Pastor Buddy’s Blog

Can there be sorcery in Christendom…

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Journal,

The study I wish to share may be a bit disturbing to some, but that is not my intention. The Bible plainly teaches that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. Jesus also said that His sheep know His voice and they will not follow another. The apostle said there could be no separation between us and God’s love for us that is found in Christ Jesus.

The point at hand is that every true believer has been sealed in Christ and has an eternal salvation.

Yet there is a problem that all believers will have to confront at various times in their life. Paul said it this way,

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces in this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm …” - Eph6:12,13 nasb

(Note: This study will be a bit longer than normal but it will be well worth the reading.)

This brings me to a response that I recently received on one of my web studies. The study in question is entitled, ”The Spirit of Babylon - Magical Practices and Sorcery.’  I’ll share on an anonymous basis just a bit from his response. (This person is a church leader.) 

– He wrote…

“I write you to let you know that I have read your Bible study named, “The Spirit of Babylon - Magical Practices and Sorcery.” After reading this, #1 I agree with you 100%. Lately, I’ve been noticing it on TV in church leaders all the time. And also in my church as well.

“After reading your Bible study I have felt convicted. I felt convicted because I’ve been a Christian for a little over 20 years and the sexual problems remained with me for most of that time. I myself have had problems with sorcery, sex drugs etc etc. - Before and after becoming a Christian.  I’ve recently given up the last of my habitual sins and know that I have been delivered.  I thank God for that.”   - Anonymous

So, with this response in mind let me draw on the study in question as a backdrop to what I wish to share now. However, it is not my intention to use names or point to any group or person in particular. I simply want to share a general premise that deals with the question of sorcery. Believers must learn to discern for themselves if a certain activity could truly be of God.

The original study can be found at this site:

http://christianchallenge.org/hebraic-foundations/HF037.html

So the premise question is,

Can there be sorcery in the Church today…

It should go without saying that the historical Church has always had to deal with the problem of witchery. This spiritual working can be found in every religious society on the earth. But the problem we have to deal with is when it appears under the guise of Christianity. 

Here is the Scripture we can use as a beginning point:

“Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, ‘This man is what is called the Great Power of God.’” (Acts 8:9,10)

Earlier Christians had a number of traditions about Simon. To distinguish him from other Simons of the Bible, he was given the name Simon Magnus. Justin Martyr said Simon went to Rome and was worshipped there as a god. Over time the word ’simony’, which comes from the name Simon Magnus, was used for someone who bought or sold a spiritual office for a price. - Sort of like merchandizing the gospel.

History has proven over and over again that the Simon Magnus’s will always be around. These men are actually sorcerers. And when God’s people are led astray, it is usually one of these people who is involved. They are deceivers, but their powers are of a spiritual nature. This is one reason that we are warned not to be followers of signs and wonders.

What we know from the Scriptures is that Simon Magnus claimed to be ‘the Great Power of God.’ But was he actually claiming to have an association with the God of the Bible? It seems so. Jerome quotes from the writings of Simon Magnus, where Simon writes, “I am the Word of God, I am the Comforter, I am the Almighty, I am all there is of God.”

So when Simon said he was the Great Power of God, he was placing himself as God manifest.

This is how sorcery works.

The sorcerer seeks to draw attention to himself as being someone great. He does this by mesmerizing the peoples. To mesmerize a person is to bring them under your power by spellbinding them.

Lets consider more about Simon Magnus. Irenaeus has this to say,

“Simon, having purchased a certain woman named Helena, who had been a prostitute in the city of Tyre, carried her about with him, and said that she was the first conception of his mind, the mother of all things…” He then adds, “On this account he [Simon] himself came, that he might first of all reclaim her and free her from her chains, and then give salvation to men through the knowledge of himself.”

The spirit of sorcery is generally accompanied by sexual excesses. Women leave their husbands. Husbands leave their wives. Wherever you find the spirit of sorcery at work, you usually find the breaking down of families. Right and wrong get twisted together. And spirits began invading the home. These spirits attempt to validate the teachings of the sorcerer.

What many don’t realize is that while sorcery is a spiritual activity, it works on a sensual level. This is why Peter said,

“These [evil workers] are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. For speaking out words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones living in error.” (2 Peter 2:18)

Another legend about Simon Magnus is that he was actually once a disciple of John the Baptist. This legend is found is several different forms, so it is likely to have some validity to it. Many false prophets have had an association with Christianity.

On a historical note, Simon’s followers took to themselves the name Simoniani. They regarded Simon as their Christ. To them the Christ spirit manifested itself in different peoples over the ages. Jesus Christ was only one of these peoples.

The Simoniani had a great mixture of teachings that were derived from paganism, from Judaism, and from Christianity. Origen has this to say about the Simoniani;

“It escapes the notice of Celsus that the Simonians do not in any way acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God, but they call Simon the Power of God.”

So did the early Church have problems with sorcery?

Most assuredly. As I said earlier, this has always been a problem for the Church. Jesus Himself said that tares would be sown in with the wheat. He explains the tares as being children of the evil one. Paul adds to this by saying that our warfare is of a spiritual nature.

The apostle Paul explained how that Satan’s servants actually masquerade as servants of righteousness. In writing the Corinthian Church, Paul said,

“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or your receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.” (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)

The apostle went on to say that,

“Such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” (1 Corinthians 11:13-14)

Think about it for a moment. If the spirit of sorcery could be in the Corinthian Church, what would prevent it from being in a Christian group today? Again we need to understand that the spirit of sorcery has always been around. You will find it from the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation. And again, sorcery is also known as ‘the spirit of Babylon.’

Notice especially how God calls his people out of Babylon, in Revelation chapter eighteen;

“Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquity.” (Verses 4,5)

In verse twenty-three, the Lord says that “all the nations were deceived by your sorceries.” John is pointing out that the spirit of sorcery will pervade the earth during the time of tribulation, but that many of God’s people will have been taken in by this spirit. There could be no other reason for God to tell His people to come out of Babylon.

Then we have to consider Paul’s writings. This apostle clearly shared that an endtime deception will sweep the world that will revolve around anti-Christ. But we also have the words of Jesus. The Lord spoke of the false Christs who would be deceiving peoples in the latter times. Jesus said,

“And then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ’, or, ‘Behold, He is there’, do not believe him; for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.” (Mak 13:21,22)

Now lets take a look at what the early Jewish sages had to say about sorcery.

There is an interesting statement made in the Tosefta, concerning why the Lord allowed the temple to be destroyed in 70 A.D. It says, “When the number of ‘whisperers’ in court increased, wrath came upon the world and the Shekhina departed from Israel.” The ‘whisperers’ was a term used for sorcerers.

It appears that the spirit of sorcery had infested Israel prior to the destruction of the temple. False prophets abounded. It was these false prophets who contributed to the uprising against Rome. But this wasn’t a new thing in Israel. They had long been noted for consulting mediums.

God spoke to the people in Isaiah 8:19, saying,

“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?”

At the time of Christ, the Jewish people had long since departed from Biblical Judaism. The leadership had totally distorted the Laws of God. This is one reason that the land was full of demonized people. And this is why John the Baptist came down so hard on the Pharisees and Sadducees, when he said, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7) These peoples were trying to identify with the growing movement of John.

Notice how Jesus uses the same language, in saying, “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell.” (Matthew 23:33)

With the coming of Jesus, the Lord gave Israel a 40 year period to repent and to turn to Him. During this time the Christian Jews were ministering fervently, but many of the peoples were being drawn even further into the occult. (Notice in Revelation 11:8, that Jerusalem is referred to as Sodom and Egypt. Both places were full of sorcery. Recall Moses and the sorcerers.)

Here are some more interesting notes from the Jewish writings.

According to Jewish thought, it was considered a sign of ill omen if the light of the lampstand in the temple ever went out. Based on Mishnah Moddot 3:4, it was stated that exactly forty years before the Temple’s destruction (70 A.D.) the light went out. Exactly forty years before the Temple’s destruction would be the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, in 30 A.D.

There was a teaching during second temple Judaism, that Satan was also present in the Holiest of Holies, to accuse the Jews and their High Priest. This was one reason the peoples did not want the High Priest to linger in the inner Shrine any longer than necessary. So, when the light went out, according to Jewish writings, this must have indicated that Satan was in charge. (According to Jewish tradition, the blowing of the shofar on new year is to disconcert Satan.)

Also according to Jewish writings, forty years before the destruction of the temple, the temple doors began to open on their own accord, and strange voices could be heard coming from within the temple complex. Whether all of this is true or not, it is true that sorcery had a dominate influence among the peoples of that time.

One more point of interest with regard to sorcery in the early times, is that a sorcerer was known to use the name YHWH (Yahweh) along with the names of other gods in doing their work. This lets us understand that just because a person uses the name of the Lord Jesus, does not preclude this person from being under the auspices of an occultic spirit.

The Lord Himself made this plain enough. He said to his disciples, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

Then a little later, He said,

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:15, 21-23)

The early Christian writers said that sorcery is a delusion. There is so much more to be said about sorcery in the church. I’ll leave things open for now. Please feel free to make comments or ask questions.

But always keep in mind that Jesus alone is Lord and He is the true Lord of all believers. It is His presence in our life that the enemy hates. His presence is holy and we are God’s holy people.

And since we are citizens of heaven, Satan is unable to take ahold of any believer’s life.

You have been signed, sealed, and delivered through the blood of the Lamb.

Blessings,

Buddy