Article on Sorcery

 

Sorcery

Research by: John N. Stevenson

 

Introduction:

The Greek word which is used for Sorcerer is ‘Pharmakeus’ which means a druggist or poisoner or a magician. According to Cambridge Dictionary, a man who has magical powers and who uses them to harm other people.

There are so many synonyms which are used for the word Sorcerer. They are: alchemist, diviner, soothsayer, witch, charmer, enchanter, occultist, magician, seer, fortune-teller, medium, conjurer, warlock etc. Sorcery is the art, practices, or spells of a person who is supposed to exercise supernatural powers through the aid of evil spirits; black magic; witchery. In Latin the word ‘Maleficium’ was used which means wrongdoing or mischief used to describe harmful magic.

Sorcery’s intent is always evil and that of witchcraft can be either good or bad. In the early Christian era, the term was applied to any magician or wizard but by the Middle Ages only to those who allegedly practiced magic intended to harm others.

In the 13^th and 14^th centuries, most trials for witchcraft involved deaths attributed to malevolent magic but which were probably caused by poisoning. In a famous case, in 1324, in Ireland, a Lady Alice Kyteller was charged with performing magical rites, having sexual intercourse with demons, attempting to divine the future, and poisoning her first three husbands.

In this paper, I am going to discuss about the sorcery and the biblical description about sorcery, secular description, and concluding with the end of the sorcery.

Secular Description about Sorcery:

          Witchcraft is the exercise or invocation of alleged supernatural powers to control people or events. In the West (European Societies), witchcraft has been more commonly believed to be an ordinary person’s free choice to learn and practice magic with the help of supernatural.

Some Salient features of Sorcery:

·        Practitioners must be able to apprehend the onta, the very fabric of existence, which is to say, they must possess the innate ability to see ‘creation as created’.

·        Sorcery requires precise meanings. This is why incantations are always spoken in non-negative tongue: to prevent the semantic transformation of crucial terms due to the vagaries of daily usage.

·        All sorcerous incantations require the sorcerer to say and think two separate things simultaneously. The spoken segment of incantation (what is often called the ‘utteral string’) must have its meaning ‘fixed’ or focused with a silent segment (what is often called the ‘inutteral string’) that is simultaneously thought. The thought incantation sharpens the meaning of the spoken incantation the way the words of one person may be used to clarify the words of another.

There are many metaphysical interpretations of this structure, but the result in each case is the same: the world, which is otherwise utterly indifferent to the words of Men, listens and sorcerous transformations of reality result.

          Words are the tools through which sorcery is implemented; the words themselves do not hold meaning, rather words are tools through which meaning is conveyed. And since even simple words can have multiple meanings based on a variety of circumstances, sorcerers aim to find the most perfect meaning of a word, the meaning that transcends all connotation.

The branches of Sorcery:

          The branch of sorcery once practiced by the Gnostic Schools of the Ancient North but now known only to the Schools of Mandate and Mangaecca. Unlike the Anagogic sorcery, Gnostic sorcery is leveraged through the use of the Abstractions, which is Gnostic sorcerers are often referred to as a Philosopher Magi. The Gnosis was first developed by the Nonmen Quya, who imparted it to the early Norsirai Anagogic sorcerers during the Nonman Tutelage.

          The branch of sorcery that turns on the resonance between meanings and concrete things. It uses creative metaphors to implement sorcery. The Anagogis is generally considered inferior to the Gnosis because it works through Anagogies as opposed to Abstractions: The Anagogic sorcerers can summon only an imitation of a Dragon which spews out fire, while Gnostic sorcerers can summon heat itself.

 

 

 

Biblical Description about Sorcery:

          The word sorcery in Scripture is always used in reference to an evil or deceptive practice. Sorcery, the use of spells, divination or speaking to spirits, is clearly condemned in the Bible.

          In 2 Chronicles 33:6, King Manasseh is condemned for his many evil practices, including sorcery: “And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.” Sorcerers were common in the culture of ancient Egypt (Exodus 7:11; Isaiah 19:3). Also, it is common in the kingdom of Babylon (Jeremiah 27:9; Daniel 2:2).

          The apostle Paul lists sorcery as one of many sinful practices that mark lives of unbelievers (Galatians 5:19-21). Interestingly, the New Testament Greek word translated ‘sorcery’ is pharmakeia which is the source of our English word ‘pharmacy’. In Paul’s day, the word primarily meant ‘dealing in poison’ or ‘drug use’ and was applied to divination and spell-casting because sorcerers often used drugs along with their incantations and amulets to conjure occult power.

          Sorcery is an attempt to bypass God’s wisdom and power and give glory to Satan instead. God has no tolerance for sorcery. In Deuteronomy 18:10-12, sorcery is listed among the sinful practices of the nations surrounding Israel. God calls it an abomination. Malachi also speaks of God’s judgment on those involved in sorcery (Mal. 3:5).

          Apparently, sorcery will still be practice in the end times. Spiritual Babylon, representing the false religious system of the last days, will deceive ‘all nations’ with sorcery (Rev. 18:23) before judgment falls. The book of Revelation says that sorcerers will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death (Rev. 21:8; Rev. 22:15).

          Sorcery is clearly sinful and is not part of Christian living. There is wisdom that is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil (James 3:15), and this is what sorcery offers. Our wisdom comes from God (James 3:17), not from deceiving spirits. The power of God is much greater than the power of sorcery (1 John 4:4).

          Spiritism, witches, mediums, and necromancers are not approved in Scripture. In fact, a number of stern passages warn against any involvement with or practice of these satanic arts.

Conclusion:

Therefore, in this research paper, I want to conclude that Sorcery is against the Lord. It is an abomination and opposite to the Lord. We should never consult a medium or spiritist or sorcerer. Because their destination is eternal fire (Rev. 21:8). We should seek the Lord’s help and be under the mighty arms of God.