Reference: Magic, Divination, And Sorcery
Hastings
Magic, divination, sorcery, and witchcraft are all connected with belief in superhuman powers, and are methods whereby men endeavour to obtain from these powers knowledge of the future, or assistance in the affairs of life. Belief in magic and divination is most prevalent in the lower stages of civilization and religion. The arts of the magician and the diviner were founded upon the same logical processes as have issued in the development of modern science; but the limits within which deduction would be valid were disregarded, and the data were frequently imperfect. Accidental coincidence was often confused with causal sequence. (See Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, art. 'Divination'). Magic and divination were derived from attempts at reasoning which were very often erroneous; but from such crude beginnings science has slowly grown.
In their beginning these arts were associated with religion; and diviners and magicians were those thought to be most intimately connected with the Deity, and, owing to their superior knowledge of Him and His ways, best able to learn His secrets or secure His aid. Among the Arabs the priest was originally also the soothsayer; the Heb. k
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He had been dwelling upon this, when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary for your wife, for her child has been conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.
After the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem in Judea, in the reign of King Herod, some Astrologers from the East arrived in Jerusalem, asking:
But afterwards, having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another road.
When praying, do not repeat the same words over and over again, as is done by the Gentiles, who think that by using many words they will obtain a hearing.
And, if it is by Baal-zebub's help that I drive out demons, by whose help is it that your own sons drive them out? Therefore they shall themselves be your judges.
At this point, some Teachers of the Law and Pharisees interposed. "Teacher," they said, " we want to see some sign from you."
Here the Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and, to test Jesus, requested him to show them some sign from the heavens.
All their actions are done to attract attention. They widen their phylacteries, and increase the size of their tassels,
While he was still on the Bench, his wife sent this message to him--"Do not have anything to do with that good man, for I have been very unhappy to-day in a dream on account of him."
While others, to test him, asked him for some sign from the heavens.
So Jesus came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. Now there was one of the King's officers whose son was lying ill at Capernaum.
There was staying in the city a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic there and mystifying the Samaritan people, giving himself out to be some great Being.
But Elymas, the astrologer (for that is the meaning of the word), opposed them, eager to divert the Governor's attention from the Faith.
One day, as we were on our way to the Place of Prayer, we were met by a girl possessed by a divining spirit, who made large profits for her masters by fortune-telling.
An attempt was made by some itinerant Jews, who were exorcists, to use the Name of the Lord Jesus over those who had wicked spirits in them. "I adjure you," they would say, "by the Jesus, whom Paul preaches."
While a number of people, who had practiced magic, collected their books and burnt them publicly; and on reckoning up the price of these, they found it amounted to five thousand pounds.
Idolatry, sorcery, quarrels, strife, jealousy, outbursts of passion, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
But now he has reconciled you to himself by the sacrifice of Christ's earthly body in death--it has pleased God that you should stand in his presence holy, pure, and blameless,
but wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and deceived themselves.
and they did not repent of their murders, or their sorceries, or their licentiousness, or their thefts.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, which said-- 'See! the Tabernacle of God is set up among men. God will dwell among them, and they will be his Peoples, and God himself will be among them,