Chapter IV: Part 4

If superior mind force can accomplish such marvellous feats on human will, what may we expect from supernatural mind force with a burning ambition to subdue? The columns of our _dailies_ are filled with reports of the doings of men and women that cannot be explained on any other hypothesis. Think of the insane, unreasonable, illogical risk in all manner of sin--for what? A momentary taste of some "forbidden fruit." We hear that self-preservation is the first law of our being; but how often this law is utterly ignored for sensuous gratification. Those who do these things are unable to understand their insane conduct until it is all over. "Oh, I can see it all now," is the despairing cry so often heard. Of course, the hypnotic spell is removed. How easy it is to sit and philosophize on the actions of people. "Why would any sane person do such a thing?" A sane person would not; the why of all these human twists is very simple when we are willing to admit the literal teaching of God's book concerning our indefatigable Enemy. "The apostate angel and his followers by pride and blasphemy against God and malice against men became liars and murderers by tempting men to do sins" (Jude 6, R. V.).

Why did the Prodigal Son do such an insane, sinful act? Why? Well, he came to himself, but not until the harm was wrought. Why have ten thousand prodigals since that day been guilty of the same insane conduct? The answer is obvious. Why did Judas sell his Lord?--He who had been so highly honoured: chosen, ordained, sent out? "Satan entered into Judas;" there you have the whole truth. By and by, Judas came to himself; then remorse and despair not only caused him to return the money, but destroy himself.

In a subsequent chapter we shall discuss more particularly the suicide problem; but we are satisfied Judas was a victim of two satanic schemes: the hypnotic spell deadened his reason and judgment to do the deed; then, after the Crucifixion, despair gripped him like a vice. Who would say that Judas was excluded from the Saviour's dying prayer: "Father forgive them"? Peter denied Christ, then lied and blasphemed about it. He was restored; but Satan's power over Judas was not broken. His end was Satan's finished work. What he did to Judas he purposes to do with every "subject"--utter destruction.

We once saw a snake charm a bird; the serpent's head was lifted several inches--eyes blazing, and red tongue flashing. The bird fluttered, gave a piteous wail, but was helplessly walking into the jaws of death. Now the question arises: what about the freedom of the will? Do we ever cease to be free agents? Certainly we do not; the hypnotic subject exercises free choice; that is never destroyed, but he acts under a compelling _vis uturga_--power behind.

XXVII

DEVIL POSSESSION

"As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed
with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb
spake."--_Matthew ix. 32-33._

"O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good
things?"--_Matthew xii. 34._

One characteristic, which has been prominent in the varied manifestations of Satan studied so far, is adaptability. Methods that were available in the days of our Lord cannot be used successfully now. By some secret unknown to us the Devil enters into the souls of men. This is a mystery; so is, also, the filling of the Holy Spirit a mystery. The Devil possessed King Saul, Judas, Ananias and Sapphira, and many are the instances recorded in the ministry of the Saviour. Devil possession, it seemed, was very common; Christ was continually casting them out, and He also gave His Apostles power likewise to cast them out.

We do not believe the Enemy has abandoned his old profession: an evil spirit despises a disembodied state; if people are fortified and shielded against his entrance--then the swine. As cold air whistles and roars about every crack and cranny, entering in from all directions, so evil spirits--Devil and demons--press their entrance into the soul. If it is true they cannot enter except by permission,--they pry and pound until resistance is impossible, unless divine reinforcement comes to the rescue.

There are maniacs, violent, desperate, incurable, to-day as truly demon possessed as was the man who lived among the tombs. This, however, is not his modern _modus operandi_; desperate maniacs could then terrorize a whole community. Our great asylums have solved this problem; even the immediate family is relieved of the burden and fear. Those who do not accept the theory of demon possession should explain a case at present in one of our institutions. It is a boy, at the time it attracted attention, only twelve years of age, thin, emaciated, and by no means abnormal in any particular. This child would remain quiet for days; during this time he possessed no strength beyond one of his age. At unexpected moments he would be seized with violent contortions, frothing at the mouth, and snapping like a mad dog; and a continuous flow of the most obscene language and blasphemy while the spell lasted. This is not the strangest part: he had the strength of a giant; it required four or five men to overpower him. One man was helpless in his hands; he would literally hurl them to the floor. Compare this story with the one in the fifth chapter of Mark: "And when He was come out of the ship, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no not with chains, because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him."

In countries where the gospel light has not yet shown full-orbed, demon possession with manifestations similar to those of Bible times are known to be common. F. B. Meyer relates numerous cases in Russia; many by prayer were cast out in the name of Jesus Christ. "I confess," he says, "these incidents have greatly impressed me. I wonder how far it would be right to deal with certain forms of drunkenness and impurity as cases of demon-possession. It may be there is more of this demon work among us than we know, and especially in cases of mania." Dr. Howard Taylor, of the China Island Mission, it is said, was accustomed to diagnose the symptoms of demon-possession in the same way as of any other disease. Dr. Nevins, of the Presbyterian Mission Board, tells of hundreds of cases, witnessed by himself, where by faith in the Son of God the demons were cast out, and the victims were clothed and in their right mind.

Cotton Mather says of Salem witchcraft: "Those persons said to be bewitched would swoon, froth at the mouth, their bodies would cramp into irregular shapes; meanwhile they would utter accusations against good people who, they said, had bewitched them. This excited sympathy of the court. As soon as the court rendered judgment, those bewitched victims would be relieved of their physical cramps and mental torture." Salem witchcraft was real cases of demon-possession, but the court blundered in that the demons were located in the wrong persons.

Sir Walter Scott says that similar manifestations of Satan as were witnessed at the time of the Salem witchcraft occurred simultaneously in every country on earth. He writes again: "Anna Cole, living at Hartford, was taken with strange fits which caused her to express strange things unknown to herself, her tongue being guided by a demon. She confessed to the minister that she had been familiar with a devil." Pages could be filled with modern examples which coincide so exactly with New Testament records that we have no doubt the causes are the same.

Professor Webster, late of Wheaton College, said in a lecture before the students: "I once knew a man possessed of a demon. He became so vicious that he had to be confined in a cell in jail. When he heard any one swear or blaspheme, he would go into convulsions of laughter. When any one used the name of God or Christ, he would curse everything good, and foam at the mouth. He possessed superhuman strength, like the man living among the tombs."

The soul is God's masterpiece, created to be the habitat of the Paraclete, but may, as truly, become the habitat of a demon. We believe that Diabolus has so organized his forces that his minions represent various sins; they are specialists--skilled labourers: drink demons, lust demons, lying demons, anger demons, theft demons, pride, blasphemy, etc. Demon possession to-day expresses itself in sins we try to control by means of courts, education, etc. Homes become a miniature hell because of drink, pride, lust, or lying demons.

Our penitentiaries are crowded with men who were controlled by a demon, forced them into drink, anger, or theft, until the deed was committed. We may feel thankful that there are so few Scriptural cases of demon possession about us--the old time possession. The wise Enemy has shifted, but at the same time has greatly enlarged his field of operation. There are no witch victims to-day: the courts would not punish the witches, but the bewitched would be safely cared for in an asylum. But observe, there are ten thousand other insidious ways in which he possesses men and women, enlarging his kingdom daily; his victims multiply, but not among the tombs. The name of Jesus continues to be the only remedy.

XXVIII

DEVIL OPPRESSION

"So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with
sore boils from the sole of his foot to his crown."--_Job ii. 7._

"Who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the
devil."--_Acts x. 38._

A necessary concomitant of demon possession is its influence upon the individual's moral faculties; an entirely new type of moral tastes are developed: tempers, sympathies, and, especially, doctrines which are diametrically opposed to genuine spiritual religion and revelation. Demon possession bitterly and persistently rejects, whether by a nominal professor or unbeliever, the doctrines of repentance, new birth, etc., through a blood atonement.

In demon possession the fight is on the inside; in demon oppression the fight is on the outside. In the one, Satan controls the man: body, mind and soul; in the other, he depresses, afflicts the man: body, mind, and soul. In the one, the victim is the incarnation of evil; in the other the victim is generally the purest and holiest of men and women.

The Devil or demons may be ejected by the power of the Holy Ghost, but the hellish enterprise is never given up; all the engineering of the pit is utilized to keep ransomed souls out of the kingdom. Once a choice is made, all hell is aroused unto wrath and riot to torment, nag, and finally drag the discouraged pilgrim back into sin and apostasy. This is often accomplished successfully through an afflicted body. Who knows but that the drama enacted in the land of Uz has been repeated many, many times since Job sat on his ash pile?

"But," says the objector, "sickness and disease come as a result of exposure, natural laws violated, inoculation by infection and contagion." True, but remember he is the "prince of the power of the air." What he did once he can do again, and more efficiently. Think of the strenuous war being waged on germs, microbes, and bacilli; we have diseases more violent than ever before. Yet when the race of life was less complicated and simple, none of the modern precautions were thought of; flies swarmed about everything placed on the table, and their mission thought to be one of beneficence. There are many actual and implied statements in the Bible which teach that disease and sickness are often the result of demon oppression; a large part of our Lord's ministry was relieving those who were oppressed of the Devil and demons.

Then his work is just as effective in the realm of the mind; the mental faculties, filled with confusion and doubt, are incapable of exercising their normal functions. Multitudes are able, because of their intelligence, to guard the approaches through the physical organism, or to the extent of subjection at least; but are as completely oppressed in mind as others are in body. We do not claim that any are entirely immune from his attacks; but he is wise and sagacious enough to select such victims for specific oppression as will best satisfy and gratify his diabolical pleasure in seeing the followers of his rival suffer. He oppresses only such as he is unable to possess. Many have been so troubled mentally that Christian living becomes a life and death struggle. Here we find another example of "wrestling not with flesh and blood."

But some of Satan's greatest victories and rejoicings come from soul oppression. We believe this to be the real secret of our Lord's agony in the garden; it was the Devil's last opportunity to thwart the great plan of salvation. Oh, to cheat Calvary; put our "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" in such physical, mental, and soul burdened agony He would refuse at the last moment to do all the will of His Father. How near he came to accomplishing the diabolical scheme we learn from the story as given by inspiration. We remember His piteous remark as they left the Paschal room: "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death"; then He cries out in anguish: "If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me." Never was He nearer the great Father heart, and never was He more a man than at this time; and as a man, perhaps during the terrible crisis, He did not analyze His sufferings and emotions. All the powers of hell were combined to crush Him at the hour for which He came into the world.

Every student of soul tragedy can appreciate, in a limited degree, the experiences of Gethsemane. Paul had this exact experience in mind when he wrote of the "evil days" in which we had to "wrestle." What are evil days? Days when the heavens are brass, and the fountains of prayer are dried up; a cold, sinking sensation clutches the heart. The mind is in a jumble, plans are thwarted, the mail brings a message of some deception or betrayal, the hand slips, fires go out, trains missed, pressing duties remain undone; nervous anxiety and evil forebodings chill the soul. The mind and heart are filled with dread; cold perspiration swells into beads upon the brow. Evil days! Oh, how we stumble and blunder; we cannot even think of advancement. Paul says we can only stand still, and having done all, stand. Many who are not familiar with the nature of such "days" will cast away their faith, believing that their "feelings" are the index to the state of grace in the heart.

But, thank God, a crushing defeat came to this traitor-prince in that the full programme leading up to the world's great Atonement was carried out to the letter. It was not the physical fear of death which caused the blood-sweating agony of our Lord; if so, thousands have met the martyr's end far more triumphantly than did He. Some believe it was the weight of the world's sin breaking His heart. Both the physical dread of death and sin burden may have entered into the garden tragedy; but it was, we repeat with emphasis, the myrmidons of hell taking the advantage of His humanity at the crisis of His life: _It was Devil Oppression_.

Devil oppression does not always come in a diseased body, a confused mind, or in days of soul depression. But sometimes they are new, instantaneous, fierce, overwhelming, and always from different angles and approaches. A vile suggestion, a remembered sin, long ago under the blood, a strong inclination to commit revolting deeds. An eminent, and deeply-pious divine of the South tells in his autobiography that while alone in his study, in meditation and prayer, he was strangely assaulted by the Devil. For more than an hour the inclination to blaspheme was almost beyond his control; it seemed that vile oaths would well up in his mouth and almost leap from his tongue. So terrible was the attack that deliverance came only after a long struggle on his face crying out audibly to God. Then the dark cloud of bat-winged vampires, almost visible, left as mysteriously as they came. It was Devil Oppression.

XXIX

DEVIL ABDUCTION

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits."--_1
Timothy iv. 1._

"And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of
light."--_2 Corinthians xi. 14._

We used the above Scriptures in a former chapter, but with special reference to "doctrines"; the part we wish to emphasize now, "giving heed to seducing spirits": that is to say, be led away or abducted by the Devil or demon. There are four classes of people who may be subjected to the seductive influence of evil spirits. We should keep in mind that the "prince of this world" and his emissaries were once angels, and of course, when necessary, can bring their angelic attributes into seductive usefulness.

One of the problems facing the Church and all religious workers is to keep the converts or communicants in line; steady them in the presence of deflecting influences. The Church is suffering from the inroads of every conceivable brand: isms, cults, fads, worldliness, etc., which always mean, not only usefulness paralyzed, but the loss of Church and Bible ideals. How many among us who once ran well, but are now tilted, side-tracked, derailed, and ditched. We are encompassed about with ten thousand plausible, seductive tenets, arguments and theories, which if yielded to will result in utter religious ruin.

There are four classes of possible victims, all sincere and conscientious, none of which are basely wicked. First: the unregenerate who are blindly seeking the light, but following the inner voice and promptings, rather than the Word of God. These become easy victims to the charms (?) of Christian Science, Theosophy, Spiritualism, Mormonism, etc. Once inducted, there follows a mental refreshing, and a carnal peace, which bring the "soul rest" and "assurance" they eagerly sought. These cults are lauded and believed as modern "revelations," but they are only _new clothes_ stretched over the dried mental mummies which lived and moved in the early centuries and dead civilizations. Various shades and deductions from old Hindoo philosophy, Egyptian magic, Gnosticism, Stoicism, Æstheticism, Asceticism are paraded so as to catch the cultured, twentieth century devotee. In whatever form it may come, the beauty worshippers of Æstheticism, the mental anesthetics of Christian Science, or the debasing sensuality of Mormonism, it is "led away by the Devil or a demon."

A writer on modern Spirits says: "Extraordinary spiritism of to-day is but the continuation of the worship of the old idol Tammuz, as worshipped by the corrupt Israelites and Canaanites, and the Adonis, as worshipped by the Greeks. The indecent practices of these mediums made it necessary to seek darkness to cover their vileness." Ezekiel, in the eighth chapter, speaks of it; the Delphic Oracle practiced the same iniquity: the personification of lust.

The second class of possible victims is the regenerated believer or nominal professor of religion. It is the belief of the writer that no greater havoc is being wrought anywhere in the realm of religious aspiration than is being done to-day among professing church-members, sane, perchance--who once knew the secrets of saving faith. To this class there seems to be two horns in the dilemma of abduction. As an eminent author says: "If we give the preponderant attention to the providences which appertain to the body, there is danger of becoming deistical and materialistic in our views. If we study the word alone, without due appreciation of the Spirit and providence, there is danger of drifting away into dead formality, drying up, becoming creedistic, theoretical, and unspiritual."

What can check the materialistic trend of the times? What can save the Church from reflex influences of modern materialism? Somehow, we have reached the place where things must appeal to the senses: we must taste, handle, smell, see, etc.; things in the Church, as well as out, have jostled down to a metallic basis: something for so much. In the same degree, deny it as we will, our religion ceases to be a religion of faith. Then, on the other hand, the history of Christendom from the beginning, without an exception, proves the second horn to the dilemma: as we lose the spiritual afflatus, we become ceremonial. Upon this reef of rocks our Church is crashing to-day. We see only the material; we have a mania for statistics, figures. Our Sunday-schools seek organization, grades, banners, honour rolls, numbers. Great schools are pushed with enthusiasm by unconverted officers and teachers. About ninety per cent. swarm out and away from the Church and rarely if ever remain for the preaching of the Word. In fearful, glaring reality we can see in all this ceremonialism and dress parade Demoniacal Abduction.

The third class is much smaller; they are the select few who live in the inner circle of things. Having been brought from darkness unto light they seek to walk in all the light, and to live continually in the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. This class are the sworn, uncompromising enemies of Satan's kingdom; but often their zeal is without knowledge. Perchance, many are weak and unlearned. Satan will leave the multitude of mystery workers and formalists to make havoc among these saintly ones. All that he accomplishes here cuts like a two-edged sword: the individual ruin, and the deadening, paralyzing influence to the cause of truth. By what method does he gain access? Abduction is only possible here where preponderant emphasis is placed on the leadership of the Spirit without careful, diligent adhesion to the Word. The Word is the Spirit's weapon; without it he is handicapped. What is the result? Fanaticism, dreams, visions, wild-fire, extreme positions on dress, food, domestic relations, etc., until they are "led away by a demon beyond recall." Shipwrecked, "affinities," free love, infidelity, are inevitable. Wherever societies, communities, or churches become inoculated with the virus of any of these phases of fanaticism--untold harm surely follows. The Devil is responsible for the religious "craze," and will then exaggerate by lies and misrepresentation before the unbelievers.

The fourth class are, of all, the most to be pitied, and no work of the "angel of the pit" is so hellish as his operation and strategy upon an awakened soul. Those who are in religious work are grieved continually at seeing the process chilled and defeated at a point which would soon result in deliverance from the bondage of evil. Satan actually assumes the person of the Holy Ghost. Strange and amazing as this sounds, it is nevertheless true. As soon as the soul is awakened he assumes a general godfather sort of relation to the penitent one. Advice and suggestions flood his mind: his pride, clothes, reputation, business, and all are used as arguments. "You should be a Christian--join the church--it is your duty; but when you make a start, _be sure_ you have a genuine experience. You are conscientious--anything but a hypocrite with you. Now this is not an opportune time, etc., etc.," on and on, until the penitent refuses to arise and go to his Father's house. Procrastination; Satan literally drags him away from the mercy seat.

How can he do this? Where is the Holy Ghost all this time? Why does He not protect His identity? So long as a man is in sin he has a nature that is not subject to the law of God, and cannot be: carnal mind, old man. On this territory Satan has right of way; under the guise of one seeking to help them in their confusion and sorrow, he manipulates until prevenient grace is grieved away. The poor deluded soul has been "led away by a demon." It is Devil Abduction.

XXX

THE RATIONALE OF SUICIDE

"And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and went and
hanged himself."--_Matthew xxvii. 5._

"He drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that
the prisoners had been fled."--_Acts xvi. 27._

The Devil was a murderer from the beginning of human history; his first bloodshed was fratricide--growing out of religious jealousy. He is the father of murder and murderers. This crime, provoked or unprovoked, is monstrous; the passions that incite it were born in the pit. Then what may be said of self-murder: suicide? It is the most fearful, unnatural, abnormal of all forms of demise. Every impulse of reason and judgment revolts at the thought. The Master Himself drew back from death; the Book says death is an enemy.

Various and satisfactory explanations always follow the news of suicide, "financial reverses," "ill health," "public exposure," "domestic troubles," "melancholia," etc., etc. These explanations will not stand under the light of close scrutiny; reverses and misfortunes are generally contributing causes, but not sufficient to answer fully the horrors of suicide.

We hesitate to discuss this gruesome subject, but the character study of these pages would not be complete without it. We speak not with any degree of dogmatism or claim of superior insight to hidden truth, but in the fear of God we are persuaded that not a single case of suicide, since the race took up its painful march, came about from natural causes. Satan, the embodiment of monstrosities, is responsible.

Suicide is numbered among our vexing problems; reckoned on the basis of population, suicide has increased one hundred and fifty per cent. in two decades. Scientists are tremendously interested; thoughtful people are alarmed. Psychological and sociological authorities tell us that _poverty_, _disappointed affection_, and _dissipation_ are the chief causes. The problem can never be solved by social and scientific speculation. We must cross over the borderland into the supernatural before all the angles of the problem are met and satisfied.

There is some strange history connected with suicide. Greek philosophers wrote about it; whether among heathen or civilized peoples, it was considered a disgrace. The Greeks buried them at night--on the public highways, and without religious ceremonies; and their goods were confiscated for the Crown.

We wish to emphasize a former statement: suicide is _unnatural_; it sets aside her first law. The law of self-preservation holds good in every walk of life; when we cease to love life, the deepest principle of our being is out of balance. The body is holy, and when it is destroyed, the highest _felo de se_ is committed; not only so, it is assuming the prerogative which belongs alone to God. "It is appointed unto man once to die." Life is a sacred gift.

There are two kinds of suicide: the responsible and irresponsible. The first often appears to have been deliberately planned, the act of a sane, rational mind. However, the best alienists say some phase of insanity always accompanies this rash act. The second are mentally deranged, for which there are many causes. Two classes, also, as to character are found among the unfortunates: the religious and irreligious. What then may we conclude from the most mysterious tragedy on earth?

Satan always scores a victory when a neighbourhood is shocked by the news of a suicide; the victory is direct and indirect. If the victim is prepared or unprepared, sane or insane, the crime can somehow never be forgiven. A strange demoralizing influence is always felt; a feeling of horror and depression. If the victim is pious, and many, many are the most devout in the church, do they forfeit their salvation by the _felo de se_? Not necessarily. Now we wish to say here, with every word underscored: _no sane, devout person will destroy themselves_. Where, then, is the motive and victory of Satan? Much, every way. The whole church or community will be religiously paralyzed. It is generally believed that no self-murderer can be saved. But behold a sainted mother in Israel found hanging in the barn: we have in mind just such an incident, and remember also the gloom, the depression, the silent whispers, the downcast look on the faces of all who knew her. Satan may know that he has nothing directly to gain, but, indirectly, doubt and discouragement prevail. Anything to get the world to doubt God.

A very devout man, writing of a personal experience, says: "There seemed to be some designing spirit near me for days that constantly whispered in my ear, and sometimes it seemed almost audible, "Go kill thyself; you have disgraced your Redeemer and you are not fit to live." Scores of such testimonies are on record.

Think of the logical traps used by the Designer to incite the deed: if poverty, "My family will be cared for better than I can." If a suffering body, "This will cure me of my pain." If fear of exposure, "That will end it--charity will forgive me then." If hopeless over some sin, "Better die than face the disgrace. It will solve all the problems," says the Tempter. It is often remarked concerning some one: "How cowardly;" but it is not cowardice; it is inability to answer the Devil's logic to commit suicide.

Again, gruesome as it is, and here is more strange evidence in favour of the satanic explanation: It is fearfully contagious. Professor Bailey, of Yale, said that the report of a suicide by any special method will be followed by others in the same manner. Morbid, despondent people hear of it and follow the example. That which should be revolting in the extreme possesses a strange charm. Ingersol toured the country at one time advocating suicide as the best way out of life's difficulties. Many took his advice and a fearful epidemic followed. One young man in a rural community of Illinois committed suicide; three others, all associates, followed in a few weeks. No special motive could be given for either. We are forced to place the blame where it belongs, and sympathize with the victims.

XXXI

DEVIL WORSHIP

"Then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of
his salvation. They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with
abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils,
not to God; to gods whom they knew not."--_Deuteronomy xxxii. 15-17._

"But I say the things which the Gentiles sacrificed, they sacrificed
to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have
fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the
cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and the
table of devils."--_1 Corinthians x. 20-21._

Satan's consuming passion is thirst for power. He is the "prince of darkness," but also the "god of this world," and this long period of satanic rule is called _night_. God's glorious Sabbath of rest was superseded by the black intervention of toil and suffering. Satan's scheming fight has been for the rulership of this world. He succeeded in winning the entire antediluvian world, which to save the coming generations necessitated the Flood. He began adroitly with the only remaining family; swept the postdiluvian peoples into midnight heathenism. To-day, nearly one billion descendants of Noah worship not God--but _demonian_--demons, just what the Greeks and Romans worshipped in Apostolic times. No less than two hundred and fifty million are devil worshippers by name.

Satan began his fight of opposition by assuming the form or incarnating himself in the body of a snake. Therefore it is not an accident, growing out of mythological tradition, that serpent worship has been the chief religion of many peoples. The Egyptians worshipped Set, which personified all evil--enemy of all good--they called Typhon, a monstrous serpent-like animal. To this god human sacrifices were offered on great religious holidays. It is no accident that the millions who know not the true God nevertheless, some way, learned to worship the Devil, and generally in the form of a serpent. The Egyptians had a serpent-god in Typhon; the Canaanites worshipped a snake in the days of Abraham; the Babylonians worshipped Python, which is a specie of the most deadly reptile on earth, and another name for Typhon. On the monuments and tablets of many dead civilizations the engravings of serpents show their particular customs of devil worship. The American Indians were snake worshippers; in Ohio an altar more than a half mile in length remains in good preservation. This altar is one of the wonders, being a perfect outline of a gigantic snake. We readily see that tribal association and tradition have had nothing to do with the customs of our own aborigines; the same being who inspired the peoples of the Old Orient, millenniums ago, to worship the snake-devil inspired our red men in his primeval forest.

David speaks of demon worship: "Yea they sacrificed their sons and daughters unto _Shadim_." Jereboam built places to worship evil spirits; the ordained priests to serve the altars of "Satyrs," and children were offered. The Molech of the Canaanites was also devil worship; when the Israelites forgot God, they "caused their children to pass through the fire unto Molech," an evil god. The damsel whom Paul delivered possessed the spirit of Python--the snake. The priestesses of the Delphic oracles prophesied by the spirit of Python; this was the dominant religion throughout Greece. The Aztec war god of the Montezumas, where two hundred and fifty thousand human skulls were found in the temple, was a bloody system of devil worship. The Yezidis of Persia, descendants of the early Python worshippers, worship the Devil to-day, and are known as such.

We are not confined to heathenism, ancient or modern, to find the same religion of "divinations." The best authorities of Spiritualism believe that the supernatural, occult demonstrations, as produced in their séances, are from demon agencies. The whole system of mythology grew out of what is to-day the work of mediums. The Old Testament is filled with statements concerning "familiar spirits"; they heard voices, received messages, saw physical disturbances--just as may be witnessed at any spiritual séance. The most reliable of mediums do not deny that evil spirits (damned demons) come to them at times. One fact is noteworthy: when men and women become spiritists, they discard all the essentials of the Christian faith. They are modern types of demon possession. It is no unusual thing during a séance to hear a regular clash of voices: blasphemy, oaths, vulgar, obscene language, terrible threats, etc.

What connection do we find between Devil worship and modern Spiritualism? First, the moral condition among the spiritists is exactly as it was among the ancient priests and priestesses in the temples of Devil worship; they literally worshipped the Devil in their corrupt, degrading practices. Now, among the votaries of Spiritualism, every iniquity, crime, and indecency known among men and women are daily carried on. Such is the testimony of one of their travelling lecturers. One of their noted mediums when under control delivered this message: "Curse the marriage institution; cursed be the relation of husband and wife; cursed be all who sustain the legal marriage." From what source could we expect such a vile deliverance?

Second, their mediums actually pray to Satan. One of their advocates at the opening of a debate with a Christian minister at San Jose, Cal., prayed in the following language: "O Devil, Prince of Demons in the Christian's Hell; oh, thou Monarch of the bottomless pit; thou King of Scorpions, I beseech thee to hear my prayer. Thou seest the terrible straits in which I am placed, matched in debate with a big gun of Christianity. Remember, O Prince of Brimstone, that when thou stretchest forth thine arm the Christian God cannot stand before thee for a moment. Bless thy servant in his labours for thee; fill his mouth with wisdom; enable him to defend thee from the false charges of thy sulphurous Majesty, so that this audience may know and realize that thou art a prayer hearing and a prayer answering devil" (abbreviated). Similar prayers are frequently published in the _Banner of Light_, the organ of this cult; prayers formulated in the same language as prayers offered to the God of heaven.

It cannot be doubted that Pagan religion and modern Spiritualism are Devil worship, shifting under various forms and ceremonies in different ages and places. Rev. B. Clough, missionary in Ceylon, says: "I now state, and I wish it to be heard in every corner of the Christian world, that the devil is regularly, systematically, and ceremoniously worshipped by a large majority of the inhabitants of the Island of Ceylon." We repeat: his consuming passion is to be worshipped.

XXXII

VICTORY THROUGH THE VICTOR

"This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is
he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God?"--_1 John v. 4-5._

"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because
greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world."--_1 John
iv. 4._

One of the grave dangers of to-day is that Satan is no longer regarded as a Personality. Even among those whose faith is founded on the word of God, the idea of an orthodox devil smacks of superstition and an exploded hoax from the Dark Ages. "Let us hear the love side of the gospel; away with this devil and hell business--it's too dreadful," they declare. His real existence and personality are ridiculed in many pulpits and lecture platforms. When these ideas become common among the people who think, a wide open field remains for him to work unmolested.

We can also go to the other extreme: that is, to think him a greater being than the Son of God. Those who have followed us through these chapter studies will, we fear, come to some such conclusion. Who can be equal for such a mighty Prince? Now this biography was undertaken that we might have a full, life-sized photo of our Enemy. In this we cannot exaggerate the true status of the case; any less conception of Satan than we have portrayed will put us at a serious disadvantage in the life struggle. He is a real foe, and we must meet him in the open, under cover, and invisibly. Let it be written in black-faced caps, and heavily underscored: Satan is all we can find out about him--plus, with emphasis on the plus. We want to keep in mind clearly the Enemy, the battle-ground, and the battle; we can never match swords with him; to ignore him--big, cunning, supernatural, eternally at it--will be the most dangerous folly.

But--there is victory, complete, overwhelming victory for every one who fights; but bear in mind it must be a fighter. There is one Name which never fails to reverberate from the Throne of God to the cavernous pits of darkness; this Name shakes loose the grip, untangles the web of all the allied powers of the Prince of Night. Satan is mighty, Jesus is almighty; he met his Waterloo. Jesus was never defeated. His first defeat was when he was an archangel; he was overthrown and cast out of heaven. Jesus said: "I was present when Satan fell like lightning from heaven." He was also defeated in the wilderness; again in the Garden, and at Calvary. In fact, on every battle-field where he met the Lord Christ the defeat was stunning, humiliating. Now we are in mortal combat with him, and we must not forget--he has been many times defeated. A writer says: "We have the advantage of fighting a defeated foe." Standing alone, we are doomed to utter defeat, capture, ruin; but if our fight is coupled with the Name of Jesus, our triumph is as certain as our defeat will be without Him.

So long as we muster in as munitions of war our intellect, self-sufficiency, egotism, etc., the cohorts will laugh at our delusion. There is but One who can out-general his maneuvres, silence his thunderings, checkmate his diabolical acumen, know his oily, snaky approaches, penetrate his angelic beneficence, understand his insidious schemes: that One knew him from the beginning, and--outranked him in heaven and conquered him on earth.

This question arises: If Satan has been conquered, and Jesus is yet contending with him for world-wide supremacy--why the almost universal triumph of evil? Why is true righteousness at such a discount? Why are the fighters failing and falling all around us? If these questions cannot be answered with a degree of sound reasoning, the whole problem of life, Bible, God, Atonement, Gospel are in a hopeless tangle. A Chinese puzzle does not compare with a riddle of everything worth while, visible and invisible.

Satan undoubtedly controls the machinery of this world. Then wherein is the "victory that overcometh the world"? Let us keep in mind the power, resources, opportunities, organization, and management of Satan; also the blindness and bondage of sin, and--the Free Agency of Man. So long as man remains carnally-minded and free, the Enemy has undisputed right of way; while the heart is carnal, impure, unsanctified, the controlling motive power of man's life "is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." He has in his own bosom a traitor, an alien to the government of God. "To be carnally minded is death," says Paul. The "old leaven must be purged out"; we must "put off the old man (carnal mind) and his deeds, and put on the new man, etc." This putting off is absolutely necessary.

Jesus cannot only defeat Satan, but He can destroy the "works of the devil"--one of which is the alien principle of our nature. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil." The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus--the God-Man--is an everlasting Atonement and a propitiation for sin. Sin is the Rubicon of our battle; once we solve, in all its fullness, the problem of sin, we rob Satan of his fulcrum power. He came to Jesus and found nothing: no availability, no sin, no yielding, no fellowship. He was tempted, but _without sin_.

Our victory must be twofold: first, through the merits of the Everlasting Blood Covenant we may be saved from sin unto salvation--reconciliation, forgiveness. Then by the fuller benefits of the Atonement we may "enter into the holiest by the Blood." Only the pure in heart can stand the approaches of Satan by way of our natural appetites. The triumphs of modern surgery are only possible by means of sterilized instruments. Please observe--with all the meaning that can be couched in language: the sinful, unregenerated heart is not only in danger of being overcome, but is already in blind bondage to Satan. The power of sin, both actual and original, must be broken by the pardoning grace of God through faith in the Atoning Blood; and the heart cleansed and empowered by the Baptism of the Holy Ghost.

The second inevitable concomitant of victory is copartnership with Jesus, the Captain of our salvation--"looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." Diabolus and his minions cannot stand before this Name. His final overthrow was when Jesus cried out on the Cross: "It is finished." Now at the sight of Jesus, the Cross, or the Blood, the phalanx of darkness slinks away. Let us lay hold of eternal life by an unfaltering faith in the Blood that cleanseth, and "The Name high over all: in earth, in heaven, in hell." "And they overcame him through the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony." Amen and Amen.

XXXIII

THE ARREST AND IMPRISONMENT

"For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he
knoweth that he hath but a short time."--_Revelation xii. 12._

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the
bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the
dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him
a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him
up, and set a seal upon him."--_Revelation xx. 1-3._

The fact of a possible victory through the Name of our great Conqueror does not alone satisfy all the items of the indictment. If such were the only background to the picture, great as it is, the human drama is not only a fierce tragedy, but a miserable farce. Thank God, personal victory is not all; there is a rift in the dark satanic cloud which has hung over the world for so many millenniums. Satan is in great wrath, and his power and influence grow steadily stronger; more and more his iron grip fastens about the throat of the world. The Apostasy of which Christ and His Apostles wrote is becoming a reality.

Satan will score one more gigantic victory; then is our "blessed hope of His glorious appearing," when He shall come and catch away His Bride--the Church, both dead and alive; that part of His following who are united to Him and are earnestly yearning for His coming. This event is called by devout scholars "The Rapture." Just where, how, when, or how long, we have only a vague prophetic conjecture. "Where, Lord?" they ask. "And He said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together."

When the Rapture shall have taken place, Satan will have undisputed dominion; then shall the "Man of Sin" appear, setting himself up as God--to be worshipped. His reign will be the Great Tribulation; all the influences of righteousness will, for the time, be removed--the earth will reek in corruption and bloodshed. It is implied that, so terrible will be this time, divine intervention must necessarily shorten the Tribulation, else no flesh will be left on the earth. The Great Tribulation will be the climax of the Devil's rule on earth. It seems that he will incarnate himself in a Man, giving him supernatural knowledge and power.

However, something spectacular and sensational will soon occur. When the leader of a gang of thugs or desperadoes is arrested, his followers are filled with fear and consternation; then think of the excitement. An Angel officer will break in on the scene--yes, that is exactly what the Book tells us: the High Sheriff of Heaven will suddenly step down from headquarters, and will lay hold--arrest the Old Dragon--Satan--Devil--Serpent (observe all his names are mentioned). Whatever his titles and distinctions of the past have been, they will not save him in that hour. The Apocalyptic Vision is unmistakable.

Some can see in this wonderful language only an allegory: the good influences are to gradually bind the influences of evil, and to expect such an event as the literal arrest of the Devil is a wild, irrational, unscientific, unreasonable dream. Our Lord said, speaking of the time of the end, that the same social conditions as prevailed in the days of Noah were to be repeated: wicked ones waxing worse and worse; scarcely any living in the fear of God. To expect to see a gradual regeneration of society, politics, commerce, and the Church--until evil will be overruled, chained as it were--seems to be a gigantic travesty on language and the teaching of the Bible.

We prefer to stand by the Book rather than human interpretation--fixed up to justify the methods and results of modern religious propaganda. An angel appears--evidently an archangel: one belonging to the rank of which the fallen Prince formerly belonged. This Sheriff of the skies is equipped for his undertaking; Officers carry handcuffs with which to bind prisoners--the angel has a great chain in his hand; he lays hold--arrests the old skulking, hateful, murderous Devil. This angel-officer has also a key, and it is the key which locks the door of the bottomless pit. This door has been wide open; Satan and his emissaries could go and come at pleasure. Just as an officer arrests a desperado and leads him off to prison--so will the archangel arrest the Devil and lock him up in the pit of darkness and despair. What will be done with his millions of cohorts? We can judge only by inference. We want to stay close to the inspired record; of one thing, however, we are confident: the footstool of God will be absolutely cleared of Devil and demons; "that they shall deceive the nations no more."

The prophetic picture of the divine court proceedings is very specific: we have the exact length of the prison sentence--_one thousand years_. When we remember the crimes, unnumbered crimes, the sentence seems to be an example of court leniency. But this is only a "binding over," as it were, to the real trial and judgment yet to come. This will be temporary imprisonment; but oh, it will be such a glad, happy day. The vision of Isaiah, thirty-fifth chapter, will be literally fulfilled. The sceptre so long in the hand of a traitor--usurper--will pass into the hand of the Prince of Peace. Yes, we will strengthen our weak hands and confirm our feeble knees--Satan at last locked up. We shall witness with joy unspeakable and full of glory--"the Restoration of All Things." "And the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Thank God forever.

XXXIV

THE FINAL CONSUMMATION

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be
tormented day and night forever and ever."--_Revelation xx. 10._

After the long term of imprisonment shall have ended, we are told that Satan shall be loosed out of his prison for a season. This is difficult to explain; but we do not presume to question the administration of God's government: "Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Satan, like many other confirmed, apostate criminals, immediately on being released, plunges more deeply into crime than before. The long term of imprisonment and punishment hardens and, if possible, more nearly consumes him with wrath.

At once he launches another world-wide campaign of deception, gathering, rallying, mustering, and drilling his forces: those who by an exercise of free choice, notwithstanding the glorious millennium reign, actually fall away and enlist under the black pirate flag once more. He encompasses the whole face of the earth; like a deposed crown prince, he leads an aggressive warfare to regain the honours and influence which he so long enjoyed on the earth.

Now if the binding of Satan is only a figure of the leavening power of righteousness overpowering the evil--what is the _thing_ which shall be unchained and loosened? Such a contention is as unanswerable as it is untenable. We will repeat once more, with each word underscored: _Good or Evil cannot exist except in a Personality_. The same school of theologians who deny the personality of Satan, many of them, see nothing in the Person of Christ except a _Christ spirit_, inherent good, etc.; all of which is unadulterated infidelity. Just another method of "blasting at the Rock of Ages."

Satan shall be locked in a prison for one thousand years--then he shall be loosed, and every moment of his freedom will be occupied in preparation for the last Armageddon. He does not foresee future events, and it is possible he does not understand this to be his final struggle; otherwise he would be unable to inspire such a following. As we read this brief but vivid picture of the Gog and Magog engagement, the marshalling and shifting for position of Napoleon and Wellington, preparatory to their decisive battle, in comparison to this gathering, will be like a cadet sham engagement. It seems that the lines of fortification will reach out over the entire earth, mobilizing around the Holy City. The saints, also, are gathered into encampment; whether for preparation to meet the forces of Satan, or for protection, the prophecy does not state; but all the powers of light and darkness are brought face to face.

The battle never reaches a real encounter; the impudence and rebellion of the deposed prince and ex-convict arouses the wrath of God as never before. The cup of His indignation is full to the overflowing, and He brings the fearful conflict to a spectacular ending. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was a microscopic event compared with the rain of fire that shall fall in consuming vengeance upon the Devil and his followers, both men and demons. The saints shall be delivered in that awful hour, and this is the last shifting of the scene; the bell will ring, as it were, and the curtain will fall, closing out the long tragic history of the old world.