As I talked about in Part 1, this seminar was about using magic to draw money to a person. Which is understandable to want to be financially stable but we also should be relying on God for our needs. I wanted to recap part of the seminar where the speaker said something interesting; he stated that he uses the Bible within his rituals. That “So when you're working these things and you're elevating the spirit, be very mindful of how your spirit interacts with the spirit that you're calling. You want to read Psalm 65. Align your mind and your spirit. You want to listen to the Holy Spirit.”
Then he explained how in his personal experience after doing this he started making money, he started to lose focus within his practice and then proceeded to compare it to the story of Nebuchadnezzar. “The Bible talks about this. It's King Nebuchadnezzar. In the book of Daniel. Daniel's gift, is to be able to receive visions. He's a reaper. And God has tasked King Nebuchadnezzar with being the king. Right? All right, so [God] is saying, like, the whole idea is God is doing it, and he's just using human beings to do it. So [he says] Daniel, you tell people stuff, and Nebuchadnezzar, you, you know, wage war. You know, very Christian, right? So, Daniel's job is to go to King Nebuchadnezzar and be like, hey, God's going to do this. And so, at first, King Nebuchadnezzar is all on board, you know, he's seeing immediate results. He's like, yeah, keep typing me information. And he gets his kingdoms, he gets his wars, he gets his folks, you know, he's a big man on campus. And, you know, Daniel comes in and says, well, God's going to do this. And Nebuchadnezzar's like, yeah, you did it, you did it. I don't think I need you anymore. This is getting silly. You can go away. I got everything I need. We're fine. You start to believe, you know, and I think, especially, especially as a spiritual practitioner, you know, we just start to believe that it's all of us. And then, because King Nebuchadnezzar stopped having conversations with Daniel, God cursed King Nebuchadnezzar to go crazy for seven years on the land of the desert. So the lesson is that don’t lose touch with your practice.”
The speaker then stated “I focus on Daniel chapter 4 in the Bible, which says, His kingdom is everlasting to him, and the Lord is with him. Just to be clear, I'm not Christian at all. I see the Bible as a primordial Christian tool. So, Daniel chapter 4 says, His kingdom is everlasting to him, and the Lord is with him. And this particular part of the story, the intro, where it came out that Nebuchadnezzar has regained his sanity. So, he lost his sanity for seven years and was sent to a land in the desert as penance for his ego. And so now, he's been insane for long enough that he's ready to find his sanity again. And when he does, it's this beautiful moment of release. And I would imagine it as if he were locked in there. He's locked in a dungeon for seven years—no sunlight. Then to step up into the sun. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and he'll endure it from age to age. He's giving praise, great praise, great gratitude, very similar to Psalm 65. The whole earth is in awe of your wonders, and nothing bad, but you can't get enough of the love of God."
The Truth of the Matter:
Now the thing that is problematic is the speaker was encouraging the use of the Bible as a tool to be used in witchcraft.
1 Peter 20:21 states, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” As well as 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The word of God is alive and should be used for righteousness let alone witchcraft.
The other thing that the speaker was doing was quoting scripture wrong. The first scripture he talked about was Psalm 65. That reading this scripture aligns your mind and your spirit. Psalm 65 actually says “Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy. You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.”
C.H. Spurgeon gives an overview of what really Psalm 65 is about. He stated “David sings of the glory of God in his church, and in the fields of nature: here is the song both of grace and providence. It may be that he intended hereby to commemorate a remarkably plentiful harvest, or to compose a harvest hymn for all ages. It appears to have been written after a violent rebellion had been quelled, and foreign enemies had been subdued by signal victory, It is one of the most delightful hymns in any language. We shall view in verses 1-4 the way of approach to God, then from 5-8 we shall see the Lord in answer to prayer performing wonders for which he is praised, and then from 9-13 we shall sing the special harvest song.”1
This is all about praising God. Has nothing to do with aligning ourselves to God and the Holy Spirit. There is no mysticism happening within these verses. Just a song of praise.
Now the other passage he used was Daniel 4 which states, “King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you! It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation. At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods—and I told him the dream, saying, “O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. “I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’ This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived—it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’ this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.” All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws. At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”
This chapter is a long one but Matthew Henry gives a really good explanation of what is going on within this chapter. “Nebuchadnezzar himself: the story here recorded concerning him is given us in his own words, as he himself drew it up and published it; but Daniel, a prophet, by inspiration, inserts it in his history, and so it has become a part of sacred writ and a very memorable part. Nebuchadnezzar was as daring a rival with God Almighty for the sovereignty as perhaps any mortal man ever was; but here he fairly owns himself conquered, and gives it under his hand that the God of Israel is above him. The preface to his narrative, wherein he acknowledges God's dominion over him (v. 1-3). The narrative itself, wherein he relates, His dream, which puzzled the magicians (v. 1-18). The interpretation of his dream by Daniel, who showed him that it was a prognostication of his own fall, advising him therefore to repent and reform (v. 19-27). The accomplishment of it in his running stark mad for seven years, and then recovering the use of his reason again (v. 28-36). The conclusion of the narrative, with a humble acknowledgment and adoration of God as Lord of all (v. 37). This was extorted from him by the overruling power of that God who has all men's hearts in his hand, and stands upon record a lasting proof of God's supremacy, a monument of his glory, a trophy of his victory, and a warning to all not to think of prospering while they lift up or harden their hearts against God.”2
It wasn’t because of Nebuchadnezzar stopped talking to Daniel. It was because of his pride. He was boasting about his kingdom, he then was humbled after seven years of being driven mad. The other thing is, we cannot be just picking and choosing verses that we like. We have to look at them in full context, understand what they mean, and learn from them as well. God’s word is alive and there is always something new to discover in it.
My encouragement is this. Go read it for yourself, listen to the words and discover something new because just as Isaiah 40:8 states “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”
1. Spurgeon, C. "Psalm 65 by C. H. Spurgeon." Blue Letter Bible. Last Modified 5 Dec 2016. https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/tod/ps065.cfm
2. Henry, M. "Commentary on Daniel 4 by Matthew Henry." Blue Letter Bible. Last Modified 1 Mar, 1996. https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Dan/Dan_004.cfm