THE OCCULT
Chapter 35

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History

 

he word occult comes from the Latin word occultus and it carries the idea of things hidden, secret and mysterious. Hoover lists three distinct characteristics of the occult:

1. The occult deals with things secret or hidden.

2. The occult deals with operations or events which seem to depend on human powers that go beyond the five senses.

3. The occult deals with the supernatural, the presence of angelic or demonic forces.

Under the designation occult we would class at least the following items: witchcraft, magic, palm reading, fortune telling, Ouija boards, tarot cards, satanism, spiritism, demons and the use of crystal balls. To this list we could add much more.

Avoiding Extremes

C. S. Lewis once commented,

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.

It is our desire to avoid these common extremes in dealing with the occult. We neither see the devil in everything nor completely deny his influence and workings.

A Word of Warning

We realize that by informing people about the world of the occult, we will be exposing some of them to things of which they previously have been ignorant. However, we do not want to stimulate anyone's curiosity to the point where interest in the occult could become an obsession. Mankind already has a certain fascination about evil, so it would be prudent to take the advice of the apostle Paul: "I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil" (Romans 16:19, NASB).

Playing around with the world of the occult can lead to serious repercussions, both psychologically and spiritually. There is a difference between knowing intellectually that taking poison will kill you and actually taking the poison to experience what you already know to be a fact. We need to be aware of the workings of the satanic realm but not to the point of unhealthy fascination or involvement.

Occultic Deception

Another thing we must be careful of is that although we admit the reality of the supernatural, we must not place all unexplained phenomena into that category. Much goes on under the guise of the supernatural that is nothing but fakery. These pseudo-occult phenomena have fooled many people into believing in their legitimacy.

In an excellent book entitled The Fakers, Danny Korem and Paul Meier list eleven principles of deception that fakers use to imitate supernatural or occultic phenomena. These include:

1. Sleight of hand 2. Psychological principles 3. Using a stooge 4. Unseen and unknown devices 5. Mathematical principles 6. Physics 7. Physical deception 8. Mechanical deception 9. Optical illusion 10. Luck and probability 11. Combination of all the principles 11/22-29

Needless to say, caution must be exercised before assuming some unexplained phenomenon is demonic.

The Bible and the Occult

The Bible categorically denounces any and all occultic practices:

When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritualist, or one who calls upon the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.

For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do so (Deuteronomy 18:9-14, NASB).

In the same manner, the New Testament condemns such workings (Galatians 5:20). In the city of Ephesus many who were practicing in the occult became believers in Jesus Christ and renounced their occultic practices. "Many also of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of all" (Acts 19:19).

Another encounter with the occult can be seen in Acts 13:6-12 (NASB):

And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for thus his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze upon him. And he said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time." And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.

Then the proconsul believed when he saw what happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.

From the above, to which much could be added, we see how the Bible in the strongest terms condemns the occult and those who practice it. The road of the occult is broad and leads to destruction, while the way of Christ is narrow and leads to life eternal.

» Hypnotism (UO/85-88)

There is a wide difference of opinion on the validity and usefulness of hypnotism. Some see hypnotism as being neutral, neither good nor bad, while others argue that hypnotism can be beneficial for diagnosis and therapy. There are yet others who see hypnotism as harmful, no matter what the case, because it is an attack on the human psyche.

Since there are so many examples of hypnosis which have ended in disaster, we would strongly warn people to stay away from all forms of either occultic or entertaining hypnosis. If a person allows himself to be hypnotized, it should be only under the most controlled situation by a qualified and experienced physician. The human mind is not something to play with or to let another person have control of. At best, hypnosis can have only limited use. Even the secular Encyclopedia Britannica warns:

While little skill is required to induce hypnosis, considerable training is needed to evaluate whether it is the appropriate treatment technique and, if so, how it should properly be employed. When used in the treatment context, hypnosis should never be employed by individuals who do not have the competence and skill to treat such problems without the use of hypnosis. For this reason hypnosis "schools" or "institutions" cannot provide the needed training for individuals lacking the more general scientific and technical qualifications of the healing professions.... Improperly used, hypnosis may add to the patient's psychiatric or medical difficulties. Thus, a sufferer of an undiscovered brain tumor may sacrifice his life in the hands of a practitioner who successfully relieves his headache by hypnotic suggestion, thereby delaying needed surgery. Broad diagnostic training and therapeutic skill are indispensable in avoiding the inappropriate and potentially dangerous use of hypnosis. 6/133

The Bible says, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything" (1 Corinthians 6:12, NASB). We do not need to be mastered by the power of suggestion from some other person.

» Ouija Boards (UO/95-97)

One of the most popular occultic devices in the world today is the Ouija board. What is the Ouija board and what does it claim to do? The Dictionary of Mysticism defines it as:

an instrument for communication with the spirits of the dead. Made in various shapes and designs, some of them used in the sixth century before Christ. The common feature of all its varieties is that an object moves under the hand of the medium, and one of its corners, or a pointer attached to it, spells out messages by successively pointing to letters of the alphabet marked on a board which is a part of the instrument.

Our convictions concerning the Ouija board agree exactly with those of noted cult and occult observer Edmond Gruss.

The Ouija board should be seen as a device which sometimes actually makes contact with the supernatural for several reasons:

-The content of the messages often goes beyond that which can be reasonably explained as coming from the conscious or subconscious mind of the operator. Examples of such are presented in Sir William F. Barrett's On the Threshold of the Unseen (pp. 176-89), and in the experiences of Mrs. John H. Curran, related in the book Singer in the Shadows.

-The many cases of "possession' after a period of Ouija board use also support the claim that supernatural contact is made through the board. Psychics and parapsychologists have received letters from hundreds of people who have experienced "possession" (an invasion of their personalities). Rev. Donald Page, a well-known clairvoyant and exorcist of the Christian Spiritualist Church, is reported as saying that most of his "possession" cases "are people who have used the Ouija board," and that "this is one of the easiest and quickest ways to become possessed."

-The board has been subjected to tests which support supernatural intervention. The testing of the board was presented in an article by Sir William Barrett, in the September 1914 Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research (pp. 381-894). The Barrett report indicated that the board worked efficiently with the operators blindfolded, the board's alphabet rearranged and its surface hidden from the sight of those working it. It worked with such speed and accuracy under these tests that Barrett concluded:

Reviewing the results as a whole, I am convinced of their supernormal character, and that we have here an exhibition of some intelligent, disincarnate agency, mingling with the personality of one or more of the sitters and guiding their muscular movements.

The Ouija board is not a plaything. It is another tool often used by Satan to get people to look somewhere else besides to Jesus Christ for the answers. Whether supernatural forces are at work or not, if the person using the Ouija board thinks the supernatural is at work, he will then employ it rather than looking to God for ultimate answers.

» The Black Mass (UO/36)

The black mass is said in honor of the devil at the witches' Sabbath. It is practiced by many satanic groups. The ritual reverses the Roman Catholic mass, desecrating the objects used in worship. Oftentimes a nude woman is stretched out upon the altar where the high priest ends the ritual by having sex with her.

Sometimes the participants drink the blood of an animal during the ceremony, along with the eating of human flesh in a mock communion ritual. Human sacrifices, though rare, are not unknown to the black mass.

The black mass contains many other repulsive practices that are unmentionable. It perverts and desecrates the true worship of God and is a blasphemous affront to all believers in Christ.

» Witchcraft (UO/173-85)

Witchcraft is known as the "Old Religion" and is an ancient practice dating back to biblical times. Witchcraft can be defined as the performance of magic for nonbiblical ends, an activity forbidden by God. The word witchcraft is related to the old English word wiccian, the "practice of magical arts."

During the Middle Ages witchcraft experienced a great revival. Everyone believed in the supernatural, and superstition abounded.

If someone wanted to become a witch, there was an initiation process. Some of the techniques were simple and some were complicated, but there were usually two requirements. The first was that the would-be witch must join of his or her own free will. The second requirement was that the prospective witch must be willing to worship the devil.

Halloween

The day witches celebrate above all others is October 31, which is Halloween, a form of All Hallows Eve. It is believed that on this night Satan and his witches have their greatest power.

The origin of Halloween goes back two thousand years before the days of Christianity to a practice of the ancient Druids in Britain, France, Germany and the Celtic countries. The celebration honored their god Samhain, lord of the dead. The Celtic people considered November lst as being the day of death, because it was the end of autumn and the beginning of winter for them.

The time of falling leaves seemed an appropriate time to celebrate death, which is exactly what Halloween was to them: a celebration of death honoring the god of the dead. The Druids believed that on this particular evening the spirits of the dead returned to their former home to visit the living.

If the living did not provide food for these evil spirits, all types of terrible things would happen to the living. If the evil spirits did not get a treat, then they would trick the living. This ancient practice is still celebrated today when people dress up as the dead, knock on doors and say, "Trick or treat," not realizing the origin of what they are practicing. Nevertheless, it is still considered by witches as the night on which they have their greatest power.

Before the introduction of Christianity to these lands, the celebration of death was not called Halloween. "All Hallows Eve" was a holy evening instituted by the church to honor all the saints of church history.

Some church historians allow the possibility that All Saints' Eve was designated October 31 to counteract the pagan influences of the celebration of death. While All Hallows Eve began as a strictly Christian holiday, the pagan influences from earlier traditions gradually crept in while the church's influences waned.

Today Halloween is largely a secular holiday, an excuse to get dressed up as somebody else and have a party. However, true witches and followers of witchcraft still preserve the early pagan beliefs and consider Halloween a sacred and deadly powerful time. Having turned their backs on the God of the Bible, they invoke the help of Satan, who has fallen from God's favor and been relegated to darkness.

Witchcraft Today

The modern witch does not fit the stereotype of the old hag, for many people who are practicing this art are in the mainstream of society.

Modern witchcraft is a relatively recent development (the last 200 years), embraces hundreds of beliefs and practices and has hundreds of thousands of adherents. The one common theme running through modern witchcraft is the practice of and belief in things forbidden by God in the Bible as occultic.

The Bible and Witchcraft

Both the Old and New Testaments make repeated references to the practice of witchcraft and sorcery, and whenever these practices are referred to they are always condemned by God. The Bible condemns all forms of witchcraft, including sorcery, astrology and reading human and animal entrails. The following passages describe various forms of witchcraft which are condemned by God.

You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor practice divination or soothsaying (Leviticus 19:26, NASB).

Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God (Leviticus 19:31, NASB).

Now a man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their bloodguiltiness is upon them (Leviticus 20:27, NASB).

You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even bum their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods (Deuteronomy 12:31, NASB).

There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.... For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do so (Deuteronomy 18:10,11,14, NASB).

Then they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and practiced divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him (2 Kings 17:17, NASB).

And he made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD provoking Him to anger (2 Kings 21:6, NASB).

Moreover, Josiah removed the mediums, and the spiritists and teraphim and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD (2 Kings 23:24, NASB).

So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the LORD, because of the word of the LORD which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, and did not inquire of the LORD. Therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse (1 Chronicles 10:13, NASB).

And when they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? (Isaiah 8:19, NASB).

Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them; And I will confound their strategy, So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead, And to mediums and spiritists (Isaiah 19:3, NASB).

Stand fast now in your spells And in your many sorceries With which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you may cause trembling. You are wearied with your many counsels; Let now the astrologers, Those who prophesy by the stars, Those who predict by the new moons, Stand up and save you from what will come upon you (Isaiah 47:12,13, NASB).

But as for you, 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." For they prophesy a lie to you, in order to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish (Jeremiah 27:9,10, NASB).

"Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien, and do not fear Me," says the LORD of Hosts (Malachi 3:5, NASB).

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21, NASB).

But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Revelation 21:8, NASB).

 

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