition.I became interested in the popular

holistic health movement as it beganto sweep over this country. It wasgratifying and reassuring to see thatpractitioners of the "holistic arts"were concerned about the totality ofman, and I felt a certain camaraderiewith them. Frustration in my ownfield gave way to hope for a better,more humane method of practice. Itwas rather stimulating to be on theedge of "new frontiers" in medicine.It was stimulating to be a medicalheretic and challenge the stuffy"medical establishment." There was a

28 Our Firm FOUr/dation August, 1986

delightful informality with thesepractitioners. We hugged each otherand accepted one another with ourvarious peculiarities. This opennessamong the holistic professionals wasin marked contrast to the highlycompetitive, formal atmosphere oftraditional medicine. We had commongoals in the lifestyle aspects of nutri-tion and exercise. We even talkedabout the spiritual aspects of man,something that was strictly forbiddenin the standard practice of medicine.

I felt likea real

mISSIonary

"Leave those matters to the clergyand get on with the technology ofsaving lives," was the implied direc-tive from modern allopathic medi-cine. But for what reason? There hadto be more to life than the latesttechnical advances in synthetic ar-teries or woven dacron prostheticgrafts. What was happening to the"souls" and the "spirits" of thesehuman beings that I was putting syn-thetic arteries into? Who was takingcare of their tears and hurts? Whocared about the whole person?

One evening I was asked to speakat a local holistic health meeting thatmct in thc pleasant, comfortablehomc of several health professionals.There was much expression of ac-ceptance and love. No one was ig-nored and I immediately felt at ease.As the meeting began we were led inan exercise of "centering" by a large,soft-spoken man. His melodious voicecalled us to lay aside the hectic ac-tivities of the day and to "becomefocused" on our immediate surround-ings and on one another's personalneeds. We were to empty our minds ofany negative thoughts and to becomeopen to any ideas that would flowthrough our discussion. We quietlyclosed our eyes, relaxed, and centeredour attention on each other and the"rhythm of life." Because of myChristian social upbringing I thoughtwe were just having "openingprayer." There was some rather vaguereferences to a "unified consci-ousness" which in my naivete I as-sumed was reference to God. Thisidea made me even more at ease withthis "family" of nurses, doctors, andresearch scientists. They were cer-'tainly no wild-eyed "hippie" group.They were "caring" professionals thatI could trust. That night I spoke tothem about vegetarianism and its im-pact on health. The topic was wellreceived and many expressed interestin the fact that my church heritageincluded healthful teaching. Eventhough my Christian church ties werequite weak at that point, I felt like areal missionary. These people wereaccepti ng of all religions: Christian,

Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, atheist.The next speaker was a registered

nurse from a local hospital cardiac-care unit. With convincing organi-zation and well-thought-out con-clusions, she presented the conceptsof "touch therapy." Without actuallytouching the patient's body, the prac-titioner can purportedly adjust his"electrical aura." This adjustment isaccomplished by allowing the handsto flow above the limbs and trunkwith spiral movements. We dividedinto groups of two and practiced our"innate" ability to sense the"vibra tions" of energy tha t she hadsaid "clothed" the body. I wasn't suretha t I could truly sense what shedescribed, or what my partner en-thusiastically experienced. But then, Iwas sure that I just needed morepractice. I could feel the warmth ofher skin next to mine. Thermal radia-tion I could explain physiologically,but this force was supposed to besomething different. Perhaps therecould be "energy" of which I was notfully aware.The nurse then had a doctor ·Iie

down on the floor while she moved"congested energy" from his pelvicregion to his legs. The doctor was ableto testify that he indeed experienceda strange, but comfortable, tinglingand warmth in his lower extremities.-As a peripheral vascular surgeon, thisassertion was of great interest to me. Iwas thinking how this new "energy"could be used to save those gangre-nous legs and toes for which amputa-tion was the only sad solution whenthere were no more arteries to bypassinto. It was certainly more "natural"and humane than an amputationknife. My mind was focused on thosepathetic people that I longed to helpand often couldn't. Perhaps this sys-tem was the help that scientific ad-vances had been unable to supply.The nurse then moved her hands

over the physician's chest in the samecircular pattern. Suddenly shestopped, and with a cry of exclama-tion said, "You have a hard timecompleting tasks, don't you?" I wasjolted to reality. The soft lights andpleasant voices no longer clouded mythinking. What had I heard? Was she"divining" his personali"ty charac-teristics from these supposed"vibra tions"?Suddenly and clearly I could see

what I was dealing with. This ex-perience opened my mind to the real-ization that I must investigate theorigin and mode of operation of thesephenomena. This procedure was notsome simple physiological techniquethat modern medicine had over-looked. Instead, it seemed to be a toolfor "divining" the future. What did

Scripture say about the power ofSa tan? Could he be the source ofthese "good techniques"?"The coming of the lawless one

will be in accordance with the workof Satan, displayed in all kinds ofcounterfeit miracles, signs andwonders, and in every sort of evilthat deceives those who are perishing.They perish because they refuse tolove the truth and so be sa ved."lThis quotation depicts the great

controversy. Satan can and will domiracles. After His resurrection, asJesus was triumphantly taken fromHis disciples, victorious over Hisarch-enemy, we are told that "Satanagain counseled with his angels, andwith bitter hatred against God'sgovernment told them that while heretained his power and authorityupon earth their efforts must be ten-fold stronger against the followers ofJesus. They had prevailed nothingagainst Christ but must overthrowHis followers, if possible.,,2

They are butchannels forSatan's

electric currents

Satan is using any and everymethod to snare the followers ofChrist. I believe that the medical-movement called "holistic health" is apart of Satan's master plan to captureunwary yet well-meaning people.Many, such as I, have read a smatter-ing of inspired writings about health.They have a shallow understandingof the Scriptures and have neverreally taken the time to systemati-cally decipher what God is reallytrying to tell Christians about healthof the mind, body, and spirit. Armedwith a few selected quotations from"religious" writers and Scripturetexts that tend to "prove" the validityof their pet therapy or technique,well-minded Christians have jumpedwholeheartedly into this movement.No quotation has galvanized my

attention more than this succinctdescription of the techniques thatSatan would use:"All who do not earnestly search

the Scriptures and submit every de-sire and purpose of life to that unerr-ing test, all who do not seek God inprayer for a knowledge of His will,

will surely wander from th-e right·path and fall under the deception ofSatan.... His agents still claim tocure disease. They attribute theirpower to electricity, magnetism, orthe so-called 'sympathetic remedies.'In truth, they are but channels forSatan's electric currents. By thismeans he casts his spell over thebodies and souls of-men.,,3Holistic Health is a diverse collec-

tion of healing techniques within theNew Age movement. The underlyingpervasive notion in many of theholistic techniques is a fascinationwith the "energy field." "Satan's'electric currents" are an accuratedescription of what we will nowexplore. By starting with the moreobvious associations with energy andworking to the more subtle forms ofthis deception, its interwoven threadscan be seen.A common concept in much of Ho-

listic Medicine is the "Aura." Thistheory holds "that every object is en-veloped in a field of magnetic energywhich acts as a medium for the inter-play of other energies present in itsimmediate environment. This mag-netic energy field, or MEF, is com-posed of seven rays related to theglands of the endocrine system. Theharmony and balance of every in-dividual and the degree and qualityof each of these can be ascertained byobserving the aura either subjec-tively, as some sensitives are capableof doing, or objectively using a spe-cial type of glass called a Kilnerscre·en."·Immediately we can see and hear

that this is no mere physiologicalconcept. Instead, it is being explainedin metaphysical terms of subjectivismA medium is a necessary element.There must be someone who is"attuned" to these powers to seethem. Even the trappings of sciencedo not eliminate the need for a"sensitive" person, the medium, tooperate the equipment. A very sophis-ticated piece of scientific equipmentwith dials, scopes and meters does notnegate the fact that in this "science"some people are more sensitive thanothers. In fact, jn the technique calledradionics or psychotronics, the betterthe operator gets at being sensitive tothe described "energy forces" the lesshe needs the equipment until he isable to divine the future or to makediagnostic judgments even withoutseeing the patient.The seven "rays" of the magnetic

energy field are none other than theHindu concept of "Chakras" orenergy focal points. While manyauthors try to treat the idea of theaura and the chakras as some whole-some,. physiological, and natural event

August, 1986 Ollr Firm FOll/ldatio/l 29

in all humans, Djwal Kul, in anamazing ravel of Christian terms andmystical parlance helps us to see thetrue origin of this idea. "The sevencenters' in your being are for therelease of God's energy. . . . Theseseven centers are seven planes ofconsciousness. We experience God'differently in different frequencies.:... What, then, is worthy to inheritGod? Only God is worthy of God. Un-less we sense ourselves in and as God,we will not consider ourselves to beworthy of God. Therefore, that whichinherits immortal life is the immortalflow of God which we make our ownthrough the chakras."sWhat we have briefly seen in rela-

tion to the aura and the chakra is tosome extent representative of thewhole field of "holistic" medicine.Over and over again the same ideascome to the fore, albeit in a myriadof forms. As a rule, the false systemsnow finding acceptance in a surpris-ingly large cross section of societycan be identified by their inclusionof three main concepts:

1) Energy: This is a recurringtheme. It may be called many things.The Hindu calls it "Prana." Taoismand ancient Chinese medicine call itCh'i, Ki, or Qi. D.D. Palmer, thefounder of chiropractic, called thesame energy "the innate." Franz An-ton Mesmer used the word "AnimalMagnetism" and the witch doctors ofPolynesia refer to "Mana." Para-psychologists call it "Bioplasma."George Lucas of Star Wars fame calls

it "The Force." But, by whatevername, they are all "Satan's electriccurrents." Beware of techniques thatare stated to balance or increaseenergies or vibrations.

Would it notbe better toseek after theGod of Israel?

2) World View: Monism (a doctrineof universal "oneness") or Pantheismpredominates the philosophy of theholistic healers. You are promised tobecome part of the "cosmic whole,"the "Christself." In essence, you canbecome your own god. No matter howappealing this may sound, it is farfrom the truth. Unity of the wholeworld may be a lofty goal, but it willnot happen without Jesus Christ asthe Saviour.3) Inherent Immortality: Reincar-

nation is a recurring theme. Someform of life after death in varyingspiritual or physical forms must beincluded in holistic health teaching toanswer the metaphysical questionsinherent in mankind. Unfortunately,they fail to appreciate the clear, sen-

sible teachings of the Bible on thispoint.These three concepts, though not

incorporated into all false teaching,are really the backbone of "holistic"teaching. They may be seen inslightly varying form in the use ofpendulums, witching sticks, and "gemtherapy." They show themselves inthe practice of acupuncture, acu-pressure, reflexology, and iridology.They are inherent in the pseudoscien-tific techniques of BehavioralKinesiology and Radiaesthesia. Whenthe .common denominator of thesehealing systems is so readily ap-parent, it is cause for concern to findthat sincere Christians too often over-look these "problem areas" and seekhelp through the devii's methods.Would it not be better to seek after

the God of Israel, than the gods ofEkron? IR

Adapted from the book MysticalMedicine, available from

Hartland Publica tionsP.O. Box I

Rapidan, VA 22733

I. II Thessalonians 2:9, 10 NIV2. Early Writillgs, 1913. Testimollies, vol. 5, 192, 1934. Djwal Kul, Illtermediate Stlldies of

the Hllmall Allra, I (Summit UniversityPress, 1980) emphasis supplied

5. Ibid., 79

Under Orders: Where is Pope JohnPaul II taking the Roman CatholicChurch? Already his firm hand hasreversed the direction the RomanChurch was headed when he came topower. In the two decades that maywell remain to him, what new direc-tions may we expect of this powerfulleader, determined not to let thingsdrift? The Pope seems himself as aman under orders, a matter of dutyand obedience, and John Paul II isnothing if not a man of deep convic-tions and a sharp sense of duty. It isno accident that one of the newPope's first moves was to revive theSacred Congrega tion for Doctrine ofthe Faith-formerly known as theInquisition. Christianity Today, Oc-tober 6, 1985

First Pray, Later Slay: Coast to coast.fundamentalists and preachers areurging an age-old solution to theirwoes: praying for the death of theirfoes. The time for turning the othercheek is past. In Los Angeles, Baptistpastor R.L. Hymers Jr., called on hiscongregation to pray for the death ofSupreme Court Justice William J.Brennan Jr., because he supports awoman's right to have an abortion. "Iwouldn't use the word aberration. Ithink it may be that we're on theavant-garde. We're doing somethingthe others will do later." Hymers or-dered an airplane to circle overheadas Brennan spoke at a law schoolgraduation. The plane trailed themessage; "Pray for death: Baby-killerBrennan." USA Today, June I I, 1986

Crusades Again? The Crusades do notenjoy a good press in the modernWest-even among Christians theCrusades have a poor reputation.They were "bloody aberrations ... inno way representative of biblicalChristianity." The fact that theCrusades ultimately ended in failurewas a setback to the prestige of themedieval Papacy, for the Church as awhole. Many modern Christians rejectthe Crusades with horror, believingthey were an attempt to make con-verts by force. Unless we understandthe jihad, a holy war, and begin totake it seriously, we may soon findourselves at a point where nothingless than a crusade can help. NationalReview, August 9,1985


Light or Darkness, cont. from 21

Regardless, let's take a short lookat the "prophets." The first point ofinterest is that rather than receivingdreams or visions, these prophets heara voice. What is more, this voicerequires that its words be writtendown verbatim. Those familiar withbiblical prophecy and the writings ofEllen White will remember that arelatively small proportion of whatearlier prophets have recorded wasdictated. Yet the minister on the cas-sette tape mentioned at the beginningof the article assures us that he is"acquainted with more than twentypeople to whom the Lord has spoken,and they all testify to exactly thesame process."nThe second characteristic worthy

of notice is their use of flattery. "0My child, My child! You are greatlybeloved.... and I praise thee." "Childof light, blessed art thou. Love tothee, I have in infinite abundance.""I am excited for you! You have noidea what glory I have for you. I amexcited for you." "I praise lOU thatyou were willing to repent."lPerhaps the most disconcerting

trai t of these dicta ted messages is theintroduction of unusual doctrinalinsights. For instance: "The potentialwithin My people for the crushing ofthe enemy of all life is infinite!""You will untie My hands throughyour prayers." "The direct teachingof My word.... is My voice, child.My Holy Word." "The spiritualweight of spoken words is little un-derstood or known by men of earth.

Someday I will show you vividly. It isnot time yet." "[Satan's] degenerationin mental logic and power for soundreasoning has been well nighcomplete.... he does not know howto control his own power a t this

Many would find itencouraging to

believe that Satanwas a dithering idiot

point." "Many heavenly symbols arenot easy to understand. My symbolshave infinite meanings and wideapplications.,,14Certainly many would find it en-

couraging to believe that Satan was adithering idiot, and Dr. Ford's "apo-telesmatic principle" seems to fit wellwith "infinite meanings and wideapplications."In matters of conscience, it is

every man's responsibility to decidefor himself. Naturally-and tragic-ally-opinions will vary even on life

and death issues. I, for one, do notlike the sound of what I'm hearingfrom these new sources. On even shal-low examination, it just doesn't "ringtrue." I reject these messages, includ-ing the portion which reads, "Do notresist and draw back when you seeMy hand working that which seemsout of line with your formerknowledge of Me."l5But what of our imaginary average

Adventist? Did he really know betterthan to get caught up in the occult?Well, since his case is imaginary, andsince I prefer happy endings, let's saythat he did study, pray, and find hisway out of the mazes of "Adventistspiritualism." By the grace of God, hewas spared, pulled back from theedge of the cliff.Now, dear reader, what of those

whose cases are not imaginary? iiiI. "Ruth," cassette tape, no publisher,

no date2. Ibid.3. Robert A. Esh, Is Some Raill

Falling? A Warrior's Respollse to the GeneralConference Report on Spiritual War fare, 69(no publisher, 1985) emphasis supplied

4. Ibid., 775. The Great COlltroversy, 5256. Christ's Object Lessolls, 1437. Testimonies, vol. 4, 6168. Esh, op. cit., 749. Ibid., 7910. Ibid., 80, 81II. Ibid., 81, 8212. "Ruth," op. cit.13. "Joyful," The Spirit Dictations,

PG-51, 52, 53 (Pilgrim's Rest, 1986)14. Ibid.15. Ibid.

BOOKSANDTAPESANDBOOKSANDTAPESANDBOOKSANDTAPOur Firm Foundation, 13 issuesUnited StatesCanadaOverseas (surface mail)Introductory Issues

Adventist Roundtable, 12 monthly tapes

Suggested donationUS $14.50 _

19.75 ---24.50 ---

No charge*

32.00

Audio TapesPreparing for Eternity, by Ron Spear (13 tapes)The Great Controversy Between Christ and 'Satan,1884 Edition (12 tapes in a protective case)

Righteousness by Faith, by Dennis Priebe. A pene-trating analysis of the roots of doctrine.(5 tapes)

26.00

29.95

10.00

.1( you would like introductory issues to share with other churchmember., please lend us your request. OUf goal is to reach every Seventh-dayAdventist home in North America. You can help U8 meet this goal through yourpersonal and financial lupport.

175.0025.00

Books, by Ron SpearThe Counterfeit and The GenuinePreparing for EternityThe Message to LaodiceaWaymarks of AdventismReaping the Whirlwind, Joe CrewsPositive Christian Living, Ellen WhiteSeparation and Unity, Lloyd and Leola RosenvoldThe Word Was Made Flesh, Ralph Larson.The Censer Still Bums, Robert TaylorBible Memory Cards (set of 56)-NewSpirit of Prophecy Memory Cards (set of 56) -New

2.00 _3.50 ---2.50 _2.50 _

2.50 _2.00 _6.00---11.95---2.50---1.50 _1.50

Video TapesAdventist Roundtable-Video, withRalph Larson, Colin Standish, John Osborne, andRon Spear in an open discussion of the greattruths of Adventism. Includes righteousness byfaith, the sanctuary, the nature of Christ, andmore. (8 tapes, each four hours long)Single tapes

Postage _

Total

All suggested donations in US fundsPlease add 10% for shipping and handling ($1.00 minimum)No postage on orders in excess of $50.00Make checks payable to Hope International

August, 1986 Our Firm Foulldatioll 31

THE SAN(J. N. A1\c

byJAMESWIITE

BIBLE & HEALTHTRACTS NOWAVAILABLE

Truths for thistime.

The stmulard-bearers who hovefalll!l ill death, are tl speakthrough the reprilliDg 0( their

writiags. C. W. p.3a.

but where are the

"leaves of autumn"?

Hope Internationalis pleased to introduce

Milepost Tracts

Simple, straight forward, inex-pensive, and truth-filled tracts--justright for door-to-door handouts, bagstuffers, and through-the-mail gifts.Authors include LN. Andrews,Taylor Bunch, A.T. Jones, E.J.Waggoner, David Paulson, F.M.Wilcox, and James and Ellen White.Carefully, prayerfully chosen topicsinclude true Christian experience,future events, doctrine, and health.These tracts an ideal supplement toany outreach program you may havein progress or in mind.

Milepost Tracts provide greattruths in a convenient, practical, af-fardable format. We encourage youto con tact

Milepost TractsBox 107

Littlefield, AZ 86432(602) 347-5585

Our Firm FoundationP.O. Box 940Eatonville, WA 98328

Bulk RateU.S. Postage

PaidEatonville, WAPermit NO.8

Our Firm Foundation - Hope International 1986.pdf · this last remnant of time, what effect would...

Documents

Transcript of Our Firm Foundation - Hope International 1986.pdf · this last remnant of time, what effect would...