The Weapons of Our Warfare: Using the Full Armor of God to Defeat the Enemy

by Phil Hopper

The word “occult” means secret or esoteric knowledge and includes anything related to the worship of or communion with secret powers or spirits through psychics, New Age mysticism, participation in séances for the purpose of communicating with the dead, spiritism, sorcery, Wicca, witchcraft, palm readers, tarot cards, fortune tellers, Ouija boards, voodoo, the zodiac, astrology and more. These and other practices were forbidden by God as His people were preparing to enter the Promised Land. They were going to encounter pagan people who practiced them (Deuteronomy 18:9-12). It’s true that many of the people who practice these things today are nothing more than fakes and phonies who only want your money. It’s equally true that the practices themselves are not fake and not phony. This is real, and it’s not a game. You may take a trip to the psychic fair and hang a crystal from the rear-view mirror—and if you do, you’re apt to come home with a demon sitting in the back seat of your car. God forbids these kinds of practices because they are the “welcome mat” to the door of your home. They are the doorway of the demonic into your life. You may get that secret knowledge, but you will get it like Eve got hers when she ate of the tree in Genesis 3. She got that knowledge all right and a whole lot more! You should even beware of the movies you watch and the music you listen to. Anything that glorifies