Instead of the treatise which was prepared to occupy this place in this book, we write on the 4th day of July, 1859, a New Treatise, while others are keeping the shadow for reality, rejoicing in companies and filling my ears with explosions of crackers and thunders of guns and my nostrils with the most disagreeable smell of gun powder, while I am mourning in my solitude in the midst of hundreds of thousands of people of the City of New York and neighbourhood, because they would not receive our message of peace and learn how to bring forth fruits of the true liberty of nations. This treatise was occasioned by the book "The War in Europe, its remote and recent causes" written by J. H. Duganne, and published a few days ago by R. M. DeWitt, Nassau St., No. 60, New York. I mention it here, because it contains a collection of facts and events, by the perusal of which any body, if he reflects upon what he reads, may be aware of what we continuously repeat, that people and their political and ecclesiastical governments have apostatized from Truth and Justice, and cannot establish the promised peace, except according to the plan which is given in the fifth or last treatise of this book. The causes of Revolutions and Wars and manifold other plagues are contained in the apostasy of men from Truth and Righteousness. This apostasy brings mortal men into the association with departed deluding and destroying spirits, as you know, if you have comprehended the preceding treatises, and you will receive the more proof of this important truth, the farther you will proceed in studying this book. Mortal men are in close connexion with congenial departed spirits. The life of man in his mortal body is a manifestation of influence from the sphere of spirits, for whose society he is prepared. By them he is moved and supported for action; they influence those who are congenial with them. But men, if they are not versed in the inner life, are not aware of this influence; although this is the first and most necessary knowledge for the abolition of revolutions and wars and manifold other plagues, which originate from the influence of destroying spirits, who themselves may be so ignorant, that the magnetic fluid which they communicate to men is pestilential, as a man who is infected with one or the other kind of plague, may be ignorant of his dreadful condition, and of the fact that he infects also others who, in their ignorance of matters, are united with his deleterious condition. If, for instance, the Emperors of Austria and France, and their Generals and other Officers, and all who sympathize with one or the other, and contribute their share for the destruction of the enemy, would know the proper condition of spirits with whom they are associated and by whom they are inspired in their destructive work, they would be exceedingly frightened, and would cry: "What shall we do to be saved?"
Many years before I knew anything about my present mission, I was aware by comparing the reports of the Bible with the reports of other ancient and modern works and with our own experience in regard to the spirit world, that angels and demons in the Bible are departed men and women of different high and low spheres, made manifest to men in mortal bodies, when there was suitable to give to men tangible testimonies, that mortals are in close connexion with departed congenial spirits. The legion, for instance, in the fifth chapter of Mark, is a legion or regiment of soldiers who have been destroyed in a battle. The captain and his legion had the grave or the cave in which dead bodies were located, for a suitable location to their degraded condition; and the magnetic fluid, which they inhaled into their inner or magnetic bodies which are used by spirits, came from the decomposed and rotten cadavers, and was the most delicious influence which they could communicate to their worshipers, and their captain has shewn his terrible madness by the attacks upon his medium, while he was compelled to make manifest, what he really was. But when he was not compelled to show his real condition, he was deceiving in like manner, as now departed Emperors, Kings, Generals and other warlike spirits are deceiving, till they bring their worshippers on the battlefield, where they effect such carnages, as we read now many reports in newspapers. In this madness the victors and their bishops and priests are feasting and singing "Te Deum," while the defeated are praying for the reverse, and neither party are prepared to reflect upon the crimes which they have committed by having killed their fellow men, who should have been educated and should have progressed in knowledge of truth and practice of virtue as long as their constitutions by applying the right means for the support of their physical strength and health, would have admitted. But alas! they have been wantonly killed, when they were least prepared for Heaven and best disposed for the infernal regions! And others have been mangled and wounded, so that they are crippled for all their lifetime and also hindered in the right use of their intellectual and moral faculties. And all who were drilled for war, were instead of progressing in virtue, retrogressing into corruption. Volumes could be written on this point of the deepest humiliation of the human race. Which are "the remote and recent causes of the war in Europe?" The book which occasioned this treatise, contains a series of most detestable facts and proceedings as forerunners of the eruption of the volcanoes of the infernal furies which are destroying now in the wholesale human life and property; because governments and nations are not in truth, but in delusion and confusion, the necessary consequence of which is destruction. Truth will make you free. This is the teaching of the master whose religion the belligerent parties profess with words, while their actions are instigated by the infernal furies. Also this book contains superabundance of testimonies of our mission, which is expressed on the title page. In my five German volumes published within the years 1838 and 1842, the mystery of iniquity of all governments which profess to be christian governments, has been disclosed, and their highest duty has been made evident to abolish those abominations and to unite with us for the introduction of Christ's reign, which will be the universal Republic of Truth and Justice, Harmony and Peace on the whole globe. In those volumes as well as in all my following publications it is made evident that Peace can never be established on the globe in the present course of political and ecclesiastical affairs, and that, what they call peace, is only an armistice, during which the dragon and his host are inspiring the governments to amass means for new eruptions of revolutions and wars. The book which occasioned this treatise, contains a collection of testimonies confirming and illustrating our teaching, that true peace cannot be established, till governments and nations arrive on our ground. If the Emperor of Austria would evacuate this moment all places which he occupies in Italy, and if the Emperor of France and his allies would have in sincerity no other object in view, but the only one to make Italy perfectly free, I mean to make Italy a true Republic, and would sacrifice all their strength and influence to this only object, they could not realize their object, till they would learn and receive our message of Peace and adopt the plan given in this book for the introduction of the promised New Era. As long as they neglect to do this, they remain under the influence of deluding and destroying spirits. But these their masters are so controlled by our leaders, that when the measure of crimes of governments and nations is again and again filled, new eruptions of destructive revolutions and wars take place on such days and under such circumstances, that by our explanations of correspondences they become peculiar warnings; as we have already given specimens of this kind also in this book; and many more will be given on suitable places of the following pages. Readers should not forget that we are preparing them for the Epistle to the Bishops of Illyria.
Before we commence to translate that epistle, we must give a brief epitome of the contents of the treatise, which was to be printed in lieu of this treatise, and to which reference has been made in the preceding treatise, and we must write on this 4th of July, 1859 in the midst of great noise and continuous cracking and thunder of guns and so much smell of powder, that it becomes very tedious. This morning it appeared in newspapers, that Samuel Jackson's pyrotechnical establishment on 10th and Reed Streets in Philadelphia was yesterday afternoon destroyed by the explosion of fireworks, which were prepared for the exhibition on this day; but they yesterday burned Mr. Beck to death. We mention this case, because we saw it besides many other cases amongst the news of this day, and this Jackson is one of the many strong mediums of destroying spirits whom we endeavored many years ago to deliver from those spirits; but they continue to prepare tremendous fireworks. In the octava of the outbreak of the infernal furies in the French Revolution of February, 1848, spirits commenced to awaken materialists by raps through the Fox Girls in the vicinity of Rochester of this State of New-York. They became at length generally known as Rochester Rapping Spirits; because in the City of Rochester people first commenced to assemble in large numbers and hear those rappings, or also carefully to investigate, whether those raps came, as they purported, from spirits or from some other cause. As soon as I read in newspapers the reports of those manifestations, I understood the correspondences and also, why our leaders let the infernal powers exhibit their craft in this manner. Deluding and destroying spirits from the same spheres from which they have inspired their fighting mediums in Europe, commenced to give testimony in this country that there is truly such a relation between the living in the mortal bodies and the departed as has been disclosed in our publications, and at the same time also to show how they were duping and deluding such as would not hear our explanations regarding the true condition of spirits, but were quite pleasing with the answers which they received through the daughters of Mr. Fox and other mediums who commenced then to be developed in large numbers, that is, deluding and destroying spirits or infernal demons shewed by manifold perceivable possessions, that they were closely attached to congenial men and women. I made use of that opportunity and assured citizens of the United States, that rapping spirits would be dreadful destroying spirits also in this country, if their operations will not be stopped by the application of the means which are comprehended in our message of Peace. But I did not try those spirits in circles of spiritualists, till I received order from my leaders to do so. Opportunity was given in Pittsburgh, Pa. by the reports published in some English and German newspapers regarding the mediumship of Christina Beil, (as the name of that medium of German parents is correctly written, but English reporters wrote it Beail, although it is the German Beil, that means a hatchet or axe)[T]. Her mediumship aroused a general attention, and while crowds of attendants were convinced that raps by which questions were answered, were produced by spirits, sceptics denied it, and Mrs. Swisshelm published in her "Saturday Visitor" the results of her investigations of spirit rappers at Christina Beil's mediumship. She thought, that raps must have been produced by some trick of one or the other mortal, although she was not able to discover the trick. The same confession was made in German newspapers by a German Lutheran Pastor. The excitement moved a skilful German chemist who was also a strong materialist, to investigate the matter in the expectation that he might find out the trick. But he was sincere and confessed, that raps purporting to come from spirits, were produced by beings who understood the questions. But under the circumstances of his investigations they could not be produced by mortal men, and must have been produced by invisible agents.
A few days before my reading of those reports, a rapping spirit had been shown to me in an extraordinary manner, to relate which in this epitome there is no room. But by that manifestation I was instructed, that I should try the rapping spirits of Christiana Beil in the presence of sufficient witnesses. The same German learned chemist, and a German Pastor of the Reformed Church and other witnesses were present, when I tried the spirits of Christina Beil. Also that pastor belonged to that school of theologians who send their departed into such an eternity, from whence there is no return to mortal men. Such folly is according to our knowledge of the condition of the departed most pitiful materialism in disguise. But at our meeting with that medium in the house of her mother, soon a number of rappers commenced to show by raps in a number of places of the room, that they were ready to give answers to our questions. The medium commenced to ask, and instantly all others became silent, and the strongest amongst them gave answers with raps. To the question with whom he wished to converse, the pastor was shown by strong raps as the person with whom the spirit wished to converse, and he signified by raps also that he was ready to give his name by pointing out the letters of his name with raps. The pastor repeated the alphabet, and was quite astonished, that the letters spelled the name of his peculiar friend, a medical doctor and open materialist, who was expressedly denying man's immortality while he was in his mortal body, from which he departed a few months before that meeting. The pastor gave a number of questions, and expected to get some answer, with which he would be able to show, that such an answer could not come from that doctor. But at length the pastor confessed, that by nobody else except by that departed doctor he would expect all those answers which he had received.
When all was done which would convince the greatest sceptic, if he was prepared to reflect upon the facts, I interfered and remarked, that after having received sufficient testimony from that spirit, we wished to converse with some other, if any is present. Soon raps were heard of so different a sound from the former, that any observer could perceive the exchange of spirits. The first gave answers to German questions; therefore also the second was asked, whether he wished to converse in German. He answered in the negative, and the medium was pointed out by raps as the person with whom he wished to converse. Then English questions were given and he consented to give his name. The alphabet was repeated, till all the letters of his name were pointed out by raps. And his name alarmed the medium exceedingly, that she commenced to cry, and also all her acquaintances were very much excited. I asked the reason, and was told, that that spirit was expected amongst the first when that girl became a medium, but they had never any test that he was present, and that they gave up all their hopes of getting any answer from him. Therefore his manifestation was so unexpected, that it produced such an effect upon the medium. I understood the whole matter. That spirit was the principal guardian of that medium or she was principally possessed by him, and he had rapped generally in the name of others, when the inquirers were so congenial with the medium, that he could look into their wishes. But he did not give his name, that he might not be discovered as the deceiver who rapped in the name of others. At length I came in the charge of my mission in March, 1851. I was acquainted several years before that with that pastor and exhorted him to study my books and then to proclaim our message of Peace. But my message was not popular and it teaches, that the belief of the close connexion of men in mortal bodies with congenial departed spirits is the A B C, to arrive gradually to a deep knowledge of true religion and to the true freedom and deliverance from lying destroying spirits. But pastors who became materialists, were scared when they perceived, that my message presupposes the close connexion with congenial departed. At length mediums or possessed by departed spirits alarmed the materialistic pastors. The mother of the medium belonged to the congregation of that pastor and she invited that pastor to come and be a witness. My leaders were controlling the legion of spirits, who came from different quarters with their witnesses, and in those circumstances the medical doctor Reitz, a peculiar friend of that pastor, was the strong rapper and the next was the lying spirit who, when there was no stronger than he, rapped in the name of others, till he was at length in our presence compelled to give his name. After that remarkable trial of spirits, I said to the pastor, that he should instruct the trustees of his church, to give me permission to deliver some lectures in that church and to explain that of which he was a witness, but which he could not understand in the connexion of things, in which it must be understood for the commencement of the New Era, which according to the testimonies given in his congregation, should be powerfully proclaimed from his church. But the pastor thought that his congregation were not prepared for so deep things. Although I insisted, that I would make them very popular in the German language, which was the language of his congregation, and that it was his highest duty to make use of the opportunity to learn what is most necessary for Harmony and Peace of nations, he remained as obstinate as other Roman Catholic and Protestant Pastors.
Then I wrote an article for newspapers, in which I have shown what should be generally known regarding the spirit manifestations which commenced with raps by the mediumship of the Fox Girls to delude, as cunning foxes are accustomed to delude, such as would not receive truth which was disclosed in our message, and were discovered, when they were tried according to our mission at the medium Christina Beil's, which, means the Christian hatchet or the Christian axe, an instrument for destruction, that they were deluding and destroying spirits, by whose influence destruction of life and property will continue until it will be stopped by receiving and spreading our message of Peace. That article was prepared in English and in German; but editors who have spread deceiving reports regarding spiritualism, refused to publish my article. I sent it then to Boston, to be published there in a paper of spiritualists. But it was not popular and could not be published. Matters were to arrive so far as those will find them, who study and comprehend this whole book.
After that trial of spirits I returned several times to Pittsburgh and paid always my visit to that learned chemist, who was converted from a materialist into an enthusiastic spiritualist. He, like many others, was expecting through his mediums to receive truth regarding the spirit world. But he was offended, when I endeavored to make him comprehend, that those spirits with whom he came in communication by his mediums, were materialistic spirits who did not speak through his mediums from the miserable condition of their inner life but from the surface of their outward condition as they while in their mortal bodies were accustomed to boast, and to cheat and delude their fellow men. In the treatise which would have occupied this place, if I had net been moved to prepare this for the celebration of the 4th of July, 1859, and its octava, that people might commence to learn, how they could become independent from the invisible and visible tyrants by whom they are now enslaved, and inspired for revolutions, wars and other crimes, I have explained some very important spirit manifestations at my meetings with the learned chemist in Pittsburgh as preparations to the spirit manifestations which took place at my last visit to the City of Boston and neighborhood, and which constitute the principal part of that treatise, the publication of the whole of which must be delayed, and we give here in a synopsis as preparation to our Epistle to the Bishops of Illyria, the following items:
Boston is the City, in the cathedral Church of which by our mediumship A.D. 1838, such, spirit manifestations took place, by which we have received the key to open the door for the promised New Era of Harmony and Peace on earth. We will give in the next following treatise of this book some light on those manifestations. But when our disclosures on those manifestations had not been received, at length spiritualism of the last fashion gained a peculiar stronghold in Boston, although materialism made great exertions to check also the modern fashion of spiritualism. Since A.D. 1838 I returned several times to Boston, and was trying to move some influential men or congregations for an examination of our message and of the credentials of our mission. When I arrived at the end of October, 1858, again in Boston I attended on the next Sunday the conference of spiritualists, which was at that time on Sundays usually held in Boston. As soon as they finished their ceremonies by which their conference was opened, I found proper to speak a little in my Illyrian mother tongue, to arouse the attention to what I spoke then in English, and in the English language I rebuked materialists and testified our mission to restore true spiritualism. After my speech a medium arose, whom I did not know, but found out afterwards, that he was Agent of the Fountain House, where spiritualists had their resort and their speculations. He was rebuking a lecturer who was opposed to spiritualism, and, as I understood from the rebuke, misrepresenting facts, and came to that conference to expose spiritualism from his materialistic position, denying any manifestation from the departed. During that rebuke, for a proof, that spirits manifest themselves, he invited that lecturer and other materialists to a meeting, in which he offered to give an exact description of my mother whom he affirmed to have seen standing on my side, while I was speaking in the conference, and that although I was a perfect stranger to him, he was certain that she was my mother, and that he would give an exact description of her, so that he was confident, that I would confirm his description. There were spiritualists in the Conference who knew me, that I troubled them in the Utica Convention and elsewhere, and they seemed not to be favorable to that proposition.
On the next following Sunday I made again an attempt in said Conference to find out, whether there was any influential person amongst them ready to take an active interest in examining our message and the credentials of our mission. I commenced to speak from the point which was mentioned in the last conference by the medium testifying, that he saw my departed mother standing in her glory on my side while I was speaking. But I made the remark that I had two mothers in the spirit world, to wit, my first mother by whom I was born, She had great care during her life for my welfare, and having been a great medium of spirit manifestations before her departure, always anxious to know truth and act accordingly, she progressed with me also after her departure and became one of those my guardians, who take care for my provisions and protection against danger. In this her care she found a strong medium of spirit manifestations, an aged lady who was looking for the third angel, Revel. xiv:9, because according to the testimonies which she had received, she was certain, that since A.D. 1836 he was preparing somewhat, and while she was looking for him since that year in Europe, she was directed by her guardian to America with the assurance that she would find him in this country. At length she heard one of my German lectures and comprehended, that I had the mission of the third angel. When she commenced to testify this, my mother appeared to her and entrusted her the care, which she herself had for me before her departure. My mother was an Illyrian, but this new mother was a German. Whenever I had opportunity to stop and write in her house, great spirit manifestations occurred. At length also she departed and is acting amongst the women who have amongst the departed peculiar offices for the introduction of the New Era. When I mentioned in said Conference somewhat about these matters and understood from the speeches of others that their spirits were drawing the audience in other directions, I turned also to other places, and tried besides others those professors at Cambridge, Mass. who were appointed A.D. 1857 as a committee to investigate the physical phenomena which were believed by some to have been caused by spirits, while others attributed them to other causes, and those professors, after having performed their investigations, published their opinion that spirits had nothing to do with the phenomena which they had investigated.
When I read that publication, I saw that readers, by the authority of those professors, were strengthened in materialism. Therefore, at my return to Boston I felt it to be my duty to try to move those professors of Cambridge from their materialism, I saw personally those three, who belonged to the committee who have published their opinion regarding the phenomena, called spirit manifestations, and also the fourth who did not belong to the committee, but was the strongest operator to explode the truth, that departed spirits are in close connexion with congenial mortals, and that they, when circumstances are favorable and it agrees with the Plan of Divine Government, give also to exterior senses of men perceivable proofs of this connexion. I said to them, that A.D. 1838 were greater spirit manifestations in the Roman Catholic Cathedral Church of Boston by my mediumship and the mediumship of 144 witnesses, than mortal men could expect. Whereas that catalogue of witnesses as well as the events which happened in connexion with our proceedings, have been published in my books, I could by the means of that catalogue in a short time convince the professors of the great Truth of close connexion and mutual influence between mortals and their congenial departed, and by the public testimony of the professors the pernicious influence of their report regarding the spiritual phenomena would be abolished, and the way for the circulation of our message of Peace would be opened. They should therefore appoint time and place to meet with me for this most important investigation of what departed spirits are able to effect through mortal men. With all my exertions to move the professors they remained obstinate sinners against the Holy Ghost who gave them opportunity to learn what is most important to correct the pernicious effect of their report and to cease to brutalize their students with their materialism. I started from Massachussets to New Hampshire, because in that State besides other spirit manifestations in Concord a Convention of those adventists was held, who besides other blasphemies of the living God and his Christ teach also, that man dies as a beast, but that when Christ comes on the clouds, he will awaken the righteous from death, but the wicked will be eternally annihilated. As all other pestilence which is spread in the Papal and in the Protestant sects is supported by the use and abuse of the Bible, likewise also these "annihilators" made their discoveries of the annihilation of the wicked by the means of the Bible. They are spread through the country and especially through the States of New England, and are only a branch of the dreadful materialism which has brought the human beings so on the surface of the matter, that they stifled the most needful knowledge regarding the spirit world. I warned all sects of Adventists as well as others, everywhere. At length I met in October, 1858, with a portion of the Adventist annihilators in a Conference in Providence of Rhode Island, and tried to convert them from their folly. But they were not ready to hear facts and then reflect upon them with a sound reason, to know man in his interior life.