I found these business offerings on Yelp: Palm readers. Tarot cards. Ouija board readings. Crystal balls. Horoscopes. Hypnosis. Supernatural Readings. Psychic Consultants. Witchery. Manifesting with a Life Coach. Conjuring. Voodoo.
These businesses thrive in our modern world. In an age of Enlightenment and Science, you might have guessed these relics of an age of superstition and the occult would have disappeared. Not at all. You can consult a medium in every city in America. (Yes, even Salt Lake City—from whose page I collected the names above.)[1]
Have you ever been tempted by the quick, easy answers of a fortune teller? Have you become frustrated waiting for God to give you answers? Is it so wrong to want a glimpse of the future?
Wanting answers is not wrong. But seeking them from the enemies of God is wrong.
There are only three types of people who claim to tell the future.
First, there are some who worship Jesus as Lord and claim to be modern-day prophets.
I have followed some of these for years and have seen them proven wrong. The Bible says if one claiming to be a prophet prophesies falsely, he is a false prophet and should be stoned to death, Deuteronomy 18:20-22. I do not believe in any of our so-called modern-day prophets. I’ve never found one of them to be 100% reliable—and the Biblical test requires 100 percent.
Second, many who claim to predict the future are simply con-men.
This is often the case, particularly among those who manage to make a great deal of money on their alleged fortune-telling. These charlatans are discussed at length in the excellent book, THE CONFIDENCE GAME: WHY WE FALL FOR IT EVERY TIME, by Maria Konnikova.
Finally, there are those who actually receive information from the spirit world, and some of that information is accurate.
Demons are not omniscient. But many people believe they have access to more information than we do. They can give just enough information to mediums, fortune tellers, and others, to convince the lost that they have found the answer to all their problems. Why provide such a convincing demonstration? Because it will draw people further into the occult, further into false worship, and further away from Jesus—which is the enemy’s ultimate goal.
When King Ahaziah was injured in a fall, he sent men to ask a false god about his prognosis. The prophet Elijah met those messengers with a message for the king:
“Thus sayeth the Lord, is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!” 2 Kings 1:6.
What happened? King Ahaziah died, of course. God takes this sin seriously, though many Americans do not.
“Do not seek out mediums or spiritualists, for you will be defiled by them” Leviticus 19:31.
“If a person turns to mediums, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and cut him off from his people” Leviticus 20:6.
When you have questions about the future, pray as Jesus taught:
“May YOUR KINGDOM come and YOUR WILL be done” Matthew 6:10.
“Nevertheless, not my will, but THINE be done,” Luke 22:42.
Dear God, train us to trust you and leave our questions about the future in your hands. Do your will in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones. Protect us from the ungodly influence of spiritualism and the occult. Remind us that it’s not harmless fun, but is actually harmful and dangerous.
AΩ
[1] I am not against life coaching, by any means. I know several godly people who work as life coaches. But when I googled “fortune tellers,” this was one of the hits on the Yelp page for Salt Lake City. And while life coaching under the authority of Jesus and his word can be legitimate and God-honoring, “manifesting” is not. I have written about manifesting here: https://dadsdailydevotionals.com/2023/05/04/may-the-force-be-with-you/
Household Words: 