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BELATED CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FOR THE NEW YEAR

THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST AND OUR OWN LIVES

Monday 4 January 2010 00:01

Note: This essay is being posted briefly, but after replacement with the report dated 28th December 2009 or its successor, it will remain immediately accessible via the Archive.

As previously mentioned, the Editor was unable, due to the familiar pressures, to find time to compose a Christmas message in time for the ‘holidays’.

However, by way of ‘compensation’ for that failing, the following thoughts on the Temptation of Christ [Matthew, Chapter 4, verses 1-11] may serve as recompense.

By Christopher Story FRSA

THE CONFIRMATION OF CHRIST AT HIS BAPTISM
‘Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to [the River] Jordan unto John, to be baptised of him’ (1). After John the Baptist had remonstrated with Jesus that it was he, John, who should be baptised by the Lord, rather than the other way round, Jesus asked John to baptise him now: ‘for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness’ (2). So John willingly baptised Jesus in the River Jordan.

Jesus, ‘when he was baptised, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him’.

‘And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (3).

At that moment, Jesus was ‘made Christ’ – Christos, Greek for ‘the Anointed One’. We hear the voice of God speaking directly – to the three special disciples, Peter, James and John – at the transfiguration immediately ahead of Jesus’ passion, these being the only occasions when the voice of God is heard directly in the New Testament (i.e. the New Will, after the Old Will had been torn up when the veil of the Temple was rent in twain (4) when Jesus expired on the Cross):

‘And after six days, Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain; and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them’.

‘And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him’ (5). Thus the voice of the Lord is heard at the very beginning (Alpha) and at the very end (Omega) of Jesus’ Ministry on earth – echoed at the end of the final book of the New Testament, Revelation:

‘And he said unto me [the disciple, John], It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst [for my Word, the Way, the Truth and the Life] of the fountain of the water of life freely’ – grace being a free gift of God, with no strings attached, that is often represented in Scripture by the metaphor of free-flowing, pure (spiritual) water (without which physical life cannot exist).

‘He that overcometh [temptation and the entrapment operations of Satan and his demons] shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son’ – echoing the promise repeatedly made to the Children of Israel themselves, which at various stages of their development they rejected, then repented and accepted, and vice versa.

‘But the fearful’ [for if we love Him, we have no fear], ‘and unbelieving’ [‘the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God’ (6) ], 'and the abominable’ [the degraded human beings, who are possessed by familiars and devils, that invade other countries illegally, murder millions, rendering many more millions homeless, and the compartMENTALised operatives who plot with brainwashed agents to blow up buildings and aircraft], 'and murderers’ [recall that ‘he (the devil ) was a murderer from the beginning’ (7)] 'and whoremongers' [teaching little children depravity, thereby blaspheming against the Holy Spirit *], 'and idolaters' [all who covet material things or who worship Mammon, or who lust after worldly rewards, as well as those who worship idols, false invented gods and illusory mental fabrications which are the sterile, mundane inventions of Satan himself], 'and all liars' [who have not repented], 'shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone’ (8).

Now, just as soon as the Holy Spirit had descended upon him when he emerged from the River Jordan having been baptised by John – to emphasise the need for cleansing from sin, even though he himself was without sin – ‘then was Jesus led up by the spirit unto the wilderness to be tempted of the devil’ (9).

AFTER WE HAVE RECEIVED GRACE, WE ARE IMMEDIATELY TEMPTED
This sequence encapsulates a factor of exceptional importance that is probably seldom pointed out by many who consider themselves to be entrusted with the responsibility of teaching the Word.

It is this: just as soon as we have been touched by God’s grace – chosen by God, because we humbled ourselves before Him – Satan says:

‘We can’t have this. I must work overtime to get him or her back’.

This may well happen very rapidly after a person has been touched by grace. So those who have ears to hear and eyes to see should be aware that one or more ‘attacks’ by the Evil One may quickly follow the gift of grace, which is freely given to us by the Lord if we seek him.

Since the person touched by grace has also had his or her eyes opened, he or she will be aware of the attacks when they happen. They may take any form, especially sexual, but quite probably other temptations as well. And this little essay is about temptation, so before we look at the Temptation of Christ, read these comforting words on the subject:

‘There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation ALSO MAKE A WAY TO ESCAPE, that ye may be able to bear it’ (10).

And: ‘For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted [see in detail below], he is able to succor them that are tempted’ (11).

‘Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man [not SOME men (and women): but EVERY person] is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed’ (12).

THE THREE TEMPTATIONS OF CHRIST
Now in the wilderness – metaphor for what some call ‘the dark night of the soul’ but which can also be construed as representing the sterile vacuity of existence without God – after Jesus had fasted for forty days and nights (echoing, as happens throughout Scripture, in perfect symmetry, the 40 years that the Children of Israel wandered aimlessly in the wilderness after they had defied the Lord) – the tempter (Satan) visited him and tried to entice him by means of three deceptions:

The First Temptation and Deception:

‘And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread’ (13).

Which, being interpreted, means that Satan tried to entice Jesus into dabbling with the occult – which is strictly forbidden, as summarised in the brief Annexe below. Here we have, at the very outset of the Temptation, a warning against playing around with the occult – astrology, palmistry, divination, sorcery, séances to call up demons, all false religion such as the New Age substitutes developed by Satan to entrap the unwary who have no knowledge of Scripture, all subversive enticements promising ‘higher knowledge’ by initiation (Freemasonry and its many offshoots and imitations, and all secret societies), and the myriad devices that the devil has refined, and has proliferated in our time, to entrap those who drift with the wind and who have built their houses on sand. Importance should also be attached to the fact that the temptation to dabble in the occult comes FIRST – indicating that it is the route to perdition most favoured by Satan and his demons.

Christ deflected this attack by slapping Satan down with:

‘[But he answered and said], It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God’ (14).

Herein resides another jewel that had eluded this writer until this very moment (as so often happens when one studies the Word!): For notice that Jesus did not fall into Satan’s trap by, for instance, pooh-poohing the idea of converting stones into bread by magic. No, Jesus didn’t even give Satan the opportunity to follow up with some further occultic allusion.

On the contrary, he simply took the word ‘bread’ (the ‘bread of life’) as his cue and reminded Satan that men and women are both body and soul, in need at all times of spiritual nourishment: ‘every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God’.

Thus the Lord squashed Satan’s occultic attack by ignoring it and telling him what needed to be said, with no reference to the occult at all: the best form of refutation can be to ignore the stupidity of the attacker. And Jesus was, as the prophet foretold, 'of quick discernment' (intellect).

The second Temptation and Deception:

‘Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city [Jerusalem], and setteth him on a pinnacle of the Temple’ (Herod’s Temple, built for the glory of Herod, not God),

‘And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee: and in their hands, they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone’ (15).

Here, the devil is enticing the Lord to commit suicide, pure and simple.

Now those who suffer from, or know people or relatives who suffer from, bipolar disorder, may have experienced the terrible agony of a friend or relative who has committed suicide. Without stepping into medical territory for which this writer is not qualified, there is a possibility that such victims may have been under attack from a ‘familiar’ literally whispering in their head that, given a set of circumstances painted by the demon(s) in their mind as being hopeless and irretrievable, they would be ‘better off ending it all’.

Of course, when this happens, the devil ‘gains’, because he has prevented yet another soul from finding the grace of God, and thus becoming a candidate for salvation.

In this connection, it should be borne in mind that Satan does not want us to worship him (as some fools believe). All he wants is for the person NOT to worship the Lord. For those who do not yet see with their eyes and hear with their ears, this is all a mystery. But it’s as clear as the living waters of life to those touched by the grace of God.

In response to this attack, the Lord dismisses it by rebuking Satan for trying to tempt him into committing suicide:

‘Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God’ (16) – REMINDING SATAN THAT HE IS THE LORD. And we know from James, the brother of Jesus, that Satan and his demons are NOT atheists. They believe in and know ABOUT God, and they tremble at the thought and knowledge of him:

‘Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble’ (17).

THE DEVILS ARE TERRIFIED OF THE LORD
And herein lies one of the most stupendous truths of all.

The devils also believe, and they tremble at the knowledge and truth of God. Why do they tremble?

Because they know that, contrary to the commandments of God which focus on love that banishes all fear, they are all liars, deceivers, murderers, bearers of false witness, thieves, perpetrators of Fraudulent Finance, designers of abominations [see above], self-important and deluded social sorcerers who think that they can reorganise the whole world to suit themselves and their craven interests, peddlers of depravity, brainwashers, avid haters of the innocence of little children and abusers of them, blasphemers against the Holy Spirit, abusers of themselves and others, and schemers intent upon following other Workers of Darkness, taking pleasure in wickedness:

‘For without [outside, in the Darkness] are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whomsoever loveth and maketh a lie’ (18).

THE ONLY NAME TO WHICH EVIL SPIRIT WILL RESPOND IS THAT OF JESUS CHRIST
Furthermore, we are confronted now with yet another quite astonishing truth – the single truth that embedded itself so indelibly on the mind of this writer that he knew, through this truth alone, that Jesus Christ is indeed, of a truth, the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that there is (as the Children of Israel were painfully taught during their long ‘upbringing’ for their own, and our, benefit), ‘none other God but me’. It is this:

The ONLY Name to which Evil One pays attention, and will OBEY, is that of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, in Christian exorcism (which must only be undertaken by Christians fully equipped by prayer and often by fasting, as Jesus also taught was necessary in the case of certain kinds of demon) (19), demons are cast out in the Name of Jesus Christ.

The third Temptation and Deception:

‘Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceedingly high mountain, and sheweth him ALL the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;'

'And saith unto him, ALL these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me’ [capitalisation by the Editor, for emphasis] (20).

ALL GOVERNMENTS ARE IN THE HANDS OF SATAN
Satan did not say: ‘I will give you SOME of these kingdoms, in exchange for you falling down and worshipping me’. He said: ‘ALL these things will I give thee…’. In other words, ALL KINGDOMS AND GOVERNMENTS are in the hands of Satan and are controlled by him. There are NO EXCEPTIONS.

Is this insight as depressing as it sounds? This column has long been chronicling the Works of Darkness perpetrated on a permissive scale by the American and other Governments, including the British Government – in conformity with the crystal clear insight given to us in this Scripture that ALL Governments are in the hands of the Evil One. Why should we not be despondent to the point of suicidal depression in the face of this reality?

Because of what the Lord retorted in the face of this third Temptation:

‘Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve’ (21).

‘GET OUT OF MY LIFE, SERPENT’: AND HE FLEES…
First, if we order Satan out of our lives, he vanishes. ‘Get thee behind me Satan’ WORKS. Telling the devil to clear off WORKS. And if it works in our lives, it can work within Government, too.

The fact that ALL Governments are in the hands of the Evil One does not mean that good cannot be done through governance. On the contrary, since governments are simply structures organised by humanity consisting solely of men and women, each of whom has the opportunity and promise of salvation if they have eyes to see and ears to hear, governments CAN be prevailed upon to depart from consorting with the Workers of Darkness and from following the broad way to perdition:

‘Enter ye at the straight [i.e., the narrow] gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat’ (22) .

Sooner or later in life, we have to make a choice. Fortunate indeed are those people who have the opportunity to make the choice early in their lives. But whenever we make the choice – even right at the end of life – we have to make it, as there is no second chance.

The Roman Catholic Church's invention of ‘purgatory’, a sort of half-way house between salvation and perdition, is a devilish, self-serving, money-making fabrication which enables that reprobate church to charge rent (fees) for ‘dispensing’ the privilege of ‘days off purgatory’ – which does not exist, there being of course no mention of it in Scripture whatsoever.

On the contrary, we have ONE chance of salvation, and it occurs in this life only. Either we take it, or we suffer the consequences.

If this applies to individual human beings, it also applies to governments, which consist exclusively of individual human beings. The fact that ALL kingdoms are in the hands of Satan does not mean that they cannot be wrenched from his claws, just like individuals.

ALL OF A SUDDEN, THERE IS NO TEMPTATION ANY MORE
After the third Temptation:

‘Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him’ (23).

And this happens to us, individually, too. When we have ordered Satan to ‘get behind me’, resisting his temptations, ‘angels come and minister to us’. Then, one day, we wake up and realise, to our astonishment, that the thing that has tempted us, perhaps for a long time, isn’t there any more.

Try it.

Notes and references:

(1): Matthew, Chapter 3, verse 13.

(2) Matthew, Chapter 3, verse 15.

(3): Matthew, Chapter 3, verses 16-17.

(4) ‘Jesus, when he had cried with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God’ [Matthew, Chapter 27, verses 50-54]. And at Mark, Chapter 15, verses 37-39: ‘And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom'.

'And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly, this man was the Son of God’.

Now the veil of the temple was extremely thick – not like a simple curtain or piece of cloth which could be pulled apart by the tensions triggered by an earthquake. The great thickness of the veil is unknown, but it had been added to over a prolonged period such that it could not possibly have been torn from top to bottom in an instant other than by a supernatural force – a fact attested by these passages and by the witnesses reported in the gospel accounts. The significance of the tearing of the veil of the temple FROM TOP TO BOTTOM is that it unmistakably represents the tearing-up by God of the Old Testament or Will, and its replacement by a New Will.

For a Will to take effect, the testator must have died: and that is what happened. The Editor knows a person who was brought to Christ when this was pointed out.

(5): Mark, Chapter 9, verses 2-3, and 7.

(6): ‘The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God’, Psalm 14, verse 1; Psalm 53, verse 1.

(7): ‘Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it’. [John, Chapter 8, verse 44]. Note the close correlation between murdering and lying: when we lie, we murder the truth. And murders are often committed in order to disguise the truth. The Editor is extremely disturbed about the sudden death of a US journalist who was known to him, who died aged 41 on 19th September 2009. We think he was murdered because he was researching some devilish activity of the US official structures that they wanted to prevent being exposed. The Scribes and Pharisees enticed the crowd to call for Jesus’ crucifixion (giving themselves supposed ‘deniability’ because, as they stupidly assumed, they could claim afterwards that ‘the masses’ had called for his death), so as to murder the truth for which Christ stood and with which he was associated – in order, in turn, to preserve their worldly power structure which Jesus challenged head on: as, for instance, in the foregoing excoriation.

(8): The Revelation of John the Divine; Chapter 21, verses 6-8.

(9): Matthew, Chapter 4, verse 1.

(10): First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Chapter 10, verse 13.

(11): Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews, Chapter 2, verse 18.

(12): James (the brother of Jesus), Chapter 1, verses 12-14.

(13): Matthew Chapter 4, verse 3.

(14) Matthew, Chapter 4, verse 4.

(15): Matthew, Chapter 4, verses 5-6.

(16) Matthew, Chapter 4, verse 7.

(17): James, Chapter 2, verse 19.

(18): Revelation, Chapter 22, verse 15.

(19): The Editor learned this truth from his late friend, Fr. Malachi Martin, who died in July 1999.

(20): Matthew, Chapter 4, verses 8-9.

(21): Matthew, Chapter 4, verse 10.

(22): Matthew, Chapter 7, verse 13.

(23): Matthew, Chapter 4, verse 11.

A NOTE ON BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST:
The Lord teaches us explicitly that no forgiveness is possible for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit:

‘Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men… whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come’ [Matthew, Chapter 12, verses 31-32].

Mark, Chapter 3, verses 28-29: ‘Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation’.

At Luke, Chapter 12, verse 10 also, we read:
‘And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven’.

Now the temple of the Holy Spirit is the human person, not temples made with hands: ‘For behold, the kingdom of God is within you’ [Matthew, Chapter 17, verse 21]. Therefore, the innocent little child is, by definition, the perfect temple of the Holy Spirit.

So what are the Workers of Darkness therefore often DRIVEN to do? Why, to pervert, corrupt, abuse, brainwash and disturb little children. Why do we read so much about paedophilia nowadays, which was never previously the case? And why are certain notorious, complicit and well-known Western ‘leaders’, past and present, paedophiles?

Because those chosen by the Workers of Darkness to ‘lead’ us are pre-blackmailed or permanently blackmailable and are therefore controlled inter alia because they have indulged in the abuse of children, i.e. blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, for which there is no forgiveness.

In Mark, we have read that such a person is ‘in danger of eternal damnation’, leaving a small chink of possible light in the darkness, implying that comprehensive, genuine repentance might afford them ‘a way out’. But since the other two gospel references slam the door very tightly shut, the overwhelming probability is that abusers of children – and this means ALL THOSE WHO PERVERT THE MINDS OF MINORS as well as those who brutally abuse them physically – are blasphemers against the Holy Spirit, FOR WHOM NO FORGIVENESS IS POSSIBLE.

That, in turn, means that such 'leaders' and others like them are trapped. They cannot get out of the darkness. Have you ever wondered why Gordon Brown is so permanently gloomy? Such people are not only entrapped and blackmailed or blackmailable, but are therefore ‘ideal’ instruments for the Workers of Darkness (Satan) to play with. THIS is why so many of these characters are paedophiles. They are lost, ‘so they have nothing to lose’ by going along with the abominations of others.

Jesus used almost violent language to condemn these abusers of children:

‘And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me’.

‘But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea’. [Matthew, Chapter 18, verses 5-6].

‘And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea’ [Mark, Chapter 9, verse 42].

‘It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones’. [Luke, Chapter 17, verse 2].

And wherever the Word appears three times in the gospels, it is of special importance.

A NOTE ON DEMONS
We learn from Scripture what most of us instinctively know, whether we choose to bury this deep knowledge or not, that there are evil spirits, unclean spirits, seducing spirits, ‘fallen angels’, ‘the devil’s angels’, and that they are organised into hierarchies as ‘principalities’, ‘powers’, ‘rulers of darkness’, ‘spiritual hosts of wickedness’, and ‘familiar spirits’ against which human beings must struggle – although they can be dismissed, as indicated in the main text, by ordering Satan to ‘get out’: ‘Get thee behind me Satan’ is an excellent and permitted imprecation.

A close relative of the Editor, visited by an extremely cacophonous Evil Spirit (host of evil spirits), in desperation, prayed: ‘Our Father’ and needed to to go no further before the troubling infestation fled – and never returned.

Helpful New Testament references to evil spirits will be found at Matthew, Chapter 12, verses 43 and 45; Matthew, Chapter 25, verse 41; Second Epistle of Peter, Chapter 2, verse 4; and the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, Chapter 6, verse 12. Halley writes in his ‘Bible Handbook’ [Halley’s Bible Handbook, ISBN 0-310-25720-4, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 32-8057, Halley’s Bible Handbook, Inc., pages 468-469]:

‘The rather plain implication of Scripture is that “demoniacs” were not merely lunatics, but cases of “invaded personality”; and that demons, whatever their origin or nature, were evil spirits that did actually enter and afflict, in one way or another, certain persons’.

‘It is thought to have been a special exhibition of the devil against Jesus, permitted by God, during Jesus’ stay on earth, to demonstrate that Jesus’ power extended even into the unseen realm. Faith in Him is protection from whatever evil they might be able to do’….

‘Paul says [that] the Christian’s struggle is against evil personalities of the unseen world [Ephesians, Chapter 6, verse 12]. But Jesus is our strength in the struggle. Satan and his evil spirits are helpless against the Name and Power of Jesus’ Christ’.

This is so not least because they have to work within the parameters of their existence delineated by God. That explains why they never innovate. You may wonder how it is possible that a devilish CIA buffoon like Cheney, whom the Editor thinks is ‘perfectly possessed’, continues to perpetrate and preside over attempted abominations. First, because he is possessed. And secondly, because he knows no new tricks. Satan can never innovate. This makes it relatively easy for us, after some experience, to recognise what these criminals have in mind.

We can read their minds: because they keep doing the same stuff over and over again. It is no coincidence that the satanic disruption that is disturbing the peace of humanity is called the World Revolution. ‘Revolution’ means going round and round in sterile circles.

And going nowhere.

ANNEXE
PROHIBITION AGAINST SORCERY, DIVINATION AND THE OCCULT
Dabbling in the occult is absolutely forbidden, as it opens the person up to infestation by demons or ‘familiars’. All ‘pathways’ to the occult are to be avoided, including such devices as yoga, which procure the creation of a ‘tabula rasa’ mind – into which evil spirits can the more easily and swiftly be enticed. Of course this will be denied by some, but their denials will fly in the face of the truth.

Warnings against dabbling in the occult are numerous in Scripture, which deals with the works and words of real men and women, not disembodied ‘presences’.

Three worth noting here are as follows:

Deuteronomy, Chapter 18, verses 9-13:
‘When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee’ – viz., out of the Darkness of ‘Egypt’, where the ancients worshipped death (their religion was a death cult) into the ‘Land flowing with milk and honey’ (metaphor for the Light of God, given that the whole of humanity had hitherto languished in darkness, as is repeatedly stated early in Genesis) – ‘thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations’.

‘There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or daughter to pass through the fire [i.e., post-natal ‘contraception’ disguised as offerings to false gods], or that useth divination [fortune telling, astrology, trying to gauge the future by esoteric means], or an observer of times [ditto], or an enchanter, or a witch,’

‘Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits [someone infested by familiar spirits who speaks with them, and follows instructions], or a wizard [magician], or a necromancer [death worshipper]’.

‘For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee’ [i.e., they always go into perdition].

‘Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God’.

Jeremiah, Chapter 27, verse 9:
‘Therefore harken not ye to… your diviners, nor to your dreamers,
nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers…’.

Malachi, Chapter 3, verse 5:
‘I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers’.