The Occult  

On this page I'll examine the occult and explain why it is wrong for any follower of God to be involved with it.  I have cited scripture references from the Bible to support each idea presented.

“The occult” is a broad term that encompasses people's attempts to gain power or knowledge from evil sources.  People are often snagged by seemingly harmless curiosities that give place to evil in their lives.

An explanation of the occult:  "Somewhere in every one of us is a deep longing to make contact with the unknown, with some "higher power" - something greater or wiser or more powerful than ourselves.  This is true at all levels, from the teenage girl reading her horoscope, to the witch doctor in some remote tribe who has never seen a white man, to the scientist probing outer space and seeking to discover the secrets of the universe.  It was God who placed this longing within us, but His archenemy, Satan, has devised a way to divert seekers into deceptive, evil systems that bring them into bondage to himself.  These deceptive systems can take countless different forms, but the generic name for them all is "the occult." ...The word occult is derived from a Latin word that means "concealed" or "covered over."  The power operating through occult practices or system derives from Satan and is evil.  But most people caught up in them do not know this.  They have been enticed by labels or claims that make them appear highly desirable." (They Shall Expel Demons, p.113-114, by Derek Prince)

What is “of the occult”?   Determining what is of the occult can be tricky, as the occult by nature is hidden and deceptive.  To begin, please consider some definitions of "Occult" from Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary: 

  • "Not revealed; secret"
  • "Not easily apprehended or understood"
  • "Matters regarded as involving the action or influence of supernatural or supernormal powers or some secret knowledge of them"  (American Heritage Dictionary) 

In general, if an activity or object is used to seek knowledge or power from sources other than God, then it most likely is of the occult.  I have found three main categories of the occult, which I will explain below in detail.

1.  Seeking carnal knowledge / sins of the flesh and eyes:  includes all forms of sex sin, including pornography

2.  Seeking knowledge of the future:

  • Astrology: foretelling the future using the influence and position of the stars and planets.  A common example of modern day astrology is the horoscope.  A horoscope is a diagram of the relative positions of planets and signs of the zodiac at a specific time. Astrologers use this to infer individual character and personality traits and to foretell events in a person's life (astrological forecast)  (2 Kings 23:1-25; Isaiah 47:10-15).
  • Divination: the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge  (Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 18:9-16; 2 Kings 17:17; 2 Kings 21:6).  Examples of divination devices/activities include seer stones, tarot cards, reading tea leaves, eight balls, water witching, water dousing, Ouija boards, table tipping, palmistry  and automatic writing.

  • Interpreting omens: An omen is an occurrence or phenomenon believed to portend a future event. (Deuteronomy 18:9-16)

  • Necromancy: Necromancy attempts to reveal the future by communicating with the dead and/or familiar spirits.  A séance is a meeting where people attempt to communicate with the dead.  Mediums attempt to communicate with familiar spirits (evil spirits) and spirits of the dead.  (Deuteronomy 18:9-16; 1 Chronicles 10:13-14; 1 Samuel 28:7-11)

  • Soothsaying:  act of foretelling events (Leviticus 19:26)

  • Visiting fortunetellers: typical examples include palm readers (palmistry) and psychics (Isaiah 65:11; Acts 16:16; Micah 5:12)

  • Visiting mediums/psychics/spiritists: persons supposedly having access to supernatural agencies and knowledge or power derived from them  (Deuteronomy 18:9-16; Leviticus 19:31; Leviticus 20:6; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Kings 23:1-25; 1 Chronicles 10:13-14; Isaiah 8:19-22)

 3.  Seeking supernatural power: 

How the occult works:  The occult appeals to our natural tendency toward pride of life (1 John 2:16).  Pride of life is revealed when we set aside God’s commands and seek knowledge or power to master our own destiny and control our environment according to our desires.  This is a type of rebellion (1 Samuel 15:22-23).  Eve demonstrated this rebellion in Genesis 3:5-6 when she sought knowledge that would cause her to be like God.    

Why occult activity is wrong  

  • It seeks and uses an evil power source: Occult power originates from Satan, his angels or the souls or spirits of people who participate.  Satan and his angels are fallen spiritual beings who have used their God-given powers to foster rebellion against God.  The scriptures state that only God has all knowledge and he alone is more powerful than any other being (Psalm 139:1-6,16-18; Philippians 2:9-11; Isaiah 14:27; Psalm 2; 1 Chronicles 16:26; Psalm 96).  If we believe the scriptures, then we have no reason to look for knowledge or power from any other source but God.  As soon as we seek it outside of God, we sin by placing our faith in something other than God.  Romans 14:23 NIV says, “Everything that does not come from faith [in God] is sin.” 
  • It gives us a means to sin by pride of life:  The occult appeals to our natural desire for power and knowledge.  We usually want to be in control of the situations we are in and/or be able to influence the outcome so that we will benefit.  Our sinful nature is to attempt to work things out on our own without submitting ourselves to the authority of God or depending on God for our provision.  John identified this as the “pride of life” sin in 1 John 2:16.  The occult offers a variety of means by which we may be deceived into thinking that we can be in control.  The truth is that we are not in control.  By giving heed to the occult, we give evil control over us.   (see more about pride) 
  • God commands us not to be involved in the occult:  He commands us to be separate from the occult so that we can be his people (Leviticus 20:24-26) without distraction.   Seeking occult power/knowledge is essentially soliciting the help of demons or false gods.  This disobeys God’s command “You shall have no other gods before Me” in Exodus 20:3 NASB.  God has told us to seek him for everything in life.  Jesus explained, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Matthew 22:37 NASB).  This leaves no room for other “gods.”  Part of God’s nature is that he desires people’s full devotion and attention – he is a “jealous” God and a “consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24). 

A note about false religions:  Involvement in a non-Christian religion can be regarded as occult activity for many of the above reasons.  Jesus said that he is the only way for people to attain peace with God: "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6 KJV).  Any religion that rejects Jesus' claim and/or teaches another way to peace with God will be a "false" religion.  Consider the test that John wrote about for detecting false teaching/false religions: 

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.  1 John 4:1-3 NKJV

Additional references to consider on false teaching/religions: Ezekiel 13:9, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-13,1 Timothy 6:3-5, 2 Peter 2:1

Consequences of occult activity:  Occult activity has a variety of consequences.  These may include:

Repenting from occult sin:  If you have been involved in occult sin, it is important for you to take these actions in returning to God:

For prayers covering the above repentance points, see Prayers for Renouncing the Occult 

Home       Inventory Your Occult Involvement    Watchman's Index of Cults and Religions

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