Steeped Magazine
March 2022
Witchcraft
A Clean Vessel
STEEPED MAGAZINE
INTRO Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:31
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Spiritual Fluency 03
Do you speak God's spiritual language?
The Closing of the Door 05
The door to the supernatural was closed after the Fall. How can we open it?.
The Genesis of Witchcraft 07
How witchcraft began and how it has spread.
Witchcraft Defilement 10
Avoiding the things that defile us
Clear the Slate: Repentence 16
The first step to take when you find your self in error.
Breaking the Yoke 19
How to end your involvement with the occult and have a fresh start.
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SPIRITUAL
FLUENCY God is a Spirit. A glorious and marvelous Spirit. From Him everything was created. God spent time creating the heavens and the earth, day and night, and creatures of both land and sea. On the last day of creation, He decided to make a man. He said “let Us make man in Our image, [and] according to Our likeness,” (Genesis 1:26) and that’s exactly what He did, He “created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27). And then God placed His creation fashioned after Him - in the most perfect and beautiful garden in eastern Eden. In this flourishing garden, God grew every tree “that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” (Genesis 2:9). So here Adam was, in this perfect place, full of perfect food, in perfect harmony with God in spirit. But something terrible was about to happen in Eden. And it’s unfortunate that something so atrocious was about to happen in such a lovely, perfect place.
Adam, whether he truly understood the magnitude of his decision or not, exchanged his ‘birthright,’ his spiritual fluency for incomprehension. See, I liken the spiritual world to a language that Adam was fluent in, prior to the fall. And now, after the fall, all Adam can do is be conversant in his native tongue on a good day. His capabilities are limited to the equivalent of saying “where is the bathroom” and “I am hungry.” He is no longer able to express himself fully or fully understand what God is saying. The fall now means, amongst many other things, that there needs to be translators (i.e. angels) to help convey messages to man, or prophets to share the thoughts of God. It isn’t until Christ goes to Heaven that He gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit, 77 generations later. Losing spiritual fluency was a colossal loss for mankind. It’s like being stripped of high-level credentials that once gave you direct access to the king. Imagine, being able to have the ear of the king and then suddenly not being able to even enter the palace!
But your iniquities have separated you from your God. Isaiah 59:2
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THE CLOSING OF THE DOOR If you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God. – Deuteronomy 28:1-2 There is a reason why the serpent approached Eve. In my opinion, women have a natural affinity for the supernatural and I don’t think this fact was lost on the serpent. Now the serpent whom, the Bible says was craftier than any beast made, probably saw something in the woman called Eve that he could manipulate. Or perhaps Eve had a curiosity for the supernatural, who knows? What we do know is that he saw something that he could use. After all, the enemy roams around like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. The seeking part should make us realize that the enemy is watching us. Learning all of our weaknesses in order to use them against us in the future.
So here we have the serpent approaching Eve and effectively tricking her into eating the fruit. We read this in Genesis 3:1-5 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. It’s been said before that the devil often comes with two truths and one lie. He cunningly deceives people by mixing a bit of deceit in a whole lot of truth. Let’s dissect the interaction he had with Eve. He told Eve that eating the fruit will NOT result in her death, and that was correct. However, he failed to inform her that although her physical body would live, her spiritual body would suffer grave consequences. Something died that day in the garden of Eden, and one of the things that died was the language and comprehension of the Spirit realm.
MARCH 2022 The serpent continues in verse five to share that Eve’s eyes will be opened, again another truth. But he doesn’t share that her ‘eyes being opened’ comes at the cost of her losing supernatural access to God. Remember, God is Spirit, and at this time, although she and Adam have physical bodies, they were fully operational in the spiritual realm. Eating the forbidden fruit, caused both Adam and Eve to relinquish their spiritual language and spiritual eyes, and exchange them for mere physical eyes. Since the relinquishment, trying to enter into the spiritual realm is a fight. The fact that Adam and Eve recognized they were naked and hid from God shows how limiting our physical bodies are when it comes to accessing the spiritual realm. We are in physical bodies and don’t have easy access into the spiritual realm as we did before. After the fall, the door that used to be able to swing open to the spiritual realm was locked. It was locked and a keyhole was placed on it. It can open, but you must use an authorized key as a Christian. As followers of Christ, one key that opens the door is worship. The Bible instructs us in Psalm 100:4, that we are to “enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him and bless his name.” Our praise to God is our access card to the gates around His palace. And when our praises turn into worship, this allows us access into His inner courts. Worship is the key because God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3).
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THE GENESIS OF WITCHCRAFT Because we are made in God’s image we were originally created with an appetite for the supernatural. And because of the Fall, we now cannot easily access that realm. The door is closed. However, that doesn’t quench our desire to access it. We have a natural curiosity about the supernatural. And because of this desire, the enemy has taught people a way to workaround this door closure. Not only has he taught people the work-around, but he has also deceived people into believing that ‘his’ door, his back door, is the right door. But it’s not. And once you open that door, using the keys of demonic incantations, crystals, tarot cards, burning sage, psychic consultations, etc., you will soon realize that the door is a door to demons and not angels. A door to Satan and not the Almighty God. The enemy, in his usual form, is presenting a counterfeit that many are falling for. The Bible says in Matthew 7:7-8 these words: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
The door will open to the one who knocks. The question is, which door are you knocking on? The front or the back? Witchcraft is the illegal attempt to access the spiritual world without God. And by God, we mean the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The devil provides an inauthentic shortcut to feed our desire for the supernatural, through witchcraft. And because there is no light in him, he reveals to people the dark supernatural realm that the fallen angels taught to the women they married. Be careful of such shortcuts. True intimacy with God will come with supernatural access, but the right way to get it is through staying dedicated to God and living a clean lifestyle. Fallen Angels Is it myth or legend? Is it a concept that Hollywood uses to inspire the likes of Marvel movies, but not something for the believer to look into?
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The term ‘fallen angels’ refers to angels that chose to rebel against God with Lucifer. After their defeat, they were kicked out of heaven and fell to earth, hence the term fallen angels. Here are a few verses that reference these fallen angels: And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. - Jude 1:6 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. Genesis 6:1-2 Then they took wives, each choosing for himself; whom they began to approach, and with whom they cohabited; teaching them sorcery, incantations, and the dividing of roots and trees. - Enoch 7:10 The angel's failure to stay in their proper ‘domain’ as angels of God has resulted in a special judgment for them. So, not only did they pick a war with God and were consequently booted out of Heaven, but they also decided to intermarry with women and procreate, ultimately teaching these women sorcery and witchcraft.
Since the fallen angels were corrupted, they taught women how to access the spiritual realm illegally. Again, we can have legal access to the supernatural realm through the Holy Spirit the front door - but that takes work. And then there's the back door, for those unwilling to put in the needed work of being holy, opting instead for the likes of palm readings, spiritual washings, and such. HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW The problem is that many people are not reading the Bible. And many pastors are continually recycling the “get ready for your miracle” messages. Getting you hype off of high-fiving your neighbor. Changing the tempo of the music so that you run around the church. What gets missed is the basic, foundational truths of how the spirit realm operates. Ya’ll it’s simple. Are you ready? How to access the supernatural 1. Be a clean vessel (Matthew 6:33) 2. Read your Bible 3. Fast and Pray 4. Worship
Seek first the kingdom of
God and his
righteousness MATTHEW 6:33
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WITHCRAFT
DEFILEMENT
Eating defiled foods Be careful of the places you eat. Many restaurants openly have altars at their entrances. You may see a bowl with fruits like oranges being offered to their gods. The Bible says in Acts 15:29, “that you [should] abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.” Adam and Eve’s fall came about through… drumroll, please…EATING. God commanded the two to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It seems that eating banned foods either by God like the tree in the garden or foods offered to altars (restaurants) is a problem. Stay away from defiled food and you will do well. Daniel and his friends had just been chosen for King Nebuchadnezzar's special academy. It was a training program to teach them the way of the Chaldeans. Part of the training included eating the King's provisions. But, Daniel was wise. He knew eating these foods would harm him spiritually, so he:
“purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore, he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” (Daniel 1:8) Daniel understood that food could defile you. And made a request that he and his friends be allowed to abstain from them and just eat fruits and vegetables. If you look deeper, the “Daniel Fast” that is quite popular was actually not a fast! It was following God’s instruction to abstain from defiled foods and foods sacrificed at demonic altars. Touching occultic /demonic items Touch is powerful. Again back to Genesis 3:3, God told Adam and Eve not to eat or touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they will surely die. So sometimes even touching things that are ‘condemned' can be problematic. Bringing witchcraft items into your home is almost like marking your life. Items like crystals, dream catchers, rabbit feet/talismans, may seem like little cute, fun, harmless objects, but don’t get it twisted, SMALL THINGS MATTER IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD.
March 2022
Be mindful of the small things. In Joshua 7:15, we read about the story of Achan who took accursed items and paid for them with his and his family's lives: And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel. If you diligently read through the Old Testament you’ll see episodes like this where the children of Israel could not go forth because someone in the camp was in possession of a small thing. So be careful of the items you bring into your home because they may hold spiritual significance that you may not be aware of. For example, African masks often have special meanings in their respective cultures that you may not be aware of. Oftentimes, they may represent a certain deity or may represent something that is used in special spiritual ceremonies. You may think it's cool or a piece of your heritage and want to hang it on your wall. But if the item is accursed do you not think that what happened so often to the children of Israel will not happen to you?
11 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. - Hosea 4:6 So think of the items you have collected on all your travels, or things you may have been gifted. Now that spring is upon us, let us spring clean.
Spring
Cleaning Reduce your toxic spiritual load Go around your home and ask yourself where did I get this from?
African masks/sculptures/art Tarot cards Dream catchers Horoscope items Beads, waist beads Fertility dolls Sage, incense, crystals Rabbit foot/good luck charms Weird jewelry/ art collected from trips abroad Spiritual candles Any items that make you feel uncomfortable or weird i.e. mirrors or art
“You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Exodus 20:3-6
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CLEAR YOUR SLATE
REPENTENCE If you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God. – Deuteronomy 28:1-2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God
Removing the penalty of sin is easy, but Satan, makes sure he creates landmines of sin for us to fall into so that we never get to address all of it, and thus do not experience God’s fruitful abundance on earth. The enemy has wrapped us up in sin from birth. And often times, we have injunctions in our life due to sin that we have forgotten about (so that we don’t repent)
– Isaiah 59:2
Satan is the accuser of the brethren, presenting before God injunctions – reasons why you should not have what He desires you to have. So what can we do?
If I told you that the thing that separates you from what you want in Christ is sin, would you believe me?
Step 1: CONFESSION.
The harsh reality is that the Bible is a book of laws. When a law is broken, there is a penalty. And the most common penalty in the life of a Christian is the withholding of physical blessings due to unrepentant sin. But all is not lost because God has given us the prescription for this diagnosis: repentance.
Confess any known sin and repent of it. Jesus said He would leave us a Helper – the Holy Spirit, so let’s ask our Helper for assistance. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance anything that you can’t remember.
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Step 2: REPENTANCE.
Step 4: Pay attention to your dreams.
Over the next few days, as sin comes to mind, stop, confess, repent and pray for forgiveness.
In the morning ask God to forgive you of any sin you committed while you were asleep and verbally break any covenants that you may have forged with demonic entities. As you clear the deck the enemy will continually try to cause you to fall, so be vigilant not just through prayer but through fasting.
Step 3: FORGIVENESS 2.0. If there are any acts of violence that were committed against you, pray that God would forgive the presence of that sin. Even though you were an unwilling participant, the presence of that sin needs to be repented of. Dear God, I’m sorry for the sin of _________________ [insert the sin that was committed against you]. Please forgive me of this sin that is present in my life. Your word declares in John 1:9, that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive. Thank you for this promise of forgiveness, I stand on this promise today in the name of Jesus I pray, Amen. Additionally, ask God to help you to forgive the perpetrator as unforgiveness is also an injunction that the enemy can hold against you. Remember, the enemy is looking for evidence that he can hold against you so that God can limit physical blessings. Don’t give him this evidence.
We’ve got a great resource here to help you get started. It’s called The Fasting Toolkit. Click here to download: So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it -Isaiah 55:11 Believe God's word.
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LEVITICUS 20:06 NKJV And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.
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I AM A WITCH, AND I WANT OUT Witchcraft is a yoke. It’s a harness, whether you know it or not. Something that can be oppressive and/or burdensome that ties you down to demonic and dark things. But. When the enemy lures you down this path, he doesn’t tell you the end result. He doesn't show you the fine print, he deceives you into acting first. And once you act, there’s only one way out. I liken the practice of witchcraft and/or magic, to joining a gang or the mafia. You can’t just leave it when you want to. You are in it for life unless someone with greater authority sets you free. Well, I have good news for you friend, there is someone who has the authority to rip you out of the hands of the enemy, and that person is Jesus. When Jesus was beaten and abused on His way to the cross, His blood was spilled in the streets. His blood seeped into the earth. He became our sacrificial lamb, and there is no blood ON THIS EARTH that can speak higher than His. There is no greater sacrifice.
Also, it’s important to note that sinning against God can warrant even an attack from God Himself. Satan didn’t share that part, did he? Imagine, having to deal with the duplicity of the devil and his scheming ways, and then having to face God Himself as a foe? You see, in Exodus 20: 3-6, we read the first and second commandment: “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Did you see the part where God said I will visit…? Okay, so you being a Wiccan priestess serving the Wiccan Goddess or a Santeria priestess serving Shango qualifies as an ‘other’ god. Your worship of other gods will result in God Himself remembering that ‘iniquity’ up to four generations later.
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This is part of the fine print that the enemy isn’t sharing with you. That your future generations will also be tied up to all of the ‘side effects’ of those demonic pacts. We often miss this and assume that everything bad is from the enemy. No. Sometimes it’s just us. Sometimes it’s our mothers and grandmothers. So whether you yourself have practiced magic or you think that one of your ancestors could have practiced, repentance is the best gift you can give yourself today. If you have ever visited any of the following or have practiced any of the following, you are in error and need repentance. been involved in witchcraft, magic (white, black etc) tarot card reading or palm reading visited witchdoctors, sangomas, obeah man/woman, mganga, mchawi, n’ganga, mumbles, sorcerer, root worker, shaman, psychics, mediums, mumbles, ancestor channelers, etc, etc, etc. blood sacrifice rituals, pouring libations séances If you have previously been involved in these types of activities AND want to be free, may I suggest some steps for you to take? First and foremost, you must repent. These activities are anti-God (the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and God is not pleased with such activities. Repent and ask God for forgiveness.
20 Remember, your repentance and asking God for forgiveness also means you are ceasing to participate in these abominations. You can’t seek repentance and keep practicing witchcraft. If you want to be freed from the shackles of witchcraft, you must repent, ask for forgiveness, and STOP your practice. The second thing you should do is go on a fast. Fasting is a spiritual tool that will bring supernatural breakthroughs and allow you to break free from the yoke of witchcraft that is oppressing you. Isaiah 58:6, tells us what a fast should do. It should: “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Fasting is meant to lose the bonds of wickedness, lift heavy burdens, free you from oppression, and break all yokes. Fasting, while it may seem hard, is very doable, if you are ready to begin a fast and don’t know where to start, download our fasting toolkit today. It’s free and you can find it on the resources page on our website. Fasting is usually accompanied by prayer, so make sure you pray. Prayer is a powerful component of our walks as Christians, remember the prayers of a righteous man availeth much (James 5:16)
Steeped Magazine
March 2022
A Clean Vessel