Chapter One
Rise of Witchcraft

Charles Williams wrote in Witchcraft, "It is cold, it is hungry, it is violent, it is illusory. The warm blood and intercourse at the Sabbat do not satisfy it. It wants something more. . . It wants souls."

A WINNING BLOW FOR WITCHCRAFT

It's finally happened. On October 3, 1902, Joe Izzo, student in the San Mateo High School, appeared on the Bill O'Reilly, The O'Reilly Factor, TV program, to defend Satan. "He is the president of the Satan Thought Club that meets on the school grounds." If a Christian wanted to have a prayer meeting on school grounds, they would be shut down by the school officials, citing that the Constitution forbids religious meetings. However, the school officials said they could not do anything about the Satan Thought Club and refused to appear on the program. It was only a matter of time before Satan could inspire his religion to flourish after Americans removed prayer, God, the Ten Commandments from our school systems.

Psychics, New Agers, mediums, Satanists, those who follow the occult and spiritualists are seeking power. They are looking for supernatural ways to improve conditions of possessing greater power over the minds of the average human being. They are bringing an onslaught of counterfeit faiths, including the pursuit of witchcraft and Satanism.

You probably know persons who place their faith somewhere else other than in God. Where are they placing their hopes? Do we as a nation look elsewhere for help? Do you personally look for security and satisfaction somewhere else? Where?

Will the Church respond to the supernatural move of Satan? Will we continue to ignore the plots and plans of the Devil to steal our children by keeping our faith locked inside the church walls? Can we teach our people to motivated by the Great Commission to carry the gospel to our cities and take territory for Jesus Christ? Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damed. And these signs shall follow them that believe. . . Mark 16:15-17. Just imagine what would happen if every church became evangelistic in our nation? We could recapture our country for Christ!

The great darkness is covering the world, including our nation. What will you do? What is your church doing?

Jeremiah says that idolatry makes us look foolish and causes us to become as worthless as the idols we worship. Do our contemporary idols make us act foolishly? If so, How? How can we grow worthless by placing our faith in something less than God?

In Jeremiah chapter two, we see the people have raced after other gods and we can hear in Jeremiah's words the anger and disgust he feels at their faithlessness. We hear, too, a desperate word of warning: Turn back! You are bringing destruction upon yourselves by forsaking your God!

Jeremiah's message could be given to our nation today! We are witnessing the problems of faithlessness and idolatry. We see the word worthlessness that is sometimes translated as "delusion" in Jeremiah 2:5. The word in Hebrew plays upon the name Baal, the Canaanite fertility god. By using this particular word, Jeremiah subtly underlines Baal's unreality and impotence.

Next we find a series of metaphors describing the depravity and the ultimate foolishness of Israel's sin. He described the high hills and green trees of verse 20 refer to pagan religious practices. The fertility cults worshiped on hilltops and held trees as sacred objects.

The Valley of verse 23 is probably the valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem. This valley is famous as the scene of orgies and child sacrifice in the name of Baal. In verse 27 he mentions stones and trees. Baal worship involved in the use of large sacred stones and wooden pillars. Then in Chapter three he continues the denunciation of Israel's idolatry. Here, however, Jeremiah concentrates on a single image, that of Israel as a promiscuous woman.

The western part of the Church sees itself as being immune to the powers of darkness and believes that demonalogy is just a concern for the idolatrous, heathen countries. However, we become more and more idolatrous as we seek after everything but Jesus in our homes, churches and government.

This author attended a church about fifteen years ago. An evangelist came to speak whose evangelistic field was in one of the dark nations. He said from the platform, "When we come to America to raise funds for our work, the pastors tell us not to speak about demonalogy or witchcraft. Our people just don't want to know about these things." This evangelist said that the Holy Spirit revealed to him that in the coming days, churches in America would have to hold all night prayer meetings just to be able to survive! Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to spiritual things. The Apostle Paul said that "He would not have us ignorant of spiritual things!

Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord, that we may see You, once again.

WITCHCRAFT, DIVINATION AND SORCERY

Witchcraft is the use of a person employing Satanic power. It is Satan's way of imposing his will on your will and enforcing emotions, behaviors, or circumstances on people they would not otherwise want. Witchcraft cause to be endured, its power primarily though curses and spells.

Divination is fortune-telling, or forecasting the future under the power of a demon. People want to know about the time to come. Sometimes soothsaying can be found in the church masquerading as prophecy. Many Christians get caught up in some prophetess or prophet to tell them "what God is saying about them. Really, if you want to know what God is saying about you, study His Word.

Sorcery operates by Satan's supernatural power and is released through drugs, fetishes, potions, (conjured by wizards' and witches') drink or food that has been ritualistically fashioned to bind the person. It can be released in music, charms, and fetishes.

The Bible says that witchcraft is the root of all rebellion. 1 Sam 15:23, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king." Rebellion is the tap root of witchcraft. It is the root of all human troubles and its roots run the deepest. Notice two actions are connected to witchcraft,, stubbornness is likened to idolatry and rebellion is witchcraft. Rebellion says, "I will do it my way—not God's way and stubbornness says, I won't change!

There are three key words identifying witchcraft: manipulation, domination and intimidation. These words translate into "control." Anytime someone asserts authority not given by God it is call witchcraft; it is rebellion against delegated authority. When one uses such illegitimate authority, one resorts to manipulating, dominating or intimidating in order to rule over other people!

SPIRITUAL REVELATIONS

If you are going to understand the Word of God, you must have a spiritual attitude toward it. The Lord said that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned," I Corinthians 2:14. God refuses to reveal Himself to just any casual passer-by. The Lord indicated this when He said in the Sermon on the Mount: "give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn against you and rend you," Matthew 7:6. This same thought must have been in his mind when He prayed, saying, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou has hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in they sight," Matthew 11:25.26.

The fact that one must have a spiritual attitude that comes from spiritual life in order to understand the deep things of the Word of God is also the true meaning of the great verse which I quote in paraphrase: "For whosoever hath [new life in Christ] to him shall be given [knowledge of the divine plan and revelation], and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not [the new life in Christ], from him shall be taken away even that [common sense and deep learning that might make him one of the world's leaders of the world's thinking] he hath", Matthew 13:12.

GOD IS ALL POWERFUL

Though Satan is powerful, God is all powerful! The Lord Jesus pointed out that He could pray to the Father who would immediately give Him more than twelve legions of angels (Matthew 16:53. And if He so desired He would not have to confine Himself to angels who had been long in His service. Our God is the Creator, and He could of stones raise up children to Abraham (Matthew 3:9) and could with a single word call into being fresh multitudes of yet uncreated hosts.

If we revert to the military illustration, it would appear that angels of every rank in both camps are constantly at war with each other in the invisible realm, and that, since there is no question of putting one of these spirit beings to death, the victory or the defeat is gained by the application of power and the withdrawal of the inferior force. The importance of all this to believers in our day is that it can be demonstrated from the Word of God that the warfare in the invisible realm principally concerns individuals in the human realm.

These are shown as varied ranks to the graduations of the army. In the seventeenth century, we find Wycliff using the word Hierarchies to describe angels. This is an allusion to the fourth century work attributed to Dionysius the Arepagite, who divided the heavenly beings into three hierarchies, each of which was supposed to contain three choirs or orders. The highest of these hierarchies was composed of the cherubim, (not Satanic nude baby angels), the seraphim, and the thrones, the second included dominions, virtues, and powers, and the third contained the others mentioned in Scripture, principalities, archangels and angels.

PRINCIPALITIES

Principalities (Greek. arche, "first," and so "rule, magistracy"). Used by Paul of angels and demons who were invested with power (Rom. 8:38), elsewhere rendered "rulers" (Eph. 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:16; etc.). A powerful ruler, or the rule of someone in authority. The word (often found in the plural) may refer to human rulers (Titus 3:1, KJV), demonic spirits (Rom. 8:38; Eph. 6:12; Col 2:15), angels and demons in general (Eph. 3:10; Col 1:16), or (especially when used in the singular) any type of ruler other than God Himself (Eph. 1:21; Col 2:10). While Christians must often wrestle against evil principalities (Eph. 6:12), they can be victorious because Christ defeated all wicked spirits (Col 2:15).

In the New Testament "principality" occurs for arche, "rule," generally in the plural, referring (a) to men in authority (Titus 3:1, "Put them in mind to be subject (the King James Version; "in subjection," the Revised Version (British and American)) to principalities (the King James Version; "rulers," the Revised Version (British and American)), and powers" (the King James Version; "to authorities," the Revised Version (British and American)); (b) to superhuman agencies, angelic or demonic (Rom. 8:38; Eph. 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:16; 2:10,15). Paul was keenly sensible of the dualism of mind and body and of the law in his members warring against the law of his mind (Rom. 7:23), and of the temporary victory of the evil, residing in the flesh, over the good of the spirit (verses 14 ff). This dualism was objectified in Zoroastrianism, and among the Babylonians the several heavenly bodies were regarded as ruled by spirits, some good, some evil.

The same belief, appropriated by the Jews during the captivity, appears also in Greek thought, as e.g. in Plato and later in the Stoics. The higher spheres, which hold the even tenor of their way, were in general regarded as ruled by good spirits; but in the sublunar sphere, to which the earth belongs, ill-regulated motions prevail, which must be due to evil spirits.

The perversities of human conduct, in particular, thwarting, as was thought, the simple, intelligible divine plan, were held to be subject to rebellious powers offering defiance to God. While Paul clearly recognized a hierarchy of such powers (Col 1:16, "thrones or dominions or principalities or powers"), it is not certain that he had elaborated a system of aeons to serve the purposes of metaphysical theology and ethics, such as appears among the Gnostics, although they evidently believed they were developing his thought. In 1 Cor 2:6 he repudiates the wisdom of this world (aion) and of the rulers of this world aion), and declares (Eph. 6:12) that the Christian has to contend with "the world-rulers of this darkness," and proclaims the triumph of Christ over "the principalities and the powers" in the forgiveness of sins (Col 2:15). The same personification of such agencies or powers appears also in another passage, where the rendering of English Versions of the Bible obscures it (Eph. 1:20-21: "when he raised him (Christ) from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all (read "every") rule (Revised Version; "principality," the King James Version), and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this world (aion), but also in that which is to come"). Not the least interesting passage is Eph. 3:10, where the church is said to be the means of revealing to "the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places" "the manifold wisdom of God." One naturally inquires what was the purpose of this revelation. Was it to effect a redemption and reconciliation of these demonic powers to God? To this question Paul supplies no answer. See ANGEL; SATAN.

There is certainly some part of imagination in Dionysius' division, although there can be no doubt that all the words are to found in the Bible. A good concordance will lead easily to all of the expressions, except "virtues," and this is the old English word which translates the Greek of a passage that speaks of "the mighty angels" (II Thessalonians 1:7.)

The Scriptures, give us definite warrant for teaching that there is a gradation of power and intelligence and that some beings of every rank have remained faithful to God and that some of every rank have followed Satan in his rebellion.

WITCH; WITCHCRAFT

(wich), (wich'-kraft):

LITERATURE

1. Meaning and Use of the Words:

The word "witch" seems to denote etymologically "one that knows." it is historically both masculine and feminine; indeed the Anglo-Saxon form wicca, to which the English word is to be traced, is masculine alone. "Wizard" is given as masculine for witch, but it has in reality no connection with it. Wright (English Dialect Dictionary, VII, 521) says he never heard an uneducated person speak of wizard. When this word is used by the people it denotes, he says, a person who undoes the work of a witch. Shakespeare often uses "witch" of a male (compare Cymbeline, I, 6, l. 166: "He is .... a witch"). In Wycliff's translation of Acts 8:9 Simon Magus is called "a witch" ("wicche"). Since the 13 th century the word "witch" has come more and more to denote a woman who has formed a compact with the Devil or with evil spirits, by whose aid she is able to cause all sorts of injury to living beings and to things. The term "witchcraft" means in modern English the arts and practices of such women.

2. Biblical Usage:

Since the ideas we attach to "witch" and "witchcraft" were unknown in Bible times, the words have no right place in our English Bible, and this has been recognized to some extent but not completely by the Revisers of 1884. The word "witch" occurs twice in the King James Version, namely, (1) in Ex 22:18, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch (the Revised Version (British and American) "a sorceress") to live"; (2) in Deut. 18:10, "or a witch" (the Revised Version (British and American) "or a sorcerer"). The Hebrew word is in both cases the participle of the verb (kishsheph), denoting "to practice the magical article." See MAGIC, V, 2. In the first passage, however, the feminine ending (-ah) is attached, but this ending denotes also one of a class and (on the contrary) a collection of units; see Kautzsch, Hebrew Grammar 28, section 122,s,t.

The phrase "the witch of Endor" occurs frequently in literature, and especially in common parlance, but it is not found in the English Bible. The expression has come from the heading and summary of the King James Version, both often so misleading. In 1 Sam 28, where alone the character is spoken of, English Versions of the Bible translates the Hebrew 'esheth ba`alath 'obh by "a woman that hath a familiar spirit." A literal rendering would be "a woman who is mistress of an 'obh or ghost," i.e. one able to compel the departed spirit to return and to answer certain questions. This woman was therefore a necromancer, a species of diviner (see DIVINATION, IV; ENDOR, WITCH OF; FAMILIAR SPIRIT), and not what the term "witch" imports.

The word "witchcraft" occurs thrice in the King James Version. in 1 Sam 15:23, "the sin of witchcraft" should be as in the Revised Version margin, "the sin of divination," the latter representing the Hebrew word qecem, generally translated "divination"; see DIVINATION VII, 1.

The phrase "used witchcraft" (of Manasseh, 2 Chron. 33:16) is properly rendered in the Revised Version (British and American) "practiced sorcery," the Hebrew verb (kishsheph) being that whence the participles in Ex 22:18 and Deut. 18:10, translated in the King James Version "witch," are derived (see above). The word translated in the King James Version "witchcraft" in Gal 5:20 (pharmakeia) is the ordinary Greek one for "sorcery," and is so rendered in the Revised Version (British and American), though it means literally the act of administering drugs and then of giving magical potions. It naturally comes then to stand for the magician's art, as in the present passage and also in Wisd 12:4; 18:13; and in the Septuagint of Isa 47:9, where it represents the Hebrew noun keshaphim, translated "sorceries"; compare the Hebrew verb kishsheph; see above.

The plural "witchcrafts" (in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American)) stands for the Hebrew noun just noticed (keshaphim) in 2 Kings 9:22; Mic. 5:12; Nah. 3:4, but in all three passages a proper rendering would be "sorceries" or "magical arts." "Witchcrafts" is inaccurate and misleading.

The verb "bewitch" occurs in Acts 8:9,11 the King James Version (of Simon Magus bewitching the people) and in Gal 3:1 ("O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you?"). In the first context the Greek verb is existemi, which is properly rendered by the Revisers "amazed"; in verse 13 the passive of the same verb is translated "he was amazed" (the King James Version "He wondered"). In Gal 3:1, the verb is baskaubaino, which is used of a blinding effect of the evil eye and has perhaps an occult reference, but it has nothing whatever to do with "witch" or "witchcraft."

3. Common Elements in Witchcraft and Ancient Oriental Magic:

Though the conceptions conveyed by the English word "witch" and its cognates were unknown to the Hebrews of Bible times, yet the fundamental thought involved in such terms was familiar enough to the ancient Hebrews and to other nations of antiquity (Babylonians, Egyptians, etc.), namely, that there exists a class of persons called by us magicians, sorcerers, etc., who have superhuman power over living creatures including man, and also over Nature and natural objects. This power is of two kinds:

(1) cosmic, (2) personal. For an explanation see MAGIC II. it is in Assyrio-Babylonian literature that we have the completest account of magical doctrine and practice. The words used in that literature for the male and female magician are ashipu and ashiptu, which correspond to the Hebrew mekhashsheph and mekhashshephah in Deut. 18:10 and Ex 22:18 (see 2, above) and are cognate to 'ashshaph (see Dan 1:20; 2:2,10, etc.), which means a magician (the Revised Version (British and American) "enchanter"). Otheer Babylonian words are kashshapu and kashshaptu, which in etymology and in sense agree with the Hebrew terms mekhashsheph and mekhashshephah mentioned above. But neither in the Babylonian or Hebrew words is there the peculiar idea of a witch, namely, one who traffics with malicious spirits for malicious ends. indeed the magician was a source of good (male and female) as conceived by the Babylonians, especially the ashipu and ashiptu, to the state and to individuals, as well as of evil, and he was often therefore in the service of the state as the guide of its policy. And the same applies to the magician as the Hebrews regarded him, though the true teachers and leaders in Israel condemned magic and divination of every sort as being radically opposed to the religion of Yahweh (Deut. 18:10 f).

Of course, if a Babylonian magician used his art to the injury of others he was punished as other criminals, and in case of the death of the victim he was executed as a murderer. It is, however, noteworthy in its bearing on "witchcraft" that the female magician or sorceress played a larger part in ancient Babylonia than her male counterpart, and the same is true of the Greeks and other ancient people. This arose perhaps from the fact that in primitive times men spent their time in fighting and hunting; the cooking of the food and the healing of the sick, wounded, etc., by magical potions and otherwise, falling to the lot of the woman who stayed at home. In the early history of the Hebrews inspired women played a greater role than in later time; compare Miriam (Ex 15:20 f; Num. 12); Deborah (Judg. 5:12); Huldah (2 Kings 22:14 ff). Note also the 'ishshah chakhamah, or "wise woman" of 2 Sam 14:2 ff; 20:16. The first two sections of the CH are as follows: 1. "If a man has laid a curse (kispu = keshaphim) upon (another) man and it is not justified, he that laid the curse shall be put to death. 2. If a man has put a spell upon (another) man and it is not justified, he upon whom the spell is laid shall go to the holy river; into the holy river shall he plunge. If the holy river overcome him (and he is drowned), the man who put the spell upon him shall take possession of his house. If the holy river declares him innocent and he remains unharmed the man who laid the spell shall be put to death. He that plunged into the river shall take possession of the house of him who laid the spell upon him." Not a word is said here of a female that weaves a spell, but probably the word "man" in the Babylonian is to be taken as including male and female (so Canon C.H.W. Johns in a private letter, dated December 22, 1912).

4. Rise, Spread, and Persecution of Witchcraft:

In the early and especially in the medieval church, the conception of the Devil occupied a very important place, and human beings were thought to be under his dominion until he was exorcized in baptism. It is to this belief that we owe the rise and spread of infant baptism. The unbaptized were thought to be Devil-possessed. The belief in the existence of women magicians had come down from hoary antiquity. It was but a short step to ascribe the evil those women performed to the Devil and his hosts. Then it was natural to think that the Devil would not grant such extraordinary powers without some quid pro quo; hence, the witch (or wizard) was supposed to have sold her (or his) soul to the Devil, a proceeding that would delight the heart of the great enemy of good always on the alert to hinder the salvation of men; compare the Faust legend. For the conditions believed to be imposed by the Devil upon all who would be in league with him see A. Lehmann, Aberglaube und Zauberei2 (1908), 110 ff.

This idea of a covenant with the Devil is wholly absent from the early heathen conception of magic; nor do we in the latter read of meetings at night between the magicians and the demons with whom they dealt, such as took place on the Witches' Sabbath. The witches were believed to have sexual commerce with devils and to be capable only of inflicting evil, both thoughts alien to oriental and therefore to Biblical magic.

The history and persecution and execution of women, generally ignorant and innocent, supposed to have been guilty of witchcraft, do not fall within the scope of this article, but may be perused in innumerable works: see "Literature" below. In Europe alone, not to mention America (Salem, etc.), Sprenger says that over nine million suspected witches were put to death on the flimsiest evidence; even if this estimate be too high the actual number must have been enormous. The present writer in his booklet, The Survival of the Evangelical Faith ("Essays for the Times," 1909), gives a brief account of the defense of the reality of witch power by nearly all the Christian theologians of the 17 th century and by most of those living in the early 18 th century (see pp. 23 ff). See also MAGIC, and The Expositor T, IX, 157 ff.

Foot Notes:

Chapter One Rise of Witchcraft