Does the Bible say anything about black magic?
The Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, condemns sorcery, divination, fortune-telling and all types of black magic. Any skill, instrument, practice, or art that someone uses to contact the spirit world without the guidance of the Holy Spirit through a relationship with Jesus Christ is sin, and also dangerous.God commanded the Israelites to have nothing to do with those who practice dark arts and clearly condemned the practice. For example, see Deuteronomy 18:10–14, Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 19:26 and 31, 1 Samuel 15:23, 2 Kings 21:6, Micah 3:7, and Micah 5:12.
Sorcery and such practices are prohibited as well in the New Testament. Galatians 5:19–21 names sorcery in a litany of works of the flesh. In Acts 16:16–19 Paul, Silas, and Luke encountered a girl in Philippi who had certain spiritual abilities and was known as a diviner. She was used by her owner to make money. Paul recognized that her abilities were the result of a demon and he cast the demon out of her causing her owners to become upset.
Acts 19 tells of an encounter some spiritual people had with an evil spirit. These people in Ephesus practiced the dark arts and learned that Paul and others had access to spiritual power through the name of Jesus Christ. They started using His name and an evil spirit called them on their lack of relationship with Jesus, then physically beat them. As a result, the Ephesians sought out the truth about Jesus and many were saved. Acts 19:19–20 says, "And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily."
Today, some people dabble in black magic, or the dark arts, by consulting psychics, fortune tellers, astrology, and such. Others learn to read tarot cards or consult books of spells or incantations in an attempt to contact the spiritual world. Revelation 18 talks about the fall of Babylon in the end times; in part, God will judge them for their sorcery, by which the nations were deceived (Revelation 18:23).
Black magic is opposed God and not something we should have any part in. Rather, when we receive salvation through Jesus, we become children of God and we rely on Him and His power for our lives (John 1:12; 2 Peter 1:3). The spiritual world is real. Satan and his demons are deceptive. Christians are not to dabble in black magic, but instead to stay alert to Satan's scheme and stand firm in Christ (1 Peter 5:8–9; Ephesians 6:10–18).
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