The Bible's Definition of Witchcraft is far broader than most people realize Those that Practice Witchcraft Will Not go to Heaven If you ask the average Christian “What is Witchcraft?” nearly everyone would give a similar response which they would then emphatically state that they would never have anything to do with “that”! The same poll of Christians shows that the majority use the world’s definition of witchcraft which is only a subset of how the scriptures define it. Since the scriptures tell us that those that practice witchcraft will not go to heaven, it is extremely important that we know what God Himself says witchcraft is and not relay on what man, influenced by Satan, says. There are many Christians that practice witchcraft without knowing it, nor the consequences of what they are doing. [To “practice” means to live a lifestyle of doing something.] The Oxford dictionary and Britannica Encyclopedia define witchcraft as (1) the practice of magic, especially for evil purposes; the use of spells; (2) religious practice involving an affinity with nature, especially within a pagan tradition; (3) bewitching or fascinating attraction or charm; (4) exercise or invocation of alleged supernatural powers to control people or events; (5) summoning evil spirits and demons to do harm to others. We are Required to Seperate Ourselves from the World No Christian would ever have anything to do with practicing witchcraft if it were only defined as above by the world, but God has a much broader definition for witchcraft. If we belong to the Kingdom of Light, we belong to Christ, and He is our Lord (Master) and we serve Him and Him alone. We are required to study His word and develop a relationship with Him. This means that we do not listen to, take the advice of, nor take direction from “familiar spirits”, “evil spirits”, “demons”, or anyone that does not follow the Lord as they are influenced by such things. We are to separate ourselves from the world. Any advice that we might get from anyone who is not a Christian is suspect because they are either giving you advice from their own experience or are being influenced by dark forces. “Deception” is wrapped in a great amount of truth. So, if only one small part of the advice is bad, we would accept all the advice completely (including the lie) because we already know that 95% of it was truthful and we reason that the remaining must also be truthful. A deception, by Biblical definition, is a half-truth, and that is Satan’s greatest weapon. Their advice might even sound good, but could cause you harm in the future if you follow it. This is why the scriptures say it is strictly forbidden for Christians to have fellowship with non-Christians. [We are to be a witness to them and help lead them to the Lord (2 Cor 6:14-15; Eph 5:11-14; Psa 6:8; Psa 26:4; Psa 26:5; Prov 1:10-16; Prov 13:20; Prov 22:24-25; Rom 16:17; 2 Thes 3:6-7; 2 Thes 3:14-15; 1 Cor. 5:9-11; 2 Tim. 3:1-5]. Now on the other hand, if a person says they are a “Christian” and they don’t behave as one, we are specifically required not to have anything to do with them (1 Corinthians Chapter 5; Mat 18:17; 2 John 9-11; 1 Tim 6:3-5) in so much so that we shouldn’t even have a meal with them. We have the freedom to have worldly friends and to lead them to the Lord but if they say they are Christians, yet their behavior says they are not, then we aren’t allowed to associate with them at all in the hopes that they will see the error of their ways and return to God. How Do the Scriptures Define Sorcery? The above digression was necessary so it’s clear that you either follow the Lord or you don’t and accept God’s requirement that you separate yourself from the world (2 Cor 6:17). With that understanding, let’s look at how the Scriptures define witchcraft. The scriptures define sorcery and witchcraft as doing anything that allows us to receive information or advice from the enemy. It is extremely important to understand that this not only includes the definition the world uses (1 Chron 10:13; 1 Sam 15:23; Lev 19:31; Lev 20:6; Rev 18:23; Rev 21:8; Gal 5:19-21; Micah 5:10-12; Isa 8:19-22; Deut 18:10-14) but greatly expands upon it so that anything you do to receive information from the enemy is witchcraft. In these last technological days, there are literally hundreds of ways to get advice from the enemy, and we are bombarded with it constantly. Besides hanging out with the wrong crowds, the world pushes many temptations at you such as saying how good it is to relax and “empty our minds” (so that we can be influenced by evil spirits), take drugs, drink alcohol, or take anything that alters our mind’s ability to focus and be influences by evil. [The most common means to “emptying your mind” is through an eastern meditation pagan practice which is now being embraced by thousands of Christians churches as “healthy”. Eastern medication practice of “Emptying your mind” is the exact opposite of Biblical medication which is to intensely focus on things of the Lord and the Scripture.] Remember, we are in a spiritual war, and we are either for the Lord and obeying His direction, or we are following the enemy. Just before the Lord returns for His Bride (us), we are told the following: “Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.” (Rev 9:21). That word for sorceries is the Greek word farmakeia (Strong #5331). This word is pronounced pharmakeia (far-mak-i-ah) and is where our English word pharmacy comes from. In other words, God also relates “sorceries” to the drugs used in our society today and those that practice “sorcery or witchcraft” by making a lifestyle of taking mind influencing drugs or alcohol will not go to heaven. In context, these drugs provide assistance by evil spirits. Additionally, almost no one but witches and sorcerers used mind altering drugs throughout all of history and were most commonly used in pagan worship to hallucinate and try to get in touch with evil spirits. It’s just another means for people to allow themselves to be influenced by evil spirits. In modern times, pharmakeia, clearly refers to present day drug and alcohol abuse which has enslaved nearly 1.65 billion people around the world today. Some yoga groups have standard practices which even invite evil spirits to join them. For example, members might great each other saying “Namaste” which, in its original meaning, acknowledges the divinity in each other (demons) and indicates that the evil spirit that you follow acknowledges and bows down to the evil spirit followed by the person you’re talking to (it’s almost like they are giving “hi-fives” to each other). To promote this Eastern Mysticism practice to “Christians” and the western world, you still greet each other saying “Namaste”, but has been marketed to have a more acceptable meaning of “The light and teacher in me bows to the light and teacher in you” or “The divine in me bows to the divine in you”. This practice is clearly against the scriptures. The physical stretches and exercises in Yoga are healthy, but deception is wrapped in truth, so they accept the whole because they acknowledge the good parts only, not realizing that they are doing what God forbids. It is important that we do what our Lord asks us to do and that includes separating ourselves from the world and worldly people. We are to witness to everyone “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Rom 12:2). We should not practice clearing our minds, take recreational drugs of any kind, smoke, vape, or drink alcohol to excess, and we are forbidden to fellowship with those that do. Witchcraft also includes a spiritual way of life that focuses on self-empowerment, personal growth and connecting with nature instead of focusing your life on following Christ. This might seem to be a tall order, but it really isn’t. Even the Lord tells us “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30) In these End-times, How Do We Follow the Lord? First of all, commit your life to following the Lord! Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit continuously throughout each day of your life. Hate evil and run from it as this is the Fear of the Lord. Know that you are leaving the Kingdom of Darkness to never have anything to do with it again, and are a citizen of the Kingdom of Light. As such, you receive your orders from the Lord only. Set in your heart what Joshua said so many years ago: “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15b). Determine your Service of Calling and use the Gifts of the Spirit that He will provide to you to perform whatever He desires for you as you serve Him (yes, think of yourself as a willing servant, a bondservant, just as the Apostles did as they served the Lord). “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Rom 6:16). Put on the full armor of God, Study the Word of God and hide it in your heart (memorize it) so that you won’t’ sin against Him (Ps 119:11) and seek His guidance in Prayer. Do you Want to Know God More? We Must Read His Word. God tells us “My people perish for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). We must study God’s word for ourselves. We cannot listen to pastors and blindly follow that they say. If we do not study ourselves then we lack personal knowledge and could be deceived and not live the life God intended for you. A serious problem in trying to understand God’s Word is that mankind has created more than 450 different English translations which have thousands of differences between each translation. So which of the 450 translations should you be studying if they are all saying different things? The correct answer is "reading any translation is better than reading no translation"; however ... The Pure Word is the Perfect Resource for All Christians How much easier would it be to study God’s Word if an English translation existed which took each of the original Greek words and applied the original meaning along with the original parsing assigned to each of those words and then NOT allow anyone to alter a single verse? The Pure Word is a New Testament reference which took 22 years to create and did just that! The Pure Word is NOT a translation but a word-for-word extraction from the Textus Receptus Koine Greek to English. This is the exact same text that the 1611 KJV scribes used. 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