Divination And Sorcery, A Threat To True Faith.: Nothing New!
Acts 13
KJV
6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus:
8+ But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
Acts 8
KJV
9+ But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
11+ And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
Acts 16
KJV
16+ And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
18+ And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
Matthew 7
KJV
15+ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Today, the “christo-religious” foundation in Ghana is shaking under the weight of diviner’s and sorcerers parading as apostle’s and prophets to whom almost everyone educated or uneducated, politician or electorate, rich or poor, etc are turning to for succour.
The most sought-after personalities today are Diviners (predictors/forecasters). People who can look into the future and predict gloom and doom, because good news does not attract it is the bad, so if you can predict gloom and doom then you are in business! Fear is the key factor!
A wave of change is blowing through the nation. True faith has come under threat, many are wavering, unsure of which is which, the country is at the crossroads. Developments are scary and extreme fear has gripped the populace
The passages listed above speak volumes about the challenges faced by the early Christians. Diviners and sorcerers were present as they are today. The early believers were warned and told to expect these developments ;
2 Peter 2:1, 3
NIV
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves.
[3] In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
Today majority are unable to identify divination and sorcery, as it was in the past so it is today many mistake it to be the power of God.
The girl with the spirit of divination that Paul rebuked was not saying anything wrong. She was telling the truth
Hear her;
Acts 16:16-17
NIV
[16] Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
[17] She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”
Did you read this? “We were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future”?
The KJV reads,
Acts 16
KJV
16+ And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
Two words worth noting: “divination and soothsaying “
The spirit of “ divination” enables the possessor to “ predict the future “Do you now understand what is meant by divination? There is a spirit which, when you possess you can predict the future. That is what we are reading from this verse!
The practice of Divination, involves the practitioner entering and peeping into the spiritual realm! A practice God forbade the Jews from engaging in. Divination and sorcery were part of a package that included other practices they were forbidden to practice.
Leviticus 20
KJV
6+ 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.
Deuteronomy 18:9-12
NIV
[9] When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there
. [10] Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,
[11] or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. [12] Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices, the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.
Whether we believe it or not, there is a spiritual realm where invincible forces war against each other. It is a battle between good and evil. It is not a movie but a reality. Jesus knew this, and Paul was aware. Did he not say the following? Read a few ;
2 Corinthians 10
KJV
4+ (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds ;)
Ephesians 6
KJV
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
At a point in His ministry, Jesus interceded for Peter when Satan planned for his downfall, read it
Luke 22
KJV
31+ And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
The invincible unseen Hand of God surrounds us as such the evil hosts of Satan are unable to penetrate! We in leadership are his target, he will use every means possible, every little opening etc to derail our forward march!
Unfortunately, some church members are ready-made, willing tools in his hand to be used in executing his diabolical plans!
Some spiritual hosts are arrayed against us, but at the same time, there are friendly hosts fighting on our behalf as Jesus did for Peter.
It is into this realm that diviners and sorcerers tap through satanic means to either alter, falsify, turn /change destinies etc. One such incident was what Jesus saw about Peter and aborted it. Satan was going to change his destiny!
This is exactly what we see unfolding before our very eyes. People’s destinies are being changed and aborted in the spiritual realms! Unnatural phenomena are occurring because the arrangements in the spiritual realms have been infiltrated and tampered with!
Divination and sorcery are real! They are not imaginary or theoretical concepts.
Do you recall this incident?
1 Samuel 28
KJV
11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? For thou art Saul.
13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
14+ And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.
15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
Some have doubted and denied this incident because they lack knowledge of the dark world. Unfortunately, these are those who fall prey to diviners because they lack knowledge regarding the practice.
Spiritism, divination, soothsaying etc are real. There is the temptation to deny but they are real. We are forbidden to dabble in any of these practices
Deuteronomy 29:29
NIV
[29] The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.
This scripture acknowledges that there are “ secret things “ but they belong to God. He placed an embargo on His servants not to venture into such realms to look for etc anything He has “ classified “ which the writer referred to as “ secret “
The same scripture also leaves in the Hands of God the right to “ declassify “ and whatever He “declassifies “ we will put it into the public domain. Whatever He declassifies is no secret!
So if any claims to be a servant of God and yet ventures into such “secret realms “ when Hw has forbidden any to enter, then he is not a true servant of God, He is a disobedient servant, a fake or an imposter because he has disobeyed His directives
There is a need for prayers and discernment, for the times are dangerous.
These may say “ God has revealed this or that to me” which is not true. What he claims is something he saw when he peeped into the secret forbidden realms!
Indeed we are at a crossroads! Like Elymas some of these diviners/sorcerers sit at high places with rulers ( politicians ) They’ve made the rulers ( politicians ) to believe and endorse them as powerful men!!
Ghana is not a theocracy (spiritual) but a democracy (secular) both have different forms of governance structures and constitutions! These must be respected by the two institutions ( church and state ) and their operatives ( ministers and politicians )
Unfortunately for us, there is a drift by the operatives of the spiritual towards the secular, for whatever reasons your guess is as good as mine. Limelight, political favour and privileges!
These are dangerous times, diviners and sorcerers are taking over true faith and practice, and by extension political governance as they seek to influence rulers and men in authority
Beloved as the psalmist of old requested so do I today ;
Psalm 122:6-7
NIV
[6] Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. [7] May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. ”
A thought to share