Christian Sorcery

OK, I’m calling this blog speculative, because it’s my own combination of FACTS used to arrive at a ‘theory’. My initial inquiry was this: WHY WAS THE N.T. GREEK WORD “PHARMAKIA” TRANSLATED INTO THE ENGLISH WORD “SORCERY”? This idea comes out of an awareness of ANCIENT JEWISH MAGIC, which we found while studying the NT book of Acts. Apparently the 2nd Temple Jews had a SOCIAL CUSTOM of practicing magic. Even some of the rabbis (who came later) practiced magic! As social custom, 2nd Temple magic was a problem. You can arrive at that by recognizing the historical markers of this fact in the NT.

Two such markers are the ACCUSATIONS that the government convicted Jesus of (“sorcery” and “misleading”), and the “anti-magic polemic” (that’s how the scholars say it!) found throughout the NT. Two such texts are the Acts texts with Simon Magus (Acts 8) and Elymas the Magician (Acts 13). The point being: CHRIST IS MORE POWERFUL THAN “JEWISH” MAGIC. Note: I believe the Jews learned their magic in the diaspora, in the region that’s known today as India (the Medes and the Persians). If you know of Zoroastrian traditions and MAGIC, you’ll get an idea of what’s involved with this stuff.

Here’s the point I want you to get out of this discussion:

MODERN AMERICANS HAVE BEEN DUPED INTO TRADING THEIR GOD-GIVEN RIGHTS AND ASSOCIATED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR COMMERCE-MAGIC BASED ON PSEUDO-SCIENCE.

The point of this discussion revolves around the SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS in America. I’m NOT talking about your own personal lifestyle. So don’t make this about you, your ideas, your feelings, your way of living. It ain’t about you. In other words, SOCIETY has been ENGINEERED into a cattle chute that FUNNELS THE MASSES into use of it’s ‘authorized’ MAGIC instead of embracing God’s MORALS and their own independent CHOICES. Americans have fallen for THE LIE that they can JUST TAKE A PILL and get better! And WHO provides them that pill? Society’s EXPERTS, of course! “Trust Us, We’re Experts”

Let me state the PRINCIPLE underlying this MAGIC through using CONTRAST:

PEOPLE USE MAGIC TO FORCE THEIR “WILL” ONTO THE WORLD, WHEREAS GOD REQUIRES CHRISTIAN’S TO ASK HIM FOR HELP WHEN THE WORLD PREVENTS THEM FROM FULFILLING THEIR BASIC HUMAN NEEDS AND DESIRES.

The presumption behind the above statement is CHRISTIANS DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN SOCIETY’S SINS REFUSING TO WORK WITHIN THOSE SOCIETAL SYSTEMS OF SIN.

I based my ‘theory’ on these 2nd Temple social customs:

1. 2nd Temple Israel PRACTICED MAGIC
2. 2nd Temple magic was part of NORMAL BUSINESS
3. The best selling magic HELPED YOU FEEL BETTER, or GAVE YOU AN ADVANTAGE in life, or GOT YOU SOMETHING YOU WANTED BUT WERE POWERLESS TO OBTAIN
4. 2nd Temple Jews MADE MONEY and had POLITICAL POWER from peddling their magic skills (like Simon and Elymas)

I correlate the above with these modern American social customs:

1. American ENTERTAINMENT is filled with MAGIC IMAGES and MAGIC IDOLS (e.g., vampires, people with ‘abilities’, CGI science fiction like Star Wars, super soldiers, violent video games, “American Idol”, “Dancing with the Stars”, super war machines, etc.)
2. American EDUCATION is based on man-made social constructs that you can navigate to get what you want if you follow the right procedures, which primarily involves GETTING A COLLEGE DEGREE. During Jesus’ day this was GNOSTICISM, b/c it’s the SECRET KNOWLEDGE you can’t get anywhere except ‘as-approved’, and FOR A FEE (e.g., lawyering, business administration, corporate office, corporate finance, engineering, teaching, medicine, arts & entertainment, the trades, etc.)
3. American LAW gets you want you want if you follow the right procedures even when you are perpetrating criminal activities behind the scenes (e.g., suing an innocent, cops killing innocents, unlawful taxation with no remedy, divorce that ruins a man, state ownership of children, theft of inheritance, local ordinances that control every area of your life and possession, robbing worker’s wages, insurance payouts, bankruptcies, etc.)
4. American BUSINESS is based on man-made markets that you can exploit to get whatever you want if you follow the right procedures and pay-off the right persons (e.g., lobbying, the corporate business model, preferred vendors, investor-controlled business, marketing strategy, insider trading, rigged markets, public censorship, government sponsored psychological warfare, etc.)
5. American FAMILY is based on man-made social constructs that you can enjoy if you follow the right procedures, even when God’s law prohibits it (e.g., homosexual marriage, single parent family, public school education, state ownership of children, matriarchal divorce law, licensed rights, etc.)
6. American WORK-ETHIC is based on man-made social systems that you can profit from if you follow the proper schemes (e.g., living in perpetual debt, collecting a government paycheck or doing contract work for the government, collecting welfare checks, living in ‘Section 8’ housing or renting to ‘Section 8’ people, collecting disability insurance and workman’s comp insurance and health insurance, receiving government grants, taking upper management positions, banking, commodities trading, other investments, etc.)
7. American HEALTH is based on man-made ‘science’ that you can use to get ‘pain relief’ or to ‘feel better’ or to ‘be powerful’ if you get the right ‘stuff’, (e.g., anti-depressant drugs, drugs that ‘alleviate pain’ but don’t ‘cure’, HMO health insurance, plastic surgery, ‘recreational’ drugs, government engineered bio weapon diseases, steroidal remedies, chemical antibiotics, etc.)

I’m sure if you use your good sense, you will add to the above list. But since my original inquiry is based on examining SORCERY, let’s narrow our focus down to that. Let’s see if ANCIENT SORCERY has any relation to anything we have in modern America today. The closest thing I can think of today that correlates with ANCIENT SORCERY is MODERN MEDICINE with their MAGICAL DRUGS. The reason I say that is b/c the TRANSLATORS of the NT translated the Greek word PHARMAKIA into the English word SORCERY. The ONLY reasoning I’ve been able to find for justifying that particular English translation is this: Because part of a sorcerer’s work involves MIXING POISONS AND POTIONS. Hence, the CHEMISTRY aspect of MAGIC. More on that below.

The only other possible historical facts in that regard may be found in rabbinic literature. I got this information from TDNT, v4, p358. I was totally disappointed that TDNT didn’t list PHARMAKIA and derivatives in their volumes under it’s own heading. FOR SHAME! The only way I can imagine arriving at any historical material to answer my inquiry is to cull through the scholars who directly address the topic of MAGIC in 2nd Temple Israel. Doesn’t look like I’ll have any access to that body of information any time soon. Oh well!

Anyways, IN PRINCIPLE, all of this MAGIC comes from systematizing human responsibilities (JOBS) into social processes which privileged persons EXPLOIT FOR PROFIT. That’s known as COMMERCE. And commerce SELLS their MAGIC using CON MEN. Today we call them “marketing professionals”. And one other important FACT to notice about these magical social processes is THEY ARE REGULATED ‘by law’. Anybody who knows anything about GOVERNMENT REGULATION knows that it only benefits THOSE BEING REGULATED at the expense of the working man. Get the picture? It works the OPPOSITE of the original intent for government! In case you don’t understand, let me say it like this: We’re talking INSTITUTIONALIZED MAFIA hiding behind THE LAW (aka, GOVERNMENT).

So here’s what I CONCLUDED from the above facts:

MODERN COMMERCE IS TODAY’S MAGIC, BECAUSE IT GIVES PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT WITHOUT MAKING THEM WORK FOR IT TO GET IT THE WAY GOD REQUIRES.

I’m talking about the rich people of this world, that is, the ones who PRIMARILY BENEFIT from these social processes. After all, THEY are the people who instituted them to begin with, in SUPPRESSION of the social processes that ALMIGHTY GOD REQUIRES. Now that sounds HARSH, right? But think about it, and see how many more FACTS you can think of to prove this point. Then ponder the PRINCIPLE I stated above by applying it to your own list of FACTS. Then let’s see who’s harsh, me or you!

Now that I’ve established that I do not have any DIRECT EVIDENCE (historical facts) to solve my original inquiry about SORCERY, let me ask this question: What EVIDENCE do I have to answer my inquiry? I think the NT Greek word in the Bible text gives us a clue. Let’s take a closer look at the NT Greek term SORCERY (yeah, I’m finally getting to the point!). In the Greek, it’s PHARMAKIA. Here’s what LSJ says about that Greek word:

You can see that SORCERY and WITCHCRAFT are akin to eachother. I’ve read the scholars say the fundamental difference between the two is WITCHCRAFT refers to INNATE ABILITIES of individual persons, whereas SORCERY refers to a system of learning that professional undertake. I’m not claiming to be any kind of ‘authority’ on this, but the above Greek and its derivatives sure look like the root of the English word PHARMACY, PHARMACEUTICAL, etc. You can translate it into anything you want. But the BOTTOM LINE is PHARMAKIA means DRUGS. The vast majority of lexical entries above sure seem to prove this point. So now there’s only one question in my mind:

WHY DID THE NT WRITERS USE THE TERM “DRUG” FOR THE WORST KIND OF MAGIC?

Let’s think about this. First, let’s establish the FACT that pharmaceuticals are commonly known as DRUGS in our modern world. Drugs are an every-day part of our modern existence … well, for most people in America at least. Second, drugs are REGULATED by government. They are a “controlled substance”. Third, drugs are sold LEGALLY and ILLEGALLY. Forth, drugs are used by the MEDICAL PROFESSION (all kinds of ‘licensed doctors’) as a routine part of their PRACTICE. Actually, DRUGS have become the method of choice for the entire medical and scholastic INDUSTRY in America (think: COMMERCE = PROFITS). Fifth, drugs are used to MAKE PEOPLE FEEL BETTER (whether ‘treating’ physical or mental ailments). Sixth, drugs make NO claims to “CURE” you of your ailments. Seventh, drugs can GIVE YOU POWER (like ‘speed’ or ‘meth’ or ‘steroids’ – albeit, at a steep price to mind and body!). Eighth, drugs can get you what you want (e.g., ecstasy=sex, LSD+torture=secret information, opium=profits from prostitution, etc.). Ninth, drugs COST MONEY, whether they are legal or illegal. Tenth, drugs can get you into BIG TROUBLE (prison) if you ‘break the law’ that regulates them, whether you’re selling them legally or illegally … or USING them!

Let’s stop right there and think about just the PROFIT aspect of DRUGS. In America, PHARMACEUTICAL corporate profits are at the top of the list of annual revenues for ALL American industry. Government ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATORY LAW creates a whole host of other PROFITABLE INDUSTRIES surrounding DRUG regulations. Some examples are “CORRECTIONS” (we know that nobody gets corrected in there!), CRIMINAL LAW LAWYERING, PRISON SUPPLY BUSINESSES, PRISON UTILITIES, “JOBS”, TRUCKING, PUBLIC OFFICE (through lobbying and other forms of bribery), FREE PRISON SLAVE LABOR, etc. The term “corrections” is how these untouchable criminals spin their commerce scheme, so people don’t get shocked by the onset of another form of SLAVERY in their society, which causes them to grow accustomed to these social evils. When you think about all this, it’s really ABSURD, Right? But DUE TO THE GREED INVOLVED, it happens! And it ain’t going away any time soon. Consider the damaged lives and communities resulting from all this. Now, when I called this MAFIA, do you doubt me?

You can see from the above list, that DRUGS are a multipurpose type of MAGIC. When you consider all the purposes that DRUGS serve, you have to admit that they are VERY POWERFUL, especially FOR those who BENEFIT the most from their existence. You have to wonder WHO those beneficiaries are, right? If you want to know who they are IN PARTICULAR, just FOLLOW THE MONEY! Use the internet to follow the OWNERS all the way back to their ORIGIN. Then you’ll see WHO is behind all this. It think you’ll be amazed. I sure was!

Now let’s see what the NT writers says about this kind of MAGIC, aka SORCERY:

Here, read Galatians 5:

13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh [reason for sinning], but through love serve one another [obey God’s law and help your neighbors]. 14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another [taking people to court], take care that you are not consumed by one another [will destroy everybody’s life].

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit [obey God’s law], and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh [sin against others to get what you want]. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit [obey God’s law], you are not under the Law [accountable to government law enforcement]. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh [doing what you want at your’s and other’s expense] are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God [be happy in life after death]. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit [result of obeying God’s law] is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [government law enforcement has no authority over this kind of person] 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh [selfish pursuits] with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit [have received God’s forgiveness b/c of Jesus], let us also walk by the Spirit [obey God’s law]. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another [in court], envying one another [for political power].

[all comments in brackets added by me]

You can see Paul warning Christians that SORCERERS ARE BAD. He uses his usual “flesh vs. spirit” analogy (it’s metaphor). He tells Christians that they must KILL the wrongful HUMAN DESIRE called SORCERY. Paul is warning Christians that people who are involved with SORCERY are NOT God’s people. In other words, if you are a Christian, you are PROHIBITED from participating in SORCERY. And, you need to RE-TRAIN your self to NOT desire it. Sorcery involves SELF-EMPOWERMENT THROUGH USE OF FORCE.

Technically, the theological term for quitting the sin of SORCERY is SANCTIFICATION. The key term for this is REPENTANCE. As we saw in a previous blog entry, REPENTANCE is two-sided: 1. Forsaking sinful behavior, and 2. Embracing lawful behavior. It’s a PROCESS. Some processes are much more work than others, and can take a lot more time than others. Your ability to change has to do with your force of will and your commitment to the process to see it through to the end. AA people know what this means.

Also, note that there are two levels to this Christian PROCESS: 1. Personal, and 2. Social. The personal aspect may involve addictions to drugs (like anti-depressants or pain medication). The social aspect may involve PROFITEERING from an occupation in a powerful position such as pharmaceutical marketing, lobbying or executive management. There are MANY kinds of SINS and WRONGDOING associated with the realm of drugs. The apostle John calls this “all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The apostle Paul calls it the same thing (Romans 1:29). So you can see, this isn’t some RELIGIOUS DOGMA I’m talking about. No. It’s REALITY. That’s why I call this blog REALITY BIBLE. I want to bring the Bible into modern day reality so it has pragmatic meaning to everybody who can read it.

One more thing about the ancient use of DRUGS before we go back to the word SORCERY: Back in ancient times when the people ‘worshiped idols’ (like they do today in the Catholic church and over in India, for example), they also incorporated a sex cult. They had both men and women participants. One of the things they did was to drug themselves during the ceremonies and orgies (or whatever they called those rituals). Let me tell you a little story about this. When I was studying archaeology with some friends in Turkey, we went to the a site to see some of the ruins. During our hike there (it was a LONG hike!) we came across a rock outcropping in the landscape. It had bunch of dead birds all around it, especially near the entrance of the cave. There was a bright colored sign written in multiple languages with skull and cross bones, “Warning: PLUTONIUM”. We discovered in the nearby museum that this cave was a naturally occurring phenomena from ancient times. It was emitting raw Plutonium gas. It had been used by the ancients to ‘get high’ for participation in their idolatry cult rituals. This practice was used in conjunction with “mixed wine” (alcohol with spices and herbs) designed to put people into a euphoric and trance state. I believe we could consider that a form of SORCERY. As we know from the NT book of Acts, a number of texts show that ancient gentile society people profited from MAGIC too.

Now back to the word. You will find in a NT exhaustive concordance that the Greek word PHARMAKIA occurs only in Galatians (above) and in John’s Revelation. Check it out:

20 And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; 21 and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts. (Rev 9)

23 … for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. 24 “And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.” (Revelation 18:23-24)

That text is a severe condemnation of WORLD COMMERCE. Note that it says SORCERY DECEIVES WORLD GOVERNMENTS (“all the nations were deceived”). It’s obvious this is the SOCIAL aspect of this particular SIN. If you know anything about the meaning of Yom Kippour, you’ll recognize that YHWH gave Yom Kippur to Israel so they would STOP NATIONAL SIN. Yom Kippur was God’s annual ‘inventory’ for His nation. So you can see that if Christians observed Yom Kippur IN OBEDIENCE to God’s Law, they would inherently KNOW they can’t participate in PHARMACEUTICAL COMMERCE, b/c it’s AN UNPARDONABLE SIN. But as it is, ‘the powers that be’ have made certain of the fact that Americans will be brainwashed into believing that “GOD’S LAW IS NOT FOR TODAY.” In the process, ALL Christians have been DUPED by the drug lords into believing in their lies and participating in their sins. The Apostle John is expressly adamant about the duty for Christians to choose to not live like that: “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues.” (Revelation 18:4).

Remember we discussed in another blog God’s attitude towards COMMERCE? We saw that God HATED commerce back in OT times. And it’s obvious he HATED commerce during Jesus’ time. According to the above PROPHECY, God will HATE commerce in the future too. Do you think God’s HATRED of commerce has changed today? Or do you think he still HATES commerce today? Also notice the four sins that operate together: murder, sorcery, immorality and theft. If I had time and energy, I’d show you how and why they all go together. If you want to get a start thinking about this on your own, think of it in terms of MAFIA. The key ‘MO’ of mafia is this: SHOVING YOUR ‘WILL’ DOWN THE WORLD’S THROAT USING VIOLENCE. That’s precisely what the Satanists’ core philosophy does. It’s called THELEMA. Read about it in Alistair Crowley’s treatises on the subject. The Apostle James condemns businessmen and judges for this very thing in his NT letter.

Very briefly, let’s TAKE INVENTORY: Murder? Have we seen any of that lately? What about the cops murdering unarmed innocents like the Gestapo used to do back in the day? Or how about the political murders by public officials after they enter office? Or what about the ‘Bengazi’ type institutional murders? “But what does it matter??” How about the murder of witnesses that can finger high level public officials and ‘the idle rich’ for their sex crimes? There’s plenty of news where this is concerned. And WHY do they commit such murders? Because they are COVERING UP their wrongdoing, that’s why.

Sorcery? I can count on one hand the people I have met who are NOT on some kind of pharmaceuticals or recreational drugs. How about GMO foods and genetically enhanced substances? What about vaccines and the mega profits involved? Vaccines is a GLOBAL MARKET, for crying out loud! Need I say more? Immorality is rampant in America to the degree that marriage is a thing of the past. Homosexuality and all the other related perversions has actually become a CIVIL RIGHT here in America! Child trafficking and the sex slave trade is part of government ‘black-ops, used to fund their ‘secret projects’. Government laws and cops punish child pornography, but they themselves at the highest levels participate in it and PROFIT from it! Everybody’s got ‘body art’ today, which Moses expressly forbids (tattoos and piercings – Leviticus 19:28). I’m sure you can add MANY other sins of this type to my list.

Theft … now this is a biggie. EVERYBODY in business today STEALS. They STEAL overtly and covertly. They steel from their customers and their contractors. They steal from their suppliers and from their workers. They even steal from themselves! THEFT has become the “usual and customary” practice in business. If you’re ‘organized’ as a CORPORATION, then they are running a modern day SLAVE COLONY. Slavery was prohibited over a century and a half ago in America, yet these criminals are running INSTITUTIONAL THEFT RINGS in conjunction with the federal and state governments. It’s ‘sanctioned’ BY LAW, for crying out loud! Just think about that for a moment. Now consider WHO perpetrates these evils on society. You’ll find they are all unknowns person operating at the highest levels of society with no national allegiances. They all ‘run’ in the same circles too. But I’m sure it’s nobody you know!

But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)

That text is an ‘end times’ text telling us that people who do SORCERY will be consigned to ETERNAL TORMENT (“lake of fire”). Side note: Did you catch the last group of condemned? LIARS. Who do you suppose that refers to? Think big picture instead of human emotion. Think BUSINESS and GOVERNMENT. Who do you suppose fits that profile? Lawyers? Bureaucrats? Elected officials? Judges? Corporate businessmen? Doctors? Educators? Publishers? Entertainment? News Media? Marketing? The list seems endless!

14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. (Revelation 22)

That text is about the KIND of people who spend eternity with God OR who are consigned to eternal torment. Notice LIARS again? Notice the qualifiers: Those who LOVE and PRACTICE lying. Hmm … seems to me like the people he’s referring to DO IT FOR A LIVING and it’s PART OF THEIR PERSONALITY. Ever had dealings with people like that? They’re such good liars, that they have an energy about them. You can’t even detect their lies, unless you are knowledgeable of the subject matter!

So there you have all the NT occurrences of the term SORCERY. I’d like to review all the OT occurrences of the Hebrew words translated SORCERY, but maybe I’ll do that in another blog entry. Believe me when I tell you that this is a HUGE subject! Suffice to say that GOD HATES SORCERY, and GOD HATES MAGIC. GOD PROHIBITS MAGIC. The reasons are simple:

GOD PROHIBITS YOU FROM SHOVING YOUR ‘WILL’ DOWN ANYBODY’S THROAT LIKE THE “IDLE RICH” DO VIA THEIR STOOGE CORPORATIONS AND THEIR PATSY GOVERNMENTS.

Just think of how nice the world would be without them!

But because I can’t help myself, and in order to whet your appetite, let’s just run down a few OT verses on SORCERY:

Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts. (Exodus 7:11)

MAGIC – more specifically SORCERY – was in vogue around over 3 millennia ago. It’s obvious there’s nothing new here!

You shall not allow a sorceress to live. (Exodus 22:18)

God’s COMMANDMENT establishes SORCERY as a CAPITAL CRIME (DEATH penalty).

There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or [is] a sorcerer … (Deuteronomy 18:10)

God gave that COMMANDMENT to the 2nd generation of Israelites who left Egypt and comprised His nation:

And he made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, practiced sorcery, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the YHWH, provoking Him to anger. (2 Chronicles 33:6)

That is king Manasseh’s BIO from the priest’s viewpoint. He was a king during the divided monarchy, ‘ruling over’ the Southern division after YHWH destroyed the Northern division for their IDOLATRY (including sorcery). Manasseh didn’t get too good of a review, eh? Apparently he was quite the MAGIC MAN! He ‘enforced’ the very thing that incited YHWH to destroy ‘God’s chosen people’ in the North. Eventually, YHWH did the same to these Southern ‘rebels’. Do ya think God’ll ‘wink at’ the Gentile nation’s who practice such evils? Do you think America will escape condemnation for practicing these sins? I seriously doubt it!

But these two things shall come on you suddenly in one day: Loss of children and widowhood. They shall come on you in full measure In spite of your many sorceries, In spite of the great power of your spells. (Isaiah 47:9)

This is God metaphorically mocking 1st Temple Israel’s national leaders and population. Apparently the whole nation degenerated into a culture of violating all YHWH’s laws, and enforcing all the ‘pagan’ customs that YHWH prohibited and hates. The rest of the prophets say the same basic thing, WARNING the leaders and the masses to REPENT and RETURN to obeying YHWH’s laws. He promises forgiveness, even at this stage in the game. Compare that to modern governments who keep ‘a record’ on you FOREVER, and never ‘forgive and forget’! Although these prophets repeatedly warned ‘God’s people’ to amend their ways and clean-up their nation, they refused, so the inevitable DESTRUCTION came upon them. Here’s a list of all the other verses in the OT referring to SORCERY:

Isaiah 47:12 (mocking), 57:3 (cursing), Jeremiah 27:9 (a warning), Daniel 2:2 (Chaldeans public officials), Micah 5:12 (condemnation).

Let me wrap this up quoting the Prophets Nahum and Malachi:

Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage; Her prey never departs. … All because of the many harlotries of the harlot, The charming one, the mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations by her harlotries And families by her sorceries. (Nahum 3:1, 4)

No doubt a reference to totally corrupt 1st Temple Israel. Sounds like Washington, D.C., “full of lies and pillage; her prey never departs”! One has to wonder how those public officials “[sold] families by her sorceries”? I wonder if it’s any different from what’s done today by the ultra rich and world’s elite, using Talmudic “summary process” IN COMMERCE, via their administrative Code-law, lawyer-run state-sponsored law enforcement of FRAUDULENT BOND CONTRACTS? Today’s American women clamor for EQUAL RIGHTS, but the true rights of a MAN are nowhere to be found. We’ve all been reduced to worse than feudal peons, serving the rich man in the corporate police state for pennies.

Note Nahum’s connection to Revelation 18, referring to “the harlot” (“Babylon” in Revelation) and “sells nations” (“deceived the nations” in Revelation). “Babylon” (in Revelation) sells the “bodies and souls of men”. Apparently the Apostle John received the same ‘inspiration’ as Nahum the prophet. John lived 100’s of years AFTER Nahum. The more things change, the more they remain the same!

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien, and do not fear Me,” says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:5 )

This refers to the future time when YHWH’s Messiah (chosen ruler) will appear on earth and execute YHWH’s will against all ‘sinners’. Notice the real kicker for people like me who have MARKETABLE SKILLS and who use them to WORK FOR A LIVING: “I will draw near for judgment and I will be a swift witness against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages.” You can see how SERIOUSLY God takes human slavery and robbery in the guise of “employment”. It all has to do with the way rich men use corporations to harvest everybody’s labor, and “divide that plunder” with government. This happens to EVERYBODY in America, whether they know it or not, and whether they like it or not. It’s one gigantic evil socio-administrative slavery scheme tied into banking and government. There’s nothing new about it. It’s been around since the dawn of civilization. Immanuel Velikovsky talks about it in his brief history of the AMALEKITES. You can read about it in Worlds in Collision.

OK, that’s all I wanna say about the OT verses on this subject. Too bad I don’t have time to discuss what exactly a SORCERER or SORCERESS did in the OT. Any ideas? I guess we’ll have to save that for another blog entry. Meanwhile, I want to conclude with this:

I HAVE NOT YET FOUND MATERIAL EVIDENCE SHOWING ME THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE N.T. ENGLISH WORD “SORCERY” AS-TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK WORD “PHARMAKIA”.

But I’m still looking. If I ever find the answer to that question, I’ll be sure to post it in this blog as an update. I bet I’ll find it in RABBINIC LITERATURE!

One last thing: Why did I entitle this blog “CHRISTIAN SORCERY”? Simple: Because today’s American Christianity dutifully and faithfully EMBRACES THE ESTABLISHMENT, part of which is LEGALIZED MAGIC (the ‘magic pill’). They (both religion and medical) are WHORES OF PROFIT. Their livelihood depends upon it. They’ve ‘sold themselves down the river’ as federal government corporations with state licenses to ‘preach and teach’ (with real estate, a building complex, employees, management, and all the trappings!), or peddle legal controlled substances. It’s all LEGAL CORPORATE MAGIC for religion (done in the name of baaaJeeeezuz) and medicine (done in the name of ‘medicine’).

Note that federally regulated magic includes LEGAL DRUG USE, which amounts to Biblical SORCERY. But before you begin picking up stones and throwing them at me, just consider this simple idea: IF YOU ATE NUTRITIOUS FOODS AND MANGED YOUR STRESS LEVELS, WOULD YOU HAVE THE HEALTH PROBLEMS THAT YOU PRESENTLY HAVE WHICH REQUIRE DRUGS TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER AND KEEP YOU ON THE DAILY TREADMILL? Your answer to that question will raise up a whole new set of inquiries that CONTRADICT today’s modern American INSTITUTIONALIZED MAGIC. It’s the subject that would RE-FRAME the issue in terms of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY based on God’s law and HIS Intent for His Creation (which includes man properly fulfilling his TRUST duty towards God that he received in Genesis 1-2), which we covered in a previous blog).

OK, I’m done. See you in the next blog!