Spiritualism, Part II

In The Great Controversy, 588, we are told, “Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions.”

The immortality of the soul concept lays the foundation for spiritualism. “The Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” 1 Timothy 4:1. We need to have our eyes open. We need to see what is taking place. If we do not learn what we are told by the Spirit, we are destined to be deceived. If we are deceived, we are lost, and that is pretty serious business, in my book.

Bond of Sympathy

“While the former [immortality of the soul] lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter [Sunday sacredness] creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.” Ibid. Do you know why that is? It is because the devils are at work. The devils are determined to get as many as they possibly can to depart from the faith. They are determined to get as many as possible to become disloyal to God. They are determined to get as many as possible to be disobedient. They are at work everywhere we turn.

We, as Seventh-day Adventists, have studied the papacy and all that is involved with the papacy to the nth degree. We have studied it so much that many of us could probably, with accuracy, outline the pope’s daily routine. I believe such study and understanding is profitable, because of the ramifications of which we need to be aware.

Fear of the Devil

We have not, however, kept up the same pace of knowledge on the other side of the coin that is labeled spiritualism. I am not really sure in my own mind why that is, but I have an idea. I think that most people are terrified to have anything to do with the devil. They think that if they stay as far away as possible from the devil and any kind of reading material about the devil, they will be safe. But let me tell you something. That is not true. That is exactly what the devil wants you to believe.

If you allow the devil to terrify you to the point that you do not understand what he is all about and what his tactics are for taking you down the road of disloyalty and disobedience, then he has you right where he wants you! We must get beyond this fear of saying, “It is better to talk about Jesus than it is about the devil.” We need to talk about Jesus, but we also need to talk about the tactics that the devil is using to destroy God’s people. We need to understand the way he works. We need to know about the deceptions of Sunday, for example, and that those deceptions are going to find hate and hands and voice through spiritualism.

Force of Spiritualism

Ellen White wrote, in Evangelism, 602: “Spiritualism is about to take the world captive.” Who is behind spiritualism? Satan and all of his hosts are behind spiritualism.

“Spiritualism is about to take the world captive.” How will the devil be able to take the world captive? He will be able to do it because we, as Seventh-day Adventists, have not done our homework. For this reason, we could very easily be found in the ranks of the world through deception.

“There are many who think that Spiritualism is upheld through trickery and imposture, but this is far from the truth. Superhuman power is working in a variety of ways, and few have any idea as to what will be the manifestations of Spiritualism in the future.” Ibid., 602, 603. Do you know what superhuman power is? Superhuman power is demonic power, and Mrs. White could very well have substituted those words.

Master of Deception

In what ways will spiritualism manifest itself? It would be impossible to cover everything, but I will try to set a direction. We are going to be surprised at what is going to take place in the future regarding spiritualism. Some things you are already aware of, but I will endeavor to amplify them so that they may have more meaning.

Spiritualism has put on one face in the past, but it will take on other features in the future, and it will be working in a variety of ways. The statement Mrs. White makes that “few have any idea as to what will be the manifestations of Spiritualism in the future,” applies to those who do not know what the Bible teaches on the topic. They will be caught unawares. It also has some very deep implications as far as Seventh-day Adventists are concerned. We need to know what is happening. God does not tell us to be warned and beware, and then not tell us any more. We must be aware of the manifestations of spiritualism.

“Modern spiritualism, resting upon the same foundation, is but a revival in a new form of the witchcraft and demon worship that God condemned and prohibited of old. It is foretold in the Scriptures, which declare that ‘in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.’ 1 Timothy 4:1. Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, points to the special working of Satan in spiritualism as an event to take place immediately before the second advent of Christ. Speaking of Christ’s second coming, he declares that it is ‘after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.’ 11 Thess-alonians 2:9. And Peter, describing the dangers to which the church was to be exposed in the last days, says that as there were false prophets who led Israel into sin, so there will be false teachers, ‘who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them. . . . And many shall follow their pernicious ways.’ 11 Peter 2:1, 2.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 686.

Heresy

The devil is going to use heresy to get us off track. Heresy can be especially deceptive for Seventh-day Adventists. We have to watch so carefully. God has delivered us the truth, and we should be studying the truth. When these heresies come along, they should command only a millisecond of our attention. But there are many Adventists who believe and follow these heresies.

I weep when I hear about these people who are giving up the faith and departing from it. Some of them are even going out and starting Sunday-keeping churches! A number of years ago, David Neff, one of my colleagues in ministry, departed from the faith because of heresy and became an Episcopalian priest. He and his wife both wrote a number of articles for The Signs of the Times, in years past. Today, he is the editor of the magazine Christianity Today, which is a Sunday-keeping journal. It is a tragedy that things such as this have happened.

False Teachers

False teachers, Mrs. White said, will come in with power and signs and lying wonders—false teachers and false prophets bringing in damnable heresies. Modern spiritualism is going to come with power and signs and lying wonders. It will also involve false prophets who are false teachers and preachers, speaking as with the authority of God, who will bring in these heresies and false teachings, and numerous Seventh-day Adventists and other Christians will be gathered into this great net of the devil.

“Errors will come in, and strange doctrines will be advocated.” Evangelism, 595. We have seen this prophecy fulfilled in many, many ways. “Some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.” Ibid. This has happened. The devil has been working in this way for thousands of years.

Refining His Product

When Henry Ford built his first automobile, it was not a Crown Victoria. It was a little horseless carriage with a stick in the front that turned the wheels. When spiritualism first took off in Old Testament times, it was about as crude as Henry Ford’s first automobile. But over the years, just as the Ford automobile has been repeatedly refined, so the devil has been refining his product. He has been fine-tuning it. His engineers are working around the clock to design false doctrines. He is tuning it all up in an effort to bring a final assault against God’s people.

False Christs

What was it that Jesus warned, as He gave His final message to His followers in Matthew 24? Matthew 24:24 says, “There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets.” There are not too many people who are taken in by false christs, but there are some. Many burned in Waco, Texas, as a result of following a false christ. There were others, a group called Heaven’s Gate, who took poison and died. They were determined that the comet Hale-Bopp would take them up to the skies to be with the Lord, but in order to do that, they had to release their souls from their bodies, and this they did by poisoning themselves to death. Jim Jones was another false christ. Do not think for a minute that all the false christs are dead; they are not dead. There are still false christs operating, and they are still seeking your attention.

False Prophets

There are also false prophets. The classification of a prophet does not necessarily only include someone with a mantle, such as Elijah, or someone like Ellen White. A prophet is a spokesman for God. Please do not misunderstand me, but I could be classified as a prophet. Why? Because as I stand at the desk and read God’s Word, I become a mouthpiece for the words of God to you. Now, I do not claim inspiration at all, but the word prophet can rightly and very truthfully apply to a preacher of God’s Word.

Knowing that there is a secondary application, we not only need to beware of those people who claim to be Christ and beware of those who come with the office and the mantle of a prophet, but we also need to beware of preachers who are saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” We have to be very, very careful.

These individuals, we are told, will display great signs and wonders. What does that involve? You may be aware of some of the things that have crept into Adventism. We, as Seventh-day Adventists, are tempted to try to imitate those who are involved in these great signs and wonders and the things that are being preached. We are tempted because they are bringing numbers of people into Adventism. But, friend, it is not numbers for which Jesus is waiting. Jesus is waiting for the heart to be given completely over to Him. Jesus is waiting for character development to take place.

Character of Christ

Do you remember what it says in Christ’s Object Lessons, 69? “When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.” The devil continually works in an effort to divert us from developing the character of Christ. He is going to do everything he can to keep that from occurring.

Seventh-day Adventists are his prime targets. He is trying to zero in on them, because if he can silence the Sabbath-keepers and get them to throw away the Spirit of Prophecy and to give up on the Lord, he has them right where he wants them. We are going to have to make sure that our stakes are driven very deep. If they are not driven down, when the winds begin to blow, we are not going to have anything to hold us in place.

Spiritualism is going to take on forms that will surprise some and deceive others. We do not want to be in either camp. We do not want to be surprised, because those who are surprised are lost. Those who are deceived are lost.

We have to make sure that we understand what the issues are, and if we study and understand Inspiration, we will understand those issues.

Pastor Mike Baugher is Associate Speaker for Steps to Life. He may be contacted by e-mail at: mikebaugher@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.