What Does the Bible Say about Magic?

　　Exodus 8:32“It’s magic you know/Never believe it's not so. It's magic you know/Never believe it's not so” are the lyrics of Pilot’s hit song “Magic.” Most people have heard this song at some point in their life.

　　Or maybe you have heard of magic from The Harry Potter series or seen a Disney film with fairies performing magic. In mainstream culture, magic is portrayed as a good thing, but what does the Bible say about magic?

　　

Magic in the Old Testament

Within the Bible, the concept of magic is discussed at lengths, and it also discusses sorcerers. God tells us not to participate in magic, divination, or forms of witchcraft (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). In the Old Testament, God makes several mentions of not participating in magic nor seeking out magic.

　　In Leviticus 19:31, God warns the Israelites, “Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.” Magic is directly related to the occult and demons. All Christians need to stay away from participating in magic, witchcraft, and all forms of the occult.

　　During the time of Moses and Joseph, the Egyptians practiced magic. While God was working through Moses and Aaron to perform the miracles, Pharaoh had his own wise men and sorcerers to try to duplicate the miracles (Exodus 7:8-8:32).

　　This shows us that during the early days of Moses, magic was already being practiced. Pharaoh, his wise men, and his sorcerers were directly opposed to God. These individuals were not followers of Yahweh, but rather followers of their own evil desires.

　　Within the Book of Exodus, God makes the command that sorcerers, sorceresses, and anyone who participates in magical arts should not live (Exodus 22:18). This is because magic is directly related to Satan and his demons. Magic is not what Hollywood makes it out to be. It is not full of magical sparkles, happiness, and goodness.

　　

Magic in the New Testament

In addition to the Old Testament condemning magical art, the New Testament also condemns practicing magic. During one of Paul’s journeys, he comes across a man named Elymas, who is a sorcerer (Acts 13:8). Elymas was trying to convince the proconsul to not become a believer of Christ.

　　Paul strongly opposes and says, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?” (Acts 13:10). As a result of Elymas’ sorcery, he is struck blind by the Lord (Acts 13:11).

　　After the proconsul sees how Elymas was struck blind, he believes in the Lord (Acts 13:12). What can we learn about magic from Paul’s remark to Elymas? We can learn that practicing magic makes you an enemy of God and that the individual practicing magic is full of deceit, trickery, and perversions.

　　There is no place for magic in the life of the believer. Earlier in Acts, Philip went down to Samaria where he encountered a sorcerer named Simon (Acts 8:9-25). Before Philip had come to Samaria, the people had believed Simon was the “Great Power of God” because of the sorcery he performed.

　　They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic (Acts 8:10-11).

　　It was not until Philip came and shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ that the people truly knew God. After sharing the gospel, the people of Samaria, including Simon were baptized.

　　But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw (Acts 8:12-13).

　　Even after hearing the gospel and being baptized, Simon thought that he could buy the gift of the Holy Spirit from Peter and John (Acts 8:17-25). Peter refutes Simon and tells him that the Holy Spirit is only given by faith — one cannot buy the Holy Spirit, nor can one purchase the ability to give the Holy Spirit.

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What Is Wicca?

In present-day society, there has been an influx of Wiccans. There are more than 1.5 million Wiccans in the United States. Wiccans are modern day witches, who practice magic, spells, and potions. According to Wiccans, there is white magic and dark magic. Most Wiccans will tell you they are a white witch and only practice white magic.

　　White magic is supposed to be good, whereas dark magic is supposed to be evil. Whether a person practices white magic or dark magic, both are evil (Deuteronomy 18:10-16). The Wicca cult believe “that a creative force exists in the universe, which is sometimes called ‘The One’ or ‘The All.’”

　　According to the official Wicca website, they believe that this “One,” “All,” or “Goddess” is impersonal, without gender, and above emotions. They declare themselves to be syncretic monotheists. The basic tenets of the Wicca cult consist of harmony with the sun, moon, stars, and seasons to live out a successful life and to be balanced in their being.

　　Another basic tenet is reincarnation, in which Wiccans define reincarnation as “as an orderly system of learning through which a being progresses,” which is how they are constantly obtaining more knowledge and growing (“Basic Tenets Of Wicca Craft”).

　　Furthermore, the third tenet of the Wicca cult is “power through knowledge,” in which they teach that you can control the power within you, and through obtaining more knowledge and wisdom, you will become more self-empowered (Ibid.).

　　The fourth tenet is the law of attraction, which is the belief that what you do to others will come back to you whether negative or positive as Wiccan state; “We have had enough science in our backgrounds to trust that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”

　　This is connected to the Three-Fold Law. Wiccans follow the strict Three-Fold Law, in which if a Wiccan performs a harmful spell on someone else, it will return on their own head three times over (Wiccan Living, “The Wiccan Threefold Law,” Wiccian Wisdom).

　　The Wiccans in the modern day are still very much practicing the same magical arts described in the Bible. Thus, a person cannot be a Christian and practice any type of magic. God wants to protect us from Satan and his demons.

　　God does not want us to run after encounters with demons through magic. Even though television, books, and music promote magic as a good thing, the true definition of magic is related in the occult. Just like Paul, we have to reject the deceptive philosophy of the world and not become involved with the “elemental spiritual forces” of the world (Colossians 2:8).

　　For further reading:

　　What Is Wicca? History, Beliefs, and Rituals (Plus What the Bible Says)

　　Something Wiccan This Way Comes: Why Is the Occult on the Rise?

　　Who Was the Witch of Endor?

　　What Is a Medium?

　　Why Was Evil Celebrated on Halloween?