Did the Bible say you should not use magic?

Answer 1

"Lev. 20:27"`A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.'" "Lev. 19:26 "`Do not practice divination or sorcery."

"Deut. 18:10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead." "Exod. 22:18 "Do not allow a sorceress to live.

Answer 2

Deuteronomy 18:9-11

do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.

Answer 3

In short, variable;

Exodus 4:2-6 describes how Moses would perform magic to impress the Pharaoh.

Numbers 5:27 has a magical procedure to find out if a woman is a virgin, and Numbers 21:8-9 describes a magical cure for snakebite.

On the other hand, Deuteronomy 18:10-12 calls it an abomination, in Leviticus 19:26-31 God forbids believers to use magic. Exodus 22:18 and Leviticus 20:27 are a pretty harsh, saying witches and wizards must be stoned to death ("with stones").

In Kings 18:3-4, God praised Hezekiah for destroying Moses's magical bronze serpent (which God told Moses to make to cure people from the snakes that God created to kill them).

Another answer:

Strictly forbidden. It is a detestable thing (Deuteronomy ch.18).

Verses which might be cited as magic (Exodus ch.4, Numbers 5) are not referring to magic at all. They are Divine miracles, directly commanded by the same God who forbade magic.

Answer 4

Leviticus 19:26 - "Do not practice fortune-telling or witchcraft."

Deuteronomy 18:9-14 - "When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God."

The Bible's take on magic, is that there are the good spirit forces (angels) out there that listen to God, and there are the wicked spirit forces out there (like the devil) that do not listen to God. The wicked spirit creatures, which the Bible refers to as demons, were actually angels at one time, but have followed the devil in his rebellion against God. These demons, will often portray themselves as something they are not. They like to mislead people away from what God tells them to do. One of the ways they do this, is by using the power they were given when they were angels to bend the laws of nature in an attempt to lure humans away from God because they are awestruck, or they may even profit, by having this ability. (Acts 16:16)

Ephesians 6:10-12 - "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

The Bible says that magic practicing people do exist, and magic is indeed real, but it is practiced in direct conflict with God.

Deuteronomy 18:14 (A different translation than the one quoted above) - "The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so."

Micah 5:12 - "I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells."

The Bible's view on magic is quite clear, God does not want his worshippers to practice it, and he wants them to stay clear from it. (1 Corinthians 10:21) There were instances after Jesus' death of individuals who practiced magic, but left that practice one they learned the truth about how God feels about it. (Acts 8:9-25; 19-17-20)