What Does the Bible Say About Psychics?

Psychics bring people false hopes about what the future may bring. The Bible instills confidence in the God who stands outside of time and knows all things. The Bible is opposed to the inquiring of psychics.

What Does the Bible Say About Psychics

Many people are curious about their future to the point of anxiety. It is easy to worry when we do not know what tomorrow will bring, but there can be a sense of peace that comes when we do. This search for peace and assurance is often the reason people seek the help of psychics. But is it biblical to do so?

No, the Bible tells us that we should trust God to take care of our futures (Proverbs 3:5-7). Consulting with psychics is opposed to the truth revealed in Scripture and can be spiritually dangerous.

“Isaiah 8:19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?” Isaiah 8:19

This verse shows us that it is important to ask God for help rather than seeking the help of psychics.

What Does the Bible Say About Psychics (KJV)?

“Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.”Leviticus 19:31

The people of God were considered “unclean” for receiving help from psychics. This “uncleanness” that they would not be able to participate in temple worship or other religious activity until they ritually purified themselves.

“… The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.”Daniel 2:27-28

King Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams and requested the help from many diviners and psychics, but they were no match for the God of the Bible. It was only the one true God who was able to reveal, through Daniel, what the king’s dream was about. This shows us that God has more knowledge, and more insight into the meaning of dreams and the happenings of the future than any psychic ever will.

Further, God’s empowering of his people in the Old Testament—like Daniel—to understand future events is different from the work of psychics in that God’s prophets always declare God to be the ultimate authority. The knowledge comes from God and not from human origin.

“There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.”Deuteronomy 18:10-11

Here it can be seen that psychics and other forms of divination were forbidden because of their association with the false gods of the nations. The people were not to seek out demonic, god-like power because they had the one and only powerful God in their midst.

Bible Verses About Fortune Tellers

“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying”Acts 16:16

This passage shows us that God has power over fortune tellers. In the verses that follow, Paul was able to command the spirit to leave this female slave in Jesus’ name, and the spirit left immediately. Why would we seek knowledge from a fortune teller when we can seek knowledge from the God who has power over them?

“Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.”Jeremiah 10:2

We should not be afraid of the fortunes of those who attempt to decipher future events. Instead, we should put our hope and trust in God and fear Him alone. He knows the future and He is the one who holds it all together.

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”Matthew 7:15
“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”Deuteronomy 18:22

A “fortune teller” could also classify themselves as a prophet. But the best way to tell if the prophet is from God is to hold their prophecies against Scripture. If their “prophecies” are not in line with biblical truth, the prophet is not of God and not to be trusted. In the same way, if someone predicts a future event that does not come to fruition, that person should not be trusted and should be deemed a false-prophet.

What Does the Bible Say About Psychics

Sorcery in the Bible (KJV)

“There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 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.”Deuteronomy 18:10-12

God absolutely forbids sorcery and will one day abolish it forever. Because God takes this so seriously, associating sorcery with demonic origination (Leviticus 17:7; Deuteronomy 32:17; Psalm 106:37; 1 Corinthians 10:21), believers should also deem it especially important to stay away from sorcery. Christians should be careful not to even dabble in witchcraft, even when it appears innocent or fun.

“For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”Revelation 22:15

In this verse we see that sorcerers are associated with serious grievous sin. These people, and all people who love lies, will not inherit eternal life.

Examples of Mediums in the Bible (KJV)

Mediums in the Bible are always viewed negatively and opposed to the will of God for his people. In 1 Samuel 28, after Samuel had died, Saul was overcome with fear. Saul had sought the Lord and had not received a response, so he decided to meet with the medium of Endor. He asked the woman to bring up Samuel from the dead to inquire of him what to do. The woman is able to communicate with the departed soul of Samuel, who “brings him up” to speak with Saul.

Saul’s actions were not only opposed to God’s law, they were forbidden by his own laws which made it illegal to consult mediums, laws that were meant to safeguard the spiritual health of the people of Israel (1 Samuel 28:3). Samuel’s response is that Saul is in fact an enemy of the Lord (1 Samuel 28:16), as his actions of consulting a medium, among other things, attest.

“So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; 14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.” 1 Chronicles 10:13-14

God swiftly and justly punished Saul for consulting with the medium of Endor.

Is it a Sin to Consult Psychics According to the Bible?

“And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.”Leviticus 20:6

Scripture is very clear that it is a sin to consult psychics. God tells his people that he will set his face against those who turn to psychics and others who use demonic spirits to turn people away from the living God.

Even before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God gave them boundaries regarding their interactions with the Canaanite. He specifically instructed them to not take part in any divination, sorcery, or things of that nature because he was going to eradicate them as they are an abomination to Him. For these reasons, people who turned away from the Lord to demonic spirits were committing acts of treason against him. Such persons were thereby to be cursed, cut off from the covenant community and the life and blessings associated with being part of the people of God.

Stephen D

Stephen Dillard serves as a Bible Scholar with Wycliffe Associates and is a contributing writer on Revelations.org. He is a graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. He and his wife, Madison, have four children and make their home in Indiana.

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