one of the sins mentioned previously are
unforgivable. The sin may repulse us, but not to long ago, Satan deceived us
and we fell into the trap believing a lie. We are all subject to temptation.
So if we are spiritual beings and members of the church our responsibility is
to restore those who fell to a weakness. The reason people are drawn into the
occult are:
A desire for power and knowledge in ways other
than the natural or special revelations of God
The desire to frustrate, distort or pervert
God’s will
A desire to experience the supernatural
To rationally find a reason to commit immoral
sex acts
To assure themselves of immortal life beyond
the grave
A deception by the demonic with counterfeit
gifts
To be religious, apart from Christian
commitment and its call for repentance
To develop friendships or be part of a group
A direct rebellion against organized
Christianity
THE WORKS OF INIQUITY AND OCCULT
Now the works of the flesh are evident,
which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish
ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and
the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time
past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of
God. -- Galatians 5:19-21
A closer look at the scriptures
reveals the works of the flesh for our understanding:
Adultery, fornication or uncleanness - any
form of sexual perversion
Licentiousness or lasciviousness - lustfulness
that leads to sexual sin
Idolatry - anything on which the heart is
passionately set. This goes beyond healthy ambition to do a job.
Sorcery or witchcraft - whether for good or
bad intention, including white, gray or black magic. This is not to be
confused with slight of hand.
Hatred - holding grudges or bitterness;
unforgiveness
Contentions or variance - arguing that causes
divisions in the church.
Jealousies or emulations - it is the spirit of
rivalry in religion or society
Outbursts of wrath - lasting unforgiveness,
outrageous behavior
Strife - trying to get the upper hand, lack of
submission
Seditions - to cause divisions of any kind
Heresies - straying from the truth
Envyings - ill will towards others
Murder - killing or intentionally causing harm
to others
Drunkenness - living to drink, or, a partying
spirit
Revelings - riotous and
boisterous feastings with obscene music, jokes, and other sinful activities
‘When you come into the land which the LORD
your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of
those nations. ‘There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or
his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a
soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures
spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. ‘For all
who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these
abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you -- Deuteronomy
18:9-12.
All of the following practices
listed are the result of the very nature and spirit of the devil working in
the lives of the children of darkness. The enemy and his army are real, and
so the war is, in exposing their influence through the light of God's perfect
Law. For clarity, let's take a closer look at these practices so we
understand them:
Passing through fire relates to magic charming
Divination is any form of fortunetelling
An observer of times is a soothsayer, a person
who foretells the future through observing natural phenomena
An enchanter is a magician
A witch is the same as a sorceress, a warlock
is male
A charmer is what we now term a hypnotist, or,
a mesmer
A consulter with familiar spirits would be a
medium using a spirit or guide. These are fallen angels.
A wizard is a clairvoyant or psychic
A necromancer is a person who consults the
dead
THE MAGIC AND OCCULT PRACTICES
There are various forms of magic:
white magic to bring about a good end; gray or neutral magic involving the
forces of nature; and, black magic for destructive or evil deeds. The powers
that practitioners release through magic spells they use for the following
purposes:
To gain knowledge of secret things
The power to cause harm or death
To insure the love and submission of men or
women
The ability to conjure spirits
The power to go invisible
For the discovery of treasures and to insure
ownership
The winning of all games
The recovery of stolen property
Through the use of a mesmer,
hypnotist, or use of magic charming there is the danger of occult
transference. This can happen as a result of surrendering our 'free will'.
God commands us not to seek after charmers or enchanters.
VARIOUS FORMS OF FORTUNETELLING AND TYPES OF
DIVINATION USED TODAY
Chiromancy - commonly called palm reading
Crystal ball gazing
Cartomancy - the reading of tarot cards
A pendulum or glass used to get answers by the
way it sways
Ouija boards - whether used in fun or not
The reading of tea leaves or the residue left
behind
Graphology or handwriting analysis
Horoscopes - the religion of astrology, not
astronomy
Necromany is any form of spirit
communication and will use several forms of conjuring or controlling spirits.
The most common forms of this type of spiritism include:
Table lifting
Spiritistic visions
Glass tumbler moving
Automatic writing
Speaking in a trance
Materializations, the alleged appearance of
the dead
Telekinesis - moving objects with the power of
the mind
Levitation - the lifting of a person or
object, which is an imitation of the ascension
Apports or the appearance and disappearance of
an object in a closed room
Astral Projection - soul travel
The tenth form of necromancy is so
dangerous that we must pay special attention to the 'astral projectionist' or,
'soul traveler'. This form of spirit communication is used by the fourth
stage yoga masters. They try to achieve a release for their souls to travel
to different worlds or areas they want to see. The dangers they encounter
are: 1. the projectionist may try to return to their body and find it occupied
by another spirit; or, 2. they could cross paths with another spiritual being
and be held captive or be harmed. In most cases the actual event is a
deception that the enemy uses or their own vain imaginations. These people
may not even be aware of Satan or the fiery darts of the evil one. The
thoughts demons project into the mind of any Christian could be easily
quenched by the truth of the Word of God, and stopped by the shield of faith.
There are no principalities,
dominions, authorities or powers that our Lord has not overcome for us. He is
Lord of Lords, and King of Kings!
There are also false prophets, false
ministers and false saviors. The Scriptures refer to Lucifer to as an angel
of light. He masquerades his own nature and deceives those who do not know
the Lord, or the Scriptures.
So many books on the occult deceive
the unsaved, offering the riches of this world that mean nothing in the one to
come. Unfortunately, not enough of these books have warned about the dangers
involved in seeking this type of knowledge and power. There is an explosion
of filth given to the public, and they are unaware of the consequences of
their involvement. Dabbling in the occult is sin even when it is just for
fun.
There are many people involved with
the occult because of a lack of knowledge. There are also imitations of the
gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are counterfeit gifts and commonly called
'Extra-Sensory Perception,' or, ESP. Any of the extra-sensory functions in
the following material may result from involvement with Spiritism, and that is
communication with spirits. There is no reason for a Christian to seek God
through hidden or dark things used to gain knowledge and power. The gifts of
the Holy Spirit will provide all we need. The following counterfeit gifts do
not bring glory to God. They only distract many unbelievers from the gospel.
The imitations are:
Divination - any form of fortunetelling
Clairvoyance - the ability to see beyond the
normal range of vision or perception, past or present
Clairaudience - the ability to hear voices and
sounds beyond the normal range of hearing
Precognition - a knowledge or ability to see
future events; including premonitions, visions, dreams
Psychometry - the ability to determine the
facts about an objects owner used to diagnose ailments
Radiesthesia - divining for water, oil or
other minerals
Telepathy - commonly called mind reading
Telekinesis - the movement of material objects
through mental concentration
When the counterfeits are present in
a life before people come to the Lord, we must warn them about spiritual
matters like this. The practice of the black arts is sin, and repentance is
necessary to break the curse of the Law. The curses follow people until
Jesus breaks the power of the Law for them. If the church refuses to
acknowledge the curses or teach the children how Jesus broke them, the person
may suffer from spiritual oppression as a result. After a person comes to
repentance, the Holy Spirit will often restore several gifts that will bring
glory to God and lead others to Him.
People often ask about the reasoning
behind breaking the curses of the law. A curse is the opposite of a blessing,
and God uses angels to bless or discipline people. If a person is under a
curse, they will not be able to receive the blessings the Lord has for them.
When cursed are carried out by a fallen angels and they are not commanded to
depart, the new believer will not understand their freedom in Christ and they
remain captive. This can be very destructive, especially when someone tells
them how glorious Christianity is. We have the knowledge and authority to
'bind and loosen' anything as a Christian. When we lead someone to the Lord,
we can really help if we remember to bind up the enemy and loose the people
from the curses.
The following scriptures are
examples of occult involvement found throughout the Holy Bible:
But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the
sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their
enchantments. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But
Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. -- Exodus 7:11-12
'You shall not eat anything with the blood,
nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. -- Lev. 19:26
'Give no regard to mediums and familiar
spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your
God. -- Leviticus 19:31
‘And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to
heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of
heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your
God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage. --
Deuteronomy 4:19
They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign
gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons,
not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals that your
fathers did not fear. -- Deuteronomy 32:16-17
So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he
had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD,
and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of
the LORD; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the
son of Jesse. -- 1 Chronicles 10:13-14
And he built altars for all the host of heaven
in the two courts of the house of the LORD. Also he made his son pass through
the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and
mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger --
2 Kings 21:5-6
‘Likewise, son of man, set your face against
the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; prophesy
against them, ‘and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Woe to the women who sew
magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every
height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep
yourselves alive? ‘And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of
barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping
people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to
lies?’ 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I am against your magic
charms by which you hunt souls there like birds. I will tear them from your
arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. ‘I will also tear
off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no
longer be as prey in your hand. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.’ ' ‘
‘Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have
not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he
does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. ‘Therefore you shall no
longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people
out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’ ' ‘ -- Ezekiel
13:17-23
‘For the king of Babylon stands at the
parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he
shakes the arrows, he consults the images, he looks at the liver. -- Ezekiel
21:21
Then the king gave the command to call the
magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king
his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. -- Daniel 2:2
But there was a certain man called Simon, who
previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria,
claiming that he was someone great, -- Acts 8:9
Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a
certain slave girl oppressed with a spirit of divination met
us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed
Paul and us, and cried out, saying, ‘These men are the servants of the Most
High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.’ And this she did for many
days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you
in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And he came out that very
hour. -- Acts 16:16-18
And many who had
believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had
practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of
all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand
pieces of silver. -- Acts 19:18-19
Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those
who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That
an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? But I say that
the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to
God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink
the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's
table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?
Are we stronger than He? -- 1 Cor 10:18-22
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