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my life 4 jesus.co.za |
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WITCHCRAFT (PAGAN & CHRISTIAN) WHAT IS THAT?
Renette Vermeulen
Third Edition: December 2020
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ON THIS PAGE: · The Essence of Idolatry and Witchcraft · The Free Gift of God VS the Price that Satan Requires · Sin and Sacrifice
FIND SOME OF THE MANY SUBJECTS THAT ARE DISCUSSED IN THIS BOOK A PRAYER FOR PROTECTION AND DISCERNMENT Holy Father in heaven, in the almighty Name of Jesus Christ we pray. Please bless and use this work mightily to glorify Your Name and to build Your Spiritual Kingdom of Light and Truth in the hearts, minds, and lives of Your believers. Please protect all those who visit this website, and all those who study this book. Cover us all with the blood covenant of Jesus Christ our Lord. Please send Your mighty, holy angels to guard us spirit, soul, and body; all our loved ones, and everything that pertain to our lives. Destroy every evil plan, weapon, work, and word that were formed against us. Deliver us from all confusion, evil schemes, satanic attacks, and other works of the evil one. We take captive every thought to bring it into obedience to You alone. Let Your Holy Spirit convince and convict us of all sin and deception. Please enlighten our minds with the entire truth of Your Word and every situation we must face. Give us understanding, wisdom, and discernment of everything that is discussed in this study. Let Your Life and Light flood all the corners of every darkened and distressed heart, mind, and life, according to Your promises in the fullness of Your everlasting Word. Thank You that You always hear and answer us. For Yours are the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Foreword We mostly perceive idolatry as bowing to statues and we see witchcraft in terms of people dressed in black, chanting rhythmically while torturing humans and animals to death to invoke curses, (“solemn utterances to invoke supernatural power to inflict harm,”) and then send forth demons to carry out those intentions. Yet, God describes idolatry and witchcraft in much broader terms. In 1 Samuel 15:22-23, the prophet said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion, [or immoral and even religious works outside God’s True Word and will,] is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [or unrepentant disobedience] is as iniquity and idolatry…” In all fairness, who of us can say we do not commit witchcraft and idolatry? So, this study focuses on pagan and Christian idolatry and witchcraft that people commit without truly understanding how God’s Scriptural Word impacts us all. Only Jesus Christ, The Truth, truly delivers, empowers, heals, and saves — and He means exactly what He says in the full context of the Bible. The Most High God of the Bible loves every person on earth, (Jn. 3:16.) So, “...Not wanting that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance... He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of [His] truth. For there is One God and One Mediator between God and humanity, the Man Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself as atonement for all…” (2 Pt. 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:4-5.) Praise His Almighty, Holy Name, for the God of the Bible, Christ Jesus, has only our best interests at heart, (Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:8-12.) Everything good comes from God! (James 1:17.)
On the other hand, everything bad comes from the menacing devil, and he will not share any of his power without laying hold of our lives and eternal souls. Judaists, many Christians, Wiccans, and other pagans allegedly do not believe in the existence of Satan as a real person. However, our entire broken world testifies to the fact that God’s rebellious, disobedient angel, Satan the adversary, is continually attacking and destroying all of God’s creation. Jesus said, “The thief does not come [to humanity or anything else] except to steal, murder, and destroy. But I have come to give life, and that you may have life more abundantly,” (Jn. 10:9-10.) Since the fall in Eden that murderer is still deceiving humanity; the crown of God’s creation, because “there is no truth in him,” (Jn. 8:44; 1 Jn. 5:19.) If he does speak the truth, it is always twisted, perverted truth, which he uses to his own advantage, because “he is the father of all lies [and other evil.]” Satan has no interest in healing or supposedly ‘blessing’ anyone, except to use his false signs and miracles to further destruction on another area of the person’s life, (Jn. 10:10.) No matter what Satan has promised, or what “luck” he bestowed on you to trap you in compromising the truth of the Bible as a Christian, until That Day when Jesus returns to earth, Satan will always be the underhanded destroyer of everything good and Godly, (Jn. 8:44; 10:9-10.)
Let us stand immovably on the fact that Jesus, at the cross, forever won the war against Satan for our full redemption, salvation, and blessing in Christ, (Col. 2:9-15.) We are not at war with the devil! Al true believers are already “more than conquerors in Christ Jesus!” However, Satan and his demons are stealthy terrorists that come to obliterate our faith in Jesus and what He has done in our place on Golgotha. So, we are in a constant ‘battle’ to ‘withstand’ them for the sake of our “souls,” minds, or thoughts and beliefs, because he who controls our ‘minds,’ controls us, (1 Ths. 5:23; 2 Cor. 10:3-6.) In battle, knowledge of the enemy's resources, strategies, and strength is the soldier’s first defense. Thus, our knowledge of God’s Word and the truth about everything that concern our lives, is a matter of life and death. Our only protection is The Truth, Jesus Himself, and obedience to His Word, (Jn. 1:1-14.) Not snippets and human interpretations (or doctrines) of His Word, but “the entirety of His Word, which is Truth,” (Ps. 119:160; Rom. 12:1-3.) The devil’s has a deadly weapon in his arsenal, which he effectively used against humanity since the fall in Eden: deception about everything, which he mostly manifests as religion, where he mingles his lies with God's truth. Religion can be anything: Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Satanism, Christianity, etcetera. Christianity especially, is the combat zone where the fiercest battles (or wrestling matches) rage, (2 Cor. 10:3-6.) The devil pays particular attention to those who confess the Name of Jesus. Sadly, most believers live in religious comfort zones where they lack vital knowledge of God’s Word, as well as knowledge of the schemes and devices of the enemy. Hence, Jesus warned in 1 Peter 5:7-8, “Be sober and vigilant; for your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” THE DANGEROUS ESSENCE OF IDOLATRY AND WITCHCRAFT (1 Samuel 15:22-23)God’s teachings on idolatry and witchcraft carry the serious warning that He will reject those who do not repent from sin, (1 Jn. 2:4; Jn. 14:15.) Idolatry is clearly seen, (and it is evident in paganism and in Christianity,) as bowing to false gods. But that is ‘only’ the outward manifestation of idolatry. God defined idolatry as a “stubborn” spirit from Satan that begins in the ‘heart’ and infects the whole mind, (2 Cor. 10:3-5 KJV.) Idolatry arises by steadily surrendering to the sinful ‘self;’ loving ourselves, (others, and what we perceive as precious,) more than God, (Gal. 2:20-21.) None would bow to idols unless they first “stubbornly” chose to worship themselves. Thus, we must be careful not to raise our children as selfish control freaks. Instead, we must teach them to respect God, other people, and themselves, (Mt. 22:36-40.) Idolatry or stubborn self-worship results in acts of witchcraft because idolaters always “rebel” against God and His true Word. They then commit witchcraft by either fully rejecting or mingling God’s will, commandments, truth, and plans with their own, or someone else’s directives. Witchcraft actually reverses God’s will and truth into lawlessness and lies. E.g., in philosophy and religion, good and evil are usually linked to the same source such as “human nature,” or the character of the same god. However, Isaiah 5:20 warns, “Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” ¨ False dogma is a clear manifestation of the spirit of idolatry in the “heart,” which breeds “rebellion” or witchcraft against God in the mind, to manifest in things like false prophecy, teaching, religious practices, etcetera. This was exactly how Satan fell from grace. The Spirit Filled Life Bible, 1991 version, (beware of new translations,) explains, “Belief in Christ [must] result in obedience [to His Word.] What we practice provide evidence of our faith… Be ready to obey the [entire contextual truth] of God’s Word. Know that God only continues to speak to those who do what He says, (Acts 5:32.) Do not substitute religion, [church attendance, sacraments, and doctrines,] for obedience to God’s Word. Understand that to hear God’s Word and not to practice it, is to reject Jesus to commit idolatry and witchcraft.”
We know the practices of barefaced idolatry and witchcraft in paganism are multi-tiered, but the idolatry and witchcraft in Christianity are just as intricate and dangerous. Paul candidly asked the Galatians, "Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth...?" As soon as we accept lies such as false dogma, we accept idolatry and witchcraft, which Christian clergies designed to “deceive even the elect” or Scripturally born again believers. (See Jesus' three warnings in only one chapter, Matthew 24:4-5; 11-13; 23-24!) Our only defence is to obey God, "test the spirits [and everything else] to see if it is from God," and flee from all evil, (1 Jn. 4:1-4; 1 Ths. 5:21-22.) To flee from lies is to "abstain from evil." ¨ Idolatry and witchcraft extend much further than the gruesome acts of Satanism that are so vividly portrayed by the movie industry, etcetera. The devil’s onslaughts on humanity and the rest of God’s creation are not isolated cases that emanate from disturbed minds to manifest in sadistic and other destructive behavior. God warned in 1 John 5:19 that “the whole world lies under the sway, [deception] of the wicked one.” And in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, “...If [the true] Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this world has blinded…” ¨ We must understand that false dogma and other religious practices are attached to strong demons. The devil views idolatry and witchcraft as a serious business, and the lies he presents to Jesus' believers are evil on steroids. While that devout preacher is teaching us his ‘little distorted truths’ to make us members of his church structure, Satan, the father of all lies, is actually using him to set up death traps to destroy even our eternal lives in heaven. “Just a little leaven [or false dogma] leavens [or quickly spread through] the whole lump,” (Gal. 5:6.) Satan does not own this world or anything that God has made, but he controls the majority of people who manage politics, religion, and every other secular sphere. Do not believe the lie that we can 'go to church' to get a ticket to heaven. It is all or nothing for Jesus. God wants us and our Scriptural obedience to ‘prove’ that we are truly His, (Acts 5:32; 1 Jn. 2:3-5.) ¨ Consequently, real male and female witches, (male witches are not ‘warlocks’ as the movie industry taught,) hardly ever resemble depictions of Satanists chanting curses over bonfires. Most of them are ordinary people who function freely in every sphere of life. Hence, they can take on the form of preachers, prophets, teachers, politicians, and anyone else. Yet, all Satanists are wired to perform horrible sexual acts and other crimes such as blood sacrifice. The greater the sacrifice, the higher their profiles. The same goes for those who deceive Jesus' believers. The greater their sacrifice of souls through deception, the better their rewards. So, clandestine satanists, mostly in the form of masons, dominate the world’s social, religious, and political realms as popular people. However, this does not exclude the 'pastor' or ‘reverend’ in the little church around the corner. As all other people, their beliefs structure their fruit. As long as preachers adhere to the false church structures and dogmas of Christianity, they remain followers of Satan. ¨ Jesus said we will know them (and ourselves) by their (and our) fruit, which can only be discerned by looking at the person as a whole according to the truth of God's Word and their constant behavior, (Jam. 3:2.) We must make certain that we see the person’s true fruit. E.g., referring to a Christian mason, someone said, “I know no one can ‘earn’ heaven, but if there is one person that deserves to be saved, it is Robin! He’s the kindest man I know!” Yet, masons of all kinds worship the devil at their lodges. No matter how pious they seem, they remain Satanists. Another example is the fact that before victims of abuse really get to know so-called ‘passive’ aggressive people and psychopathic narcissists, they say exactly the same about them! Satan’s most effective methodology is to turn himself into “an angel of light,” and so, his disciples imitate him in everything he does, (2 Cor. 11:14; Jn. 8:44.) It is a sobering thought that we all, (sincerely born again believers in Christ as well,) commit the sins of idolatry and witchcraft, as we all disobey God in one way or another, (1 Jn. 1:8-10.) Does this sound too harsh or far-fetched? Well, who can say that we never tell a ‘little white’ lie? Did Jesus not say that those who lie take after their father the devil, whose “desires they want to do?” (Jn. 8:44.) The difference between sincere believers who sometimes “stumble” and those “who want to do Satan’s will,” is clear. Satan’s followers never regret their sin or repent from it, (Jam. 3:2.) ¨ Okay then - but at least, we do not perform rituals and blood-sacrifice like real Satanists do! No? Well, listen to this: Malice is heart-murder in the account of God. “He that hates in his heart, [thus speaking lies, deception, and perversity such as slander,] has his hands full of blood,” (Isa. 59:2-5; 1:15!) May God have mercy on our souls! If sincerely born again believer’s are so bound to obedience to God’s will, “where will the ungodly, [unbelievers without Christ,] and [stubborn, rebellious idolaters and witches in the form of Christians] appear?” Secular Satanists and their counterparts in Christianity need to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus the Savoir to repent from idolatry and witchcraft to be redeemed in Him. One cannot enter heaven on forgiveness without repentance from sin, (Rev. 21:7-8; 22:15.) THE FREE GIFT OF GOD VERSUS THE PRICE THAT SATAN REQUIRESMay God grant us the grace to never believe we can attain the free gifts of redemption, salvation, and blessing in Christ by doing good works, for “every good and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights...” (Jam. 1:16-17.) God’s gifts are not for sale, (Mt. 10:8.) However, even true believers in Christ are not excluded from doing ‘good works!’ Not to earn redemption, salvation, and blessing, but to glorify God by allowing Him to manifest the power of His Word and Holy Spirit in and through us, (Jam. 1:22; 2:14-26; Gal. 3:10-14.)The God of the Scriptures is not into favoritism. His believing children are all equal in Christ. Spiritually in Christ, “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, [race,] slave nor free, [social status,] male nor female, [gender,] for we are all one in Christ,” (Gal. 3:28.) Additionally, while only those who choose to be His true disciples will inherit everlasting life in heaven, in this physical dimension, our Creator God lets His sun shine over both the lost and the saved. We can never compare God the Father to the false christ-mass god ‘father’ christ-mass,’ who supposedly rewards ‘good and nice’ children, while ‘naughty and nasty’ ones find nothing under the christ-mass tree. This just goes to show that Satan and his evil agents will never bring you a gift without a price tag attached to it somewhere. At first, the price might seem small and the reward big, but ultimately, Satan is after your spirit, soul, body, and your everlasting life in Jesus, “for the wages that sin pays is death, but the [free] gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Rom. 6:23.) ¨ What complicates the choice between the supposedly cheap, broad, and easy road of the devil and the free but narrow Way of God, (Jesus Himself,) is that God’s entire Word tells us exactly how to follow Jesus and what to expect concerning our personal choices. Satan, on the other hand, conceals his escalating price for power and pleasure among the many life–demolishing religious rites and so-called ‘atoning’ sacrifices, which he constantly requires. His real price tag for helping people to do life their way is always eternal damnation - hidden underneath the rubble of death and destruction in their lives, and most often, covered with outward prosperity and a forced little smile that hides the inward pain and emptiness. Knowing the lostness and need of sin-infested humanity, God declared, “There is none righteous, no, not one… none who does good, no, not one… [But] the righteousness of God apart from the [outward ceremonial, or ritual Old Testament temple] law, [or our good deeds to try to ‘earn’ redemption and blessing,] is revealed… For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the [completed] redemption that is in Christ Jesus, [when each one chooses to believe, accept, and follow Jesus as his or her personal Lord and Savior,]” (Rom. 3:9-24; Jn. 1:12-13.) Besides ‘being justified freely by His grace,’ the God of the Bible also gives His sincere disciples free spiritual gifts or powerful Holy Spirit signs to follow Him through this dark and dangerous world, simply because they believe in Him, and because their love for Him is manifested by their obedience to His inward Moral Law! (Mark 16:16-18; 1 Cor. 12:4-11.) On the other hand, Satan always tries to imitate the salvation, redemption and blessing of God; setting up false religions and bestowing false ‘gifts’ and ‘blessings’ (or actually curses) on people to lead them astray. Satan cannot create even a slither of life, as he is merely a created being of God. Paul declared in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” Nevertheless, some people believe, Satan, that mighty but fallen angel, cannot imitate the miracles of God. They think all signs and miracles ‘automatically’ come from God, (1 Ths. 5:21-22; 1 Jn. 4:1-4.) However, as illustrated by the magicians of Pharaoh’s court, when God sent Moses and Aaron to show Pharaoh that He was speaking to him, Satan can imitate God’s miracles, (Ex. 7:10-12;20-22; 8:6-7.) But ultimately, our Lord God Almighty will “swallow up” all kundalini or serpent power, just as Aaron’s rod swallowed up the rods of those magicians. God still allows Satan to do mighty false signs and ‘miracles’ while only the Creator God Himself can give life, and true signs and miracles. SIN AND SACRIFICEGod’s Moral Law, (His only New Testament Law, the Royal Law of Godly Love or “Agape,”) is not enslaving, but liberating and protective. Obedience to God’s Moral Law, (to love or agape the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength and your neighbor as yourself,) keeps believers in Christ safe from satanic control. 1 John. 5:18 states, “Whoever is [truly] born of God does not sin [habitually or unrepentantly,] but keeps himself, [according to the eternal New Covenant in Christ, in the Moral Law of God,] and the wicked one does not touch him,” (Jn. 13:34-35; 14:15; 23-24; 1 Jn. 2:3-5; 7-15.) Still, the enemy of God and His entire creation has been around for a long, long time. He knows exactly what pleases, angers, scares, and saddens every person. He also knows, if he can keep humanity away from the New Testament Covenant, sealed and signed by the redeeming blood-sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, and from contextual Biblical obedience to the Moral Law of Christ, he can keep them ‘legally’ or with God’s permission, in bondage to himself. That is why all willfully unrepentant sin can open us up to demonic deception and control, (Mt. 7:21-24.) God gave His full redemption to all those who would accept and follow Jesus, but the willfully disobedient sinner who rejects Jesus is already judged and in a chosen state or position of lostness and sin without God, (Jn. 3:18-19.) Yet, even for the sinner without Jesus, (as for the unrepentant Christian sinner,) there are various degrees of sin and thus, all disobedient sinners are subject to various degrees of satanic control and bondage. Whether the person is Christian or pagan, unrepentant sin always escalates from one grievous deed to another, leading the sinner into ever-deepening bondage to Satan and his demons. The deeper the bondage, the more and extreme the sins - and the more evil, unscrupulous, and demon-infested the sinner without Christ becomes, (Mt. 12:43-45; 1 Jn. 5:19-20.) Paul explained in Romans 6:18-23, “Having been set free from sin, [through sincere faith in, and acceptance of Jesus Christ,] you became [willing] slaves of righteousness… Just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members, [or devote yourself entirely] to God as slaves of righteousness for holiness… For the wages which sin pays is death, but the Gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Consequently, God’s punishment also consists of various depths or degrees of torment. For instance, false teachers and self-appointed church leaders, who ‘lord’ as ‘masters’ over Jesus’ believers, hypocritically defraud believers financially, deceive them spiritually, and oppress them emotionally and physically. They will receive a “greater condemnation,” (Jam. 3:1; Mt. 23:14; Lu. 20:47.) Similarly, those who cause others to sin should know, they would be “better off if a millstone were hung around their necks, and they were drowned in the depth of the sea,” (Mt. 32; 5:22; 18:6.) Mercifully, the God of the Bible made a way out of sin and condemnation through His grace in Jesus Christ, (Heb. 4:14-16; 1 Jn. 1:8-10.) |
