A MONSTROUS LIE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 11 October 1913, Page 3

A MONSTROUS LIE.

WHAT HARM IT DID. WHERE IT WAS TOLD—WHY IT WAS TOLD-TO WHOM IT WAS TOLD—ITS RESULT.

(Inserted by Arrangement.)

Pastor Russell's address last Sunday on Satan's great lie was remarkable in several ways. He really told his audience that they had been believing Satan's lie, and said that the spirit mediums weed the mediums, not between dead and living human beings, but between humans and demons —fallen angels. Yet the Pastor said all this in so kindly and sympathetic manner that none could take offence. He opened his address by declaring that the common conception respect-, ing Satan's appearance and whereabouts is wholly false, built not upon the Bible, hut upon human imagination, handed down from a darker day. The Pastor believes the Bible to teach that Satan Is an angel of high rank, possessed of superior powers, outa-ank-ing his associates, and hence their leader. That Satan is not in some far-off place with his fallen angels, torturing millions of humanity, the Pastor made very clear. He showed that the Scriptures teach nothing of this hind, but, on the contrary, show that since tho Deluge Satan and his host are. under restraint, confined to Tartarus —our atmosphere. Satan is very literacy "the prince of the power af the air," and his associate demons are members of this aeiial power, malevolent respecting everything' that is of God and righteousness, and are especially the foes of Jesus' followers. WHERE AND WHY THE LIE

The he was told in Eden. The serpent was used as Satan's tool. Satan himself was originally the only rebel. The fallen angels did not rebel until ■some time afterwards. .' The Pastor would not say that the serpent could not speak under satahio obsession, but he inclined to believe'that the serpent spoke by its actions. By eating the fonbidden fruit and not dying, the serpent seemed to give the lie to God's word. Through the serpent, Satan declared to the woman, "Ye shall not surely die," and told her that evidently God was trying to keep herself and her husband in ignorance, and that it was time to assert their rights, and to make the best of themselves by eating the forbidden fruit. When Satan pez-oeived that mankind were perishing, he thought to circumvent the Almighty by introducing fresh life into humanity. This he did by deflecting some of the angels from their loyalty to God, inducing them to. materialise and rear human families (Gen. vi. 4, 6). The Pastor then pointed out Scriptures which described this deflection. The virility of the angels, grafted upon human stock, produced a race of giants, begotten and bom in opposition to the Divine will, and therefore brutal, devilish. Soooi the earth was filled with violence. The impaired Adamic race, enslaved ■ mentally and physically, were rapidly demonised also. So far as the record goes, Noah and his family of eight alone were of pure Adamic stock and loyal to God. Then the Deluge, which God had foreknown and had withhold -until this time, swept away both the angelio progeny and the impaired race. who received their life-principle from the angels were Adamio stock, and hence none of them will have part in the resurrection. They merely pelished, as natural, brute beasts (H. Peter ii. 12). THWARTED, BUT TRIES AGAIN. Those angels who followed' Satan were then restrained from materialisation for a time, during which they have been confined in our atmosphere —Tartarus—Satan likewise. Thus Satan's second plan for empire failed. Still rebellious in spirit, he took up a new line of battle against God. He would embitter humanity against God, and defeat GcxPs plans respecting mankind. Satan realised that the secret of his power with mankind must lie. in his deception of them. If they knew that they would be led captive into sin at the will of Satan and his hosts, they would rebel. In order to hold mankind as slaves, he must alienate them from God, and keep them in ignorance and superstition. Therefore he caused them to think of God as a monster whom they might fear, but cooild not love. As a basis for this great scheme of human enanarement and obsession, Satan used his, opguial lie. For now four thousand years he has sought to instil that lie into the minds of mankind everywhere. How wonderfully he haß succeeded the whole world is witness to-day. NotI withstanding the fact that man's five senses tell him that the dead are dead, the masses believe to contrary—that the dead are more alive than before they died. I believe, said the Pastor, that the spirit mediums of our day are sincero. While we must acknowledge that some spirit mediums are merely frauds and fakes, we have every reason to believe that many of them are very sincere, but deceived. Many of them thoroughly believe that they can, communicate with the dead. Only the Bible can save anyone from that dehisidn. It alone shows us that a demon host is co-operating.with Satan, to prove his lie, to more and more enslave mankind, and to separate them from the truth of .God's word. SPIRITISM, OBSESSION.

Witches, wizards, and necromancers were forbidden in tne the land of Israel ; and yet there were some there, and they had their influence on such as were not fully in harmony with God. King Saul, we re-nember, sought the witch of Endor. The mons made certain tilings appear—on the retina of the witch's eye She d<.? nbed>h?t she saw lo King Saul. He recognised it is a description of the Prophet Samuel. The witch also communicated to Saul what purported to be the word of Samuel, but what was really the word of demons (I. Ohron. x. 13). Aiid so the matter operates still, and' Satan's lie is still .potent in the world, doing more barm than all the

other liea in the world, hindering millions from the knowledge of God and the appreciation of His word. Yes, and more than this, the spirits frequently get such control of the minds and bodies of those who yield their wills, that they not only suffer obsession and misleading, but sometimes become absolutely possessed by these demons Under such cinnnastancos, they are generally considered to be insane, although doctors know that many of these have nd mental diseases, but are controlled by outside influence. The Pastor concluded by urging all to accept the testimony of God's word that death is the penalty of sin; that the death of Jesus is the redemption price frdm the curse of death; and that the resurrection of the dead, the raising up again to perfection and life, is the salvation of the Bible. Not only would this help us, he declared, to come nearer to God through a better understanding of the Bible, but it would help to fre"o US from the various snares of the Adversary. Furthermore, he found in the Bible that in the very near future thdse; evil spirits would be permitted to break over their restraints; and that all not properly fortified by t!]a Truth on the subject would be liable to especially ensnared by Satan's lie. He »°* prophesy what this trouble would be, n6r"jti'Sthow it would come, but ho did forewarn his hearers. He urged all to come out from under the influence of Satan, his slanders of the Almighty, his misrepresentations df facts; and to enlist under the banner of Jesus, as servants of Truth and righteousness.