Understanding Witchcraft

(Credit to Derek Prince – The Nature of Witchcraft)

I. What Is Witchcraft?

A. Secular Definition

Secular sources limit witchcraft to people who practice sorcery or divination, utilizing supernatural powers in association with evil spirits.

B. Biblical Viewpoint

Witchcraft is the religion of fallen man.

C. Christ’s Purpose

Christ freed mankind to become like God—to take on His character and similitude.

Hebrews 1:3: Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

1. "Express image" = Greek charakter = the character of Jesus.

Romans 8:29: For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

2. Jesus empowers us to become free to walk with Him and walk in love—to become like Him.

D. Satan’s Purpose

Satan’s purpose is to take away man’s freedom so he cannot walk in peace and faith with God or in godly love towards others, so we cannot image God.

II. The Root of Witchcraft Is Rebellion

A. Origin of Rebellion

Rebellion started with doubt concerning whether God was trustworthy.

B. Questioning Authority

The next step was to question the reliability of her husband.

C. Connection to Witchcraft

Rebellion and witchcraft are directly connected.

1 Samuel 15:23: For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

D. Rebellion as the Root

The root of witchcraft is rebellion (mantra vidya yokka moolamu tirugubatu)—where you find rebellion, you will find witchcraft.

E. Rejecting Legitimate Authority

Rebellion rejects legitimate authority—in the family, the community, or church.

Romans 13:1-2: Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

1. Authority = exousia = permission to use power that originates from the source granting it.

2. If one rejects legitimate godly authority, it has to be replaced with illegitimate authority supported by a power other than God.

   
   

   a. All legitimate authority comes from God.

   
   

   b. All illegitimate authority comes from Satan.

III. Witchcraft Is the Religion of Fallen Man

Genesis 3:6, 12, 17: So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate… Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”… Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.”

A. Eve’s Sin and Manipulation

First, Eve sinned. She rebelled against God and His authority. Then she manipulated Adam. He listened to what she said and then joined her.

• Soulish witchcraft immediately followed rebellion.

B. Domination Is Evil

(Derek Prince) It is never the will of God for one person to dominate another in any situation. Wherever one person dominates another, the force that enables that person to do so is evil. It is never the will of God for a husband to dominate his wife, or a wife to dominate her husband, or parents to dominate their children, or a minister to dominate his congregation. Anytime that you get domination by one person over another, the force behind it is evil, and very often it is actually witchcraft.

IV. Soulish Witchcraft – Distinct from Spiritual

There are two kinds of witchcraft:

A. Works of the Flesh

Witchcraft is listed as one of the works of the flesh in the New Testament scriptures.

Galatians 5:19-20: Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,

B. Three Principal Words

Three principal words describe soulish witchcraft:

1. Manipulation (tarumaru) – involves offering something that others want—deceiving or luring.

2. Intimidation (bedirimpu) – threatening such things as loss, pain, abuse, abandonment, torture, etc.

3. The ultimate purpose is domination (adhipatyam).

The three main branches of occult are:

1. Witchcraft (mantravidya)

2. Divination (bhavishyavani) is the knowledge branch of occult, fortune telling, psychic predictions, ESP (Extrasensory Perception), etc.

3. Sorcery (vasikaranam) operates through material objects or other ways of impacting the physical senses such as drugs, music, amulets (tayattulu), charms (mantralu), magic, spells (mantragallu cheyse vividha prakriyalu), etc.

C. Possibilities

1. In the order that God ordained for family relationships:

   • The husband is to be head of the wife, and

   • Parents are to exercise authority over children.

2. The purpose for authority in the church:

2 Corinthians 10:8: For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed—

a. Edification = strengthening, giving proper guidance and training—never to dominate.

• The same is true in family relationships.

  
  

  b. If the husband abuses his authority by dominating his wife or children, he has broken the law of love, which dictates that all things be done for edification.

  
  

  c. Any form of manipulation or intimidation by the children to usurp the authority of the parents is witchcraft. A child can learn manipulation as a baby.

  
  

  d. Mothers usually manipulate, and fathers usually intimidate.

D. Divine Order

Divine order requires honesty and intimacy—talk things out humbly and prayerfully, fearing the Lord. Manipulation or intimidation never face the real issues or bring reconciliation.

1. Most couples live striving for control in the marriage, always maneuvering in order to get their own way.

2. A very common form of manipulation is to get one feeling guilty. If someone is making you feel guilty all the time, ask yourself what is working through them.

   
   

   a. Remember the Holy Spirit convicts and motivates us to repent.

   1. Once we have repented, feelings of guilt should dissipate.

   2. But guilt that you’re never finished with may be coming from witchcraft.

3. Another subtle form of witchcraft is to make you feel that the person’s opinion or approval is very important.

4. If a person must go to see or call someone before making any kind of important or spiritual decision, very likely witchcraft is involved.

V. Two Kinds of Witches

A. Conscious Witches

There are those who know they are witches. They study and learn to cultivate Satan’s power.

B. Unconscious Witches

There are also witches who are totally unaware that they are. Many are good church members.

1. Many wives dominate their husbands and children unknowingly.

2. They think they know what is best for everybody, and they manipulate and intimidate.

3. Their intentions may seem right and good, but they usurp the rightful place of their husbands, and the pressure they maintain on his life keeps him from developing spiritually. He may be successful in his business or work and all other secular aspects of his life, but not at home or spiritually.

4. The husband never really takes his place as head of the family or marriage.

   
   

   a. The force in the home that affects him is witchcraft.

   
   

   b. This will usually produce rebellion in the children.

C. Witchcraft in Churches

Another kind of witchcraft is common in many churches.

1. The pastor, his wife, or both, dominate certain members or all the members in their church.

2. Instead of leading and setting the example for the saints, they manipulate and intimidate the saints, abusing their spiritual authority to dominate them.

3. Their control is often passed off as the leading of the Holy Spirit.

VI. Witchcraft as a Spiritual Power

A. Beyond Human Ability

This goes beyond human ability to manipulate and intimidate.

• Not all spiritual or supernatural power comes from God; two sources of spiritual power—two kingdoms operating in the spiritual realm.

B. Three Main Branches

As a spiritual power, witchcraft has three main branches: witchcraft, divination, and sorcery.

1. This kind of witchcraft is supernatural power which operates from spells and curses—the most powerful weapon is curses.

2. Sorcery = operates through objects such as charms, potions (drugs), amulets, chants, or other means such as music or song, anything that is considered lucky or to have special power to achieve a desired result:

   
   

   a. Revelation 9:20-21: Sorceries = Greek pharmakeia = literally means the use or the administering of drugs. This is common in connection with many forms of idolatry.

   
   

   b. Music can also be a means to charm or enchant people. The allure of sexual pleasure is also used as a form of sorcery—also common in idol worship.

3. Divination is a source of supernatural illegitimate knowledge:

   
   

   a. Submission to anyone using any form of occult practice may open us up to manipulating spirits as well as spirits of curse and torment.

   
   

   b. Numbers 22:7: Divination deals with words spoken—may involve a curse—Balaam (Jeremiah 14:14).

Acts 16:16-17: Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”

VII. Witchcraft Within the Church – Legalism

Legalism = the deception that you are righteous by your own works. Many Christians have no idea what is going on.

Galatians 3:1: O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?

A. Bewitched

Bewitched = Greek baskaino = to mislead by pretenses as if by magic arts, to fascinate.

B. Evidence of Witchcraft

The evidence of witchcraft was that the revelation of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the work of the cross had been made unclear, indistinct, or even hidden.

1. This resulted in legalism.

Galatians 3:2-3: This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

2. The result of legalism is found in the next verse.

Galatians 5:4: You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

3. Keeping some of the law is a deception, and it appeals to human pride.

   
   

   a. When we have a set of rules that we can keep, it gives us something to boast about.

C. God’s Righteousness

God does demand righteousness from man, but the righteousness we have in Christ frees us from the requirements of the law of Moses.

Romans 8:1-4: There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

• The law always condemned, but we are not living under that covenant.

• The laws of our new covenant are: 1) The law of love (1 John 3:16) and 2) the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

D. The Cross

Keeping rules to attain righteousness is to dispose of the accomplishments of the cross.

1. Christianity is a covenant with the living God based on a relationship with His Son.

2. Our part of the covenant is fulfilled by submitting to the leading of the Holy Spirit and striving to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

3. All things we needed were provided by the cross of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 2:9-14: For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

a. We can add nothing to this by keeping our own rules.b. The basis for all of God’s provision is Christ and His cross.

Hebrews 10:14: For by one offering he has perfected forever them that are sanctified.

c. It is the means of Satan’s total defeat (Ephesians 4:8, 1:19-22).d. And it is the only source of authority and power for genuine Christian living.

Practical Application

I. Most of Us Have Rebelled

Most of us have had a problem with rebellion. That means we may also have had problems with witchcraft.

A. Universal Rebellion

How many of us could say that we have never been rebellious in any way?

B. Process in the Garden

Understanding the process of what took place in the garden:

1. It is likely that Adam was the one who relayed God’s commandment to Eve.

2. Therefore, Eve was not only rebelling against God’s authority but also Adam’s.

3. She contemplated the words of the serpent. Doubt entered her mind.

   
   

   a. Doubt that God could be trusted.

   
   

   b. Doubt that her husband was trustworthy.

C. Doubt Gave Way to Fear

a. Fear that God was deceiving her, not telling her all the truth.b. Fear that her husband wasn’t capable of leading or worthy of submission.

D. Fear Led to Decision

Fear made way for a decision, a decision similar to the kind we have made.

a. After deciding that those who are in legitimate authority over us are unreliable, a decision must then be made about who can be trusted.

Isaiah 53:6: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

b. Eve was swayed by the serpent, but ultimately she chose her own way. Her decision was to take things into her own hands.

James 1:14: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

c. The serpent used Eve’s own desires to lure her into rebellion.d. The essence of rebellion is disobedience to those in legitimate authority.

• Other things come into us when we choose to rebel, for example:

  
  

  a) An untrusting attitude towards those in authority.

  
  

  b) Constant fear.

  
  

  c) Different kinds of evil spirits.

Romans 13:1-2: Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

e. Apply this to all godly legitimate authority—rebellion will open us up to judgment from God.

E. Eve’s Manipulation

Eve apparently went to her husband and manipulated him with words.

Genesis 3:12, 17: Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”… Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.”

• Manipulation is one of the fundamental aspects of soulish witchcraft.

F. Result of Sin

The result of their sin brought fear into both of their lives and opened the door for the enemy to speak to them on a regular basis.

G. Universal Rebellion

All of us were like Eve to some degree. We have all rebelled.

1. In the midst of our rebellion, we had to make a decision who is trustworthy.

2. If we couldn’t trust our parents, then who is the most trustworthy person we know? Who could we trust to make the best decisions that would most please us? The presumption is always that I am more trustworthy than anyone else to make decisions and lead my own life.

   
   

   a. It is a decision we make in childhood and is at the roots of all our ungodly beliefs.

   
   

   b. It is not necessarily a decision to go our own way, but rather a decision not to trust those in godly authority over us to direct our lives.

VI. How to Get Free

A. Confess Witchcraft and Rebellion

Confess all forms of witchcraft and rebellion. Be specific. Soulish or occult.

B. Confess Sins

Confess all sins pertaining to them as honestly as possible.

C. Confess Rebellion Against Parents

Confess your sins of rebellion against your parents and your wrong attitude towards them.

D. Confess Occult Practices

If you have studied and practiced witchcraft or other occult methodology, be specific.

• Confess any sins you committed during your practices (sexual, murder, curses, etc.).

E. Confess Spiritual Witchcraft

If you practiced spiritual witchcraft (ungodly domination and control of others as a Christian leader), be as specific about your sins as you can.

F. Forgive Others

Forgive all those involved in the sins with you as well as those you committed the sins against.

1. The Lord may require you to go and confess your sins to others and ask their forgiveness.

2. Ministers may need to confess to the entire church.

G. Forgive Those Who Cursed You

Forgive those who have cursed you or sent occult curses to you or your family.

H. Confess Your Own Sins

You must also confess your own sins that you may have done to cause them to do what they did to you or what you may have done in hatred or revenge in response to them.

I. Cut Ungodly Ties

Ask the Lord to cut all ungodly ties with all involved and ask the Lord to seal up the integrity of your being.

J. Break Ties with Powers

Cut yourself off from all principalities and powers of denominations, forms of witchcraft, occult practices, inordinate sexual practices, or Hindu practices. Be specific.

K. Break Curses

Break all curses by the power of the blood and the cross of Jesus Christ.

L. Accept Forgiveness

Accept your forgiveness and forgive yourself.

M. Renounce Witchcraft

Break the power of all witchcraft, control, domination, manipulation, intimidation, confusion, oppression, torment, and fear off. Renounce all forms of witchcraft and rebellion as sin.

N. Cleanse from Defilement

Ask God to cleanse you from all defilement and unrighteousness.

O. Cast Out Demons

Now begin to cast out demons, one by one. Name them. Call them by what they do, by how they operate, by the names of their practices, by the name of the type of witchcraft or occult method.

Make Lists

1. All your soulish witchcraft and rebellion.

2. All your occult witchcraft you practiced or were involved in and the sins you committed while using it.

3. If you committed Christian witchcraft (especially ministers or their wives), write it down.

4. People you need to forgive.

   
   

   a. Those who cursed you or had curses sent to you or your family.

   
   

   b. People who manipulated or dominated you with soulish witchcraft.

5. List of family or generational witchcraft or occult or secret societies.

Prayers

1. Generational

2. Confession of own sins—soulish, spiritual, or Christian

3. Prayer of Forgiveness

4. Cut soul ties

5. Cast out demons.

Examples

Witchcraft, (occult practices by name), controlling spirits, manipulating spirits, intimidating spirits, abusive spirits of (sex, anger, violence, incest, vulgarity, etc.), spirit of spiritual abuse or spiritual witchcraft, verbal abuse, mental abuse, etc., seducing spirits, deceiving spirits, lying spirits, spirits of fornication, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, false burdens, false guilt, lust, lust of the eyes, spirits that encourage pride, performance spirits, caste spirits, inferiority spirits, spirit of enticement, prostitute spirits, spirits of Balaam, spirits of Jezebel, Nicolaitan spirits, blocking spirits, mocking spirits, spirits that encourage rebellion and stubbornness, argumentative spirits, spirits of religion, spirits of doctrines of demons, spirits of melancholy or extreme sadness, spirits of depression or oppressing spirits, tormenting spirits, spirits of infirmity, spirits of tension, and anxiety, worry, spirits of hopelessness, failure, rejection, death, spirit of self-abuse, self-mutilation, self-pity, loneliness, spirit of needing to be punished, spirits of anger, emotion-controlling spirits, and all other mind-controlling spirits, charismatic spirits, etc.