Derek Prince - The Satanic Power of Fortunetelling
All right, then we look at divination, which in most modern translations is called fortune-telling. This is the knowledge element of witchcraft. The product is not now power, but it is knowledge which, as I pointed out, is the first that led man into sin. And there is a picture in Acts 16, very clear. Acts 16 verses 16 and following. This is what happened when Paul and Silas first arrived to preach the Gospel in Philippi: Now it happened as we went to prayer that a certain slave-girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us.
Now what the Greek actually says is, "having a spirit of python" or a "python spirit". In other words, a snake spirit. And remember, snakes have always been regarded in pagan society as somehow the source of unusual knowledge and wisdom. There is a well-known lady in Washington, D.C., who is a well-known fortune-teller, who in her own autobiography stated the power came to her when a snake came in bed with her.
Now what I want to point out to you is what this girl said was absolutely true. And she did not know it by natural means, she knew it by supernatural means. She was just a slave-girl. But she brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. Because she was a slave, the profit did not go to her, it went to her masters. This girl followed Paul and us and cried out, saying: These men are the servants of the most high God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation. Wasn’t that amazing? It was absolutely true.
I have sometimes commented that in contemporary missions that lady might have been made a charter member of the church forever. She was the first person to recognize who Paul and Silas really were. But Paul knew that is not God’s Spirit, that’s a divining spirit, a fortune-telling spirit. In the end he turned around and commanded it to come out in the name of Jesus. And it came out and she was no longer able to tell fortunes. Her masters were so angry at the profits they had lost that they brought Paul and Silas before the magistrates, and you know the rest of the story. The whole city was in an uproar because a single slave-girl was delivered of a spirit of divination.
See, at that point not merely was Paul dealing with Satan’s kingdom on the natural, physical plane, but Satan’s kingdom in the heavenlies intervened because their strategy against the church was being frustrated. It is a remarkable thing almost everywhere Paul went there was a riot. And later, in 2 Corinthians, he said, "There was an angel of Satan that buffeted me". I believe that was exactly correct. It’s not a metaphor. It was a satanic angel that organized a riot in every city where Paul went. So, why don’t we have riots? Maybe we don’t bother Satan enough. I really believe when the church is what it ought to be, there will be a lot more riots. There will also be a lot more revivals. I don’t know how many revivals we can have without riots. So you have to decide. Is it worth the price?