Deuteronomy 18:9-14 AMP and KJV says:
When you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of these nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, or who uses divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, (the KJV says, or a witch), Or a charmer, or a medium (consulter with familiar spirits –demons), or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and it is because of these abominable practices that the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless [and absolutely true] to the Lord your God. For these nations whom you shall dispossess listen to soothsayers and diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.
Deuteronomy 18:9-14 NLT says:
When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you. But you must be blameless before the Lord your God. The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the Lord your God forbids you to do such things.”
Deuteronomy 18:15 AMP is what God will do, for He has in His hands the true prophets and we are to discern which ones belong to Him, listen to them and be blessed and also discern which ones are of the devil.
v15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet (Prophet) from the midst of your brethren like me. [Moses]; to him you shall listen.”
Discernment is one of the Gifts from God given to all as He wills. It is one of the nine gifts and is listed in I Co. 12:10. It is one of the three “Revelation Gifts” and the other two are the Word of Wisdom and the Word of Knowledge. There in I Co 12 are also six other gifts given from God, three are the Gifts of Utterance: Prophecy,Divers kinds of Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues and three Gifts of Power: Faith, Working of Miracles and Gifts of Healing. There are a total of nine (9) gifts.
In the Bible there are a total of 21 Gifts from God to mankind. In the book of Eph. 4:11 it list 5 of them: They are the five fold ministry office gifts: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelist, Pastors and Teachers. These people are a gift to the Body of Christ for the perfecting and equipping of the saints. They operate in the other gifts listed in I Corinthians 12:7-11 and Romans 12:1-21 (which list 7 more gifts) as God has appointed certain gifts to each office to give them the power necessary to help the saints.
Many saints or born-again Christians also operate in the gifts but they will not do as much but that which is only given by God and assigned for His purpose. Furthermore, His gifts are powerful and only entrusted to people He can trust to use them properly and correctly. That is one reason there is a five fold ministry of persons who are equipped because they have chosen to pay the price for the anointing on their lives and that includes His gifts and the gifts are never taken back once given to someone.
All gifts as everything else comes from above and as people do not obey God their gift can become distorted and changed to be used for evil instead of used for good. But for that to happen you would have to renounce Jesus as your Lord and go with the devil. Many times this happens and the person is not even aware of it because they are spiritually blind because of the rebellion and disobedience in their own lives.
2 Corinthians 4:4 AMP:
“For the God of this world has blinded the unbelievers’ minds [that they should not discern the truth], preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God.”
Like the Gift of Discernment all of the gifts listed above are supernatural and are equipped to give supernatural help. A lot of confusion comes because the Body of Christ and people in general are not accustomed to seeing the supernatural associated with the church which are the people of God but only with those who practice evil are thought to show or project the supernatural: witches, warlocks, mediums, sorcerers, people full of bitterness, unforgiveness, strife, jealousy, envy, rebellion and so forth – in other words people that the devil can use to do evil works.
I Corinthians 2:14 AMP:
“But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense –foolishness) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.”
I Co 2:15 KJV says, But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. (the Amplified says it this way, “But the spiritual man tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him].”
As mentioned in Deut.18:9-14 above, it describes the kinds of witchcraft to avoid and people who practice them. In Deut. 18:15 it says that God will raise up a true prophet for people to listen to. One way to make sure you are sensitive to the Spirit of God is to be in tune with the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of Truth who lives with you [constantly] and will be in you (John 14:17). In John 16:13 it says that when He the Spirit of Truth comes He will guide you into all Truth (the whole, full Truth).
The way to communicate with the Holy Spirit is through prayer and on a higher level, a more effective way, is through praying in the Spirit. Receiving the Gift of the Holy Spirit, inviting Him to come and live inside of you will give you an overflow of His Spirit with the evidence of speaking in your heavenly language of Tongues. As you pray in your heavenly language, an unknown tongue you are speaking directly to God (I Co 14:2), praying His perfect will and amongst much more you are releasing the gifts God has placed inside of you.
We are also taught to put on the whole armor of God everyday as a part of our spiritual protection, well a part of that armor is speaking in tongues Eph. 6:18 – praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…
Why does God give these guidelines that are for our protection? One reason is there are some who come in sheep clothing but they are wolves out to destroy us. They are difficult to recognize and in many cases can only be exposed through the gift of discernment. They will come to church and sit in all kinds of meetings with the saints because they are on assignment to deceive them. They know the church language and their ways but they do not know God or have a personal relationship with Him.
Matthew 7:15-16 (shows us how we can recognize those who are not of Him).
Beware of false prophets, who come to you dressed as sheep, but inside they are devouring wolves. You will fully recognize them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?
This is why it is vital to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit especially in this day and time. He is our Teacher, He will reveal all things and deliver us, fight for us, and vindicate us. He is our Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener and Standby, He is the Holy Spirit Who the Father has sent in Jesus’ name to help us discern who our enemy is and who our enemy is working through. (John 14:26 AMP).
As we stay prayed up and seeking Him in His Word He is faithful to help and deliver in every area of our lives because we will be sensitive enough to Him, not ignoring His promptings or His voice. As we stay in touch with His Spirit the way He says to, we will discern correctly, make the right decisions and be victorious.
DEFINITIONS:(Short definitions for enlightenment as the Bible says in the book of Hosea 4:6 that “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you shall be no priest to Me; seeing you have forgotten the law of God, I will forget your children.”)
Witch: - A male or female practitioner of any sort of witchcraft; sorcery, sorcerer.
Warlock: - Often used for a male witch; it also designates a traitor.
Wicca: - The pagan end of the witchcraft spectrum.
Witchcraft: - Known as the “Old Religion,” it is an ancient practice dating back to biblical times. It is defined as the performance of magic forbidden by God for nonbiblical ends. The word “witchcraft” is related to the Old English word “wiccan,” the practice of magical arts, occultic arts, and nature worship.
Medium: - One who inquires of the dead. Pretends to be able to by incantations to call up the dead to consult them respecting things unknown to the living, often called in Scripture “mediums and spiritists.
Sorcery: - The art was also practiced in connection with pharmacy, the mixing of drugs and medical compounds. “Sorcery is described by four Greek words: pharmakeia, pharmakeuo, pharmakeus, and pharmakos. Pharmakeuo is the verb that means to administer drugs for the purpose of inducing spells, with visions and messages from spirits. Two nouns come from this verb: pharmakeia, used in Gal. 5:20, Rev. 9:21; 18:23. This is the form that refers to the sorcery, while pharmakeus, used in Rev. 21:8, is the form that refers to the person who either prepares the drugs or uses them. Pharmakos, used in Rev. 22:15, refers to one who is devoted to this use of drugs. From these verses we have compelling proof that what is now euphemistically called “recreational drug use” is sinful. Numerous verses tell us that drunkenness is sinful and three tell us, Luke 21:34, Rom. 13:13, and Gal. 5:21 that any intoxicationt is wrong. The Greek word used in those verses is methai, which is nearly always translated drunkenness. Methai literally means intoxicant, so in the three verses mentioned here the reference is to any intoxicant, not just alcohol. Intoxication from any source is a sin and is to be avoided judiciously.” (Sorcery Reference = One New Man Bible, Glossary p.1787-88).
Voodoo: - An ancient religion combining ancestor worship, sorcery, charms, and spells. Those involved are extremely superstitious and are heavily involved in using strange objects to worship.
White magic: - Magic that is supposedly helpful or beneficial. It is still witchcraft; it works wonders beyond the ordinary powers of man without the benefit of the Lord but using powers of spiritual beings. Magic may be divided into two classes – natural or scientific, and supernatural or spiritual. Black magic is also witchcraft.
Curse: - Invocation of an oath associated with black magic. Devoted for sacrifice for destruction.
Divination: - Divination differs from prophecy in that the one is a human device while the other is a divine gift from God. Divination is an unwarranted prying into the future by means of magical arts, superstitious incantations, or natural signs…in Scripture the diviners were false prophets, and divination was allied to witchcraft and idolatry.
Yoga: - Literally, yoking or joining; any system or spiritual discipline by which the practitioner or yogi seeks to condition the self at all levels – physical, psychical, and spiritual. The goal of the Indian religious tradition is a state of well-being, the loss of self-identity, and absorption into the Absolute or Ultimate Being.
Séance: - A gathering of people seeking communication with deceased loved ones or famous historical figures through a medium.
New Age Movement: - The most common name for the growing penetration of Eastern and occultic mysticism into Western culture. The words New Age refer to the Aquarian Age which occultists believe is dawning, bringing with it an era of enlightenment and peace. Encompassed within the New Age movement are various cults which emphasize mystic experiences.
Psychic: - A medium, “sensitive,” or channeler. Also refers to paranormal events that can’t be explained by established physical principles.
Wizard: - Spiritist – employed in connection with mediums. They may even employ any of the magical arts.
Familiar Spirit: - A divining demon present in the physical body of the conjurer.
Occult: - From the Latin occultus, meaning “secret” or “hidden.” The occult refers to secret or hidden knowledge available to initiates, to the supernatural, and sometimes to paranormal phenomena and parapsychology.
Prepared by Audrey L. Dickey, PhD
Christian Love Fellowship Church, Inc.
April 3, 2008; Rev. Jan. 2, 2014
DISCERNING WITCHES, WARLOCKS AND LIKE SPIRITS
AUDREY DICKEY MINISTRIES
Glory International Center
"A Center for God's Presence"