REPLY TO A
RESPONSE ON “QUESTIONS ON WITCHCRAFT”
The following answer is a reply to a respondent to one of
our articles in the Articles Directory titled “Questions on Witchcraft.” To read this article click Questions
on Witchcraft. She states that her reply is in reference to the directory
of articles; specifically the one on witchcraft. I’ve included her reply and
the things she said about God as well as the questions she asked to be
answered.
THE RESPONSE
STATED
It was quoted Exodus 22:18-20, “Thou shalt not suffer a
witch to live." It has come to the attention of many throughout the years
that words have been mistranslated from the original texts of the Bible, this
verse being one of them, the "witch" in reference was not to a group
of people practicing the old ways, it is in reference to a group of people who
worship satan. It was stated "practitioners of the occult have Satan as
the source of their information not God" Satan is a Christian ideal, not
ours. We are the "Other People"..allow me to
quote from an article....Gen 4:16 Cain left the presence of Yahweh and settled
in the
A REPLY TO THE
RESPONSE GIVEN ABOVE
Man has known
about Satan from the beginning
I ended the article "Questions on
Witchcraft" with this statement: “Now, doesn't this explain how
"God" feels about such? Nathan, practitioners of the occult have
Satan as the source of their information not God. God does not reveal his will
to them. Instead he speaks today to man through the word of Christ, the Bible.”
While many today do not accept the reality
of Satan the Bible clearly teaches that Satan is real spiritual being (Genesis
3:1; Matthew 4:1-11). Most people throughout the world who serve Satan probably
would not accept the fact that he is the god of this world and the power of
darkness. A few would. With the Bible in mind, and the various ages spoken of
in the Bible, we find that Satan first appeared to Eve in the garden of Eden. Moses, who wrote Genesis by inspiration (2
Peter
The false prophet is
depicted as the beast of the earth in Revelation 13:11. (He is identified as
such in Rev. 19:20) He causes the earth to worship the former beast, i.e. the
beast of the sea (the emperor). These three form an alliance as Satan works to
destroy Christ's church. The great
battle that has been building up between these forces of evil and those of God
comes to a head in Revelation 19. The two armies clash; Satan loses and Jesus wins!
The
From the beginning of time Satan has worked
as a liar (John
Most
throughout the world who serve Satan do not claim to worship him,
The respondent claims "the old
ways" for herself and those she belongs to. There is certainly a difference in saying
that Satan is the source of the practices of the occult, and saying that each
person involved in the occult claims they worship Satan directly.
The Bible says that those who commit sin are
of the devil. 1 John 3:8,"He that committeth sin is of the devil;
for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." Hear John
again, 1 John
To the Jews who lived
carnally and sought to do Him harm Jesus said, "Ye are of your father the
devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the
beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When
he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of
it." (John 8:44) In fact John said in 1 John 5:19, "We know
that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil
one." The whole world! (Cp. Revelation 12:9)
It is our desire as Christians that those
being deceived by the devices of Satan (2 Cor.
Upon one's obedience to the Gospel of Christ
they are translated from one domain to another. Paul said to the church at
The word
"witch" in Exodus 22:18
The word “witch” in Ex.
The Other
People Believe God Is A Local Deity, Not Omnipresent.
She assumes far too much when she says, “Gen
Gen. 4:16 can mean nothing more than Cain
left (went away from) the place where God communed with man just as God
communed with man in the garden. (Cp. Psalm 51:11; 143:7). In Cain's anguished
statement, in Gen. 4:14, to be “driven from the face of the earth” refers to
leaving
Perhaps a brief of Jonah's life is in order
here should anyone think that it is possible to escape the omnipresence of God.
Read Jonah chapters 1-2 and ask yourself if it is possible to walk away from
God's omnipresence? Jonah tried to run from God but "could" he escape
God's knowledge of what he had done and where he was? No! Compare Jonah 1:1-3,
“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord... unto
Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” For Jonah to be able to
literally get away from God was impossible! He fled from the
Isn’t it convenient and self serving to read
Gen. 4:16 and just forget about the rest of the book? Did she forget (being a
minister’s daughter)
about Gen. 1:1? That's only 3 chapters to the left of the verse
she dwells upon. “God” in Gen. 1:1 is same word she says was mistranslated. And
God made the heavens and the earth. Does that sound like God is a local
deity?
Now, going "forward" from Gen. 4 you come to the
Flood (Gen. 7-9). Does it look like God is just a local deity? What are some of
the major points in history that God wants man to remember concerning His
dealings with mankind whom He created? One would be driving Adam and Eve from
the garden of Eden, Gen. 3:23-24. And the next would
be the Flood in Gen. 6-9. The
Who survived the flood? Noah with his wife,
and his three sons with their wives (Gen. 7:7;
The Other
People Say The First Mention of the Other People Is Gen. 4:16.
Quote: Gen. 4:16 Cain settled in there,
among the people of Nod, and married one of the women of that country. Here,
for the first time, is specifically mentioned the "other people" who
are not of the lineage of Adam and Eve. I.e., the
Pagans."
Let’s break this up:
They say Cain
settled in among the people of Nod, and married one of the women of that
country.
Cain was grown and tilling the ground when he
killed Abel. In Gen. 4:16 he went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt
in the
It is here we see the importance of Genesis
5:4. In Gen. 5:4 after telling about the birth of SETH to Adam and Eve, it
tells us Adam lived 800 years after the birth of SETH and had sons and
daughters. The "daughters" mentioned in Genesis 5:4 are the source of
"wives" in the beginning of the human race. Here is the source of
Cain’s wife! Either he married one of his sisters, or
one his nieces, or so on down the line. There was nothing wrong with this at
the beginning. We must remember that there was "time" for this
because people lived hundreds of years.
She says:
Here, for the first time, is specifically mentioned the "other
people" who are not of the lineage of Adam and Eve. I.e.,
the Pagans."
This statement highlights the importance of
Genesis 3:20. Why did Adam name his wife Eve? Genesis 3:20, "And Adam
called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living."
Ops! There's another mistake in this scenario of the "other people."
Eve was the mother of ALL living! There was no "other people" who
were not of the lineage of Adam and Eve!
Furthermore, the Bible tells us about the
“numerous descendants” who came from the first man and woman, Adam and Eve.
Again, remember what happened at the Flood. Going on after the Flood the word
used to describe “numerous descendants” of one person distinct from others is
“nations” (later translated Gentiles); it appears first in Gen. 10:5 with
regard to the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japeth the
three sons of Noah. That’s after the Flood and doesn’t fit into this witches'
tale!
Look at the statement in Genesis
10:1,"Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and
Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood." Genesis chapter
11:1 picks up with the descendants of those three to tell about the tower of
Babel and exactly when and how the nations were divided after the flood
(10:32). Chapter 11:1-2 says the whole earth (all of mankind) was of one speech
and they dwelt together in the
The word “pagan” in the Bible is the same
word as “nations“ (more often translated “heathen”);
you find it in many O.T. books to refer to the Gentiles. In the New Testament
beginning in Matt. 6:7 it is the word “heathen” or Gentile. This word set the
Gentiles off from the Jews (see I Cor. 12:2; 2 Cor. 11:26).
Another So Called "Mistranslation Bit," Gen. 1:26.
Quote: “...and back on the mistranslation
bit, here's another verse that when the proper word is used, makes everything
change..quoted from the same article "Genesis
1:26 - The [Elohim] said, "Let us make humanity in our own image, in the
likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the
birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts and all the reptiles that
crawl upon the earth." Elohim is a plural word, including male and female,
and should properly be translated "Gods" or "Pantheon." End
Quote.
I stated before that the respondent
apparently forgot all about Gen. 1:1,
"In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth." God here is the same word as that used
in Genesis 1:26. The word "Elohiym." OK
folks! I'll say it again, God is the creator of heaven
and earth! Is that a local deity?
The respondent knows so much about God that
she claims that some source proves that "God" in Gen. 1:26 includes
"male and female" gods. She has both male and female in the Godhead!
Hmmm! I wonder if that fits in to her being "nature-conscious"? The Bible teaches no such thing about God! Gesenius Hebrew
lexicon: Gesenius, strongs ref. 430, states the word
is a noun, masculine, and it is plural. God who created the heavens and the
earth is defined as a noun and masculine! He shows where there is a feminine
usage of this Hebrew word in I Kings 11:33. There the word does not refer to
God, but rather to the female goddess, Ashtoreth the goddess of the
Sidonians.
In Strong’s Help: 'elohiym, Hebrew 430, Strong’s 'elohiym,;
plural of Hebrew 433 ('elowahh); ~ he explains that the word is used of "gods
in the ordinary sense," but it is "specifically used (in the
plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God." And
he points out that it is "occasionally applied by way of deference
to magistrates;…" To take one
definiton of the word in the context of I Kings
The
description of the "Other People" as "nature conscious"
Quote:
“I have written this to right misconceptions. We, the other people, are
peaceful, and nature-conscious. If we were truly evil, Yahweh would not have
permitted the 'other people' to live correct?”
First,
I don't see people who say, practice and teach such things about God and
mankind as harmless. Maybe they do see and describe themselves as such. I would
warn people to watch out for the “nature-conscious” thing. "Nature"
is the product of God's creative power; it is not God. It appears to me that
people who get overly nature conscious wind up where Paul put some in Romans 1
as being without excuse.
Romans 1:18-32,
"For the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth
in unrighteousness; [19] Because that which may be known of God is manifest in
them; for God hath shewed it unto them. [20] For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
[21] Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither
were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations,
and their foolish heart was darkened. [22] Professing themselves
to be wise, they became fools, [23] And changed the glory of the uncorruptible
God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted
beasts, and creeping things. [24] Wherefore God also gave them up to
uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own
bodies between themselves: [25] Who changed the truth
of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the
Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. [26] For this cause God gave them up
unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that
which is against nature: [27] And likewise also the men, leaving the natural
use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working
that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error
which was meet. [28] And even as they did not like to retain God in their
knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are
not convenient; [29] Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,
wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit,
malignity; whisperers, [30] Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, [31] Without
understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable,
unmerciful: [32] Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such
things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them
that do them."
What greater harm can one do to the Truth
about God than to propose that God is nothing but a local deity? The respondent
assumes the existence of the "other people." Then she applies God’s
law against witches under the Law of Moses to her group, and deduces that they
are not truly evil else God would not have permitted them to live. This goes
nowhere other than to a sterile self-justification. Again, Eve is the mother of
all living. There was no "other people" who were not of the lineage
of Adam and Eve!
We all need to remember that people who do
not serve God in this world certainly serve the god of this world, whether they
admit to such or not. I think it fitting to conclude with John's statement, 1
John 5:19 "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the
power of the evil one." Paul said in 2 Cor. 4:4, "In whom the god of
this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of
the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them."
We offer an invitation to all who might read
this article to visit with us in order that you might learn about God and come
to the knowledge of the truth in Jesus Christ. Through Christ and his Gospel,
the new covenant, one can have the forgiveness of their sins and hope of
eternal life (John 3:15; Rom.5:21; Titus 1:1-3). Both belief in Jesus as the
Son of God and baptism for the remission of sins are necessary for one to be saved(Mark
The