Since early times, people have sought supernatural experiences God did not endorse. The nations that surrounded the Promised Land were saturated with such practices, and God had stern words for his people concerning any involvement with them:

God takes witchcraft very seriously. The penalty for practicing witchcraft under the Mosaic Law was death (Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 20:27).

First Chronicles 10:13 tells us that “Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD,  even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it.”

In the New Testament, “sorcery” is translated from the Greek word pharmakeia, from which we get our word pharmacy (Galatians 5:20, Revelation 18:23).

Witchcraft and spiritism often involve the ritualistic use of magic potions and mind-controlling drugs. Using illicit drugs can open ourselves up to the invasion of demonic spirits. Engaging in a practice or taking a substance to achieve an altered state of consciousness is a form of witchcraft.

There are only two sources of spiritual power: God and Satan. Satan has only the power that God allows him to have, but it is considerable (Job 1:12, 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:2).

To seek spirituality, knowledge, or power apart from God is idolatry, closely related to witchcraft. First Samuel 15:23 says, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”

Witchcraft is Satan’s realm, and he excels in counterfeiting what God does. When Moses performed miracles before Pharaoh, the magicians did the same things through demonic power (Exodus 8:7).

At the heart of witchcraft is the desire to know the future and control events that are not ours to control. Those abilities belong only to the Lord. This desire has its roots in Satan’s first temptation to Eve: “ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5).

Since the Garden of Eden, Satan’s major focus has been to divert human hearts away from worship of the true God (Genesis 3:1). He entices humans with the suggestions of power, self-realization, and spiritual enlightenment apart from submission to the Lord God.

Witchcraft is merely another branch of that enticement. To become involved in witchcraft in any way is to enter Satan’s realm.

Seemingly “harmless” modern entanglements with witchcraft can include crystals, amulets, horoscopes, Ouija boards, Eastern meditation rituals, and some video and role-playing games.

Any practice that dabbles in a power source other than the Lord Jesus Christ is witchcraft.

Revelation 22:15 includes witches in a list of those who will not inherit eternal life: “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”

We do not need to fear Satan’s power, but we should respect it and stay away from it. First John 4:4 says, “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Satan can create much havoc, harm, and destruction, even in the lives of believers (1 Thessalonians 2:18, Job 1:12–18, 1 Corinthians 5:5).

However, if we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no power that can ultimately defeat us (Isaiah 54:17). We are overcomers (1 John 5:4) as we “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11).

When we give our lives to Christ, we must repent. This repentance should include renouncing any involvement with witchcraft, following the example of the early believers:

“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).

Isaiah 8:19 says, when someone tells you to “Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?”

When we follow those words to their logical conclusion, we could also ask, “Why seek any power apart from the source of all real power? Why seek spirits who are not the Holy Spirit?”

Witchcraft and its many counterparts promise spirituality but lead only to emptiness and death (Micah 5:12, Galatians 5:19–21). Only Jesus has the words of eternal life (John 6:68).

Source: Adapted from GotQuestions.org