Wizards in the Bible

Introduction

In this blog, I have called people who have an above average  amount of sensitivity to the spirit world by the term “hypersensitives”.  It is my opinion that such hypersensitivity is genetically transmitted and that in essence, people are “born that way”.  Therefore, spiritually, hypersensitivity is a gift given by God and not in itself sinful or evil.  However, what the hypersensitive does with his gift can certainly qualify as sin and doom him to spend eternity in a hell world.  This is the challenge of being hypersensitive because you will end up either serving Satan and his demons, or the Holy Spirit as an instrument of God!  Nowhere is this clearer than in the conflicts between the wizards in the Bible with the men of God. In this post I would like to look at two examples of this conflict from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament.

The Wizards

History shows us that many of the ancient courts had resident wizards because most rulers wanted to have supernatural guidance.  Now there is no doubt that the powers of these wizards actually consisted of a combination of stage magic,  (a primitive form of physics, chemistry and pharmacology) and actual paranormal abilities activated in conjunction with worship of demonic spirits.  With these abilities taken together, they could undoubtedly produce an impressive performance to substantiate their claims of having personal contact with the various “gods” of their culture.  Please note that in the Bible these professional religious hypersensitives were called many things including fortune-tellers, magicians, wizards, wise men, sorcerers, false prophets, witches, mediums, necromancers, and diviners.

Taken as a group, the primary problem with these hypersensitives is that they did not represent God but had affiliated with demons and the spirits of the dead. God declared their activities as being sinful and worthless because they gave the people evil advice from an evil source.  Isaiah explained it in this way:
 

¹⁹Some people say, “Ask the mediums and fortune-tellers, who whisper and mutter, what to do.” But I tell you that people should ask their God for help. Why should people who are still alive ask something from the dead? ²⁰You should follow the teachings and the agreement with the LORD. The mediums and fortune-tellers do not speak the word of the LORD, so their words are worth nothing.. Isaiah 8:19-20

So in the end, these hypersensitives opposed the plans and purposes of God whether purposefully or out of ignorance.  They came under judgment and their occult activity (specifically seeking supernatural guidance from other spirits but God) was made punishable by death. (Lev 20:27).

Old Testament Examples

1. The Wizards of Egypt vs. Moses
The Pharaoh of Egypt had a court full of wizards. Magicians who were able to duplicate the first three plagues which God used to demonstrate His power over nature and to declare His glory to all the world.  In one sense, these magicians were actually trying to debunk the miracles performed by Moses by offering other explanations such as magic instead of Godly power.  In doing this they helped Pharaoh reject the command of God to allow Israel to worship Him as a free people.  They opposed God and as a result, the Egyptian people suffered as Pharaoh hardened his heart and rejected God’s command to “let my people go”.

All this magical arrogance ended at the fourth plague in which God created living creatures (Gnats) from inorganic material (dust). The court magicians recognized that this was way beyond what their magic could do,  and they finally admitted to Pharaoh that “This is the finger of God” (Ex 8:19).  The problem they faced as to the origins of life is also a problem for our modern day wizards who seem to have less wisdom then the magicians of Egypt.

2. Manasseh King of Judah vs. God
Hezekiah was a righteous king with an intense and obedient relationship with God.  Manasseh was Hezekiah’s son and not only rejected Hezekiah’s example but also rejected God.  Hezekiah’s remarkable relationship with God tells me that he was a hypersensitive and more than likely genetically transmitted that hypersensitivity to Manasseh.  Unlike his father, Manasseh seemed to use his hypersensitivity in occult ways because Scripture says:

⁶ And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.

2 Chronicles 33:6 (ESV)

To me, Manasseh was a perfect example of a hypersensitive who used his abilities to worship the darkness instead of the light, demons instead of God, and self-glory instead of humility.  Manasseh’s story illustrates a very important principle relevant to all hypersensitive folk: If you mess with the Devil, he is going to mess with you!

God took his protection off of Manasseh and as a result, Manasseh was made captive to the king of Assyria who put a hook in his nose, bound him in shackles, and deported him to Babylon.  In the midst of his suffering Manasseh finally turned to God for help and was restored. His hypersensitivity was used in the way God intended and Scriptures says that Manasseh “knew that the Lord is God”. ( 2 Chronicles 33:13)

New Testament Examples

1. Elymas vs. Paul
Paul had reached Paphos where he ran into a hypersensitive  named Bar-Jesus (Elymas in the Greek). Elymas was Jewish and was called a false prophet, sorcerer, and a magician, so he must have specialized in both magic and prophecies.  He must have been good at his trade because he seems to have had influence on the governor of Paphos who is described as a smart man. The governor wanted to hear what Paul had to say, but Elymas opposed Paul and the Gospel.  What happened next is a classic paranormal encounter between the Power of the Holy Spirit and that of the devil:

⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.

Acts 13:9-11 (ESV)

Now we must avoid a superficial interpretation of this story because it contains a profound lesson for all of us. This certainly is not a case of good magic against bad magic or white magic against black magic.  Using two of the spiritual gifts which he later called the “Gift of Knowledge” and the “Gift of Discernment", Paul looked into the heart of Elymas and then revealed it to him.(See 1 Cor 12)  In other words, Elymas became physically blind because he was already spiritually blind.  The outer world of Elymas became dark because his inner world was filled with darkness due to his rejection of God and Christ.

The purpose of Paul’s command of blindness was not to punish Elymas but to give him the opportunity to find Christ.  How do we know this?  We know this because Paul had a similar experience.  It was Saul the persecutor of the church who was blinded on the road to Damascus, but it was Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ that regained his vision.  Unfortunately for Elymas, he kept his heart hard and continued in his spiritual blindness and, sadly for this Jewish wizard, that was the condition of his spirit after death.

It must be understood that when a hypersensitive rejects the challenge to become a servant of the Holy Spirit, then he will become a servant of the Devil and will oppose God by attempting to stop the spread of salvation through the Gospel.  It should also be understood that because the power of God is so much greater than the power of the Devil, the servant of the Devil will pay the price for his rebellion against God.  At some point the bill must be paid in full (unless Christ pays it for him as He did for Paul).  We see how God stopped Elymas, although it was only “for a time”, with a judgment which highlights Elymas blindness to righteousness and to God. The governor believed in Christ because he had seen the true supernatural power of God in action.

2. The Possessed Servant Girl vs. Paul
This is another classic example of the conflict and confrontation between the Holy Spirit and a hypersensitive in bondage to a demonic spirit.  Scripture gives a good description of this encounter as follows:
¹⁶ As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” ¹⁸ And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

Acts 16:16-18 (ESV)

This poor hypersensitive woman was not only possessed by a spirit but also by men who thought that they “owned” her.  The spirit within her was able to recognize the anointing of the Holy Spirit on Paul and loudly proclaimed it in public.  Since she was able to bring her owners a lot of money for her psychic services, there was some creditability in the information she gave out during her readings – that is she must have been paranormally accurate in her past psychic readings and that gave people a reason to believe her when she declared Paul to be a servant of God.

Paul’s problem with this scene was twofold. First, the Holy Spirit did not need the support of a demon spirit to do His works.  A demon spirit announcing the anointing did not serve well as a reference.  Secondly, the Holy Spirit knew of the terrible captivity of this woman and her need for deliverance.   So, Paul set this woman free in an excellent example of Christian deliverance ministry.  If you want to learn more about this kind of ministry I have written several posts you can read.  Click on this link to start with: Exorcism or Deliverance.

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