In society there has always been and will always be magicians, astrologers, fortune tellers and people who invoke the dead. There has also always been an audience that is seduced by the things that these people could do or say, because who would not like to know what the future holds? However, it is not about what we want or think, but about knowing what our Creator wants.
It is incredible how in the Bible there are many verses that refer to the theme of witchcraft and divination, and how there is a common denominator in all of them, which is the absolute rejection of God. In fact the Word of God uses the term “abominable practice.” As the central passage of this study we will use the verses from Deuteronomy 18:10-14:
“ There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.”
LET’S DON’T PRACTICES DIVINATION, NOR USE THE ZODIAC, NOR LET US READ THE HOROSCOPE
As commented at the beginning, soothsayers have always existed, and when a king wanted to consult what the future held, they used to have a series of these characters at court.
“Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation.” Daniel 4: 7
But, in Leviticus 19:26 the Word is blunt in indicating to us:
“You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes”
However, in the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles we have numerous examples of how the people practiced divination and witchcraft, suffering terrible consequences.
“And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.” 2 Kings 17:17
“And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.” 2 Kings 21:6 (Manases kingdom).
In Josiah’s time, he was converted from his heart to God and made a series of reforms, including eliminating a series of astral divination practices and what we know as the horoscope.
“And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens.” 2 Kings 23: 5 (Josiah’s reforms).
As can be seen in these verses, divination with the horoscope and symbols of the zodiac was practiced since ancient times, and the Word tells us how the people were lost trusting in such things.
DO NOT CONSULT THE WITCHERS, NOR CONTAMINATE WITH THEM
Not only does God require us not to be fortune-tellers, but also not to practice fortune-telling, nor go to fortune-tellers.
“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:31
“and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have forbidden,” Deuteronomy 17:3
In numerous passages we see that this abominable practice is also punished by God:
“If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.“ Leviticus 20:6
“A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.” Leviticus 20:27
“So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance.” 1 Cronicles 10:13
The biblical story of Saul and how he goes to consult a fortune teller can be read in detail in 1 Samuel 28: 3 [Saul and the Medium of En-dor ]
“and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;” Micah 5:12
When the Word tells us not to contaminate ourselves, it wants us to move away, not to have any contact with it. Now let’s think about how we have in television series, movies, newspapers, and even well-known people, who constantly bring us these practices by which we can contaminate ourselves.
ONLY TO GOD CAN WE TRUST OUR WAYS
All these practices are hated by God, because the moment we practice them we are putting God aside and trusting in witchcraft. We must always put trust in God, and that He will do, since the practice of witchcraft is a rejection of God.
Here are some verses on how we should trust God:
“And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?” Isaiah 8:19
“and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound[a] their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers;” Isaiah 19:3
who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish,” Isaiah 44:25
“the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God.” Micah 3:7
THE PROFIT OF DIVINATION
One of the reasons both witchcraft and divination exist is because of the profit and the business behind it. Any person who has a problem and trusts that going to the witch doctor can solve it, or wants his business to go well, or wants to know what the future holds for him, he is willing to pay for it, whether or not they are told true. In Micah 3:11 the Word clearly tells us:
“Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the Lord and say, “Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.”
In other words, there is a lucrative profession behind it, and that is why we see all these practices impregnated even in cartoon movies, where there is no lack of a witch, wizard or godmother, because all this generates business.
In the Word, it shows us in Acts 16:16 how there was a girl who had a spirit of divination and because of this spirit she was very profitable.
“As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.”
Also in the book of Acts 13: 6 the Bible tells us that:
“…they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus”
What is interesting about this passage is that the word tells us that he was a Jew. Also in these times, we are going to find witches who claim to belong to a certain religion and use that religion to attract people of those religions as a business of their witchcraft. The word shows us how Paul, full of the Holy Spirit, harshly rebuked him:
“and said: You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time. Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.” Acts 13: 10-11
And indeed, these sorcerers and shamans who also use religion as the basis of their practices, not only make other people sin, but also upset the ways of the Lord, because God is Holy and wants us to be in holiness.
HALLOWEEN OR NIGHT OF THE WITCHES
The Halloween party is celebrated on October 31. It is a festival of satanic origin whose roots are linked to the Celtic commemoration of Samhaim (Celtic New Year before Ireland to convert to Christianity). The ancient Celts believed that the line that linked “this world” to the “other world” narrowed with the arrival of the Samhain, allowing spirits (both benevolent and malevolent) to pass through that line. Irish immigrants transmitted versions of the tradition to North America and Canada from 1840 where it is deeply rooted. The typical activities of this party are trick or treating, costume party, bonfires, visits to abandoned houses, jokes, readings of scary stories and the viewing of horror movies. That day is used to worship the devil, make satanic parties, witchcraft practices and different associated activities. There is no shortage of tragedies throughout the world that day. We just have to search the internet with the words tragedy and halloween and we will find cases such as Madrid Arena in 2012 or Sacramento in 2014.
We can find more details about Halloween in the following link.
CONCLUSION
Do an examination of conscience and think about how is your attitude and your life in front of these practices. If you want to change your life, we invite you to receive God in your heart, since only Jesus Christ can make you a new person. Visit our page MEET CHRIST.
