❤️THE CAUSES FOR OPPRESSION. Without exception, those who become involved in any form of occultism eventually suffer satanic oppression in some manner. This simple statement of fact can be readily validated both by Scripture and by experience. 1. Occult involvement is disobedience to God's Word and is an abomination to Him. All forms of fortunetelling, spiritism, magic practices, and involvement in false religious cults, are absolutely forbidden by Scripture. Practicing or participating in them are condemned by God. In Deuteronomy 18:9-12, God warns: ... thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one ... that useth divination [fortuneteller], or an observer of times [soothsayer], or an enchanter [magician], or a witch [sorceress], or a charmer [hypnotist], or a consulter with familiar spirits [medium possessed with a spirit or "guide"], or a wizard [clairvoyant or psychic], or a necromancer [medium who consults the dead]. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD! This passage sets forth the methods by which the heathen sought to unveil hidden knowledge, ascertain future events, uncover secret wisdom, and exercise supernatural powers. In contrast to the methods employed by the heathen nations for discovering the will of their gods and uncovering the hidden secrets of the spiritual realm, God declares in verses 15-22 that Israel would learn the things that she needed to know concerning the future and His will for her, not by discovery through the methods of divination and occult practices, but by revelation. The means of revelation, which would come unsought and at the sovereign discretion of the Lord, was to be through the word of His prophets (note verses 14-15). Thus, Scripture forbids us to seek information or guidance from these unauthorized and unscriptural sources. The believer who needs wisdom and guidance is admonished to ask of God (James 1:5), for the secret things belong unto Him (Deuteronomy 29:29). The modern-day fortune teller, medium, astrologer, clairvoyant, hypnotist, magician, ventriloquist, water dowser, occult and magic healer, sorcerer, conjurer, psychic, and such like, all had their ancient heathen counterpart in the necromancer, consulter of the spirits, wizard, charmer, magician, soothsayer, diviner, enchanter, sorcerer, sorceress, and so on. Man has always been intrigued with the idea of uncovering hidden knowledge which belongs only to God. This was the cause of man's fall, Genesis 3! He desires to learn his fate, know the course of the future, or obtain supernatural guidance, favors, and powers from the realm of the spirits. Satan has always accommodated such seekers with substitutes for truth, and counterfeits for genuine revelation. Thus he deceives the gullible, who believe that such information or help comes from God or the spirits of the departed (who actually are impersonated by demonic spirits). These practices are all condemned by God without reservation. Carefully examine, for example, the following passages: Deuteronomy 18:9-14; Exodus 7:11-12; II Timothy 3:8; Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 19:26,31; 20:6,27; I Chronicles 10:13-14; II Kings 21:5-6; Isaiah 2:6; 8:19; Jeremiah 27:9-10; Zechariah 10:2; Malachi 3:5; Acts 8:9-24; 16:16-19; 19:19; Galatians 5:16-21; Revelation 21:8; 22:15. Scripture clearly condemns all forms of occultism as sorcery and declares that " ... they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21), nor enter into God's presence (Revelation 22:14-15), but " ... shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone" (Revelation 21:8). God not only forbade participation in all forms of occultism as spiritually defiling (Leviticus 19:31), but made such disobedience punishable by death (Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 20:27), and sufficient grounds for rejection of that soul by God (Leviticus 20:6), for those who defiled themselves by consulting evil spirits were an abomination unto the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:9-12). 2. Occult involvement breaks the First Commandment and invokes God's curse. Thou shalt have no other gods before me ... for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third b and fourth generation ....-Exodus 20:3,5 The truth is, there are only two sources of hidden information, supernatural help, power, guidance, or healing: God or Satan. This fact is inescapable, whether people know it or not! One who visits a fortune teller is obviously not seeking help from God through Jesus Christ. If he were, he would pray directly to God, or seek help through a Christian friend or minister. The fortune teller certainly does not call upon God for the desired information, but divines by means of occult methods and demonic power, as is seen in the case of the girl in Acts 16 who had a "spirit of divination." The powers of darkness control all forms of fortunetelling, including astrology, card reading, divining by tea leaves, the Ouija board, palmistry, the crystal ball, psychometry, divining rod, pendulum, or planchette, as well as through the exercise of such occult powers as ESP, telepathy, and so on. This is also true of all forms of magic and magical rites (whether black or white magic). These include magic charming or conjuring, magic cures for humans or animals, casting spells, mental suggestion or remote influence (suggestions given to the subconscious mind of one person by another), blood pacts, enchantments, amulets, and magic or medical hypnosis. The powers of darkness likewise influence and control the various forms and practices of spiritism: seances, communication with the dead (which are really demons impersonating the dead), and spiritualist meetings. Also included are psychic and spiritist phenomena such as automatic or spirit writing, table-lifting, levitation, floating trumpets, disembodied voices, telekinesis, apports, materializations, apparitions of the dead, and astral projections, as well as the mediumistic trance and every other occult practice. Two sources or doors are open to the one who seeks guidance, hidden information, spiritual or supernatural aid, or miraculous healing. One may, through prayer in Jesus' Name, seek such help from God. But one may also enter from this world into the spiritual dimension through the door of occultism. Behind this door stands Satan and the powers of darkness who work through the media of fortune telling, magic, spiritism, and the false religious cults. The Scriptures forbid man to seek contact with these sources, or to receive their help, for it is tantamount to calling upon another god! Satan, as a matter of fact, is called the "god of this world" (II Corinthians 4:4). If man does not call upon God for his needs, through the Name of Jesus Christ, but resorts to the occult, then obviously there is only one other source of supernatural power which can answer him. Consider the following: . Did the fortune tellers pray in Jesus' Name for the hidden knowledge which they gave to you? . When you inquired of the Ouija board, did you ask God, through Christ, for the information? Have you ever asked the Ouija board what is the "source" of its information? Some did ask and were startled when it replied, "the god of Hell," "Hell," "Satan," or "the devil"! . When you allowed yourself to be hypnotized, to whom did you surrender your will-to God or to some unknown power operating through the person to whom you submitted? Did you know that demons have admitted that the source of power behind the hypnotist is Satan? . By what power are persons healed when it is accomplished through Christian Science, Spiritualism, Concept Therapy, magic charming or ritual, or other occult means, instead of through prayer in Jesus' Name as the Scriptures require? . What power causes tables to lift off the floor, objects to appear out of nowhere, furniture to move or float about the room, apparitions to appear, and voices to speak, alleging to be from the dead? . What strange power causes the pencil to move in automatic or spirit writing, or the twig to bend in the hands of a water dowser? Is it of God? If so, then why is it not done in the Name of Christ? What then is its source? . From what source do some persons have powers of extrasensory perception, telepathy, clairvoyance, and other psychic abilities? . Why do some persons, after a visit to a fortune teller or involvement in some form of occultism, suddenly discover that they are psychic? . How do some people know about an event before it occurs, hear strange spirit voices, see apparitions, read the thoughts of others, and so on? Do you know that such people invariably have had occult contacts, or that some form of occultism can be found in their family history? The source of their psychic powers and experiences is demonic, and results from opening the door to the powers of darkness through such occult involvement. When a person calls upon these forbidden sources, Satan often accommodates him with hidden knowledge or help. But as a result of this open door, the enemy will move in and oppress him physically, mentally, psychically, or spiritually. The powers of darkness always exact a heavy price for their services. For example, psychic disturbances often result after one receives information concerning his future. The healing of a burn by magic charming often results in more serious physical oppression later. One couple's participation in a séance opened the door to divisive spirits that ruined their marriage. A man who attended Spiritualist meetings suffered severe melancholia and depression for many years. The same result followed the practice of table-tipping in another case. Commitment to a mental institution was Satan's reward for another who sought help from a fortune teller, unaware that the real source was Satan. And, involvement in astrology, along with healing through a Christian Science practitioner, resulted in chronic illness in another victim of Satan's deception. This individual also suffered spiritual and mental anguish. Many other examples could be cited, some of which we will note later, clearly proving the insidious nature of occultism in all its forms. The "cloven hoof" will invariably be manifested sooner or later in the life of any individual who opens himself to the powers of darkness. All forms of fortunetelling, magical practice, spiritism, and unscriptural cultism are an abomination to God. The seriousness of this offense can be seen in the case of King Saul who fell under God's curse, was rejected as ruler of Israel, and put to death by Divine decree because he attended a séance and sought help from a spiritualist medium! So 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 [a medium], to inquire of it; and inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse. - 1 Chronicles 10:13-14. This séance, held in disobedience to God's will, is recorded in I Samuel 28. Spiritualists often attempt to justify their practice of alleged communication with the dead by appealing to this passage in I Samuel as proof from Scripture that a king sought information from the realm of departed spirits through a medium. However, either they are unaware of, or they conveniently ignore, the passage just cited in I Chronicles 10:13-14, which condemned Saul's sin of seeking help by occult means from the discarnate spirit realm instead of enquiring from the Lord. Moreover, 1 Samuel 28:15-16 indicates that Samuel also disapproved of Saul's sin of disobedience in his seeking to communicate with the dead through a medium. God's prohibitions against occultism are still in effect today. We have found in our experience dealing with many people concerning occult oppression that those who disobey God's commandments against this sin invariably fall under His curse. Eventually they will suffer some form of psychic, mental, physical, or spiritual oppression or enslavement, from which liberation will be needed. Moreover, it is an established fact that those who have participated or had contacts in the occult have not only suffered oppression themselves, but often their children and descendants have fallen under the curse, for God declares, " ... I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation" (Exodus 20:5). Many times clairvoyance and other psychic powers appear as a result of occult involvement which took place two or three generations earlier. For example, Edgar Cayce, whose grandfather was a water dowser, wrote of the psychic and clairvoyant experiences which he had as a youth, giving evidence of his early occult subjection. Strong mediums often develop as a result of what might be termed "psychic heredity." Personality and character defects, as a consequence of occult sins by the parents or grandparents, often appear two or three generations later in the form of morbid depression, violent temper, irresponsibility, immorality, chronic fear, hysteria, agnosticism and atheism, hate, persistent illness, unpredictable behavior, and many other abnormalities. Thus, occult oppression or subjection is the result of disobedience to God's Word, particularly the violation of the First Commandment. The seriousness of this sin cannot be overemphasized. Anyone guilty of occult involvement in any form, personally or through their ancestry, regardless of when it occurred, should not delay to deal with this sin in the manner shown in our further studies to get deliverance from it. Edited. Shared. ❤️ God willing, more will be posted soon. All glory to Jesus alone.