THE REALITY OF MODERN OCCULTISM.
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. -1 Timothy 4:1.
The Scriptures predict that there will be a great increase in demonic activity in the last days. Our age is characterized by an ever-increasing flood of Satanic wickedness ranging all the way from psychic afflictions to moral aberrations. This rapid expansion of the work of the kingdom of darkness is affecting and influencing the entire world, its governments, society, the church, and the life of the believer. Demonic activity is clearly seen in the alarming increase in crime, lust, deceit, moral depravity, suicide, war, homosexuality, fear, worry, anxiety, atheism, disease, psychic disorders, demonic oppression and possession, and drug and alcohol addiction, together with the growth and intensification of spiritism, occultism, false religious cults, and the work and doctrines of seducing spirits and demons.
There has never been a time in history when the warnings against the dangers of occultism (all forms of fortunetelling, magic, spiritism, and false religious cults) were more needful than the time in which we live.
Multitudes of people, Christian and non-Christian alike, find themselves suffering physical, mental, psychic, and spiritual oppression; yet few realize that it is because they have allowed themselves to become ensnared in the demonic web of occultism, which is under the influence and control of the powers of darkness.
Practices such as witchcraft, sorcery, and spiritism, which were once conducted more or less surreptitiously and abhorred by the average person, are now being clothed with a cloak of respectability and popularized through religious literature, lectures, church groups, radio, and TV. Millions are being subjected to demonstrations of the powers of darkness by such occult practices as clairvoyance, telepathy, ESP, hypnotism, fortunetelling, divination, magic, seances, and many other psychic practices. The late James A. Pike, a well-known Episcopal bishop, participated in a televised seance, allegedly communicating with his dead son (a suicide) through the professional medium Arthur Ford, a Disciples of Christ minister!
The daily lives of millions are being influenced by the horoscope, which is the ancient Babylonian pseudoscientific black art of astrology (Daniel 2:2). Occult games such as "Ouija," "Clairvoyant," "Horoscope," "ESP," "Mystic Eye," "Kabala," "Dungeons and Dragons," and "Voodoo" are now being sold everywhere and suggested as ideal gifts for children and adults alike. As a result of its unprecedented psychic interest, the public can also purchase such occult articles as the planchette, pendulum, horoscope charts, tarot cards for telling fortunes, crystal balls, books on ESP, party games involving mind reading, hypnosis, clairvoyance, precognition, and so on, as well as other objects of the black arts.
We find that many persons in government circles presidents, prime ministers, congressmen, senators, generals and admirals, envoys, and members of the State Department–seek and welcome the counsel and advice of clairvoyants and psychic mediums such as Jeane Dixon, whose prognostications have been derived from fortune telling cards and the crystal ball, and Arthur Ford who has conducted seances while in a trance. Moreover, some law enforcement agencies unhesitatingly engage the services of psychics like Peter Hurkosand G. Croiset, who have used their occult psychometric and clairvoyant powers to aid in the solution of crimes. Hurkos, for example, has assisted the police on murder cases in many countries, including the notorious "Boston Strangler" case. Graphology, a form of fortune telling through handwriting analysis, is now being used by many business firms who regularly consult graphologists to analyze the handwriting of prospective employees in an attempt to "read" their character, personality, and other traits, and thereby to predict their potentiality and worth, or lack of it. The CIA is said to have used handwriting analysis along with other tests, as do banks, finance companies, sales firms, manufacturers, and many others.
Multitudes, including business, government, and religious leaders, beset with problems, fearful and confused because of the present state of the world, and concerned about the future, are seeking help and information from fortune tellers and spiritualist mediums. Countless others have been subjected to the influences and deceptions of spiritualism, assuming everything supernatural is of God, and mistaking the powers of darkness for the power of God. The gullible are naively falling victim to the fallacious reasoning that since God can heal and perform miracles, then every case of healing and everything that passes for a miracle must be from God. Since God has spoken through men by prophecy and revelation, they believe that everyone who claims to have a prophecy or revelation from God must be accepted as a prophet and seer.
Thus, psychic mediums and clairvoyants are finding increasing acceptance from every quarter by the multitudes who are clamoring for their help and guidance through the operation of their alleged "gifts of God." Many others are involved one way or another in the superstitions of magic in an effort to be healed or helped by it in some way, or in order to influence others through it. Such delusion is nothing new, for we find it recorded in Acts 8:9-11, and we are warned concerning its increase in the last days, in which we now live (I Timothy 4:1-3; II Timothy 3:1-9; Matthew 24:24; II Corinthians 11:14; II Thessalonians 2:7-12).
The use of LSD and other hallucinogenic drugs, with their resultant damaging emotional, mental, and psychic effects, has become in our time a symbol of mankind's frustration with life in the present world and is an attempt to venture into the spiritual "unknown" by means contrary to God's will. The "hippie" movement had considerable interest in the occult, e.g., fortunetelling, telepathy, astrology, black magic, devil worship, and other forms of witchcraft.
Reports from England, Africa, France, Germany, South America, Haiti, Vietnam, Switzerland, in fact, from all over the world, including the U.S.A ., reveal that occultism in all forms is rapidly on the increase. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent annually on the so-called occult sciences. Thousands of tons of occult books and other literature find their way into homes via the newsstands and booksellers each year. Occult influence can readily be detected in movies, plays, and stories, and in many reputable magazines which contain regular monthly horoscope columns. Some years ago a published estimate revealed that there were at least 5000 astrologers in the U.S.A. alone, who charted the heavens for over 10 million ardent American followers of this ancient black art. These numbers continue to increase. Millions more have become addicted to and are influenced by horoscope columns in daily newspapers. The sale of horoscope magazines numbers in the millions and is increasing yearly according to reliable sources. In America, four times as many women as men are devotees of fortune telling by means of astrology.
Business Week magazine reported that "legerdemain is becoming big business." People everywhere are taking renewed interest in magic and sleight of hand deception, including doctors, dentists, psychiatrists, ministers, advertising men, and salesmen. Even manufacturers are using the magician's tricks to promote their wares. Capitalizing on the new interest in occultism, many companies offer magic kits as a premium for buying their products. Time magazine has reported a great upsurge in interest in the black arts with sales of occult items such as crystal balls, tarot fortune telling cards, and Ouija boards at an all time record high. In any city of size, one can purchase such articles of witchcraft as amulets, hexing dolls, ingredients for casting magic spells, charm powders, mystic incense, roots, herbs, charms, magic candles, love potions, and many other occult and voodoo supplies.
Books on "self-hypnosis" are becoming increasingly popular as a sort of do-it-yourself psychiatry. They promise the reader that self-hypnosis can, by controlling the subconscious, "unleash explosive powers within" and make life give you what you want-more money, power, prestige, marital happiness, freedom from pain and depression; put an end to fear; conquer bad temper; or change bad habits. A popular movement known as "Concept Therapy," a form of psychic self-improvement similar in some respects to such mental sciences as Unity and Christian Science, is being promoted as a panacea whereby one may, through mental concentration and the observance of certain "laws," actually "heal with ideas." The mails are being flooded with advertisements offering the gullible alleged occult secrets on "how to claim one's full psychic estate" by developing one's ESP powers. Others promise instruction on communication with departed loved ones and spirit "guides"; on projecting one's "astral self" outside the body in order to travel anywhere at will; on the practice of metaphysical healing of the body; and on such topics as how to read minds, how to gain control over others by mental suggestion, how to make oneself irresistible to the opposite sex, and how to predict the future.
In this materialistic age, full of uncertainty and unrest, when even the church has grown skeptical of the validity of the supernatural for today, multitudes are turning to the delusions of spiritualism, or to the fortune tellers for guidance. They are seeking spiritual enlightenment and comfort, not from the Scriptures, but from the literature of occultism, including metaphysics and spiritism, and from false religious cults such as Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, Christian Science, Unity, Swedenborgianism, Mormonism, Baha'ism, Jehovah's Witness, and so on.
The quest for spiritual reality and meaning in this chaoticage is reflected in the tremendous popularity of such pseudo-Christian literature as A Gift of Prophecy: The Phenomenal Jeane Dixon and A Search for the Truth by Ruth Montgomery; Edgar Cayce, The Sleeping Prophet (over 6 months on coast-to-coast best-seller lists); Nothing So Strange (the autobiography of Arthur Ford, the medium); and The Search for Bridey Murphy. The market is flooded with all manner of metaphysical and parapsychological literature, including books on ESP, telepathy, yoga, reincarnation, astrology, psychic phenomena, flying saucers (UFOs), ghosts, witchcraft, black magic, communication with the dead, hypnosis, and the supernatural and paranormal in general. Psychic interest is so high that occult book clubs have been established to meet the demand.
Sensing that the contemporary church lacks the awareness of the true spiritual dimension and its power, many are seeking spiritual understanding and direction from such organizations as the Inner Peace Movement (IPM); the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE); Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship (SFF); and the Religious Research Foundation of America (RRFA). The occult nature of these and similar organizations is seen in their stress upon psychic phenomena and experiences, clairvoyance, precognition, the development of one's powers of ESP, personal communion with the dead and spirit "guides," and many other practices similar to those of spiritism, cults, and occultism in general.
In addition, multitudes are being deluded by the absurd and unscriptural doctrine of reincarnation, whereby one "atones" for his own sins through a cycle of rebirths. This fantasy is currently arousing unusual interest in the Western world, largely as a result of renewed interest in Eastern metaphysics and the writings of such groups as the Rosicrucian's and Theosophy. Psychics like Edgar Cayce and Grace Whittenberger have contended that one may find the meaning and purpose of their present life on earth through so-called "life readings," or "reincarnative readings," concerning one's alleged previous lives.
An important factor in the present-day alarming upsurge of interest in psychic phenomena, ESP, clairvoyance, telepathy, hypnosis, and so on, is the work done by such organizations as the English and American Societies for Psychical Research, as well as the writings of such men as Dr. J.B. Rhine of Duke University, author of Reach of the Mind, who originated the term "Extrasensory Perception" (ESP). Researchers in psychic science and parapsychology, with their discoveries of the hitherto largely unknown psychic forces present in the world, and by encouraging the development in man of the powers of clairvoyance, telepathy, hypnotism, and psychometry, are unwittingly opening wide the flood gates for satanic influence and control of the minds of men.
These psychic powers, which are erroneously thought to be "latent" within all men, and only need developing to bring them forth, are not forces within the individual at all. On the contrary, the powers of clairvoyance, precognition, telepathy, and other forms of extrasensory perception, occur as a result of an invasion by insidious spiritual forces from without, which move in and begin to function in and through that individual. He opens himself to these dark powers by seeking psychic experiences, and through his efforts to develop the powers of ESP, or through involvement in any form of occultism.
Thus, parapsychologists, under the guise of advancing psychic research and knowledge, are encouraging young and old alike to experiment in the psychic realm, in violation of the will of God and His express commands to the contrary. Their purpose is to heighten one's alleged subconscious powers of clairvoyance, telepathy, and so on; but they ignore the emotional, psychic, and spiritual damage to those who open themselves to the influence and control of the powers of darkness. The interest in psychic experimentation has become so widespread that more and more universities are establishing parapsychological departments for psychic research. Those who wish to test themselves personally for powers of ESP can now purchase "kits" by mail for such experimentation.
Occultism and the black arts in general are experiencing a phenomenal revival of interest, influencing more people today than at any time in history. Leading universities, because of the great interest in the occult, offer courses of study with titles such as "Witchcraft, Magic, and Sorcery"; "Parapsychology"; "Psychology of the Paranormal"; and so on. So-called "witchcraft parties," in which a palmist, psychic, or fortuneteller is invited to enhance otherwise mediocre social gatherings, are becoming increasingly popular. Moreover, where the youth once gathered to play innocent party games, now they will amuse themselves, as likely as not, with such bizarre pastimes as table-tipping, levitation of bodies, seances, fortunetelling, hypnotism, playing with the Ouija board, and any number of other occult practices and psychic experiments.
Leading sources have reported an open revival of witchcraft in England, as that nation is plagued with the greatest increase in sorcery and occultism since the Middle Ages. Thousands of confessed witches and devotees of witchcraft meet regularly to perpetuate pagan rituals and fertility rites, and to invoke and worship pagan gods (demons, cf. Deuteronomy 32:16-17; I Corinthians 10:20). In San Francisco, the First Satanic Church was founded and led by Anton La Vey, the self-proclaimed "priest of Satan." Devil worship is practiced throughout the world today in Germany, Mexico, England, America, France, and elsewhere.
Practitioners of occultism can be found in every city of the world. The gullible seek them for guidance concerning their problems; "spirit" healing; readings of their alleged "past lives"; the location of lost persons and objects; predictions regarding everything from personal matters (marriage, career, love, etc.) to business affairs; and communication with the dead.
The powers of darkness are sweeping across the earth to deceive and destroy, as Satan knows his time is short (Revelation 12:12). False prophets are rising to deceive many by making accurate predictions concerning historical events. Seducing spirits speaking through false teachers and writers are leading the gullible astray with their subtle teachings of religious error (I Timothy 4:1). Psychics, who claim their "gift" is from God, are deluding multitudes, including many professing Christians, ministers, and religious leaders, who naively accept everything supernatural as divine, oblivious of the fact that Satan also can perform great signs and wonders (II Thessalonians 2:9-12).
Psychic and "spirit" healers, counterfeiting the gifts of the Holy Spirit, are performing many miraculous cures by occult power. For example, Tony Agpaoa, a "psychic surgeon" in the Philippines, made headlines when several well-known Americans, notably from the field of sports, went to have him perform drugless, painless surgery on them using no instruments to make incisions except his bare hands. Harry Edwards, a "spirit" healer in England, has had spirit "guides" heal through him, often without him touching the patient. Edwards, we are told, has even treated members of the royal family, as well as many of England's clergy.
The current widespread scientific interest and developments in psychic research; the growing acceptance of parapsychology as a science; the use of hypnotism by psychiatrists and medical doctors; and the acceptance by scientists of extrasensory perception as a legitimate manifestation of the mind, are unmistakable evidence of Satan's success in gaining access to man's spirit, as a necessary step in his invasion of humanity on a scale unheard of in history!
Furthermore, we are witnessing an increase in occult literature geared to influence business and professional men and women, stressing that the key to success and personal achievement is "psychic self-improvement"; development of one's "cosmic powers"; "tuning in on the creative intelligence of the universe"; learning "how to make ESP work for you"; and so on. Organizations such as the Inner Peace Movement (whose stated goal has been to help men develop their powers of ESP), have offered programs along the lines of "leadership training utilizing extrasensory perception" to business, industrial, professional, and academic leaders, in order to develop "self-understanding" in executives and supervisors. This is supposed to help them recognize and develop potentials in their employees.
The growing influence of astrologers who specialize in forecasts concerning stock market conditions, labor and management, production, taxes, and politics, as well as business and financial matters in general, is unlike anything seen before, as countless business and professional people seek their advice and counsel. Show business people are notoriously superstitious and especially addicted to astrology for guidance concerning their professional careers. But businessmen who are consulting the horoscope are quickly overtaking them, both in numbers and fervor!
The success of the powers of darkness in influencing religious leaders is nowhere more evident than in the contemporary liberal and neo-orthodox emphasis in religious schools and theological seminaries. Demonic activity and influence are not limited to the violent behavior we see in the Gadarene demoniac (Mark5). Satan often works in subtle ways, i.e., under the guise of modern scholarship, or through the religious cults. "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness" (II Corinthians 11:14-15).
Among ministers and religious leaders, there is an increasing interest in occult literature, ESP, and communication with the dead, as well as other occult practices and psychic phenomena. The Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship is an association of ministers and laymen interested in psychic phenomena, communication with the dead, and so on. Founded by Arthur Ford, a Disciples of Christ minister and trance medium, it is an example of the growing occult interests of ministers in America. The membership of the Churches Fellowship for Psychic Studies in England includes many religious dignitaries who are interested in the relationship between extrasensory experiences and religion. The widespread influence of psychics and other occult practitioners upon government, military, and political leaders has already been shown.
Nor can we fail to mention the rise of the New Age movement, a demonically inspired, humanistic religion of rebellion against God, which sets up man as a "god" unto himself. Surely one cannot mistake the devilish source which drove a well-known movie starlet to run naked up and down a beach, screaming, "I am god! I am god!" in the name of the New Age!
There has never been a time in history when occult involvement has been more widespread. Millions are deluded, including many professing Christians, ministers, and religious leaders, both as to its satanic character and its resultant psychic and spiritual damage to those who participate.
Important questions to consider. Have there ever been any occult contacts or involvement in your personal life or family history? Are you aware that the Scriptures say that God condemns such participation without reservation? If you have ever practiced or participated in any of these things, then consider the following questions carefully. They may well be the doorway to your deliverance from occult subjection and oppression.
1. Have you ever visited a fortune teller, who told your fortune by the use of cards, tea leaves, palm reading, or other occult means?
2. Has anyone ever hypnotized you, or have you ever practiced self-hypnosis or yoga?
3. Do you read or follow the horoscope?
4. Have you attended a seance or spiritualist meeting at any time?
5. Have you had a "life" or "reincarnative" reading?
6. Have you consulted a Ouija board, planchette, cards, tea leaves, crystal ball, and such like (whether "in fun," out of curiosity, or in earnest)?
7. Have you played with any so-called "games" of an occult nature (ESP, Telepathy, Kabala, etc.)?
8 ). Have you ever consulted a medium?
9. Have you ever sought healing by any occult means, either voluntarily as an adult, or involuntarily as a child? This would include the removal of warts, or the treatment of burns or other disease by magic conjuration or charming; by a Spiritualist, Christian Scientist, or other "spirit-healing" practitioner; by psychic healing, hypnosis, or metaphysical healing; by the use of the pendulum or trance for diagnosis; or by any other occult means. (Such practices are not to be confused with divine healing through faith as taught in the Scriptures.)
10. Have you ever sought to locate missing objects or persons by consulting someone who has psychic, clairvoyant, or psychometric powers?
11. Have you practiced table-lifting (tipping), levitation, or automatic (spirit) writing?
12. Have you ever been given or worn an amulet, talisman, or charm for luck or protection?
13. Have you, or has anyone for you, practiced water witching (sometimes called dowsing or divining for water, etc.) using a twig or pendulum?
14. Do you read or possess occult or spiritualist literature, such as books on astrology, interpretation of dreams, metaphysics, psychic phenomena, ESP, self-realization, religious cults, fortunetelling, magic, or clairvoyance, and especially such occult magical books as Secrets of the Psalms, and the diabolical so-called Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses?
15. Have you experimented with or practiced ESP or telepathy?
16. Have you used the psychedelic drug, LSD?
17. Have you ever practiced any form of magic charming or ritual?
18. Have you had your handwriting analyzed, practiced mental suggestion, cast a magic spell, or sought psychic experiences?
19. Do you possess any occult or pagan relics, artifacts, or religious objects which may have been involved in pagan temples and religious rites, or in the practice of sorcery, magic, divination, or spiritualism?
20. Have you ever attended meetings such as those of the Rosicrucian's, Spiritualists, Mormons, Christian Scientists, Baha'i, Theosophy, Unity, Inner Peace Movement, Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, Association for Research and Enlightenment, Religious Research Foundation of America, Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarians, or others of an occult nature?
21. Do you realize that all these practices, as well as any participation in them, are condemned by God in the Scriptures?
22. Do you realize that divination, fortunetelling, magic practices, false religious cults, and spiritism in all forms are an abomination to God and are under His curse?
23. Do you realize that, if you ever practiced or participated in any form of occultism (whether intentionally or innocently), you opened the door to oppression from the powers of darkness, even if your occult activity occurred before you became a Christian?
24. Do you realize that you may now be the victim of demonic subjection or oppression because of this, even though you have been unaware of the source and cause of your problems?
The direct connection between occult involvement and physical, psychic, mental, and spiritual oppression was shown in the previous study on “Demonism in the Light of Scripture” We urge you to give careful attention as you read it, for many have found the way of liberation when shown the occult cause for their oppression. I hope you join us next time for our further studies on these topics. Edited. Shared.
God willing, more will be posted soon. All glory to Jesus alone.
❤️THE REALITY OF MODERN OCCULTISM.
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. -1 Timothy 4:1.
The Scriptures predict that there will be a great increase in demonic activity in the last days. Our age is characterized by an ever-increasing flood of Satanic wickedness ranging all the way from psychic afflictions to moral aberrations. This rapid expansion of the work of the kingdom of darkness is affecting and influencing the entire world, its governments, society, the church, and the life of the believer. Demonic activity is clearly seen in the alarming increase in crime, lust, deceit, moral depravity, suicide, war, homosexuality, fear, worry, anxiety, atheism, disease, psychic disorders, demonic oppression and possession, and drug and alcohol addiction, together with the growth and intensification of spiritism, occultism, false religious cults, and the work and doctrines of seducing spirits and demons.
There has never been a time in history when the warnings against the dangers of occultism (all forms of fortunetelling, magic, spiritism, and false religious cults) were more needful than the time in which we live.
Multitudes of people, Christian and non-Christian alike, find themselves suffering physical, mental, psychic, and spiritual oppression; yet few realize that it is because they have allowed themselves to become ensnared in the demonic web of occultism, which is under the influence and control of the powers of darkness.
Practices such as witchcraft, sorcery, and spiritism, which were once conducted more or less surreptitiously and abhorred by the average person, are now being clothed with a cloak of respectability and popularized through religious literature, lectures, church groups, radio, and TV. Millions are being subjected to demonstrations of the powers of darkness by such occult practices as clairvoyance, telepathy, ESP, hypnotism, fortunetelling, divination, magic, seances, and many other psychic practices. The late James A. Pike, a well-known Episcopal bishop, participated in a televised seance, allegedly communicating with his dead son (a suicide) through the professional medium Arthur Ford, a Disciples of Christ minister!
The daily lives of millions are being influenced by the horoscope, which is the ancient Babylonian pseudoscientific black art of astrology (Daniel 2:2). Occult games such as "Ouija," "Clairvoyant," "Horoscope," "ESP," "Mystic Eye," "Kabala," "Dungeons and Dragons," and "Voodoo" are now being sold everywhere and suggested as ideal gifts for children and adults alike. As a result of its unprecedented psychic interest, the public can also purchase such occult articles as the planchette, pendulum, horoscope charts, tarot cards for telling fortunes, crystal balls, books on ESP, party games involving mind reading, hypnosis, clairvoyance, precognition, and so on, as well as other objects of the black arts.
We find that many persons in government circles presidents, prime ministers, congressmen, senators, generals and admirals, envoys, and members of the State Department–seek and welcome the counsel and advice of clairvoyants and psychic mediums such as Jeane Dixon, whose prognostications have been derived from fortune telling cards and the crystal ball, and Arthur Ford who has conducted seances while in a trance. Moreover, some law enforcement agencies unhesitatingly engage the services of psychics like Peter Hurkosand G. Croiset, who have used their occult psychometric and clairvoyant powers to aid in the solution of crimes. Hurkos, for example, has assisted the police on murder cases in many countries, including the notorious "Boston Strangler" case. Graphology, a form of fortune telling through handwriting analysis, is now being used by many business firms who regularly consult graphologists to analyze the handwriting of prospective employees in an attempt to "read" their character, personality, and other traits, and thereby to predict their potentiality and worth, or lack of it. The CIA is said to have used handwriting analysis along with other tests, as do banks, finance companies, sales firms, manufacturers, and many others.
Multitudes, including business, government, and religious leaders, beset with problems, fearful and confused because of the present state of the world, and concerned about the future, are seeking help and information from fortune tellers and spiritualist mediums. Countless others have been subjected to the influences and deceptions of spiritualism, assuming everything supernatural is of God, and mistaking the powers of darkness for the power of God. The gullible are naively falling victim to the fallacious reasoning that since God can heal and perform miracles, then every case of healing and everything that passes for a miracle must be from God. Since God has spoken through men by prophecy and revelation, they believe that everyone who claims to have a prophecy or revelation from God must be accepted as a prophet and seer.
Thus, psychic mediums and clairvoyants are finding increasing acceptance from every quarter by the multitudes who are clamoring for their help and guidance through the operation of their alleged "gifts of God." Many others are involved one way or another in the superstitions of magic in an effort to be healed or helped by it in some way, or in order to influence others through it. Such delusion is nothing new, for we find it recorded in Acts 8:9-11, and we are warned concerning its increase in the last days, in which we now live (I Timothy 4:1-3; II Timothy 3:1-9; Matthew 24:24; II Corinthians 11:14; II Thessalonians 2:7-12).
The use of LSD and other hallucinogenic drugs, with their resultant damaging emotional, mental, and psychic effects, has become in our time a symbol of mankind's frustration with life in the present world and is an attempt to venture into the spiritual "unknown" by means contrary to God's will. The "hippie" movement had considerable interest in the occult, e.g., fortunetelling, telepathy, astrology, black magic, devil worship, and other forms of witchcraft.
Reports from England, Africa, France, Germany, South America, Haiti, Vietnam, Switzerland, in fact, from all over the world, including the U.S.A ., reveal that occultism in all forms is rapidly on the increase. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent annually on the so-called occult sciences. Thousands of tons of occult books and other literature find their way into homes via the newsstands and booksellers each year. Occult influence can readily be detected in movies, plays, and stories, and in many reputable magazines which contain regular monthly horoscope columns. Some years ago a published estimate revealed that there were at least 5000 astrologers in the U.S.A. alone, who charted the heavens for over 10 million ardent American followers of this ancient black art. These numbers continue to increase. Millions more have become addicted to and are influenced by horoscope columns in daily newspapers. The sale of horoscope magazines numbers in the millions and is increasing yearly according to reliable sources. In America, four times as many women as men are devotees of fortune telling by means of astrology.
Business Week magazine reported that "legerdemain is becoming big business." People everywhere are taking renewed interest in magic and sleight of hand deception, including doctors, dentists, psychiatrists, ministers, advertising men, and salesmen. Even manufacturers are using the magician's tricks to promote their wares. Capitalizing on the new interest in occultism, many companies offer magic kits as a premium for buying their products. Time magazine has reported a great upsurge in interest in the black arts with sales of occult items such as crystal balls, tarot fortune telling cards, and Ouija boards at an all time record high. In any city of size, one can purchase such articles of witchcraft as amulets, hexing dolls, ingredients for casting magic spells, charm powders, mystic incense, roots, herbs, charms, magic candles, love potions, and many other occult and voodoo supplies.
Books on "self-hypnosis" are becoming increasingly popular as a sort of do-it-yourself psychiatry. They promise the reader that self-hypnosis can, by controlling the subconscious, "unleash explosive powers within" and make life give you what you want-more money, power, prestige, marital happiness, freedom from pain and depression; put an end to fear; conquer bad temper; or change bad habits. A popular movement known as "Concept Therapy," a form of psychic self-improvement similar in some respects to such mental sciences as Unity and Christian Science, is being promoted as a panacea whereby one may, through mental concentration and the observance of certain "laws," actually "heal with ideas." The mails are being flooded with advertisements offering the gullible alleged occult secrets on "how to claim one's full psychic estate" by developing one's ESP powers. Others promise instruction on communication with departed loved ones and spirit "guides"; on projecting one's "astral self" outside the body in order to travel anywhere at will; on the practice of metaphysical healing of the body; and on such topics as how to read minds, how to gain control over others by mental suggestion, how to make oneself irresistible to the opposite sex, and how to predict the future.
In this materialistic age, full of uncertainty and unrest, when even the church has grown skeptical of the validity of the supernatural for today, multitudes are turning to the delusions of spiritualism, or to the fortune tellers for guidance. They are seeking spiritual enlightenment and comfort, not from the Scriptures, but from the literature of occultism, including metaphysics and spiritism, and from false religious cults such as Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, Christian Science, Unity, Swedenborgianism, Mormonism, Baha'ism, Jehovah's Witness, and so on.
The quest for spiritual reality and meaning in this chaoticage is reflected in the tremendous popularity of such pseudo-Christian literature as A Gift of Prophecy: The Phenomenal Jeane Dixon and A Search for the Truth by Ruth Montgomery; Edgar Cayce, The Sleeping Prophet (over 6 months on coast-to-coast best-seller lists); Nothing So Strange (the autobiography of Arthur Ford, the medium); and The Search for Bridey Murphy. The market is flooded with all manner of metaphysical and parapsychological literature, including books on ESP, telepathy, yoga, reincarnation, astrology, psychic phenomena, flying saucers (UFOs), ghosts, witchcraft, black magic, communication with the dead, hypnosis, and the supernatural and paranormal in general. Psychic interest is so high that occult book clubs have been established to meet the demand.
Sensing that the contemporary church lacks the awareness of the true spiritual dimension and its power, many are seeking spiritual understanding and direction from such organizations as the Inner Peace Movement (IPM); the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE); Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship (SFF); and the Religious Research Foundation of America (RRFA). The occult nature of these and similar organizations is seen in their stress upon psychic phenomena and experiences, clairvoyance, precognition, the development of one's powers of ESP, personal communion with the dead and spirit "guides," and many other practices similar to those of spiritism, cults, and occultism in general.
In addition, multitudes are being deluded by the absurd and unscriptural doctrine of reincarnation, whereby one "atones" for his own sins through a cycle of rebirths. This fantasy is currently arousing unusual interest in the Western world, largely as a result of renewed interest in Eastern metaphysics and the writings of such groups as the Rosicrucian's and Theosophy. Psychics like Edgar Cayce and Grace Whittenberger have contended that one may find the meaning and purpose of their present life on earth through so-called "life readings," or "reincarnative readings," concerning one's alleged previous lives.
An important factor in the present-day alarming upsurge of interest in psychic phenomena, ESP, clairvoyance, telepathy, hypnosis, and so on, is the work done by such organizations as the English and American Societies for Psychical Research, as well as the writings of such men as Dr. J.B. Rhine of Duke University, author of Reach of the Mind, who originated the term "Extrasensory Perception" (ESP). Researchers in psychic science and parapsychology, with their discoveries of the hitherto largely unknown psychic forces present in the world, and by encouraging the development in man of the powers of clairvoyance, telepathy, hypnotism, and psychometry, are unwittingly opening wide the flood gates for satanic influence and control of the minds of men.
These psychic powers, which are erroneously thought to be "latent" within all men, and only need developing to bring them forth, are not forces within the individual at all. On the contrary, the powers of clairvoyance, precognition, telepathy, and other forms of extrasensory perception, occur as a result of an invasion by insidious spiritual forces from without, which move in and begin to function in and through that individual. He opens himself to these dark powers by seeking psychic experiences, and through his efforts to develop the powers of ESP, or through involvement in any form of occultism.
Thus, parapsychologists, under the guise of advancing psychic research and knowledge, are encouraging young and old alike to experiment in the psychic realm, in violation of the will of God and His express commands to the contrary. Their purpose is to heighten one's alleged subconscious powers of clairvoyance, telepathy, and so on; but they ignore the emotional, psychic, and spiritual damage to those who open themselves to the influence and control of the powers of darkness. The interest in psychic experimentation has become so widespread that more and more universities are establishing parapsychological departments for psychic research. Those who wish to test themselves personally for powers of ESP can now purchase "kits" by mail for such experimentation.
Occultism and the black arts in general are experiencing a phenomenal revival of interest, influencing more people today than at any time in history. Leading universities, because of the great interest in the occult, offer courses of study with titles such as "Witchcraft, Magic, and Sorcery"; "Parapsychology"; "Psychology of the Paranormal"; and so on. So-called "witchcraft parties," in which a palmist, psychic, or fortuneteller is invited to enhance otherwise mediocre social gatherings, are becoming increasingly popular. Moreover, where the youth once gathered to play innocent party games, now they will amuse themselves, as likely as not, with such bizarre pastimes as table-tipping, levitation of bodies, seances, fortunetelling, hypnotism, playing with the Ouija board, and any number of other occult practices and psychic experiments.
Leading sources have reported an open revival of witchcraft in England, as that nation is plagued with the greatest increase in sorcery and occultism since the Middle Ages. Thousands of confessed witches and devotees of witchcraft meet regularly to perpetuate pagan rituals and fertility rites, and to invoke and worship pagan gods (demons, cf. Deuteronomy 32:16-17; I Corinthians 10:20). In San Francisco, the First Satanic Church was founded and led by Anton La Vey, the self-proclaimed "priest of Satan." Devil worship is practiced throughout the world today in Germany, Mexico, England, America, France, and elsewhere.
Practitioners of occultism can be found in every city of the world. The gullible seek them for guidance concerning their problems; "spirit" healing; readings of their alleged "past lives"; the location of lost persons and objects; predictions regarding everything from personal matters (marriage, career, love, etc.) to business affairs; and communication with the dead.
The powers of darkness are sweeping across the earth to deceive and destroy, as Satan knows his time is short (Revelation 12:12). False prophets are rising to deceive many by making accurate predictions concerning historical events. Seducing spirits speaking through false teachers and writers are leading the gullible astray with their subtle teachings of religious error (I Timothy 4:1). Psychics, who claim their "gift" is from God, are deluding multitudes, including many professing Christians, ministers, and religious leaders, who naively accept everything supernatural as divine, oblivious of the fact that Satan also can perform great signs and wonders (II Thessalonians 2:9-12).
Psychic and "spirit" healers, counterfeiting the gifts of the Holy Spirit, are performing many miraculous cures by occult power. For example, Tony Agpaoa, a "psychic surgeon" in the Philippines, made headlines when several well-known Americans, notably from the field of sports, went to have him perform drugless, painless surgery on them using no instruments to make incisions except his bare hands. Harry Edwards, a "spirit" healer in England, has had spirit "guides" heal through him, often without him touching the patient. Edwards, we are told, has even treated members of the royal family, as well as many of England's clergy.
The current widespread scientific interest and developments in psychic research; the growing acceptance of parapsychology as a science; the use of hypnotism by psychiatrists and medical doctors; and the acceptance by scientists of extrasensory perception as a legitimate manifestation of the mind, are unmistakable evidence of Satan's success in gaining access to man's spirit, as a necessary step in his invasion of humanity on a scale unheard of in history!
Furthermore, we are witnessing an increase in occult literature geared to influence business and professional men and women, stressing that the key to success and personal achievement is "psychic self-improvement"; development of one's "cosmic powers"; "tuning in on the creative intelligence of the universe"; learning "how to make ESP work for you"; and so on. Organizations such as the Inner Peace Movement (whose stated goal has been to help men develop their powers of ESP), have offered programs along the lines of "leadership training utilizing extrasensory perception" to business, industrial, professional, and academic leaders, in order to develop "self-understanding" in executives and supervisors. This is supposed to help them recognize and develop potentials in their employees.
The growing influence of astrologers who specialize in forecasts concerning stock market conditions, labor and management, production, taxes, and politics, as well as business and financial matters in general, is unlike anything seen before, as countless business and professional people seek their advice and counsel. Show business people are notoriously superstitious and especially addicted to astrology for guidance concerning their professional careers. But businessmen who are consulting the horoscope are quickly overtaking them, both in numbers and fervor!
The success of the powers of darkness in influencing religious leaders is nowhere more evident than in the contemporary liberal and neo-orthodox emphasis in religious schools and theological seminaries. Demonic activity and influence are not limited to the violent behavior we see in the Gadarene demoniac (Mark5). Satan often works in subtle ways, i.e., under the guise of modern scholarship, or through the religious cults. "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness" (II Corinthians 11:14-15).
Among ministers and religious leaders, there is an increasing interest in occult literature, ESP, and communication with the dead, as well as other occult practices and psychic phenomena. The Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship is an association of ministers and laymen interested in psychic phenomena, communication with the dead, and so on. Founded by Arthur Ford, a Disciples of Christ minister and trance medium, it is an example of the growing occult interests of ministers in America. The membership of the Churches Fellowship for Psychic Studies in England includes many religious dignitaries who are interested in the relationship between extrasensory experiences and religion. The widespread influence of psychics and other occult practitioners upon government, military, and political leaders has already been shown.
Nor can we fail to mention the rise of the New Age movement, a demonically inspired, humanistic religion of rebellion against God, which sets up man as a "god" unto himself. Surely one cannot mistake the devilish source which drove a well-known movie starlet to run naked up and down a beach, screaming, "I am god! I am god!" in the name of the New Age!
There has never been a time in history when occult involvement has been more widespread. Millions are deluded, including many professing Christians, ministers, and religious leaders, both as to its satanic character and its resultant psychic and spiritual damage to those who participate.
Important questions to consider. Have there ever been any occult contacts or involvement in your personal life or family history? Are you aware that the Scriptures say that God condemns such participation without reservation? If you have ever practiced or participated in any of these things, then consider the following questions carefully. They may well be the doorway to your deliverance from occult subjection and oppression.
1. Have you ever visited a fortune teller, who told your fortune by the use of cards, tea leaves, palm reading, or other occult means?
2. Has anyone ever hypnotized you, or have you ever practiced self-hypnosis or yoga?
3. Do you read or follow the horoscope?
4. Have you attended a seance or spiritualist meeting at any time?
5. Have you had a "life" or "reincarnative" reading?
6. Have you consulted a Ouija board, planchette, cards, tea leaves, crystal ball, and such like (whether "in fun," out of curiosity, or in earnest)?
7. Have you played with any so-called "games" of an occult nature (ESP, Telepathy, Kabala, etc.)?
8 ). Have you ever consulted a medium?
9. Have you ever sought healing by any occult means, either voluntarily as an adult, or involuntarily as a child? This would include the removal of warts, or the treatment of burns or other disease by magic conjuration or charming; by a Spiritualist, Christian Scientist, or other "spirit-healing" practitioner; by psychic healing, hypnosis, or metaphysical healing; by the use of the pendulum or trance for diagnosis; or by any other occult means. (Such practices are not to be confused with divine healing through faith as taught in the Scriptures.)
10. Have you ever sought to locate missing objects or persons by consulting someone who has psychic, clairvoyant, or psychometric powers?
11. Have you practiced table-lifting (tipping), levitation, or automatic (spirit) writing?
12. Have you ever been given or worn an amulet, talisman, or charm for luck or protection?
13. Have you, or has anyone for you, practiced water witching (sometimes called dowsing or divining for water, etc.) using a twig or pendulum?
14. Do you read or possess occult or spiritualist literature, such as books on astrology, interpretation of dreams, metaphysics, psychic phenomena, ESP, self-realization, religious cults, fortunetelling, magic, or clairvoyance, and especially such occult magical books as Secrets of the Psalms, and the diabolical so-called Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses?
15. Have you experimented with or practiced ESP or telepathy?
16. Have you used the psychedelic drug, LSD?
17. Have you ever practiced any form of magic charming or ritual?
18. Have you had your handwriting analyzed, practiced mental suggestion, cast a magic spell, or sought psychic experiences?
19. Do you possess any occult or pagan relics, artifacts, or religious objects which may have been involved in pagan temples and religious rites, or in the practice of sorcery, magic, divination, or spiritualism?
20. Have you ever attended meetings such as those of the Rosicrucian's, Spiritualists, Mormons, Christian Scientists, Baha'i, Theosophy, Unity, Inner Peace Movement, Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, Association for Research and Enlightenment, Religious Research Foundation of America, Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarians, or others of an occult nature?
21. Do you realize that all these practices, as well as any participation in them, are condemned by God in the Scriptures?
22. Do you realize that divination, fortunetelling, magic practices, false religious cults, and spiritism in all forms are an abomination to God and are under His curse?
23. Do you realize that, if you ever practiced or participated in any form of occultism (whether intentionally or innocently), you opened the door to oppression from the powers of darkness, even if your occult activity occurred before you became a Christian?
24. Do you realize that you may now be the victim of demonic subjection or oppression because of this, even though you have been unaware of the source and cause of your problems?
The direct connection between occult involvement and physical, psychic, mental, and spiritual oppression was shown in the previous study on “Demonism in the Light of Scripture” We urge you to give careful attention as you read it, for many have found the way of liberation when shown the occult cause for their oppression. I hope you join us next time for our further studies on these topics. Edited. Shared.
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God willing, more will be posted soon. All glory to Jesus alone.
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