Trying to know the future
This article is based on a talk given by David Couchman at Wellsprings Chapel, Taunton, on Sunday 18th February 2007. It may be reproduced in print or on other web sites, subject to the copyright notice below.
Here's a book that has been on sale recently: 'Spells for Teenage Witches.'
It has all kinds of spells, including one called a 'good fortune accumulator' and another called a 'mega-success spell.' Some of the other spells are very clearly targeted at the young girls this book is written for.
The back cover of the book encourages you to 'take charge of your destiny with magic.' The author says:
'Follow these spells and you will find the strength to succeed at just about anything you put your mind to. Happiness, friendship, revising, organisation, tidiness, maturity. You just have to believe in yourself. This is the first step to believing in something greater...'
In case you think this book is a joke, it includes details of Wiccan festivals, and how to cast a magic circle. It explains how magic works, including the idea that there is a universal spirit, both God and Goddess, and that this spirit lives in everything - air, earth, fire, and water. It is no joke.
In this article, we are thinking about things like:
- witchcraft
- casting spells
- ouija boards
- mediums
- séances
- horoscopes
- tarot cards
- fortune tellers
- lucky charms
... and so on - I expect you can think of others.
Their influence in Britain today is very large. A few years ago, Scripture Union did some research. They discovered that five times as many children in the UK have experimented with a ouija board as have been inside any kind of church. Four times as many children have visited a spiritist medium. These are figures to concern us.
So why do we use this kind of thing? Well, there may be a certain appeal about doing something that is a bit 'supernatural.' It may be a bit edgy and spooky.
But there is often a more serious reason. We want to find out about the future. After all, the world can be a frightening place. We want to know what is going to happen to us. More than that, we want to get some kind of control over what is going to happen.
In this article, we are looking at what the Bible says about some of the ways people try to know the future and to control the future.
We are going to look at several different parts of the Bible. Let's start with Deuteronomy:
At this point in the Bible's story, God has rescued the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, through the leadership of Moses. They have spent forty years wandering around the desert because they did not trust God enough to obey him. Now they are poised ready to enter the Promised Land.
But now, as they are going into the Land, Moses, the great leader, knows that his time is over. He has to hand on the baton to a new generation of leadership.
In Deuteronomy he preaches several sermons to the people, reminding them of the agreement God has made with them.
He knows that as they go into the Land, they are going to encounter other nations. Nations that worship other gods. Nations that engage in what today we would call occult practices or witchcraft or magic.
In Deuteronomy 18, Moses warns them about these practices. This is what he says, in Deuteronomy chapter 18 verses 9-12:
'When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, don't learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.'
These nations believed that they could get control over the future by influencing their gods. One way they would do that was by sacrificing their children - they would show just how important it was to them.
Then Moses talks about different kinds of witchcraft and magic. We do not know exactly what all of these words mean, but clearly, these are people who are doing two kinds of things:
- They are asking the spirits of the dead about the future, to get control over it. The equivalent today would be spiritists, mediums, people who hold séances, people who use ouija boards.
- Or they are using magic - they are looking at signs, or casting spells to get control of the future. The equivalent today would be people who read palms, look into crystal balls, read the tea-leaves, consult horoscopes, and so on.
So it is all about looking for help from the spirits of the dead, or using magical ways to manipulate the future.
Of course, this is not talking about the kind of 'magician' who does card tricks and pulls rabbits out of hats.
It is not talking about illusionists like David Blaine. Things like that are harmless. Everyone knows that they are just clever tricks.
This is talking about the kind of magic that involves witchcraft and spells.
And Moses says 'don't do it.' 'Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.'
So what the Bible says about these things is clear, and you probably knew before I started what I was going to say.
But this raises one blindingly obvious question: what is it about these things that make them detestable to God? What is wrong with them? Hold on to this question - we will come back to it in a minute.
In spite of what Moses said, the people did buy into the magic and the witchcraft and the idol worship of the surrounding nations. They did sacrifice their children. God sent prophets who warned them again and again that if they kept on doing this, he would evict them from the Promised Land.
But they did not listen, and eventually, God did throw them out. The Babylonians came and conquered Jerusalem. Many of God's people were taken away into exile.
The Babylonians were the people who invented astrology.
People today often confuse astrology and astronomy. Let's just be clear about the difference:
Astronomy is about studying stars and planets and galaxies scientifically. There is nothing wrong with it at all. Some of the greatest astronomers have been Christians.
Astrology is the belief that the stars and planets control what happens to us. This is a pagan belief. The Bible is dead set against it.
The Babylonians studied the sky, and discovered that as well as the fixed stars, there are wandering stars, or planets. They knew about five planets, and they knew that these planets moved in a line across the sky.
They knew that the Sun follows this same line across the sky, and that in a year, the Sun goes round a complete circle. They divided this circle into twelve parts, roughly one per month, with the twelve signs of the Zodiac.
But they were not just interested in scientific knowledge for its own sake. They believed that the stars and planets influence human affairs - and so they invented astrology and horoscopes - the belief that your birth sign affects your destiny.
The tiny nation of Israel was swamped by the military power of the Babylonians, and by their pagan view of the world - their magic and their witchcraft and astrology.
In the last few years before the nation collapsed, the prophet Jeremiah spoke for God. This is what he says, in Jeremiah chapter 10 verses 1-5:
This is what the Lord says:
'Do not learn the ways of the nations
or be terrified by signs in the sky,
though the nations are terrified by them.
For the customs of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.
They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it won't totter.
Like a scarecrow in a melon patch,
their idols can't speak;
they must be carried
because they can't walk.
Don't fear them;
they can do no harm
nor can they do any good.'
Jeremiah knew the details of how people made idols - the cutting down of the tree, the carving, the overlaying it with silver and gold, and so on. But he says these idols cannot even keep themselves upright. They have to be nailed in place. They cannot talk - they cannot tell you anything. They cannot walk - they have to be carried. There is no need to be afraid of them - they cannot do you any harm. But there is no point in relying on them - they cannot do you any good. They are useless. Do not worship them. Do not go there.
Jeremiah also knew about the Babylonian interest in astrology. He says 'do not be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them, for the customs of the peoples are worthless.'
So we do not need to fear spirits or spells or signs, or what the stars tell us - these things cannot do us any harm. They do not have any power over us, other than what we give them.
But there is no point in relying on them either - they cannot do us any good.
I do not usually read horoscopes, but I read a couple while preparing this article. Here are some examples:
'February could prove frustrating...'
Well, it is just after Christmas, cold, miserable. It is a fair bet that February is one of the worst months of the year.
Or how about this:
'The month starts and ends with the focus on relationships.'
Right again! Most of my months start and end with a focus on relationships. The middle is often a bit like that too. Considering that relationships are what our lives are all about, that is not so surprising. Or this one, which has to be my all-time favourite:
'Finances look messy towards the month's end.'
No surprises there, then.
Of course, they are so general, and so plausible, that they could apply to anyone. They would have to try really hard to get this kind of stuff wrong.
As I say, I do not usually read horoscopes. But on the odd occasions when I have done so, I have read the ones that do not apply to me - the ones for a different star sign. And they always seem to be remarkably relevant and appropriate. So was I born at the wrong time? Or were the stars in the wrong place?
God's verdict is that it is all futile. It is useless. The spirits do not know the future. The stars do not control the future. When you read that headline 'What do the stars have in store for you?' the answer is 'nothing at all.' If you are inclined to read your horoscope, or to consult a fortune teller, do not waste your time or energy.
Well, OK. It is not worth it. But why is it wrong? Here are three reasons:
i. Bypassing our minds
One reason it is wrong is that it bypasses our minds.
We look for 'omens' or 'signs' to direct our lives. Or perhaps we read our horoscopes. For example, perhaps we have been married for some years, and our horoscope tells us 'The relationship you're in isn't going anywhere. Look for a new person in your life at the end of the month.' What do we do?
But God gave us our minds, and he expects us to use them.
He expects us to be responsible for our lives - not to turn this
responsibility over to spirits or stars or signs. He expects us to
choose what is right, rather than what is wrong.
And magic and witchcraft and astrology bypass all that.
Be alert to anything that bypasses your mind. It does not come from God.
A little warning here: sometimes, Bible believing Christians can be just as superstitious as people who read their horoscopes or who take fortune telling seriously.
I guess we have all heard the story about the man who was looking for God to guide him. So he opened his Bible at random, and his eyes fell on the words 'he went and hanged himself.'
This did not sound so good, so he tried again. This time, he came on the words, 'You go and do the same.'
God does not intend us to use the Bible like a horoscope. And he does not intend to bypass our minds when he guides us. The way he guides us is through our minds - through understanding his word and his truth, and how it applies to our lives.
ii. Harming others
Engaging with the spirits of the dead, and with magic and witchcraft, led the Israelites to do things that harmed others. We have already seen that it led them to sacrifice their children. But it also led them into immorality.
You see, the religions of these nations around them were fertility religions. They were all about getting the gods to give you a good harvest. And one way you did this was to engage in sex as a religious ritual - to encourage the fertility gods, so to speak. Many pagan temples had prostitutes in their service. And they were treated as objects - as things to be used.
So it leads to harming other people.
Of course, these were primitive people. We know better. We would not do that today, would we?
In a country where we kill nearly two hundred thousand unborn babies every year, are we so much better than they were?
And aren't there other ways that we put our careers, our wealth, and our right to choose, ahead of the well-being of our children? We can be just as selfish and manipulative as they were.
iii. Depending on the wrong things
A third reason why it is wrong is that it leads us to depend on something other than God.
The question is: what do I trust? Or who do I trust? Do I trust in spirits? In signs? In the stars? Or in God?
We shall trust something. We shall worship something. It is the way we are made. God has created us to trust him and worship him. If we reject him, we shall not just believe nothing - we shall believe in false and worthless things.
So God says that trying to know the future through stars and signs and spirits is wrong. There is no need to be afraid of these things - they cannot do us any harm. But there is no point in relying on them - they cannot do us any good.
But if we turn to these things we shall end up bypassing our minds, harming other people, and depending on other things when we should be depending on God.
What are we supposed to?
So if we are not supposed to get involved with horoscopes and tarot cards and fortune tellers and mediums and spells for teenage witches, what are we supposed to do?
i. Trust God's care
God cares for us. He does not want us to be afraid of the future. In Matthew 6, Jesus says this, in verses 25-33:
'Don't worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ... So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.'
The point is that God cares for us, and he is in control of what happens to us. So we are meant to trust him - not to try to manipulate the future by spells, not to trust in stars or signs or spirits.
ii. Ask God's word
Isaiah prophesied a couple of hundred years before Jeremiah. But he spoke to a situation that was very similar. In Isaiah chapter 8 verses 19-20, he says this:
'When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.'
So he is talking about those who encourage you to consult mediums and spiritists - to consult the dead.
Look at what he says about them:
- Shouldn't you listen to what God says, rather than to the spirits of the dead?
- Why go to the dead on behalf of the living?
- Instead, go to 'the law and the testimony!' - in other words, if you want to find out what you should do, turn to what God has said. For us today, this means the Bible
One of the saddest things you can see is a Christian - someone who says they believe that God is powerful, and is in control of what happens to them, and that God loves them - he cares about what happens to them. And then what do they do? They turn to horoscopes or tarot cards or fortune tellers to try to find out about the future and get control over it.
If we say we are followers of Christ, what difference does it make to how we live?
If we do trust God's care, this will show itself. We shall not be consulting spiritists or mediums, or horoscopes, or omens, or spells or tarot cards. We shall be reading the Bible, aiming to find out what God wants us to do. We shall do our best to submit to him, to follow his purposes. We shall not be trying to gain control for ourselves.
Let's sum up what we've seen in this article:
In the Bible, God clearly tells us as his people not to copy the ways of those who are unbelievers - not to involve ourselves with the spirits of the dead, or with magic practices such as spells, charms and horoscopes.
He says we do not need to fear such things - they cannot do us any harm. But there is no point in relying on them - they cannot do us any good.
Getting involved with them is wrong, for at least three reasons:
- It leads to us bypassing our minds, so we let ourselves be guided by stars or signs or spirits, when God wants us to use our minds, to choose what is good.
- It leads to us harming other people - maybe not sacrificing our children, but other things that are also disgusting.
- It leads to us depending on other things when we should be depending on God, because he cares for us, and he is the one who controls our future.
After all that, you may still be tempted to think, 'so what? It doesn't really matter. It's just a bit of harmless fun.'
Please understand that God does not see it that way. And the Bible ends with a very serious warning, in Revelation 21:
'To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without
cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit
all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the
cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those
who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their
place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second
death.'
(Revelation
chapter 21 verses 6-8)
God promises that those who practice magic arts will not find a place in his new creation. That is how seriously he takes this issue.
So tomorrow morning, when we pick up the paper, or a magazine. Will we read our horoscopes? Will we go to a fortune teller, or a spiritist? Or will we trust God with our future, and ask His Word what we should do?
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