Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1874-02-19
Religious Department.
yU.NORT4LITI or THE
SOUL.

Saul in trouble goes to the witch.
For sevopal weighty reasons we cam
not believe that III this case the real
samuel was present at all, nor that
any words were uttered by that
prophet.
lst Neither the witch, nor the
devil himself, nor all the devils in
hell pat together, have any power
over the spirits of the blessed, either
to bring them back to earth, or to
disturb their state Of happines.
Nor could any spirit come from
heaven TO earth without Gods COM
Inand OF permission, which we are
sure was not given il this instance,
because;
"a, God had Denounced the prac-
ticc ct all ritchery as wicked and
In1minable; and said: .'Thou shalt
cot suffer a witch to live EX.
-2:lS. 1t was therefore impossi-
bic that God should sanction, by his
own miraculous interposition, a
practice which he had thus de-
u0mccd
81, We fully believe that the ap-
pearauce seen and the voice heard
proceeded either from the devil him.
self pcrsonating Samuel, or else
from some clever accomplice &C
customed to such arts Of deception
We think the latter was the case,
and the deception we think is evil
dent 10 every careful reader, tor,-
the deceiver said II see gods ascend
ing out of the earth" This was a
lie; for the departed spirits of the
good do not go down to the earth,
but ascend to God who gave them.
Zee. I2:1. Saul himself did not
see or hear the apparition, hence he
inquiries from the witch, "What
sarest thou - Bat if Samuel had
come hesvould have presented HIM
self to Ssul, and BOT have spoken to
him through the medium of this vile
woman. But the questions and
answers were all altfully commune
Gated TIN rough the woman. She WAS
the medium" If it be asked, but
now could decGiver, or Satan him
self, speak to Saul SO religiously
cry easily; because the intention
throughout was to deceive. But
how was it that prophecy was ut
tered, and that prophecy fulfilled!
1t was not a prophecy, but only a
guess, uttered like heather oracles,
under preteuce of a prophecy, and
such a guess il was very easy to
form. Samuel the prophet was
dead God had withdrawn from his
people; David himself was jn the
army Of the enemy; Saul, there
aore, had lost his courage as a cap
tain; the people Of Israel were dis
mayed, while their armies were nu-
melpus and clated with hope; and
ii was easy to see THAI III all prob
ibliity Israel would be defeated, and
Saul and his sons perish amid the
general carnage. Is it inquired,
why then did not the narrative staUe
"AAht Ail' W ipit sIiitSL AZ, d itCCtID-
ton! reply, there was no need to
state this, when the deception is so
apparent to any careful reader Of
the Bible, Moreover, OWNERS,
mIgicians, .2strolGers, witches, wiz |
yards. ucei0lnaucers, and enchantels. |
are always denounced III the Bible, |
and are claSsed idolators, liars, de- /
ceiyers, and the enemies Of God |
and therefore, these general DENIM
cations are sufficient to guard us
against supposing that God could
take any part III this transaction,
which was wicked and abominahle |
throughout Yet the record itself
has great value, for it shows Us not ,
only the state OF Saul's heart at that !
awful period; it reveals the misery
and despair consequent on apostacy,
and 1t proves to Us that the ex-
lstcnce OF the soul after death was,
even at that time doctrine believed !
both 10y the monarch and people,
"11d erc't by persons IN the ue,y
t'0rSt class ofsocjcty.
IN our last we referred to the APP
pearance Of Moses and Elijah on
the mount of transformation. DR..
Cooke says: "The reason why
Moses and Elias were choon to be
with Christ at his trans guration
must he sought for chiei J il the
reason Of the TRANSPORTATION itself.
Why Ola the TRANSPORTATION take
place at a. 1t was to glolify
4 --1.i--t 81 = .-.... :. 49,. IL