CHRISTIANS AND THE OCCULT DON'T MIX!
"A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them." (Lev. 20:27) Seems clear enough; you didn't buy all those Harry Potter books, did you? Go to a Harry Potter movie? Wasted money. I knew of this law in Leviticus and stayed away from anything associated with Harry Potter, but when I was ignorant, I didn't find anything wrong with Mary Poppins, that magical nanny of the 60s How many of you have seen all kinds of movies or read stories of witches? "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." (Exod. 22:18) Puts a damper on the story of the good witch of the West, doesn't it? When the U.S. started out as a Christian nation, is it any wonder why the Salem witch trials happened for all those early years? Those people were trying to live by the Old Testament law!
When man or woman have anything to do with the occult, such as human sacrifice, or divination practices, such as an omen interpreter, which would be a palm reader, or practices witchcraft and wizardry (BAD Harry Potter!), or a medium who inquires of the dead, God finds all these practices an abomination! "When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee." (Deut. 18:9 - 12) We are to put these types of people out of business by avoiding contributing to their business! Harry Potter books have proven they are the way of the world; look how great a best seller it has been among the nonChristians! Sadly, even some who profess to be Christians have some copies of the books.
People who invoke the service of palm readers and mediums often end up with a negative experience of it. Consider what happened when Saul made the mistake of disobeying God's commandment concerning mediums: "Then said Saul unto his servants, 'Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her.' And his servants said to him, 'Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.' And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, 'I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.' And the woman said unto him, 'Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?' And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, 'As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.' Then said the woman, 'Whom shall I bring up unto thee?' And he said, 'Bring me up Samuel.' And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, 'Why hast thou deceived me?' For thou art Saul.' And the king said unto her, 'Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, 'I saw gods ascending out of the earth.' And he said unto her, 'What form is he of?' And she said, 'An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle.' And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, 'Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?' And Saul answered, 'I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.' Then said Samuel, 'Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.' Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night." (1 Sam. 28:7 - 20)
People who practice the occult tempt the Lord to anger, and it is written so in the bible. Consider what it says concerning Hephzi-bah's son, Manasseh, who was king in Jerusalem for 55 years: "And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger." (2 Kings 21:6) Many in this country practice a similar evil to Manasseh's passage of his son through the fire, only many in our nation cause their children to pass through the fire of a doctor's abortion tools! Just as God pronounced His judgement on Jerusalem and Judah in 2 Kings 21:12 - 15, so it should come to no surprise if God do the same with many nations of the earth today, which have practiced many abominations to tempt the Lord to anger!
Isaiah spoke several times against giving any heed to people who practiced the occult. Horoscopes are an abomination, and making and reading them and giving them any belief go against God's statutes. Isaiah recommended going to God for answers, not these charlatans! He also spoke against Egypt, because they sought help from foolishness that is found in the occult practices. He even warned of judgment against Babylon for their foolish involvement with occult practices! "And when they shall say unto you, 'Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter': should not a people seek unto their God? For the living to the dead?" (Isa. 8:19) "And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards." (Isa. 19:3) "Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it." (Isa. 47:13 - 14)
For any who read this who have Harry Potter books, or horoscope booklets, or even worse, books on occult practices, or who have even performed these black arts which God condemns, the bible has an example of what to do therein! "And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." (Acts 19:18 - 20) Note that while they knew the worldly value of the books, yet they held them as trash to be burned, and that's what I would do if someone gave me a Harry Potter book or some horoscope booklet of the month!
The bible has more advice for the wayward person who now realizes the folly and error of having to do with the occult; "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." (James 4:7 - 8) God wants you close to Him. He loves you. He doesn't want any of us to get involved with things that are wicked and evil and mean us wrong and harm. The work of the occult is the work of the devil, and it is HE that means us harm! Therefore let us not rebel against our blessed Creator, and let us eschew these evil works!
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