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Details about Witchcraft:
1 Samuel 15:23 (KJV) "For rebellion is as
the sin of witchcraft..."
Those Nasty Witches
With all the warnings in Scriptures
about witchcraft, you would think it was a
major problem in life. But "witchcraft", as
we generally think about it, is hardly
appealing to most people, so why the
emphasis? Is God "out of touch" with what we
are really tempted with? Or are we deceived
about what witchcraft really is? Do our
ideas come from Hollywood or Scripture?
Isaiah 1:2 (NIV) Hear, O heavens! Listen,
O earth! For the Lord has spoken: "I reared
children and brought them up, but they
have rebelled against me."
Has Satan repackaged witchcraft to fit
our modern Christian tastes, but left the
essence the same? Are we practicing
witchcraft? Are we the witches
Scripture is addressing? Is it not the witch
instinct in us that must die?
Exodus 22:18 (KJV) "Thou shalt not suffer
a witch to live."
What Is Witchcraft?
1 Samuel 15:23 (NAS) "For rebellion
is as the sin of divination, and
insubordination is as iniquity and
idolatry..."
Witchcraft: Wanting to be a
spiritual "mover and shaker" without
submitting to God. Witchcraft is
rebellion coupled with a desire to "stay in
the game", to be a spiritual player.
How Witchcraft Works
John 8:44-45 (NIV) "You belong to your
father, the devil, and you want to carry out
your father's desire... When he lies, he
speaks his native language, for he is a liar
and the father of lies. Yet because I tell
the truth, you do not believe me!"
All supernatural power comes,
ultimately, from either God or Satan. God
gives power to those who believe the truth.
To approach God, truth is the cost of entry.
But it is the opposite with Satan, whose
nature is deception. Satan gives power to
those who believe a lie. Believing the lie
is the cost of entry to access Satan's
power. Witchcraft bolsters up the lie with:
mystery, pseudo-science, ancient knowledge,
new knowledge, etc.... The more absurd the
lie, the better. The lie acts as a
distracter.
If we mix certain ingredients in a
drink... If we eat a special herb... If we
arrange candles in a certain
configuration... If we stare into a crystal
ball... If we turn over Tarot cards... If we
"read" the stars... If we speak a certain
phrase, or mantra... If we have secret
knowledge... If we draw certain symbols...
then spiritual forces will come
into play.
James 3:15 (NIV) Such "wisdom" does not
come down from heaven but is earthly,
unspiritual, of the devil.
Witchcraft starts with a heart of
rebellion and works by focusing on a
distracter, a lie, which is some technique
purported to release power. It is important
to have "faith", to trust in the
technique and not God. Believing in
lies is an "acceptable sacrifice" to Satan,
the father of lies, who honors his children
with real power. The irony is, that due to
the inherent deceptive basis of witchcraft,
the practitioners of it often think they are
serving God, while accessing a power from
below (earth)--not from above.
For the purpose of this study, we are
defining witchcraft as a desire to be a
spiritual free agent without
submission to God or regard for His word.
1 Samuel 15:23 (NIV) "For rebellion
is like the sin of divination, and arrogance
like the evil of idolatry. Because you have
rejected the word of the Lord, he has
rejected you..."
Psalms 107:11 (NIV) For they had
rebelled against the words of God and
despised the counsel of the Most High.
Nehemiah 9:26 (NIV) "But they were
disobedient and rebelled against
you; they put your law behind their backs.
They killed your prophets, who had
admonished them in order to turn them back
to you; they committed awful blasphemies."
Does Witchcraft Work?
Even though Satan is usually the
furthest thing from the mind, the "father of
lies" honors the self-delusion inherent in
witchcraft by occasionally releasing power,
even doing supernatural miracles for those
who have rebelled against God and yet still
want to be spiritually effective. By this
means, real power can be exerted to
achieve health, beauty, enchantment,
supernatural sensitivity, "insight" through
drugs and experiences, oracles and visions,
and the like. In this sense, witchcraft
works.
Exodus 7:22 (NIV) But the Egyptian
magicians did the same things by their
secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became
hard; he would not listen to Moses and
Aaron, just as the Lord had said.
Exodus 8:7 (NIV) But the magicians
[Jannes and Jambres] did the same things by
their secret arts; they also made
frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
Witchcraft is characterized by belief in
"knowledge from below", and rejection of
"knowledge from above". In it's more
advanced and powerful stages, delusion and
belief in what is clearly not of God
is key. Satan's tacit "deal" is: if you
sacrifice truth on his altar, he will give
you power for what you want now.
But lies are flimsy things to put your trust
in...
Exodus 8:18 (NIV) But when the magicians
tried to produce gnats by their secret
arts, they could not. And the gnats
were on men and animals.
Isaiah 47:12 (NIV) "Keep on, then, with
your magic spells and with your many
sorceries, which you have labored at since
childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps
you will cause terror."
Witchcraft In The Church
Deuteronomy 18:14 (NAS) "For those
nations, which you will dispossess, listen
to those who practice witchcraft and to
diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God
has not allowed you to do so."
Acts 8:9-11 (NIV) Now for some time a man
named Simon had practiced sorcery in the
city and amazed all the people of Samaria.
He boasted that he was someone great, and
all the people, both high and low, gave him
their attention and exclaimed, "This man is
the divine power known as the Great Power."
They followed him because he had amazed them
for a long time with his magic.
Jeremiah 5:23 (NIV) But these people have
stubborn and rebellious hearts;
they have turned aside and gone away.
It is sobering to see how similar modern
witchcraft (Wicca, or "white witchcraft") is
to modern Christianity. Self-aware witches
bless as well as curse, 'bind and loose',
prophesy, pray, lay hands on, anoint with
oil, etc. Some even consider themselves
Christians with a superior understanding and
power. A few even worship
Jesus--along with a pantheon of other gods
and goddesses--but totally reject the
reality of Satan.
This should not surprise us, it was the
same in Jesus' day; nor should it poison our
desire to practice real spiritual gifts. But
given the similarity, how does one tell the
difference? More importantly, are we
dabbling with witchcraft?
Isaiah 30:9 (NIV) These are
rebellious people, deceitful children,
children unwilling to listen to the Lord's
instruction.
2 Timothy 3:6-8 (RSV) For among them are
those who make their way into households and
capture weak women, burdened with sins and
swayed by various impulses, who will
listen to anybody and can never arrive
at a knowledge of the truth. As Jannes and
Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also
oppose the truth, men of corrupt mind and
counterfeit faith.
Deuteronomy 18:10-11 (NIV) Let no one be
found among you... who practices divination
or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in
witchcraft, or cast spells, or who is a
medium or spiritist.
Jesus, Miracles, and Technique
In one situation, Jesus spits in the
dirt and rubs it in someone's eye (John
9:6). In another, He touches the person
(Luke 5:13), or from a distance speaks a
condition of obedience (Luke 17:12-14).
Sometimes He speaks calmly (John 4:50),
sometimes He yells (John 11:43). Jesus was
not relying on technique; He was relying on,
and submissive to, His Father (John
8:28-29). The specifics of how the
miracles were performed varied. It is almost
as if God was trying to make the point:
trust in Me, not the procedure.
Are we relying on God or technique? If
God, then the technique may change. In one
case the Spirit may lead us to help someone
believe with some physical act, like
anointing with oil. In another, the Spirit
may lead us to do something which may make
it harder to believe, like rubbing dirt in
someone's eye. Clearly, the technique is not
the important thing, it is more like a
Spirit-inspired sermon that
accompanies the miracle.
Jesus' miracles were done out of love in
obedience to the Father. He did not do
"miracles on demand" (see the temptation of
Jesus in Mark 4:1-12. The temptation to "do
a miracle" without God's leading is
apparently for advanced, not
carnal souls.) or boast of great power.
He even told many He healed to "keep it
secret" to thwart the adulterous spirit of
fascination with "signs and wonders" of
which He warned. But heal He did, and told
us to do likewise.
To be sure, some common techniques do
emerge from Scripture: like the laying on of
hands or anointing with oil. But these are
meant to be symbolic of where the
power really comes from, not to be believed
in superstitiously as a power unto
themselves. These techniques, even if
"authorized" by Scriptural precept and
example, will never work--by God's power
anyway--if done by rebellious "free agent"
human and not Divine will. They are not
needed for God to move, except as an act of
obedience when the Spirit leads. For the
Holy Spirit never leads us into
superstition, indifference to God's will, or
self-glory.
Isaiah 2:6 (NIV) You have abandoned your
people, the house of Jacob. They are full of
superstitions from the East; they
practice divination like the
Philistines and clasp hands with pagans.
When we start relying on technique and
not God, then we are flirting with
witchcraft. Miracles may be done,
supernatural power may come into play. But
if the soul doing these works is not yielded
to God's will, then it is an act of
rebellion. The witch in all of us wants God
"on a leash". God must perform a trick for
us when we jerk His chain. Like Satan, we
twist Scripture: "But doesn't God say...?"
(Matthew 4:5-6, Genesis 3:1)
The destiny of those who continue to
practice witchcraft as "free agents" from
God is certain, even if their miracles are
"good works".
Matthew 7:22 (NEB) "Many will say to me,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name, cast out devils in your name,
and in your name perform many
miracles?' Then I will tell them to their
face, 'I never knew you; out of my sight,
you and your wicked ways!'"
Exodus 20:7 (NIV) "You shall not misuse
the name of the Lord your God, for
the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless
who misuses his name."
Revelation 22:15 (NIV) Outside are the
dogs, those who practice magic arts,
the sexually immoral, the murderers, the
idolaters and everyone who loves and
practices falsehood.
Revelation 21:8 (NIV) But the cowardly,
the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers,
the sexually immoral, those who practice
magic arts, the idolaters and all
liars--their place will be in the fiery lake
of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
Are We Getting Away With This?
Isaiah 57:1-5 (NIV) "The righteous
perish, and no one ponders it in his heart;
devout men are taken away, and no one
understands that the righteous are taken
away to be spared from evil. Those who walk
uprightly enter into peace; they find rest
as they lie in death. But you--come here,
you sons of a sorceress, you
offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
Whom are you mocking? At whom do you sneer
and stick out your tongue? Are you not a
brood of rebels, the offspring of
liars? You burn with lust among the
oaks and under every spreading tree..."
Isaiah 57:7-8 (NIV) "You have made your
bed on a high and lofty hill; there you went
up to offer your sacrifices. Behind your
doors and your doorposts you have put your
pagan symbols. Forsaking me, you uncovered
your bed, you climbed into it and opened it
wide; you made a pact with those whose beds
you love, and you looked on their
nakedness."
Isaiah 57:10-12 (NIV) "You were wearied
by all your ways, but you would not
say, 'It is hopeless.' You found renewal of
your strength, and so you did not faint.
Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you
have been false to me, and have neither
remembered me nor pondered this in your
hearts? Is it not because I have long been
silent that you do not fear me? I will
expose your righteousness and your works,
and they will not benefit you."
Micah 5:12 (NIV) I will destroy your
witchcraft, and you will no longer cast
spells.
Balaam's Error
Balaam was a prophet for hire, a
"prophet for profit". We would never do such
a thing, at least not for so large a bribe.
Instead, we sell out for much less: To look
good, to come off as "really spiritual", to
have people believe in us. But it is still
the spirit of Balaam which sells out to
gain, even if the wage we get for
our rebellion is cheap and ephemeral.
2 Peter 2:15 (NIV) They have left the
straight way and wandered off to follow the
way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the
wages of wickedness.
Jude 11 (NIV) Woe to them! They have
taken the way of Cain; they have rushed
for profit into Balaam's error.
Jeremiah 14:14 (NIV) Then the Lord said
to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in
my name. I have not sent them or appointed
them or spoken to them. They are prophesying
to you false visions, divinations,
idolatries and the delusions of their own
minds."
Deuteronomy 13:5 (NIV) That prophet or
dreamer must be put to death, because he
preached rebellion against the Lord
your God, who brought you out of Egypt and
redeemed you from the land of slavery; he
has tried to turn you from the way the Lord
your God commanded you to follow. You must
purge the evil from among you.
Joshua 13:22 (NIV) In addition to those
slain in battle, the Israelites had put to
the sword Balaam son of Beor, who practiced
divination.
2 Chronicles 33:6 (NIV) He... practiced
sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and
consulted mediums and spiritists. He did
much evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking
him to anger.
Jeremiah 27:9-10 (NIV) "So do not listen
to your prophets, your diviners, your
interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your
sorcerers... Do not let the prophets and
diviners among you deceive you. Do not
listen to the dreams you encourage them to
have."
Isaiah 1:23 (NIV) Your rulers are rebels,
companions of thieves; they all love bribes
and chase after gifts. They do not defend
the cause of the fatherless; the widow's
case does not come before them.
Lying Divinations
Ezekiel 13:6 (NIV) Their visions are
false and their divinations a lie.
They say, "The Lord declares," when the Lord
has not sent them; yet they expect their
words to be fulfilled.
Ezekiel 13:7 (NIV) Have you not seen
false visions and uttered lying
divinations when you say, "The Lord
declares," though I have not spoken?
Ezekiel 13:9 (NIV) My hand will be
against the prophets who see false visions
and utter lying divinations. They will not
belong to the council of my people or be
listed in the records of the house of
Israel, nor will they enter the land of
Israel. Then you will know that I am the
Sovereign Lord.
Isaiah 47:9 (NIV) Both of these will
overtake you in a moment, on a single day:
loss of children and widowhood. They will
come upon you in full measure, in spite of
your many sorceries and all your potent
spells.
Malachi 3:5 (NIV) "So I will come near to
you for judgment. I will be quick to testify
against sorcerers, adulterers and
perjurers..." says the Lord Almighty.
It Is The Witch In Us... That Must Die!
Job 24:13 (NIV) "There are those who
rebel against the light, who do not
know its ways or stay in its paths."
A.W. Tozer: "Christianity is so
entangled with the world that millions never
guess how radically they have missed the New
Testament pattern. Compromise is everywhere.
The world is whitewashed just enough to pass
inspection by blind men posing as
believers..."
Consider and discuss these provocative
suggestions of how witchcraft may have been
repackaged to appeal to the
rebellious hearts of Christians:
Do we trust in God, or in our
favorite "distracter"? Will we follow
Satan's seductive siren song to spiritual
power and become His possession, or
will we follow the Holy Spirit into truth?
Some simple questions to ask in
discerning witchcraft: Is it based on the
truth, or a distracter or outright
lie? Is it "power of suggestion" or God's
power? Are we blind not to see how
similar it is to traditional witchcraft? Is
it born out of waiting upon the Lord in
faith, or out of impatience? Who is in
control? Who gets the glory? In whom, or
in what, are we trusting?
2 Kings 17:17 (NIV) ...They practiced
divination and sorcery and sold themselves
to do evil in the eyes of the Lord,
provoking him to anger.
Repentance
Deuteronomy 18:14 (NIV) "The nations you
will dispossess listen to those who practice
sorcery or divination. But as for you, the
Lord your God has not permitted you to do
so."
While some revel in witchcraft under a
"Christian" banner, others see through this
and are so disgusted that they are
suspicious of real gifts of the Spirit. We
need to be careful not to be spiritual
prostitutes... or to become spiritually
frigid.
Jeremiah 3:13 (NIV) "Only acknowledge
your guilt--you have rebelled
against the Lord your God, you have
scattered your favors to foreign gods under
every spreading tree, and have not obeyed
me," declares the Lord.
Acts 19:19 (Jer) Some believers, too,
came forward to admit in detail how they had
used spells and a number of them who had
practiced magic collected their books and
made a bonfire of them in public. The value
of these was calculated to be fifty thousand
silver pieces.
Hosea 14:9 (NIV) Who is wise? He will
realize these things. Who is discerning? He
will understand them. The ways of the Lord
are right; the righteous walk in them, but
the rebellious stumble in them.
Leviticus 19:26 (NIV) ... "Do not
practice divination or sorcery."
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