The March 2020 issue of The Atlantic carries a sad, but fascinating story headlined, “Why Witchcraft Is on the Rise.” In the print edition, it’s called “The Witching Hour.” The magazine takes a sometimes bemused, mostly respectful approach to the topic of witchcraft. The sub headline reads, “Americans’ interest in spell-casting tends to wax as instability rises and trust in establishment ideas plummets.”

According to the article, “A 2014 Pew Research Center report suggested that the United States’ adult population of pagans and Wiccans was about 730,000 – on par with the number of Unitarians. But Wicca represents just one among many approaches to witchery, and not all witches consider themselves pagan or Wiccan. These days, Diaz told me, ‘everyone calls themselves witches.'”

The “Diaz” mentioned is one Juliet Diaz. The article says she “describes herself as a seer capable of reading auras and connecting with ‘the other side’… one in a long line of healers in her family, which traces its roots to Cuba and the indigenous Taíno people, who settled in parts of the Caribbean. She is also a professional witch: Diaz sells anointing oils and ‘intention infused’ body products in her online store, instructs more than 8,900 witches enrolled in her online school, and leads witchy workshops that promise to leave attendees ‘feeling magical af!’ In 2018, Diaz, the author of the best-selling book Witchery: Embrace the Witch Within, earned more than half a million dollars from her magic work and was named Best Witch – yes, there are rankings – by Spirit Guides Magazine.”

Diaz said that when she was growing up, “her family’s spellwork felt taboo. But over the past few years, witchcraft, long viewed with suspicion and even hostility, has transmuted into a mainstream phenomenon. The coven is the new squad.”

When I released Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth back in 1973, satanism, witchcraft, and other forms of the occult were exploding onto the American scene. But they were still viewed with shock and suspicion. Today, they permeate society, and no one is shocked.

Last year, Wired Magazine ran a story with the headline, “Trump’s Presidency Has Spawned a New Generation of Witches.” Whatever you think of President Trump, it ought to be surprising that thousands of people have turned to witchcraft and the occult in order to oppose him. This is supposedly an era of science and enlightenment, and these people are sticking pins in orange-haired dolls.

People feel powerless and afraid. The world seems out of control. Many have a sense that something awful looms on the horizon and they feel desperate to shield and empower themselves. They’re trying to prepare for what they think may be coming by turning to an ancient evil – Satan.

2 Corinthians 4:4 calls him “the god of this world.” Ephesians 2:2 refers to him as “the prince of the power of the air.” Those things are attractive to a fallen human nature. Galatians 5:19 says, “The deeds of the flesh are evident.” Verse 20 lists two of the deeds as “idolatry” and “sorcery.”

But Satan gives only an illusion of empowerment and independence. In reality, he crushes and kills. He empowers humans in order to enslave them. His name means “adversary.” In John 8:44, Jesus called him the father of lies.

The Spirit of God works in opposite ways. Instead of death and destruction, God brings life and joy. After Galatians 5 tells us about the “deeds of the flesh,” it speaks of the Holy Spirit’s fruit in our lives. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Want power? That’s power!

PROGRAMMING NOTE: I hope you can join me every Sunday evening at 11PM EST on Daystar, or online anytime at www.hallindsey.com or www.hischannel.com for my line by line examination of Revelation. If you missed any episodes in this study, you can catch up by visiting www.hallindsey.com/videos/.