I received this email the other day. Opinions? I met and talked to you for a few minutes in Mansfield last Saturday at the 65th birthday party you were doing for my friend Barry. You mentioned Christians here in the Bible belt sort of give you the shun. I thought about that and wanted to pass along some of the reasoning behind that. There is a difference between the magicians spoken of in the Bible and the magicians and illusionists one sees today at parties and in stage show acts. The magicians in the Bible either gained their power from demonic forces or else they were little more than charlatans who pretended to have great knowledge or to discover secrets, tell fortunes, and predict things to come. The word magic is actually used six times in the Bible, three times in the Old Testament and three times in the New Testament. However, the word, magician(s) is used 15 times. We know that the Egyptians worshipped many gods and that magic played an important part in the rituals of their high priests. It was through the deception of magic that the Egyptians were made to believe their gods actually had power. Genesis speaks of magicians in pharaohs service. But it is interesting to note that they were powerless to interpret pharaoh’s dream (Genesis 41:8), prompting pharaoh to send for Joseph, who interpreted it correctly because he spoke the words God gave him. The book of Exodus speaks of magicians practicing what is called secret arts (Exodus 8:7), as they brought up frogs and thereby replicating Gods plague on the land of Egypt. Magic in this case was used in an attempt to mock God by mimicking the miracles God performed through Moses. Magic and sorcery played a major role in the pantheistic religion of Egypt. Its ancient documents record the magicians’ activities, one of the most prominent being the charming of serpents. These men were also self-styled “wise men” and “sorcerers”—the learned men of the day and the religious as well. Two of these men, named Jannes and Jambres, are mentioned in2 Timothy 3:8. Any supernatural power they may have had came from Satan (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). If not supernaturally inspired, they simply practiced their trade by optical illusion, sleight of hand, or the learned physical manipulation of things such as snakes. Whatever the case, deceit was their aim, and they were sufficiently skillful to completely fool pharaoh and his servants. In regard to the magicians and illusionists we see today, if they are nothing more than entertainers, there is probably nothing wrong with being entertained by them. If, however, they are involved with the occult, clearly this is something Christians must avoid. The difficulty is in knowing which are associated with the occult and which are not. In any case, wisdom and discernment are needed whenever dealing with any form of magic or illusion. Read more:gotquestions.org/magic-illusion-Bible.html#ixzz332Fldkjh I noticed in your bio that you do not talk about what you believe about God so I am assuming you do not believe in God or at least the God of the Bible. If not, you should know what the Bible says about this: 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:16-18 Every person must make a decision about Jesus before they die. The facts are that Jesus is the Son of God, he died on a cross some 2000 years ago to pay the penalty for your sins and mine, he was buried and rose again from the grave on the third day. He has made it possible for us to be reconciled to God. To accept him is to believe in Him and to trust Him as your personal savior. God will hear you if you want to talk with him about Jesus. God wants to hear you tell him you realize you need a savior, you believe Jesus is that Savior, and you confess Jesus as your savior. If you truly mean that, God will save you from hell and your eternity will be fixed for heaven. You should then get into a solid Bible teaching church to begin to learn the Word of God and become a disciple of Jesus Christ. You may also consider what I have said above as foolishness and want no part of it. I understand that. Making no decision is a decision to reject him and as the Bible warns, you will be condemned to spend your eternity in hell in eternal torment. I am not looking for a fight or a debate with you. I just want you to consider what I have said and understand the consequences of your personal decision about Christ. Jim, you seem like a nice guy and I am praying for you to trust Jesus as your personal savior. If you would like to talk further, below is my info. John H.
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 21:27:44 +0000
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