The Birth of Spiritualism & The State of the Dead Season 2 | Episode 14
There were many new discoveries in the Word of God at this time
as God was forming His church,
and whenever a truth is discovered, a counterfeit is not far behind.
Another phenomenon that was sweeping
the northeastern part of the United States at this time
started with the Fox sisters in the late 1840s.
The Fox family of John and Margaret and their two daughters Margaret and Katie
moved into the little town of Hydesville, New York,
and although the original home is no longer standing,
it would have stood just behind me.
The Fox sisters are known as the founders of modern spiritualism.
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In 1848 Margaret and Katie were 15 and 12 years old
and lived in a house that had a reputation as being haunted.
Making rapping or knocking sounds with their knuckles
mimicking sounds they had heard in the house,
to give the impression that it was haunted for the purpose of scaring their mother.
Questions were asked,
and soon she would ask questions and the answers would come back
in the number of raps or knocks that they heard.
She was convinced.
The neighbors were called,
and it wasn't long before the girls were acting as mediums,
communicating with the spirits and taking questions.
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Some said that it was a hoax, while others claimed that it was real
and that they really were mediums communicating directly with the spirits
Whichever way you look at it,
few can ignore the phenomenon known as spiritualism,
the belief that the spirits communicate with the living.
This would grow over time and become an established part of society.
It's fascinating that Hydesville, New York
is only about 15 minutes away from Hiram Edson's farm,
the theological birthplace of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
It's only about 20 minutes as well from Cumorah Hill
where Joseph Smith claimed the angel of Moroni descended
and gave him the golden plates
which were translated as the Book of Mormon.
Thus, three significant movements all came from the same area.
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A key figure to bring the biblical view
of the state of man in death would be George Storrs,
born in Lebanon, New Hampshire in 1796 as the youngest of eight children.
As a child he felt afraid of God and alienated from Christianity
due to the sermons he would hear preached on the wicked being tormented in hellfire.
At the age of 17 he made a decision to study out the goodness of God,
and under this influence and the prayers of his mother,
he gave his life to Jesus at the age of 19.
Under conviction, he felt a call to preach and started doing this in 1825
and would often preach against slavery,
even ending up in prison once for mentioning this in his prayers.
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One day whilst traveling by train,
he read a tract by Deacon Henry Grew from Philadelphia
on the subject of the state of the dead.
This led him to study his Bible,
and after several years of study, correspondence, and conversation,
he came to the settled conclusion
that man does not possess inherent immortality,
that it is a gift from God,
and that the wicked are exterminated by fire at the second death.
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Due to the significant difference from the common view
that the dead go straight to heaven,
he experienced a lot of persecution and isolation from the various churches.
However, this could not stop the printed press.
In 1843 Storrs' six sermons were published
and 10,000 copies were distributed, with a further 200,000 over time.
This would have a significant impact on the Millerite movement.
And although William Miller himself did not accept this teaching,
many others would,
and it would go on to be a mainstay of the sabbath-keeping Adventists
as they sought to be true to the Bible as they developed their doctrinal beliefs.
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Although George Storrs did not accept the Sabbath or the sanctuary,
he nonetheless made a significant contribution to a key doctrinal belief.
Storrs considered the idea of an eternally-burning hell
to be a blot on the character of God
and contrary to the reality that God is love.
The love of God needs to be at the centre
of every doctrine that we hold and teach from the Bible,
and Storrs restored the love of God back to this teaching
and showed His character in its true light.
May we seek to do the same anytime we share God's word with others.