LIBRARY OF C0N6RES& ©|ajt ©np 9 ri$f ifa Shelf 5>F^75 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE CHRIST; WHO AND Vv^HAT IS IT ? OB, SOME OF THE Spiritualism and Mediumship of the Bible Compared With That of To-day. BT liOSDS HTTLli, \UTHOR OF "THE QUESTION SETTLED," "THE CONTRAST BETWEEN EVANGELICALISM AND SPIRITUALISM," "WHICH, SPIRITUALISM OR CHRISTIANITY ? " "YOUR ANSWEB OB YOUB LIFE," "THE IRREPRESSIBLE CONFLICT, OR THE BATTLE BETWEEN RICH ROBBERS AND POOR PRODUCERS," "THE DECAY OF INSTITUTIONS," AND OTHER WORKS ON SPIRITUALISM AND GEN- ERAL REFORM. /^\ What think ye of Christ?"— JESUS. CHICAGO : MOSES HULL & CO. 675 West Lake St. £* Entered, According to the Act of Congress, in the year 1889, By MOSES HULL, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. PREFACE. No. mere cacoethes scribendi has induced the au- thor of the following pages to take up his pen at the present time. Indeed, he has been importuned for years by those who know the bent of his mind, to bring out a series of just such works as this. By writing "Question Settled," and "The Contrast,'* he, for a time, partially settled the clamor; but his friends thought there must be more where these two volumes came from, and demanded it. The author of this pamphlet is fully convinced that Spiritualists generally have ignored the Bible too much. Many have sought to take the Bible from the churches and spike it. In the following pages the Bible, by being proven to be a spiritual book, is not spiked, but is turned against those who- IV PREFACE. supposed that to them belonged the exclusive priv- ilege of interpreting that volume. When the Bible is interpreted aright, those who, without knowing but little of its contents, have wor- shiped the book and looked with suspicion on every innovation, may be led to look more favorably on Spiritualism: and at the same time, Spiritualists may be induced to pay some attention to that great store-house of Spiritual Truths. With the hope that this little pamphlet may be the means of opening many pairs of eyes, I send it out on this, the forty-second natal day of Spirit- ualism. Moses Hull. Chicago. III., ) March 31. 1889. [ THE MEDIUMSHIP OF THE BIBLE AND OF TO-DAY. "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is donf is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun." Eccl. i:9. The Bible contains no truth more self-evident than this; so long as conditions remain unchanged, each succeeding age must produce the manifesta- tions of every former age. If miracles occurred in the past they must occur to-day; if we have partic- ular manifestations of spirit power to-day, the same conditions which produce them now must have pro- duced them in past ages. Medinmship is not confined to a particular race, age or dispensation; it is based on the natural sus- ceptibility of man to come en rapport with the world of spirit. By this I mean that mediumship is natural, not supernatural. I do not mean that all men and all women are alike mediums, more o th-ic MKniUMsnrp of the tub:/: than all are alike orators or poets; what I do affirm is, tliat the gift belono-s alike to all ages and nations of the world. Paul said: "But the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal." 1 Cor. xii:7. Who has not asked spirits and mediums the ques- tion, "Am la medium?" or, "What kind of a me- dium would I make?" The first of these questions is always answered in the affirmative; but when the second question is asked the answers are various, and sometimes thought to be contradictory. Why is this? Let me answer: 1. All are mediums: "The spirit is given to every man/' One of old said: "But there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." Job xxx:8. Every member of the human family, whether he knows it or not, is a spiritual being; spirit blends with spirit, therefore every one has within himself or herself the possibilities, though latent, they may be, of coming in contact with the world of spirit. That is medium ship, and, in that sense, every one is a medium. 2. I have often been asked, "Why do I get so many contradictory answers as to the phase of my mediumship?" Before I answer permit me toa.sk: Are you sure these answers are contradictory ? May it not be that those who answer your queries, view AND OF TO-DAY. / the matter from different standpoints? Supposing four of your neighbors were to pass to the other side of life within the next month; one is a minister, another a doctor, another an artist and another an author; it is possible that these four may all feel that they have left their work unfinished ; they may each of them have a desire to return and continue their business. Now suppose these four all come to the same circle, and you ask each of them wheth- er you could be a medium; the answer would prob- ably in each instance be, "Yes." Then ask each of them what kind of a medium you would make, and probably each would view your organism from his particular point of view. One would tell you you would make an inspirational speaker, or a trance medium; another, that you would make a healer or a "medicine man." Another might see in you the elements of an artist, and still another that he could develop you as a writing medium. There is no contradiction in all these answers; the probability is that there is that within you that could be developed in any of these directions. THEN AND NOW. My subject leads me to a comparison of biblical and modern mediumship, and I must premise that on this subject the world has very generallv made two very grave mistakes. One is, it has made more O THE MEDIUMSHIP OF THE BIBLE of biblical medio ins than the case would warrant, and the other is, it has very generally discounted that which has occurred within its immediate pur- view. This is not peculiar to Spiritualism; men have always done it; the mountains in the distance are indeed 'the beautiful hills, Which the blest have trod," but when one reaches these same "beautiful hills, he finds them covered with thorns and briers, crag- gy rocks and deep ravines; so when we look back upon the manifestations of past ages we regard them as wonderful, whereas, if they occurred here, or if we had been where they did occur we probably would have joined with the multitude that witnessed them, in saying: "What sign showest thou then, that we may see and believe thee ? What dost thou work ?" Jno. vi :30. These people could see nothing in Jesus or his work. The people now viewing his work from a distance of nearly nineteen centuries have no trouble in seeing enough in Jesus' works to prove him a God. Those same people who could see nothing in Jesus, could look back through fifteen hundred years to Moses, and could see plainly that he was a divine- ly commissioned leader. Hear them talk of what their fathers enjoyed. The next verse after the one just quoted says: AND OF TO-DAY. 9 "Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is writ- ten: He gave them bread from heaven." This the Jews of Jesus 1 day, could plainly see. but when we go back to those halcyon days when they enjoyed the "bread from heaven," we hear those who ate it, say: "Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness ; for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread." In Jesus' day, the old, staid church-members re- viled those who witnessed his manifestations, and said: "Thou art his disciples; but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake with Moses ; as for this fel- low, we know not from whence he is." — Jno ix:28,29. This is enough, it proves our point — that is, that people are more apt to see these things at a distance than when they occur in their midst. We new take the position, that if Jesus was not the hero of some Spiritualistic author, he was ONLY A MEDIUM. Of this the proofs are abundant and will appear as I proceed. Suffice it for the present, to quote Paul, who says: "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. 1 Tim. 11 :5. The word rendered mediator in this instance, is the Greek word mesitees. The definition of that word is medium. Greenfield defines the w T ord to 10 THE MEDIUMSHIP OF THE BIBLE mean a "medium of communication between God and man." "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straight- way out of the water; and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him; and, lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matt. m:16. This text is frequently read wrong, and I believe always interpreted wrong. It is always made to imply that somehow if you had been there you would have seen a ghost, in the shape of a bird, light up- on Jesus, and you •would have heard a voice calling Jesus the Son of. God. Neither is true; the heav- ens were not opened to the multitude. Head the text once more: "And the heavens were opened unto him" — not to the multitude. Again: "And he saw the spirit of God descending." The multitude did not see a spirit descending; Jesus alone saw it. Once more, I have heard it said the spirit descended "in a bodily shape like a dove." Even Luke indi- cates as much. Does anyone believe that "spirits are shaped like doves? If so, God may be a big bird instead of an overgrown man! May it not be that the descent was like the descent of a dove, in- stead of the spirit being shaped like a dove? Why should spirits be more likely to be shaped like doves than like geese, owls, cranes or buzzards? AND OF TO-DAY. 11 If this is the meaning of the text, which I do not believe, why not call it a materialization, such as we hear of in Modern Spiritualism? I know me- diums. Mrs. Thayer-Goodsell, for instance, who fre- quently lias doves descend and light upon persons in her seances. Once more: "This is my beloved Son." Who is whose son? The voice does not say Jesus is my beloved son, or he is my beloved son. The term this applies to the power here recognized "as the holy spirit. Son, is simply an idiom, and signifies a kind of affinity or spiritual connection, as, "Sons of Thunder," "Sons of Belial, ""Ye are of your fath- er, the devil," "Children of this world," etc. In- deed, the word rendered children in the above, is the plural of the same singular noun rendered son in Matt. iii:17. 1IOAV JESUS BECAME A CHRIST. Peter, at the house of Cornelius, in Acts x:38, throws some light on this question. He says: "God anointed [Christened, or Christ-ed — that is, made a Christ of] Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power ; who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed with the devil ; for God was with him." This anointing or making a Christ of Jesus took place at the baptism of John. Here let it be re- marked that baptism was always administered for 12 THE MEDIUMSHIP OF THE BIBLE the purpose of spiritual development — never for any other purpose. OTHER CHRISTS. All may be Christs or mediums, on exactly the same terms as Jesus was. John says: "But the anointing [Christing] which ye have received of him abideth in you. and you need not that any man teach you ; but 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." [Abide in it. — Mar- gin.] Here the same anointing or Christina; which came to Jesus, and which many good Christians think made him a God, comes to others and does precisely the same work for them that it did for him. No one can deny that this anointing or Christ- ing is mediumship. See what it does. "It abid- eth in you." "Ye need not that any man teach you." "The same anointing teacheth you," and you are instructed to "abide in him." The margin reads "abide in it," that is, in Christ — in the anoint- ing, — in mediumship. Probably the old idea that Christ was a person caused the translators to make the mistake of making the text read "abide in him." We have hot the space to spare to go all through the Bible and show that the term Christ generally refers to a power conferred upon Jesus and others. In many instances we read of Jesus the Christ, which means no more or less than Jesus the me- AND OF TO-PAY 13 dium. The term Messiah or Messias, used several times in the New Testament, means the same thing. WHAT OF THE OPPOSITION? Not only was the Spiritualism and the medium - ship of the Bible the same as that of to-day, as it is my intention to prove, but the opposition to Spiritualism is the same as the opposition was then. Paul said : "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Ivloses, so do these also resist the truth." 2 Tim. iii:8. How did these men resist the truth? Simply by trying to palm off duplications of the manifesta- tions through Moses. When Moses gave a mani- festation, the record says: "Jannes and Jambres also did in like manner with their enchantments." Ex. vn:ll. The opposition proved to their own satisfaction that Jesus was a humbug. They tested him on several occasions. To try his clairvoyance, after they arrested him they blindfolded him, then slip- ped up behind him and smote him, saying: "Prophesy unto us who it was that smote thee." Luke xxii :64. Jesus- clairvoyant powers did not stand the test proposed by these religions skeptics, and he passed among them as a humbug. Even after Jesus was 14: THE MEDIUMSHIP OF THE BIBLE on the cross the mocking priests proposed to be- lieve, on certain conditions. Their language was: "He saved others ; [pretended to save others,] him" self, he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, le him now come down from the cross, and we will be- lieve him." Matt, xxvii :42. The above was the voice of the priests. The common people wagged, their beads and said: "Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross." Yerse 40. The Jews were always demanding the thing to be clone here and now. Jesus, in the very begin- ning of his ministry, said : "Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself. Whatsoever we have heard done in Ca- pernium, do also here in thy country." Luke iv:23. The works these fellows demanded were not done to gratify a bevy of curiosity seekers, neither is it, nor should it be attempted now. FALSE MEDIUMS AND FALSE APOSTLES. Of course there are false mediums to-day ; the world is filled with mercenary pretenders who will take up anything for the sake of brief notoriety or mon- ey, but was it not always so? Paul, in 2 Cor. xi:13, warns his brethren against "false apostles," and "deceitful workers," or tricksters who used "the liv- ery of heaven to serve the devil in." The trouble with the world is, that it does not think. With AND OF TO-DAY. 15 many Spiritualists and anti-Spiritualists, these pre- tenders to inediumship are mediums, and thus Spir- itualism is, by them, thrown into bad repute. JESUS AND THE MEDIUMS. My readers may uot have looked at this matter, but if they will investigate they will lind a won- derful similarity in the reputed miracles done by Jesus eighteen hundred years ago and the manifes- tations' through mediums to-day. As an illustra- tion, take the resuscitation of the Ruler's daughter. Luke says : "And when he [Jesus] came into the house, he suf- fered no man to go in save Peter and James and John and the father and mother of the maiden. And all wept and bewailed her; but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. And he put them all out and took her by the hand and called, saying, Maid, arise; and her spirit came again and she arose straightway." From the foregoing, it appears that Jesus' mani- festations of power were not for the public. Why was not this motley crew of unbelievers and blas- phemers permitted to behold this manifestation? Why was he so secret with his miracles? Only Peter, James aud John and the girl's parents were admitted. Why? Only one answer can be given. The reason probably is, -Because, in order to make a success of this manifestation they must have a har- monious circle. Had this rabble of curiosity seek- 16 THE MEDIUMSHIP OF THE BIBLE ers been admitted, their influence — their magrie- tism would have prevented the manifestation. The same may be said of the deaf man. The record is in Mark vn:32-34, and is as follows: "And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears and he spit, and touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain." Does not this look much more like many of the cases of healing in modern times than it does like a miracle wrought by one of the Gods, or by a son of one of the Gods ? Jesus takes this man away from the multitude. Evidently this is done so that he could have more power over his infirmities than he could have where he had all the uncongeniality of their magnetisms to overcome. Ao-ain, Jesus uses means; he uses saliva and the magnetism imparted from his An- gers. Why did Jesus do this? Probably because it was among the necessary conditions of accomplish- ing his work. Surely a God — the third person in the trinity, does not require such conditions as these for miracles! If Jesus was only a medium then it would naturally be e'xpected that he would require the same conditions as are required in sim- ilar modern manifestations. AND OF TO-DAY. 17 The blind man who had his eyes opened, is an- other case in point. It reads as follows - : "And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town, and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught. And he looked up and said, I see men as trees walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes and made him look up; and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town." Mark viii :23-26. John ix:6, instead of saying "he spit on his eyes," "He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay." From this it seems that Jesus was simply a "medicine man," using such remedies as occurred to him. Whether it was the magnetism, the clay or the spittle, or whether it was all three combined that accomplished this cure, we are not informed. The points that clearly appear are : 1. Jesus found it necessary to take this man out of the town — away from the crowd, in order to heal him. 2. He used means, magnetism, spittle and clay. 3. He tried twice before he accomplished the cure, and 4. He charged the man to go to his house, not to return to the town nor tell anyone, but to go quietly to his own house. 18 THE MEDIUMSH1P OF THE BIBLE Why this charge? I can see no reason except that the agitation caused by this wonderful cure would create a discussion of the question that would bring him en rapport with the magnetism of the people and cause him to lose what he had gained. WON'T LET US SEE. A common objection urged against Spiritualism is, that much of it is done in the dark, or in a cab- inet, or under a table. All this is proof to the average skeptic, u as strong as holy writ" that it is trickery. One minister, who shall be nameless here, even urged that the writing should come ? not between two closed slates, even when the slates were held by himself, but they must come on top of the slate in broad daylight, and that with him- self and a half dozen of others equally determin- ed not-to-be-convinced-persons looking at it. He knew exactly what he was about and would accept nothing less than his own kind of manifestations, under his own conditions and on his own terms. As I heard this I thought priests had not improv- ed much in point of consistency since they said, "Let him come down from the cross and we will be- lieve." How much of the Bible could this minis- ter accept if he demanded the same terms he now demands of mediums? At the burning of the bush; or rather, at the AND OF TO-DAY. m time Moses saw the spirit light in the bush, the angel said: "Draw not nigh hither. Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." Ex. iii:5. If Moses had been afflicted with the grabbing propensity, he probably would never have obtained the messages, through which Israel was finally rescued and saved. When Jesus appeared to the weeping Mary, he said: "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my father." Jno., xx:17. Probably a majority of those who are opposed to dark circle manifestations, do not realize that the Ten Commandments were given in the dark, and probably spoken through a horn. In the first place the Lord came u in a thick cloud." See Ex. xix :9. This Lord was an angel, or a departed human spirit. See Acts viii:53, Gal. iii:19, Heb. ii:2. 2. They were not permitted to so much as touch the mountain where the manifestations were given. The angel was determined there should be no op- portunity for grabbing there. The record is as follows: "And thou shalt stt bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it. Whoso- 20 THE MEDIUMSHIP OF THE BIBLE ever toachefch the mount shall be surely put to death. There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall be surely stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live; when the trumpet soundeth long they shall come up to the mount." Ex. xix:ll-14 Here they could only go up to the mount — the cabinet — as they were called up by the long sound- ing of the trumpet, so, in modern cabinet manifes- tations, the sitters forming the circle around the cabinet as the Hebrews did around the mount, only go up to the cabinet as they are invited. 3. Under no circumstances must they "break through and gaze" or go up to the mount only as they were called one at a time by the long sound of a trumpet. Yerses 19-24 contain the following: "And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount; and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up, and the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them. And Moses said unto the Lord, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai, for thou chargest us saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. And the Lord spake unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou and Aaron with thee. But let not the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break forth upon them." 4. The people obeyed these injunctions and kept themselves '-afar off," while Moses went into AND OF TO-DAY. 21 the "thick darkness where God was." Ex. xx:18- 20, says: "And all the people saw the thunderings and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they re- moved and stood afar off, * * * and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was." Every person in the habit of attending Spiritual seances, especially dark circles, can see that the above is simply a vivid description of a dark se- ance with its spirit-lights, voices and other et est- er as. One would hardly believe when he hears minis- ters objecting to dark circle manifestations and to seances in the night that the Bible was so full of such things as it is. On this subject it may not be amiss for me to occupy a little space. Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage, in one of his periodical attacks of spirit-phobia, says: "Why did not Saul go in the day? He was ashamed to go. Besides that, he knew that this Spiritual medi- um, like all her successors, performed her exploits in the night. * * ' * The mediums of all ages have chosen the night, or a darkened room. Why? The majority of their wonders have been such swindles, and deceptions prosper best in the night." - 1 shall not here undertake to make a reply to this, it is unnecessary, but I might ask: Why did Nicodemus go to Jesus by night? Then I might answer: It is because he was ashame 1 to go in the day-time. 22 THE MEDIUMSHIP OF THE BIBLE The truth is, I do not believe that our best mani- festations, or a majority of the manifestations, oc- cur in the night. I do believe that in the night the elements are less agitated and therefore condi- tions are better for certain kinds of manifestations. But the reverend gentleman's objections against manifestations in the night weigh with all their force against the biblical manifestations. Those whose curiosity leads them to pursue this sub- ject farther might take, their Bibles and look up the following scriptures: I have before said, Nicodeinus went to Jesus by night. Jno. iii:2. It was in the night when the Lord appeared to Isaac. Gen. xxvi:24. Jacob's wrestle with the Lord was in the night. When the day began to break, the Lord begged like a good fellow for Jacob to let him go, "for," said he, "the day breaketh." Gen. xxxii:24-26. Was this because God and Jacob were, to use the classic of the Dr., "ashamed" to be seen together in the day-time? It was in the night that God made his great promise to Jacob, that he would make of him a great nation. Gen. xlvi:2. The manna— the "bread from heaven" always fell at night and the quails the Lord sent, were sent "at even." Ex. xvi:13. AND OF TO-DAY. 23 Baalam's seance with God was in the night. Was it because either God or Baalam was "ashamed" to go to the seance in the day-time? Num. xxii:20. It was in the night when the miracles were wrought on Gideon's fleece. Judges vi :37-40. The wonderful manifestation by the angel of the Lord, of killing one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrian soldiers, occurred in the night. 2. Kings, xx:35. It was in a night seance that God promised Sol- omon such extraordinary wisdom. 2 Chron. i:17. The miracle of parting the Red Sea and leading the people up out of Egypt was done in the night. Psalms lxxviii:14. A night vision gave Daniel his wonderful wis- dom. Dan. ii:19. A wise man in the book of Job thought man was more receptive at night than in the day-time — when asleep, than when awake. His language is: "For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man per- ceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings up- on the bed; then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, that he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man." Job xxxiii :14-16. Those who object, as' Rev. Mr. Talmage does, to manifestations in the night, forget that Jesus' walk on the water was in the fourth watch of the night. Matt. xiv:25, Mark vi:48. 24 THE MEDIUMSHIP OF THE BIBLE Jesas prayed all night; was it because he was "ashamed" to pray in the day-time? Luke vi:12. Peter was delivered from the prison in the night. Acts xii:6. Paul held seances with the angels at night. Acts xxiii:ll, xxvii:23. I have before proved that the Ten Command- ments were given in the dark, I now assert that the Bible teaches that God dwells in the midst of thick darkness. See 1 Kings viii:12. THE HEBREWS WERE NOT PERMITTED TO EXAMINE THE CABINET. In 1 Samuel vi:19, is the history of their under- taking to examine the cabinet, and the result. It says: "And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and three score and ten men" That manifestations occurred in the dark in the presence of this ark is evident, from the fact that the Philistines put the ark in the temple of Dagon, their God, but every ■ morning when they went to the temple to worship they would find Dagon thrown down before it; and at last found his head and hands cut off by these invisible powers. The record of this may be found in 1 King v:l-4. The manifestations in the presence of the ark were so numerous and wonderful, and withal so AND OF TO-DAY. 25 disastrous that the Philistines were more anxious to get rid of the ark than the man was for his neighbors to come and help him let go of the panther. They finally, as an act of eelf-defense, sent it to Israel. COVERED TABLES. Many mediums when they sit for slate-writing manifestations and others of a similar character, have the tables with which they are connected, cov- ered. I have even heard good Christians object to this; but the same thing is found in the Bible. Num. iv:5, says: "Aaron shall come and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of the testi- mony with it." Terse 20 says: "But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered lest they die." Such declarations as the above show that they were quite as particular to have the best and most secret conditions for their manifestations in Bible times as now.. Some want everything done in public, "right out, where everybody can see it." In Elisha's day when he multiplied the widow's oil he took the widow and her sons and went into a private room and "shut the door," to prevent any other seeing the, manifestation. See 2 Kings iv:4. So when he 26 THE MEDIUMSHIP OF THE BIBLE he went into the room alone and shut the door "up- on the twain." 2 Kings iv:33. ONE MAN KILLED FOR BREAKING THE CONDITIONS. In 2 Sam. vi:6, is the history of the death of Uzzah, as follows: "And when they came to Nachan's threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God." This looks severe; Uzzah's intentions were good; the ark needed steadying. God must be capricious in- deed, to get mad and kill one of the very best of his very few T friends for a little thing like that. The fact is, God did not kill him; yet their knowledge of sci- ence, or rather, their want of knowledge, would cause them to. write in that way. The ark was probably heavily charged with electricity and Uz- zah, by touching it, received a shock from which he could not recover. I knew a man who, while fixing electric lights- in Des Moines, received a shock from which he fell over dead. Had that been in Bible times the story would have been, "The anger of the Lord was kin- dled against him and he died." OPEN AND SHUT-EYED TRANCES. Nearly all the trance mediums nowadays begin .resuscitated one of these sons, supposed to be' dead; ANTE) OF TO-DAY, 27 with their eyes closed; many of them begin to talk in a totally unconscious state; after awhile, little- by little, as they can bear it, they are made con- scious of what they are saying and doing, and at a later period their eyes are opened. So it was in Bible times. In Num. xxiv:3,4,we read: "Baalam the son of Beor, hath said, and the man whose eyes are open [had his eyes shut but now opened. — Margin] hath said. He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance but having his eyes open, How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel." Daniel was both a test and trance medium; his ^'visions" generally came when he was in what he called "a deep sleep." I call it a deep trance. In Dan. viii:18, he says: "Now as he [Gabriel] was speaking with me* I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me upright." In. Dan. x:9, he says: "And when I heard the voice of his words, then I was in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground." Luke in giving an account of the transfiguration, "But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were awake, they saw his glory and the two men that were with him." Luke ix:32; While on the subject of trances., I will say I regard the Bible just- as I do Spiritualism ;. no 28 THE MEDIUMS HIP OF THE BIBLE more true, no more false. Its poems and psalms are inspirations. Much of its history is but the history of manifestations among the Jews. The book of Revelation is a case in point. It came from a departed spirit, -or rather, from a cir- cle of seven different spirits through an entranced medium, on the Island of Patmos. John says: "I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and heard be- hind me a great voice, as of a trumpet." Rev. i:10. That is, I was entranced, or, I was in a spiritual condition on the Lord's day. The writer of the Acts of the Apostles referred to the same thing when he said: "And he [Peter] became very hungry and would have eaten; but while they made ready he fell into a trance." Trances were once as common in the Church as they are now among Spiritualists; but alas! the glory of the Church has departed. In 2 Cor. xii:l,2, Paul, in coming 4 -to visions and revelations of the Lord," says: 4k Iknew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I canuot tell, or whether out of the body, I cannot tell ; God knoweth) such an one caught up to the third heaven." This again means exactly what Spiritualists mean by enhancement. But to return to John, through whom the bock of Revelation came, in chapter iv, verse 2, he says: AND OF TO-DAY. 29 *