ciass^S EmhL Book i-7 Copyright N°_ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. * STEPHEN TRACHT A Follower of GOD JEHOVAH Zj^^^^t' (^/S)a:eAfc~~ JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS BY STEPHEN TRACHT Author . Copyrighted 190J W. M. Bayne Printing House 1904 -» " • • • CONGRESS Tw© Copies Received FEB 20 1904 Copyright Entry ci-Aa/ • 3 - / q a 3 ■ CLASS 0~ XXc. Ne. .<1 Col STEPHEN TRACHT A FOLLOWER OF GOD JEHOVAH. . ... ... . Enabled to. talk with many Gods. **•«*• ***Have had various phases of mediumships. A medium when eight years old. WHITHER AM I GOING? 1 8 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord- Isaiah i : 18. yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. St. John 16 : 2. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; II Timothy 4:3, 21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. / Thessalonians 5 : 21 WHITHER AM I GOING? 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. St. John 15 : 2. 7 Behold, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. / John 4 : 7. 17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4 : 17. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. St. John is : 7. WHITHER AM I GOING? 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. St. John 16 : ij. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remem- brance, whatsoever I have said unto you. St. John 14. : 26. 27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. / John 2 : 27. WHITHER AM I GOING? 9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophecy. Acts 21 : p. 6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: / Corinthians 2 : 6. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20: j. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smile all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: 1 atn the Lord. Exodus 12 : 12. WHITHER AM I GOING? 32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. Exodus 23:32. 15 f The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; Deuteronomy 18 : rj. 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in. their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:33-34- WHITHER AM I GOING? 4 And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. St. Mark 9:4. 6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged accord- ing to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. / Peter 4 : 6. 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that belie veth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; St. John 14 : 12. 9 And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees* part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God. Acts 23 ; g. WHITHER AM I GOING? 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil, (he disputed about the body of Moses,) durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. Jude 9. 2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for there- by some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13 : 2. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. Acts 2 : 44, 4j. 28 If Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Acts 20:28. WHITHER AM I GOING? 5 I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he in- terpret, that the church may receive edifying. / Corinthians 14:5. 3 Wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. / Corinthians 12:3. PREFACE. I, being a follower of God Jehovah, am requested to do my duty as well as many others who were before me have done what they were commanded to do. At this age of the world Jehovah wanted some writ- ing to be done : this I have undertaken to do. It is my duty to do all I am able to do, for that is the law of God Jehovah. I shall write a small book in which will be written simply what was, what was prophesied and what is. That which I shall explain is all as brief as I can tell it, yet giving a fair idea to the reader. Therefore, kind reader, should you find anything written in this book that you doubt, or, should you think it is not true, you have the privilege of asking the spirits and see if they will not tell you the same. Re- member this, you must be positive that it is the spirit of the God Jehovah, for there are many lying and deceit- ful spirits. INDEX. The First Six Days I The First Commandment 26 The Fifth Commandment 89 Christ's Sermon on the Mount 105 Communication with Spirits proved by the Bible. . 132 Modern Spiritualism 140 Mediumship of Materialization under the Law of Modern Spiritualism 154 Table-tipping Mediumship under the Law of Mod- ern Spiritualism 166 The Mediumship of Clairvoyance under the Law of Modern Spiritualism 173 Magnetic Healing under the Law of Modern Spir- itualism 184 How to talk with God Jehovah 191 Many Gods 201 CONTENTS OF CHAPTERS. CHAPTER I. THE FIRST SIX DAYS. First Day — Creation of the Great Light. — Second Day — Dividing of the Waters. — Third Day — Creation of this Present Earth. — Fourth Day — Creation of the Sun, Moon and Stars. — Fifth Day — Creation of the Fish of the Sea and the Fowls of the Air. — Concerning Scientific Facts of the Old Heaven. — Sixth Day — Creation of Adam and Eve. — Why Adam and Eve were Created Subject to Sin, and Condemned Because They Sinned. — Fall of Adam and Eve. CHAPTER II. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me. The Covenant with Gods. — Elijah's Contest with God Baal. — Moses' Contest in Egypt. — The Wise Men of Egypt Fail to do the Miracles. — The Three Gods of Egypt.— The Victory of Jehovah over the Three Egyptian Gods. — Covenants with Other Gods Forbidden ey Jehovah. — Executing Judgments Against the Gods of Egypt. — Sam- son's Trouble with God Dagon. — Daniel and King Darius. — Daniel Cast Into the Lions' Den. — Daniel Interprets the Hand-writing on the Wall. — Jehovah Orders the Im- ages to be Hewn Down. — Why Some Preachers Preach That There is But One God. — Advice to False Teachers. JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS — Existence of Anti-Christs. — Jehovah Warning His Prophet. CHAPTER III. THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. Thou shalt not kill. Origination of the Different Ideas About the Fifth Commandment. — The Only People Who Keep t v he Com- mandment. — Idol Worshipers. — Moses Killed a Man. — Many Gods in Egypt. — Moses Ordering Every Man to Kill His Own Brother. — David Killing the Messenger. — The Killing of the Messenger From a Worldly Viewpoint. — The Killing of the Messenger fro^ the Viewpoint of Spiritual Knowledge. — Elijah Killing the Prophets of Baal. CHAPTER IV. CHRIST'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT. The Two Kinds of Knowledge. — Laws of the God Jeho- vah. — Preparing for the Morrow. — The Teaching of the Spirit. CHAPTER V. COMMUNICATION WITH SPIRITS PROVED BY THE BIBLE Transfiguration of Christ. — What is Modern Spiritual- ism. — Preaching to the Spirits in Prison. — Hiring of the Minister. — Preaching to the Dead. JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS CHAPTER VI. MODERN SPIRITUALISM. The Free Spirits Allowed to Materialize. — The Orig- ination of the Indian. — Abraham Sending Hagar Into the Wilderness. — The Indian's Authorities. — The Gentile's Day Closing. — The Indian's Day Beginning. — The Indian's Day in the Spirit Land. — Where Spirits Get Their Strength. — Origination of the Different Doctrines. — The Woman's Day Coming. CHAPTER VII. MEDIUMSHIP OF MATERIALIZATION UNDER THE LAW OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM. What Can be Seen with the Physical and What With the Spiritual Eye. — Sitting for Medium ship. — Cabinet Un- necessary. — Trance not Necessary. — Lies From the Spirit Land. — Manifestations From the Cabinet. — How to Handle a. Materializing Medium. CHAPTER VIII. TABLE-TIPPING MEDIUMSHIP UNDER THE LAW OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM. Impressing the Medium. — The Raps for the Answers. — How to Handle a Table-tipping Medium. JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS CHAPTER IX. THE MEDIUMSHIP OF CLAIRVOYANCE UNDER THE LAW OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM. The Knowledge Required to Have the One Medium ship Complete. — Advice to a Clairvoyant Medium. — Where the Spirits Exist. — The Change of Medium ship. — A Develop- ing Medium. — How to Handle a Clairvoyant Medium. CHAPTER X. MAGNETIC HEALING UNDER THE LAW OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM. Various Laws of Healing. — Healing of Nervous Dis- eases. — How to Become a Healer Under the Law of Mod- ern Spiritualism. — Everything Which Exists Within the Seven Spheres Has its Law. — How to Handle a Healer Under the Law of Modern Spiritualism. CHAPTER XI. HOW TO COMMUNE WITH GOD JEHOVAH. War Among the Spirits. — Who Wrote the Christian Bible. — Giving up the Worldly Treasures. — Free Men. — Free Spirits. — The Teaching of Christ. CHAPTER XII. MANY GODS. Different Gods Sending Different Christs. — The Gods Using Each Other's Works. CHAPTER I. THE FIRST SIX DAYS. FIRST DAY — CREATION OF THE GREAT LIGHT. According to Gen. i : 1-5 — TN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light : and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night: and the evening and the morning were the first day. Gen. 1 : 1 — TN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. This is a passage of Scripture which is difficult to understand. What was the beginning? Or, when was the beginning ? What existed when the beginning took place? There are very many different ideas as to how this 2 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODb universe might have come into existence. Which should be said, did it come into existence, or, was it in existence ? Here are some ideas of the educated people of this world's knowledge only (for there are two kinds of knowledge), as to how this universe might have come into existence. They suppose that at one time the uni- verse was all gas, and this gas, finally taking fire, ex- ploded. Then, from the quickness of the explosion, the universe was jerked with such force that it was put into motion. The world having thus been put into motion, it being but a melted mass, kept changing from one condition to another, until finally it became a ball which is sup- posed to have been the sun. Likewise the sun, being in motion, and also being a melted mass, in time threw off pieces which flew a certain distance and they too revolved. Piece after piece having thus flown off, they were supposed to be the planets. This earth, supposed to be one of the pieces which flew off, finally grew cool, after which moss began to THE FIRST SIX DAYS 3 grow, then insects, until animals appeared, and finally man sprung up. Furthermore, the ideas of other individuals are, that these planets feed on one another, just as the rabbit eats and lives on clover, corn, cabbage, and the wild cat eats the rabbit, etc. So one thing feeds upon the other, until they all have gone their rounds. Some put forth an idea which is most readily seen in the following illustration. Think of a horse in- fested with lice. There are very many lice on that one horse, and these lice are at their homes. A great many horses on the earth, and these horses are at their homes. A great many earths revolving around the sun, and the earths are at their homes. Very many suns revolving around one great sun, and they all are at their homes, etc. So each sun has its earth, each earth has its horses, each horse has its lice, each louse has its vermin, etc. These are the ideas some people have about this universe. A man who has the spiritual knowledge understands it differently. It is not necessary for me to treat any further on the ideas of worldly people, so I will again resume my discussion. 4 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS The time that expired during the first day, or, called the first period of time, I do not know. Scripture says, "the evening and the morning were the first day." Why not say, morning and evening were the first day ? Let us try to make this thought more clear. At that time there was no change of which we might grasp any knowledge. Of course there were changes that might be called days. Moses was not told to write anything about those changes, so he named it all one day. I am certain Moses did not write all he knew, thus I dare not write all I know. Nevertheless, compared with what may be learned of the spiritual knowledge, I know but little. After speaking the light into existence, God, divid- ing this light from the darkness, caused it to disappear from oar sight. The reason I say "our" sight, is, be- cause it was made for us, although Adam was not yet created. Jehovah had already intended to make man, for there had been a rebellion in heaven, somewhere in the space where the spirits stayed at that time. There was a group of angels, the exact number of which I do not know, that had banded together and rebelled THE FIRST SIX DAYS 5 against Jehovah. One, being the leader, is called Devil, Abaddon, Apollyon, Beelzebub, Belial or Satan, and all those who followed him were also called devils. Those who rebelled, or, the so-called devils, were cast into a certain place and a mark put upon them. The reader may wonder what I mean by this mark. There are different kinds of marks. This mark was a condition, or, it may be called an influence. In talking with the spirits I often know them by their influence or condition that they bring with them. SECOND DAY — DIVIDING OF THE WATERS. Gen. i : 6-8 — 6 1f And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters : and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament : and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven : and the evening and the morning were the second day. The firmament which God created the second day and called heaven, is a different heaven from the one that was created the first day. The heaven which was made the second day, was created in the space where 6 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS Satan and his followers now stay. It had a boundary line, within which all those who had that one certain mark (influence or condition) put upon them, were put without any way of escape. These were called Devils, for they were the ones who rebelled against Jehovah. A word to the reader: Do not condemn this book before you have read it and given it a thorough inves- tigation. "Do not hang a man before you have given him a fair trial." Gen. i : 7 — 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament : This firmament which was created the second day, divided the waters only into two parts. That which it divided on the second day was called "waters," and is the same as that which was called the earth which was created the first day. On the second day there was no earth created, but simply a firmament which divided the earth, also called waters, which was created the first day. The God of Israel divided the earth into two parts only, placing the firmanent between them; THE FIRST SIX DAYS 7 this composed the second day's (second period of time) work. Thus we have two earths and two heavens; starting at the bottom of the ladder to climb up. THIRD DAY — CREATION OF THIS PRESENT EARTH. Gen. i :9-i3 — 9 fl And God said, let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas; and God saw that it was good. ii And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yield- ing seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind : and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day. On the third day, God created the earth which we stand on out of one part of the waters that were di- vided by the firmament the second day. Gen. 1 : 12 — 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb 8 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: To give the reader some idea of how long those days were we will take a matured tree whose seed begins to grow and the seed again having seed, etc. Not mentioning the time that expired when the waters were gathered together for the dry larld to appear, those days were a period of time, not only twenty- four hours. I trust that the reader will understand that some of the ancient people knew something about planets, al- though they had no instruments to look through. It is often said that planets were discovered only in re- cent years, but Moses surely deserves some credit, for he surely must have known something about planets before he could write about them. The earth on which we live, and all the planets and the stars which the astronomers see, were created out of one part of the waters which were divided by the firmament the second day. The other part of the waters can not be seen at the present time. Very often the followers of the God of Israel are called "fools" by the worldly people as well ls by oth- THE FIRST SIX DAYS 9 er gods. Some readers of this book may think Moses to have been a fool, and, perchance, have the same opinion of the author. When talking with the spirits of God Jehovah con- cerning the earths, the one which we stand on is called the finished earth, while the one (also called waters) which we cannot see is named the unfinished earth. For the benefit of those who have the worldly knowl- edge only (there are two kinds of knowledge) I will explain in a later chapter my statement regarding the spirits of God Jehovah, as well as these two kinds of knowledge. For the present, allow me to remind you that there are many Gods, and each God has his own band of spirits. The earth brought forth grass and herbs. How could these things grow without the sun which had not yet been created ? There was a light, called "the great light/' created the first day, which gave light to this earth at that time, and which made its round in one of those periods of time, called days. FOURTH DAY — CREATION OF THE SUN, MOON AND STARS. Gen. I : 14-19 — 14 ft And God said, Let there be lights in the IO JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day, and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. On the fourth day God created the sun, moon and stars. The light of this sun is the light which we now see, and it somewhat resembles the light which was created the first day. It differs slightly for this reason, it is in a heaven that differs from the first heaven ; for this heaven, light, earth, moon and stars were created for a special purpose; it was to pen in those who re- belled against the God of Israel during the time of war in heaven ; a time which Moses called "first day," also known as the first period of time. These rebellious THE FIRST SIX DAYS II ones were put in here with the mark upon them which binds them. After the light had been created on the fourth day, the light that was created the first day disappeared from our sight because of the gulf which was put be- tween us. The "great light" that was created during the first day, gave light so that all things then existing on the earth might grow. But the sun, having been created on the fourth day, gave light, while the other light disappeared because of the gulf. If we had a telescope with a lense so strong as to enable us to read a daily paper at a distance from this earth to the moon, it would be utterly impossible to ob- tain the least glimpse of that "great light" which was created the first day. It is so obscure. The sun, moon, stars and planets, as well as every- thing that revolves, that which the astronomers see, and that which they can not see, all these the spirits of the God of Israel call the "old heaven." All that floats in this heaven was only a part of the waters ; the other part of the waters which the firmament divided and was created the second day, the spirits of the God Je- hovah call the "unfinished earth," which can not be seen because of the gulf. 12 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS So far we have the old heaven with all that floats within it, including the "small light/' We also have the unfinished earth, or called waters, which includes the great light. The sun which we now behold was created on the fourth day, while the "great" light was finished during the first day. The sun, moon and stars taken together, are called the old heaven, for there is to be a new heaven and a new earth created; A ND I saw a new heaven and a new earth : for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away: and there was no more sea. Rev. 21 : 1. Whether that is finished or not, I cannot say. The old heaven keeps within itself a part of the waters which were divided by the firmament the sec- ond day. This includes all that is visible, such as the sun, moon, stars, etc. The light of the sun had no distinct effect upon the newly created earth, for it continued making its proper revolutions every twenty-four hours, just as it had done while under direct control of the first "great" light. THE FIRST SIX DAYS 1 3 FIFTH DAY CREATION OF THE FISH OF THE SEA AND THE FOWLS OF THE AIR. Gen. i : 20-23 — 20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abun- dantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind : and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. In the fifth period of time, God created the fish of the sea and the fowl of the air. Of all that was cre- ated during the fifth day, there is nothing that I will treat of in this book. It was simply a period such as the others. CONCERNING SCIENTIFIC FACTS OF THE OLD HEAVEN. At this age of the world it is often said, that philos- ophers have definite proof that this world has been in existence much longer than the Bible says it has been. A large number of scientific facts have been gath- 14 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS ered by scientists, showing that even this very earth of ours, the youngest of the planets, is at least several hundred thousand years old. Therefore, according to this report, our earth is the last planet to have come into existence. But according to the report of the God Jehovah, this cannot be true, that is, if we reckon from the time the waters were divided by the firma- ment. Now let us go back just a step further and look at it from another standpoint. Before the earth (or called waters) was divided by the firmament, our earth as well as the planets, sun, moon and stars were counted as one. Thus we cannot say that our earth is the youngest of the planets. After the rebellion which took place in heaven, Jehovah divided the waters and placed a firmament between them. The one part of this division was put in working order within what is called the old heaven. Now, if we would consider its birth as far back as the old heaven, then our earth would be the oldest. Rightly speaking, this world is no older than the other planets, but it was the first planet that was put in working order. THE FIRST SIX DAYS 1 5 It is also stated, that near New Orleans four growths of Cypress trees have been discovered far below the surface of the earth ; one growth situated above anoth- er, and these successive growths having occupied a period of at least one hundred and fifty thousand years. However, the Bible gives evidence of this earth having been created about six thousand years ago. I will try to make this clear to the reader. Let us then say, that those newly discovered growths of Cy- press trees are there, and that it took them about one hundred and fifty thousand years to grow. Bear this in mind, dear reader, that the first six days were six periods of time, not twenty-four hours each. Remem- ber, the trees were created on the third day. Now think of the time that expired in the third day only. The trees grew, and their seed in successive growths sprung up perhaps a thousand times before the third day was ended. During the third day alone, four growths of these mighty trees might have grown up, and in time been swept down and entirely covered, giving another growth the condition to appear. A little Scripture may be of some importance. 1 6 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS Gen. i : n — n And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. Remember, there are two kinds of knowledge. A man who has not the knowledge to talk with God Je- hovah, cannot comprehend the vast space of time that expired in the first six days. The days at that time were as long as it took the light which was created the first day to make one round. The scientists further state, that the fish of the sea were in existence long before the fowls of the air, and that God created them all in one day. I will admit that; but allow me to again call your attention to the fact that the fifth day was as long as any of the rest, therefore, the fish of the sea may have been in exist- ence thousands of years before the fowls of the air were created. Gen. i : 20 — 20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abun- dantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. THE FIRST SIX DAYS ■ -J 7 When I speak of years in this connection, I mean the space of time which we call a year at the present time. When I say, "the first six days," I do not mean a length of time such as we understand it now. A day means a change. When our earth revolves once, we call that a day. When the light that was created the first day made one round, it was called one day. There are other arguments which the worldly people put forth against the works of Jehovah ; such as figures of time that are pressed upon some slab or brick, show- ing that people inhabited this earth over six thousand years ago ; and various other arguments too numerous to mention. SIXTH DAY — CREATION OF ADAM AND EVE. Gen. 1 : 24-3 1 — 24 ft And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind : and God saw that it was good. 26 H And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness : and let them have dominion. I$- JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS oyer the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 j[ And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb Bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, / have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. During the sixth period of time, God Jehovah cre- ated Adam and Eve, also the beasts of the field, the cattle and all creeping things. Of all that was created in the sixth day, I will discuss nothing but the creation of man, which followed that of the animals and creep- ing things. THE FIRST SIX DAYS 19 Think of the time that expired before Adam had been created. But after he had been created he was allowed to name all the beasts and the fowl that God had made. While thus engaged, he perceived that there were male and female of every living thing but man. Gen. 2 : 20 — 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field ; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. Having completed his task of naming that part of God's creation, Adam was put to sleep, and out of one of his ribs God made him a wife. All this came to pass during the sixth period of time. WHY ADAM AND EVE WERE CREATED SUBJECT TO SIN, THEN CONDEMNED BECAUSE THEY YIELDED. In the second chapter of Genesis, Moses tells about the creation of this first man, Adam, called our earthly father. But let us also understand that Adam was created for the sole purpose of dwelling here on this little earth among those rebellious spirits who had been cast into this heaven in which we live, and who were but a part of the vast host of spirits and angels that existed before the creation of man. 20 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS There were created male and female of every living thing that lived upon this earth, save human-kind, of whom there was only the one. Why was a help- mate not created at once for Adam just as for all other living things? Various ideas arise concerning this matter. Gen. 2 : 20 — 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. This passage shows that Adam named the beasts of the fields, etc., giving us to understand that great honor was bestowed upon him by being privileged to perform this great work. Not for honor alone was this done, but also to educate Adam, for he was to live on this earth among all the spirits, called Devils, that had re- belled against God Jehovah. In order that He might make himself well known to Adam after having cre- ated him, Jehovah did not immediately give him a wife, but, putting him into a deep sleep, He took one of Adam's ribs and created for him a wife. This He did so Adam might know that He was the God who made him, for Adam and his seed were to live on the THE FIRST SIX DAYS 21 earth which floats in the old heaven, where Satan dwells. Gen. 2 \ 21-2.2 — 21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept : and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. This was all done to educate Adam that Jehovah was the God who created him. It was not that God did not know that Adam must have a mate as well as all other living beings, but rather to make him under- stand that Jehovah is above all other Gods. Adam was put on this earth to vex some other God ; for Jehovah had cast Satan and his followers into this heaven in which we now live. Therefore, Adam was created subject to sin, and eventually condemned be- cause he sinned. If Adam had been created so that he could not have sinned, it would not have grieved the Devil, for then he could not have caused Adam to fall. FALL OF ADAM AND EVE. Gen. 2:8-9; 16-17 — 8 \ And the Lord God planted a garden eastward 22 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, say- ing, Of every tree of the garden thou mayst freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Jehovah gave Adam the privilege to sin. But how pleased He was to know that Adam obeyed him by not eating the fruits of that certain tree. This obedience on Adam's part was provoking to Satan, who at once contrived a scheme to cause his victim to fall, which he finally brought about. Nevertheless, although Adam had entered a new sphere of thought and knowl- edge after his fall, yet his loss was far greater than his gain, for he was bereft of his spiritual knowledge which is greater than all. When the knowledge of Satan entered the heart of Adam and Eve, they were ashamed of each other. Be- fore they had sinned they were both naked, yet they had no shame. THE FIRST SIX DAYS 23 The condition that existed prior to the fall, might be better understood in the following illustration, A gar- den was made, around which a fence had been built. A man, who was stationed in the garden, was told by the master of the garden to go in and out all the gates which had been placed at intervals, except one. It would be the man's desire to go through that one particular gate ; and, satisfying that desire, he ventured to use the forbidden pass-way, thereby greatly provok- ing his master. Now, if the master had told the servant that he might go in and out any gate whatever, there would have been no chance to disobey, and, being forever faithful to his master, he would provoke some servant who had disobeyed in one way or another. Adam was placed in the garden to obey the God who put him there for the purpose of provoking Satan. Therefore, in order to vex the Devil, God Jehovah had to create Adam subject to sin so that he might sin if he so desired. If Jehovah had not created Adam and Eve under those conditions, it would never have pro- voked Satan; consequently, the saying would have been, "you have not created them subject to sin, how 24 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS could .they , do otherwise but obey your word?" Satan, being enraged with jealousy upon seeing. Adam and his wife obey their God, prepared for their downfall. This was entirely unexpected by Jehovah, and He at once used such influence and power as to overcome the wisdom of Satan. This earth on which we stand, as well as the sun, the moon, the stars; likewise Adam and all that was cre- ated in the old heaven during the first six days, were all placed in this universe to provoke Satan and his followers. A large number of the planets, stars, etc., were cre- ated for a sort of reserve power; that is, if Adam should fall, they were to be used to fulfil God's plans. It was the hidden wisdom of God Jehovah which Satan did not know. Some of this wisdom was quoted when Christ was on this earth. All has not yet been told. Jehovah has arranged the world, To the worldly man 'tis strange, The fox-squirrel sleeps in a hollow tree, And the cow sleeps on the range. THE FIRST SIX DAYS 25 The owl sleeps in the bright day-time When the sun is shining bright ; The chicken-hawk in the quiet night, When the moon does show its light. The gray squirrel lives on the prairie And makes his home in the ground ; Other gray squirrels live in the wood And in the hollow tree are found. The monster bird flies in the air, And likewise does the bee; Jehovah's mysteries may be found In all your eye can see. CHAPTER II. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME. When I was a boy, I was educated in the doctrine of the Lutheran church, the adherents of which called it the only true church, and taught that there was but one God. Some years later, I was converted to the God of Israel, called Jehovah. While groping my way in ignorance towards the truth, I learned that there were great many Gods* Exodus 20 : 3 — 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Considering this commandment from a thoughtful standpoint, there surely must be other Gods. If there had been but one God, there would have been no need of making a law which forbade the people of Israel to worship other Gods. Why make a law for something which does not exist? To illustrate what I mean: if the state of Ohio were to pass a law forbidding men to kill fish with dynamite, when in fact there were no fish to kill, would you not consider it mere folly? THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 2*J Then, would you say such a one is wise, who would create a law against that which does not, perhaps never will, exist? Or would any man tell his child not to fall into a hole in the field, if in truth, there were none such in which the child might fall? Some church people whom I have met, told me that there is but one God. They said that when God gave the commandment, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20 : 3. those Gods meant idols, as, a God of gold, a God of silver, or a God of wood, which were all made by man. Any one teaching such a doctrine as this surely cannot be teaching the doctrine of Christ which is the law of the God of Israel. THE COVENANT WITH GODS. Exodus 23 : 32 — 32 Thou shait make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. It is very reasonable that God Jehovah should for- bid his people to make a covenant with the people of 28 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS some other nations; some one with whom they could reason. He therefore used these words, Thou shalt make no covenant with them. Exodus 23 :32 ; meaning the people. That is, they should make no covenant with mortal beings like them- selves; such with whom they could talk and reason; some one who had knowledge; a human being. In order to give the reader a clearer understanding, I will enlarge upon the thought. When the God of Israel said: Thou shalt make no covenant with them. Exodus 23 : 32. he also added, nor with their gods. Exodus 23 : 32. Now, if He meant the Gods of wood, or the Gods of gold, and did not mean the living Gods, allow me to ask, is it possible for any intelligent being to make a covenant with a piece of wood or a lump of gold? How dare a man boldly declare that he is teaching the word of Israel, yet teach that there is but one God. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 29 READER, THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK. If the teacher were honest enough to admit that his people had hired him to say things to please them, and, if he failed to do this he would lose his position, then I would say, that that man is honest in performing his duty. But when he says that he is teaching the gospel of Jehovah, and at the same time teaches that there is but one God, I say that he is teaching falsely, and is not telling the truth. Elijah's contest with god baal. While I am trying to make plain to the reader that there are many Gods, allow me to refer you to I Kings 18:21— 21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. Elijah, when he expressed himself in these words, if the Lord be God, follow him: surely meant Jehovah ; and likewise when he said, but if Baal, then follow him. dare we suppose, with reasonable intelligence, that he meant an idol of gold or silver? 30 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS I Kings 18:26— 26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that an- swered. In this conflict which took place between the two Gods during the time of Elijah, Baal's prophets prayed for fire to fall from heaven to consume their offering. While they thus called unto Baal to hear them, did they look for the idol to bring fire, or did they expect that a living God would give them their request ? They cried O Baal hear us. I Kings 18 : 26. The writer also says, But there ivas no voice, nor any that answered. I Kings 18:26. According to this passage of Scripture, Baal must have been in the habit of speaking to his people at times, as well as Jehovah must have conversed with his followers ever and anon. The prohpets thought, if Baal could not send fire, they at least would hear THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 31 some voice; and surely, they did not expect the idol to speak, no more than they expected the idol to send fire. Yet the prophets of Baal must have talked with their God, for why should they have such confidence in him regarding the sending of fire ? The God Baal, undoubtedly, comforted his prophets at times in the way of healing, prophesying or telling of future events, otherwise they would not have with- stood Elijah in that great contest. After the prophets of Baal had waited until noon- time for fire, Elijah mocked them and said : Cry loud: for he is a god; cither he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. I Kings 18 : 27. Thus Elijah, using these words, For he is a god : proved that he knew something about the other Gods. He was aware that Jehovah was not the only God that existed. There were two Gods in battle, each trying to answer his own people. We also read, 28 And they cried loud, and cut themselves after 32 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS their manner, with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. I Kings 18 : 28. According to this verse the God Baal required of his people to cut themselves with knives and lancets be- fore he would answer their prayers, especially during such a critical moment as this must have been. Ac- cording to the reading, Elijah was the follower of Jehovah, while the other prophets were the followers of Baal. When a man of this earth attains the knowledge of talking with the Gods, it is then easy for him to be- lieve. But as long as a man has not that knowledge, it seems almost impossible to have any belief whatever. The laws which these different Gods have, and the different conditions it requires to talk with them, will not be entirely discussed in this book. In order to enlighten the reader as to the different Gods, let us consider the story of Moses and King Pharaoh. MOSES' CONTEST IN EGYPT. Exodus 7:8-12 — 8 ft And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 33 9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you : then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. 10 ft And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and be- fore his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers : now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents : but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. Here is represented the God Jehovah on one side, while the Gods of the wise men of Egypt hold sway on the other. For, notice, when Aaron cast his rod be- fore Pharaoh, it became a serpent. Nevertheless, the Egyptians' rods also were transferred into serpents; plainly showing that there were two Gods in the con- test, each assisting his own people. Exodus 7: 12 — but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. Evidently, one God was more powerful than the other. Exodus 7: 15-22 — 15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he 34 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS goeth out unto the water ; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent thou shalt take in thine hand. 16 And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilder- ness : and behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. 17 Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I dm the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in my hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. 18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river. 19 fl And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone. 20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord com- manded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned into blood. 21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 35 22 And th magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments : and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them ; as the Lord had said. The second miracle performed by Jehovah through Moses, was the turning of the waters of the rivers of Egypt into blood. Not knowing the names of the Gods whom the Egyptian magicians followed, we will simply call them the Egyptian Gods. Talking with a God who said he had been in that conflict, I was informed that there were three Gods, each of whom had a great many followers in Egypt from whence Moses led the children of Israel. Jehovah allowed the Gods of Egypt to perform the same miracles through their followers, as He did through Moses. Jehovah said : but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. Exodus 4: 21. Thus, by permitting the magicians, for a time, to equal Moses, Pharaoh's heart would surely be hard- ened. 36 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS Exodus 8: 1-7 — A ND the Lord spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs : 3 And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bed-chamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading troughs: 4 And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants. 5 fl And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. 6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. 7 And the magicians did so with their enchant- ments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. Again Jehovah exhibits his power and might through his servants Moses and Aaron, and again the offending Gods show their skill by equaling God in the production. Seeing the wise men and magicians of Egypt thus withstanding Moses and his God, Pharaoh naturally would think it absurd to harken unto other THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 37 Gods, when his own people had performed the same wonders as Moses did. When Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's heart, it was not as many people think. For instance, you were play- ing a game of checkers with some one whom you could easily conquer in the play. At first, without his being cognizant of your scheme, you allow him to be the winner of several games, thereby hardening his heart, in other words, puffing him up. Then, after having established confidence in himself, you would be obliged to defeat him in a great many games in order to destroy that stubborn pride. Moses and Aaron, the two servants of Jehovah, stretched out the rod over the rivers and ponds, and frogs came forth. Likewise did the Egyptians. This continual equaling of miracles hardened Pharaoh's heart. THE WISE MEN OF EGYPT FAIL TO DO THE MIRACLES. Exodus 8: 16-19 — 16 fl And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, btretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 38 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS 17 And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 18 And the magicians did so with their enchant- ments to bring forth lice, but they could not ; so there were lice upon man and upon beast. 19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hard- ened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said. Finally Jehovah proves himself God over all. Moses and Aaron smite the dust of the land and it becomes lice. The magicians try the same, but fail. They then confess that it is the finger of God. But which God ? The writer did not say which God's finger was meant; he simply states, "the finger of God." I suppose, dear reader, it is hard for you to believe many of these historic mystic tales; nevertheless they are true. I fully believe that at one time there was a civil war in America, between the North and South; Although I was born some years after the struggle, yet I believe that there was such a war. I can talk with men on earth, who say they fought in that war. I can talk with the colored man who was freed from THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 39 the bondage of slavery, and I have no reason whatever to doubt historic statements or say they are untrue. When a man who has the knowledge to talk with those spirits that performed wonders at that time, is able to converse with the Gods whom the ancient peo- ple followed, it is then just as easy for him to believe that those miracles were performed, as it is to believe that there was a war between the North and South. * The laws which are required to talk with those spir- its will not be discussed wholly in this book. Exodus 8 : 20-25 — 20 fl And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 21 Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of Hies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of Hies, and also the ground whereon they are. 22 And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of Hies. shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. 40 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS 23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people : tomorrow shall this sign be. 24 And the Lord did so; and there came a griev- ous swarm of Hies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of Hies, 2$ 1f And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. After the Lord God had caused the swarms of flies to come into the land, Pharaoh said Go ye, sacrifice to your God. Exodus 8:25, showing that the King knew that there were other Gods. Pharaoh must have either known previously that there were other Gods, or, he was now compelled to believe it through these miracles which Moses and Aaron performed. Perhaps he had been educated that there was a God who was wiser than the Gods of his magicians. Reader, bear this in mind, there are two kinds of knowledge. These stories seem strange to a man who has but the worldly knowledge. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 41 There is also a spiritual knowledge which will be partly explained in a later chapter. Exodus 9: 1-7 — HPHEN the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, 3 Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep : there shall be a very grievous murrain. 4 And the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt : and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel. 5 And the Lord appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the Lord shall do this thing in the land. 6 And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. 7 And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. In this trial which Moses had with Pharaoh, we are not told that the Egyptian God could not have per- formed the same miracles. Of course, the Egyptian 42 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS magicians could not have killed their own cattle, for Jehovah had already done that; and if they did try to kill the Israelites' cattle, they certainly must have failed to accomplish it. Oftentimes it has happened to me that people of the worldly knowledge have said while we were disputing about the Scripture, that Jehovah was unreasonable in killing all the cattle of the Egyptians. But to my mind it is clear, that He did this merely to educate Pharaoh that He was God above all other Gods. Exodus 9 : 8-17 — 8 fl And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharoah. 9 And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. 10 And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 43 12 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken unto Moses. 13 ff And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou may est know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. 16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. 17 As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? Jehovah called it just and right to abase Pharaoh and cause all these plagues to come upon him, for Jehovah had prospered him and his land through his servant Joseph. (Joseph's father was named Jacob, also called Israel.) If you read the life of Joseph as it is recorded in the book of Genesis 37, you will find that he was sold by his brethren to a band of Egyptians. This Joseph was the servant of Jehovah. Having been 44 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS sold into Egypt, his experiences in a strange land soon began. A married woman, having fallen in love with him and his failure to comply with her request, was the cause of his being put into prison. For, remem- ber, Joseph was unjustly taken prisoner. But condi- tions were soon to assume a different aspect. Two of the unfortunates who were sharing Joseph's fate had each dreamed a dream which Joseph was called upon to interpret. All things came to pass as he had fore- told. Soon after this incident, the king of Egypt had a dream which no one but Joseph could explain to him. It was the God Jehovah who was putting Joseph just where he wanted him to be. The interpretation was, seven years of plenty, then seven years of famine, dur- ing which periods Joseph was appointed overseer of all the land of Egypt. During the seven years of plenty, Joseph gathered a great deal of food and stored it away for the seven years of famine. When the lean times came, Joseph sold what he had saved. Thus the God Jehovah ex- alted the king of Egypt through his servant Joseph and by means of the prosperity which the Israelites had established in the land. After Pharaoh's death, an- THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 45 other Egyptian (also named Pharaoh) succeeded him to the throne. This new king did not know Joseph. The king whom the plagues were brought upon was not the king who lived in Egypt at the time of Joseph. When Jehovah said : And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; Exodus 9 : 16, he spoke as though he were talking to the king in the time of Joseph. The kings were counted as one because they served the same Gods. To interpret this reading more plainly, allow me to use the following version : "For this reason have I brought your Gods up, that I could show my workings in them ;" another rendering may be made to read thus, "for this reason I have used my servant Joseph to help your Gods bring up their nations that I might bring them down again ; to prove to you and your Gods, that there is no other like me, and that I am the God of Gods and Lord of Lords." Jehovah called it right to prosper Pharaoh, and fully as right to bring him down again. 46 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS Exodus 9: 18-35; IO ; I][ ; I2: l "3 2 — 18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. 19 Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. 20 He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: 21 And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field. 22 1f And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land 0/ Egypt. 23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven : and the Lord sent thunder and hail, -and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 47 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. 27 fl" And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. 28 Intreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. 29 And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord's. 30 But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord God. 31 And the flax and the barley was smitten : for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was boiled. 32 But the wheat and the rie were not smitten : for they were not grown up. 33 And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the Lord: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. 3d And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the Lord had spoken by Moses. 48 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS CHAPTER X. A ND the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Phar- aoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him: 2 And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them ; that ye may know how that I am the Lord. 3 And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thy- self before me? let my people go, that they may serve me. 4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: 5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which re- maineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field: 6 And they shall fill thy nouses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh. 7 And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 49 go, that they may serve the Lord their God : knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? 8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh : and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall go? 9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord. 10 And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. 11 Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence 12 fl And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the lo- custs, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. 13 And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.. 14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt; very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. 15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat 50. JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any- green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16 ft Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste ; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only. 18 And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea ; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. 21 f And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be dark- ness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. 22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven ; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days : 2$ They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days : but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24 fl And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord ; only let your flocks and your THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 5 1 herds be stayed : let your little ones also go with you. 25 And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacri- fices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. 26 Our cattle shall also go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither. 27 fl But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. 28 And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die. 29 And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more. CHAP. XI. ^ND the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence : when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence al- together. 2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. 3 And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people. 52 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS 4 And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: 5 And all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-serv- ant that is behind the mill; and all the first-born of beasts. 6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. 7 But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a differ- ence between the Egyptians and Israel. 8 And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. 9 And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you ; that my wonders may be multi- plied in the land of Egypt. io And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land. CHAP. XII. ^ND the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 53 2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months : it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 fl Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house : 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls ; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats : 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month : and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side-posts and on the upper door-post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. io And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. ii ft And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins 54 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. 13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations ; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordi- nance for ever. 15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses : for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. 16 And in the first day there shall be an holy con- vocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. 17 And ye shall observe the feasts of unleavened bread; for in this self-same day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 55 18 If In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. . 19 Seven days shall there be no leaven ' found in your house : for whosoever eateth that which is leav- ened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congre- gation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. 20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habi- tations shall ye eat unleavened bread. 21 1f Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. 22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side-posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side-posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. 24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy* sons for ever. 25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. 26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 56 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS 27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the peo- ple bowed the head and worshipped. 28 And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 29 ff And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the first-born of the captive that zvas in the dungeon; and all the first-born of cattle. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt ; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 31 fl And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel ; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. THE THREE GODS OF EGYPT. While reading the story of the miracles which were performed in the land of Egypt by Moses for Jehovah, we learn that it was the God Jehovah who was fighting against the Egyptian Gods. Three Gods on the oppos- / THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 57 ing side were fighting Jehovah at the time of this great struggle. At one time, Jehovah, through his servant Joseph, led his followers, among whom were Joseph's father and brothers, into Egypt. The Israelites were the follow- ers of the God of Israel, under whom they grew strong, thereby building up a prosperous land for Pharaoh. Jehovah brought success to Pharaoh through his peo- ple Israel. He then brought Pharaoh low through his servant Moses to show to the Gods of Egypt his power and might. THE VICTORY OF JEHOVAH OVER THE THREE EGYPTIAN GODS. The three Gods of Egypt that were in the fight against Jehovah had now retreated, having gained but few followers since the time of their last terrible defeat. The reader may w r onder how I know this. I have talked with these very Gods, and they told it to me. The reader may also like to know how it is possible for me to talk with these Gods. I will say, that anyone may converse with them providing they have the knowledge, and are in the proper condition. There are two kinds 58 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS of knowledge. It is hard to understand for the one having only one knowledge. The different conditions, etc., that it requires to talk with these different Gods, I will partly discuss later on. COVENANTS WITH OTHER GODS FORBIDDEN BY JEHOVAH. Let us again resume the question as to whether there is one or more Gods. When the God Jehovah gave the commandment to his people Israel he said — Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20 : 3. The question now is, did He mean Gods of silver or gold, or Gods of intelligence? We must explain the Scriptures through the Scriptures. Again God gave a commandment, Exodus 23 : 32-33 — 32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me : for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee. Here Israel used such clear language when he said, thou shalt make no covenant with them, that we cannot mistake his meaning. If a man makes a covenant with something, it must be a thing of in- THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 59 telligence. A covenant is an agreement or an under- standing between two or more parties ; something bind- ing. Here the Israelites were forbidden to make a covenant with the other people. But when Jehovah said, Thou shalt make no covenant with them. Exodus 23 : 32. He also added, nor with their gods. Then surely, these Gods that are spoken of here were not Gods of silver or gold. Man cannot make a cove- nant with a piece of wood or stone, nor a lump of gold. The Gods of those people certainly were Gods of intelli- gence. If they were Gods of intelligence, they then comforted their people as well as Jehovah, the God of Israel, comforted his followers. Israel furthermore said — They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee. Exodus 23 : 33. Here again it is stated as plain as words could ex- press : 60 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee. Could God Jehovah have used any language to make it more simple to understand? Could anyone, after having read this book and used good judgment, say that there is but one God, and still profess his belief in the Scriptures that testify of the Christ of the God Je- hovah ? EXECUTING JUDGMENT AGAINST THE GODS OF EGYPT. Exodus 12:12 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. Here the God of Israel is condemning the Gods of Egypt; for, remember, there were very many Gods in Egypt at that time. When the God of Israel said, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judg- ment : would he have been so foolish or ignorant as to execute judgment if those Gods in Egypt had been idols of silver or gold, wood or stone, made by man ? TKE FIRST COMMANDMENT 6l THINK, READER, AND LET REASON BE YOUR GUIDE. If then a minister says he is preaching the gospel of Jesus the Christ and of the God of Israel, and holds there is but one God, can then this passage of Scripture be true, which expressly says, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judg- ment : Exodus 12 : 12. Certainly not. Therefore the ministers and teachers of many religions, teaching that there is but one God, are not teaching the law of Jehovah. I would not say that they are not teaching a doctrine, for they do teach the doctrine of some other God. All Gods comfort their people, but every God is not a saving God. There is in reality only one God who can save you, while any God may comfort you just for the present time. samson's trouble with god dagon. Judges 16:23-24 — 23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 62 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. According to this passage of Scripture, we under- stand that the Philistines had a God named Dagon, for it says for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, Judges 16 : 23. plainly stating that the Philistines worshiped a living God, for they surely would not have believed that an idol of wood or stone could have delivered Samson into their hands. Mark the reading: they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy. To slowly acquaint the reader with the laws of the different Gods, several of them will be spoken of here. The idea of two kinds of knowledge must not be for- gotten, for the Bible is written partly in what is called the worldly knowledge, and partly in the spiritual knowledge. The worldly man cannot understand the Scripture because he has not the spiritual knowledge. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 63 So, dear reader, is this book partly written in the spir- itual knowledge. The law of the God of Israel was, that a sacrifice should be offered upon an altar ; while other Gods de- sired their people to make idols, and there go to wor- ship. For this reason such people were called idol wor- shipers. An idol worshiper means one who follows a God that asks him to go to an idol to worship. Some Gods do not allow their people to make idols. The God Jehovah, as some other Gods, would not allow his followers to make an idol to represent him ; for an idol represents a God just as a flag represents its coun- try. When a man obeys the law of a God, that God will comfort him. DANIEL AND KING DARIUS. Daniel 6:1-28 — TT pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; 2 And over these three presidents ; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. 3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presi- 64 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS dents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. 4 fl Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occa- sion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. 6 Then these presidents and princes assembled to- gether to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. 7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princess, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. 10 fl Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 65 11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity ot Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. 14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him. 15 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor stat- ute which the king establisheth may be changed. 16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. 17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den ; and the king sealed it with his own 66 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. 18 ft Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. 19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. 20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel : and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to de- liver thee from the lions? 21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. 22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions* mouths, that they have not hurt me : forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. 23 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. 24 fl And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all tiieir bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. 25 fl Then king Darius wrote unto all people, na- THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 67 tions, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. 26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he w the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be de- stroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. 2J He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. 28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. I will begin with the sixth chapter of Daniel to up- hold my statement concerning many Gods. In reading the Bible you will find that Daniel is spoken of as one of the captives. He had been captured, notwithstand- ing he belonged to the God of Israel of whom he was a follower. Jehovah performed some of his miracles through Daniel, that He might be exalted in the land. The greater part of the people of that time were serv- ants of other Gods, while some were what are called free men, that is, one who is free to the extent that he does not center his thoughts and belief on any God. A free spirit means a spirit that has passed out of the body and does not hold to any God. A man who does 68 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS not believe that life exists after we pass out of the body, is called an infidel. There are also spirits in the spirit land that are called infidels. When a man is free, the Gods begin to anxiously seek to win him, for they long to have those who are not yet in the circle. The story of the white man and his col- ored servant, discussing the origination of the peculiar feeling which the servant said troubled him, will suffice for an example. While out hunting, the master and his servant spied a flock of ducks on a nearby pond. Shoot- ing into the flock, they killed several, while many were only wounded. In great excitement and joy the colored servant dashed for the dead birds and was about to bring them to his master, when he was suddenly or- dered to stop and follow after the wounded prey. For, said the master, the dead are surely ours, but the wounded that are fluttering about may yet escape. Now, said the servant, I know why I have those peculiar feel- ings at times, and you have not. It is because Satan is working in me, to kill me, while you are already dead. DANIEL CAST INTO THE LIONS' DEN. King Darius was a free man. He did not belong to, or THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 69 obey any God. Daniel was under Darius, and obeyed the law of the God Israel. If King Darius had been controlled by any God, that God would surely have compelled him to make Daniel obey his laws concerning the worship of Gods. Some of the people that belonged to King Darius' kingdom, belonged to other Gods. Yet they knew that if a man intended to follow a certain God, he must obey the laws of that God or be disowned by him. For, notice, they said: We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. Daniel 6:5. We further understand from this verse that they knew that there were a great many Gods : for they said, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. Daniel 6 : 5. They knew that Daniel must obey the law of his God, or his God would disown him. This verse further proves that they also had Gods; they said: concerning the law of his God. putting special emphasis on "his." JO JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS It was a simple matter for anyone at that time to es- tablish a decree forbidding homage to anyone but the king. Thus Daniel was cast into the lions' den for wor- shiping his God instead of praying to Darius who had no God. 7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Daniel 6 : 7. This passage shows plainly that Darius was a free man, for it says: whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, If King Darius had been a follower of some God, they would undoubtedly have said, the laws of their God, or, the laws of our God, and not, thee, O king. The people who were laying this plot were not ig- norant because they went to an idol to worship ; the idol was simply to represent its God. The law of that God THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 71 was, that his people should go before the idol to wor- ship. A decree went forth that every knee should bow to the king for thirty days. They knew that Daniel went to his chamber three times a day to worship. Some of those Gods are very strict, especially in a case such as Daniel's was. Daniel 6:16 — 16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. It is remarkable to see how readily Darius credits reality and power to the God whom Daniel served. Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will de- liver thee. But still he remains a free man without allegiance to any God. Daniel 6 : 20 — 20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel : and the king spake and said to Daniel, 'O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to de- liver thee from the lions? ; ' 72 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS Again Darius is led to proclaim Daniel's God, a liv- ing God. Fearing and trembling he stoops to the mouth of the cave expecting to hear Daniel's voice from within ; thus showing his belief in a God who is able to deliver. His going to the den to inquire as to Daniel's welfare was not a spiritual impulse, it was merely human sympathy. He was not a follower of Daniel's God. In Daniel 6:22, it reads: 22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: Now if there were only one God, why did Daniel say, My God. It was because he knew that there were many Gods, and that his God was using him to educate the rest of the people ; a fact which is plainly shown in the follow- ing verses : 25 ft Then king Darius wrote unto all people, na- tions, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. 26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel : for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 73 and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. Daniel 6 : 25, 26. DANIEL INTERPRETS THE HAND-WRITING ON THE WALL. I will endeavor to further prove, not only the exist- ence of many Gods, but that they are Gods of intelli- gence, and not Gods of wood, iron, stone, gold or silver. The following verse is explained according to the worldly knowledge : Daniel 5 : 23 — 23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them : and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know : and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: Upon first thought, this passage seems to teach that there were only material Gods, such as gold, iron, wood, etc. But let us understand it correctly. This was a conversation which Daniel had with the king after the hand- writing had appeared upon the wall. Darius did not belong to any God ; he was a free man, 74 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS although there were idols in his kingdom. There were other men in his domain, who were servants of some Gods, but Darius was an entirely free man. The God of Israel used Daniel to educate the king. After he saw the hand-writing on the wall, he began to reason and tremble. When all the wise men of the kingdom had been called in, and after having utterly failed to read the writing, Daniel was summoned to appear before the king to interpret, if possible, the meaning of the words on the wall. This, of course, was nothing strange for Daniel to do, for it was the hand-writing of his own God. The other Gods might have written such words as these, providing they would have had the proper condition and acted under their special law. During the conversation, Daniel used these words: and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: Daniel 5 : 23. How could he have used any better language than this to lead Darius towards the spiritual knowledge, for Darius did not belong to any God, although it says : THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 75 and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: He had to praise these material forms simply to please the people of his kingdom, for they were, what are called, idol worshipers, in other words, they prayed to Gods who demanded of them to go to some material form to perform their ceremonies. After the hand-writing had been seen on the wall, Daniel was called to read it. The king was very ig- norant regarding the laws of the Gods, therefore Dan- iel was obliged to use such language as he did. But later on, when the king became educated and the plot had been laid against Daniel that he should be cast into the lions' den, the king said: Thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will de- liver thee. Daniel 6 : 16. In the early morning the king hastened to the den and called for Daniel, expecting to hear an answer. The king, having grown in knowledge, wrote to all the dif- ferent classes of people in the kingdom and bade them to j6 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS fear before the God of Daniel: Daniel 6:26. The conversation between Daniel and the king dur- ing the time the hand-writing was visible on the wall, was recorded ; but the discussion which occurred after the writing, and after the king had become better edu- cated, was not written. Upon such arguments as the one which took place between Daniel and the king, the worldly people base their disputations. In truth, they have but the worldly knowledge and with that they hope to make all things clear to their intellect. Further- more, they assume that the Bible contradicts itself, and for that reason they find it impossible to establish their belief upon anything which it teaches. There are a number of instances in the Bible where it speaks of idols, as in the book of Daniel. If you wish to fully understand such portions you must obtain the knowl- edge of the God Jehovah, which is called the spiritual knowledge. How to gain that knowledge will be dis- cussed later. That which is called the spiritual knowl- edge belongs to the God Jehovah, to whom all other knowledges are worldly. A man who is in the flesh in earth life and succeeds THE FIRST COMMANDMENT JJ in gaining sufficient knowledge to talk with but one God in the spheres, is said to have the spiritual knowl- edge. When I meet or hear of such a man, I generally say, he has the spiritual knowledge, just as he himself says he has, until he becomes educated. Daniel did the same when he talked with King Darius, and said : and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: Daniel 5 : 23. JEHOVAH ORDERS THE IMAGES TO BE HEWN DOWN. Deut. 12:3 — 3 And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. My assumption that there are other Gods beside the God of Israel, is upheld in the above verse, and they are not idols of wood or stone, but reasonable, intelli- gent Gods, for it says : and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, yS JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS If those images were their Gods, why then should the writer say, hew down the graven images of their gods. Why not say, "hew down their Gods," and not "hew down the images of their Gods ?" It is simple to un- derstand that there must be many Gods, not only one. God Jehovah told Moses what he wished the people to do. Surely, God knew what he was talking about, and Moses spoke to the people just as he had received the! command. When I begin talking with a church member, he gen- erally says, there is but one God. If I ask who taught him thus, or whether he found it in the Bible, he usually answers, "the preacher told me so." What then can we further say, but that the preacher you have hired is preaching to suit you, and if he should not comply with that requirement you discharge him and employ a preacher who will. If your pastor is preaching for money, that has nothing to do with the Bible or the law of the God Jehovah. If he is preaching for what you are paying him, he talks to please you, or loses his position. Remember what the little boy said: "We pay our preacher a thousand dollars a year, and if he THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 79 does not preach to suit us, we will hire one who will." Deut. 12:31 — 31 Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God : for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. Here Moses warns the people of Israel against doing such things to Jehovah as the other people had done to their Gods, saying: for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. and concludes with Thou shalt not do so. Could anyone suppose that those people were so igno- rant as to make their sons and daughters pass through fire for an idol — a piece of stone or wood? Would they have brought such a terrible torture to their chil- dren, if the Gods for whom they were making the of- fering would not have comforted them ? Could an idol bring peace and rest to a troubled soul ? A god can comfort a man through the spirit which that god imparts to him. A Roman Catholic, after 80 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS having confessed his sins to the priest, departs, feeling more consoled. A Reformed church member goes to church but does not confess his sins to the preacher, yet he goes home comforted, just as did the Roman Cath- olic. WHY SOME PREACHERS PREACH THAT THERE IS BUT ONE GOD. The question may here arise, "Why do ministers teach that there is but one God ?" This question must be considered very thoughtfully. Allow me to explain by way of illustration why they do teach thus. For in- stance, you were the father of a family, and you were imposing upon your children. You know that you are not treating them right. Would you say to them that there are other fathers who treated their children bet- ter than you are treating those of your household? Or, would you tell them that you were the best and only good father, and that they should stay forever with you? Perhaps you would threaten them and say, if ever you leave my home you can never come back with- out a due repentance, and by so doing, you would frighten the children into subjection and obedience. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 8l While on the other hand, if you were treating them better than any other father could possibly do, then it would be your pleasure to say, go and try whomso- ever you wish and see if I am not right when I say, I am the best father of all. To me it seems that a minister who is teaching that there is but one God, dares not teach that there are many Gods for fear his people would investigate and become enlightened. A minister who is following Jehovah need not be afraid to teach that there are many Gods, for that is what Jehovah himself teaches. The God Jehovah knows that the more a man investigates and becomes acquainted with other Gods, the sooner will that man be a true follower of Him. For instance, a man owned a factory and employed several hundred men, and would tell his employes that he is showing them more favor than any other employer possibly could. Would it not be to his advantage to have all his men leave his establishment for a time and come in contact with other employers? For, upon their return they would say, surely our master is kinder and better to us than any other master, therefore we will remain with 82 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS him. Can jou see, dear reader, what the employer gained by permitting his servants to investigate? But if, on the contrary, an employer were not treating his men as kind as some other boss, he would not be will- ing to have them work in some other establishment, but would undoubtedly threaten them, that if they ever quit his place of business they would never be rehired. He too well knows, that by going out to in- vestigate, his mean conduct and false pretensions would be brought to light. Thus this employer reaps nothing but shame and disgrace, while the former has a rich harvest of obedient and faithful servants. Can a man say he is following the true God, when, in fact, he is not acquainted with any other God with whom he can make a comparison? Paul says: 21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Thess. 5:21. According to this statement, Paul did not forbid the people to investigate. If a minister is a follower of God Jehovah, why is he afraid to teach the truth? Why does he teach that there is but one God ? THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 83 Is it not that he is afraid his people will investigate and become enlightened, and perhaps leave him? I am a follower of God Jehovah and dare say, that there are many Gods. Paul said : 3 For the time will come when they will not en- dure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears : II Tim. 4:3. Perhaps the preachers can hardly be blamed for preaching that there is but one God. No doubt many of them are aware of the fact that as soon as the people would find the truth, the preacher would lose his control over them. ADVICE TO FALSE TEACHERS. My advice to the one who is a follower of any other God but Jehovah, is, to teach that there is but one God and keep his people in that thought as long as he pos- sibly can ; and should he hear of any one teaching that there are many Gods, he ought to stir up the people of his congregation to kill that teacher as soon as possible. 84 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS In the book of St. John 16:2, we read : yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. EXISTENCE OF ANTI-CHRISTS. II John 1 : 7 — 7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. What is an anti-Christ? Jehovah, having sent his son Jesus Christ into the world to fulfill all that had been foretold of Him, caused the other Gods to trem- ble, for they saw that Jehovah was now gaining many followers, which they tried to counteract by sending out their Christs. Of this, St. John writes: 18 Little children, it is the last time : and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. I John 2: 18. He evidently speaks about the anti-christs that were to come, for the Christ who was sent by Jehovah had foretold the coming of such. St. Matt. 24 : 5— 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and Siiall deceive many. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 85 This passage shows plainly that there are very many Gods. Without a God there could be no Christ. The Christ that was sent by Jehovah, calls the other Christs, "anti-christs," literally meaning, "I am the true Christ, all others are false/ ' or, in other words, "they are Christs of other Gods, and those Gods are false." JEHOVAH WARNING HIS PROPHET. Deut. 18: 15-20 — 15 If The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; 16 According to all that thou desirest of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. 17 And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. 18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 86 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS 20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. Here we find that God Jehovah, while talking with Moses, says: 20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. Deut. 18:20. The prophet spoken of here is the Christ. Is it possi- ble that Jehovah could have been so foolish as to forbid his prophet to speak in the name of other Gods if there were no other Gods in existence? Or, was Jehovah under the impression that the prophet who was spoken of was so ignorant that he would attempt to speak in the name of an idol ? Would you suppose Jehovah to forbid the worshipping of other Gods, or the speaking in the name of other Gods, or forbid mak- ing covenants with other Gods if there were no other Gods in all the universe ? Would these laws have been made against a thing that never existed? If that be true, that these Gods never existed, nor yet exist at the THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 87 present time, then I am ready and willing to give up the argument and ask, do I really exist? Cheer up my friend and do not back slide; Should you want some information, call your spirit guide. Though the worldly people at you do boo-hoo, Remember that Christ was a spiritualist too. There are people who condemn us every day ; They teach that the Bible means not what it does say ; Could I mean you were my wife, if you really were my brother ? Could Christ have said one thing, but rather meant another ? If worldly people say, of you they are ashamed, Remember that they treated Christ the same; If you would take a little time to read the Bible through, You would find that his beloved all were hated too. 88 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS This is not all the story, nor all the song and speech, While traveling through this land, we practice what we preach : We allow the Saviour to lead us by the hand, The law He gave us was to do the Spirit's command. CHAPTER III. THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. THOU SHALT NOT KILL. -f he fifth commandment, as well as the first, is rather a mystery to the worldly people. I will give but very little information about these two commandments, and the remaining eight I will not speak of at all in this book. There are various ideas concerning the. ten com- mandments which are a mystery to the world and noth- ing but a mist in the minds of all, save those who have spiritual knowledge. Before I give any explanations on the second com- mandment I wish to say to the reader, that if there is anything in this book that you cannot clearly under- stand, do not use the argument which they used over eighteen hundred years ago, for I know it is being used at the present time by a great many people who are followers of false Gods. If a follower of Jehovah comes in contact with one of the followers of another 90 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS God, and, during their argument, the latter feels as though he were losing foothold on his side of the dis- cussion, he at once pronounces his opponent insane, or, to use his own phraseology, "that man is crazy." I would say to such an one, that such an argument is well enough, but it is somewhat old, for it was the means of -cowardly defense during Christ's time. Whenever I have invited a follower of another God to a debate, his answer invariably has been, "that man is crazy, pay no heed to what he says." Reader, perhaps you could get a better idea of how little real common sense there is in such an absurd remark as this by going to an insane asylum, and, seeing the patients going about the yard, step up and ask one of them if he is acquainted with the patient over yonder. If he answer yes, then inquire what may be the reason for yonder man's being in such a place as this and see if he will riot say, "that man is crazy." Then ask the patient whom you have halted if he is crazy, and see if he does not say, I am all right, but that fellow is crazy. Now go to yonder patient and ask him the identical question about the fellow you have just questioned, and, un- doubtedly, he will repeat the same story as did the THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT 91 first. Yet they both are patients in the same asylum. The preachers tell me that I am crazy, and their members say the same. Then what more can I say but that they are using the only argument they have, the same as did the people some eighteen hundred years ago. The fifth commandment which the God of Israel gave to the people, is: Thou shalt not kill Exodus 20: 13. The Ammish church understands by this, that we should not kill even during war, and if they were com- pelled to face the enemy, they would walk in the ranks and allow themselves to be shot, but they would not kill a single man. I once asked a leader of this church if he had ever been compelled to go to war. He said that he had not, and that his church never had such conditions to contend with, for there had been no war of such importance as to require any action or dis- cussion along this line since the time of the introduc- tion of that religion in America, nor have they any history which tells of such an incident coming to their church in other countries. 92 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS ORIGINATION OF THE DIFFERENT IDEAS ABOUT THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. As the ideas of the first commandment are many and varied, so are they manifold regarding the fifth com- mandment. The real foundation of the different ideas concerning the fifth commandment, originated from the different Gods. One God tells his people that man should not kill even during war times. Anoth^ God teaches his people that it simply means, that man is not to kill his fellow-man without any cause, thus allowing man to judge whether he is justified in the act or not; that is to say, the Gods make man his own judge. THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO KEEP THE COMMANDMENT. To get the real meaning of the fifth commandment we must find its source, or, whence it originated. It proceeded from the God of Israel. What the other Gods say about this commandment is of no importance whatever. The only interpreter, the only adviser, in fact, the only one who can expound the mystery of the commandment, is the One who gave it. And the only people who can ever keep the commandment ac- cording to its law, are the people of Israel ; that is, the THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT 93 people who hold to the God of Israel, for the com- mandment was given by Him. A worldly man, or, those who belong to other Gods, cannot keep the com- mandment according to its law. IDOL WORSHIPERS. The God of Israel calls all who do not belong to Him, "worldly," and their wisdom He designates as "worldly knowledge" If we go into details regarding the question of worldly people, we find that a free man is one who does not belong to any God ; an idol wor- shiper is one who worships a God who has idols to represent him, and makes his people go before that idol to worship. Those who worship other Gods, bear the name of that special God, while some Gods are influenced to such an extent that they adopt the name of the church. MOSES KILLED A MAN. Exodus 2: 11-12 — ii 1f And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens : and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. 94 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. Moses killed the Egyptian ere God Jehovah had given this fifth commandment. We do not read of Moses ever being condemned for committing this ter- rible deed. He was a chosen man of God Jehovah, who reared him in Egypt and educated him for the purpose of bringing the children of Israel out of that land. There were several Gods working against Je- hovah at that time, but the wisdom of Jehovah so far exceeded their wisdom, that He was enabled to give to Moses the very knowledge he wished him to have. Considering this act of Moses' in the light of justice, we may ask, was it wrong for him to kill that lone Egyptian, when, in fact, the Egyptians had killed all the male children of the Israelites? Moses was not condemned for dealing as he did with his enemy, no more than did the Gods of Egypt condemn their people for killing the male children of the Israelites. MANY GODS IN EGYPT. Of the many broad assertions which will be found in this edition, I shall here state one of them. THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT 95 It must be understood that there were many gods in Egypt during the childhood days of Moses. In fact, the number of these gods is so great, that, in one small village, there were as many as nine to be found. The gods at that age of the world often required of their people that they put their names upon slabs of stone or pieces of wood, which was similar to our custom of placing guide-posts. This was told to me by a class of spirits that never told me a lie. I will not go into any discussion as to the laws which those gods had at that time, nor of the laws which they have at the present time. M©SES ORDERING EVERY MAN TO KILL HIS OWN BROTHER. Exodus 32 : 26, 2*] — 26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. 27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. In this passage, Moses orders each man who is on g6 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS the Lord's side to take his sword and kill his own brother and neighbor. But now Moses had been taught the commandment, Thou shalt not kill. Exodus 20: 13. Many writers have written about the mistakes of Moses, while several books which I have read, speak about this special incident. As I said before, Moses had the commandment, and not more than forty days hence, he ordered those who were on the Lord's side to kill their own brothers, caus- ing about three thousand men to fall by the sword that day. In reading the 27th verse you will find that Moses says, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Exodus 32 : 27. leading us to the thought that possibly God was quite changeable or very unjust, for at one time He gave the commandment, Thou shalt not kill. and now, only forty days afterward, He gives a com- mandment to the same man, Moses, and says: THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT 97 slay every man his brother, and every man his com- panion, and every man his neighbour. Exo. 32 : 2J. An illustration will perhaps make it clearer to the reader. A father sent his son to watch the hogs, that they might not break through the fence. The son, finding it impossible to stop the hogs' persistent efforts to escape, came to his father and complained of their behavior. After having made several complaints, the boy could endure it no longer, and finally threatened to kill the hogs if they did not stop breaking through the fence. The father hearing of his son's intent, said : "My boy, do not kill my cattle, but have patience, per- haps they will soon stop going through the fence." But again the son complains, upon which it dawns upon the father that all that remained to be done, was to kill the hog that ventures through the opening first. The father, thereupon, orders the lad to kill that one which leads the others to go out. At first the boy was commanded not to kill ; the father was the judge. But when he received the command to kill, he obeyed. Therefore the boy was justified in the deed, even though it meant the shedding of blood. 98 . JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS Moses did not sin when he ordered the men who were on the Lord's side "to kill." He had been com- manded to do so. If he had not given the orders just as he received them, he would have sinned against the God of Israel. The commandment, "thou shalt not kill," means just what it says. Jehovah was not making a commandment for him- self ; He made it for the people, for he said : Thou shalt not kill. making it as brief as He possibly could. If the com- mandment had been written, "thou shalt not kill until I command you," the worldly people who have the worldly knowledge would have understood it a little better. The reader may wonder how it is possible for any- one to be "commanded" at this age of the world, or, if it is possible to establish communications with the God of Israel at the present time. There is a way to receive a message, or, so called communication from the God of Israel and also from the other Gods. This I shall discuss later. THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT 99 DAVID KILLING THE MESSENGER. II Samuel 1 : 14-16 — 14 And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? 15 And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. 16 And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord's anointed. THE KILLING OF THE MESSENGER FROM A WORLDLY VIEWPOINT. Let us first consider this passage of Scripture ac- cording to the worldly knowledge and then in the light of the spiritual knowledge. From a worldly standpoint, it was a terrible crime which King David committed in killing that young man who brought him the news that Saul was dead. Surely, the young man thought he was doing David a great favor, for he knew that Saul was an enemy of David, often seeking to take the young ruler's life. This messenger was in the battle with Saul and very near when the conquered monarch tried to kill himself. LcfC. IOO JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS While the helpless king was leaning on his weapon with which he had fought, his weight not being suf- ficient to thrust it through his body, he looked about him, and, seeing the young man near by, commanded him to stand on him and thus cause the deadly weapon to do its ghastly work. In relating the news to David, the young man also added: I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen : II Samuel i : 10. thinking, undoubtedly, that all which he did was just and right. He also brought the crown which the mon- arch had worn, and the bracelets that once adorned his stately arms. After doing all this, David had him killed. For, said he, you have killed the Lord's an- nointed. THE KILLING OF THE MESSENGER FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. I will endeavor to explain to the worldly man the spiritual interpretation of this passage of Scripture. Remember the old saying : "It is hard to talk to a blind man about colors" ; or, to "a deaf man about different THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT IOI sounds." The spirit of the God Jehovah had left Saul. Nevertheless, he had a vast host of followers, which alone brought upon him the greatest honor from the people of his kingdom. David, at this time, had been driven from place to place by the jealous Saul. There- fore, the young messenger undoubtedly preferred to remain with the king upon whom the honor and praise of the world had been bestowed, showing a most nat- ural desire to love the pride of the world more than the honor of God Jehovah. But finally Saul engages in battle with one of his bitterest enemies, the Philistines. During this terrible slaughter Saul's army was utterly destroyed, causing the downfall of king and kingdom. The young messenger now thought, since the king had met his end, the best thing to do was to seek to ob- tain David's favor and good will. This he thought to accomplish by taking the crown from the defeated monarch's head, as w r ell as the bracelets from his arms, and upon his return from war present them to the new king. Having returned home, the young man pre- sented himself to David, and, after casting the treas- ures at his feet, he sought to make excuses for his actions by saying: 102 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS 10 So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen : II Samuel 1 : 10. His object was mainly to deceive David, which, if he had succeeded in doing, would not have been an of- fense against David alone, but also against the God of David, in which case the other Gods would have re- joiced and said, "how easily David and his God were deceived." I have thus discussed the two sides of this question. First, expressing myself as a worldly man would, and then according to the thought of the spiritual man. When I considered the spiritual side, I expressed myself as best I could to the man who has but the worldly knowledge. If I would have had a conversa- tion with a spirit of Jehovah or a man who had the spiritual knowledge, the conversation would have been entirely different. ELIJAH KILLING THE PROPHETS OF BAAL. I Kings 18:40 — 40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal ; let not one of them escape. And they took THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT IO3 them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. In this passage of Scripture we find that Elijah killed the prophets of Baal. Baal was a God, and those prophets whom Elijah killed were Baal's prophets. It was Jehovah himself who, wishing to take revenge, caused Elijah to kill these prophets. I would very much like to present the tw T o side^ of the question, just as I did in King David's case, but will not do so at this time. Perhaps the following will suffice to aid the reader to a better understanding. If you were drifting down a stream in a boat and wished to stop at a cer- tain place to fasten your boat to a stake, it would not make any difference how small that stake would be if only it held your boat. It would not be necessary to employ a hundred stakes if but the one were sufficient to secure your craft. But you would have some ad- vantage if you were permitted to make use of a number of them, for, if a man in another boat should pass, he would take notice of you sooner, and undoubtedly would stop and begin to question you as to your position. 104 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS "Thou shalt not kill," is a hard old pill When the enemy is standing around With gun in hand, waiting command, Ready to shoot you right down. Like hail from the sky, the bullets fly, And riders are prancing around; Then think of your wife and child in life ; Unheeded you fall to the ground. Remember the strife we have in life, While nations rise in war ; Bullets so strange, at fifteen mile range, In torrents down over you pour. Jehovah did hand to Moses the command, My child, "Thou shalt not kill," Tis easily said, soon stored in the head, But difficult to fulfill. CHAPTER IV. Christ's sermon on the mount. According to St. Matthew, chapters 5-7 — CHAP. V. ^ND seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain; and when he was set, his disciples came unto him : 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, say- ing, 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness : for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peace-makers : for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for right- eousness' sake : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 106 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS ii Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven : for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. 13 ff Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the" world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick ; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 17 fl Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one little shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteous- CHRIST S SERMON ON THE MOUNT IO7 ness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21 fl Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire. 23 Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way ; firsf be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the ad- versary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge de- liver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. 27 fl Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery : 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. I0 g JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS 29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee : for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. 33 If Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths : 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all : neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: 35 Nor by the earth ; for it is his footstool : neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King: 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head; because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. 38 fl" Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil; but CHRIST S SERMON ON THE MOUNT IO9 whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee; and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43 ft Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy: 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what re- ward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. CHAP. VI. HPAKE heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. IIO JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS 2 Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth; 4 That thine alms may be in secret : and thy Father, which seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly. 5 ft And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hyprocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet ; and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him. 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven; hallowed be thy name. io Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. II Give us this day our daily bread. CHRIST S SERMON ON THE MOUNT 1 1 1 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive out debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil : For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14 fl For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 16 fi" Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypo- crites, of a sad countenance : for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret : and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 19 fl Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal : 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal : 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 The light of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 112 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness ! 24 ft No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Con- sider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? CHRIST S SERMON ON THE MOUNT II3 2,2 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. CHAPTER VII. JUDGE not, that ye be not judged. ^ 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye ; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. 6 ff Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. 114 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS 7 fl Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? io Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? ii If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? 12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them ; for this is the law and the prophets. 13 ft Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruc- tion, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and- narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 15 fl Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. CHRIST'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT II 5 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 ff Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter unto the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy. name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many, wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you : depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24 fl Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house ; and it fell not : for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand : 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house ; and it fell : and great was the fall of it. 28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine : 29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Il6 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS To enlighten the reader somewhat on the foregoing verses, allow me to say, that some of the passages of Scripture have reference to this world only, while some refer to the new heaven, and others to the old heaven. Some passages are spoken in the spiritual knowledge, while others are in the worldly knowledge. The reader may think my repetition is quite fre- quent, and true it is, I do repeat often ; but, neverthe- less, I think it very essential. Especially so with the statement that there are two kinds of knowledge. Do you know what the two kinds of knowledge are? Do you know what the worldly and what the spiritual knowledge are ? Do you think it absurd because I re- peat some things so often? In reading Scripture you will find that some state- ments are repeated again and again, and yet they re- main to be understood by many. THE TWO KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE. I will explain of what the spiritual knowledge con- sists. If a man possess what is called the spiritual knowledge, he may talk with the spirits of the God Je- hovah, while one who has the worldly knowledge may CHRIST'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT II7 converse with any of the Gods but Jehovah. To Him they have no access. For instance, a man learns to be a blacksmith or a carpenter, or, perhaps studies to be a public-school teacher ; perchance he becomes an astronomer, a lawyer, or a doctor. If he rises to any of these or other professions of this world, he has what we would call a worldly knowledge. Anything which one man is able to teach to another bears this title. Therefore, when I teach you how to talk with the spirits who are within the spheres, including all the Gods as well as the free spirits within the same spheres, it is only the worldly knowledge which you receive. But to gain the spiritual knowledge, that is, talking with the spirits of Jehovah, is something that one man cannot teach another. I know that I have the spiritual knowledge, but I cannot teach it. I can simply tell what to do in order to converse with Him who is able to teach all who are willing. If a man were to ask me to teach him the spiritual knowledge, or, in other words, give him the spiritual knowledge, I would be obliged to frankly say, I can not. But I could possibly instruct him what Il8 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS to do in order to get into communication with the One who "giveth freely." Christ's sermon on the mount can not be thoroughly understood unless you have the spiritual knowledge. There are none of Christ's teachings that are spoken in the spiritual knowledge that can be understood by one who is only worldly minded. Perhaps this illustration would give a better idea to the reader. If a man delivered an oration to an audi- ence, and would speak it half in the- English and half in the German language, and if the audience could understand both English and German, they would re- ceive as much benefit as though it were all spoken in one language; but if the audience could understand but one language, they would not receive much benefit from what had been spoken. Another illustration will perhaps aid the reader to grasp a still better idea. If a man would speak before an audience in one language only, he could say half of his speech in the Spiritual knowledge and half in the worldly knowledge. Then if the audience could under- stand but the one knowledge, they would not receive much benefit of that which was spoken, and yet the CHRIST S SERMON ON THE MOUNT 1 19 speech was spoken all in one language, but in the two kinds of knowledge. Furthermore, if a declamation were recited in three different languages, as, the English, the German and the French. If the worldly man understood these three languages, he then would know what was being said providing it were all spoken in the worldly knowl- edge. But if some parts of the discourse were spoken in the spiritual knowledge, then the worldly man would not receive much benefit therefrom, although he under- stood the worldly part of those three languages. In the foregoing illustrations I have tried to lead the reader to understand that the Spiritual knowledge is not a language, such as Irish, French, Slavish, German, English, or any other language. The Spiritual mean- ing may be expressed in any language. If a man were able to recite a poem in ten different languages, dividing the poem into ten equal parts, and each part were spoken in a different language, he could then again subdivide these parts and speak half in the spiritual and half in the worldly knowledge providing he was educated to that effect. The spiritual knowl- edge is so interwoven with the worldly, that a man 120 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS cannot determine it unless he possesses this knowl- edge. So it is with the man who has but one knowledge ; he can not understand the teachings of Christ, for they are spoken partly in the spiritual and partly in the worldly knowledges. The great mystery of the Bible is, that it is spoken in two kinds of knowledge. For this reason the worldly man can not clearly understand what it teaches. Many a man has studied the Bible all his life and finally pronounced it a mystery. If the Bible were written in the spiritual knowledge only, it would not interest the worldly man at all. Therefore, to win back Adam and Eve, as well as their offspring, which we are, Jehovah had the Bible written in a mysterious way, seeking to interest the worldly man sufficiently to have him discuss such problems as are put forth in its pages. All that I ask of the reader is to give this book a thorough investigation and a fair trial, and as far as possible obey what it says, or, what the Bible says, for they both teach the same, just as the epistle of St. John or any other epistle teaches the same as Christ taught concerning the spiritual knowledge. CHRIST'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT 121 As I have said before, with reference to the passages of Scriptures in Christ's sermon on the mount, some have to do with the new heaven and earth, while others have reference to the old heaven and earth. Then again, some are spoken in the spiritual knowl- edge, and some in the worldly knowledge LAWS OF THE GOD JEHOVAH. Each God has his law, requiring a certain condition before he consents to talk with man. Some of the laws of the God Jehovah are as follows : St. Matt. 5 : 39— 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil : but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. This passage gives an idea of what the worldly man must do in order to talk with the Holy Ghost. If a man should strike you on the one cheek, you must offer the other also ; indicating that man must love his enemies. St. Matt. 5 : 40— 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. This portion of Scripture sets forth the same prin- 122 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS ciple as the above, namely, to love our enemies. The worldly man may think it difficult to love his enemy; but Christ goes still farther in his exhortations, as in St. Matt. 5 : 43~44— 43 11 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. This distinctly tells us that man must love his ene- mies before he is accepted by the God of Israel. It does not mean that man should only pretend to love his enemy. It is an emphatic statement — "love your enemy." But how can we love a man whom we hate, any more than we can hate anyone whom we love? When a man belongs to the world he does not love his enemies, but when he becomes a follower of the God Jehovah, all hatred vanishes, for he will obey the entreaty Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you. St. Luke 6 : 27. When a man complies with this passage of Scripture CHRIST S SERMON ON THE MOUNT I23 he is converted to the God of Israel, for he cannot love his enemy unless he is regenerated and born again. So, dear reader, if you are converted to Jehovah, you cannot hate your enemies. Perhaps you wonder what sort of change takes place when a man is transformed from this world to Jehovah. Allow me to explain this change as briefly as possible. When a man belongs to the world, it means that he belongs to all the Gods, as well as all the free spirits and everything within the spheres (called the seven spheres) . Conversion makes a change in man. Adam was changed when he sinned. He lost the spiritual knowledge and gained the worldly. He and his help-mate were naked and were not ashamed, but after the fall they beheld each other's shame. If a man is converted to Israel, he is brought back and put in the same state that Adam and Eve were before they sinned. The spirit of God Jehovah will then talk with him just as it did to Adam, the prophets, the apostles find their followers. The following verses will give a fair understanding of what is required of the worldly man : 30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of 124 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. S3 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be children of the High- est: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. St. Luke 6 : 30-35. This, then, is the first requirement ; or, man must at least be in the condition to meet this requirement at any time, before he can possibly expect the Holy Ghost to come and commune with him: To my mind, there is sufficient knowledge in these few verses for any one to understand at least some of the requirements. Nevertheless, I will endeavor to impress it upon the mind of the reader more forcibly by mere repetition, for that is what the Scripture does, CHRIST'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT 1 25 and yet the worldly people fail to understand its mys- teries. PREPARING FOR THE MORROW. Man must give up everything that he possesses on earth. The man who gave his last ten cents to some poor individual, gave just as much as the man who gave his last ten thousand dollars. Each gave all that he had. But if the man who had ten thousand dollars had given but nine thousand, the man who gave the ten cents would have been the greater giver, for he gave all that he had, while the other only gave a part. Man must be in the condition to sacrifice all that he has if he wishes the spirit of the God of Israel to commune with him. When the Holy Ghost begins to speak, man must do as he is bidden. The following passage will undoubtedly enlighten the reader along this line of thought : 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek) : for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. S3 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his 126 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of it- self. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. St. Matt. 6:31-34. Many people say, if a man were to give all that he possessed, he would soon be in dire want. It says : Take therefore no thought for the morrow : St. Matt. 6 : 34. To the worldly man this verse would mean, that we ought not build a home for ourselves or loved ones. But he overlooks the promise which follows-; S3 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you. St. Matt. 6 : 33. This portion of Scripture does not say man should live in poverty, nor does it say that he should not heed the future ; it simply says : and all these things shall be added unto you, that is, you should not add anything to yourself. The Spirit will guide you and add unto you all that is needed for your welfare. The verse which says you CHRIST S SERMON ON THE MOUNT 1 27 should give up everything on earth, does not mean that you are not allowed any possessions, but that you must wait until the Spirit allows you to have them — you are not to add them unto yourself. For example : If you were walking along the street and had ten dollars in your pocket, and a man should ask you to loan him five, you would be obliged to give the sum without ask- ing any questions, unless the Spirit would otherwise state. Were another individual to ask for the remain- ing five, you would be led to give even that without further questioning, unless the Spirit told you other- wise. To further explain the thought; if you were walking along the highway and should meet a man who would strike you with his fist and throw you into the ditch, you would not dare say a word to abuse him, but pray for him who had misused you, unless the Spirit would tell you to defend yourself. Often the remark is made that such a religion of entire surrender would be good for someone who has no possessions, for they would have nothing to sur- render — as though our worldly goods were all that we must sacrifice. To my mind, giving up the worldly possessions is the easiest part. But the struggle be- 128 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS gins when you put off the pride of the world and wear the clothes which the Spirit tells you to wear, and speak the words which the Spirit commands you to speak. You yourself dare not judge what your conver- sation is to be, you must ask the Spirit what you should say. THE TEACHING OF THE SPIRIT. I will give you a few passages of Scripture in which it speaks of the spiritual and worldly knowledges. St. John 14: 16, 17, 26, 2,7 — 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever ; 17 Even the Spirit of Truth : whom the world can- not receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but ye know him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things tp your remem- brance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Christ's sermon on the mount 129 St. John 15: 18, 19, 26 — 18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedetb from the Father, he shall testify of me: St. John 16: 7, 8, 13 — 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter .will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth : for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak ; and he will shew you things to come. These few verses which I have referred to here are evidences enough, as far as Bible evidence is con- cerned, that, to more fully understand, you must abide by the laws of Israel if you wish to receive the Spirit I30 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS and Its knowledge which will instruct you in all ways. A few passages from the epistles will be found quite helpful. 1 Cor. 2 : 4-6 — 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: I John 2 : 27 — 27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. The portions from the epistles are the same as those from St. John. I have simply quoted them here be- cause many preachers say, that what St. John wrote, was only promised to the Apostles. Therefore, I put in the above passages from the epistles. If you will study these verses carefully, you will find that each in- CHRIST S SERMON ON THE MOUNT I3I dividual who was converted to the God of Israel, re- ceived that teaching-spirit. If nature is the only God there be, And governs all the things we see, The mystery for us to unfold Is, not to complain of the rich man's gold. They are grasping the treasures each day, For the future they store it away, They say to their comrades, 'tis simply love, I'll meet you as brother in heaven above. At first 'twas Adam's, the joyous treasure — To dress the garden to his pleasure ; But alas, Jehovah to him had said, "By the sweat of thy brow, thou shalt earn thy bread." CHAPTER V. COMMUNICATION WITH SPIRITS PROVED BY THE BIBLE. This is a subject which the worldly man ought to consider very closely. If it is possible for man to com- mune with the spirits, it is then evident that we exist after death. Very many people at the present time believe that man's life ends at the time of death, until another mysterious combination takes place and produces life again. Thus, fire and water coming in contact with each other produce steam ; the steam moves the engine, providing all the machinery is in proper condition. So this class of people say, that this combination of which man is composed, creates life ; and if one part of that combination fails, life ceases at once. Some people believe in evolution but fail to produce biblical proof for such a belief, while spiritualism is taught and emphasized throughout the entire book. After we have found sufficient evidence in the Scrip- ture concerning spiritualism, we will then use reason, experience and good judgment. COMMUNICATION WITH SPIRITS I33 TRANSFIGURATION OF CHRIST. St. Mark 9 : 2-7— 2 ff And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves : and he was trans- figured before, them. 3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. 4 And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses : and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter answered and said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles ; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 6 For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid. 7 And there was a cloud that oversnadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud saying, This is my beloved Son : hear him. From the thought of these verses, Christ must have talked with Moses and Elias. The spirits of these two prophets came to Christ on the mountain while Peter, James and John were there with him. If it is sin to talk with spirits, then Christ must be classed with the sinners, for He not only spoke with the spirits, but taught his three disciples to do like- 134 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS wise. But if it were not a sin for Christ to talk with the spirits, why should it be for us? Did not Christ say, "the works that I do, shall ye do also?'' Would Christ have done anything which would be sinful for us to do? Some people assume, that although Christ spoke with the spirits, it is impossible for us to do so. But let us see what Christ says, according to : St. John 14: 12 — 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. Therefore, it is not impossible for man to talk with the spirits any more than it was impossible for Christ to talk with Moses and Elias on the mountain. If we wish to discard one word of Christ's teaching, we might just as well discard it all, for one word is as valuable as another. But, understand, this passage of Scripture does not have reference to all people. It says: He that believeth on me. COMMUNICATION WITH SPIRITS 1 35 Therefore, it is not impossible for any man to do the works which Christ did, if he believe in Him. To be a believer in Christ, means one who obeys His laws. If we do not obey the laws, we are not believers. There are some people who believe that Christ came in the flesh, but they would never humble themselves be- fore Christ, nor give up their human pride, or sacrifice any worldly possessions for Him. If a man is a believer in the Christ of God Jehovah, he is able to converse with the spirits of Jehovah. If a man abides by the law of any other God, he then can speak with the spirits of that God. Thus, as every God has his law, so the free spirits (termed Modern Spirit- ualism) have their laws. What is Modern Spiritualism ? It is communing with the spirits who were in the flesh on this earth at some previous time. For, remem- ber that those spirits which existed before the creation of the old heaven, never were upon this earth in fleshly form, save a few that were reincarnated. The law, or, co-called condition, which is required to talk with the free spirits, is different from the law of any other God. I36 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS The abode of the free spirits is in the old heaven. The condition required to talk with them is a special one. Furthermore, it requires a separate condition for each society which these free spirits have among themselves. The. old heaven is divided into seven parts, called spheres ; just as a circle is divided into three hundred and sixty degrees. The first sphere has perhaps thou- sands of societies. These societies vary but little in condition. PREACHING TO THE SPIRITS IN PRISON. I will return again to the discussion of the possibility of communing with the spirits. In I Peter 3 : 19-20, we read: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once tbe longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. We are here led to the thought that Christ preached to the dead. Now, if it had only been Peter who spoke to these spirits, ought we not to be able to do the same? But it was Christ. Therefore, it is not at COMMUNICATION WITH SPIRITS I37 all impossible for us to converse with spirits at the present time, providing we believe in the Son of God Jehovah. Remember the passage of Scripture which says : 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also. St. John 14: 12. HIRING THE MINISTER. Should a church-member, perchance, read this book and say, "our minister never quoted these passages," remember, that if you have hired him to preach, he is working for his pay by saying things to please you. If he does not preach to your desire (for he is your hired servant), you discharge him. You cannot hire, consequently not discharge, a minister of God Jehovah, for he does not labor for silver or gold. The reader will notice my frequent repetition. How else could I bring people to understand, since in their ignorance they hire, and then discharge their minister for not preaching as they had wished him to preach; yet they declare that God sent that special individual to preach the Gospel to them. I38 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS Some Gods send their ministers into the world and receive this sort of abuse. But God Johovah will not endure that kind of treatment. PREACHING TO THE DEAD. To further prove the reality of conversing with spir- its, let us study I Peter 4 : 6 — 6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged ac- cording to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the Spirit. Here also they preached to the dead. Jude 9— 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. How did St. Jude know that Michael the archangel was disputing with the Devil if he did not see or hear them? Or did some one perhaps witness the discus- sion and tell it to him? How was it possible for him to know that they had a dispute? If a spirit informed COMMUNICATION WITH SPIRITS 1 39 him of the fact, then he must have talked with one, and consequently is classed as a spiritualist. KIND FRIEND, THINK FOR YOURSELF AND USE GOOD JUDGMENT. Jehovah sent the Christ to earth. To show the sinner a new birth. Let us obey and receive it then, Be converted and born again. Then spirits to see is no more strange Than when we are in worldly range ; The mysteries of the Bible found Seem easy as we them expound. The Holy Ghost will teach to you, Things that are found in the Bible too. CHAPTER VI. MODERN SPIRITUALISM. Under the law of Modern Spiritualism it is possible for a man who is yet in earth life to converse with any spirit that ever dwelt in the flesh upon this earth. Many ancient spirits existed before this world was created. Some of them, having been incarnated for God Jehovah, lived in this world as human beings; now, therefore, after having passed into the spirit land again, they are able to assume bodily form and appear on this earth under the law of Modern Spiritualism. THE FREE SPIRITS ALLOWED TO MATERIALIZE. Modern Spiritualism belongs to the Indian. No man in earth life can ever make a success of Modern Spiritualism without the Indian, for it was he who al- lowed the free spirits to materialize. Some of the oth- er gods allowed their spirits to materialize at times, while the free spirits were never permitted to do so except through the Indian who allowed them to go through. There are not many of this tribe, the Indians MODERN SPIRITUALISM I4I who belong to a God, hence, they are called "free spirits." THE ORIGINATION OF THE INDIAN. The Indians, not having a redeemer, are not con- demned as are the other free spirits. They originated from the seed of Abraham by his wife Hagar. In those days the greatest honor a woman could bestow upon a man was to present him with a child. Sarah, being much grieved over her barrenness, asked Abra- ham to take Hagar, her maid, for his wife. To this Abraham consented. After a length of time, Hagar, having conceived, gloried in the thought that she was more blessed than Sarah and began to despise her mis- tress. At the very beginning of the trouble which was man- ifesting itself between the women, Sarah dealt hard with her maid, causing her to flee into the wilderness. There the angel of the Lord spake to Hagar telling her to go back and humble herself before Sarah. The angel also promised here these words : Gen. 16: I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. 142 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS and furthermore said : 12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him: Gen. 16 : 12. ABRAHAM SENDING HAGAR INTO THE WILDERNESS. It was but a short time after her return that Hagar brought forth her first born whom Abraham named Ishmael. After all the bitterness between his wives had been allayed, Abraham was also blessed with a child from Sarah. Having named him Isaac, Abraham prepared a feast to celebrate the day of the new son's weaning. At this occasion Hagar and Sarah quarreled again, for Sarah had seen Hagar's child mocking. This of course, enraged Sarah, and, having brought her com- plaint before Abraham, caused him to expel Hagar from their home. Giving her a bottle of water and some victuals, Abraham sent Hagar and her son out into the wilderness. There Ishmael became an archer. It is from this wife Hagar, that the Indian origi- nated. Abraham received this promise: MODERN SPIRITUALISM I43 And thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. Gen. 22 : 17. The worldly people often make remarks about the story of Abraham and his wives. Allow me to say to such, that before Adam and Eve sinned, they were naked, yet were not ashamed, but after their trans- gression they were ashamed. Abraham was a man of God Jehovah. When man is converted to Israel, the worldly shame leaves him, and he is put back into the same state that Adam and Eve were before the fall. If a man is converted to Israel, those old stories of Abra- ham and Lot are not strange any more. the Indian's authorities. Jehovah established his word when He promised Abraham And thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies : Gen. 22: 17. There is no God, except Jehovah, who can overrule an Indian in the spirit land. Therefore, man in earth- life can never make a success of Modern Spiritualism without an Indian manager, generally called cabinet- 144 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS control, or, main-guide, for they are the only ones who can keep out all other influences — evil influences. The Indians have more confidence in each other than any other society within the spheres. . The class succeed- ing the Indian in this respect is the Free Mason Order. Of course, the Jews, called the children of Israel, the seed of Abraham, or, God's chosen people, also have confidence in each other. But because they do not meddle with Modern Spiritualism, they have no way of showing this confidence, they are simply waiting. There are not many Jews in the spirit land who prac- tice Modern Spiritualism, or who belong to other Gods* THE GENTILE'S DAY CLOSING THE INDIAN^ DAY BE- GINNING. Jehovah had much patience in educating the Jews, and after they had been well established there was no nation which could defeat them in battle. When they did lose the victory, we will find, after close investiga- tion, that they were not in close relationship with Je- hovah at that special time. They finally drifted so far away from their religion, that they disowned the Christ of their God. After they had despised Christ, their MODERN SPIRITUALISM I45 day was ended and the Gentile's day began. The In- dian's day is now at hand. The Jews, their day has long since past, The Gentile's day is closing fast; The Indian's day has come at last. The story'll be told when all is past. The Jews were led to the promised land, While God assisted with mighty hand; So far they strayed from His command, Christ seemed a stranger in their land. Christ for the Gentiles long had wept, And gave a law some would not accept, To ask the Savior whither to step. The day now dawns, the floor unswept. The Indian's day is now at hand, And if they obey the Lord's command They'll strike their blow from spirit-land. Come all who will and join our band When the Jews' day came to a close, it was not that I46 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS Jehovah completely forsook them, but it was the com- ing of Christ, which was not really the beginning of a new law, but rather the fulfillment of the old. The old law was, that no one but the prophets should receive the Holy Ghost; while in the new law it is possible for any individual to have this divine gift. This new law is what the Jews did not accept, consequently, their day ended, for Jehovah was no more content with the worship of the old law. Nevertheless, some of the Jews accepted this new law which was also given to the Gentile as well as to his Hebrew neighbor. But now the Indian's day is drawing nigh, and darkness hangs over the throne of the Gentile. This is not a change of the law concerning the Indian's day, it is simply a ful- fillment of what had been decreed long since. Christ said : 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. St. John 10 : 16. This passage of Scripture has reference to the In- dian. The reader may wonder how I know that it speaks of that particular class. The Spirits of Israel, MODERN SPIRITUALISM 147 with whom it is possible for any man in the proper con- dition to talk, have told me so. Anyone may receive the same information if they abide by the law of Israel. Each God has his law. Christ also said : 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. St. John 16: 13. showing to us that it is possible for man to know defi- nitely just what will come to pass, for the "spirit of truth" will reveal things to come. the Indian's day in the spirit land. Before I continue with my discussion of Modern Spiritualism, I will try to present to the reader some idea of what I mean by the different laws of existing substances. For instance, a blacksmith wishes to weld a piece of iron. He must first heat the iron to the proper degree or he will fail in the welding ; this is the law which governs the iron. If you wish to freeze water, you must apply to it the required temperature. I48 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS If a man wishes to sneeze he must put himself in the proper condition, so as to produce the sneezing. Ev- erything that is placed within the seven spheres, called heaven, must have its proper law, or condition. There- fore, Modern Spiritualism must necessarily have its proper condition, or law. The beginning of the law was principally under the dominion of the Jews, until later, as the fulfillment of the law came, it fell into the hands of the Gentiles, while now it is becoming the sceptre of the Indian who will surely have his day in the spirit land. The reader might wonder why I indulge in such frequent repeti- tion. The answer is in the following question, "do you fully understand what is meant by the Indian having his day in the spirit land?" Well, it is the fulfillment of the promise which Jehovah made to Abraham. WHERE SPIRITS GET THEIR STRENGTH. Here are some of the laws of the beginning of Mod- ern Spiritualism which are essential if you wish to speak with the modern spirits. Every human being has a magnet which encircles his body at a distance of about one foot to three feet away. MODERN SPIRITUALISM 1 49 It is about one foot thick in the inner part of the circle, increasing to almost three feet to the circumference where it weakens. From the magnet the spirit receives its strength. This magnet is matter, and this matter is material. All spirits that appear under the law of Modern Spiritualism to make themselves known, use the magnet, for spirits must have material to handle material. A spirit cannot handle substance without having some of the like stuff with which to handle it. To give this magnet to a spirit you must put yourself in a passive condition. For illustration ; allow a cater- pillar to crawl up your arm. If it assumes a certain condition, some of its hair will fall off, penetrating the skin. Then, if it again changes its condition, it is almost impossible for anyone to pull a single hair off its back. If any individual is in the proper condition as to cause their magnet to flow to the spirit, the spirit is then enabled to assume its body for manifestation. Another helpful illustration is the porcupine. You may throw sticks at the creature while it sits in the tree, and, if it assume a certain condition, it will throw some of its quills at you. But should you succeed in catch- I50 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS ing your spined enemy, it would be very difficult for you to remove one of the remaining prickles. If a man possess the knowledge, he is able to let his magnet either flow to a spirit, or retain it ; and it is dif- ficult for a spirit to take it from him. For this reason the people in earth life sit in a circle, thereby causing their combined magnets to flow to one person who is called the medium. The magnet then passes through the medium for refinement, after which the spirit is able to use it. Each society of spirits must have its own special con- dition. While one spirit makes itself known under a cer- tain condition, it is utterly impossible for another spirit, under the same condition, to make itself known at all. Perhaps the reader may think that Modern Spiritual- ism is what some people call spiritual knowledge. It is not. It belongs to the worldly knowledge. ORIGINATION OF THE DIFFERENT DOCTRINES. The question often arises, "why do mediums differ concerning spirit life?" Some say we progress "there" just as we do over here, without any distinct change. Others say, they look for a judgment day. Very many MODERN SPIRITUALISM I5T believe that business will be carried on over there just as in this world. Thus, there are various doctrines, each originating from the different guides which the spiritualists have. These guides belong to different Gods. Until now, some of the Indians were only used by the different gods as general overseers, while those spirits which belonged to other gods were working in the "shade." Shade here means, in the dark, or, under- handed — pretending to work at one thing, while, at the same time, accomplishing another. A deceitful laborer pretends to be doing some special work, while, in truth, he is working at something entirely different. The use of this word "shade" originated in the spirit land. Here is what brings about these different doctrines. All those that work in the "shade" are spirits that be- long to some gods, but they are ashamed to own which gods they follow ; and if they wish to control a medium, they tell their Indian manager that they are a free spirit* thereby using the innocent Indian to accomplish their work. The teachers whom those gods have in earth life generally teach that it is impossible to commune with a deceased friend. 152 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GOI When Jehovah began to bring Modern Spiritualism into fuller knowledge, many of the other gods sent forth laborers to work for them in the "shade/' for they saw that people were becoming enlightened from the spirit land. They, of course, delighted in keeping their spirits, as well as their people in earth life, ignorant. Generally, the free spirits are honest and teach the best they know about the spirit land. As the Jew's day has past and the Gentile's day is closing, the Indian's day is coming with steady rapidity as they grow in knowledge. Therefore, they are "clos- ing-in" on all those spirits that are working in the "shade." AH this may seem strange to the reader, yet, all I can say is, prove it for yourself by conversing with the spirits that are educated in the spirit knowledge, and see if they do not tell you the identical things which I have written. THE WOMAN'S DAY COMING. It is spoken by the prophet Joel 2 : 28-29 — 28 If And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons MODERN SPIRITUALISM 1 53 and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions : 29 And also upon the servants and upon the hand- maids in those days will I pour out my spirit. Thus far, throughout the day of the Jews and the Gentiles, man has had the preference. Henceforth woman shall be esteemed among the Jews and the Gen- tiles, while the Indians will have their glory and honor in the spirit land. Women will exceed men in earth life; "And I will lengthen their days," said the Lord. Until the present time, women have had the disadvan- tage, but "it shall all be changed," says the spirit of Jehovah, "and I will see what they will do," says the Lord of Hosts. Note this, kind reader, should you doubt anything written in this book, always remember that you have the privilege of asking the spirit of Jehovah for proof. But be not deceived ; know that it is the spirit of Jeho- vah and not the spirit of some other god. Unexpected, like a roaring lion Who on this earth did make a show; Like a bird, some day will come flying And surely cut his path way low. CHAPTER VII. MEDIUMSHIP OF MATERIALIZATION UNDER THE LAW OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM. To materialize is to cause a spirit to return to a state of matter; or, in other words, if a spirit has material- ized, it has returned to a body of matter such as it had some previous time when it lived in earth life. WHAT CAN BE SEEN WITH THE PHYSICAL AND WHAT WITH THE SPIRITUAL EYES. Unless a spirit that is in spirit life has matter about it, the physical eye cannot behold such an one. There- fore, the spiritual eye alone is able to see such mys- teries. Man has a spiritual as well as a physical eye. With the one he sees spiritual things, while with the other he beholds the material. It is possible for a spiritual eye to see a spirit in spirit life without the spirit being clad with matter or physical form. The physical eye can only see physical things. It cannot see a spirit in spirit life, nor is it able to see the MEDIUMSHIP OF MATERIALIZATION 1 55 spirit in the material body. It can only see the mate- rialized form. SITTING FOR MEDIUMSHIP. To begin for a materializing mediumship, you must, first of all, be honest in all your ways ; in so doing you will attract honest spirits, for each one receives spirits of his kind — such as enjoy his company. If you are in the habit of telling lies or drinking strong drinks or gambling or cheating or swearing, you will inevitably gather about you spirits that enjoy just such company. Of course, other spirits will possibly talk with you at times, but they cannot abide with you. Go to an adviser, or, more commonly called, a devel- oping medium. Such an one will undoubtedly tell you to do just what your guide has commanded you. And if the developing medium is far enough advanced intel- lectually, he will tell you 'what you guide most desires. You must unhesitatingly do what your guide wishes to have you do, if you wish to ever make a success of Modern Spiritualism. Should you desire to gain the mediumship of ma- terialization without going to an adviser, gather a circle 156 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS of about six or eight persons, and if the medium be a man, there should be more women in the circle than men. But if the medium be a woman, there ought to be more men than women. Always indicate the time when your meetings are to begin, thereby informing the spirit as to the opening of your services. Form a circle, seating the audience in couples, never allowing two men or two women to be seated side by side if it can be avoided. Having thus been seated and placed, join hands ; put both feet fully on the floor. The me- dium should also be seated with both feet on the floor and the hands placed on both knees. The light in the room should be turned low — about to a twilight. Ev- erything having been prepared, the meeting is ready to be opened. The medium now feels something move his head, and by this movement of the head the signs for answers are given. Should the head bow forward, it means yes ; sideways, it means no ; drawing the head back, means not ready to answer that question now, or, that you should not ask any such questions. Each question should be asked so that it may be answered with a yes or a no. Perhaps you would like to know how the cabinet MEDIUMSHIP OF MATERIALIZATION 1 57 should be made; how the circle should sit; where the medium is to take his or her place ; etc., etc. Remem- ber this, you must do just what your guide says, or you will undoubtedly meet with failure in your attempt to learn Modern Spiritualism. Therefore, the above are some of the things which you must know, and some of the questions that you will be obliged to ask your spirit guide. Often while sitting for a Mediumship, especially the Materializing Mediumship, you are likely to be con- fronted with some such trouble as this ; your head will feel twice its natural circumference, or your limbs may seem double their ordinary size, and very often you will think that your body has in some way been torn as- sunder. This generally occurs when you are about to go under control. The cause of those expansive feel- ings is, your current does not flow to one spirit alone, but you throw a double or triple current; your in- fluence goes to more than one spirit. Spirits are very jealous of each other, and for that reason one pulls one way while the other pulls in the opposite direction, thus causing those peculiar feelings ; or, in other words, it is the lack of confidence in your 158 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS Spirit Guide, or the lack of confidence in a Spirit, that causes a broken current which is the origination of such trouble. To avoid all such you must put all confidence in your Spirit Guide when going under control. Such an one alone can let only such spirits through as he thinks fit. When you are ready to go under control, do not think, "I would like this one and that one and the other one to talk tonight ;" such thoughts will break your current and will cause trouble. Leave it all to one Spirit, who will permit other spirits to manifest, such as the conditions may allow, and you will not have those enlarging feelings to contend with. As this earth is surrounded by air, so is there a mag- net encircling our bodies. The more distant from the earth, the lighter the air becomes. The further away from the body, the lighter is the magnet. The extreme circumference of the magnet is about three feet distant from the body. The individuals composing a circle must put them- selves in a passive condition before the magnet is able to flow and pass to the medium. The idea of having a medium is to center the current. Generally, the cur- rent passes through the medium in whom it is refined MEDIUMSHIP OF MATERIALIZATION I59 for the spirit's use, enabling the spirit to build a body for itself. Should anyone of the circle grow restless or become sick to the stomach, the current becomes blocked, ag- gravating the sickness in the afflicted person. Where- as, if the current had been permitted to flow through the circle, the hindrance would not have been caused. It is well to begin a song or join a hearty laugh to bring about good results. By asking the spirit guide, the circle is seated and regulated to his desire, thus bring- ing about the best conditions. CABINET UNNECESSARY. It is not essential to have a cabinet. Modern Spirit- ualism may be performed without such a device, pro- viding all are mediumistic people. One special reason why the spirits desire to have a cabinet is, that they do not like to "build up" in the audience. At times they do build up outside, providing they have enough magnet in the cabinet. Under like conditions they also disap- pear outside of the cabinet. It is much easier for them to materialize, as well as dematerialize in the cabinet, than it is to do so on the outside. l6o JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS It is not absolutely necessary for a medium to go into the cabinet, he may take his place wherever the spirit guide directs. The first form I ever materialized under the law of Modern Spiritualism, was brought forth in the opposite end of the room, directly opposite the cabinet. TRANCE NOT NECESSARY. It is not necessary for a medium to go into a trance in order to materialize a spirit. The only reason why the spirits prefer to have the medium in a trance is, that they might not be aware of what is happening or being said in the circle; such as the remarks of the skeptics present. If a medium takes notice of everything about him, it troubles the spirits. If he could place himself in such a condition as not to pay heed to anything that may happen in the room, the spirits could then mate- rialize as well as with a trance medium. LIES FROM THE SPIRIT-LAND. Many people in this earth-life seem to think that ev- ery message which comes from a spirit is true and honest. Such people, I dare say, are not aware of their MEDIUMSHIP OF MATERIALIZATION l6l own ignorance, for there are liars in the spirit-land as well as in this world. If a man has been a liar while in earth-life, he continues to use the same false tongue after he has passed out of the body and gone into the spirit life until he reforms. Should the medium announce that a certain spirit named "John" wishes to talk with his brother "J oe " who is in the circle, and should it be found that the latter had no brother in the spirit-life by that name, it is simply to be taken as a mistake. It is because of cases like this that investigators often denounce Spiritualism. Understand, dear reader, that the spirit-guides do not know all the spirits in the spirit-land. Very often they must depend upon the honesty of other spirits. If a spirit should say he is your brother, and you know you have no brother who has gone to the beyond, do not denounce spiritualism on account of that one spirit liar. Would it be wise to denounce pure gold because some man had made a counterfeit? If there had been no genuine gold dollar in existence, the counterfeit would never have originated; and if there were no reality in spiritualism, would it be possible for a coun- terfeit to exist ? l62 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS MANIFESTATIONS FROM THE CABINET. As to the appearance of the spirits in a materializing circle. After the room has been somewhat darkened, you will at first see white mists around the cabinet or about the medium. Then, as the conditions grow bet- ter, lights can be seen at various places ; perhaps an out- line of a face will appear, or a whisper heard, and, as the conditions become stronger and better, the forms will become more visible until at length they can walk out and talk with human beings. If the spirits have the proper conditions, they are able to make their ap- pearance in daylight or by a strong lamp-light. If the conditions of the circle are somewhat weak, darken the room. The better the conditions, the brighter the room may be. In materialization, we can talk with our relation; They can come from above. We can see them with our sight, if conditions are all right ; By the strength of our love. MEDIUMSHIP OF MATERIALIZATION 163 Should you have a wife who's entered spirit life, And long to hear her say; The victory you may win, just as it since has been, For the law was made to stay. HOW TO HANDLE A MATERIALIZING MEDIUM. I will here try to give the reader some information as to how those within the circle should handle a me- dium in order to get good results. It is impossible for the spirits to manifest themselves unless they have the conditions. They must either get this condition from the circle or draw it all from the medium. It is therefore very essential that those com- posing the circle should put themselves in a passive condition, allowing their current to flow. They should also give all honor and respect to the medium, for un- less they do this, their current cannot flow to the me- dium. One who knows how to give a condition, al- ways shows respect for the one within the cabinet; therefore, dear reader, always give honor to your me- dium. I have had the experience of being asked to have a meeting at private homes. The members of these fam- ilies readily professed their belief in Spiritualism, and 164 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS declared that they would give to me the best possible conditions; but when in company with church-mem- bers, these very people would express themselves as in favor of the church and its teaching. I must verily say, that conditions from such individuals cannot be used in a circle. It may seem rather strange to the be- ginner for me to use such an expression, but, neverthe- less, it is true. An honest skeptic gives a far better condition than a deceitful believer. A medium is so sensitive that he can readily tell by the current, or in- fluence, what kind of a condition you are giving. Some people say it is the fault of the medium if no good results are obtained, when in fact they themselves are to blame. You receive from the cabinet just to the extent and degree that you put into it your respect and influence. Investigators often wonder why the spirits which manifest themselves do not tell their names. Allow me to say, that, in the first place, there are many lying spirits in the spirit-land, that try to gain their way into the circle by telling falsehoods. I have had the experience of having about fifty spirits respond to the question of some one in the circle, "is MEDIUMSHIP OF MATERIALIZATION 165 my brother here/' that they were the one asked for. This, of course, could not possibly be true; one only could be the brother. How then was I to pick the right spirit from so many that answered, since it is generally true, that the one which makes the greatest commotion is the biggest liar. Therefore, the spirits are not allowed to speak as freely as they wish, unless the spirit-guide is acquainted with them. No one knows with what a medium has to contend, until they themselves become a medium. A child knows nothing of a mother's care until they themselves have become the mother of a family. It may be asked, "what spirits are they that try to break up a circle?" They are the enemies of God Je- hovah. Various methods are used by these spirits to accomplish their work of destruction. Some will con- duct a circle in a very honest way and tell everything quite "straight," thus gaining the confidence of the people, after which they begin to tell some shameful lies, and, if possible, discourage the beginner of Modern Spiritualism. For these and many other reasons which I will not speak about now, spirits are not al- lowed to speak as freely as they wish. CHAPTER VIII. TABLE-TIPPING MEDIUMSHIP UNDER THE LAW OF MOD- ERN SPIRITUALISM. Secure a table about three feet square. A poplar or pine wood table of light construction is most desirable. It should be free from paint or varnish, and as few nails as possible should be used. Having thus pre- pared the table, gather around and lay your hands flat on the top of it. If there are but two persons in the circle, sit opposite each other. If there are four, place one on either side. Should there be more than four, crowd them around the best way possible. Being seated and arranged, begin some familiar song. All should join in singing. When the magnet begins to flow, you will feel the current in your hands similar to a current of electricity. Many investigators seem to think it is nothing but an electric current. Allow me to say to the beginner, that many have sat at the table when the table actually tipped ; then after spend- ing some time investigating, they found that it was TABLE-TIPPING MEDIUMSHIP 167 something of intelligence and not mere electricity, for electricity has no definite intelligence. If you give table-tipping a thorough investigation, you will find that that which tips the table is a thing of intelligence; it can count, spell, answer, etc. Very often investigators say, that the table does not always tell the truth. Very true, sometimes it does not; but remember, as I have said before, there are lying spirits in the spirit-land just as there are people on this earth who are afflicted with the same malady. Everybody attracts spirits of their kind. After the current flows and the spirits get strength enough to shake the table, they then begin to answer questions. You must first of all tell the spirits how many taps for "yes," and what sign for the answer"no." Or, have one tap for "no" and three taps for "yes;" two taps meaning not ready to answer that now, while four taps are for the medium. The person who asks the questions should be absent from the table at the time the question is being asked. A very helpful w r ay is to write the questions on a slate, after which the writer should say, "kind spirit, can you answer this question?" If there is no answer, l68 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS the conditions are not favorable or there is no spirit that wishes to answer the question. IMPRESSING THE MEDIUM The best way to become a table-tipping medium is to sit at the table until the spirits are able to give you impressions, which they readily do. The impressions are for the purpose of answering questions. If a ques- tion cannot be answered by yes or no, the spirit im- presses the medium and tells him what to say. After the medium has developed sufficiently so as to be able to be impressed by a spirit, he should absent himself from the table. Should the conditions be favorable and the spirit get enough strength, no one need to touch the table. If the circle wishes to disband, they should first ask the spirits what to do before leaving. Remember that you must obey the guide, or your en- deavors to learn Modern Spiritualism are in vain. THE RAPS FOR THE ANSWERS. At times the spirit would rather rap on the table than tip it. By rapping, questions can be answered more promptly. TABLE-TIPPING MEDIUMSHIP 169 Some sitters tip the table to suit themselves, which perhaps is mostly selfishness, and selfishness is as harm- ful to a successful table-tipping circle as is jealousy, which ought not be tolerated at such a meeting as this. If one person should receive a message from a spirit friend, the others ought not envy that one because of the favor bestowed upon him. Jealousy breaks the current and will trouble the spirits. All attention should be given to the one who is receiving the mes- sage. Honor the spirits and they will honor you. Respect the medium and the spirits will respect you; for the medium is the tool with which the spirits deliver their messages to earth. It is well to have an Indian for a guide, for Modern .Spiritualism belongs to the Indian, who is a descendant from Abraham and the maid Hagar. MESSAGE FROM THE SPIRIT-LAND. The Indian spirit towards the earth did bend, And surely he meant it true, Thus said, work for us my earth-life friend, And we will work for you. I70 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS If you should be ashamed of us, We must be ashamed of you ; When skeptics laugh and make a fuss, And you join with them too. Be patient then, my earthly friend, While we do work with you ; We'll join you in love, and you defend, We'll help to guide you through. If spiritualism you shun while in a crowd, And attend a seance would, Remember you come with the same old shroud ; Can the results be good? We'll never, my friend, be ashamed of you, Though you're blind or lame from birth, Should you be red, black, white, or blue, We'll give you what you're worth. HOW TO HANDLE A TABLE-TIPPING MEDIUM. First of all, great honor should be given to the me- dium. Many sitters may wonder why such honor should be bestowed upon that one. If you do not re- TABLE-TIPPING MEDIUMSHIP 171 spect the medium, your current will not flow to the medium's spirit, called "Guide." Therefore, respect should be given to the medium so the Spirit may get the current. Whichever spirit receives the current, that one can answer the questions. To avoid all er- rors, the current must go to the one spirit, called the medium's guide. To illustrate : If you had a load of hay and it were as much as a team of horses could pull, you could eas- ily prevent the animals from pulling the load by put- ting a much less power on the opposite end of the truck. So it is when a spirit has scarcely enough strength from the circle to answer the questions, and if another spirit should get enough strength from some one in the circle to prevent the former from answering the ques- tions, then there is likely to be trouble in the meeting. To prevent the current from running to different Spirits, honor must be given to the medium. If the spirit that is supposed to control the circle gets the cur- rent, then you may have the questions answered promptly. Should the circle get confused, that is, should differ- ent spirits obtain the current, a good way to bring har- 172 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS mony is to sing a song which all in the circle are able to sing. A music box is very advisable in such in- stances as these. In the circles which I hold, a prayer is never forbid- den, especially a secret prayer. To repeat the Lord's Prayer will harmonize the circle. CHAPTER IX. THE MEDIUMSHIP OF CLAIRVOYANCE UNDER THE LAW OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM. To develop for the mediumship of clairvoyance you are not obliged to have a circle, vou can accomplish it alone. It is advisable to choose but one spirit for a guide, which ought to be an Indian ; and after having selected such an one, you must do exactly as you are com- manded if you wish to make a success of Modern Spiritualism. The guide which you have receives the messages from the other spirits and delivers them to you. You, in turn, deliver them to the investigators. After the medium has advanced sufficiently, other spirits may talk with him as well as the guide. The reason it is well to have but one guide, is, because there are many spirits in the spirit-land who do not speak the truth. To develop for the clairvoyant mediumship you should sit in a room where no one might disturb you. 174 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS Always occupy the same chair in the exact space of the room until you become at least partly developed, then you are not obliged to be so particular about these details. It is well to go to a test medium who has an Indian guide, for then you can get an idea who your guide is and what is proper for you to do. Get a good guide, make a clean beginning and you will no doubt make a good clairvoyant medium. There are many other mediumships besides Material- ization, Table-tipping, Clairvoyancy and Magnetic Healing, which will not be discussed in this book. The subjects which I have thus far briefly considered are too broad to explain in full in this edition; enough has been said for anyone to make a beginning. THE KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED TO HAVE THE ONE MEDIUM- SHIP COMPLETE. I will give the reader an idea of how much knowl- edge a man has when he has completed one of these mediumships. Take for example, the mediumship of Clairvoyancy. Some people who have no mediumship seem to have an idea that it does not require much MEDIUMSHIP OF CLAIRVOYANCE I75 knowledge. From my own experience, I can conscien- tiously say, that if a man had passed through any American school, or graduated from the highest for- eign university, he would not have as much knowledge as is gained by having but one mediumship complete. Many mediums pride themselves on having one of these mediumships complete, when the fact is they have but one spirit for their guide who delivers the message to them in the best possible way, such as talking, giving signs, and in many other ways too numerous to men- tion. Anyone who has attained to this, calls himself a Clairvoyant medium. Understand, when you have one guide with whom you may have the privilege to talk at any time, that means that you have but one spirit of one special society; therefore, when a medium has gained the knowledge to talk with only one spirit of one so- ciety, what would he do if all the spirits of that same society should come at one time and demand his audi- ence? For, remember, that the spirit with whom the medium talks is but one of some particular society, and no doubt there are a thousand societies in one of the seven spheres in the old heaven, each requiring a differ- ent condition. I76 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS If some one who has the mediumship of Clairvoy- ancy should gain the knowledge which would enable him to talk with other spirits of the same society, it might seem as though he could talk with spirits in two different conditions. Often a spirit of one society can talk with you, while another spirit of the same society can not. Note, that in this book a society is called a condition, and a change of society is called a change of condition. ADVICE TO A CLAIRVOYANT MEDIUM. First, learn to talk with your guide, then with all the spirits in that guide's society and with all societies in the first sphere, also with all societies in the second sphere and so on until you have mastered the seven spheres. Learn to talk with all the Gods who are within these spheres. WHERE THE SPIRITS EXIST. There are scores of spirits that are not in the spheres. They were at one time in the flesh upon this earth. Besides these, there is a band of spirits outside of the seven spheres (the old heaven), which were never in MEDIUMSHIP OF CLAIRVOYANCE 177 bodily form upon this earth. They existed before the old heaven was put into its present working order. There is also a God on the outside of the old heaven, who is Lord over these spirits which I have just de- scribed. He is called the God Jehovah. That the reader may better understand, I will ex- plain what is here meant. This God who is outside of the seven spheres, is really God over the entire seven spheres, and those spirits which are also outside of these spheres, are his followers. All spirits that come within these spheres are followers of some God of the same place, or, perchance become free spirits; for all free spirits dwell within the seven spheres. All spirits are allowed to come back to this earth, but they cannot all get away. THE CHANGE OF MEDIUMSHIP. The question may perhaps arise, "should a medium have but one mediumship complete?" If he had the mediumship of Clairvoyancy, but wished to attain to the mediumship of Materialization complete, so that any spirit, within or without the spheres, could ma- terialize through him, the mediumship of Clairvoyancy I78 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS would partly leave him because the distinct change from one mediumship to another is so great that it is hard to retain both. I am an inspirational speaker, inspired by the God Jehovah. I have the mediumship so thorough that it is possible for me to allow any other God to inspire me to speak, providing we both agree. I have the medi- umship of Clairvoyancy so complete that I can talk with any spirit which I have ever met within the spheres as well as with the spirits of the God Jehovah, who are outside of the spheres. I am fully conscious of it when I am being inspired to speak. The mediumship of Clairvoyancy leaves me for the time, for I cannot hold them both, and, while I see clairvoyantly I cannot be inspired to speak, for the change is too great. I have materialized a full form and know when I give the condition for materialization. All other mediumships leave me while I am under that influence. A DEVELOPING MEDIUM. Should anyone wish to be a developing medium, he ought to be able to give the conditions to any spirit of any society whatever. MEDIUMSHIP OF CLAIRVOYANCE 179 On different occasions I have met people who wanted to be educated in some mediumship under the law of Modern Spiritualism, but they were controlled by a spirit of some other God who would not recognize its law. What I say is not imaginary or merely an opinion, it is real experience — things seen, heard, felt ; and I have substantial evidence to uphold all my statements. You may talk with any spirit, providing you give the proper condition , likewise you may converse with any God if you abide by the law of that God. I can give a condition to talk with any spirit that I have ever met within the seven spheres, or state the law of any God with whom I have ever come in contact within the spheres. I can also talk with two bands of spirits that are followers of God Jehovah outside of the seven spheres. Some spirits which were never in the flesh on this earth, were in existence before the world was created, that is, before the old heaven was put into its proper condition. Co-existent with these are also the Gods within the seven spheres, as well as the spirits within the old heaven that are not Gods. l8o JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS MUSINGS OF AN INDIAN GUIDE. Come one, come all, give to us no evil thought, To-night your friends from spirit-land we brought, Thus our labor we have partly wrought, For with a price, we were one time bought. Come you white man, be not afraid, Many a year in spirit-land we stayed ; In mud and mire we long did wade, We now see light ; 'twas always shade. Walk in the narrow way, not in the wide; Seek the true religion, not the worldly pride. Should evil influence with you abide, Call your Indian friend who's always at your side. I now rejoice, for day-break has begun ; And I am counted with the children, one. My labor that I do for you, to me it is but fun ; If ever you talk with spirits, remember me as one. HOW TO HANDLE A CLAIRVOYANT MEDIUM. First of all the conditions must be right if you want MEDIUMSHIP OF CLAIRVOYANCE l8l a good test. It must also be remembered that if you are ashamed of Spiritualism when in society, the spirits perhaps will be ashamed of you. To illustrate: If your neighbor had a number of visitors, and you were asked to join them in the evening's pleasure, but you were informed that they wanted you just to make fun of you, would you be pleased to go? If you would perhaps favor them with your presence, you would un- doubtedly have but very little to say. So it is with the spirits. Remember that thoughts are things. A thought towards a spirit is the same as a sounding word is towards a man in the body. Honor should be given to the medium, then the me- dium's spirits will honor you. I have had the experience of trying to give some one a test when they would say, "I would like to hear some- thing about my mother." Finally the mother would come forth and tell me that she had no news for them. So it can be seen that often a mother in the spirit-land refuses to talk with her children here in earth life. Likewise do brothers and sisters that are in the spirit- land refuse to speak or answer any questions at times. To remind you of an old saying : "When in Rome, do 1 82 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS as the Romans do." This may be all right on this earth, but not among the spirits in the spirit-land. The spirits in the spirit-land are very jealous of each other. Allow me to use this expression, "they are easily hurt." I have often met with people who were church mem- bers, but according to the spirits' report they only had their name on the church-book for the sake of being in society; or, in other words, to hide their meanness. They cared not to obey the law of the God that gov- erned the church. Coming to me for a test, they thought to play the same trickery, and would perhaps make some shocking remarks, thinking no one knew what they had done. The result was, I had nothing to tell them, for theispirit told me nothing to say. It was not that the spirit did not know of anything to tell, it was simply on account of the remarks that they heard them make. Any free spirit or god that I have ever met holds to this law. "If you do not honor the man that I send, I will not honor you ;" this is a universal law among the gods and free spirits, only some are not as strict as others. MEDIUMSHIP OF CLAIRVOYANCE 183 When going to a Clairvoyant medium for a test, it is well to set a time, giving the spirit that guides the medium a chance to look around and find some news to tell. Often, when investigators would like to know something about their relations, a spirit should be al- lowed some time to investigate, so as to be sure that they have the right one. There are many liars in the spirit-land, and many spirits that are trying to destroy Modern Spiritualism. When you are ready to receive the test, be careful not to throw an evil thought against the Medium, for that will trouble his Spirit Guide, and the more you trouble the Spirit Guide, the less you can expect in the test. The closer you abide by the conditions which the Medium requires, the better your results will be. CHAPTER X. MAGNETIC HEALING UNDER THE LAW OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM. Just as there are many laws under which man may talk with the spirits, so are there many laws concerning Magnetic Healing under the Law of Modern Spirit- ualism. I shall not go into thfc details of this subject, nor shall I discuss in this book the art of healing under the Law of Hypnotism. VARIOUS LAWS OF HEALING. God Jehovah, as well as all the other Gods, has his laws for healing; and the laws of the different gods, concerning the curing of diseases, differ just as the laws for worshiping differ. I shall partly discuss but one phase of Magnetic Healing under the law of Modern Spiritualism, for there are very many phases of Magnetic Healing under the one law. MAGNETIC HEALING I85 HEALING OF NERVOUS DISEASES. Should the healer be sensitive enough, he could in- stantly discover the ills of the patient without asking any questions ; nevertheless, a man may be a healer and yet not be so sensitive as to be able to tell the disease of a patient. For the curing of nervous diseases it is well to take the patient by the hand, and when the current begins to flow into the patient, it signifies that both healer and patient are in the proper condition. If the latter does not receive the current it is the healer's duty to bring the patient into the proper conditions. There are vari- ous ways, too numerous to mention, by which you may bring the patient into the right condition. A con- versation will sometimes bring the desired result, while I have known instances where letting the hand of the patient go or merely rubbing the back of the hand has brought marked relief. When the patient is in the proper condition and the current begins to flow, the healer may help the patient for any nervous disease. That is the course I always follow for such ailments, especially for strengthening the whole system of the af- flicted person. Rheumatism, consumption, running 1 86 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS sores, female complaints, lame backs, headaches, etc., require a different treatment from that of the whole system at one time. HOW TO BECOME A MAGNETIC HEALER UNDER THE LAW OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM. Go to a test medium who has an Indian guide ; for Modern Spiritualism belongs to the Indian. Or, go to a materializing circle where your guide will perhaps have a chance to materialize. A great deal of infor- mation is thus obtained. Another way is to gather a circle of about six persons of each sex (male and female), and if all are earnest seekers, many meetings will not have passed before the spirits will be able to answer the questions in one way or another, either by raps, shaking of the head, or some other convenient way. The best advice I can give if you wish to be a Mag- netic Healer under the law of Modern Spiritualism, is, as I have already said, to get an Indian for a guide. The next important step is to do what the guide says. EVERYTHING WHICH EXISTS WITHIN THE SEVEN SPHERES HAS ITS LAW. To illustrate the existence of such laws we may con- MAGNETIC HEALING 187 sider the poisoning of any human being by inhaling the breath of a cat. In order to accomplish this, the animal must assume a certain condition under a special law by placing its mouth directly under its victim's nose so as to cause the breath of the sleeping one (for the person must be asleep) to come in contact with its own breath, thereby, under the existence of a special law, causing a deadly poison. I have seen a cat at- tempting to do this very thing, and therefore know of what I speak. As I have said before, there is nothing in the pages of this book but what I have seen and heard and actual- ly experienced, and have substantial evidence for it all. CONSOLING WORDS OF AN INDIAN GUIDE. Are you sad or ill in this earth life, And wished you were free, Oman; Then give us spirits an honest trial, We'll do just all we can. Honor our mediums on this earth, Whom we communicate through; They are the tools whom we employ To deliver a message to you. l88 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS Without the medium it is hard for us To speak from the spirit-land; Do not exclude them from the crowd If you wish our helping hand. HOW TO HANDLE A HEALER UNDER THE LAW OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM. First of all, show respect to the healer, or the healer's spirits will likely do nothing for you. The next thing is to abide by those laws which the healer requires, for each spirit has his law. From experience I have learned that a patient must be in the proper condition before you can do anything for him through the means of magnetic healing. Ap- parently, the one who can receive the conditions most readily is the one who has tried all doctors until he has lost all faith in them and their treatments. Such patients are ready and willing to abide by most any law. Remember, there are many laws under the law of Modern Spiritualism by which healing may be done. I shall not give any of these laws at this point of my discussion. I am trying to put forth the idea of how to handle a healer. MAGNETIC HEALING 189 Oftentimes the remark is made, "I would not want 3. spirit to treat me," or "I would be scared to death if ever I saw a spirit." Now think, dear reader, if you were a church-member and perchance would meet your God, would you be "scared to death," when, in truth, you pretend to love Him? Perhaps you often repeat these words, "0, how I love Jesas" There must be a strange love between you and your God. If you would "die" when beholding a spirit, what would you do if you were brought face to face with God ? Surely you must talk with the spirits before you can talk with God; for it says, 22 All things are delivered to me of my Father : and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. St. Luke 10 : 22. Considering this passage of Scripture, man must first converse with Jesus the Christ before he is permitted to speak with God Jehovah. According to my judgment it would be a low and degraded god who would own that one for a follower who is "afraid" to see his God or ashamed to own him in public. Do not give the medium an evil thought, for remem- I90 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS ber that every thought which you throw towards the medium goes to the spirit, and a thought against a spirit is the same as a sounding word against anyone in the flesh. Allow me to impress this thought upon you, that thoughts are things. I have often heard this remark made, "they tried to heal me but they could not do it." There is no one likely to be healed against his will. If you go to a healer and set your mind to do all you possibly can to keep him from healing you, and then go about saying that there is no healer who can heal you, you are sim- ply exposing your ignorance. CHAPTER XL HOW TO COMMUNE WITH GOD JEHOVAH. God Jehovah is not bound within the seven spheres, or called the old heaven. He created heaven and earth, as well as the sun, moon, stars and planets. WAR AMONG THE SPIRITS. God's purpose in creating the old heaven was to establish a place for those who rebelled during the time of war among the spirits. This war was fought before the old heaven, called seven spheres, was cre- ated. Long after this war had ceased, Jehovah cre- ated Adam, the beasts of the field, and every living thing. Six long periods of time had passed from when the rebellion took place till the time when Jehovah had finished what is called the old heaven. These six periods were called days. A day was as long as it took the first light to make one round. This light, 192 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS which was created on the first day, is not the sun which we see at the present time. WHO WROTE THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE? The question often arises as to the author of the Bible of Jehovah. I cannot definitely say who wrote this wonderful book, for all followers of the God Je- hovah helped in its completion. There are many Bibles which belong to other gods, for each god has his law. The most natural succeeding question would be, "which books belong to God Jehovah"? If there are any, how can it be proven that they were written by his follow- ers? The best answer I can give is, to abide by the laws of God and they will reveal these things to you, making clear to your mind which books are of God and who their author might have been. GIVING UP THE WORLDLY TREASURES. Should you wish to talk with the God Jehovah or the Holy Ghost or the Apostles in spirit life, this is the law which is required of us to follow : St. Luke 6 : 27-38— 27 H But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you. COMMUNING WITH GOD 193 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, 29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. 30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye ? for sinners also do even the same. 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to re- ceive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shail not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven : 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good 194 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Thus we have God's law in his own words. If we fulfill this, the Holy Ghost will talk to us. After the spirit of God Jehovah begins to commune with us, they will then teach us all things and explain any passage of Scripture that we do not understand. We shall then be taught the knowledge of Jehovah. Should you have a desire to be a follower of Je- hovah, do not think, that giving up all worldly treas- ures is all that is required. I would say, giving up the worldly treasures is the easiest part. You could easily give away all that you possess, such as money and land; you could also forgive your debtors — those who owe you something. But, you may say, how can a man live if he give up all he has? Let Scripture answer the question. St. Matt. 6:31-34— 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) COMMUNING WITH GOD 195 for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. S3 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. This passage shows plainly that anyone who Is a follower of Jehovah will never starve. It is required that you give up all worldly treasures and forgive your debtors, then the God Jehovah will add all things unto you. You dare not add it unto yourself, for it "shall be added unto you." The spirit will tell you what to do. You will not starve, for the God Jehovah will give you your daily necessities. Therefore it says: Take therefore no thought for the morrow: St. Matt. 6 : 34. The question often arises, "why may we not think for ourselves?" The reason may be found in the fol- lowing illustration. If an officer with an army of men were sent to fight against the enemy, and he would tell each soldier to do what he thought best, to fight I96 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS in whatever manner he wished, and run from the enemy when he saw he was in danger, how could he ever expect to win the fight? All these Gods are at war with one another. You will never find out what Jehovah wishes to accomplish until you become one of his followers. Neither will you know the purposes of any other God until you become a follower of one of those Gods. FREE MEN — FREE SPIRITS. By a free man is meant a man who lives on this earth and does not belong to any God. A free spirit is one that is in spirit land but does not belong to any God. When a man is controlled by a spirit at times, it does not necessarily follow that he belongs to the God of that spirit, for it is possible that a spirit can control a man at times, without that man being one of his fol- lowers; it depends upon the condition in which the person is. When a man is free, he is likely to be controlled by various spirits. The question may arise, "how can different spirits control a single human being if each spirit needs a different condition ?" One COMMUNING WITH GOD I97 who has never had the knowledge as to changing his condition, often has some transformation of condition without being aware of it. To illustrate : One kind of wood will produce a heat which will bake bread properly, while another quality of kindling will not produce the sufficient heat. But you may warm yourself very comfortably by either fire, just as well as being able to warm yourself by means of steam heat. But steam heat will not bake bread properly. If an oven were made so as to be heated either by steam or different kinds of wood, could you, by placing your hand in the oven, tell what kind of heat is being applied if the heat were as in- tense for all the different appliances ? If you were edu- cated well enough to recognize the different heats, you could tell at once what kind of heat is being used to heat the oven. If you were not educated enough to tell the difference, you would say they are all alike. So it is with a man who is not educated to talk with different gods and spirits. He knows not when he changes his condition. It has often happened to me while I was developing different persons, that I would tell them that they gave I98 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS a better condition that night than they had given at any previous time. Invariably they would answer, "why, I was just the same as at other times, I felt no dif- ference." I have attended circles for development when some sitters would change their condition to such an extent that four different spirits had control of their current within the space of ten minutes. And if I would say to them that they change conditions too often, they would answer, "why, I am always the same, I never change." I would then continue to impress my statement upon them, but again the response would be, "tell me how to be different." The thought then came to me, how hard it is to teach man a language when it is impossible for him to understand what you are talking about. THE TEACHING OF CHRIST. I cannot teach the worldly man the knowledge of Je- hovah, for it is a wisdom that the world cannot re- ceive. If you obey the law of Jehovah, the Holy Ghost "will teach you all things." You will find some of the laws of Jehovah in St. Matthew, from the fifth to the eighth chapters; also in the sixth chapter of St. Luke. COMMUNING WITH GOD iyy By reading these chapters you will obtain a fair idea of what to do in order to receive the Holy Ghost. In St. John, from the fourteenth to the seventeenth chapters, you will read of what it teaches when you are worthy of receiving the Holy Ghost. He'll bravely stand before you, you think he is the stuff, You wonder if he got you, he'd treat you very rough. Stand boldly by and loudly "puff," You'll soon conclude he's good on the "bluff." The devil's horse, not by force To win his battle he will try ; The devil's horse, not by force Will run a bluff on the sly. Did you not know his cunning style You would stop and wonder awhile, How with his motions the people he riles And so easy he them beguiles. The devil's horse, not by force To win his battle he will try; The devil's horse, not by force Will run a bluff on the sly. .200 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS Thus many a preacher of today Has taken the example, they say ; And scares his people that they might stay And avoid the hell through endless day. The devil's horse, not by force To win his battle he will Icy ; The devil's horse, not by force Will run a bluff on the sly. CHAPTER XII. MANY GODS. There are many Gods in this universe; in fact, so great is their number that I cannot state definitely how many Gods really exist. I have had many opportunities to speak with several of these Gods, each having his different laws. The enmity which exists between these spirits is marvelous, for, while one God allows his peo- ple to do some special things, another God calls that very deed a great sin. DIFFERENT GODS SENDING DIFFERENT CHRISTS. Many of these Gods have vainly tried to imitate Je- hovah by sending one who was to be a Christ just as Jesus. Some have succeeded in this undertaking, while still other Gods, not endeavoring to mimic Jehovah, simply reincarnated their people, not promising them all power in heaven and earth. THE GODS USING EACH OTHER'S WORKS. It is a strange fact, that, while many Gods have undertaken to be represented by a Christ here on this 202 JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS world, they have often used the writings of God Je- hovah as a means of directing the minds of the people their way. Yea, one God has said, that out of the thir- teen spirits which he had sent back to this earth to ac- complish his work, three forsook him. Many of these very Gods with whom I have spoken, perform miracles of healing; they prophesy, speak in new tongues, and do many other wonderful things through their people whom they comfort, while on the contrary, other Gods do not allow their people to do anything of that sort. Some Gods, who, centuries ago, allowed their followers to commune with spirits, do not permit them to have any intercourse with spirits at this age of the world. Some, who forbade their people to talk with spirits in time past, do now allow them to commune with a departed friend. So many Gods there are in space, We wonder can it be ; We are too narrow while on earth, We cannot clearly see. We often wonder whence Gods came, Or whether they were born ; MANY GODS 203 Like little babes we're apt to say, "Why has the rose a thorn ?" Many a man has wondered long And troubled his weary head In studying out the time worn doubt, Whether man exists when dead. Do not weary your thoughts away, But take another route ; If you obey but God's commands Then you will find it out. Study Modern Spiritualism, For it's no sin nor shame, For you'll find that the Indian friend Will prove it just the same. Of course there are some other Gods, To you they teach likewise ; You may choose, but the question is, Which will win the prize? NOTE. Dear Reader : The few simple explanations which I have given in this edition are scarcely worthy of that name. But, in order to bring my knowledge before the public, I was obliged to make a beginning which I hope will be my introduction to the thinking people of this land and bring a wider knowledge of God Je- hovah, as well as the other Gods, to the minds of many. The contents of this book may seem strange to many who read it, for, to rightly understand, we must know Jehovah who has not many followers on this earth at the present day. How I groped my way through the dark and strug- gled towards the light I will not describe in this edi- tion. As I have said above, it is merely the first step — the first drop in the bucket. I have not discussed Phrenology at this time, al- though Phrenology is very essential to expound the Bible. With the understanding of this science the worldly man may grasp a better idea of the deep mys- teries of the Book of books. Not only Phrenology, but Hypnotism and Spiritualism must also be used to en- JEHOVAH AND OTHER GODS 205 lighten the world in its earnest endeavor to know the truth. In the most prominent writings on Phrenology can- not be found many of the important points which I my- self have recently discovered. To properly present Phrenology to the public, it must be done with the sole aim of explaining the Bible to the worldly people of to-day. Explaining it in this way, a man with the knowledge of Phrenology, Hypnotism and Modern Spiritualism as I have it, could receive a wonderful understanding of the mysteries of God Jehovah. Phrenology, Hypnotism and Modern Spiritualism belong to the worldly knowledge. It is my hope to publish works on these three most interesting subjects, which I trust will be of vast importance and aid in ex- pounding the wonderful mysteries of God Jehovah to the worldly people. Baptism — Communion — Feet-washing — Sabbath-day — What a Dream is — What a Vision is — Noah and the Flood — The Whale swallowing Jonah — Joshua stopping the Sun — What Night-mare is — What causes Insanity — The Laws of other Gods, etc., are not dis- cussed in this book. 206 .OVAH AND OTHER GODS If I have experiences which you have not, Do not grow angry my friend, Nor join with the crowd in a bloodshedding plot, And cause my earth life to end. Should you have experiences which I have not, Kind friend, count me not a fool ; Til promise to not join a bloodshedding plot, But be taught like a child at school. LBJL '07 ^ , Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 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