The Harbinger: Prophecy or Fiction? – Wednesday, October 9, 2013

“Hidden in an ancient biblical prophecy from Isaiah, the mysteries revealed in The Harbinger are so precise that they foretold recent American events down to the exact days. The revelations are so specific that even the most hardened skeptics will find it hard to dismiss or put down. It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller with one exception… IT S REAL,” states the sales page for Jonathan Cahn’s book, The Harbinger: The Ancient Mystery That Holds the Secret of America’s Future.

The book enjoys an almost perfect 5-star review status from over 3,000 commentators on Amazon. And the big names in Christianity are raving. “Extraordinary!” proclaims the Christian Broadcasting Network’s Pat Robertson.  Televangelist Sid Roth of “It’s Supernatural” says “It’s mind blowing!” From World Net Daily, Joseph Farah opines that the book is “stunning.”

The author, Jonathan Cahn, has been a guest on a number of Christian and conservative programs, lauded by hosts like Glenn Beck with the message of The Harbinger. Cahn’s teachings “are known for their prophetic import and their revealing of the deep mysteries of God’s word,” his biography states. He leads the Jerusalem Center / Beth Israel in Wayne, New Jersey, and Hope of the World ministries, an international evangelistic outreach.

Do the Old Testament biblical prophecies concerning Israel correlate with the United States of America? Do the nine “harbingers” described in Cahn’s work have prophetic merit? Eye on the Paranormal host Kirby Robinson will address these and other topics in his review of The Harbinger. Be sure to call in with your questions or comments.

As a weekly feature, Kirby will also share some book reviews and recommendations, as well as his infamous incredible "BAD BAD Thing Awards."

Showtime begins at 7 PM [PST] or 10 PM [EST].  See this page for more information: http://www.goddiscussion.net/2013/10/05/the-harbinger-prophecy-or-fiction-wednesday-october-9-2013/

Here’s last week's show—Realistic or Fake? A Review of the Para-Reality TV Shows

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/god-discussion/2013/10/03/realistic-or-fake-a-review-of-the-para-reality-tv-shows

Keep current and follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/eyeonparanormal

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The Necessity of Scripture

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

The ultimate written authority we are subject to is God's inerrant, personal Word to us in the bible. It is God's authoritative interpretation of His own creation (among many other things)...which includes the paranormal. Hence, it is appropriate that we spend some time looking at the nature of scripture. This series will include discussions of: the necessity of scripture, the clarity of scripture, the comprehensiveness of scripture, and the sufficiency of scripture. All of these speak of why scripture is important for us, and the ways it is to have preeminence in our lives. A driving force of the sixteenth century reformation was sola scriptura (scripture alone), and it remains the driving force of any church or Christian who seeks to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Let us first look at the necessity of scripture.

To speak of the bible's necessity is simply to say we need it. We have noted before that when Satan tempted Jesus to turn stone into bread that our Lord replied by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:4). Notice that Jesus refers to every word, which implies that every single word is necessary for our spiritual diet...every word is inspired by God the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16). We certainly need food, but our need for God's word is of even greater importance. In practice, which is viewed by you with more importance--eating      breakfast or daily ingesting God's word?

Recently I was communicating with a friend who is a witch. In response to a blog I had posted on Facebook, they commented that it would make them sad if their magical world of spirits was reduced to only demons and angels--implying that the bible impoverished one's view of reality. As is so often the case with occultists (and folks who believe/speak in ghosts are occultists), my friend was of the opinion that she had an objective view of the spirit world, but that I was saddled with an antiquated bible which has antiquated views about the spirit world. Poor me! I replied that nobody is able to be 100% objective (defined as not influenced by anything but the "facts") and we all operate, consciously or unconsciously, with a worldview--a set of presuppositions about reality...an ultimate norm or standard that we appeal to. The ultimate norm may be the bible or it might be one's reason, imagination, intuition, experience and so on. But we must disabuse ourselves of any notion that we view the paranormal objectively...nobody does...nor is it possible or even desirable. As followers of Christ, He must have preeminence in all of our thought--regarding the full circumference of reality--seen and unseen.

However, if our ultimate norm for interpreting reality is anything but the bible, then it has become autonomous (literally, "self-law"). Autonomous reasoning is attempting to reason independent of God. I told my friend that we ALL lean on something to be our ultimate court of appeal...it is not just Christians with their bible. For example, since the paranormal is invisible (usually), it is particularly necessary that we be guided through this treacherous terrain by the compass of the bible--otherwise our autonomous reasoning will steer us wrong....and onto the rocks. We WILL misinterpret real experiences, and Satan WILL deceive us if we attempt to reason autonomously regarding anything--especially regarding the spirit world on earth since that is God's ordained, temporary home for Satan and his infernal army. I refer you to the first sentence in this paragraph--there is no "IF"S" about it...it seems to me that the primary human cause (as opposed to Satanic strategy) of this explosion of necromancy is the ancient disease known as autonomous reasoning....Satan tempted Adam and Eve to first think autonomously, and their sinful eating of forbidden fruit would follow. Instead of bowing before the comprehensive jurisdiction of God's holy and authoritative Word over every area of our lives (including the paranormal), we have used our God-given faculties independently of our Maker.The temptation to think autonomously has its roots in the Garden (Gen.3......and Satan's revolt before that) and we must come to terms with how thoroughly original sin has affected our minds--we instinctively suppress and deny the truth of God and exchange it for a lie (Rom.1). I say all this because it accents just how necessary God's Word is.

Have you ever been to a county fair where one of the games was a duck-shooting gallery? Pling...pling...pling...even I can nail them at such close range. "They are a sitting duck" is a common expression referring to people who are defenseless against a deadly enemy. The tens of millions of Americans who have an active interest in the paranormal are sitting ducks in the worst possible way. Their insistence on autonomy of thought has exposed them to demonic oppression. The friend I mentioned earlier said that the idea that all paranormal activity was demonic was stupid (her word). Not so...what is foolish is playing in Satan's sandbox....what is naive is the notion that we can outwit Satan's deceptions without the Word of God. The carnage is becoming a killing fields--and it is heartbreaking to see. If ever their were in the history of mankind a situation which showed the absolute necessity of the word of God is America in 2013.

Second, the written Word is necessary because it establishes God's covenant authority over us. People often speak of having a personal relationship with Christ, but they are uncertain about the role of scripture in that relationship. Jesus says that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15, 21, 23, 15:7, 10) To obey His commandments we need to know them--hence, the necessity of having His Word and reading it. His words are absolutely necessary for our lives (John 6:68). If we do not obey His Word, then we may not call Him Lord (Matt.7:21--27). Jesus' words are found only in scripture. By right of creation and re-creation, God (and God alone) has the rightful authority to demand implicit obedience from us...keeping His commandments. We will speak more of this in the weeks to come, but the Lord, and His Word, has jurisdiction over every area of our lives--including full control over our interpretation and behavior regarding the paranormal. The written Word of God is the constitution of God's redeemed community here on earth.

Third, His written, personal Word to us records the key events in Jesus ministry, as well as giving us God's own interpretation of those events The four gospels and epistles are equally important--generally speaking, the gospels record the key redemptive events, and the epistles interpret or explain the meaning and significance of those recorded events. I hasten to add that the gospels certainly contain theological interpretation and commentary, and the epistles have historical elements in them...but we can still say that the gospels are primarily narratives of redemptive historical events, and the epistles elaborate the significance of the: incarnation, life, substitutionary atonement, resurrection, ascension, and second coming of our Lord Jesus. Without the bible, Jesus' death would have no meaning to us. Without the bible we would have no clue as to the Person and Work of Jesus--the incarnate Word. Without the Old and New Testaments, there is no Christ...without Christ there is no gospel....without the gospel there is no salvation. The gospel cannot be grasped by general/natural revelation--it had to be verbally communicated by our Lord to us. Below is the very first statement of the Westminster Confession of Faith regarding this matter--personally subscribing to the substance of the WCF was a prerequisite of my ordination in 1985 in the AR Presbyterian denomination.

Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable; yet they are not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of His will, which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal Himself, and to declare that His will unto His Church; and afterwards for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which makes the Holy Scripture to be MOST NECESSARY; those former ways of God's revealing His will unto His people being now ceased. (WCF 1:1...emphasis added)

Fourth, God's written word is necessary, because without it, reality in general would become meaningless and incoherent. Any attempts at autonomous reasoning (thinking independently of God's influence) ultimately becomes self-destructive. For example, Scripture says we are made in God's image (Gen.1).This image-of-Godness is not anan optional extra--it is the essence of our self identity. As His image bearers, we cannot even begin to have accurate knowledge of self if we reason independently (autonomous) from the God we mirror. As John Calvin said in the beginning of the Institutes, knowledge of God and knowledge of ourselves, are inextricably bound together...and it is difficult to know which comes first. Having, cherishing, and reverently reading the Word of God is absolutely necessary for spiritual growth and equipping of the saints for spiritual warfare.

See Part 2 The Clarity of the Word of God

Saul, Samuel & the Medium of En-Dor

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

1 Samuel 28:1-25 (PLEASE READ…TOO LONG TO INCLUDE HERE)

“So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.” (1 Chron. 10:13-14)

This unique text has often been scrutinized for it’s details regarding what it has to say about human nature and the after-life. May I suggest that this is missing the Holy Spirit’s main intent for this text?  Every text of Scripture was inspired, in the first place, to expand our knowledge of God, and that every inch of the Old Testament points to the perfection of the Person and Work of Christ. When we read any passage of the bible, our primary question should be—what does this teach me about God? And then we can make personal application…We tend to be anthropocentric (man-centered) in our approach to this text, while it is meant to viewed theo-centricaly (God-centered).

The text above from 1 Chron. is an inspired interpretation of this event. Hence, it should be the spectacles through which we view it. I’m not saying that discussing the finer points of the passage is inappropriate, but rather let us not miss the forest for the trees. .Put bluntly, how can we even think about using this text to support spiritism (belief in, and communicating with, trapped souls), when we are told that our holy God killed Saul for that very practice? (please see text above)

. Let me put it this way: if the sovereign majesty, glory, and holiness of God were grasped, we would not be having this discussion regarding whether ghosts exist or not. The very notion of trapped spirits is monstrous in light of God’s absolute sovereignty and the glorious perfection of the Person and work of Christ. Our theology affects our anthropology—if we have a deficient view of God’s greatness then we will have a deficient view of human nature, and what happens when we die. The dearth of truly God-centered preaching today is the primary reason the notion of ghosts has blossomed…along with pastors refusing to come to terms with its significance.

This episode with Saul and the medium comes at a crucial juncture in the drama of redemption— (establishment of the monarchy and the Davidic covenant).  The inauguration of each stage was crucial and was often attended by unusual occurrences. Saul was the first king of Israel, and he would be replaced by its greatest king (David), and this is where we find ourselves in this text—THE DAY BEFORE SAUL DIES. In the flow of biblical history, or the drama of redemption, this is a key moment…THAT EXPLAINS WHY WE HAVE THIS UNIQUE AND EXTRAORDINARY APPEARANCE OF A DECEASED PROPHET. As first in a long list of kings, Saul figures prominently for that reason—and for that reason we have God doing something extraordinary…nowhere else in scripture do we have a disembodied soul talking to another human (excluding Jesus with Moses and Elijah)…the oddities during Jesus/apostles day were resurrections from the dead, and not disembodied spirits.…

The specific context of this unique text is Saul’s. terrible fright due to the impending battle with the Philistines. He desperately wanted and needed the Lord’s wisdom and guidance, but the Lord was not answering his prayers (v.15.). Hence, he secretly (and very sinfully) approached a medium to see if she could contact Samuel, who he thought would be able to guide him. It seems that King Saul believed in the end justified the means…It is similar to, “since I am trying to get guidance from a godly deceased prophet, it is okay if I look to a demon inspired medium.” Is that so different from “I can get assurance that there is an afterlife, if only I can speak to my deceased mom.”? Is not our motive for being fascinated with the paranormal—fear of death or curiosity about the future—often quite similar to Saul’s? Please do not misunderstand me—curiosity regarding the supernatural is one thing, but what we do with that curiosity is another thing altogether! It was entirely proper for Saul to feel fear and to desire supernatural insight, but for believers, the end never justifies the means! (Prov. 3:5-6) He knew it was wrong in that he had previously expelled the mediums and necromancers (v. 3)

The woman that Saul found was similar to the mediums that practice today—she was not a witch as we understand it. (‘ob…according to The Theological Wordbook of  the Old Testament means medium) No, in v. 7 Saul told his servants to seek out a medium,and in his initial request in v. 8.—“…divine for me by a spirit….”  This phrase is often overlooked, but it reveals why Saul had earlier banished mediums…they used a spirit (demon) in their attempts to contact the dead. Saul knew that he was trafficking with the demonic in order to contact Samuel. It is said that desperate people do desperate things, but what Saul did wittingly (consciously communicate with demons) was extremely foolish—but don’t we do the same foolish thing unwittingly?.

Doubtless the medium did her usual ritual in order to bring the trance-like state in which she brought up the individual asked for with the help of her collaborating demon.The text is silent regarding any misgivings she might have felt regarding contacting the holy prophet. It is obvious she had been down this road many times, and  I’m confident that her demonic accomplice was always eager to deceive everyone that  it was the soul of a deceased person it was impersonating.

However, the whole occult practice was cut short when the real Samuel makes a grand entrance, which terrified the medium   She screamed in fear when it became apparent the God Himself had taken over and brought in the spirit of Samuel.. She rallied long enough to answer Saul’s inquiry as to who it was….Samuel. Any way you slice it, this was a unique and extraordinary occurrence which our Lord caused for His purposes at this crucial juncture of redemptive history. Saul was about to be killed by the Lord, and David anointed king—the Davidic covenant and many of his psalms looked forward to the coming of king David’s greater Son.—the Lord Jesus. Because of the sovereign in-breaking of God on the proceedings, can you see that the first question that should occupy our minds is NOT who is this masked man, but rather what kind of God cold do this? Theology precedes anthropology.

V.16 dispels any doubt as to who this mystery man really is: the inspired narrator says it was Samuel. The following verses either state explicitly or imply that this was Samuel: 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20…Moreover, since it is obvious that the disembodied soul was delivering a true message of judgment from the Lord, and refers to himself as the prophet, then that really settles the issue.

Here is the rub though—the hallmark of a ghost is that they are trapped souls due to traumatic or premature death—right? But Samuel’s soul was anything but trapped! He complained that Saul had disrupted his tranquility.(v.15).That one detail immediately disqualifies this text as evidence of the existence of ghosts. In addition, it is obvious that Samuel’s soul was not resting in what we think of as the paranormal realm or second heaven. Whatever else it may mean, coming up from the ground indicates that Samuel was not existing in any realm we have access to via EVP’s. To use this as an example of an earthbound spirit is to do violence to the text, and is a grievous example of scripture twisting.. .

At a crucial point in the flow of the unfolding drama of redemption, our sovereign God completely nullified the medium’s wicked attempt at necromancy, and instead raised up His deceased holy servant to bring His message of judgment upon Saul. That disembodied souls exist after death is a biblical notion, What is un-biblical is the notion that souls of deceased humans can get trapped here. This text does not support that idea at all—quite the opposite. This where we must drop idle curiosity and remember to look at this text from a God-saturated perspective...       

Sadly, the bible reveals that Saul, and his sons, died in battle the next day. We are not left to our own interpretation of this turn of events. In 1 Chronicles 10:13-14—(above) we are given an inspired theological and theo-centric interpretation of Saul’s death. God the Holy Spirit tells us that He put Saul to death for two reasons: not obeying His command to utterly slaughter the Amalekites, and for attempting to speak to the dead.(v.13) Please note that in  Lev. 20:4-6 we are told that the Lord detests attempts to speak to the dead (necromancy or spiritism) so passionately, that is was punishable by death. However, He goes even further: if the covenant community fails to kill those caught speaking to the dead, then He Himself would hunt them down and kill them. .As  I said in another newsletter, I know of no other list of sins in which God makes this threat—and the text in 1 Chron. tells us that God killed Saul for seeking out the medium of En-dor. Is that not both sobering and instructive?   

 The New Testament does not change God’s character, nor does God begin to love or accept what He hated with such a singular passion in the Old Testament. Because we are not a theocracy, spiritism is no longer a crime, but it is still a heinous sin. How can we avoid that conclusion if we have an ounce of respect for the authority of holy writ? What is spelled out so clearly in Deut 18 and Lev. 20, is ILLUSTRATED in this episode and in Saul’s subsequent death in battle.

Recently I was on Dave Schrader’s popular radio show Darkness Radio, and he agreed that every investigator he knew was experiencing paranormal activity, and/or many were sick and dying—or already dead. Our Lord killed Saul for attempting to speak to the dead. What a dreadful madness or demonic delusion has blinded our dear friends. From the depths of my heart, I beg you to stop, and to persuade others to stop. .Can God hurt people today? You bet your neck He can…and is. We must repent..or perish...

Breaking God’s commands and seeking guidance from the prince of this world brought Saul under God’s curse. However, it was Saul’s death that transitioned the monarchy to David, and ultimately to Christ the King. Because we all disobey God’s commands everyday, and look in all the wrong places for guidance, Jesus took all of this upon Himself—He became a curse for us. Jesus experienced every temptation that Saul did, and yet was without sin….His blood can wash away all occultic sin. Hallelujah, what a Savior!!

Musings on Energy & Epistemology (How We Gain Knowledge) Part 2

By Mark Hunnemann

Continued from Part 1 

True knowledge of God and of the spirit realm cannot be acquired via ourselves; it must come from the infinite-personal God who is really there, revealing Himself to us. The bible speaks of the radical corruption of human beings (total depravity), and there is no part of us that is not tainted by sin—including our minds or consciousness. Looking ever deeper or higher within ourselves for certain knowledge of ultimate realty, is to overlook the severely corrupted nature of the human heart/mind (Jer. 17:9). Besides, as we have noted several times before, Rom.1:18ff states that we have exchanged the glory of the Creator God for a lie, and have begun to worship the creation instead of the Creator. Embracing an energy-centric worldview—energy is seen as ultimate reality—obliterates the Creator/creature distinction. What hubris to think that finite and sinful creatures can auto-generate pure and certain knowledge of God by a flight into higher consciousness. That is a Satanic reversal…we make God in OUR image.

Let me say it again—the vertical memory is alleged to be able to give us sure and accurate knowledge/answers to all of the profound questions raised earlier. An autonomous epistemology, like vertical memory, cannot accurately identify spirit beings either. Starting from ourselves, what is the basis for certainty regarding anything in the spirit realm? Earlier today I saw a thread on Facebook that was discussing Josh Gates and crew (Destination Truth), regarding an episode in which they re-visited a haunted forest—their camera guy had been thrown. Several people were intensely discussing what kind of entity/s were present there…the option most folks were espousing was that they were elementals—spirits which protected the forest. What struck me was how speculative the whole discussion was…one or two readily admitted they were left to mere guesswork…the truth would out when they died, was their contention. I could not refrain, and so I jumped in and, as gently as I could, pointed out that, with their epistemology, guessing was all they could do. There is a better way…

In contrast, in the book of Numbers, God in His infinite kindness and love has REVEALED Himself to us….when God “revelates” there is no need to speculate! In the ancient world, tassles were worn by nobles and other high class people. In Israel they are to be worn by everyone as a sign of being God’s chosen people. In observance of this requirement, Jesus would have worn these tassels. In Matt.9:20; 14:36 it clear that the “fringes” touched for healing by the sick would have been these tassels (same Greek word in Septuagint for “tassle” is used in Matt. for fringe…kraspedon)

Blue was used in the tabernacle, and so the blue threads reminded the Israelites that they were “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex. 19:6).They served a two-fold purpose (v.39): to bring to memory all the commandments of the Lord and do them; and the blue-laced tassles were a memory aid to not follow after their own hearts. There is a play on words with the expression “to follow” because this verb (tur in Heb.) means both “to spy” (an allusion to the disastrous results of the spies giving a bad report in ch.13) and “to follow”. Hence, this is a warning of the danger found in following their own whims rather than being absolutely loyal to the divine commandments or revelation.

But how many times have we said, “I will follow my heart to find God’s will? How many of us have walked through a forbidden relational door because that is what our hearts directed? When we come to our senses, it feels like death to put an end to what should have never happened. Verse 39 tells NOT to follow after our hearts because we are listening to our speculation and not God’s revelation…and He calls that whoring. My marriage and the unity of my family was destroyed due to a spouse who did not heed these words.

In Numbers 1:1 we read, “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying…” This seemingly insignificant verse (the Lord spoke to Moses) is pregnant with epistemological meaning! Five words which should send us to our knees in worship and wonder. How often do we thank God for having revealed Himself to us in the bible? In a culture drowning in subjectivism and evil, we have a sure word from the Creator Himself!

A fairy tale begins, “A long time ago, in a faraway place…” or, ancient myths are a-historical regarding the bizarre stories of sexually heated gods and The Fates (one never knows which is ultimate). However, the book of Numbers is replete with verses like the one above. The revelation of God to us was done in space and time! Space: in a specialized tent which was located in a real geographical location…the wilderness of Sinai. Time: the precise date is given when Yahweh spoke to Moses, presumably in Hebrew, as He did to Saul on the road to Damascus. The simple but profound point is that God’s revelation to us took place within the space-time continuum. Thus, our epistemology is certain fact, and not some airy fairy flight of fancy, nor imagination dreamed up by a drunken monk, nor some subjective state called vertical memory or higher states of consciousness. No, God has revealed Himself to us in space and time.

God wants us to be holy as he is holy (v.40), and the key is to remember and do all his revelation tells us to do. Christianity is a system of truth; it is more than a system of content and truth, but it is not less. Meditating on the content of truth is biblical meditation, as opposed to content-less eastern meditation, which may open the door to the demonic—as can “ascensions” into higher states of consciousness. In v.40 He is revealed as the God who saved them by grace out of Egypt, which is a type/symbol of the coming greater Exodus through the Person and work of Jesus. The commandments are set firmly in the foundation of God’s gracious dealings with us!

V.37..”The Lord said to Moses…” About 2,000 times in the Old Testament we have that cosmos-shattering epistemological utterance (thus saith the Lord). The first sin of Satan in the Garden was to question the veracity of God’s word…”did god really say…?” But these words regarding the use and meaning of tassels was a direct revelation from the Living God—now THAT is certain knowledge! Whether it is the nature of God, the true identity of spirit beings, our eternal existence in heaven or hell, and grace (as opposed to karma and reincarnation) we have true objective truth. His revelation is certain, true truth OUTSIDE of us…concerning things impossible for a creature to know without divine revelation. The reason we can have confidence in what we believe regarding these vital matters, is that the Creator God has lovingly and truly revealed Himself to us: regarding what He is like, who dwells in the spirit realm, true wisdom, and that history is truly His-story…culminating in His imminent Second Coming.

“Thus saith the Lord” versus “thus feeleth the heart/higher consciousness”—that is the issue facing us and our culture. When the heart takes primacy it is an invitation for disaster due to its deceitfulness. Let us not forget that the Lord views following our whims as whoring. If the Father ever has to choose between our whims and the singular honor and dignity of His beloved Son, He will always choose the honor and dignity of His Son…He has made that abundantly clear.

God Really, Really Hates Ghosts

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

¹The Lordspoke to Moses, saying,²"Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.³I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name.

⁴And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death,⁵then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.⁶If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.


The same God, who created the universe, uttered the words above. As Creator, He has the authority to hate and be angry with whatever/whoever He wants…always in keeping with His just character. In verses 1-5 the Lord tells His covenant community that He detests the practice of child sacrifice to Molech. He hates it so much that He declares that it is a capital crime. I read this text in my personal devotion today, and it is what comes next that particularly struck me. In v.4 the Lord says that if the people fail to put the perpetrator to death, then He will cut his life short. How terrifying it would be to have the Lord set His face against a person and pledge to cut him off—which is simply another way of saying to “kill” someone. When the Jews were circumcised, the foreskin was cut off as a sign of blessing and curse—as members of God’s holy covenant community, they would be blessed if they believed and obeyed, and they would be cursed if they were disobedient. On the cross, Jesus became The Circumcised One—cut off from the Father. From the context, it is clear that the Lord would Himself kill the practitioner of child sacrifice to Molech. Does that not indicate how much He hates that practice?

However, the Lord’s pledge to avenge unpunished wrongdoing does not end there (and this is key)—in v. 6 God Almighty states that He will personally kill people for two other sins if the covenant community does not follow through with the death penalty. Along with killing one’s own child by sacrificing them to Molech, Yahweh says that seeking after mediums and necromancers will result in He Himself killing that person (if they are not properly dealt with judicially). THAT is what leapt off the page this morning when I read it…God promised that He would kill anyone who committed those three sins—that is how much He hates them. As I showed in an earlier post, there are gradations to sins seriousness…and God has revealed three that top the list.

Notice that it is not the mediums and necromancers who are singled out for His special wrath (though surely that is implied), but the people who seek them out. What does that mean for today? Since there is not a theocracy anymore, then the death penalty has been discontinued in the New Testament for being involved with mediums and attempting to traffic with the dead. (there is a distinction between sin and crime). What does carry over from the Old Testament to today is this principle: the Holy God has particular revulsion for mediumistic activity as well as any practice that involves seeking the dead. Here is what truly frightens me—all the folks actively investigating the spirit realm, are the objects of His special displeasure and wrath. Rom.1:18 explicitly says that God’s wrath iscurrently being poured out from heaven upon those who suppress the truth, and then fall into dark practices. God is immutable (unchanging), so if He actively punished those who sought mediums as well as interaction with the dead, then there is every reason to believe that is still the case.

Every square inch of the Old Testament is applicable to today, and has up to the second relevance…THE CHALLENGE IS KNOWING HOW IT IS APPLICABLE. Just because the sacrificial system has been abrogated by the once-for-all sacrifice of the Messiah, that does not mean that all the various sacrifices have no purpose for today. Each one highlights an essential aspect of Christ’s atonement, and helps us to understand the many splendored wonder of the cross. There is both continuity and dis-continuity. Similarly, the death penalty has been discontinued, but certainly God’s resolute anger towards, and special punishment of, mediums and spiritism flows with continuity into our era…especially in light of the reality of Rom.1:18ff. Why does God accent the particular repugnance of these three sins? As Creator He can pull rank and not answer that—I really think it is important that we understand God can do what He wants with or without our approval. Nevertheless, the fact that all three sins lead one into direct contact with the demonic is certainly something that sheds light on the situation. Intentional contact with the spirit realm is exceedingly dangerous, and angers God mightily.

Since God created the world, then He has the authority to hate and punish how He wishes (God does love everyone, and forgiveness is available to all who embrace the gospel).According to God, all those who mess with alleged ghosts are spiritually whoring (v. 6). Can God still hurt people? He most certainly can and does…and He has said He will severely punish all who mess with mediums and ghosts. Yes, God expresses more grace in the New Covenant, but that does not abrogate or do away with the continuity of basic principles from Old to New Testament. God really, really hates the notion of ghosts…do you?