She should have known – pt. 2

Why call the Psychic Hotline "Hot"?

Psychics, astrologers, fortune-tellers, soothsayers, palm-readers--the Holy Scriptures condemns them all as rejected alternatives to trusting in the One whose will guides the direction of careening time and fate.

The Lord commanded the Israelites: "Do not practice divination or sorcery" (Lev. 19:26). He warned, "Let no one be found among you who . . . practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, or who is a medium or

spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. . . . You must be blameless before the Lord your God" (Deut. 18:10-13).

The Israelites did not always obey these prohibitions. In times of religious apostasy, they turned to divination and witchcraft for guidance (2 Kings 17:17; 21:6). God punished them severely for these and other sins.

Some of the means ancient fortune-tellers used were different than those of today. They would slit open a goat and examine its liver or other organs. Nearly any unusual natural occurrence--lightning, an earthquake, the cries or flights of birds, an intense rain storm, the movement of snakes and mice--was seen as an omen. Astrologers, then as now, attempted to predict the future by the alignment of planets and stars.

Our trust is not in some huckster's claim to be able to predict the future. We trust Him who promises to work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. What is His purpose? To conform us to the likeness of His Son (Rom. 8:28-29).

No matter what else happens, if we are becoming more like Jesus, we are overjoyed, and in that joy we yield control of our future to Him who loves us and has promised to be our Father and Friend for ever and ever.

Want to go deeper?

While Paul was preaching in Philippi, he encountered a spirit-possessed slave girl. Her masters billed her as a fortune-teller, and she earned them a steady income. She started following Paul and his coworkers around, shouting out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." She did this for many days, until Paul was so troubled that he cast the spirit out in Jesus' name. This got Paul and Silas in trouble, for the owners, realizing they could no longer profit from the girl's misfortune, made false accusations against the missionaries, so that they were beaten and thrown in prison (see Acts 16:16-24).

As Luke, the author of Acts, describes this girl, he uses an unusual noun, puthōn, which literally would mean "python, serpent, or dragon." The python, according to Strabo, guarded the oracle at Delphi until Apollo killed it. This story was so famous that "python" came to symbolize divination. Coupled with pneuma in apposition (like sinner-man), "spirit python" means "spirit of divination."

Recommended for purchase

Walter Martin, Jill Martin, & Kurt Van Gorden. Kingdom of the Occult (2008).

Delivers the timely followup to Dr. Martin's best-selling The Kingdom of the Cults. This book takes Dr. Walter Martin's comprehensive knowledge and his dynamic teaching style and forges a strong weapon against the world of the Occult -- a weapon of the same scope and power as his phenomenal thirty-five year bestseller, The Kingdom of the Cults. Chapters include: Witchcraft and Wicca, Satanism, Pagan Religions, Tools of the Occult, Demon Possession and Exorcism, Spiritual Warfare, and more!

She should have known – pt. 2 Why call the Psychic Hotline "Hot"? Psychics, astrologers, fortune-tellers, soothsayers, palm-readers--the Holy Scriptures condemns them all as rejected alternatives to trusting in the One whose will guides the direction of careening time and fate. The Lord commanded the Israelites: "Do not practice divination or sorcery" (Lev. 19:26). He warned, "Let no one be found among you who . . . practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. . . . You must be blameless before the Lord your God" (Deut. 18:10-13). The Israelites did not always obey these prohibitions. In times of religious apostasy, they turned to divination and witchcraft for guidance (2 Kings 17:17; 21:6). God punished them severely for these and other sins. Some of the means ancient fortune-tellers used were different than those of today. They would slit open a goat and examine its liver or other organs. Nearly any unusual natural occurrence--lightning, an earthquake, the cries or flights of birds, an intense rain storm, the movement of snakes and mice--was seen as an omen. Astrologers, then as now, attempted to predict the future by the alignment of planets and stars. Our trust is not in some huckster's claim to be able to predict the future. We trust Him who promises to work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. What is His purpose? To conform us to the likeness of His Son (Rom. 8:28-29). No matter what else happens, if we are becoming more like Jesus, we are overjoyed, and in that joy we yield control of our future to Him who loves us and has promised to be our Father and Friend for ever and ever.
—Steve Singleton DeeperStudy.com
Want to go deeper? While Paul was preaching in Philippi, he encountered a spirit-possessed slave girl. Her masters billed her as a fortune-teller, and she earned them a steady income. She started following Paul and his coworkers around, shouting out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." She did this for many days, until Paul was so troubled that he cast the spirit out in Jesus' name. This got Paul and Silas in trouble, for the owners, realizing they could no longer profit from the girl's misfortune, made false accusations against the missionaries, so that they were beaten and thrown in prison (see Acts 16:16-24). As Luke, the author of Acts, describes this girl, he uses an unusual noun, puthōn, which literally would mean "python, serpent, or dragon." The python, according to Strabo, guarded the oracle at Delphi until Apollo killed it. This story was so famous that "python" came to symbolize divination. Coupled with pneuma in apposition (like sinner-man), "spirit python" means "spirit of divination." Recommended for purchase Walter Martin, Jill Martin, & Kurt Van Gorden. Kingdom of the Occult (2008). Delivers the timely followup to Dr. Martin's best-selling The Kingdom of the Cults. This book takes Dr. Walter Martin's comprehensive knowledge and his dynamic teaching style and forges a strong weapon against the world of the Occult -- a weapon of the same scope and power as his phenomenal thirty-five year bestseller, The Kingdom of the Cults. Chapters include: Witchcraft and Wicca, Satanism, Pagan Religions, Tools of the Occult, Demon Possession and Exorcism, Spiritual Warfare, and more!