e about two thousand),
and were choked in the sea," Mark 5:2-13.

In all these instances, the demons are recognized as actual intelligences,
performing given acts. Without the admission of this, it will be difficult
to explain the meaning of a large class of scriptures. It cannot for a
moment be supposed that the inspired writers would be permitted to use
language which should directly mislead the common mind.

Among the miracles which the apostles wrought, "unclean spirits, crying
with a loud voice, came out of many possessed with them, and many taken
with palsies, and that were lame, were healed," Acts 8:7. "And God wrought
special miracles by the hands of Paul: so that from his body were brought
unto the sick handkerchiefs, or aprons, and the diseases departed from
them, and the evil spirits went out of them. Then certain of the vagabond
Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits,
the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul
preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the
priests, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know,
and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was,
leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that
they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And many that believed,
came and confessed, and showed their deeds. Many of them also which used
curious arts, brought their books together, and burned them before all
men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand
pieces of silver," Acts 19:11-16, 18, 19.

The necromancy, divination, and witchcraft, forbidden in the Old Testament
and practised by the heathen of those times, were all of a similar
character. A necromancer was one who had, or pretended to have
communication with the dead,--who sought "for the living to the dead,"(9)
Isa. 8:19. They practised divination in divers ways, but usually admitted
their dependence on familiar spirits,--the spirits of the departed,--demons.
"The king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the
two ways, to use divination; he made his arrows bright, he consulted with
images, he looked in the liver. At his right hand was the divination for
Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to
lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering-rams against the
gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort. And it s