What does the Bible say about Divination?

What is divination? Should people practice or participate in divination? What does the Bible say about divination?

Dictionary.com defines divination as the practice of attempting to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by occult or supernatural means.

Merriam-Webster describes divination as the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge usually by the interpretation of omens or by the aid of supernatural powers

So divination has 3 primary characteristics, which are the following
A. The objective of divination is to foretell or foresee future events
B. The other objective is to discover hidden knowledge and information
C. Divination requires a supernatural source or the influence of a supernatural entity

The practice of divination is found in all civilizations, both ancient and modern. It is practiced in many cultures, religions and belief systems.
In our modern world, examples of divination techniques include astrology, horoscopes, Ouija boards, séances / speaking to the dead, crystal gazing, consulting spirit guides, tarot cards and many others.

What does the Bible say about Divination?

In the Bible, God prohibits people from practicing divination because it is an abomination to the Lord.

Divination is a satanic method of attempting to foresee and foretell the future. Divination is a demonic method by which people attempt to supernaturally discover hidden knowledge and information.

Divination is a satanic counterfeit which attempts to compete with God’s spiritual gifts of prophecy and word of knowledge.

Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says: There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a wizard or a necromancer, 12  for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord…

In Acts 16:16-19 there was “a slave girl who had a spirit of divination” and because of her divination she made sums of money for her slave owners.

The girl who was possessed by the spirit of divination followed Paul and Silas “shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” 18 This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.” (Acts 16:17-18 NLT).

So we can discover from Acts 16:16-18 that the powers of divination require a demonic entity to be present. The slave girl practiced her divination because she was possessed by a “spirit of divination”.
Her ability to foresee the future or discover hidden knowledge was not sourced from God but it was sourced from a demonic spirit.
Even though this slave girl spoke some truth in that Paul and Silas were indeed servants of God who were proclaiming the Gospel, Paul was able to spiritually discern that the slave girl was not speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Paul discerned that she was under the influence of a demonic spirit whilst making money for her fortune telling, and this is why Paul had to cast it out.

In the Bible, just like in our world today, divination was practiced by astrologers, soothsayers, fortune tellers, witches, magicians, sorcerers, and consulters of familiar spirits (Deuteronomy 18:11, Isaiah 47:13; Daniel 4:7, Daniel 2:27, Deuteronomy 18:14).

Divination was also practiced by false prophets who attempted to deceive God’s people. It is the same in our modern times: there are false prophets today, disguised as “men of God” who will use divination techniques to deceive God’s elect.
Jeremiah 14:14: And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.”

In Matthew 24:24-25 Jesus says: “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.  25 See, I have told you beforehand.”

Conclusion

Practicing divination is dangerous because of its demonic influence. All techniques of divination such as tarot cards, horoscopes, astrology and the like will ultimately lead to spiritual deception because such techniques are sourced from the devil, who is the father of lies.
Practicing divination eventually leads participants to become demon possessed.
Therefore we should not receive information, instruction and hidden knowledge by satanic and occultic methods such as divination.

Even within the church, we should not believe every “prophesy” uttered by any self-proclaimed prophet. Instead we should be discerning so that we are not deceived.
1 John 4:1 says: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Therefore we must learn to place or faith and trust in God alone. We must test the spirits. We must place our life and future in God’s hands through faith. The just must live by faith in Christ who is the Author and Finisher of our faith.