What is Occult?

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One morning you open your TV to watch your favorite morning show. In the show, a so-called "expert" was discussing the daily horoscope. "Hmm . . . this is okey huh!" you thought. And so, you watched. "I'm a Leo. What will happen to me today? You may not know it, but horoscope, the reading of fortunes from the alignment of the stars, is an occult practice.

Your friend hold your hand and analyzed the line of your palm. Then she said that she can foretold your future. In that instance you find interest about what he could tell. "Really?" What do you see? Will I get lucky? Will I have boyfriend? What he looks like? How can we meet? Where? And you got a series of questions because you are excited of what she said to you that she can read your future. All you may think everything is just for fun, but you never know that you are already involved in fortune-telling or what the Bible calls "divination."

More and more people are being in into occult without even knowing it.

Well, maybe you will say, "Oh no, I'm not! I will never be involved with such thing as occult." So, you may proceed reading this and you will get surprised to know of somethings that you are doing in your life which there are influences that are trying to pull you into the world of occult.

Some of the examples given are just only a few of many occult practices which are many Filipino people is being trap that they doesn't know. Maybe you also read this book have done occult practice and you doesn't know or noticed. Deceiving are meant as a trap, so that those who are trapped will never know that they trapped until they are trapped.

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If we look at the dictionary, the word "occult" can be understood as a noun, adjective and verb. As a noun, the meaning of this is "supernatural, mystical, or magical beliefs, practices or phenomena." As an adjective, it means "of, involving, or relating to supernatural, mystical, or magical powers or phenomena" and "beyond the range of ordinary knowledge or experience; mysterious." And as a verb, occult means "to cut off from view by interposing something."

And according to Webster dictionary, did say "occult" means is "to shut off from view or exposure: to cover" and as "not revealed: secret." It comes from the Latin word "clandestine, hidden, secret."

The occult is about secrecy. So, maybe you get involved with this without knowing. And by the time that you will know, you are already trapped and cannot escape.

Mark is one of the example on how just one person get entered little by little in occult that he did not immediately aware. That he thought by doing them he will come out better, but was he wrong! Here is his story:

"His parents got separated when he was just two years old. His father got custody on him and his big brother. Later on, his father lived with another woman. Eventually, they also had two other children. Their stepmother was cruel to them. She loved her own children more than them. Their father, who was a seaman 3 gave them money but not love. And then their stepmother also squandered all the money that their father sent. Because of this they have suffered.

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He was 15 when they were forced to leave their comfortable house. They needed to transfer in a much smaller apartment. It was at this point when he was started questioning the existence of a good God. Many questions played in his mind: why they have suffered? Why his family is broken? He attempted to commit suicide several times during that time. He slit his wrists and took on overdose of drugs, but he did not die. Thank goodness!

But it was also at this time when his father surrendered his life to Jesus Christ, and became a Christian. He wanted his whole family to become a believers too. So he brought the pastor of the church to lead us all in a Bible study. But Mark did not attend. He was full of bitterness and rebellion over what was happened to them.

When he was 16 years old, he had a girlfriend. Let's call her Rosa. He was crazy of her, and why he is saying this, because he is like crazy because of her. He can't get her out of his mind; even in his dreams she entered there. Later on, he learned from his housemaid (who later on admitted to him that she was a practicing witch) that Rosa uses potion on him or love potion to have him.

This is the worst --- after he was crazily in love with Rosa she broke up with him! That depressed Mark too much, that's why there's a couple of times that he went up to the roof of their apartment just to cry and cry.

Because of my deep depression, one day he entered into his room and said, "The first to show him in his room, God or evil, he will follow." Instantly, he heard voices and two demons appeared --- 13-foot-tall beings. And they're so ugly! So he told them that if they want him to look at them, they had better change their ugly looks. And they did. They appeared to me in formal suits. In American suits! And they promised to give him power if he will give his soul to Satan. He agreed.

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They give him power alright! The first level is astral projection. He can get out from his body as the soul. This way he can eat without having to get out of bed. When he see that he really do have powers, the first one he get revenge of is Rosa. He bewitched her. The effect on her was instant! Her sister told Mark that Rosa's face and skin appeared all burned and she was in terrible pain. Apparently, they knew that he had something to do with this strange sickness. And because he pity her, he released her from the spell. Her face and skin were restored instantly!

There's a dispute inside my brain because of what he has saw. He thought, if there is devil, so there must also have God. That's why he said to the two demons that appeared on him, "Is there a God?" They answered, "None, only Satan is real." And he asked again, "Then, who is Jesus?" (They often heard the name of Jesus in their house because of his father who is now a Christian.)

The two big demons in front of me suddenly vanished when I speak the name of Jesus. That was the turning point in my life. Jesus changed my life --- everything started to be better! My heart was full of God's love, seems like everything was melted all the rage and rebellion. I don't hate life. Life has found it's meaning.

But the demons who guided and gave him power before are smoking in raged! For about one year, they stalked him. They would turn on the TV at 3 am. Play the radio with backward music, and even move his bed. They harassed him and attempted to hurt him. Sometimes, they even remove the protective cover of his electric fan, they released the propeller and make it flew towards him. But amazingly, there was an invisible shield that blocked it.

God immediately released Mark from all the occult practices he had entered. He burned the book of Latin prayers (in fact, it should be called "Latin curses"). He learned to pray those warfare prayers and also casts those demons using the name of Jesus. He rebuked them, and remind them of their destiny, which is the lake of fire. And sure enough, these demons stopped. There is definitely power in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

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Here he learned the one very important thing --- God is good! And it is not true, the sayings that there is no forgiveness to the person who reconciled to Satan. He made a pact with the devil, and God still forgave him when he confessed his sins to Him. No sin is beyond the forgiveness of Jesus! He is a living testimony to that truth! 1 John 1:9, it says, "If we confess our sins, he (Jesus) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

God is now using him in spiritual warfare. He has allowed Mark to use God's gifts of discernment and allowing him to see visions in the spirit realm. Indeed God is great and good!

It is so wonderful to know that even if we are being trapped because of the power that the devil show us but still if we only cling and hold on to believe that God will save us, He surely will do. We may be in occult practices and often forgotten where it came from for we are fascinated by the powers or ability that we had, but just remember there is God who can save and Jesus Christ can redeem us from the sins that we have done. No power of occult is too strong for God. And remember the Lord Jesus Christ have to come save His people from all the traps and tricks of the devil.

We only have to understand that God only has the best plans for us. He does not want us to be hurt. That's why He forbidden any occult practices because He does not want us to be deceived and got hurt by the devil.

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In Mark's story we can see that he was given different kinds of power or ability by the devil --- bewitching, astral projection, telekinesis, hypnosis, and others. And so Mark took them all in believing that he could be benefited by them.

But devil does not give anything for free. It always asked for something in exchange of what he offer, and it is our soul. And when mark broke his contract with him, and surrender his life to Jesus Christ, Satan gets so angry! But he cannot do anything anyway if one man will stand with Jesus. Jesus is victorious, and He now reigns.

The story sound to be like a novel, but it do happen to Mark and in other people. We may not considered that fortune telling, card reading, horoscope and other likes is none other but an occult practices. You do know what to do, just asked and He the God will have you the truth.

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Occult Activity Book
By: Hiram G. Pangilinan