that the Bible was better than nothing to the mini-
tiated world, but to those who had come to have inter-
course with the spirits direct, the Bible was useless,-
and worse, a hindrance.
Well has an able writer upon the subject said of
spiritism,-
“A system which commences with light, inno-
cent, trifling and frivolous performances and communi-
cations, but which ends in leading its followers to deny
“the Lord that bought them,” and to reject the
Word of God which liveth and abideth forever, gives
evidence that there may be a deep purpose under all
its fantastic tricks; and that the craft of the Old Ser-
pent, who is a liar from the beginning, may underlie
those triiling and unimportant communications which,
by stimulating curiosity and inspiring confidence, lult
to slumber the suspicions of honest bat undiscerning
souls, until they are in the fatal coils of the Enemy of
all righteousness. “
These demons who personate the dead, seeing that
a new dispensation is opening, were prompt to apply
their knowledge as far as possible to the advancement
of their own cause, and freely declared a new dispen-
sation at hand, and Spiritism the guiding angel which
was to lead mankind safely into it; and they have not
hesitated to declare that the new dispensation means
the utter wreck of the present social order, and the es-
tablishment of Spiritism as the new order. In some
instances, where they thought it would serve their pur-
pose, they have not hesitated to declare the second
coming of Christ, and on one occasion at least it was
distinctly stated that Christ had come a second time:
and it was intimated that they were ready if any one
chose to grant communication with Christ through the
medium.