The path into a terrible future

Witchcraft Can Destroy You

People all across America are being deluged with books on witchcraft. And the situation is going to get worse, not better. For witchcraft brings you into contact with demons!

We are dealing with spiritualism, for that is what witchcraft is. The Bible is very clear about how dangerous it is. Spiritualism has existed for thousands of years. It is contact by humans with demons impersonating dead human beings. That is nothing to play around with!

The “spirits” are actually fallen angels,—angels who sided with Satan in his great rebellion and were driven out of heaven along with him. (Much more on this later in this book.) Under his control these demons live only to tempt, harass, and try to control people. These devils are filled with hatred. And, as we will learn later, they despise even those on earth who serve them. Fortunately, under God, the good angels are all powerful and the evil angels are no match for them. Everyone who pleads with God for help, and trusts in the name of Jesus as his Saviour, will be protected.

Spiritualism (also called spiritism) has many names: witchcraft, sorcery, shamanism, mediumship, occultism(“occult” means “hidden”), and the dark arts. Modern names for it include channeling, parapsychology, andLuciferian power. Other, more recent words are New Age and psychics. It is also called “magick,” with a “k.” (Spiritualists say that “magic,” without the “k,” is merely the tricks done by a stage performer.) But it is all spiritualism, and it is based on demon worship. F.F. Morse, a spiritualist, wrote this:

“The phenomenal aspect of modern spiritualism reproduces all of the essential principles of the magic witchcraft and sorcery of the past. The same powers are involved, the same intelligences operating.”—F.F. Morse, Practical Occultism, p. 5.

Modern witches—including those in Salem—use the name, “wicca,” to describe their witchcraft activities.The word comes from the original Anglo-Saxon spelling for the modern English word, “witch.”
Female mediums are called “witches,” and males are called “wizards” or “warlocks.” They communicate with evil spirits, who are demons. Demons are evil angels who obey Satan.

Spiritualism, commonly called witchcraft, is satanic paganism. Witches and wizards enter into a covenant with the devil to serve him. They hate God and Christ. They hate Christianity and the Bible. They hate the ten commandments and the grace of Christ.

They idolize selfishness, force, cruelty, death, and dead corpses. They love to inflict pain, suffering, and death on both people and animals. When they can’t kill people, they kill animals. They love cemeteries and dead bodies.

Their animal “pets” are owls, black cats, bats, buzzards, snakes, and spiders. Anything that could possibly be considered gruesome, they enjoy. Everything clean and pure and holy they hate. They have a special liking for snakes and often worship them. Their pictures frequently include snakes and the head of a goat in the shape of a five-pointed upside-down star. (The horns, chin, and two-sided beards are the five “points.”) They especially like pictures and statues of snakes and goats because, in the Bible, both, at times, symbolize Satan (Gen. 3:1-5 and Lev. 16:21-22). Of course, we can understand why spiritualists like symbols of Satan, for he is their master.

Their superstitions include creatures; most of them are horrid and don’t exist—such as ogres, trolls, elves, goblins, gnomes, fairies, mishapen giants, banshees, dragons (imaginary giant four-legged snakes), and blood-sucking vampires. Other nonexistent creatures that they speak lovingly about include unicorns, the phoenix, and a large three-headed black dog.

They talk about these imaginary things in order to frighten people. They know that the minds of people who are afraid are easier to control.

But we know that perfect trust in God casts out fear; it rejects superstitions. If we cling to Jesus and avoid such things, we will be safe.

Spiritualists love to figure out devices to control people’s minds or, hopefully, curse them with disease or other problems. But they cannot injure anyone who trusts implicitly in God and stays away from their dark kingdom. They usually can only hurt people who get too close to them.

Anton LaVey (1930-1997), founder of the Church of Satan in San Francisco in the 1950s, was a leading twentieth-century spiritualist. In his satanic Bible, he wrote the rules of demon worshipers. Those rules include selfishness instead of helpfulness, indulgence instead of self-control, vengeance instead of forgiveness, and love for sin because it produces immediate gratification. He said man is just an animal and should live like one. All morality should be ignored. Selfishness and brute force are the highest good. 
But is such miserable living something anyone should want for his life? No, of course not.

Even though all forms of spiritualism and witchcraft are extremely dangerous, people are intrigued by it because it seems so mysterious. They are curious to know more. It is their curiosity that catches them.
But when they dig more deeply into it,—all they find it to be is a bunch of lies and fakery. It is like cobwebs on the wall. There is really nothing there. But, by the time they make that discovery, it may be too late for them. They have been caught.

You might ask, “Caught by what?” Caught by the one thing in spiritualism which is not a fake; it is real! Along with the mystery, it is what keeps people coming back until they are snared in a net.

The curiosity seekers sense that a supernatural power is present in all this, and they crave to have that power for themselves. They want to be able to either control or hurt others. But that selfish craving leads them into a pit from which many never escape. They are the ones who are controlled; they are the ones who are hurt.

They have entered a web of demons. And the power which controls them is the power of Satan.
They have permitted themselves to be captured by evil angels. Unless in the strength of Christ they break loose from this connection, they will be lost souls.

All forms of spiritualism are extremely dangerous, and none should be toyed with. Even though the whole thing consists of only false claims and mysterious apparitions,—you and I can still be trapped by it if, through curiosity, we start liking any of it.

In reality, the whole thing is a gigantic fraud. Witches say they can fly, but they can’t. They say they can put curses on people, but they can’t. They say they can pronounce magic formulas and make magic potions, but it is all worthless.

Yet there is a power there! They sense its presence. It is the power of Satan. Oddly enough, the spiritualists don’t have this power. Instead, it is a power controlling them which has it! It is a power, working through them, to catch others who get too close.

These evil angels can cause people, who start playing with spiritualism, to see things that are not really there. It may seem real and exciting, but what those persons think they see—are only appearances, also called apparitions.

At the request of a paying visitor, the medium mutters incantations (a collection of usually meaningless phrases) and something that seems to be a dead relative may appear. It looks exactly like the person and talks the way he always talked. But it is not that person; it is a demon.

An example of this is when King Saul visited the witch of Endor (1 Sam. 28:7-15). That witch had entered into a covenant with Satan, to do his bidding. While the prophet Samuel was living, Saul despised his counsel. But now, in a time of crisis, he wanted to talk to the prophet—who by that time had died.
So Saul asked the witch to show him Samuel. Then something appeared in the room which looked like Samuel.

But both you and I know that God did not permit a servant of the devil to bring Samuel up from the grave into that room! And Satan cannot restore life or raise the dead.

Nor would a witch be permitted by God to have any power over Samuel, either when he was alive or after he died. We know that is true because God repeatedly said in the Bible that witches are bad and no one should have anything to do with them.

Even though that apparition, which spoke to Saul, may have said something true, it was not Samuel but a demon that spoke to the king. It was one of Satan’s devils in the form of a man.

Here is another reason it could not have been Samuel: The Bible clearly states that King Saul died because he went to that witch for advice instead of going to God! We are told that Saul “inquired of it.” He inquired of “it,” that is, the evil spirit. He didn’t talk to Samuel, but to a demon: “Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; and inquired not of the Lord; therefore He slew him.”—1 Chronicles 10:13-14.

God forbids us to go to witches, wizards, or other spiritualists for guidance or, in any way, to seek counsel from the dead. Here is another important Bible verse: “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter, should not a people seek unto their God? [instead of] for the living to [seek guidance of] the dead? To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.”—Isaiah 8:19-20.

Now, these appearances—or apparitions—can also take other forms as well. Under a satanic spell, people can think they see a person rise into the air, a stone change into a snake, or some other amazing thing.

In the Bible, in order to show that he was acting under the guidance of God, Moses was told to throw his shepherd’s staff down and it would turn into a serpent (Ex. 7:8-12). He did this in the presence of Pharaoh. That piece of wood had actually changed into a living snake! Only God can do that; only He can make life. But then the king’s magicians, who were wizards under the command of Satan, threw their sticks to the ground,—and they appeared to change into wiggling snakes! Yet the sticks had not changed into snakes at all. They were just sticks laying there. Satan could only produce an appearance, an illusion.

In the 1970s, an American tourist in India came upon a fakir, the name for a wizard in India, who regularly charged visitors money to see an interesting sight. Immediately, this tourist began filming what took place.

The fakir threw down a coiled rope onto the ground and, as he uttered an incantation, the end of the rope began rising up into the air by itself! As soon as it stopped (when the top was about fourteen feet up), a native boy stepped forward out of the gawking crowd and began climbing the rope. It was as plain as anything. As the boy reached the top, the fakir pulled a long knife out of his belt and also began climbing that rope. By this time, that thin rope was apparently supporting an immense amount of weight.

When he reached the boy, the fakir cut off the boy’s head as the tourists screamed with terror. Then both the fakir and boy jumped ten feet to the ground, without being hurt. Immediately, both were standing on the ground and the boy was unhurt. The tourists went wild with applause.

This tourist realized he had something sensational in his camera. As soon as he returned to America and had it developed, he checked to see what he had. This is what was recorded on the film:

The fakir threw down the coiled rope and stepped back. The tourists stood there watching him. The boy stood nearby. Then the tourists began looking upward. The rope still lay coiled on the ground. All at once, they looked toward the boy, who continued to remain motionless. Then they looked slowly upward again.  Suddenly, they looked at the fakir, as they thought they saw him climbing also. Soon they screamed in horror. Then everyone began laughing and applauding. Yet all the while the fakir and the boy had stood there by the coiled rope.

It was only an appearance, or apparition. Satan caused them to see something that was not there. This story, written in a small book by the man who took the home movie, helps explain the mystery of the magicians’ snakes in Exodus 7.

Those that dabble with spiritualism do not gain anything worthwhile. They do not become the great and powerful people they had hoped for. Instead they become demon-harassed or demon-possessed.

They have chosen to step onto Satan’s enchanted ground. They don’t feel good; they experience continued depression. They experience doubts and lose confidence in themselves. The happiness they used to have is gone. They have anxiety attacks. They have more fears. Although they may have brief periods of excitement at times, they no longer have peace of heart.

It is not the witch—but the demons—who are in charge of what is happening to those people. And the demons enjoy giving many of them even worse problems. They may fall to the floor. They may lay there unable to move. They may go into a coma. Some crawl around on the floor like animals, sometimes making animal sounds. Some slither on the floor like a snake. Others develop shakes, make strange noises, or have fits of laughter which they cannot stop. Some become sick, even chronically. Many become insane and some commit suicide. Some commit murder.

Since witchcraft, channeling, and other demonic activities appear so inviting today, we must be on guard! The spiritualists will tell you a little here and a little there, to draw you in. But seeing it all at once—as you are learning here,—shows that there is a hidden power there which can ruin your life and ultimately destroy you.

Children’s witchcraft books, videos, and games are extremely dangerous! Something exciting seems to be there. People seem able to enter a supernatural world and obtain great power. On each page is a little more, and gradually the reader is drawn into it because everything seems so fascinating.

So, by way of warning, here are some of the things the spiritualists—the wizards and witches—work with: They have spell books in which are written incantations, spells, and charms. They imagine that, by pronouncing them, they accomplish something. But they don’t. They use these spells to utter curses on people and animals (and counter­curses on other witches).

What is a spell? It is a meaningless group of nonsensical words. Nothing more. It has no power to accomplish anything. If I sat here and babbled such sentences, you would think I was only six months old. But if a wizard does it, people imagine it to be something very mysterious.

Satan was once a mighty angel in heaven. But he rebelled against God; and now he is the lord of confusion—and of selfishness, suffering, fear, and death. Those are the gifts he offers you in spiritualism.

Witches also love cauldrons. These are black iron pots in which they boil plants, algae, and fungi. Mandrake root is a favorite. They think that, by drinking those miserable mixtures, something great will happen. But it never does.

One exception is when they add wormwood to the mixture, which is recommended to the reader in Book I of the Harry Potter Series (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, p. 137 in the original edition). Drinking that will cause delirium, paralysis, convulsions, brain damage, kidney failure, and death. Absinthe contains wormwood  and is a deadly poison.

Spiritualists wave sticks (which they call “magic wands”) in the air, thinking that it also accomplishes something. But it doesn’t. Isn’t it a little foolish sitting around, waving a stick in the air? Only babies do that.

Since all forms of spiritualism and witchcraft accomplish absolutely nothing, one wonders why anyone would be interested in it. But do not forget that a person is initially attracted by the mystery and false claims. Then, when he pauses to look at it a little, he senses that a supernatural power is present.
If he does not immediately flee, soon he is captured by that power; and it is only with difficulty that he may escape.

In order to attract the curious so they will be captured, the spiritualists have to keep everything appearing mysterious. They get a devilish delight in having others share their desperate, miserable lives.
To add to the mystery, they write words in runes (ancient German or other characters which are hard to read) or some other meaningless scribbles. They talk about magic numbers (numerology) and magic lines (geomancy).

Anything random is said to mean something, whether it be tea leaves in the bottom of a cup (tea reading) or lines on a hand (palmistry). That which is meaningless becomes important. But those things which are very important, like the Bible, the ten commandments, moral principles, and the saving power of Christ are ignored or ridiculed.

Crystal balls are highly valued because, when anyone looks into them,—he can’t see anything! What a crazy way to try to obtain information. But Satan uses sticks, meaningless sentences, and confusing glass to hide the fact that there is nothing real in all the messages, predictions, and appearances of witchcraft.

Ouija boards and tarot cards are something else you want to totally avoid. They may seem harmless; but demons will enter your mind if you use them, even for a short time. Other very real dangers are dowsing rods, pendulums (a small weight on the end of a string), and water witching. They are not harmless, but stepping stones toward more captivating problems later.

One thing that is very real in spiritualism is hypnotism. It is satanic power used to capture and control a human mind. Beware, and have nothing to do with it! A spiritualist waves his hand meaninglessly or gets you to repeat one or a few words over and over. He does this to confuse your mind, so it will go into a dreamy state. But, when one mind controls another, Satan controls both! Do not let someone else control your mind.

There is medical hypnosis, research hypnosis, dental hypnosis, psychiatric (counseling) hypnosis, and recreational hypnosis. Each of them can be dangerous.

Yet you cannot be hypnotized if you refuse and then leave the place. Do not relax. Keep your mind clearly fixed on Jesus, pray, trust in Him,—and get your friends and yourself out of there. Do not linger. Do not dare someone to try to hypnotize you.

So-called “psychics” claim to be able to predict future events for the coming year, but it is extremely rare that any of their predictions come true. If they had any ability at all, they should be able to get at least 51 percent right instead of about six percent (according to investigators who have searched for later possible fulfillments).

Horoscopes are another fortune-telling device that is as worthless as the rest. Astrology is based on the idea that everyone born on a certain date will, day after day and year after year throughout their lives, have the very same experiences. But that does not happen.

It is a good rule to avoid reading stories by people who like witches. Such children’s stories are not as harmless as they appear. Some who read them are later led into contact with actual witches. We should avoid whatever might give Satan access to our minds.

Fairy tales may seem harmless and apparently produce no harmful effects. Yet they are unreal and, although obviously about imaginary creatures, prepare the mind to like reading such things. The person who reads them will later be more favorable toward the reading and enjoyment of stories more openly about witchcraft. Later still he will be more susceptible to astrology, hypnotism, and contacts with spiritist mediums, today called channelers.

Fairy tales lead young people away from a love for God’s Word, the Bible. Later, when the Gospel is presented to them, they may be harder to reach. They prefer living in an unreal world. 
There are so many things today which cause young people to continually crave greater excitement, that it becomes easier for Satan to lead them into various addictions. They have become dissatisfied with everyday living.

The Bible says that Satan is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44). Spiritualism is nothing more than a bunch of lies, carefully packaged to bring a lot of sadness and heartache into your life.

The Holy Scriptures are our only safe guide. God has given terrible warnings against having anything to do with witches, wizards, enchanters, and sorcerers.

Here is part of what the Bible says about this. The warnings are very strong; for God knows that spiritualism is especially used by Satan to take control of people:

Spiritualists are an abomination to God—“There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch . . or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.”­—Deuteronomy 18:10-13.

Have nothing to do with them—“Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.”—Leviticus 19:31.

Saul died for asking advice of an evil spirit—“Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; and inquired not of the Lord; therefore He slew him.”—1 Chronicles 10:13-14. (See 1 Samuel 28:7-15).

God will judge them severely—“And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers.”—Malachi 3:5.

Do not listen to their lies—“Therefore hearken not ye to . . your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers . . for they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land.”—Jeremiah 27:9-10.

God does not want them to continue to live—“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”—Exodus 22:18. “A man also or a woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death.”—Leviticus 20:27.

Spiritualists will not go to heaven—“Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies . . I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”—Galatians 5:20-21.

Go to God and the Bible for counsel, not to spiritualists—“And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? [instead of] for the living to [seek guidance of] the dead? To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.”—Isaiah 8:19-20.

In the last days, many will be deluded into placing confidence in spiritualists—“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.”—1 Timothy 4:1.

If you believe the Bible and want to be redeemed by Christ, you cannot have anything to do with witches, wizards, psychics, and all the rest.

This chapter provided a brief overview of witchcraft, which is a form of spiritualism.
Let us now examine a number of actual case histories of individuals who, for a short time or permanently, became caught in the web.

Click on Chapter 2 to continue

 Chapter 2  Stories of Capture and Escape 

Copyright © 2006-2010, Mission Evangelism, Inc.