[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Who Is Really Behindthe Occult?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]CONCERNING our Creator,the Bible says: “God is light and there is no darkness at all inunion with him.” (1 John 1:5) That is especially true in aspiritual sense. So could the true God be the power behind theoccult? Or is there a sinister force involved?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Foremost among occultpractices are divination and spiritism, which include astrology,numerology, palmistry, and sorcery, as well as communicating with the“dead” and casting spells. These practices have a very longhistory, most dating back to ancient Babylon, the ruins of which liein Iraq. (Isaiah 47:1, 12, 13) From Babylon, occult practicesspread around the ancient world and became deeply entrenched in manycultures and civilizations.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Consider an event thatoccurred in the city of Philippi in ancient Macedonia. There, a smallgroup of Christian ministers, which included the apostle Paul and thephysician Luke, encountered a girl who had occult powers. Note howthe Bible writer Luke revealed the secret source of her powers. Hewrote: “A certain servant girl with a spirit, a demon ofdivination, met us. She used to furnish her masters with much gain bypracticing the art of prediction.”—Acts 16:16-18.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Long before God formedhumans, he created an untold number of intelligent spirit “sons ofGod” in heaven. (Job 38:4,7) Like humans, they are free moralagents, and for a long time, they all remained loyal to God. But thathappy situation came to an abrupt end. How so?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]After God createdhumankind, one spirit creature began to covet something to which hewas not entitled—worship. Using a serpent the way a ventriloquistmight use a puppet, this wicked angel seduced the first woman, Eve,into disobeying her Creator. (Genesis 3:1-6) The Bible calls thatrebellious angel “the original serpent, the one called Devil andSatan.” (Revelation 12:9) Jesus described him as “a manslayer”who “did not stand fast in the truth,” adding: “When he speaksthe lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is aliar and the father of the lie.”—John 8:44.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]In time, other spirit“sons of the true God” joined Satan in his rebellion. (Genesis6:1,2) They are later referred to as “the angels that sinned” and“the angels that did not keep their original position but forsooktheir own proper dwelling place,” or their assigned place inheaven. (2Peter 2:4; Jude6) They came to be called demons. (James2:19) Moreover, they are determined to turn as many humans aspossible away from true worship, as they did many Israelites in Bibletimes. (Deuteronomy 32:16,17) Similarly today, as in the past, Satanand the demons cleverly employ religious lies.—2Corinthians11:14,15.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]CONCERNING our Creator,the Bible says: “God is light and there is no darkness at all inunion with him.” (1 John 1:5) That is especially true in aspiritual sense. So could the true God be the power behind theoccult? Or is there a sinister force involved?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Foremost among occultpractices are divination and spiritism, which include astrology,numerology, palmistry, and sorcery, as well as communicating with the“dead” and casting spells. These practices have a very longhistory, most dating back to ancient Babylon, the ruins of which liein Iraq. (Isaiah 47:1, 12, 13) From Babylon, occult practicesspread around the ancient world and became deeply entrenched in manycultures and civilizations.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Consider an event thatoccurred in the city of Philippi in ancient Macedonia. There, a smallgroup of Christian ministers, which included the apostle Paul and thephysician Luke, encountered a girl who had occult powers. Note howthe Bible writer Luke revealed the secret source of her powers. Hewrote: “A certain servant girl with a spirit, a demon ofdivination, met us. She used to furnish her masters with much gain bypracticing the art of prediction.”—Acts 16:16-18.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Long before God formedhumans, he created an untold number of intelligent spirit “sons ofGod” in heaven. (Job 38:4,7) Like humans, they are free moralagents, and for a long time, they all remained loyal to God. But thathappy situation came to an abrupt end. How so?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]After God createdhumankind, one spirit creature began to covet something to which hewas not entitled—worship. Using a serpent the way a ventriloquistmight use a puppet, this wicked angel seduced the first woman, Eve,into disobeying her Creator. (Genesis 3:1-6) The Bible calls thatrebellious angel “the original serpent, the one called Devil andSatan.” (Revelation 12:9) Jesus described him as “a manslayer”who “did not stand fast in the truth,” adding: “When he speaksthe lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is aliar and the father of the lie.”—John 8:44.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]In time, other spirit“sons of the true God” joined Satan in his rebellion. (Genesis6:1,2) They are later referred to as “the angels that sinned” and“the angels that did not keep their original position but forsooktheir own proper dwelling place,” or their assigned place inheaven. (2Peter 2:4; Jude6) They came to be called demons. (James2:19) Moreover, they are determined to turn as many humans aspossible away from true worship, as they did many Israelites in Bibletimes. (Deuteronomy 32:16,17) Similarly today, as in the past, Satanand the demons cleverly employ religious lies.—2Corinthians11:14,15.[/FONT]