A Problem Of Vocabulary
First, lets get our terms defined. When the Bible uses the term magic or magician or witch or sorcery or ventriloquism , it is clearly dealing with a persons involvement in the supernatural, usually with the collaboration of evil spirits. The context of the Bible prohibitions makes it clear that God does not want people to dabble in games with the devil. Todays manifestations of these forbidden activities are such things as ouija boards, tarot cards, the occult and horoscopes. The Christian has no business playing with these, since they open the door to demonic influence.
Let it be emphasized that no true Christian magician or ventriloquist is in any way involved in the use of supernatural powers.
There may be confusion due to the fact that certain words have two meanings. Magic has the meaning of witchcraft or sorcery, but the word also means sleight of hand and illusion, the surprising, fascinating and entertaining performance. Obviously the Bible is talking about the first of these meanings and not the second.
Let it be emphasized that no true Christian magician or ventriloquist is in any way involved in the use of supernatural powers.
Simon The Magician Believes
9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great.10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the power of God that is called Great.11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.
25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
What Does The Bible Say About Magic
Should a Christian practice or support magic? In a world that is rapidly growing in the acceptance of the dark art, here are a few things you should know about magic from the Bible.
Magic, according to Wikipedia, is the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed in the belief that they can manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces.
In modern occultism and Neopagan religions, many self-described magicians and witches regularly practice ritual magic defining magic as a technique for bringing about change in the physical world through the force of ones will. Since that time, other religions and magical systems have adopted it.
Today, magic is portrayed through entertainment shows, movies and music, but the word of God remains constant: No true Christian should practice it.
Contents
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Instances In Biblical Narrative
- The Levites made use of the Urim and Thummim and various forms of sacrifice as instruments of divination to determine guilt and innocence in law cases .
- The silver chalice that is placed in Benjamin‘s sack when he leaves Egypt is described as being used by Joseph for divination, which is often taken as a reference to its use for scrying.
- Numbers 5:11-31 describes a practice of making a wife who has been accused of adultery drink a mixture of water and dust from the floor of the Tabernacle in order to prove her guilt or innocence.
Deuteronomy 1: 1012 The Lexham English Bible
10 There shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, or one who practices divination, or an interpreter of signs, or an augur, or sorcerer, 11 or one who casts magic spells, or one who consults a spirit of the dead, or spiritist, or one who inquires of the dead. 12 For everyone doing these thingsis detestable to Yahweh, and because of these detestable things Yahweh your God is driving them out from before you.
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Ministry By Means Of Deception
Another objection is that it is not right for the Christian to use trickery in presenting the truth. No matter how you slice it, magic involves deceit . Of course some Gospel magicians try to get around this objection by never actually saying their hand is empty when it isnt, but they say, my hand looks empty. This skirts the issue, since the intent is for the audience to believe that the hand was empty The deceit was there, regardless of whether the performer told a lie with his words or with his actions.
Here we must deal with the nature of truth. At any given time, a presentation of truth only represents a portion of reality. I carry a photograph of my wife that everyone claims is a very candid likeness, yet it deceives in certain ways. For one thing, my wife is not black and white and gray for another, she is more than two inches tall and is not flat. But the image abstracted by this photograph captures her expression and personality very honestly. It is an honestthough partialrepresentation of the truth. The issue is whether the Gospel magician conveys the impression that he is doing supernatural things, or whether he honestly acknowledges that what he is doing is trickery.
Deuteronomy 1: 1012 The New International Version
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.
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Philip And The Ethiopian Eunuch
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert place.27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.29 And the Spirit said to Philip, Go over and join this chariot.30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, Do you understand what you are reading?31 And he said, How can I, unless someone guides me? And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth.33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation?For his life is taken away from the earth.
Magic In The New Testament
In addition to the Old Testament condemning magical art, the New Testament also condemns practicing magic. During one of Pauls journeys, he comes across a man named Elymas, who is a sorcerer . Elymas was trying to convince the proconsul to not become a believer of Christ.
Paul strongly opposes and says, You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? . As a result of Elymas sorcery, he is struck blind by the Lord .
After the proconsul sees how Elymas was struck blind, he believes in the Lord . What can we learn about magic from Pauls remark to Elymas? We can learn that practicing magic makes you an enemy of God and that the individual practicing magic is full of deceit, trickery, and perversions.
There is no place for magic in the life of the believer. Earlier in Acts, Philip went down to Samaria where he encountered a sorcerer named Simon . Before Philip had come to Samaria, the people had believed Simon was the Great Power of God because of the sorcery he performed.
They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the power of God that is called Great. And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic .
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Biblical Definition Of Magic
Every biblical definition finds its root in God. Therefore, let us understand that our definition of things must be subject to the way the Bible defines them. This way, we show that we are subject to the principles and the constitution of the Kingdom of God found therein.
Although we do not find a specific definition of magic from the Bible, based on everything we read however, the following pointers help us have a biblical view on what magic is:
- Manipulates through illusions, sleight of hands, false philosophy or show of power
- Has its power source from satan or demons
- Leads people to idolatry and/or occultism
- Aims to deceive people through signs and wonders and turn their hearts from God
Bible Verses About Spells
Christians can rest assure that we cannot be harmed by witchcraft, but we are to never have anything to do with it. Sadly we are in dark times where many people who profess the name of Christ cast spells. These people are deceived by Satan and they will not enter into Heaven unless they repent and believe on Jesus Christ. All witchcraft is an abomination to God. There is no such thing as good magic it might seem harmless, but that is what Satan wants you to think. Be on guard from the schemes of the devil, turn from evil, and seek the Lord.
What does the Bible say?
1. 1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
2. Leviticus 19:31 Do not turn to mediums or spiritists do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
3. Exodus 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
4. Micah 5:12 I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells.
5. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 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, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 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.
Reminders
Can a Christian be under a spell?
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Deuteronomy 1: 1012 The New Revised Standard Version
10 No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, or who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord it is because of such abhorrent practices that the Lord your God is driving them out before you.
Performance Leads To Pride
A serious objection is that when people are amazed and admire the performer, this leads to pride on his part. This is certainly a possibility, and the Christian performer must guard against pride. This is true of the Christian singer, actor, magician, ventriloquistand even preacher! Let us condemn pride in any form and in every presentation, but the possibility of pride should not deter from exercising a skill that can point people to Gods truth and lead them to Christ.
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What Does The Bible Say About Magicians
The Bible is explicit about magic and magicians. In some portions of scripture, they are called sorcerers, deceivers, false prophets, men and women who consulted with devils, etc.
Find below three specific things that the Bible says about magicians which sums up every other thing we will see from Gods word regarding them:
- It shows us what they do
- It warns Gods people not to associate with them.
- It reveals their eternal end
Deuteronomy 1: 1012 New Century Version
10 Dont let anyone among you offer a son or daughter as a sacrifice in the fire. Dont let anyone use magic or witchcraft, or try to explain the meaning of signs. 11 Dont let anyone try to control others with magic, and dont let them be mediums or try to talk with the spirits of dead people. 12 The Lord hates anyone who does these things. Because the other nations do these things, the Lord your God will force them out of the land ahead of you.
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Deuteronomy 1: 1012 The New King James Version
10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.
Confusion With The Supernatural
One could raise the objection that it is wrong for the Christian to do any performance that could so easily be misinterpreted as sinful by someone who doesnt know. Doesnt the Bible warn us to avoid all appearance of evil? Couldnt innocent parlor magic or ventriloquism be easily confused with forbidden activity?
In fact, a better translation of I Thessalonians 5:22 is avoid every form of evil or avoid every kind of evil . In dealing with right and wrong, one must always be careful of appearances, but it is not the appearance that makes something right or wrong. The emphasis on appearance is the essence of hypocrisy! If the issue were that Christians are to refrain from doing anything that looks like sin or could be misinterpreted by someone who does not know, then we would never be able to do anything with confidence. According to this thinking, Jesus was correctly rebuked for eating with publicans, for forgiving prostitutes and for touching lepers. Certainly these actions confused many people, but the Son of God knew His mission and performed His ministry in spite of possible objections.
Some Christians assume that anything they cannot themselves understand and explain must be supernatural. Hence they see negative effects as being produced by demons, and every positive event must be a miracle of God. There is great room, however, for neutral items which can be used either for good or for evil.
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Bible Verses About Magi
Matthew 2:1-12 – Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Matthew 2:1-23 – Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Matthew 2:11 – And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
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Deuteronomy 1: 1012 The Holman Christian Standard Bible
10 No one among you is to make his son or daughter pass through the fire, practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery, 11 cast spells, consult a medium or a familiar spirit, or inquire of the dead. 12 Everyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable things.
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Bible Verses About Sorcery And Magic
and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.
For the teraphim speak iniquity,And the diviners see lying visionsAnd tell false dreams Therefore the people wander like sheep,They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
When they say to you, Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.
He made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, practiced sorcery and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.
For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down he also erected altars for the Baals and made Asherim, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.He built altars in the house of the Lord of which the Lord had said, My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.For he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.