by Charlie Hatchko
Matthew 6:13 Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil!
This is the prayer of Jesus Christ, to the Almighty Father, a deliverance prayer against evil, the occult and temptation of the devil.
The word occult comes from the Latin word "occultus", meaning mysterious, invisible, hidden, secret. According to Webster's lexicon the word occult as a noun means the action or influence of the supernatural; as a verb it means concealment. True occultism is devious hidden knowledge, hidden power which comes through the power of the Devil. The Lord of occultism is the devil. The major attributes of the Devil are cruelty and deception. Scripture speaks numerously in regards to Satan and evil.
In Isaiah 14:12-20 the great Old Testament prophet Isaiah gives Scriptural affirmation of the devil's fall from heaven. The devil fell from the grace of God through pride. Scripture ascertains that the devil's fall from heaven was because of his ambition to ascend to heaven above the stars of God. Also that he would make himself like the Most High God. Let us look at Holy Scripture. Revised Standard Version, Isaiah 14:12-15 states, "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the assembly in the far north; I will ascent above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High. But you were brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the Pit."
In Rev. 12:10 Scripture calls Satan the accuser of the brethren!
In John 8:44 Jesus Christ states, "the devil was a murderer from the begining, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of all lies."
In John 10:10 Jesus says, "The devil comes to kill, steal and destroy!"
In James 4:7-8 St. James says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God! Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you."
1 Peter 5:8-9 St. Peter says, "Be sober, be vigilant! Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour! Resist him standing firm in your faith."
In 1 John 3:8 Scripture states, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil!"
In Acts 10:38 St. Peter says, that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power; how Christ went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil!
Genesis 1:26-27 and Gen. 5:1-2 states, "Man is made in the image and likeness of God!"
In Genesis 3:1-14 Sacred Scripture gives evidence of the great temptation and deception of the devil - the beguiling of Eve by the serpent in the garden of Eden.
Even the Lord Jesus Christ in his earthly ministry was tempted by the devil.
In Matt. 4:1-12 and Luke 4:1-13 Scripture gives evidence that the Lord was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
The Old Testament book of Wisdom 2:23-24 states, "For God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity, but through the devil's envy death entered into the world, and those who belong to the devil's party experience it."
The Lord speaking to the serpent or the devil in Gen. 3:15 says, "I will put enmity between you and the women, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel."
Almighty God shows in this Biblical text that salvation was in his divine plan for humanity. The seed of the women is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate word who was born of the Virgin Mary and became man. Sent by God the Father Almighty to redeem humanity from sin and death was the main mission for the Lord Jesus Christ. Sacred Scripture tells us that sin separates us from God.
In Rom. 3:23 St. Paul exhorts, "All who sin fall short of the glory of God."
Rom 6:23 St. Paul exhorts, "The wages of sin is death!"
Rev. 21:27 states, "Nothing impure nothing unclean will enter heaven, neither whatsoever worketh abominations or practices falsehood."
Let us look at transgression and abominations against the first commandment of God.
The deception of Satan comes through abominations and falsehood, such as fortune telling, astrology, channeling, sorcery, witchcraft, divination, psychic powers, Ouija boards, soothsaying, necromancy, etc.
Deuteronomy 18:9-12 states, "When you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall be not be found among you any one who burns his son or daughter as an offering. Any one who practices divination, a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For whoever who does these things is an abomination to the Lord."
The anger of the Almighty God had come against Israel and Judah for idolatry, for human sacrifices, for divination, for sorcery, let us look at the Sacred Scripture. 2 Kings 17:15-18 Scripture states, "They despised his statues, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and the warnings which he gave them. They went after false idols, and became false, and they followed the nations that were round about them, provoking the Lord who had commanded them that they should not do like them. And they forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves molten images of two calves; and they made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. They burned their sons and their daughters as offerings, and used divination and sorcery, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: none was left but the tribe of Judah only."
Isaiah 44:25 Scripture states, "The Lord frustrates the omens of liars and makes fools of diviners."
Jeremiah 14:14 Scripture gives evidence regarding prophetic falsehood and worthless divination and deceitfulness. "These people shall be victims of famine and the sword. They shall be consumed saith the Lord."
Ezekiel 13:6-9 speaks of falsehood. "Have you not seen a delusive vision and uttered a lying divination, the Almighty God goes on the say, because you have uttered delusions and seen lies, my hand will be against the false prophets who see delusive visions and who give lying divinations; they shall not be in the council of my people."
Hosea 4:12 speaks of wood used in divination, Scripture states, "For the spirit of harlotry has led them astray; they commit harlotry, forsaking their God."
Micah 3:11-12 Scripture states, "Unfaithful prophets divine for money; its priests teach for hire, its heads give judgement for a bribe." If the Lord is in the midst of us, no evil shall come upon us. Verse twelve tells us because of divination the wrath of the Lord will be upon them and disaster will overcome them.
Zechariah 10:2 says, "Diviners see false lying visions, they tell dreams that are false, they comfort in vain, they are people like wandering sheep." In the next verse the Lord says his wrath will be against their leaders. "I will punish them" says the Lord. Astrology is an abomination against the Almighty God, the Bible speaks out against astrology.
Deut. 4:19 states, "The sun, the moon, the stars, do not be tempted to worship them and serve them." This is a mortal sin against the first commandment.
In Deut. 17:2-5 Sacred Scripture gives affirmation of the abominations of worshipping the sun, the moon or any of the host of heaven. This is personified evil and the man or woman involved in this abomination against the Lord God, shall be stoned to death for serving other gods.
2 Kings 17:13-17 Scripture affirms about idolatry, the warning given by the Lord of Israel and Judah through the prophets and seers! The despising of the covenant and statues of the Lord. The forsaking of this commandments, making molten images of two calves and making of a asherah and worshipped all the host of heaven serving Baal. They burned their sons and daughters as offerings, and used divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil provoking the Lord to anger.
Jeremiah 8:1-12 gives affirmation of the punishment of God for evil practices in which the bones of the Kings of Judah, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be brought out of their tombs; and they shall be spread before the sun and the moon, and all of the host of heaven in which they have loved and served.
Jeremiah 19:12-13 gives verification of worship to the hosts of heaven and other Gods which is an abomination to God.
Zephaniah 1:1-4 gives affirmation of the abominations against God through false worship of the host of heaven. The host of heaven can include worship of the sun, the moon and the stars.
We can see many people in this age looking to their horoscope seeking signs from false gods. This is an abomination against God.
When people ask you, "What is your sign?" Catholics should respond that our sign is the Sign of the Cross! Let us look at the teachings of the Catholic Church through the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding Divination and magic.
In Part 3 Life in Christ regarding "You shall have no other Gods before me."
In 2110, the Catechism states, "The first commandment forbids honoring gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people. It proscribes superstition and irreligion. In 2112, "Idolatry" the first commandment condemns polytheism. It requires man neither to believe in, nor venerate other divinities other than the one true God.
2113 States, "Idolatry not only refers to Pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors or reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons for example, satanism, power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money. Jesus states, "You cannot serve God and mammon!"
2116 states regarding divination and magic, "All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil the future". Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
2117 states, "All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others- even if this were for the sake of restoring their health- are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recource to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices. The Church, for her part, warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity." Let us worship God and God alone! Put your faith in the Almighty God and his magnificent word and commands.
Trust In the Lord and his mighty power put on the full armor of God that we can withstand the attack of the devil.
Again let us look at the Biblical texts regarding the great consequence of the sin of astrology. In Deut. 17:2-5 Sacred Scripture gives affirmative evidence regarding astrology, "If there is anyone found among you, in any one of your communities which the Lord your God gives you, who does evil and transgresses his covenant by serving other Gods, by serving or worshipping the sun or moon or any of the host of the sky bring this evil person out of your city gates and stone him to death."
The Bible castigates mediums, channeling, and spirits. All idolatry and abominations.
Leviticus 19:30 states, "Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them."
Lev. 20:6-7 the Lord speaking to Moses in regards to penalties for various sins, says, "Should anyone turn to mediums and fortune tellers and follow their abominable ways, I will set my face against them says the Lord."
In 1 Samuel ch. 28 King Saul seeks a medium, the witch of Endor, because of this grievous sin he is killed in battle.
1 Chronicles 10:3-14 states, "Saul was killed in battle for his unfaithfulness to the Lord."
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah gives vital information regarding idolatry.
Isaiah 8:16-22 gives affirmation to trust in the Lord, not in mediums, wizards, fortune tellers, who chirp and mutter. Those who trust in false Gods will be chastised by the Almighty God.
Divination is seeking the way of God in a illicit and immoral way. Divination is a pseudo-science of predicting the future events by occult practices. The use of Divination was widely spread in Mesopotamia. Some of the practices include:
Belomancy The casting of arrows.
Rhabdomancy The manipulation of rods.
Physiognomy Observation of human behaviour and facial expressions.
Cheiromancy Palm reading.
Ophiomancy Reptile movement.
Hepatoscopy The study of animal behavior, with the study of the entrails of sacrifical victims, especially of the liver.
Ornithomancy Flight of birds.
Dendromancy Confirguration of trees.
Empyromancy Configuration of flames.
Kapnaomancy Study of smoke.
Lecanomancy The behavior of drops of oil on the surface of water.
Divination is an abomination against the first commandment.
Scripture castigates divination, sorcery, and witchcraft.
In Exodus 20:3 Scripture states, "You shall have no other Gods to rival me."
Exodus 22:17 Scripture states, "You shall not let a sorceress live."
In Lev. 19:26 Scripture states, "Rebellion is a sin or sorcery." 1 Samuel 15:23 Scripture states, "Rebellion is a sin of sorcery."
In Isaiah 1:13-14, the prophet Isaiah speaks of the sinfulness of Israel through idolatry.
In Isaiah 2:6 the Lord rejects the house of Jacob because they are filled with diviners, fortune tellers and soothsayers.
Isaiah 57:3-5 Scripture castigates sorcery calling sorcerers a rebellious people, children of transgression.
Micah 5:11-12 Scripture states, "I will abolish and destroy diviners and soothsayers, I will abolish your carved images, and I will execute anger and wrath upon you who practice abominations."
Malachi 3:5 the Lord speaking through the prophet Malachi states, "I will be a swift witness against sorcerers."
In Isaiah 5:20 Scripture states, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Who put darkness for light and light for darkness."
Sacred Scripture gives numerous affirmations and evidence regarding the abomination of occultism.
In the Old Testament books of Genesis, Daniel, Nahum, 2 Kings, and Jeremiah. In the New Testament books of Acts and the book of Revelation.
In Acts 8:9-14 Simon the sorcerer, who was practicing magic converted through the power of the good news gospel preached by Philip. Simon believed and was baptized and became a follower of Philip, who preached the gospel.
In Acts 13:6-12, St. Paul calls the Jewish magician Bar-Jesus, who was a false prophet, "of the devil", the enemy of what is right. Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit the apostle Paul tells the false prophet "because you never stop trying to make crooked the way of the Lord, the Lord's hand is upon you and you shall be blind."
In Rev. 21:8 Scripture states, "The idolaters and sorcerers shall be cast into the lake of fire and sulfur pit, which is the second death."
In Rev. 22:15 Scripture states, "That outside of the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem are the dogs and sorcerers and the idolaters who love and practice falsehood that is abominable in the Lord."
The Bible gives affirmation regarding hell, and the consequences of the sin of idolatry.
Scriptures gives evidence of the worm. The worm is the agent of destruction which appears in biblical metaphorical language. The worm truly represents eternal punishment, also, the corruption and mortality of the flesh.
Here is some biblical affirmation regarding worm.
Sirach 7:17 states, "Humble yourselves greatly, for the punishment of God against the ungodly is fire and worms."
Deut. 28:39-Judith 16:17-Sirach 10:11-Sirach 19:3-Isaiah 51:8Isaiah 66:24-2 Maccabees 9:9 and Mark 9:48! All give affirmation and evidence regarding hell!
The "Word of God" especially in the Gospels, there are Biblical references regarding the deliverance and exorcism power of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Gospels, Sacred Scripture is filled with Biblical references about the devil, satan and spirits.
Matt. 4 :1-11-Matt. 4:24-Matt. 7:22-Matt. 8:16-Matt. 8:28-34-Matt.9:32-34-Matt. 10:1-Matt. 12:22-32-Matt. 12:43, 45-Matt. 13:39-Matt. 15:22-Matt. 17:18 and Matt. 25:41-Mark 1:13-Mark 1:21-28-Mark 1:32-Mark 1:34-Mark 1:39-Mark 3:11-Mark 3:15-Mark 3:22-30-Mark 4:15-Mark 5:1-20-Mark 6:7-Mark 6:13-Mark 7:24-30-Mark 8:33-Mark 9:14-29-Mark 9:38-Mark 16:9-Mark 16:17-Luke 4:1-13-Luke 4:31-37-Luke 6:18-Luke 7:21-Luke 7:33-Luke 8:2-Luke 8:12-Luke 8:26-39-Luke 9:1-Luke 9:37-43-Luke 9:49-Luke 10:17-20-Luke 11:14-26-Luke 13:10-17-Luke 13:32-Luke 22:3-Luke 22:31-John 6:70-John 7:20-John 8:39-59-John 10:19-21-John 13:2-John 13:27.
The following Biblical references affirm that evil exists. Also, the magnificent war in heaven between St. Michael and the dragon, the ancient serpent called the devil. Scripture gives affirmative evidence that the dragon and his angels was defeated.
Rev. 12:7-11 tells of the great war in heaven between St. Michael the archangel and the dragon and is angels.
This is why the Church has instituted the magnificent deliverance prayer of intercession through St. Michael the Archangel. St. Michael the Archangel defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
Rev. 12:11 Sacred Scripture affirms the devil or satan was defeated! He was conquered by the "Blood of the Lamb" and the testimony of the Word.
The battle was won by Jesus Christ on the "Cross at Calvary."
Col. 1:13-14 St. Paul exhorts, for he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
2 Thess. 3:3 St. Paul exhorts, "But the Lord is faithful and will protect you from the evil one."
In Eph. 6:10-17 St. Paul exhorts, "Finally be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that we can withstand the wickedness and snares of the devil."
Read Eph. 6:10-17 in regards to the armor of God.
Always call upon the mercies of Jesus Christ and the power of his death and resurrection. Call upon the name of Jesus Christ, the power of his shed blood, and the awesome power of the word of God.
Prayer is a great weapon against satan. The greatest form of prayer is the Mass. The Sacraments is the greatest form of invisible grace and inward sanctification communicated to the soul given to man by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sacramentals must be used in our defense against Satan and evil spirits.
Sacramentals, the Catholic dictionary tells us, are objects or actions that the church uses after the manner of sacraments, in order to achieve through the merits of the faithful certain effects, mainly of a spiritual nature.
The Church confers a special power in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ on objects, that have been blessed with appropriate prayers.
Believers in Christ who use them with true faith and devotion to and in Christ Jesus receive special benefits against diabolical intervention. Such objects such as blessed oil, water, salt, candles and vestments, relics, and the brown scapular are powerful weapons against evil. One of the greatest weapons against the devil is the rosary.
A spiritual rosary is one of the most powerful prayers in existence against evil! Mary is the woman in the Almighty God's plan of salvation in Gen. 3:15!
In Rev. 12:1 Mary is the women clothed with the sun.
Again I will say, never call on false gods, such as astrology, fortune telling, ouija boards, magic, psychic powers, divination, mediums, channeling, spirits, sorcery and witchcraft.
Finally be strong in the Lord and his mighty power!
The Sign of the Cross is the sign of the true believing Christian.
Let God arise and his enemies be scattered.
In Rom. 8:31 St. Paul exhorts, "If God is with us who can be against us?"
In 1 John 4:4 says, "For there is one greater in you than there is in the world." Scripture here gives affirmation of the power of Jesus Christ!
1 Pet. 5:7 states, "Cast all your anxiety on Christ, He cares for you!"
Phil. 4:13 St. Paul exhorts, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!"
Call upon the power of the Blood in the name of Jesus Christ! Redemption comes through the power of the blood! Let us end with a line from the Anima Christi Prayer.
Blood of Christ inebriate me.
May God Richly Bless You! Amen! Hallelujah!
Charlie HatchkoName
The Catholic Legate
August 20, 2004
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This article orignally appeared in the Area Bargain Buyer October, 2001