In the second part of this series, we specifically looked at Deuteronomy 18:10 in some detail. This section of Scripture showed that the practices mentioned were those which the people of God should not get involved with.
Let us now look at Deuteronomy 18:11: “(There shall not be found among you) one who conjures spells.”
J R Dummelow listed “this evil practice as the device by which one claimed to weave magic spells and curses by tying knots, etc.” By no stretch of imagination can this be related to “getting information from God”. Consulter with familiar spirits” – such persons, pretending to speak with ghosts or spirits, “were probably ventriloquists who claimed to hold communications with subterranean spirits.”
They were in fact communicating with demons pretending to be communicating with the “ghosts” of departed ones.
Verse 11 continues: “(There shall not be found among you) a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.”
The Authorized Version translates “who calls up the dead” as “necromancer.”
Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible observe: “‘Necromancer’—This referred to one who made inquiries of the dead, pretending to procure vital information by this device. Despite this evil, futile thing being condemned in the law of God, Saul, king of Israel sought out the witch of Endor in order to have a conversation, as he thought, with the deceased prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 28:7-25). From the above, it is clear enough that this paragraph deals with a number of evils that having nothing whatever to do with ‘getting a revelation from God….’”
A necromancer pretended to speak with the dead. In reality, he spoke with demons pretending to be the dead relatives of loved ones.
As we read earlier “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 18:12).
God’s judgment was upon the Canaanites because of these occult practices, and if Israel took up the same occult practices, they could also expect the judgment of God.
Interestingly, enduringword.com observed: “God did not take these occult actions lightly then, nor does He now. It is consorting with the power of darkness, and always to be rejected by Christians.
“Our culture is becoming more and more accepting of these occult themes and practices, while it is becoming more and more intolerant of Biblical Christianity. In 1991, a ninth grade Junior High Student in Dickson, Tennessee, sued the school board because his teacher wouldn’t accept a research paper written on the life of Jesus. Students were allowed to write on topics such as the occult, reincarnation and spiritualism, and the teacher originally only said that the topics must be ‘decent.’ The student was given a zero on her paper when the topic was declared unacceptable (from an August, 1991 news report).”
And the decline has speeded up in more recent years. Astrology and Ouija boards are other occult practices condemned by God but tolerated, and maybe even encouraged in our “more enlightened society.”
In decades past, the word occult dealt with anything that was outside of “natural” thinking. It was a generic term that incorporated almost everything that we now view to be part of the non-traditional spiritual frontier.
We have long understood in the Church of God that there are only two sources of spiritual power. God is the great Creator God who is love, and Satan who is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). Satan has only the power that God allows him to have, but it is considerable, and he is currently the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). God is allowing him some latitude at this time that is within His purpose for mankind. Satan is inevitably involved in the paganism of this world and all of the dark forces that emanate from that.
gaia.com, in its article, “What is paganism?,” gives the following list of books under the heading Paranormal and Occult:
“Tarot, the I Ching, cartomancy, or telling fortunes with regular playing cards, palmistry, numerology, phrenology, crystal gazing, clairvoyance, clairaudience, automatic writing and tea leaf reading. Also séances, astral projection out of body experiences, Ouija boards, mind-reading, auras, ghosts, haunted houses, vampirism, lycanthropy, fairies, brownies and sprites, herbalism, numerology, communicating with elemental forces, reincarnation, past lives, trances, spirit boxes, witchcraft, sorcerers and their familiars, and ritual magic. In addition, there were books on demonology, angelic communication, the dark arts, mind control, ESP for fun and profit…”
It just goes to show how much Satan and the demonic world have influenced so many people that such practices as listed above are accepted in society, and yet the Truth from the Living God can be seen as hate speech.
Paganism, the very opposite of belief in a supreme Creator God, is inextricably linked with occult practices. There are many verses condemning pagan practices in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and looking at an Analytical Concordance of the Bible will reveal these. Let us quote just a few of so many passages to show the Bible’s consistency in condemning such practices.
Exodus 22:18 says: “You shall not permit a sorceress to live.”
Leviticus 19:31 states: “‘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 20:6 adds: “‘And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.”
2 Kings 17:17 states: “And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.”
2 Chronicles 33:6 says: “Also he [Manasseh] caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.”
Isaiah 8:19 states: “And when they say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?”
Jeremiah 27:9 says: “Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’”
Micah 5:12 states: “I will cut off sorceries from your hand, And you shall have no soothsayers.”
Nahum 3:4-5 says: “‘Because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, The mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations through her harlotries, And families through her sorceries. Behold, I am against you,’ says the LORD of hosts…”
In the New Testament, in the book of Acts 8:9 and 13, we read about Simon the Sorcerer’s profession of the Christian faith.
“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… Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.”
However, this turned out to be a false conversion, as we read in verses 18-21:
“And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you [The Luther Bible 1984 writes: “… that you may be condemned with your money”] because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.’”
It was thought that this sorcerer had had a change of heart but that was not how it turned out to be. History tells us that he, as Simon Magus, went to Rome and continued his sorcery there; many think today that the Apostle Peter was in Rome, but it was indeed Simon Magus, and not Simon Peter.
Acts 19:19 states what Simon Magus should have done: “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.”
Galatians 5:19-21 adds: “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are:… idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies… those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Revelation 21:8 states: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
However, in spite of the above instructions of God in His Word, mainstream Christianity continues to practice old pagan customs.
(To be continued)
Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)
