Kathy A Smith
"Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing." (Deuteronomy 7:26)
Are many Christians living like the Israelites when they were polluted by idols? Could Christians have the "accursed" items that the bible condemns in their homes unknowingly?
Throughout the Old Testament God told His people the Israelites many times to put away the strange gods and return to Him. In 1 Samuel chapter seven the people put away their gods of Baalim and Ashtaroth and began to serve the Lord only. What happened after they did this? God saved them miraculously! When the Israelites enemy (the Philistines) came against them they cried to the Lord to save them. The Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines and discomfited them and they were smitten before Israel. God fought the battle for His people when they put their trust in Him and served Him only. They no longer had the accursed gods among them to hinder God's work and plan for their lives.
Why are so many Christians living in defeat today? Many are struggling with sickness, depression, marriage problems, rebellious children, and so on. The enemy comes in to try to destroy them and their families and it does not always seem that God is fighting their battles for them? Could it be that they have strange gods in their homes that are hindering the presence and works of almighty God? Could it be that they are giving Satan a foothold to come in an opened door?
God's Word says very strongly to put away the "strange gods"! He specifically tells us many things that we are to have nothing to do with. But in many Christian homes Satan has subtly crept in with things that God has condemned and has made them look "innocent". Many Christians have allowed these accursed objects into their homes and have given Satan authority over part of their lives. These strange gods have a foothold on them. "For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity" (Psalm 125:3).
Forbidden Practice
Let us take a look at some of the forbidden practices condemned by God.
"When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God." (Deuteronomy 18:9-13).These things are an abomination unto a holy God. Abomination is something that is horrible or disgusting to God. He literally hates these things because the people he loves are vexing themselves with these destructive strongholds.
Looking closer at the: NINE FORBIDDEN PRACTICES - These things listed in Deuteronomy 18 are forbidden because they are used to take the place of God's guidance:
1). THAT MAKETH HIS SON OR HIS DAUGHTER TO PASS THROUGH THE FIRE - human sacrifice, or in modern terms, an abortion. (Lev. 18:21, 2 Kings 16:3, 17:17, 21:6, 23:10. 2 Chron. 33:6, Jer. 32:35). No one is ever to kill another human being. A baby not born yet is just as alive as you and me because God also created and formed this life.
2). DIVINATION - the practice or art of discovering hidden knowledge and foretelling future events by occult supernatural means. Fortune-teller or psychic. (2 Kings 17:17, Jer. 27:8-9, Acts 16:16-24). Never go to a psychic or fortune-teller for any reason. God is the creator of the universe and He alone only knows your future.
Beware of: psychics, fortune tellers, Ouija board, crystal ball, tarot cards, tea leaf reading, etc
3). OBSERVER OF TIMES - same as astrology or stargazing. It is another form of divination. It is a person who looks to the stars for guidance. (Isa. 47:12-15, Jer. 10:2, Dan.1:20, 5:7,11,15). We should beware of horoscopes or anything that takes the place of God's direction. God gives us guidance, not His creation. Horoscopes may appear to be harmless, but they become addictive. Reading horoscopes are another form of accepting and honoring occult practices that God has clearly condemned. They are written by people who believe in astrology.
Beware of: astrology, horoscopes, numerology, palm readers, etc.
4). ENCHANTER - A magician; or sorcerer. One who casts spells; or bewitches. (2 Kings 17:17, Jer. 27:9). Avoid anything that has to do with magic. Remember, it doesn't matter if it appears good, magic is something God hates.
Beware of: yoga, meditation, chanting mantras, hypnotism, subliminal messages, New Age Medicine; etc
5).WITCH - a person who practices magic. One who deals with demonic spirits . They practice black or white magic (Exo. 22:18, 2 Chron. 33:6, 1 Sam. 15:23, Gal. 5:19-21). There is no such thing as good magic. Both come from Satan.
Beware of: wicca, goddess worship, white or black magic, casting spells, seances, etc.
6). CHARMER -- to put a spell upon someone; to change things by the use of magic; the chanting of a magical verse or formula. (Isa. 19:3) An object or piece of jewelry used for magical purposes.
Beware of: occult symbols, talisman, amulets, crystals used for guidance or healing, New Age positive thinking and confession; etc.
7). CONSULTER WITH FAMILIAR SPIRITS- to ask, demand, or desire of an evil or demon spirit. (2 Kings 21:6, 2 Chron. 33:6, Isa. 19:3). A person called a medium believes they are contacting the dead, but in reality what they are really contacting is an evil spirit that is pretending to be the dead.
Beware of: channeling, spiritism, mediums, space brothers, ascended masters, invisible spirit friends, ouija boards, automatic writing, seances; etc
8). WIZARD - A person who knows many things about the occult and is in touch with demonic spirits. A male witch, a sorcerer, or magician, conjurer; one who uses magic to have control over another person; also someone who uses magic to change nature (2 Kings 17:17, 21:6, 2 Chron. 33:6, Isa. 19:3).
Beware of: Visualization, sorcery, chanting mantras, astral travel, clairvoyance; etc.
9). NECROMANCER - A person who claims they have spoken with those who have died already. Contact is made for magical and fortune telling purposes (1 Sam. 1-25, Isa. 8:19, 1 Chron. 10:13-14). Again it is not the dead that they are contacting but evil demonic spirit who pretend to be the deceased.
Beware of: channeling, medium, spiritism, ouija boards, sorcery, voodoo; etc.
You may have looked at the definitions of these things and may be saying "get real", I am a Christian and of course I would have nothing to do with any of these things! But let us take it a step farther. You may not be fervently practicing these things, but are you taking pleasure in anything that has these things in them? The book of Romans lists sins of the flesh that are also abominable unto God: Read these verses very carefully; "Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them" (Romans 1:29-31) These verses strongly state that those who take pleasure in these things are just as bad in God's eyes as those who actually do them physically.
What do you willingly watch on T.V or what movies do you own or rent? What books do you or your children read? What about games or music that you or your children play or listen to? In today's world many of the video and computer games are filled with obvious witchcraft and occult themes. One trip to the video store and it is hard to find movies without themes of violence, deceit or lust in them. Even children's G-rated movies are hard to find without magic, spell casting or new age teachings. Many of the "Disney movies" strongly promote these themes. Watching, reading, or listening to anything forbidden by God by choice for entertainment is taking pleasure in it and makes one no different then those who actually participate in them.
Ask yourself, how much do you think on these things? Have these occult movies (books, games, music) entered your home and have they possibly allowed disruption in your life? Remember, just because these things have been engraved and have become popular in our culture does not make it right in God's eyes.
THE GREAT REVIVAL
The book of Acts records of how there was a great revival in the city of Ephesus. It says ; "And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds". Those who were converted had a bonfire and burned all their occult books; "Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver" (Acts 19:19).
These new converts of Christ willingly gave up their forbidden books filled with the occult. Let's take a look at what happened after these occult books were burned; "So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed" (Acts 19:20). By destroying what God had condemned caused His word to grow.
Could these occult influences hinder God's word from growing in a believer's life and the lives of their family? Could they be a stumbling block to receive God's richest blessings? In the book of Acts people did not have movies or video games, but they did have books filled with the occult, and new believers in Christ willingly burned them! Should we not take the advice of the Bible and also destroy what is an abomination to a holy God in our own lives?
Could it be that these "curious arts" have gotten into most of the entertainment and is deceitfully coming into the homes of Christians and subtly cursing them? The word of God can only truly grow in hearts when the occult influences are thrust out. Scriptures say that a person cannot serve both God and Satan. If a person spends time watching or reading what the spirit of witchcraft is behind how do they expect the word of God to grow in their hearts? Witchcraft will deceive hearts and turn a person from serving God to the fullest degree.
"Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing" (Deut 7:26)
Look at what the verse before this says; "The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God" (Deut 7:25). Just think, anything connected to these graven images became a snare and was an abomination.
It is pretty safe to say that the entertainment that we bring into our homes and willingly keep and enjoy can become a snare to us if it is forbidden of God. Let's take a look at a few testimonies from Christians who brought the "accursed thing" into their homes.
TESTIMONIES
David M. Griffis tells an interesting story from a pastor in his book "Spirit Wars" about forbidden objects;
A noted Pentecostal pastor told of a time when his immediate family constantly had a sick family member or one accident or disaster after another for weeks and months. To top it all, it seemed a spirit of depression accompanied these events. After prayer he felt led of God to search and cleanse his home of any unclean thing. He finally found a painting bought on a foreign-missions trip that had cleverly hidden satanic symbols in the scenery. Upon the destruction of the painting, all satanic oppression ceased. You might ask, Can this really be possible? The answer is in a question: Does Satan exist? Of course he does, and he lives to make war on the saints. He doesn't have dominance, but he has certain parameters allowed. In this case, a godly man was drawn to prayer, and through prayer he made a spiritual discovery that led to the removal of Satan's influence and caused his defeat. Never forget that Satan was allowed within the parameters of Job's life for Job's testing. (1)
Gary Greenwald also shares a testimony in his book "Seductions Exposed";
Some time ago, I received a letter from a woman who decided to burn her children's "Dungeons & Dragons" game after hearing me speak on its occultic nature. In spite of the protest of her children, she threw the game pieces in an incinerator. As she did so, horrendous, bloodcurdling screams were heard coming from the fire. The children were instantly convinced that the game was evil! (2)
My own testimony;
A few years after Lowell and I became Christians we felt that God wanted us to cleanse our home from anything unclean. Shortly after we had burned hundreds and hundreds of dollars of ungodly secular movies, music, books, and video games, I received a call from the cable company and they talked me into receiving cable TV with HBO and multitudes of other channels for three months free of charge. I thought to myself what did I have to lose? It is free for three months and we would only watch clean movies. After receiving this cable box we would many times scan all the stations to see what was on only to find there was barely any clean family movies, but mostly all movies that you would class with the above list of abominations in them. A short time later things at home began going very badly. I became very depressed, a member in my family became very sick, and I lost a beloved pet through a horrible sickness. I am not normally a person who stays depressed, so I began seeking God why these things were happening. I felt that he strongly put in my spirit that it was because I had allowed the "accursed thing" into my home. After removing this cable box from the TV and asking God's forgiveness, things quickly got back to normal. Years later, we again ignorantly allowed some "accursed items" into are home . This time the same types of things happened again but much worst. After cleansing our home again things quickly got back to normal. What happened? Did God's hedge of protection become hindered because the enemy had gotten inside an opened door into our home? It is extremely important to know that God wants us to only dwell on pure things. "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Philippians 4:8).
David Benoit shares from his book "Who's watching the Playpen" of how a movie such as "Lion King" can have a negative effect on a child's belief about death;
A teacher shared with me a story about another Christian school teacher who worked with her. She said that the teacher's husband recently died and her son is having a hard time accepting the fact that his father will not talk to him from the dead like Simba's father did.
If your husband suddenly died, what would you tell your child if he asked the question, "Why can't Daddy talk to me from the dead like Simba's father?" Most parents would tell their children that what Simba did was make-believe; that people don't really talk to the dead. The problem with that answer is that millions of Americans believe they can talk to the dead. This is not make-believe. It is a religious belief called "necromancy". How dangerous it is for us, as parents, to think that moviemakers like Disney just put these things in for entertainment. They purposely use religious beliefs for indoctrination, not for entertainment." (3)
What if this young child becomes involved in the occult because of his determination to talk to his dead father? What about the Disney movie "Pocahontas"? It shows Pocahontas consulting with a 200-year old willow tree to make important decisions in her life. This movie suggests that there are spirits all around us to guide us. These spirits are not from God but are demonic spirits in disguise promoting New Age teachings. As Christians, we do not want our children to be enticed to enquire after any spirit, except God!
CHECKLIST OF THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Most movies are rated today, but these movies are rated by what other human beings rate them as, not how God rates them. 'G' is for general audiences or anyone to watch, but many 'G' rated movies have spell casting, magic, witches, wizards and other forbidden practices in them. These movies are not pleasing to God.
As you read through the list below try to discern if any movie, book or game you own promotes or positively portrays any of the following lies. Some examples of children's movies or books are listed because of the subtle occult themes behind them.
1). Does the movie, game, or book have any of the nine forbidden practices in it? (Examples: Harry Potter, Pokemon, Lion King, The Wizard of Oz, Pocahontas, Dungeon's and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Digimon, Goosebumps. Animorphs, Power Rangers, etc.).
2). Does the movie have any magic in it, such as casting spells or chanting magical words? Remember it doesn't matter if it is good or bad magic, in God's eyes no type of magic is good. (Same examples as above).
3). Does it teach themes about the New Age Movement. That humans can be a god or a belief in an "energy" or "force" that everyone can tap into? (Star Wars, Atlantis, Pokemon, Harry Potter etc).
4). Does it teach reincarnation? Reincarnation is the belief that when someone or something dies their soul comes back in another body or form.Scripture opposes this popular New Age doctrine; "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" (Hebrews 9:27).
5). Does it teach evolution? Does it teach that God is not the creator, but man has evolved over millions of years? This is a lie. There is much evidence for a young earth the way the Bible has taught all along. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).
6). Is it filled with violence? It is obvious that we should not enjoy watching other people getting killed or hurt.
7). Does it teach against God's ten commandments? Does its characters blaspheme God or commit fornication or adultery?). "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galations 5:22-23).
8). Does it promote ungodly counsel or a humanistic view? "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful" (Psalm 1:1).
ENCOURAGEMENT
I am not trying to say that all movies are bad. There are still some movies that portray Godly aspects and do not promote subtle occult themes. I personally love watching a good movie but I choose them very carefully because I do not want to put any poisonous ideas into my spirit or fill my children with any ungodly, humanistic indoctrination. God is serious about what Christians bring into their homes and He is very grieved when He cannot bless His children the way He desires to bless them. Always remember that serving Jesus Christ is the highest privilege and most enjoyable experience that there is, and we should never allow anything that might hinder us from giving our "all" to Him. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6).
Notes:
1). David M. Griffis, Spirit Wars, Pathway, Cleveland, Tennessee, 1994, p. 59.
2). Dr. Gary L. Greenwald, Seductions Exposed,Eagle's Nest Publications, Santa Ana, Ca, 1988, p. 158.
3). David Benoit, Who's Watching the Playpen?, Hearthstone Publishing, Ltd. 1995, p.20
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