shall not surely die."

[Illustration: PHARAOH'S SORCERERS COUNTERFEITING THE WORK OF GOD

"Now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their
enchantments." Ex. 7:11.]

As mankind departed from right and lost the knowledge of God, dead
heroes were deified as gods, and much of the pagan worship consisted in
sacrifices to the spirits of the dead, supposed to be living still and
concerned with affairs in the land of the living. When Israel fell away
from God and joined the Moabites in the worship of Baal-peor, the record
says of the nature of the service:

"They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of
the dead." "Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto
devils." Ps. 106:28, 37.

Instead of dealing with the spirits of the dead, the idolatrous
worshipers were really putting themselves in direct touch with the
agencies of Satan, the fallen angels.


Divine Warnings

This explains the severity of the divine warnings against the ancient
practice of necromancy, or mediumship. The Lord said:

"Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards,
to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." Lev. 19:31.