Wizards, Witches, and Those Who Speak to the Dead

Through the revelation of scripture we find that God punishes certain sins more seriously than others. In the cases of witches, wizards, and those who speak to the dead, God, under the Law (Old Testament) commands the Levites, His priests, to put those who participate in these demonic activities to death. In Leviticus 20:27, God says, “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.” Earlier in Leviticus 19:31 He warns His people, “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God” Again in Leviticus 20:6, God gives a serious warning to his people, “And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.” Going further in the Old Testament in the book of 2 Chronicles chapter 33 verse 1 through 6, a king named Manasseh angers the Lord by participating in witchcraft, dealing with a familiar spirit, and wizards. Without doubt the weight of scripture clearly shows that wizards, witches, and those who call upon the dead, ghosts, or spirits (familiar spirits), are clearly in violation of the holy Law of God.

Now for us in the age of grace, many have completely disregarded the Law, as if it were obsolete. However, in the law there are basically two types of laws, ceremonial and moral. The laws of God speaking against witches, wizards, and those who speak to the dead are still applicable today, in the sense that they solidify a Godly moral compass. In Acts 16, Paul encounters a young damsel who had the ability to see the future. At first it seems like a harmless, fun, even helpful gift. But Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, doesn’t speak out against the fortune telling, he actually casts a demon out of the girl and she losses the ability to tell the future. This account from Acts, clearly explains that those who have the ability or hold claim to the ability to tell the future are at the very least tampering with demonic forces and at the most possessed of a demon.

The practical application for us, as followers of Jesus Christ, is that horoscopes, fortune tellers, palm readers, and the like, may simply be masquerading as authentic, yet are still representing demonic forces that are absolutely opposed the true things of God. Beyond just fortune telling, are those who claim a “connection” to those who have passed on. Without a doubt, this is NOT EVER of God and is a trickery of satanic forces. As followers of Christ we must never participate in any of the previously discussed acts and in turn must reveal the true source of future revelation, the Word of God.