These verses are about what is spiritualism and spirits based on a chain of verses that are referenced in a specific order to help give clarity and context.* It has very minimal commentary so that you can do your own self-reflection and discovery of the verses. Many times the Bible explains itself if you just know where to look.
With each group of verses, there are probing questions to help you consider what is being said. Each verse in the study is linked to an online Bible, should you want to check the context of the verses around it. Also, allowing verification of what scripture says, as well as purity of a study based only on the Bible.
1. Does the Bible teach that there are spirit beings?
- Hebrews 1:7 (KJV) — “”
2. Spirits being angels, how many classes are there of them?
- Two, the good and the evil.
3. Do both classes communicate with mankind?
- Yes, both.
- Good:
- Hebrews 1:14 (KJV) — “”
- Judges 13:3-21 (KJV) — “”
- Evil:
- 2 Corinthians 11:14 (KJV) — “”
- Matthew 25:41 (KJV) — “”
- 1 Peter 5:8 (KJV) — “”
4. What is Spiritualism?
- “The belief that the spirits of the dead in various ways communicate with and manifest their presence to men, usually through the agency of a person called a medium.” — Standard Dictionary.
5. Can the dead return to communicate with the living?
- Job 7:10 (KJV) — “”
- Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 (KJV) — “”
- Psalms 146:4 (KJV) — “”
6. Does the Bible recognize that there are lying spirits?
- 1 Kings 22:22 (KJV) — “”
7. To whom do all lying spirits belong?
- John 8:44 (KJV) — “”
8. What power do Satan and his angels possess?
- 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 (KJV) — “”
9. What comes to those who give heed to these lying spirits?
- Leviticus 19:31 (KJV) — “”
“In a sermon on ‘Spiritualism an Imposture,’ Rev. T. De Witt Talmage said: `Spiritualism takes advantage of those who are weak and morbid with trouble. We lose a friend. The house
— “Bible Readings for the Home Circle,” pp. 534, 535.
is dark, the world is dark, the future seems dark. If we had, in our rebellion and weakness, the power to marshal a host and recapture our loved one, we should marshal the host. Spiritualism comes in at that moment, when we are all worn out by watching, — all worn
out, body, mind, and soul, — and says: “Now I will open that door; you shall hear the voices. Take your places around the table; all be quiet now.” … O, I hate Spiritualism, because it takes advantage of people when they are weak, and worn out, and morbid under
life’s bereavements and sorrows! . . . If Spiritualism had its way, it would turn the world into a pandemonium of carnality. It is an unclean and adulterous system.’”
10. What phases of spirit work are named?
- Deuteronomy 18:10-11 (KJV) — “”
“The phenomenal aspect of modern Spiritualism reproduces all essential principles of the magic, witchcraft, and sorcery of the past. The same powers are involved, the same intelligences are operating.”
— F. F. Morse, in ” Practical Occultism,” p. 85.
11. How does the Lord regard all these things?
- Deuteronomy 18:12 (KJV) — “”
12. Whose children are they who use sorcery?
- Acts 13:8-10 (KJV) — “”
13. Will any such go into the kingdom?
- Revelation 21:8 (KJV) — “”
- Revelation 22:14-15 (KJV) — “”
14. Have people been saved from these deceptions?
- Acts 8:9-11 (KJV) — “”
- Acts 16:16-18 (KJV) — “”
15. What promise may be ours?
- 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 (KJV) — “”
“Ques.— Have you ever seen Confucius or Zoroaster?
“Ans.— Yes, many times.
“Ques.— In the order of degree, which stands the higher in moral excellence — Jesus Christ, Confucius, or Zoroaster?
“Ans.— Confucius stands in morality higher than the other two. . . . Jesus Himself claims to have been inspired, to a large extent, by this same Confucius. And if we are to place reliance upon the records concerning each individual, we shall find that Jesus spoke the truth when He tells us that He was inspired by Confucius.”
— Banner of Light, June 4, 1864.
“That Spiritualism is a doctrine of the devil is admitted by some of its own advocates. In the Banner of Light, Nov.
4, 1865, is the following question and answer, the answer being given by a controlling spirit through a Mrs. Conant, at that time a well-known medium:“‘Ques.— Do you know of any such spirit as a person we call the devil?
“‘Ans.— We certainly do. And yet this same devil is our god, our father.’
“Dr. A. B. Childs, in a work entitled, `Christ and the People,’ says that what is called the devil is the Spirit of God in nature.’ And in another work entitled, ‘Better Views of Living,’ the same author says, ‘It is the mission of the devil, yet unthought of by men,
to carry them through the hell of earth, and prepare them for the heaven of the.spiritual world.’ That the spirits who speak through modern mediums are deceptive is also admitted by leading authorities. Thus Dr. Childs, in the Banner of Light, Oct. 26, 1864, said:“Nor can we doubt, I think, that there are a diverse host of badly misdirected spirits. The lower spirits seek to undo the good work of the higher, and to harass and to annoy and subject to
— “Bible &indents Library,” No. 112, p. 11.
suffering, medium and sitter. They will deceive vs for their amusement. Where is the medium but what has either seen or felt this? I have both. But wise spirits, who are to us the revelators and
executors of the divine will, designedly deceive us for our good.”
This study guide was based on Reading No. 18, pages 116-117 from Brief Bible Readings for Busy People,
prepared by the Home Missionary Department
of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Review and Herald Publishing. Published originally in 1930.
View the original study guide, which this guide is based on, as a scanned PDF. Full credit to them.
*A Bible chain reference is a system of cross-referencing between different passages or verses of the Bible to connect and relate different concepts, themes, or topics mentioned in different parts of the Bible. It helps readers gain a deeper understanding of the overall message and meaning of the text. To use it, readers start with a particular topic or theme and then look up the corresponding list of verses, paying attention to the connections and relationships between them. Studying them in a particular order, helps one understand the topic from beginning to end. Just like peeling the layers off of an onion. It’s a useful tool for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of the Bible and its teachings.
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