What is witchcraft? Is it casting spells and using crystals and such to gain information? Is it wearing a pointy black hat and riding around on a broom? Can a Christian use witchcraft? Is there a demonic spirit behind witchcraft, or is it just something someone does? What does the Bible say regarding this topic? We are going to take a look at what exactly witchcraft is, and how to rid our lives of it once and for all.

Derik Prince’s Definition

Derik Prince defines witchcraft as: “Witchcraft is the attempt to control people and get them to do what you want through the use of any spirit that is not the Holy Spirit.” He points out that people don’t use the Holy Spirit, we partner with him to do what HE wants.

Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬ tells us, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

In this list is all sorts of things we, as Christians, should stay away from. Every single thing listed here are things that will take you farther and farther away from Jesus and closer and closer to demons, fallen angels, and Satan. Not one single activity listed here in Galatians can be in the presence of God. They aren’t compatible with God and his works because they actively work against the way the Holy Spirit works. How does the Holy Spirit work?

Works of the Holy Spirit

We are told in Galatians 5:22-26 (ESV), “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

Can’t you see how love and enmity, joy and fits of anger, faithfulness and sorcery, and self-control and sexual immorality work against each other? The works of the flesh can not coexist with the fruits of the Spirit because the flesh actively works against the spirit. You could go on and see how each fruit of the Spirit is the opposite of the works of the flesh.

Derik Prince lists three ways witchcraft manifests: manipulation, intimidation, and domination.

Bible definition of Witchcraft

Let’s take a look at what the Bible defines as witchcraft.

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭23‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬ tells us, “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.””

The word divination is the Hebrew word: “qesem” and means: witchcraft, or false prophets

Why does the Lord say that rebellion is the same as witchcraft and false prophets? Let’s take a look at the entire story and find out.

The Lord told King Saul, “Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”” 1 Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭3‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

God told King Saul to destroy every living thing in the city of Amalek. He was told to destroy every single man, woman, child, infant, and livestock. However, Saul rebelled against the word of the Lord. We are told, “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.” ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭9‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Not only did Saul rebel against the command of the Lord to destroy everything, he took things one step further and set up a monument for himself. Then when Samuel came to him, Saul tells Samuel he has done all that the Lord told him to do. Samuel confronts Saul’s lies, and what does Saul say?

“They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.”” 1 Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭15‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

He blames the very people he is supposed to be leading. This reaction again shows that Saul is not a good leader. Even if this was true, which it was not, a good leader takes responsibility for the actions of the people he is leading.

Saul’s Lies are Called Out

Samuel then calls out the lies and rebellion that Saul has committed. Samuel says, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”” ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Samuel basically says, “You once thought you were so insignificant, yet you now disobey the Lord when he told you to destroy everything from the Amalekites. Why? Why would you do such a thing?”

Once again Saul is given the chance to repent and admit his failing. Does he take advantage of this? Sadly, he does not. “And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”” ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Saul tells Samuel that he did obey the word of the Lord. “See, I captured Agag who is the king.” Did the Lord tell Saul to kill everyone except the king of the Amalekites? No. His command was to kill EVERY man, woman, child, and infant. Saul chooses to dig his feet into what he wanted to believe the Lord said, instead of submitting to the authority of the Lord and admitting he disobeyed.

Side note: Because King Agag was spared the man Haman in the book of Esther was born. Haman is the man who was actively trying to destroy all of the Jews during the life of Esther. If Saul had completely obeyed the Lord, Haman wouldn’t have been born.

It’s because of this rebellion that the kingdom is taken away from Saul and given to David.

“For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”” 1 Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭23‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Definitions:

Let’s dig a little deeper into this verse and take a look at what Webster’s Dictionary has to say regarding some of these words:

• Divination: the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge usually by the interpretation of omens or by the aid of supernatural powers
• Rebellion: opposition to one in authority or dominance, open, armed, and usually unsuccessful defiance of or resistance to an established government
• Presume: to expect or assume especially with confidence, to suppose to be true without proof

If we take these definitions into account the Lord is saying: When you are in opposition to the authority of the Lord, and you choose to be in defiance or resistance toward the government of the Lord, this type of rebellion is witchcraft. .

Furthermore, trying to find out what the future holds or discover the hidden secrets of the Lord is always fruitless when living in rebellion against the Lord. Try as you may, you will never know what the Lord knows, especially when you go about trying to learn those things using demonic powers. Those so-called “hidden secrets” gained by demons is nothing. They pretend to know great mysteries, but in fact they know very little. They are the example of what the Lord means when he says, “For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭25‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

The fallen angels once were given great and honorable positions. They had access to things most humans only dream about having access to. They were free to come to the throne room of God and ask him any question they wanted. Yet they gave up all this great wealth of wisdom for fleeting power promised by the deceiver.

Those that are humble will be given even more. More access to God’s wisdom. More access to the Father. God will take those small grains of faith and grow them into great acts of miracles.

Rebellion causes the Lord to stop working with people to show the world his greatness and love. He can not work with rebellion. Rather, rebellion can not work with the Lord. It isn’t compatible with him because rebellion thinks it knows better than the Lord does. What a funny thought, that something or someone can know better than the creator of all things. As a result, rebellion partners with pride really well. They go together like peanut butter and jelly.

So Saul chose to partner with rebellion and pride instead of humbling himself in obedience to the word of the Lord. God had no choice but to strip the role of leader from him. Remember, rebellion can not partner with the Lord. Rebellion in the heart of a leader is like trying to learn those hidden secrets from fallen angels, who have traded the glory of the Lord for their own. What they once had, what the Lord once gave to them has been taken away. The things they think they once knew, are no longer accurate. Things have changed. Their memories have been distorted. They don’t have an accurate memory of life before their rebellion, and what’s funny is they don’t even realize all they lost. That is what rebellion does. It distorts truth and makes lies seem true.

Shemaiah Uses Witchcraft

In the book of Jeremiah we see the word rebellion come up. In this case the word for rebellion is not the same word used in 1 Samuel. This word translated to rebellion means: apostasy, turning aside, or withdrawal.

We are told in ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭25‬-‭32‬ (‭ESV)‬‬:

““Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have charge in the house of the Lord over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and neck irons. Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who is prophesying to you? For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”’” Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because Shemaiah had prophesied to you when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’””

We see here a man who is trying to make a name for himself and using manipulation to try and control the people God has placed in power. Shemaiah attacks Jeremiah as a false prophet, when in fact Shemaiah is the actual false prophet. Shemaiah declares to all the people in Jerusalem that Jehoiada is no longer God’s choice for priest. Instead Shemaiah declared Zephaniah as God’s choice for leading the priests and nation. He then calls God’s anointed crazy. He asks why Jeremiah is not labeled as crazy and locked up with all the other crazy people.

Now, Zephaniah was a priest, just not the leader. Shemaiah didn’t like what Jeremiah was saying regarding the exile to Babylon. He wanted their punishment for following idols to be quick and painless. However, this is not what the Lord proclaimed as their punishment. God said their exile was going to be long, and the Jews should find a place to live and a way to feed their families. Even in their exile and punishment, God still provided the needs of his people. After all, God is a loving Father who will always take care of his children, even when his children are living in rebellion against him.

How Does God Respond?

We see God’s response to this form of witchcraft. Although Shemaiah attempted to use control and manipulations as a way to gain control, it backfired in a severe way. God said, “Because Shemaiah had prophesied to you when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’”

The Lord took Shemaiah and his descendants out. Shemaiah forfeited the right and privilege of seeing God move in power over King Nebuchazzer. He forfeited the right and privilege of seeing God move in his own life. Who knows the miraculous ways the Lord wanted to provide for Shemaiah and his family. God’s reasoning for the destruction of Shemaiah is because “he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.” This word for rebellion is apostasy. Shemaiah was representing God in a deceitful manner. He said, “Thus saith the Lord,” when the Lord didn’t say those things. Shemaiah was misrepresenting the character of the Lord, and as such had to pay the consequences of that misrepresentation.

The Lord takes rebellion seriously. It really doesn’t matter if this rebellion comes in the form of a king refusing to obey the words of the Lord, or a false prophet declaring lies in the name of the Lord. Either way, the Lord sees these deeds as witchcraft. When one person imposes their will over another and forces others to comply to their will instead of the will of God, this is called witchcraft.

Next week, we are going to take a look at a time when Paul encountered witchcraft. What did he do about it? Is there a way to stop it? I hope you will join me next week as we answer these questions. Be blessed my friend!