By Joe Butta and Steve Daskal
Christian Messianic Analysis and Apologetics
Do these practices replace a personal relationship with the God of the Bible?
In previous posts we have displayed how people with no belief in God or people with no real foundational belief do gravitate to believe in something. Sometimes that belief or practice may be seemingly benign Cults or the New Age Movement. These can appear to be trendy but do, upon closer examination, include aspects that may lead to something sinister.
On the surface most folks understand that the term Satan stands for the embodiment of evil and the occult perhaps relates to cults or is something not to be taken seriously. Satanism is very much an outgrowth of pre-Christian Celtic Druid beliefs [remember the Celts were one of the dominant people groups throughout western Europe, including Iberia and the British Isles, before the Latin and Germanic peoples conquered them and assimilated them]. Who then are the types of people more prone to be lured into the hidden realm? These folks can be those who have had a bad experience in church; those alienated from society; those who prefer to live in a fantasy world; the lonely and powerless and those who need to feel elite. The gateway to indoctrination can start with psychotropic drug use, yoga and transcendental meditation where the person’s psychology begins to be altered. This can lead to interests in divination, magic and ghosts without one wondering where the force behind the magic comes from or how the ghosts came into being.
Spiritism is also known as channeling where a spirit gains control of the medium and makes participants think that someone from the past is talking in the present. People also pay Fortune-tellers in the hope they will remove the mystery of the future. Some people who dabble and probe further run the risk of possession. Others who fully embrace the dark side embrace Satan and become Satanists. Witchcraft and Warlocks would register on the Occult/Satanists spectrum.
The Bible addresses these issues. Where many people think participation in these things is harmless the Word of God takes them most seriously.
Deut. 4:19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.
Deut. 13:1-5 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.
Deut. 17:2-5 If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant, and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky, and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death.
Deut. 18:20-22 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death. You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.
Lev. 19:31 Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
Lev. 20:6 I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.
Lev. 20:27 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.
In the days of Moses God wanted the Israelites to be a holy people consecrated to Him. He gave laws that spoke of His holiness knowing full well the dark forces that existed ready to destroy God’s people. For people in the contemporary world who want to view themselves as right with God certain activities must be avoided. The only Spirit God wants you involved with is His Holy Spirit and an encounter with the Holy Spirit is determined by your relationship and acceptance of God’s Messiah Jesus.
Satanism and the Occult are repositories for the misguided and truly evil among us. These indulge in drugs, sexual sacraments, sex slavery, abuse of animals and the truly macabre. If any of these people really want to spend eternity with Satan in hell they will get their wish. The good news is if there is Christian intervention nothing can prevent them from being saved. If one comes to Jesus, no matter the deed or involvement and repents of their sin they will be saved eternally.
Christian Messianic Analysis & Apologetics 