JESUS VERSUS THE OCCULT

Definition of the term occult:
The definition is very broad. It includes everything from the most blatant Satan worship to the
most commonly accepted use of horoscopes. As examples I would mention séances, necromancy,
and all forms of communicating with the dead, and all forms of supra-natural psychic phenomena,
real magic (as opposed to simple sleight-of-hand tricks), fortune telling, the casting of spells,
wearing of charms, the use of ouija boards, astrology, etc. What I would like to show you is first,
that the Scripture forbids God's people to be involved in these practices, second, why this is so, and
third, what our positive alternative should be.
I. Scripture forbids God's people to be involved in these practices.
In Deuteronomy 18:9-12 Moses addresses the people just before they cross the Jordan River to
enter the Promised Land and drive out the pagan nations. READ Deuteronomy 18:9-12
Moses mentions eight spiritist activities: divination, soothsaying, augury, and sorcery, the use of
charms, mediums, wizardry, or necromancy. These are not clearly distinct activities; they overlap
and are sometimes used interchangeably. What they have in common is that they all involve
efforts to obtain knowledge which is ordinarily hidden, and the means of attaining it is through
dealings with the spirit world or with mysterious supra-natural forces.
There is something else these eight activities have in common. The knowledge sought is not out of
idle curiosity but out of a desire to exert some power over people or events.
Now what does Moses say about such activities? First, in verse 9 he calls them "abominations."
This means that God regards them as detestable, abhorrent, and loathsome. It is a very strong
word. We will do well to ask ourselves whether some seemingly innocent activity we are engaged
in may be an abomination in the eyes of God. Second, according to verse 12 the persons who do
such things are an abomination to the Lord. Not merely the activity but also the persons become
abominable in God's eyes. It is an unbiblical sentiment which says, "God only hates the sin, never
the sinner." When a person gives himself over to will, to delight in, and to follow abominable
practices he makes himself abominable in the eyes of God. Of course, this does not put a person
beyond the reach of God's love. The glory of divine love is that it reaches out to justify and to
sanctify precisely those whom God abominates because of their sin. According to verse 12, the
Lord dispossesses and destroys those who practice these things.
The word "Deuteronomy" means "second law." It is a restatement and expansion of what had been
laid down by God at Mount Sinai. So it is no surprise to find in Leviticus commands like these:
"You shall not practice augury or soothsaying" (19:26), "Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do
not seek them out, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God" (19:31), "If a person turns to
mediums and wizards, playing the harlot after them, I will set my face against that person, and will
cut him off from among his people" (20:6).
If we turn to the New Testament we find nothing to change this divine rejection of the occult. On
the contrary the rejection is confirmed. For example, in Acts 19:19, Galatians 5:20, Revelation 21:8
II. Why God is so opposed to our participation in the occult?
One of the reasons