Works of the Flesh - Witchcraft


  1. Witchcraft in the Old Testament
    1. Divination, enchanters, witches, observer of times, charmer, familiar spirits, wizards, & necromancer - Le 19:31; Dt 18:10-12
    2. Wycliffe referred to them as ventriloquists;
    3. Such were to be put to death: Leviticus 20:6; 20:27
    4. The witch at Endor - 1 Samuel 28


  2. Witchcraft in the New Testament
    1. "Witchcraft" only in Gal 5:20; but "sorcery" is the same word and is found in Rev 9:21, 18:23 (but differs than the sorcery of Simon in Acts 8:6, which comes from the Greek mageuo, or "magic").
    2. From the Greek pharmakeia, from which the English pharmacy is derived.
    3. Refers to those who made "magic" or healing / poison potions.


  3. Witchcraft throughout extra and post-biblical History
    1. In Greek mythology, Hecate was the goddess of witchcraft and sorcery. Circe had the power to transform men into beasts. Those beasts were generally goat-like in nature, wherein we get our images of Satan as having a goat-like appearance (goatee, horns)
    2. Europe
      1. In 1231, in response to plagues, famines, and other crisis leading to a failing influence of Catholicism, Pope Gregory IX established the "Holy Inquisition" to seek out and destroy "anti-Christian" forces.
      2. Witch hunts began en masse in Switzerland in 1427.
      3. Witches were executed primarily by hanging, but some were stoned and others burned at the stake (Joan of Arc - 1431)
      4. In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued a decree against witchcraft.
      5. Estimates vary from 50,000 - 100,000 to 300,000 - 2,000,000 persons executed as witches b/w the 14th and 18th centuries.
    3. America -- most famous were the Salem witch trials from March to September of 1692, where 20 accused witches were executed (19 by hanging, 1 crushed b/w stones).
  4. Modern witchcraft
    1. A pantheistic (nature-worship) religion
    2. Varying types of witches:
      1. white = "good" witches associated with nature-worship
      2. black = evil witches associated with Satan worship
    3. Prefer "pagans" as it "carries less baggage" than "witches." Also commonly referred to as "wiccans" from the Old English wicce ("wise one"), the root word from which we derive "witch."
    4. Because of a lack of central organization or means of affiliation, estimates have ranged from 2000 to 5-10 million practicing wiccans in the US. General estimates range from 200,000 to 750,000 wiccans in the US today, with millions more world-wide.
    5. Many others are not witches, but are "controlled by" or devotees to the practice of witchcraft. (Ghana and other sub-Saharan African nations, India, Haiti, etc). A witch doctor is not a witch, but exactly what the name implies - someone who is sought out to counteract the forces of witchcraft.


  5. The Christian's Response to Spiritism
    1. Ecclesiastes 9:4-6
    2. 1 Corinthians 2:11