October has become synonymous with occultism, thanks to Halloween now being celebrated all month long. Instead of children dressing in fantasy costumes for one night to collect candy from neighbors, now adults & children spend weeks reveling in the dark & demonic. Christians have freedom in Christ to participate in innocuous festivities but should avoid anything occultic.
The “occult” refers to “hidden or secret” things regarding the spirit realm. It involves the paranormal, ghosts, psychics, séances, tarot cards, divination, fortune-telling, numerology, spiritism, parapsychology, clairvoyance, precognition, sorcery, witchcraft, Wicca, Magick, astrology, Reiki, & other such activities. It’s all been popularized as “just for fun,” & made to appear either harmless or even positive in various media. I watched Casper the Friendly Ghost as a kid, & it didn’t seem to hurt me. My favorite ride at Disney World was the Haunted Mansion. But would you allow that these seemingly harmless things can be a doorway to danger, sometimes crossing over from mere entertainment to something more sinister?
Some who put their faith in Christ never really give up their occult practices. Just this past week, recent celebrity Christian convert, Russell Brand, began selling “magic amulets” to keep “evil energies” away. At best, Brand is either unaware or confused due to being influenced by New Age thinking for so long. So sometimes it’s because they don’t know what God has to say about those practices. Sometimes it’s because it’s difficult for them to give up something that’s seemingly been helpful.
God forbade the Israelites from such pagan practices (Lev. 19:31, Deut. 18:9-12, Is. 8:19). Why? Occult activity rejects His will for us. The point of occult knowledge is to try to find information God hasn’t revealed to us or to give a person supernatural power over his own life or the lives of others. Obviously, much of what passes for occult activity is just illusion & deception passed off by con artists or self-deluded people. But occult activity actually introduces people to God’s spiritual enemies.
Of course skeptics completely dismiss it any of it as real because they reject anything that’s not material & scientifically verifiable. But the Bible certainly treats it as real. So whether knowingly or not, they’re inviting demonic activity. Demons are fallen & evil angels with limited power in this world who are most able to go where invited, which occult activity does. Someone may think he’s dealing with the spirits of deceased family members or spirit/angel guides, but “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14).
Even Ouija boards (also known as “spirit” or “witch” boards) can be a doorway to the occult. Though marketed as a fun children’s toy, they’re a form of divination. On the box, it reads: “Evil spirits! Wake the dead! Consult the board of omens! The classic Ouija board has the answers to all questions, except the mysterious powers that determine its answers! It’s only a game, isn’t it?” Says it all, doesn’t it? Even children can open themselves to supernatural influence as the player invites those of the spirit world to control them.
Sometimes psychics & mediums really do seem to know things that no one alive could possibly know. How? Because they’re not really dealing with human spirits, but with demons impersonating the dead. For example, the book of Acts tells of an encounter with a slave girl who was a fortune-teller—what we’d call a psychic today. The Apostle Paul could tell that she actually had an evil spirit. She was making a lot of money for her owners. But Paul had power in the name of Jesus to cast the demon out (Acts 16:16-18).
In another example, a man named Simon practiced occult “magic.” Even after being converted to Christ, he still had a sinful longing for that same kind of power (Acts 8:9-24). It was difficult for him to break free. But other new converts made a clean break: “And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all” (Acts 19:19).
We shouldn’t be surprised that so many are getting sucked into such deception because “the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). That’s why we have to be discerning about this stuff, & not blow it off as harmless fun or alternative spirituality. These enemies may pretend friendship or helpfulness at first, but sooner or later they will seek to injure or destroy you. We’re to take our stand against such demonic schemes with the Lord’s power since humans are inherently unsuited for encounters with occult entities (Eph. 6:10-12).
While we can’t say that a single deliberate exposure to the occult is dangerous, neither can we say it’s safe. What we can say is that for everyone who remains involved in it, there will be consequences. So if you never start, you’ll never have a problem. If you don’t flirt with the occult, you won’t give the devil a foot in the door. The occult is based in fear. But in Christ, we don’t have to fear demons, haunted houses or any of that. No matter what occult phenomenon you may have encountered, renounce it & turn to Christ in faith & repentance.