Saturday, February 16, 2013

Five Bible Verses on New Age Practices

1. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord . And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.

I have family who are involved in these sort of practices, so this was a particularly hard one for me to swallow. Before I was saved by Christ I often studied these sort of alternative spiritual practices. It's hard to place because a lot of these alternative spiritual practices are in disguise with seemingly moral and truth based implications. The devil has a trick for every group of people and the enlightened are no exception. In fact these are often the ones he wants the most! Fortunately the Bible is very clear about these kind of practices. Deuteronomy tells us that we should not have these kind of people around us. There is no mincing of words here! Those who practice divination are included. Divination was practiced by oracles and sages in ancient Greece by way of their false gods. What about fortune tellers and tarot card readers? They are included as well, as those who we should not consult with. Those who claim to speak to the dead? Also listed. These things are not just bad to God, they are abominations. Do not be surprised if a select few of these sorcerers can actually do what they say! Many have communion with demons and deceivers. Such "channeled spirits" have even been heard at the United Nations, which only goes to show just how evil the UN is.

2. Leviticus 19:31 Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.

Again in Leviticus we are told to not seek out these false teachers. A medium is a general term for one with "extra sensory abilities." Whatever is really going on with these things, we know from scripture that God isn't happy with it. Might these be abilities we'll have in the next life? Only going there can tell, and God isn't mentioning it. We learn that if we consult with these people we can end up making ourselves unclean by what they tell us. God reminds us that he is our sovereign and no other.

3. Isaiah 8:19 And when they say to you, "Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter," should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?

This passage in Isaiah really shows us that why should we even be considering these false teachings? Why not inquire of our maker? He has all answers! He is generous too in how he tells us of things, when we pray for it. This is a strong avocation of prayer. We ought to speak to God about things we're concerned about. The last sentence in the passage is great because it just confirms the absurdity of consulting the dead about aspects of living. Why would we want to do that?

4. Isaiah 8:20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.

The is an emphatic proclamation from Isaiah once again shouting to us to get into God's word, which is what we're doing right now, so well done! The Bible is where it's at, truly. If people are constantly seeking out false teachings and alternative spirituality Isaiah tells us that we know that they probably have no future in the next life. Only fire awaits them. So we need not trouble ourselves with these type of people, because they will not be with us in the next life. The only reason we could have would be to try and convert them, but they may be doomed til the end of their lives. We just don't know if they'll accept Christ or not.

5. 2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

This is a good reminder that comes from the 2nd book of Peter. There will be many false prophets, especially in these modern end times. People will claim to have the truth, and spout great moral truths. Later on with their flock gathered, they will lead them astray. I experienced this with alternative spirituality. I was told many wondrous things, then after a while I was told that I was god and that I create the universe. I knew this wasn't right because of the intense lapse of pride within it. But at the beginning it was all talk of peace, truth, morality, and justice. All the things I loved to hear! Do not be deceived! Many will keep the idea of God but eject Christ from it. Do not allow this either! We know that these false teachers ultimate end is swift destruction.