Witchcraft and the Occult

PART 1 - WHAT IS WITCHCRAFT AND THE OCCULT?

Witchcraft is obtaining spiritual power from anywhere other than God and using that power to influence one’s self, other people, or other things in the world. The occult is similar, but done secretively.

The problem is that God is a jealous god and wants us to rely on HIM for all our needs.(1)

PART 2 - CHOOSE YOUR SOURCE OF POWER CAREFULLY

There are three heavens that we know of.(2) Jesus is in the third heaven with God the Father. Let's call the world around us that we can’t see the second heaven and the world we can see the first heaven.

The Holy Spirit and holy angels carry out Jesus’ will. The Holy Spirit is in us disciples. When we are obedient to the Word/Jesus and let the Holy Spirit lead us, the Spirit will move in our lives and bring us love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control. Jesus is the deliverer and He does it through the Holy Spirit. When we cast out demons, the Holy Spirit is the One forcing them out, although holy angels may have their role in it at times. When we heal people, it’s the Holy Spirit doing it. Again, holy angels may have their role in it at times. The Holy Spirit is our primary source of spiritual power. The Holy Spirit moves in as much as we allow Him to move. He’s a gentleman. He won’t force Himself on us. The more we submit to the Word/Jesus, the more He’ll move. The more we submit our will to His will, the more He’ll move. Submitting our will to the Holy Spirit’s will is mandatory for all disciples.

The angels are commanded by God. We also have the ability to call for angelic help.

The only other source of spiritual power is the devil and his army of fallen angels/demons. The devil and his army are more powerful than us humans by ourselves. They will easily crush us. But when we let the Holy Spirit lead us, He’ll move. We’ll then have authority and power over the devil and all his army.(3)

So the only sources of spiritual power are either God (including God the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and His angels) or the devil (including Satan and his fallen angels and demons). Every source of spiritual power comes from one or the other. It can be summed up like this...it’s God or it isn’t. If it isn’t, then it’s the devil! All power from witchcraft and the occult is certainly demonically rooted.(4)

PART 3 - EXAMPLES OF WITCHCRAFT AND THE OCCULT

False religions do not look to God for their source of power. They look to the devil and his army, most of the time without us even knowing it. Be careful! People with convincing speech and persuasive personalities will always be around to try to lead us towards a false religion.(5) Remember, the Word trumps any church/denominational doctrine, culture, or practice. Examples of false religions are Islam, Mormonism, Latter Day Saints, Hinduism, Buddhism, Satanism, Wicca, New Age, Kabbalah, Christian Science, Hare Krishna, Rosicrucianism, Unitarian Universalist, Thelema, Greek gods, Egyptian gods, indian rituals, Spiritualism, guardian spirits, reincarnation, Jehovah Witness, Freemasons, Shriners, paganism, praying to saints, Scientology, superstitions, parapsychology, Voodoo, spirit worship, Santeria, and praying to/worshipping Mother Mary.

Some witchcraft and occult practices are obvious. At other times they seem harmless because the current culture accepts them. Regardless, demons have developed influence over people because they participated in the following… acupuncture, amulets (piece of jewelry worn for protection), astrology (receiving information by studying the sun, moon, and stars), Reiki, some types of massages, automatic writing, charms (rabbit’s foot), clairvoyance (seeing the unseeable), crystals/crystal ball, curses, demonic tongues, hypnosis, listening to voices, meditation, some martial arts, spells, water dowsing, yoga, summoning spirits, blood pacts, channeling, ESP, fantasy role playing games, fortune telling, games involving occult power, Harry Potter, graven images, pictures/statues of night animals-especially frogs and owls, horoscope, horror movies, imaginary friends, levitation, all forms of magic (white magic, black magic...it doesn’t matter), magic 8 ball, mediums, necromancy (contacting the dead), astral projection (soul leaving body to travel), occult books/literature, occult TV shows (this includes probably most of them!), Ouija board, palm reading, Pokemon, psychics, burning incense, pornography, seances, sorcery, tarot cards, telepathy (mind reading), trances, and tea leaf readings.

People use drugs for a good feeling, creativity, courage, pain management, weight loss, mental acuity, to sleep, physical healing/development, or to feed their demonic addiction. Most people don’t realize or have the faith that God can do the same thing as those drugs. They don’t even think about going to Him first. Or else they pray a little and quickly give up on Him and go to the drugs. Or even more common, they pray wrong and ask God to do something that He wants us to do in His name. Drugs somewhat separate our minds from our body This makes us vulnerable somehow for demons to enter us. If you want to open up a highway for evil spirits to get into you, use mind-altering drugs including acid, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, inhalants, marijuana, meth, methadone, mushrooms, etc. Also beware of any drug that alters your natural state such as adderall, caffeine, nicotine, pain pills, sleeping aids, and hormone therapy/steroids. Any drug that is addictive can have a demon behind it.

God existed before the devil. As a matter of fact, God made the devil and his fallen angels. There is no comparison to who is more powerful over the other. The devil is like a bug under God’s shoe. The Holy Spirit that is in us has complete power and authority over the devil. It isn’t even close. The problem is that we are naturally rebellious to God due to the iniquity of rebellion coming through the generations ever since Adam. The more we submit ourselves to the Word/Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, the more He will help us put into practice our authority and power over the devil and his army.

More submission to the Word/Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us = more power over the devil.

PART 4 - WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT WITCHCRAFT AND THE OCCULT

God isn’t vague about His feelings towards witchcraft and the occult.(6)

PART 5 - DEMONS DO HAVE POWER

The power obtained through witchcraft and the occult is real. Demons are more powerful than we are when we try to battle them ourselves. They are more powerful than our souls. But...when we submit our souls to the Holy Spirit and let Him lead us, we become more powerful than they are. The demons will then have to do what WE say!

In appearance, demons can do what the Holy Spirit can do...to a degree.(7) If a disciple commands pain to leave in Jesus’ name and it leaves, that is the work of the Holy Spirit. The demon was cast out against its will. Now if a witch prays for pain to leave in the name of mother earth and it leaves, the demons were trying to trick us. The demon causing the pain stopped causing the pain by choice in an attempt to show that mother earth is as powerful as God.

PART 6 - FIGHTING BACK

When we get involved, knowingly or unknowingly, with witchcraft and the occult we don’t just suffer ourselves. We pass the demonic torment down our family line.(8)

It’s easier to prevent the devil’s influence on us than it is to take back the ground he has already taken. To prevent the devil’s influence of witchcraft and occult on us, like every other attack of the devil, we need to be obedient to the Word/Jesus and submit our soul (mind, will, and emotions) to the Holy Spirit’s leadership. We can’t give the devil any legal rights over us.(9)

Learn what the Word says about witchcraft and the occult.
Remove any witchcraft or occult related items from your possession. Destroy them if you can and throw them away.(10)
Cancel any generational curses (iniquity) by forgiving your ancestors, repenting to God for them, blessing them, and canceling any curses that have come through the family line.
Repent for your own involvement.
Cancel all curses against you.
Cast out the demons.
Stay vigilant. Disciples submit themselves to the Word/Jesus and the leadership of the Holy Spirit. This is what gives them supernatural power. This is what allows them to destroy the works of the devil...but know this. Disciples are marked people in the demonic world. Disciples must always be vigilant to not let their guard down. Studying Balaam in Numbers is a good example of letting one’s guard down.

Scripture References

(1) Exodus 20:5

...for I am Jehovah your God, a jealous God…

Deuteronomy 4:24

For Jehovah your God is a consuming fire; He is a jealous God.

(2) 2 Corinthians 12:2-4

In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, he talks about visiting the third Heaven.

I know a man in Christ fourteen years before, whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know, God knows, such a one was caught up to the third Heaven...that he was caught up into Paradise and heard unspeakable words which a man is not permitted to speak.

(3) Luke 10:17-20

Jesus sent out seventy disciples. When they returned they talked about the amazing power they had, especially with casting out demons.

And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us through Your Name. And He said to them, I saw Satan falling out of Heaven as lightning! Behold, I have given you the authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and on all the power of the hostile one, and nothing shall hurt you, not ever! But do not rejoice in this, that the evil spirits are

subject to you, but rather rejoice that your names are written in Heaven.

(4) Acts 16:16-18

And it happened, as we were going into a place of prayer, a certain slave girl having a Pythonic spirit met us, whose divining brought much profit to her masters. Following after Paul and us, she cried out, saying, These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to us a way of salvation! And she did this over many days. But becoming distressed, and turning around to the demonic spirit, Paul said, In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out from her! And it came out in the very hour.

(5) 2 John 1:6-11

And this is love, that we should walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, even as you heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it. Because many deceivers entered into the world, those not confessing Jesus Christ to have come in the flesh, this is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch ourselves, that we may not lose the things we worked out, but that we may receive a full reward. Everyone transgressing and not abiding in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. The one abiding in the doctrine of Christ, this one has the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bear this doctrine, do not receive him into the house, and do not speak a greeting to him. For the one speaking a greeting shares in his evil works.

Matthew 7:14-20

For narrow is the gate, and constricted is the way that leads away into life, and few are the ones finding it. But beware of the

false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inside they are plundering wolves. From their fruits you shall know them. Do they gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? So every good tree produces good fruits, but the corrupt tree produces evil fruits. A good tree cannot produce evil fruits, nor a corrupt tree produce good fruits. Every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and is thrown into fire. Surely from their fruits you shall know them.

(6) Exodus 22:18

You shall not allow a sorceress to live.

Leviticus 19:26

...you shall not divine, nor conjure spirits.

Leviticus 19:31

You shall not turn to mediums, and you shall not seek to spirit-knowers to be defiled by them; I am Jehovah your God.

Deuteronomy 18:9-14

When you come to the land which Jehovah your God is giving to you, you shall not learn to do according to the disgusting things of those nations. There shall not be found in you one who passes his son or his daughter through the fire, an observer of clouds, or one divining, or a whisperer of spells, or a magic charmer, or one consulting mediums, or a spirit-knower, or one inquiring of ones who have died. For all doing these things are disgusting to Jehovah. And because of these disgusting things Jehovah your God is dispossessing these nations before you. You shall be perfect with Jehovah your God. For these nations whom you shall dispossess listen to observers of clouds, and to those divining. But as to you, Jehovah your God has not given to you to do so.

Leviticus 20:6

And the person turning to mediums, and to spirit-knowers, to fornicate after them, I shall set my face against that person, and cut him off from the midst of his people.

Leviticus 20:27

And a man or woman, when there is among them a medium, or a spirit-knower, dying shall die; they shall stone them with stones; their blood is on them.

2 Kings 17:16-18

And they left all the commands of Jehovah their God and made for themselves molten images, two calves, and made an Asherah, and bowed to all the host of the heavens, and served Baal, and caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire and divined divination, and used incantations, and sold themselves to do the evil in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke Him, so that Jehovah was very angry against Israel, and turned them away from His face; not one was left, only the tribe of Judah alone.

Galatians 5:18-21

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under Law. Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, fightings, jealousies, angers, intrigues, dissensions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and things like these; of which I tell you beforehand, even as I also said before, that the ones practicing such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Revelation 21:8

But for the cowardly one and faithless ones, and disgusting ones, and murderers, and fornicators, and users of magic, and idolaters, and all the lying ones, their part will be in the lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

1 Samuel 15:23

For the sin of divination is rebellion...

1 Chronicles 10:13-14

God allowed Saul, the King of Israel, to die as a result of not following orders and consulting with a medium.

And Saul died because of his unfaithful act that he acted unfaithfully against Jehovah, against the Word of Jehovah that he did not keep, and also for asking of a medium, to inquire; and did not inquire of Jehovah. And He caused him to die, and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.

Revelation 22:14-15

Blessed are the ones doing His commands, that will be their authority over the Tree of Life, and by the gates they may enter

into the city. But outside are the dogs and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one loving and making a lie.

Isaiah 2:6

For you have forsaken your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled from the east, and are spirit-knowers like the Philistines...

Isaiah 19:2-4

And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians; and they shall fight, a man against his brother; and a man against his fellow;

city against city, kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of the Egyptians shall be empty in its midst; and I will swallow its counsel. And they shall seek to idols, and to the enchanters, and to the mediums, and to the spirit-knowers. And I will shut up the Egyptians into the hand of cruel lords; and a fierce king shall rule them, a statement of the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts.

Malachi 3:5

And I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against those divining, and against one doing adultery, and against those swearing to a lie; and against those who extort from the hired laborer’s pay; and turning away the widow, and the fatherless, and the sojourner, and not fearing Me, says Jehovah of Hosts.

2 Kings 21:6

And he made his son to pass through the fire, used magic, and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spirit-knowers. He increased to work the evil in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger.

2 Chronicles 33:6

And he made his sons to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and did magic and divined, and used sorcery, and used mediums and the spirit-knowers; he multiplied the doing of the evil in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger.

Isaiah 8:18-19, 22

Behold, I and the children whom Jehovah has given to me are for signs and wonders in Israel from Jehovah of Hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion. And when they say to you, seek to the mediums, and to spirit-knowers who peep and mutter; should not a people see to its God, than for the living to seek the ones who died?...And they shall look to the land. And, behold, distress and darkness and gloom of anguish; and they are driven to darkness.

Isaiah 47:8-14

And now, hear this, voluptuous one, who lives securely; who says in her heart, I am, and there is none besides; I shall not sit as a widow, and I shall not know the loss of children. But these two things shall suddenly come to you in one day: loss of children, and widowhood; according to completeness they come on you, for your many sorceries, for the multitude of your great spells. For you trusted in your evil; you said, no one sees me. Your wisdom and your knowledge, it is turning you back; and you said in your heart, I am and there is none besides. But evil shall come on you; you shall not know its origin. And mischief shall fall on you; you shall not be able to cover it. And ruin shall come on you suddenly, you shall not know. Stand now among your spells, and with your many sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth. Perhaps you will be able to profit; perhaps you may cause quaking. You are exhausted by your many counsels; let those dividing the heavens stand up now and save you, the seers into the stars, making known what is coming on you into the new moons. Behold, they are as stubble; the fire burns them; they shall not save their soul from the flame’s hand; there is no coal to warm them, not a flame to sit before it. So they are to you with whom you have labored, your traders from your youth; each man wanders to his own side; no one saves you.

Jeremiah 27:8-10

And it shall be, the nation and kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put its

neck in the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will call to account that nation, a statement of Jehovah, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the plague, until I have destroyed them by his hand. As for you, do not listen to your prophets, or to those divining to you, or to your dreamers, or to ones conjuring to you, or to your sorcerers, those who are speaking to you, saying, you shall not serve the king of Babylon. For they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land, that I should banish you, and you should perish.

Micah 5:12-15

And I will cut off sorceries out of your hand, and there shall not be ones divining for you. And I also will cut off your graven images and your pillars from your midst. And you shall not any more bow down to the work of your hands. And I will pluck your Asherahs from your midst, and will destroy your cities. And I will execute vengeance in anger and in fury on the nations, such as they have not heard.

(7) Exodus 8:6-7, 17-18

And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. And the diviners did so with their secret arts. And they brought up the frogs on the land of Egypt...and Aaron stretched out his hand and his staff and struck the dust of the earth. And the lice were on man and on beast. All the dust of the earth became lice in the land of Egypt. And the diviners performed with their secret arts to bring forth lice, and they could not. And the lice were on man and on beast.

2 Thessalonians 2:9

His coming is according to the working of Satan in all power and miraculous signs and lying wonders, and in all deception of unrighteousness in the ones perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth in order for them to be saved.

(8) Exodus 40:4-5

You shall not make a graven image for yourself, or any likeness in the heavens above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow to them, and you shall not serve them; for I am Jehovah your God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of fathers on sons, on the third and on the fourth generation, to those that hate Me;

(9) Numbers 23:21-23

Balak was trying to put a curse on Israel, but it wasn’t possible. Jacob and Israel weren’t sinning so the devil couldn’t get a foothold.

He has seen no iniquity in Jacob, nor has He seen mischief in Israel. Jehovah his God is with him, and the shout of a king is in him...For there is not a spell against Jacob, and not any divination against Israel. Now it is said of Jacob and Israel, See what God has done!

(10) Acts 19:18-19

And many of the ones having believed came confessing, and reporting their practices. And a considerable number of the ones practicing the magical arts, bringing together the books, burned them before all. And they counted the prices of them, and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.