Friends in Christ - SPRIT OF DIVINATION

SPIRIT OF DIVINATION

In the Old Testament there are no records of devils or demons being cast out of people. At the time of the Gospels, devils had become a common application, put on sick people by the religious leaders of the day, to usurp authority over them. (Source Thayers Lexicon) Mark 16 verse 17 talks of casting out devils. The same Greek word for devils (daimonion) actually means divine power, deity or divinity, and is translated as strange gods, when Paul the Apostle preached Jesus and the resurrection to the unbelievers in Acts 17 verse 18.

The first of the Ten Commandments is, “Thou shalt have no other gods (false religions) before me. The second commandment is, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in water under the earth”. No worshipping statues of saints, crosses or any other idols. So casting out of devils in Mark 16 verse 17, is consistent with the expectations of the commandments. Cast out false religions if you want the true blessing of God in your life.

After the Gospels is the book of Acts, the Acts of the Apostles. There are no devils cast out in the book of Acts, however, there is a damsel delivered of a spirit of divination. The Greek word for spirit is pneuma and has numerous meanings. These include a breeze, spirit, as in human, rational, soul, vital principle, mental disposition etc, so the damsel had a spirit or ability in divination. Divination is the act of foretelling ones future, or discovering things secret or obscure by unnatural means, unusual insight, or intuitive perception, a bit like the 2010 television show, The Mentalist. This damsel knew Paul preached the Most High God, as Pauls’ reputation proceeded him. She was doing what her masters wanted her to do, which was to increase her notoriety, which would increase their gain. 1 Timothy 6 verse 10 says, “The love of money is the root of all evil”.

When Paul tired of what was effectively free advertising, he rebuked the thing she was doing and she stopped. Her masters then took Paul and Silas to the local magistrates as they had lost their income. There is no mention of deliverance from a devil by her masters.

Some Preachers today point to this story as proof that after the gospels, devils were cast out. Often these same preachers, foretell peoples futures, profess to know secret things about people, and appear to have unusual insight and perception, it sounds a bit like a spirit of divination. Others use the sons of Sceva in Acts 19 as an example. The Greek here shows no devils. Instead it shows a man with a vicious temperament. When he was challenged by fake exorcists, these being the sons of Sceva, who were travelling around trying to make a name for themselves, he gave them what they deserved, a good hiding.

After the book of Acts, there is 21 Epistles 22 if you include Revelation, these are letters to the churches on how the church should be run and how Christians should behave and preach the gospel. In these letters to the church by Paul the Apostle and others, there is not one example of devils being cast out, and there is no direction to do so. However 2 Corinthians 11 verses 13-15 and 1Timothy 4 verse 1 are well worth a read.

Gods Plan

The Invasion of Gog and Magog

Ephisians 5

Matthew 24

Spirit of Divination

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The Man Who Baptised a Nation