consistent, must believe all the forms of imposture comprehended in the common law of Israel to be supernatural; they must believe in astrology, augury, and charms; and that the heathen gods were actual supernatural devils. St. Paul says, "We know that no idol is anything in the world"; and though, when warning the people to flee from idolatry, he says that "the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to devils and not to God," it is a strained and long-drawn inference that he means to say that beyond the heathen gods there are real demons which they worship. If that were so the prophet Jeremiah was himself deceived, and deceived the people, when he said, "Be not afraid of them [the heathen gods], for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good."
THE WITCH OF ENDOR
The account of the Witch of Endor is the only instance in the Bible where a description of the processes and results is given. Whether any one appeared to the witch, and if so who, has caused endless debate. Lange gives a summary of the different views. The Septuagint and the Apocrypha represent that it was Samuel, and Justin Martyr held the same; Tertullian that it was a pythoness, exclaiming, "Far be it from us to believe that the soul of any saint, much less a prophet, can be drawn forth by a demon"; Theodoret, Justin, Origen, Ambrose, Augustine, and some Jewish rabbis held that the "appearance of Samuel" was produced by God's power; and Delitzsch, Hengstenberg, and other moderns support it. Luther held that it was "the Devil's ghost"; Calvin that "it was not the real Samuel, but a spectre." Grotius thought that it was a deceptive spirit.
