Steps to Life

Prophecy Seminar

Session 3: The Occult Explosion

Our subject tonight moves from the book of Daniel to the book of Revelation. Turn with me to the eighteenth chapter.

Revelation 18:1 "After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, ‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a habitation of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.’ 4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.’ "

In our last two lessons we found a great controversy taking place between the powers of the occult and the powers of God. The Bible says that in the last days these same Babylonian powers are going to inundate the world.

The term "occult" refers to things hidden, obscure, out of sight, mysterious; such as astrology, divination, magic and incantations. The dictionary says that occultism is "a belief of supernatural powers and the possibility of subjecting them to human control." One of the chief activities of the various occult arts is to try to predict the events of the future. We noticed in our first lesson, however, that only God can truly predict the future.

Today there are many spiritualistic forces claiming to be able to predict the future. These forces are not new. We noticed them also in our first lesson.

Daniel 2:1 "Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, ‘I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.’ "

In this chapter, when brought in contact with the power of God, these forces of the occult miserably failed. But they did not always appear in such a bad light, or they would not have possessed the power and influence they enjoyed.

The Occult’s Influence in America

For a hundred and eighty years, under the influence of conservative, Bible-believing Christians, occult manifestations were virtually unknown and unaccepted in the American culture. But over the past few decades they have literally mushroomed. Today the occult movement is affecting our young people, our movie industry, and even our educational system. Psychic magazines can be purchased at nearly every check-out counter. Ouija boards can be purchased in the toy stores. Star Wars and E.T. were two of the biggest hits of all time from Hollywood. You can receive psychic information from many sources on-line through your computer. We are interested and curious about the supernatural and the occult. It is booming business.

Are there supernatural powers that we can somehow get our hands on and control as the occult leaders of Babylon tried to do? Or are there supernatural powers that can control and manipulate us? More and more people think so. Things that used to be termed as "superstition" are now accepted by many. Today we are witnessing a literal explosion of the occult. Zodiacs alone are now earning over a quarter of a billion dollars a year. Over 60,000,000 Americans read their horoscope daily. American universities and colleges offer courses in metaphysics, sorcery, and even magic and witchcraft.

For years television and the movies have been daily cultivating our acceptance and belief in the occult with such programs as I Dream of Genie, Bewitched, Star Wars, and E.T. Even the children have their programs such as Masters of the Universe, Superman, and the Wizard of Oz.

Oh, someone says, these are all harmless programs; they merely provide entertainment. We all know they are only fictional in character. But, possibly totally unintentionally, they are serving a very practical purpose: They are getting us used to the idea of supernatural powers. And they are teaching us that many of these supernatural powers are very friendly.

Many people I’ve talked to all over the country have seen ghosts and optical illusions in their homes. The images of what is claimed to be Christ or Mary or some other being are daily reported. Many people say they have talked to dead loved ones.

Can the stars affect our lives? Can a miniature Egyptian pyramid or a Bermuda triangle? Can we find answers from the Ouija board? Will a crystal ball in the hands of a fortune-teller reveal the future? Can our dead loved ones come back and talk to us? Do psychics possess special intuition about the unforeseen? Tonight we will answer these questions from the Bible. The occult is mysterious. It deals in mysteries and secrets. But tonight we are going to unravel the mysteries of Babylon.

I, personally, believe in some supernatural powers. I have experienced them myself, and the Bible teaches us that such powers do exist. But it also teaches us that some are good and some are not so good. Let us look at the good powers first.

Angels

Psalm 34:7 "The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them."

I could tell you many stories, such as about the "Fuzzie Wuzzie" South Sea Islander, named Kata Rangoso, who was released from a Japanese prison cell by an angel. Kata Rangoso was from a headhunting tribe of the South Sea Islands, but being converted through the teachings of Christians missionaries, he began to teach others about Christ also.

During World War II his island was occupied by the Japanese. During one portion of the war the island was strafed and bombed by American pilots. Many of the pilots were shot down and captured by the Japanese. Kata Rangoso felt a love for these foreigners from America and organized a party of fellow converted islanders to watch the planes as they flew over, and to rescue downed pilots when their planes were hit. Because they knew the island so well, they were able to get to almost every plane before the Japanese. They carried the pilots to a safe retreat, administered first aid, and waited for an opportunity to return them to American safekeeping.

The Japanese eventually captured Kata Rangoso and unmercifully tortured him in order to force him to tell where the American pilots were hidden, but he determined not to tell. They finally set an execution date for this brave Christian islander, but before dawn, on the morning of his execution, a strange Japanese soldier came and unlocked his cell and told him to follow him. He took him out to a clearing away from the Japanese encampment and told him to run. When Kata Rangoso turned to thank his guide, he had vanished from sight.

In Acts 12:1-11 we could read a similar story of how Peter, likewise, was released from a prison cell by an angel the night before he was to be killed by King Herod.

The angels of God can be very friendly beings. And yet, who are they? Well, for one thing, they are spirits.

Hebrews 1:14 "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?"

Where did these angel spirits come from? Some people consider them to be the spirits of departed loved ones, but did you know that there is not a single verse in all the Bible that even suggests such a thing?

Genesis 3:24 "So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life."

There are two classes of angels spoken of in the Bible—cherubims and seraphims. Here we see that God sent some cherubims to guard the garden of Eden after man sinned. This was before anyone on earth had ever died.

Psalm 8:5 "For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor."

Psalm 104:4 "Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire."

The angels are God’s special messengers. They were created by God, and they were created as spirits. Ever since the creation of the earth angels have been involved with human affairs.

Angels are powerful. At one time, a single angel destroyed a whole army of 185,000 soldiers who were fighting against God’s people (2 Kings 19:35).

Angels can go through closed doors and enter secret chambers and hear the secret discussions and plans that people are contriving. They can also disguise themselves as humans or animals or however else they want to appear, just as the Holy Spirit appeared as a dove at Jesus’ baptism.

Do you remember the story of Lot, how two men came into town and Lot invited them home with him? Later these two men turned out to be angels (Genesis 18 and 19).

Hebrews 13:2 "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels."

God’s angels are wonderful beings. Why, then, are there people who are frightened by spirits? Are there evil spirits, too?

Evil Spirits

Matthew 17:14 "And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 ‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.’ 17 Then Jesus answered and said, ‘O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.’ 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and he came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour."

There are both good and evil spirits. That is the reason the Bible says we should test the spirits to see which they are before believing them.

1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

Many people believe anything that is supernatural, but the Bible says to be careful.

Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ "

Today it is extremely important that we be very careful and wary about spirits and supernatural manifestations. Jesus said that evil spirits would be especially active on the earth just before His second coming.

Matthew 24:24 "For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect."

Evil spirits also have great power, just as the good spirits do. These spirits can also enter secret chambers and reveal hidden mysteries. Evil spirits work in many different ways so as to fool as many people as they can.

They can speak through people as Satan did through the serpent in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-5) and as another evil spirit spoke through the demoniac of the Gadarenes (Mark 5:1-10). They can still speak through people today. Just because somebody speaks in tongues is no proof in itself that he or she is possessed by the Holy Spirit. We don’t have time to go into speaking in tongues in detail tonight, but, friend, if it is your belief that this is a positive proof of God working through somebody, you are certain to be sadly fooled. The Bible says to try the spirits. Don’t just blindly accept something because it appears to be supernatural. Don’t miss the coming seminar in which we will spend an evening studying what prophecy says about modern charismatic miracles and speaking in tongues. Are they all genuine? If not, how can you tell one from another?

Where Did Satan and His Evil Spirits Come From?

Who are evil spirits? The Bible reveals that they are also angels. Satan, once called Lucifer, is the chief of the evil spirits. He was once the highest and most powerful angel in heaven. He was created by God as a good and perfect angel.

Ezekiel 28:14 "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you."

Satan is here pictured as the true king of Tyre the earthly monarch was but a puppet in his hands. That this verse is speaking of Satan is obvious from the next verse (verse 16). This verse says that he was created by God and that he was perfect, but somehow pride entered his heart because of his perfection and beauty (verse 17), and he chose to rebel against God.

Isaiah 14:12 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ 15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit."

Satan chose to rebel against God and was successful in persuading many of his angel friends in joining him in his rebellion.

War in Heaven

Revelation 12:7 "And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

Satan was cast out with his angels. Notice, he has angels with him, millions and millions of them. Some of the angels rebelled against God even before man rebelled against Him. These evil spirits are the ones who tempted Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden through the serpent and caused them to join with them in their rebellion against God.

Revelation says there was war between the spirit powers (that was the real star wars), and there is still a great conflict going on between the evil spirits and the good spirits. They are both trying to influence us. That’s the reason the Bible says to test the spirits, don’t be gullible!

How Can We Identify an Evil Spirit?

How do we test the spirits? By feelings and emotions? If that was good enough, no one would be fooled. But in actuality the Bible says almost the whole world is going to be fooled by evil spirits. The Bible never gives "feeling" as a test, but this is the only test that most people use today.

Revelation 13:13 "He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived."

2 Thessalonians 2:8 "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders."

2 Corinthians 11:13 "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works."

Would you be deceived if the Devil came to you and said, "Hi, I’m the Devil, and I have come to deceive you?" No, of course not. That’s why the Devil comes in the guise of religion. He is a deceiver, the master of deception.

He may come in the guise of religion, or, even more subtly, in the guise of some loved one that has passed away. In fact, this is one of the sure tests of whether a spirit is a good spirit or an evil spirit. Whenever a spirit comes to you in the form of a departed loved one, it is always an evil spirit. Always!

Job 7:9 "As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, so he who goes down to the grave does not come up. 10 He shall never return to his house, nor shall his place know him anymore."

What happens to the dead will be a subject for another night, but this one thing we know: God has promised that He will never allow any dead person to come back to visit us. On the evening we discuss the dead we will see why this is so. We shall also see how it is that God has put a wall between those who have passed on before and those of us who have remained behind. Let me share one of the reasons He has put this gulf between the dead and the living: We humans would have no way of differentiating between a real loved one visiting us in spirit form, and an evil spirit impersonating that loved one who had passed away. Therefore, God has solved the problem for us by making an impassable gulf between the dead and living so that whenever someone comes in the guise of one who has died, we may know for sure that it is an impersonation and not the real thing.

Mr. Williams

A friend of mine, Pastor Williams, told me an interesting story about his great grandparents. His great-grandfather, Mr. Williams, was caught up in the gold-rush fever during the 1849 California gold rush. He didn’t want to take his lovely young wife and boy out to that wild country, however, until he had found some success and had a home ready for them to live in.

Like other gold seekers, he didn’t find his riches as fast as he had anticipated. But he worked hard and staked out a homestead to build a home on. He was just getting things ready so he could go back and get his family when along with several others in the area he contracted typhoid fever. He was taken, along with his personal belongings, to a crude building being used as a hospital and was placed in a room with another typhoid fever victim. It so happened that both of these men, Mr. Williams and his roommate, went into a peak crisis period the same night. They both became delirious and Mr. William’s roommate died. The next morning they moved Mr. William’s roommate out and sent all his belongings back to his family along with a note that he had passed away. The only trouble was that the lady who was acting as a nurse got the wrong person’s belongings. Mr. Williams was still unconscious, and she didn’t know either of their names, except what was on their belongings, and so she wrote a note to Mrs. Williams stating that her husband had died that night, and sent it back with his personal belongings.

That same night, Mrs. Williams, back in the East, was startled to see her husband walk in through the door. He told her that he had just died and had come to see her and let her know of his death. "Now in a few days," he said, "you will be getting my things along with a note that I have died." Then they had a good crying spell together.

Now, of course, that wasn’t Mr. Williams, because he was still living, but an evil spirit knew just what had happened and knew exactly how to impersonate her husband. The spirit also knew something else, that a certain local man, Mr. Clayburn, secretly admired Mrs. Williams.

And so the evil spirit, who was disguised as her husband, said, "Mr. Clayburn will come over and propose to you after the word gets out that I’ve passed away. I want you to accept his proposal because I love you, and I want to see you provided for, as well as my boy."

Well, sure enough, everything happened as the spirit said, but Mrs. Williams couldn’t bring herself to accept this man’s proposal. She didn’t love him. So the spirit, appearing as her husband, came back again and pleaded with her to marry this man. "I love you," he said, "and I know he will take care of you." So she accepted and was married.

Meanwhile, the real Mr. Williams got better and was flabbergasted to find out his things had all been sent home. When he got to feeling well enough, he wrote a letter home. The new man who had married Mrs. Williams got the letter and was startled to find her former husband was still alive. He tore the letter up and decided they were going to have to move. Mr. Williams couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t getting any letters back from his wife. He wrote to her but months went by with no response. Finally, he packed up and went home. He found his old home deserted, and upon inquiry found where his wife had moved to. She came to the door with a new baby in her arms. Her new husband had turned out to be an alcoholic and abusive. Tragedy wrecked their home, all because of an evil spirit’s power to impersonate her husband, and because they didn’t know the Bible teaching that God strictly forbids anyone to communicate with a spirit appearing as someone who is dead. This type of experience is not an isolated one.

An Impersonation Game

God has put warnings in the Bible for our protection. One of the things He has told us is to never consult with the dead, for in reality it is an evil spirit impersonating the dead.

Leviticus 19:31 "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God."

God, out of mercy for us, has placed an impenetrable gulf between the dead and the living. A wife, whose husband has died, does not need to worry about her former husband being a constant witness of her new marriage. Don’t you think God was wise to make this gulf?

Ecclesiastes 9:6 "Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun."

Not only has God mercifully put a gulf between the dead and the living, but He has strictly forbidden us to try to consult the dead, for we will thereby be contacting an evil spirit in disguise.

Leviticus 20:27 "A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them."

Deuteronomy 18:10 "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you."

Galatians 5:19 "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

In Conflict with God

These occult phenomena have never been a part of God’s religion. They have always been a part of heathen religions such as we noted in Babylon last night (Daniel 2:1-3). But did these occult leaders have any connection with God?

Daniel 2:11 "It is a difficult thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."

By their own admission, they did not. These servants of Satan later tried to kill Daniel and his Hebrew friends (Daniel 3 and 5). Prophecy says that right before Jesus comes the second time, the world will again be inundated with the occult movement—so much so that God calls it modern Babylon.

Revelation 18:1 "After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, ‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a habitation of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.’ 4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.’ "

These leaders again will fight against God’s people as they did against Daniel and his three Hebrew friends. This will lead to the war of Armageddon which we will be studying another night—a subject no one should miss.

When Jesus comes, friends, these people who have become involved with the occult will be left outside of heaven.

Revelation 22:15 "But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie."

Friend, the occult is no plaything. It is nothing to tamper with. Jesus said to stay away from it. We are fighting in a battle that involves the supernatural.

Ephesians 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

We Have a Refuge

Yes, we are today being inundated with supernatural forces. Left alone we are no match for the Devil; but God is much stronger than Satan, and He has promised to come to the aid of all who call upon Him.

Friend, have you accepted Christ today? There is no middle-of-the-road in this matter. Either we are going to be influenced and used by Satan, or we will have the protection of Jesus Christ to keep us safe.

Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

Jesus longs to free us from the power of Satan. It was through death that Christ earned the right to destroy the Devil and all his works.

Hebrews 2:14 "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil."

1 John 3:8 "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."

Is it your desire to place your allegiance on the side of Christ so that He can free you from the power of Satan in your life?

It is through the teaching of these spirits of the occult that the world is being prepared rapidly to worship the antichrist. God has warned the whole world in His Word that we cannot and must not attempt to contact any one who has died. But contrary to what God was warned us about, people are trying to do it anyway. It has always been a dangerous thing for mankind to go directly contrary to the expressed command of God. But that is what men and women are doing all over the world today by the millions. They are having communications with spirits and especially the "spirits of the dead," and the sure result is that they will be deceived. Revelation 12:9 says that the devil is going to deceive the whole world. One of the ways that He does this is through manifestations of spiritism or the occult. People believe that they are in contact with the "spirits of the dead" when actually they are in contact with evil spirits who are deceiving them about the present and the future.

Already there are increasing reports all over the world of communications with the "spirits of the dead." Soon you will be hearing about apparitions of the apostles making public appearances. Before it is over you are going to hear that Christ has come back to this world and billions of people all over the world will worship this Christ, but it will be the antichrist instead of the real Christ.

Friend your only protection from the occult today is if you have committed your life to Christ, if you have surrendered yourself to Him to be under His rule and jurisdiction. To those who chose to follow and obey Him, Jesus said, "Behold I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Luke 10:19. Everything about your future depends on whether you have made a commitment to serve and obey the Lord Jesus. Only He can keep you from being deceived by the deceptive power of the antichrist that is coming.

Tomorrow night we will be studying a specific prophecy about the coming Antichrist who will deceive every person in the entire world except for the elect of God who have chosen to follow and obey Jesus.

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Last Updated: 06/18/03