Is it True that If We Do Not Follow Jesus, We Will be Deceived by Sorcery?

  Is it True that If We Do Not Follow Jesus, We Will be Deceived by Sorcery?  by Ted Robertson   ( Oct. 2010 )

The prophet Isaiah forecasts judgment on Babylon. Among the reasons for Babylon’s fall is that she placed her trust in sorcery and enchantment

Isaiah 47 (especially verses. 9, 12-13)

In a prophecy about the fall of Babylon at the end of the world, we are told that the world is deceived by the sorceries of Babylon

Revelation 18 (especially vs. 23)

  The SDA Bible Commentary (1955, 1980; vol. 7, p. 866) says the following regarding the use of “sorcery” in this text: “That is, the deceptions practiced by Babylon to secure the allegiance of the inhabitants of earth.”

What are these deceptions?   Let’s examine some of the deceptions one at a time

--  Drugs & Alcohol

·        The underlying word in Revelation 18:23 for “sorcery” is the Greek word pharmakia which is also the root of pharmacy. Certainly the Scriptures have a lot of warning for us regarding the use of mind-altering substances such as alcohol.

Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! Habakkuk 2:15

 

Who hath woe?   Who hath sorrow?   Who hath contentions?   Who hath babbling?   Who hath wounds without cause?   Who hath redness of eyes?   They that tarry long at the wine;

they that go to seek mixed wine.  Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,  when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.   At the last it biteth like a serpent,

and stingeth like an adder.   Thine eyes shall behold strange women,  and thine heart shall utter perverse things.   Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea,

or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.  They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick;  they have beaten me, and I felt it not:  when shall I awake?  I will seek it yet again. Proverbs 23:29-35

 

--  F o r n i c a t i o n,    I d o l a t r y,    A p o s t a s y

Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. Hosea 4:11

And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters;

with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Revelation 17:1-2

·        The SDA Bible Commentary (1955, 1980; vol. 7, pp. 849-850) says the following regarding the use of “committed fornication” in this text: “[The underlying Greek word is] porneuo, the related verb form of porne. This expression is equivalent to ‘gone a whoring’ in the OT (cf. Ezekiel 23:30; Hosea 4:12). Used figuratively, as here, it refers to an illicit alliance of professed Christians with some master other than Christ, in this instance to a religio-political compact between an apostate church and the nations of earth. … [Also,] the OT prophets often compare apostate Israel, which repeatedly went ‘a whoring’ after heathen gods, with an adulterous woman.”

--  L u s t

In another study, we learned that lust is of a demonic source:

The deception of sin had reached its height. All the agencies for depraving the souls of men had been put in operation. The Son of God, looking upon the world, beheld suffering and misery. With pity He saw how men had become victims of satanic cruelty. He looked with compassion upon those who were being corrupted, murdered, and lost. They had chosen a ruler who chained them to his car as captives. Bewildered and deceived, they were moving on in gloomy procession toward eternal ruin, – to death in which is no hope of life, toward night to which comes no morning. Satanic agencies were incorporated with men. The bodies of human beings, made for the dwelling place of God, had become the habitation of demons. The senses, the nerves, the passions, the organs of men, were worked by supernatural agencies in the indulgence of the vilest lust. The very stamp of demons was impressed upon the countenances of men. Human faces reflected the expression of the legions of evil with which they were possessed. Such was the prospect upon which the world's Redeemer looked. What a spectacle for Infinite Purity to behold!    – Desire of Ages.  p. 36

- -  W i t c h c r a f t

A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones; their blood shall be upon them. Leviticus 20:27

And many that believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds. 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. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.  Acts 19:18-20

Forecasting the Future, Fortune Telling, Astrology

Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.   Isaiah 47:13-14

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: the same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.   Acts 16:16-18

Communicating with the dead, Occult practices

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, Ex. 22.18

or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, Lev. 19.31  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. Deuteronomy 18:10-12

     read  Patriarch and Prophets, Chapter 67  'Ancient & Modern Sorcery'   (page 683 to 689)

 

Those who engage in these practices will not inherit the kingdom of heaven

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.   Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adulteryfornication, uncleanness, lasciviousnessidolatrywitchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. Galatians 5:16-24

 

We must choose which side we want to be on: the side of the Lamb or the side of Babylon and the deception of her sorceries

And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly: Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Revelation 22:10-21

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