■IF ■L lib Hi IflllBilB 1 lililii if Wsm Q ■ ■ wt WBmBk 1163113 Jlllll Sni 8 Hi ■p H I T m 9 B ■I ■Mil I .,** ^ ^ i i *\ %«* \ o r>0 1 A ,\X o oa * o '^. c X * 'A /, ^ ! ^ ^ ^ ' * A ^ ** <£* v o ^ \ V -7\ *p s A x , c V * C*> * ^^ ^ ^ A V V V A : «** -A oV < ~ ' j e s A y n . ^ rA ° X ^ 0° <-> KV 9 I vr * ^ \' ^ ^5 ^ x ^ *> -%■ <\V *7 Bible Marvel Workers, AND THE POWER WHICH HELPED OR MADE THEM PERFORM MIGHTY WORKS, AND UTTER INSPIRED WORDS: TOGETHER WITH SOME PERSONAL TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF PROPHETS, APOSTLES, AND JESUS ; OK, NEW HEADINGS OF " TEE MIRACLES: 9 BY ALLEN PUTNAM, A. M., AUTHOR OF "NATTY, A SPIRIT," " SPIRIT WORKS REAL, BUT NOT MIRACULOUS," "MESMERISM, SPIRITUALISM, WITCHCRAFT, AND MIRACLE," AND " TIPPING HIS TABLES." The Lord spake to the prophets "by spirits . . . whom the Lord filled with his aspect, and thus inspired words which they 6pake to the prophets." Swedenborg. BOSTON: A COLBY AND RICH, No. 9 Montgomery Place. 1873. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, By ALLEN PUTNAM, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, Stereotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry, 19 Spring Lane. SERIAL INDEX TO DIVISIONS. PAGE Preface 7 John the Revelator. ... 25 Jehovah 32 Abraham 33 Moses 34 Balaam 62 Joshua .69 Gideon 72 Samson 73 Samuel 79 Saul 85 End or, woman of. . . . . 88 David , . 92 Solomon 95 Elijah 96 Elisha 103 Hezekiah 112 Job 114 Isaiah 116 Jeremiah 117 Ezekiel 119 Daniel 124 Jonah 131 Apocrypha 139 O. T. Summary. .... 146 Apostles 155 Peter 156 Paul 168 Jesus. . 178 Zacharias . 180 Mary 181 John Baptist. . . * . . .190 PAGE . 191 . 193 . 194 . 197 . 198 . 198 . 198 . 199 . 199 . 200 . 201 . 202 . 203 . 204 . 205 . 207 . 208 . 209 . 212 . 213 . 213 . 214 . 215 .217 Satan upon Judas and Peter. 218 Agonies of Jesus 219 Forsaken by God. . . . 220 Crucifixion 221 Resurrection 222 Parting commission. . . . 224 Ascension 227 Conclusion 227 Baptism of Jesus. Temptation of Jesus. Wine from water. Exceptional mood. Sychar, woman of. Bethesda, cure at. Blind, cure of. . . Fishes, control of, Fever, cure of. . . Leper, cure of. . - . Centurion's servant. Widow of Nain. . Waters, calming of. Devils of the tombs. Sin, forgiveness of. Blood, issue of. Endowing of apostles Lazarus Loaves, multiplied. Water, walking on. Transfiguration. . Spirits, return of. . Unbelief. .... Fig tree, blasted. . MISCELLANEOUS INDEX. PAGE Aaron 45, 48 Abraham 33 a prophet 37 his faith 38 his temptation 39 Agabus 175 Agonies of Jesus 219 Ananias 161, 169 Angel 26, 36 of Jesus 25,26 to Lot 36 to Manoah 74 Apocrypha. . 139 Apostles 155 endowed 208 Aprons 173 Ark of covenant 53, 54, 70, 80 captured 81 Ascension 227 Aura 21, 156, 184 Azarias 142 Balaam 62 Baptism 191 Barnabas 171 Belief. 13, 19 Belshazzar 126 Bethesda. . . 198 Bible 7, 11, 238 Blind, cured 198 Blood, issue ♦ 207 PAGE Cana 194 Centurion 201 Commission 224 Conclusion 227 Conditions 19 Cornelius 166 Crucifixion 221 Eli 80 Elias 214 Elijah 96 in connection with ravens. . . 96 bread and oil 97 widow's son 97 Baal 99 his ascension. 102 his character 103 his return 110 Eliphaz 115 Elisha 104 in connection with the spring. 105 children 106 oil 106£ Naaman 106£ ax 108 Dothan 108 his writing no his bones Ill his character Ill Elizabeth 180 Elymas. 171 4 MISCELLANEOUS INDEX. Endor, woman of. 88 Eneas 165 Enhancement 25 John's 25 Abram's 34 Ezekiel's 122 Daniel's 128 Eyes, opened. . 109 Ezekiel 119 his vision 119 his pantomime 121 his discipline 122 his traits 123 Faith 13, 19, 38, 159 Fever 199 Fig tree. 217 Fishes . 199, 212 Fox, Mrs 17 • Gabriel, man 131 angel 180 Gehazi 107 Gideon 72 God 28, 32, 44, 177 Hananiah 118 Herod 166, 189 Hezekiah 113 Holy Ghost. . 13, 19, 156, 160, 161, 164, 173, 182, 191 Hydesville 17 Isaiah 116 Issue 207 Jairus. . 207 Jehovah 32 Jesus. . 178, 183, 229 Jeremiah 117 Job 114 John the Revelator 25 the Baptist 190 Jonah 131 Joseph 187 Joshua 69 Korah 58 Lazarus 209 Leper 200 Loaves • 212 Lot 36 Lystra 171 Manoah 73 Mark 172 Marvels 8, 10, 21 Marvel workers 8, 13 Mary 181 Miracle 12, 18 Miriam 57 Mood 197 Moses 40 bush 42 rod 45 inn. 46 Pharaoh 49 mount 55, 57 wife 57 meekness 58 eulogy 60 character 62 Naaman 107 Nam. 202 Nature 13 Nebuchadnezzar 124 6 MISCELLANEOUS INDEX. Paul 168, 178 Peter 156, 167 Philip 165, 175 Prophets 26, 85, 175 Rahab 69 Resurrection 177,222 Revelation 27 Rod 51 Samson. 73, 78 Samuel, 79,82,85 Sapphira 161 Saul 85,87 Satan 93, 114, 192, 218 Sceva 175 Shadow 162 Shadrac 124 Sin 205 Sodom 35 Solomon . 95 Sphere 156 Spirit. 115, 145 in the 25, 29 Spirit aura 157 Stephen 164 Supernatural. 12 Temptation 192 Testament, Old 146 Thyatira. 172 Tobias 141 Tobit. 139 Tombs 204 Transfiguration. 213 Unbelief. 18, 215 Woman of Endor 88 Zacharias. ••»•••• 180 PEEFACE. Very deep and wide-spread reverence for the Bible as ultimate authority in all matters of which it makes any mention, prevails so extensively, that upon the presentation of any new view in science, in philosophy, or in the interpretation and classification of strange phenomena, the popular mind asks whether the view conflicts with the Scriptures or not. If it does, or is supposed to, its correct- ness is instantly questioned, and the view is assumed to be unsound. The popular argument, briefly stated, is this : " The Omniscient One has said otherwise in the Bible — therefore the novel doctrine is not true." This mode of reasoning is a great barrier to ready reception of new-found facts among the works of the same Omniscient One, and of deductions fairly made from them by genuine science and sound philosophy. Still, if all statements which the Bible contains are absolutely and unqualifiedly the very words of an Omniscient and Infallible Inspirer, the popular mode of reasoning from it is commendable and philosophical. The fundamental question whether the Bible is, in such a sense or to any such extent as the popular mind assumes it to be, " the word " of one who never errs, is always properly open for further consideration. Theologians, divines, and scholastics have discussed and re-discussed it for centuries, have thrown upon it all the light available at their several stand-points, and have reached widely dif- ferent conclusions. Forgetting now, or ignoring as far as possible, all that such teachers have said, an attempt is made in the follow- ing work to let the Bible manifest its own statements and exhibit 7 8 PREFACE. its own implied arguments relating to its origin and to the agents and circumstances of its production. With much distinctness it indicates that the inspirers of some of its human authors, and the unseen helpers of its Marvel Workers sometimes, were finite intelligences, and therefore beyond question were both fallible and restricted in power. To let that book itself reveal its own paternity and nativity is the leading purpose of the Author, who feels confident that if those who most sincerely and persistent- ly proclaim the Bible to be their guide, will but examine its teach- ings in light now available, they will cease to regard parts of it as the immediate word of an infallible author, and will put themselves into much more favorable positions than they have heretofore oc- cupied for receiving light in whatever way Heaven may please to send it, whether that way be up from the rocks beneath us, down from the stars above us, out from the depths within us, or by in- spirations from unseen realms. Genuine mental freedom to listen trustfully whenever God speaks, and to look reverently whenever He manifests himself, would be a most beneficent boon to everv Bible reader. That we may help some to the possession of it is our prayer, and the hope that we may do so moves our pen. Significant utterances of very varied import and worth, also startling and instructive actions upon men and matter, all claiming supernal visitants as their authors, are quite common in this age. These are very properly inciting the world to search for, and if pos- sible detect and define, some occult forces and agents which must exist and be operating in its very midst ; and they are broadening the fields and deepening the wells which yield God-made foods and drinks for the intellects and affections of men. Do the marvels which are being wrought out through spirit me- diums now, spring from similar sources, and are they by nature such very close kindred with those which were wrought through prophets in Judea of old, as that thev mav sruide man to knowledge of sources from which those elder marvels came ? Perhaps they do. The in- quiry is worth pursuing ; and the Bible's words and facts will give a PEEEACE. 9 more widely credible and conclusive answer than those from any other source. Its response should carry with it great weight to all minds which rank its authority high, and should receive in such a very cordial welcome. Modern phenomena have already prompted many persons to open and read anew the biblical accounts concerning the doers of mighty works, and recorders of significant revelations in past ages. They find therein much information never definitely n;;i sed before re ing to the source of help which the biblical penmen received, and to their inspirers and helpers. JVno gave personal aid to those writers and Marvel Workers — to ancient prophets and apostles ? What measure of help did they need and receive for speaking and writing as they did, and for working "signs and wond— by which the Supernal Source of their words and powers was confirmed? Be- that the Omniscient One immediately inspired their words, and that the Omnipotent One immediately put forth power through them, extensively prevailed, and still exista in the minds of many Bi- ble readers. But does that book itself either demand or justify such a belief in relation to all the parts of itself? Most clear, z... For what does it disclose ? An answer to this question is involved in many significant statements and illustrative facts extracted from it and made to constitute the subs : : e of the following work, where they are interspersed with, and accompanied, i ^ratements fie Authors observations of the action of finite spirits upon men sent day make him deem helpful to a common-sense and philosophical comprehension of the nature and source of Anxiz i This work is not a labored one — is not critical — is very far from exhaustive ; it lacks the graces of rhetoric and the accuracies and finish of scholarship. The Auth ?w of the Bible has here pur- posely been only such an one as may come before every intelligent ler who peruse n rapidly, King James's English version only. getting past theories and bia- a far as possible, he takes up the ancient record, gives a cursory glance at its contents from page 10 PBEFACE. to page, thus gathers its most obvious accounts and indications re- lating to its own paternity, and attempts a plain report of his find- ings. His desire is to make a distinct presentation of biblical facts, accompanied by views and thoughts resultant from them, which shall indicate some actual agents and processes through which man has been favored with super-mundane revelations and manifestations. He is animated by a firm persuasion that the Overruling Power has always been self-consistent in processes, agents, and instrumen- talities for illuminating the minds of men, and in manifesting be- fore them the operations of an intelligent force superior to any they can put forth. Any successful effort to generate a similar convic- tion in other minds, must, in his judgment, conduce to their better appreciation of the character and methods of the Supreme Being. Accurate knowledge of Him and of his ways is surely helpful to man. If facts are recorded in the guide-book of Christendom which have been almost entirely overlooked or ignored by those who have sought for and used its directions, it may be a work of kindness and beneficence to draw public attention to them. If education has caused men to adopt theories concerning the Bible's origin which obviously must be false, provided they do not harmonize with facts presented in the Bible itself, no one who truly trusts to the guid- ance of that book with more confidence than he does to his existing creed, can but be thankful for any light that will aid him to truer conceptions of what the Bible clearly teaches upon that or any oth- er point whatever. Light emanating from modern marvels illuminates and makes manifest pathways along which ancient ones may have made a legiti- mate, natural advent to man. Guided by that light, the Author de- signs to lead his readers along ways in which the Bible itself may be seen refuting some very prevalent assumptions relating to the immediate source and the amount of its own inspiration. He pre- pares his work for the common Christian mind, and spends no time or thought for the special purpose of making it satisfactory to PREFACE. 11 scholars and critics. His thoughts, while writing, are upon com- mon Bible readers of fair intelligence, and especially upon such among them as desire to adhere to its teachings, and at the same time would be glad to hold communion through mediums with their own loved ones who have passed on, or get help through such for the sick ones around them, if they can see the way clear to do this without violence to their biblical fidelity. Perhaps light has come into the world, in which the Bible itself may be seen to invite its readers and pupils to drink of these outflowings of fresh inspi- ration. The ancient and modern marvels may be reciprocally ex- planatory of each other, and each may be a source of healthful instruction and aid. Any merit which this work may have will lie in the running argu- ment which Bible facts themselves will be putting forth in proof, that the biblical revelations might all have come, and in part surely did come, from out of the invisible realms, while yet they were pro- duced by many distinct finite intelligences in spirit life, who obtained means of utterance and action through different men, and through the same often confirmed their super-mundane citizenship by " signs and wonders following " their words. Much evidence lies on the very surface of its own leaves, which proves parts of that volume to be only records of the sayings and doings of various finite departed spirits, possessing unequal powers and dissimilar characters, speak- ing through distinct and widely differing mediumistic men. Much of that evidence is here brought together, that it may be seen more in connection, or in a more compact mass, than it can be in its ex- isting scattered positions between the Bible's covers. That book is not the Author's idol now as it was in his youth, and yet it retains very firm hold upon his respect and gratitude. To him, and to millions of other persons, pain is given by the very many inconsiderate, intemperate, and flippant attacks made with a view to disparage a Book which he regards as intrinsically very val- uable, because he deems much of it the product of high inspiration, 12 PREFACE. and the whole Book highly instructive upon many natural, historical, spiritual, and religious subjects. Science, Spiritualism, and common perception are learning that the book is not what theology has long claimed it to be, and are therefore tending to underestimate, or entirely ignore, its inherent merits. Such being the Author's feelings and views, "some man may say," Is not the Bible here to be wounded " in the house of its friends " ? Confessedly it will he probed there, but the probing will be performed by a friendly, though he may be an unskillful, surgeon, who sees death approaching, and about to claim the patient, if the knife be spared. The philosophical spirit of the age will not long continue to pay much respect to a book which claims to have been born, and to be living, high above the sweep of philosophical vision, and beyond the reach of philosophical investigation. The leading minds of this age, the philosophers and scientists of both this coun- try and Europe, with great unanimity, are moving in directions, and reaching conclusions, which detect and unearth fallacy in the long- asserted claims of the Bible to plenary inspiration and to be a suc- cession of communications made to man directly by the Omniscient One. The hand which is here laid upon that Book is not unfriendly to it. Frankness, however, is free to avow that the workings of that hand, so far as its powers shall operate, will tend to make the book take itself down from a skyey height to which theology long ago ballooned it, and cause itself to rest on a natural foundation. It must either put itself within the reach of science, or be shelved as a relic of little further use to the world. The words " miracle " and " supernatural " will be shunned in these pages, because their use unexplained might often prevent correct apprehension of the thought that was seeking expression, " Miracle " was once frequently employed to designate something very wonderful because of the mysterious power needful for its pro- duction, which yet might be only the power of finite beings. In that sense it would be appropriate to the Author's general view. PREFACE. 13 But the word has come now generally to signify such things as re- quire for their production a suspension or abrogation of natural forces by the direct and immediate action of the Almighty One, — a process which probably never occurred. Therefore the word mira- cle will not be employed ; marvel is substituted in its place, and hence our title, Marvel Workers. " Nature " may properly be so used as to embrace all things in all worlds ; and when employed in that broad and comprehensive sense, there is no room left for anything supernatural, that is, any- thing above or beyond nature. We give this broad meaning to the term, and therefore have no space left in which to place anything above or beyond Nature. That word is often, and perhaps generally, restricted in its meaning to objects and forces which may be taken cognizance of by the external senses. Natural forces or laws are very frequently understood to be such only as come within the occupied domain of the physical sciences. But position is here taken which in- duces us to refer to all the unchanging laws or forces which act upon or through either matter or mind anywhere in the vast universe as natural ones ; and therefore nothing is conceded to be supernatural. The words « faith" and "belief," and the phrase "Holy Ghost," the reader will find having sometimes significations attached to them which are uncommon. The Author's interpretation of these in some places is drawn, not from dictionaries, but from the facts which they are obviously made to designate where and as the bib- lical authors employed them. Because of discarding the terms "miracle" and "supernatural," it has been necessary to employ others for indicating that many of the works and words of old, had authors who were below God and yet above embodied man. No doubt is felt that in Bible times there were found and used, within the realms of broad nature, forces and conditions which enabled unseen finite intelligences to speak to man by operating tongues of flesh, and also to perform mighty works in his presence by the aid of elements or properties residing in some human systems. Such agents and forces will fre- (l 14 PREFACE. quently be called supernal or super-mundane, but even these terms may occasionally mislead, because the spirit world exists within, be- low, and around earth, atmosphere, and man, as well as above them. Persons or forces coming from beyond where man ordinarily takes cognizance, so that he calls them supernatural, are in this work termed sometimes spirit beings and spirit forces, sometimes supernal, sometimes super-mundane, sometimes unseen intelligences or forces, whatever the direction from which they become manifesto The rather indefinite phrase, "the unseen," has frequently been used as equivalent to the abode of either angels or devils, that is f the dwelling-place of spirits. The adjective spiritual is mostly dispensed with, and the noun spirit turned into an adjective as its- substitute, because the writer has been accustomed, perhaps with- out good cause, to attach more moral significance to the former than to the latter ; since he is seeking here to exhibit natural phi- losophy rather than any other, he prefers spirit to spiritual when used in conjunction with the beings, forces, and works under con- sideration. Assumption is made throughout the work that laws or forces com- plied with, or availed of, by either man, spirit, angel, God, or any other intelligence, pervade, partially at least, both the material and spirit, the physical and psychic, realms of nature ; and that, by* means of these, some connection is naturally formed and perpetu- ated between these realms which permits inter-action between in- habitants of the two ; also, that such forces are subject to free use by any intelligences who posses-s knowledge and power enough to control them. Saints and sinners, angels and devils, have equal freedom hi the use of spirit, as of material, forces and instrumental- ities. He that sends the rain upon the just and unjust alike, is equally impartial in all his bestowments,. permissions, -and helps. Law reigns supreme everywhere and always. Nothing u contrary to the established constitution and course of things n ever trans- pired. A theological miracle is but a myth. Natural miracles, or marvels, — that is, signs, wonders, and mighty works, wrought by PREFACE, 15 finite disembodied intelligences availing themselves of nature's la- tent forces, — have appeared in all ages and nations. This work, though born of Spiritualism, and permeated with its teachings, is not a treatise upon that subject. No design exists to exhibit here any proofs that spirits now communicate with men. It is assumed that the phenomena of Spiritualism are the products of action pu»t forth by finite unseen intelligences. The conclusions which those phenomena have produced, and the lights which they furnish, are used freely and extensively, — so much so, that the work is exceedingly dogmatical in its modes, and is designedly so. Such compression as adapts it to the means and wants of common readers invites the dogmatism. Observation and reflection, com- mencing back more than twenty years ago, and continuing down to the present day, have produced convictions which are now and here made use of without stating with any fullness the facts and reasons on which they are founded. Such, or similar, grounds of belief lie scattered all through the records of Spiritualism; are there accessi- ble by the world, though perhaps not very widely known. It is the world's fault rather than ours, if it lacks the kind of knowledge needful to comprehend the bases of our positions and assertions. The designed limits of this book will not permit such knowledge to be furnished here. Essentially, for the time being, the Author as- sumes that many unobserved things in the Bible may be brought to light through observed things in Spiritualism. Strange as some of his statements or implications relating to the powers of spirits may appear, they were suggested by the words or acts of spirits themselves, or by some experiences of mortals, accounts of which he has received and credits. In other words, none of them are the productions of his own imagination. He holds himself responsible only for their accordance w T ith acts, teachings, or foreshado wings that the world has received through modern mediums. No facts are remembered which exclude the supposition that spir- its claiming to be man's friends and kindred, at no time prior to this century strove in throngs to manifest their presence to him. 16 PREFACE. In all past ages he bowed in awe before supernal visitants, and made no inquiry as to their nature or the conditions which gave them access to him. So long as he was thus unfavorably affected by their approaches, it may have been wise and kind in them to make their visits " few and far between." But the world has now made advances in both mental courage and inquisitiveness. It can to-day ask any intelligence who or what he is, and also whence, why, and how he came. This advance changes immensely the mutual relations of the two worlds, and multiplies and intensifies the in- ducements to construct and keep open highways of travel between them. Teaching us, as spirits now do, that the processes and helps for return are all provided for in the comprehensive economy of broad Nature, and that they themselves are advancing in knowl- edge of and power over the elements, forces, instrumentalities, and processes which they use when approaching and acting upon man and matter, there is ground for expecting that their travels earth- ward will constantly become more frequent, and their familiarity with us ; and ours with them, will increase as fast as we become fit- ted to receive benefit from their more constant intercourse with us. Within the last twenty-five years many millions of earth's inhabit- ants have become convinced that some departed friends revisit us for our enlightenment and elevation. Science has failed for a quar- ter of a century to give the world, by her accustomed forces and processes, an acceptable and satisfactory explanation of the cause of the phenomena called spiritual, and she now begins to admit the action of a psychic or spiritual force. The promises of this hour are, that the existence of spiritual phenomena among us is to be embraced in the catalogue of natural occurrences, and regarded by the world as one of Heaven's established processes for elevating man. Is the process new ? No ; most surely, No. Appearances of spirits to mortals occurred as far back as human history reaches, and they have never been entirely discontinued. The disembodied have been seen and heard by some men in every known nation and age. Faith in their advent, however, had been -j PREFACE. 17 dropping out of the mind of Protestant Christendom very fast, from early in the eighteenth century to near the middle of the nineteenth, when it was seldom avowed. Mrs. Fox and her little daughters, at the village of Hydesville, N. Y., on the evening of March 31, 1848, discovered that the author of certain mysterious noises could " count ten." How great a matter that little fire kindled ! Circum- stances soon made it the world's wonder, and induced thousands, both on earth and in spirit abodes, to inquire whether there was provision " in the nature of things " for voluntary and legitimate return by departed men. The visitor at Hydesville gave no indica- tion of possessing cloven hoofs ; and during the twenty-five inter- vening years since he knocked at the cottage door, spirits have been eagerly seeking avenues, and availing themselves of facilities for recommunings with their loved ones left here on earth,- and for elucidating the laws, conditions, and processes of their return. During centuries immediately preceding 1692, comers from out the unseen had generally, by Protestants especially, been regarded as the Evil One or his imps, and were met in the spirit of deter- mined and deadly hostility. Belief that he and his could do their peculiar kind of mighty works only through some embodied human being, who had voluntarily covenanted with him to be his obedient servant, made kindly, wise, and beneficent spirits perceive that their access to man was unadvisable, because they saw that mischief outcomlng from such a faith would be showered upon any person whom they should be known to approach. That diabolical faith, that formidable bar to familiar and beneficent advent of spirits to mortals, was mortally ruptured by the strains it encountered when it wrought up and executed the horrid tragedy of Salem witchcraft, and the wounds it then experienced soon extinguished its woeful ef- ficiency. Salem Village was a battle-ground on which world-wide mental emancipation from a cloister-born and direful dogma was achieved. From that time forth the American mind was gradually emanci- pating itself from slavery to diabolism, and gaining freedom of 2 18 PREFACE. thought and philosophical tendencies, so that when, in 1848, a spirit knocked at the door of a human habitation, instead of being anathe- matized as the devil, and having the door shut in his face, he was asked who he w r as and why he came. Though his answer failed to define a very welcome guest, it was at once seen that a road which gave him access might be trod by more welcome feet ; and better spirits, finding that visits by them would now be tolerated, and that no faith devilward would harm the friends in earth life in conse- quence of being visited by supernals, soon began to mingle in the crowd of travelers earthward. All qualities and classes of the de- parted have been coming — some to give and some to receive affec- tion, pleasure, and instruction ; some for fun, frolic, and waggery ; some in deep earnest, to give joyful tidings or wise instructions, to bathe anew in the waters of reciprocal affection with their friends on earth, or to lure men on in the ways of wisdom, philanthropy, and holiness. The highway they travel is free to all who can com- ply with the conditions of the return journej r , and therefore repre- sentatives of all classes that have graduated from earth avail them- selves of the facilities for return. Thus, at Hydesville in 1848, civility toward a distressed spirit inaugurated a new era of spirit inter- course with man. Japan like, Protestant Christendom then opened her ports to those whom she, through many ages, had denied ad- mission, or maltreated if perchance they came to her uninvited. We apprehend that it is a very prevalent opinion among all classes of minds that genuine spirits, if such ever inspire Marvel Workers, can, if so disposed, operate whenever, wherever, and just as men may ask them to. Semi-Omnipotence and Omniscience are fancied to inhere in them. Such a notion is born of an egregious misapprehension of facts, if the teachings of spirits are correct. Jesus, " because of their unbelief, did not many mighty works " in his own country and among his acquaintances. Recent disclosures render it probable, almost certain, that the unbelief there designated was a lack of the auras and other conditions needful to spirit oper- ations. Common mental unbelief in the minds of his kindred and PREFACE. 19 acquaintances seemingly would have been an incentive to his put- ting forth in their presence marvels enough to convince them that he was commissioned from on high ; it would have been a cogent reason for his doing more " mighty works " in his own country than in any other place. But obviously the statement is essentially without intelligible purport, unless the nature of the " unbelief" re- ferred to was, in and of itself, a bar to such performances. We have become convinced, as will appear in the body of this work, that belief faith, unbelief, and Holy Ghost were frequently used in the Scriptures to designate mediumistic states and conditions. The lack of suitable facilities at a particular time made Jesus un- able to perform marvels freely and extensively among his own peo- ple. That lack of right conditions was expressed by the word unbelief Such conditions, probably, were physical much more than mental or moral. The assertions of spirits very generally, and their many observed failures to operate where their disposition to do so is manifest, teach that the conditions needful to their successful workings of marvels are very nice, and not constantly attainable. Seemingly they must be able to command and manipulate the auras of all strong-willed spirits and mortals immediately present at a seance, and thence produce an harmonious compound aura to use as an essential in- strumentality for distinct communication to man. This compound they can make only where they can command some distinguishing properties which exist abundantly in such organisms as are termed mediumistic ; and this they can seldom do, even when near by a medium, if either atmospheric conditions or the mental states of bystanders are very strongly unfavorable. Do you ask why your friend, making a return voyage across the spirit ocean, does not steer his bark into your waters ? The probable reason is, that nature has given to your harbor neither anchorage-ground, space, nor deep water. Nature bars him out from you as effectually as she does ocean steamers from inland towns. The stationary dweller on the sides of Mount Hoosac may, perhaps, almost as rationally 20 PREFACE. disbelieve in the advent of huge steamers to New York, because none such ever ascend the little tributary to the Housatonic, that runs by his door, as you may doubt the return of any spirits be- cause none of them ever made your premises their port of entry. Natural obstacles to their close grappling with gross matter are great enough to make the perceptible return of most spirits a somewhat difficult and exhausting process at any time ; and it is entirely im- practicable excepting where a special quality of a compound aura can be generated, kept, and supplied. This aura, compound prob- ably of emanations from or properties of both spirits and men, was in the Bible often called the Holy Ghost — that is, a whole, or sound, or wholesome spirit, or aura, or breath, or atmosphere. " Holy " is from the same root as " whole," and often signifies soundness, completeness, excellence ; while " Ghost " is a translation of the Greek pneuma, which is sometimes rendered spirit, sometimes wind, and sometimes ghost. A sound or helpful aura is all that the phrase holy ghost need import, unless something in the context where it is used requires its greater extension. What makes some persons very much more susceptible than oth- ers are to mesmeric influences, or the forces which emanate from embodied minds ? It is probably some peculiarities of constitution, temperaments, or fluids. This is a vague reply, but it is as definite as our knowledge permits ; and who will tell us more and better ? Something causes the differences in men's susceptibility to the ac- tion of mesmeric passes ; and the same something probably causes some persons to be much more subject to the action of disembodied minds than others are. It is through none but susceptible persons that spirits can make their presence manifest, and put forth their thoughts in human language. And even within such limits, still narrower bounds confine them. Long-continued observation teach- es that there must be harmonious coalescings or blendings between the spheres or auras of not only the controlling spirit and the sub- ject he operates upon, but between the spirit bands then attendant upon the controller and the controlled. Harmony and affinity far PREFACE. 21 around are needful to success. The reader will find, when he comes to the experience of Daniel, that he had to wait in mourning three full weeks before the services of a special spirit could be had, whose powers were nicely adapted to meet his needs. But the simple presence of the coalescent auras, or magnetisms, or spheres, is not all that the case requires. These auras are but raw materi- als out of which spirits construct grappling irons, by which to hold themselves to matter, and also various other impJements by which to operate upon matter and man. Possibly the nervous fluid by aid of which any individual's mind is enabled to control his body, is as good an emblem of the need and offices of the aura essential to spirit action among us, as anything else that science attempts to deal with. What are the marvelous works of the present age, which have called forth such a re-examination of ancient marvels and mar- vel workers, as resulted in the composition of these pages? What the prominent mighty works which have been wrought out through spirit mediums ? Little raps, and tippings of tables, came first. Soon there followed many fluent and occasionally lofty and polished utterances through the lips of some who had never learned. Sometimes, too, the utterances were in languages which the seeming speakers were entirely ignorant of. Anon, pencils in the hands of either the educated or the illiterate would record all grades of com- position, from the nonsensical, botched, and foolish, to the profound, methodical, polished, and wise. Many a time, too, the pencii has done its own writing without help, so far as man could see. Clair- voyance and clairaudience have been unfolded, which let individ- uals see and hear spirits, describe their appearances, forms, and dress, and report their words of hate or folly, of love or wisdom. Again, these spirits w r ould signify their presence by touch, and give to a friend precisely the sensation he would experience if his arm or any part of his body was grasped, patted, or pressed, by a veri- table hand of flesh and bones. Furniture, untouched by human limb or by machinery, has tipped out responses to inquiries. Wa- 22 PKEFACE. ter has been changed into wine. A man has been slowly raised from the floor so high that he chalk-marked the ceiling overhead, ten feet above the floor, and was let down again gently as a dove. Internal surgical operations upon the human system have been most beneficially performed by spirits. They have even overcom \ the hold of paralysis by entering into the paralytic, and then, by applying a foreign will power to the nerves of motion, have exer- cised the crippled limb till it became sound. They have given hear- ing to the deaf, sight to the blind, speech to the dumb, power of locomotion to the crippled, and health to the sick of almost every variety of malady. Also they have given comfort to the mourning and bereaved, joy to the desponding, faith to the infidel, and dem- onstration of a life beyond the grave to the world. To all such performances the writer avows himself a personal witness. Many other striking works have come out upon and around mediums re- markable for physical manifestations. Such have been transported through the air and over broad waters by unseen forces : have had put upon their necks and wrists solid iron rings which could not admit the passage of head or hand, and had the same removed. Spirits have enabled a hand to hold live coals of fire without being burned. Odic or spirit lights they often produce ; they play upon a great variety of musical instruments ; they transport material ob- jects from place to place, and often over great distances. They are, recently, in great numbers, so materializing themselves, as to be visible to the external eyes of many persons simultaneously, and large numbers of them have been photographed. Some portions of such occurrences abound in every city, town, and hamlet. The ostensible authors of these are of all ages, con- ditions, characters, and attainments. These marvels have been ex- hibited before a scrutinizing world for twenty-five years without being satisfactorily accounted for by Science ; they claim to be pro- duced by spirits, and are establishing claims for recognition among things fraught with immense influences upon man for good or for evil j and thus they invite to themselves the careful and candid ex- PREFACE. 23 amination of all philanthropists. One of their effects has been the generation of light, in which the Bible here spreads out before the public eye those of its own pages which tell the story of their own birth. It is an intelligible story, comprehensible by reason, in har- mony with nature, and can be adopted by common sense and ration- al philosophy, if it be in accordance with the facts. Does such ac- cordance exist ? Read on and see. ALLEN PUTNAM. 426 Dudley Street, Boston Highlands, May 15, 1873. P. S. A reason may be asked why we have departed from cus- tom, and used the words to sense, sensing, and foresensing. Spirits, through mediums, and mediums, too, when " in the spirit," or en- tranced, speak of their senses as being, seemingly, all combined into one faculty of perception, so that seeing, hearing, tasting, feel- ing, and smelling are not such distinct sensations with them as with mortals in their ordinary condition. Spirits and mediums often use the word sense as a verb. That example we have frequently fol- lowed. We might have written perceive, but preferred to say sense, deeming the latter expressive of quicker perception and more per- suasive knowledge. This publication is an unpremeditated side issue from another and more labored one in which we propose to exhibit the similarities and distinctions which exist between what was called witchcraft, centuries ago, and the Spiritualism of to-day. After we had finished putting in manuscript our gatherings from the Bible, to be used in elucidation of those subjects, we perceived that the matter was vastly more in quantity than there would be occasion to use in constructing the woik for which the compilation had been specially made. Believing that many persons may be interested in views which 24 PEEFACE. invest the Bible in new charms for us, we here put them forth, though in a less thorough and finished manner than we should have labored for had we contemplated their separate publication origi- nally. The work is sent forth as but a pioneer to blaze a route along which others may perhaps be pleased to construct a smoother, more substantial, and satisfactory pathway to knowledge of some immediate fountains of man's inspiration in all ages. A. P. Should any reader desire to look at facts and philosophy which generate such views as pervade the following pages, he can find much information, very clearly stated in scholarly manner, in such works as " Mental Medicine " and " Mental Cure," by Rev. W. F. Evans, in " The Debatable Land," by Robert Dale Owen, in " Spirit Manifestations," by Adin Ballou, in " Planchette ; or, the Despair of Science," by Epes Sargent, and in many other works from vari- ous authors who have been inspired penmen. — MARVEL WORKERS. JOHN, THE REVELATOR. The first verse of the book of Revelation reads as follows: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass ; and he sent and sig- nified it, by his angel, unto his servant John.'' That verse teaches that the revelation was in some sense from GW, who imparted it to Jesus Christ ; Christ then imparted it to an angel, and sent him forth as the bearer of a message, which he imparted to John while he was "in the spirit," or was entranced. John, Rev. i. 10, says, " I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice, . . . and, 12, I turned to see the voice that spake with me ; and, 17, when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead ; and he laid his hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not ; I am the first and the last : 18, I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I live forevermore." It will be noticed that this personage, who was heard and seen by John, and at whose feet he fell as dead, spoke and communicated his revelation when John was in the spirit What condition did he intend to signify by that phrase ? " The first voice which I heard, iv. 1, was as it were of a trumpet talking with 25 26 mAkvel workers. me, and, 2, immediately I was in the spirit" There- fore he heard the trumpet before he was in the spirit ; and immediately afterward passed into a state which could hardly have been his normal one. At the sound of the trumpet his condition was changed. A sup- position that he was entranced is very natural. This being in the spirit was obviously some abnormal con- dition, very like entrancement, into which John was thrown by the action of unusually near and operative spirit presence. Who was the angel that Jesus sent to John, that he might make the Revelation and show unto the servants of Jesus " things that must shortly come to pass " ? The true, the unquestionably true, and very instructive answer is written in the Revelation itself, xxii. 8, 9: "I John saw these things and heard them, and I fell down to worship before the feet q£ the angel which showed me these things. Then he saith unto me, See thou do it not ; for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets. Wor- ship God." It had previously been written, xix. 10, as follows : — " And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said Unto me, See thou do it not. I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God ; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." That communicating angel, that im mediate inspirer of John, was John's " fellow-servant," and was one of his " brethren the prophets ; ' yet he so impressed John, that even he who himself had " the testimony of Jesus," that is, had " the spirit of prophecy," even he, fell down to worship this brother prophet, and was stopped by the angel's statement JOHN, THE REVEL ATOR. 27 that he was but John's fellow-servant, and that God was the proper object of worship. Thus on the very surface of the Bible itself lies proof that at least one of its books was nothing else than a description of presentations and a statement of communications fur- nished by a spirit to and through the organism of John, and proof also that John was so impressed by the appearance and influence of a returning prophet as to deem him God, for he fell down to worship him. What was the appearance of one manifesting spirit ? He was, i. 13, " like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot ; his head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow ; and his eyes were as a flame of fire ; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace." Such is a biblical description of the appearance of one bibli- cal angel ; of an angel who seemingly said of himself, " I am the first and the last ; I am he that liveth and was dead ; and behold, I live forevermore." Yes, the narrative seemingly makes either Jesus or his messen- ger — his angel — whom he sent to John, claim for himself eternal duration, both in the past and the future. His meaning possibly may have been only that he was mediately a representative of the Eternal One. The foregoing account furnishes the following facts : — 1. The revelation, in some sense, was from .... God. 2. It was the revelation of . . Jesus Christ. 3. It was a revelation by .an angel. 4. It was a revelation to a man . "in the spirit." 5. The communicating angel was a human spirit. 6. That angel was, or appeared to be, .... clothed. 28 MARVEL WORKERS. These six points are severally worthy of remem- brance, and elicit a few comments. First. Modern opinion, as molded and directed both by the scientific thought of the times and by the revealments of spirits, generally refers all occur- rences to One Infinite Source of Power, whence all things emanate by law. However much minds may differ as to who or what that One Infinite is, a gener- al habit exists of referring all things to him or it as primal cause. There will be general assent to the statement that the revelation of Jesus Christ was in some sense that " which God gave unto him." Second. There probably will be wide differences in opinion as to whether a personal God gave definite instructions to Jesus. Was that done ? or did Jesus, of his own volition, using at discretion the powers and faculties he had derived from the Infinite Source, on which he ever felt dependence, and to which, under the name of Father, he referred all things — did he originate the Revelation? It is called the Revela- tion of Jesus Christ, and therefore may be considered as originating with him in the sense in which the word originate is usually applied to mental produc- tions. Third. An angel was sent to an embodied man by Jesus. Such a process for communication from out the heavens was in harmony with the declared meth- ods of eminent spirits at the present day. We are told that the higher intelligences make much use of the lower as messengers and telegraphers. Eminent ones, and especially associations of eminent ones, take more or less supervision of vast numbers of people on the earth, and employ hosts of other spirits as JOHN, THE REVELATOR. 29 their agents in communicating with and acting upon man. Fourth. As to-day, so in olden times, the recipi- ents of revelations from out the unseen, were some- times put into "the spirit," or into trance — a condi- tion in which either their own perceptions were quickened, and their own understandings enlarged, or in which they were made to be simply organs for uttering things beyond their own knowledge or pow- ers of comprehension. Fifth. The fact that an angel, who had once been a human spirit, was the immediate communicator to John, requires us to regard one, and, so far as the rec- ords will sustain the course, permits us to regard any other communicator through prophets and apostles, as having once been an intelligence inhabiting a mor- tal body on this earth. Sixth. Modern carpers have sometimes pronounced it absurd that a spirit, deemed to be in itself almost ab- solutely an immateriality, should appear to wear sub- stantial clothing. The fact of seeing spirits in robes is not new in our day, for an angel appeared to John, " clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle." It would be hard to name among all earth's metals and substances many things more substantial than John's vision-seen, New Jerusalem, which was "pare gold, like unto clear glass." Appearances of firmest materiality are not evidence against the essential spirituality of ob- jects. An intelligent mind can hardly fail to perceive, ft candid one, seemingly, must admit, that the book of Revelation contains in itself proof that its own im- 80 MARVEL WORKERS. mediate communicator was an angel, and that that angel was the spirit of one of the old prophets. Who- ever newly finds such facts, and has been previously a believer in the infallibility of all Bible teachings, must be very rashly predetermined not to admit that his own creed as to biblical inspiration may be extensive- ly erroneous, if he shrinks from looking at such evi- dence as the Bible itself shall furnish that some other books in that volume had finite intelligences for their authors. We request lovers of the Bible to hold in abeyance for a little time any long-cherished notions as to who dictated the words and who performed the mighty works found in that book, and without bias go with us in search of the instruction which that volume itself furnishes relative to the £Tade of intel- ligences whose opinions and performances are there recorded for our instruction. Biblical facts and truths can hardly be deemed dangerous, viewed in any light whatsoever, which science or experience can bring to their elucidation. The substance of one book — the Revelation — was furnished by a finite spirit making presentations and uttering words to one man when he was abnor- mally "in the spirit." If one book was thus fur- nished, why may not the substance of others have been furnished in the same or a similar manner? Why is it not the first and fairest presumption that the method was essentially the same in producing the other books ? Science, philosophy, and common sense unite in saying that such presumption will stand firm until it is shown — not merely assumed, but shown — that some other of the books in the Bible were in- spired by a defined agent differing in nature from a JOHN, THE REVELATOR. 31 finite intelligence, and by processes different from that of putting a human organism into " the spirit ' or trance, and then using it for the impartation of truths and facts from the world unseen. Whatever things are known to pertain to one of a class raise fair pre- sumption that the like pertain to each other member of the same class. The recorder of the book of Revelation appears to have been an entranced seer and hearer, but not a worker of signs and wonders. If he was in early life " the disciple whom Jesus loved,'' — if he was the author of the Gospel according to John, and of three short but tender and loving Epistles to the early Christians, — his enhancement wrought in him won- derful transformation as a writer. Simple and perspic- uous, especially in his Epistles, he rises to the grand, mystical, gorgeous, terrific, and obscure when under the angelic afflatus. Having thus designated the immediate teacher of John, and shown that he was not the Infinite God, but a departed human spirit, and in doing that hav- ing indicated our stand-points of observation and judgments, and also whither biblical facts may lead us, we shall soon give attention to some other biblical writings and personages connected with marvels, bringing them forth in such order as may be judged most conducive to an intelligible and instructive pres- entation of the general subject. JEHOVAH. Classic literature shows clearly that the gods of the ancient gentiles were often understood by their 32 MARVEL WORKERS. worshipers to be the deified spirits of men. The Jews necessarily felt the influence and were much swaj^ed by the conceptions and practices of the na- tions surrounding them. And though some minds among them conceived of a Most High and of an Al- mighty God, who was far above deified spirits of men, still such minds made much use of the words Elohim and Adonai to designate invisible intelligences that ruled over them and demanded their obedience. The words Elohim and Adonai are both plural, and each often signifies gods or spirits, and not necessarily one sole Spiritual Ruler. Jehovah, no doubt, designated a being higher than departed spirits ever are. In this work we are treating of the Bible as it is given us in the English language. In our Bibles the word Jehovah occurs only four times — Ex. vi. 3, Ps. lxxxiii. 18, Isa. xii. 2, and xxvi. 4. In our ver- sion we find Jehovah prayed to only once, and that in the Psalm. Isaiah speaks to him as his salvation, his strength, and his song, or as the source of power and inspiration. But he is nowhere in the English Bible spoken of as an actor. We are not told any- thing that he did. The Psalmist, by praying to him, implied his faith that Jehovah could act ; and per- haps the prophet, in calling him his salvation, strength, and song, implied that he had the same belief. We are aware that a better translation of the Bible would bring Jehovah before the English reader much more frequently, and show him under different aspects. But in the received version enough is furnished to make it apparent that some of the Jews had conceptions of, and sometimes called upon, a Being whom they con- ceived to be far above 'deified spirits — conceived to be a Supreme Source — to be our Crod of to-day. JEHOVAH. 33 It is obvious, also, that if we had a more consistent rendering of the Hebrew into our language, we should see much more ascribed to Jehovah than we now do ; and also, and especially, is it obvious that we should see much more consulting of and obedience to Elohim and Adonai — i. e., to gods or spirits, in the worship of the Jews. When some competent person shall give us the Hebrew Scriptures in an English dress, in which the words Jehovah, Adonai, and Elohim shall be uni- formly made to present their just significance, we may find that the God of the worshiping Jews was quite as often spirits as he was The Almighty One. The fact that either awe or reverence kept that people from frequent utterance of the word Jehovah indicates the possibility — ought we not to say prob- ability ? — that they held their spiritual communings mostly with beings of less Awful Majesty than he whose name they shrank from speaking — that they communed with Elohim and Adonai — with spirits. We think the reader will find sufficient evidence as he goes on to satisfy himself that the term Loed often, and that the term God frequently, if not generally, was employed by Jewish worshipers and writers to designate beings whom they conceived to be inferior to Jehovah — inferior to our God. ABRAHAM. Passing by the experiences and works of Noah, and some others named in the earlier chapters of the Bible, by and around whom marvelous works are said to have occurred, we read, in Gen. xv., that "the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, . . . saying, Tell the stars, if thou be able to number them, . . . 3 34 MARVEL WORKERS. so shall thy seed be." The childless old man believed the promise in such manner that his faith was counted unto him for righteousness ; and yet his mental faith in the sure coming of some things then promised by the Lord was faltering, for he asked, " Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit the land in which I now am ? ' The answer was given mainly in deeds, not words ; it came in action upon the questioner himself, for " when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and lo> a horror of great darkness fell upon him." Such terms point to something more than natural sleep. Intense blackness is no uncom- mon herald of entrancement, or vision, with mediums to-day, whose experience, therefore, is explanatory of the state in which Abram soon found himself. " And when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed be- tween " certain pieces of a heifer, of a she-goat, and of a ram, which Abram, by command, had previously slain, cut up, " and laid each piece one against an- other." If the smoking furnace and burning lamp mean natural fire and light produced by man's common processes, the words are devoid of any marvelous sig- nificance. Obviously they were designed to state the existence and presence of abnormal lights there and then. Those lights were exhibited when it was dark. It is not wonderful that any exhibitor of fireworks should defer display till the shades of night come on ; but some may possibly inquire why mention should be made of the fact that it was not till " the sun was go- ing down " that the " deep sleep," or entrancement, came upon this host of the Lord. No answer will be attempted, beyond the single statement that evening ABRAHAM. £5 and night are generally found more favorable for most kinds of spirit operations upon human beings than midday. The recorder of Abranrs experiences may have had reasons, drawn from knowledge of laws or conditions of spirit control, which made him thus par- ticular in specifying that he was operated upon, and had his vision opened, during or after the hours of waning light. After his name had been changed to Abraham, " the Lord appeared unto him," xviii., in the forms of " three men," whom he addressed as " my Lord," saying, " My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away ; " that is, stop with me a while, rest under the tree, wash, and take something to eat. Yes, he conceived that that Lord who then appeared unto him was subject to all human wants. When he and Sarah, his wife, had prepared a meal, " he stood by the three men under the tree, and they did eat." So Abraham thought. Did he deem such visitors the infinite Maker and Ruler of all worlds ? the one omniscient and infallible Teacher ? Only extreme credulity can conceive that he did. The rules of grammar are confusingly set at defiance in the narra- tive ; yet the reader is forced to find that " the Lord ' which appeared, and " my Lord " whom Abraham ad- dressed, were, according to his apprehension, three men, and such men as " did eat." These men " rose up, and looked toward," or started on the way to- ward, " Sodom." "And there came," xix., "two men to Sodom at even, . . . and Lot, seeing them, rose up to meet them, . . . and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house, and they did eat." And when the Sodomites "pressed sore upon the 36 MARVEL WORKERS. man, even Lot, and came near to break the door, . . , the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house, . . . and smote the men that were at the door with blindness ; . . . and when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot " away from his home. In the above account of the operations of those who made themselves visible to mortal eyes just pre- ceding the destruction of Sodom, the terms " the Lord,'' " my Lord," " three men," "two men," and " the angels " were interchangeably used to designate the author or authors of both the prophecy that Abraham's very aged wife should yet become a mother, and of the destruction of Sodom and* Go- morrah. These persons ate with Abraham, and also Avith Lot ; they put forth their hands to pull Lot into his house ; they acted like men ; they were treated as mere men would be. What were they ? The correct- ness of their prophecy of an event which would be aside from Nature's usual course, and their most mar- velous action upon the cities of the plain, and upon Lot's wife, bespeak them more than mortal, while their appearance and many of their acts bespeak them less than He whom we at this day call God, or Lord. Neither Abraham nor Lot on this occasion appears as a direct marvel worker, though they both probably were mediumistic, and helpful to the angel workers. Their visitants must be credited with what was then performed. If the statement that Lot's wife became a pillar of salt means what such words plainly import, the spirit chemistry, both analytical and synthetical, which was there manifested, must have been very effi- cient ; and no less a marvel was wrought in raining ABRAHAM. 37 fire and brimstone upon the cities. But who knows the powers of those who, disrobed from flesh, become themselves more sublimated than the most ethereal elements and gases ever manipulated by mundane chemists ? Who knows their powers over the mate- rials and forces of nature ? Or who knows what de- gree of approximation to the Omniscient and Al- mighty God in power one need make, before he is competent to produce such marvels as are alleged to have transpired around the righteous man of Sodom ? Abraham on one occasion is credited with the capacities of a healing medium. " God said to Abim- elech in a dream," xx., " Abraham is a prophet ; and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live." Seem- ingly the prayer would be efficacious, not because of Abraham's piety, righteousness, or sincerit} 7 , but be- cause he was a prophet. That word which to-day is generally employed to designate only such a one as foretells events, was in Bible times applied to any who were susceptible of visions, who manifested marked intuitive perceptions, or were unusually im- pressible. Its application was just about as broad as the word medium is with us, and it was used to in- dicate properties and acts like those which are now called mediumistic. The statement which implies that Abraham's prayer would heal Abimelech, because Abraham was a prophet, thereby implies that he would be, in that act, a healing medium. Many things came to him from the Lord, or, in other words, he often re- ceived communications and impressions from unseen intelligences. His readiness to sacrifice his dear, cherished son, Isaac, the child of his old age, and also of promise 88 MARVEL WORKERS. from the angel world, is a manifestation of obedience to a supernal call which stands out so prominently as to make him emphatically the world's Man of Faith and the father of the faithful. The record says, " God did tempt Abraham ' on to the brink of mur- der. The temptation, the seemingly unnatural and barbarous call upon him, was perhaps for a trial of his faith in the wisdom of him whose voice he heard from on high, and of his consequent readiness to obey any command whatsoever from that source. To as it wears also and especially the appearance of a trial of his subjeetibilitv for mediumistic usages. What was the nature of the particular faith thus tempted or tried ? Was it simply, or even mainly, an intellectual belief ? It has already been stated that, though Abram's belief was such that it was count- ed unto him for righteousness, yet his intellect was so distrustful that he still asked, " Whereby shall I Jcnoic ? ' It, therefore, is questionable whether his commended faith was an intellectual conviction. It wears the appearance of something measurably dif- ferent from that. It looks more like a forefeeling of a truth or future fact ; more like a sensing of some- thing by the inner perceptive faculties ; like the u sub *t anee of things hoped for," Heb. xi., "the evi- dence of things not seen," In that chapter where the writer defines faith, and goes on to enumerate the works which were performed by it, he mentions that it was the instrumentality by which " Enoch was translated ; ' bv which " Xoah was warned of God;' by which i; Abraham went out, not knowing whither lie went;' by which the superannuated " Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed \ ' ABRAHAM. 39 by which " Joseph made mention of," that is, fo told, " the departing of the children of Israel ; " by which the Israelites " passed through the Red Sea as by dry land;" by which " the walls of Jericho fell down ; ' by which " the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not ; " by which Daniel " stopped the mouths of lions ; " by which 44 women received their dead raised to life again." Such works of faith indicate that such faith was much more like what are now called impressions, made, not only upon, but all through, impressible people b}~ un- seen controlling intelligences, and who are thereby often moved blindly on to the seeming self-perform- ance of acts not devised by their own intellects, and upon which their consciences pass no judgment. These ancients were commendable because they were pliant and reliable tools in the hands of spirit opera- tors. Their faith was what we now call mediumship, and its righteousness, or right doing, was their pliancy as tools for doing anything which the controlling mind deemed right, or, more accurately, desired to accom- plish. So far as Abraham and others of his class were concerned with marvelous works, these men were physical tools mainly, and in no sense morally respon- sible for what their tongues uttered or their hands performed. Had his moral faculties put forth their normal action, they would have palsied the arm that moved as if it was about to take the life of a beloved and loving son. Some God here tried the measure of Abraham's plasticity and reliability as a medium, and probably so smothered his self-consciousness, that, with no more compunction than the knife itself, he might have had his own arm moved to plunge the knife into 40 MARVEL "WORKERS. the heart of his son. The measure of his faith was the depth and security of his mental and moral sup- pression by force applied from without. Thus viewed, Abraham stands acquitted of shocking devotion to a cruel God. The God, too, loses his unmerciful aspect when viewed in light which shows him to have been only testing the feasibility of suppressing and holding in abeyance the deepest sensibilities of his animated instrument, and thus ascertaining how far he could rely upon it in emergencies. The ordeal through which this good man and good medium passed might surely have been imposed by a being of no higher grade than he who awed John into deepest rev- erence. MOSES. We come now to inspection of one among the very marked and extraordinary men named in the biblical records. Moses, " learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," is the reputed author of the first five books of the Bible, and was the most prominent visi- ble actor in introducing, expounding, and administer- ing the theocratic government of the Hebrew nation. All remember the story of his infancy, Ex. ii. ; re- member his cradling in the flags on the banks of the Nile ; the compassion felt for him by Pharaoh's daughter, and his preservation through her manage- ment. After he had grown to manhood, seeing an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, " 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. 41 It would be pleasant to regard him as having commit- ted that murder in the heat of blinding and uncon- trollable passion ; but his deliberate care to first satis- fy himself that there would be no tell-tale witness of his act, and his hiding the body of his victim, deprive us of that pleasure. Knowledge of his unlawful deed soon transpired, so that to escape merited punishment he fled out of Egypt. His fundamental motive to that bloodshed may not have been bad. A lordly Egyptian smote, and proba- bly with much severity, an enslaved Hebrew. Re- taliation of wrong done to his countryman moved him to his act of violence. Resentment of oppression is oftentimes very commendable ; few, however, will justify the process by which Moses manifested his indignation. Personal safety required his flight, and he escaped into Midian. His first known and gallant act there was an obvious outworking of the same fundamental sentiment. Some ungracious shep- herds there kept back the seven daughters of Ruel and their flocks from the watering-troughs, until these boors and their animals had slaked their thirst to satiety. Such selfish, ungallant conduct aroused the indignant spirit of Moses, and made him demand for the dam- sels equal privileges with the men. He promptly took the part of the fair ones, and immediately helped them draw water for their flocks. Such kindness, or gallantry, opened for him a door to both a home and a wife in the house of Ruel. He may have been about forty years old then, and also may have lived about forty years with his new-found friends, follow- ing with them the peaceful pursuits of a shepherd ; for Ex. vii, 7,