Shocking Exposure of Charismatic Witchcraft in the Church

When I was born again, I didn’t know there was such a thing as charismatic witchcraft.

I thought all Christians were operating out of the same spirit—the Holy Spirit. I thought we were all on the same team. I thought blind loyalty and submission were the sign of a true disciple because that is what I was taught in the Jezebelic church in which I landed. I spent eight years under the cloud of charismatic witchcraft’s intimidation and control. Now, I’m warning the church against it.

Charismatic witchcraft was around long before anyone used those terms to describe it. Yes, there’s witchcraft in the church. Yes, Christians are practicing charismatic witchcraft. If you ask ten different people for a solid definition of charismatic witchcraft, you’ll probably get ten slightly different answers. Let’s use the definition of witchcraft as a baseline.

The best definition I’ve found comes from the late Derek Prince. In his classic book They Shall Expel Demons, the deliverance minister and spiritual warfare expert pointed to an unnamed dictionary’s definition of witchcraft: “the art or exercise of magical powers, the effect or influence of magical powers, or an alluring or seductive charm or influence.”

Have you ever heard someone say, “He’s got a magical smile.” That’s another way of saying, “He’s got charisma.” Charisma is “a personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthusiasm,” according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, and “a special magnetic charm or appeal.” In considering both definitions and the personal experiences I’ve had with being the target of charismatic witchcraft, this is my definition:

Charismatic witchcraft is exerting ungodly influence through carnal powers of charisma to seduce someone to think or act according to your will.

Charismatic witchcraft begins as a work of the flesh, but left to run its course this fleshly behavior attracts demon powers. These demon powers work through an individual to manipulate, intimidate, control, and ultimately dominate believers in order to bend their will toward their viewpoint. Charismatic witchcraft is released through tactics such as fear, prophetic flattery, and witchcraft prayers. Charismatic witchcraft practitioners seek their own gain, use sincere people who want to serve God to build their own kingdom, and otherwise use and abuse people for their own purposes.

The Shepherding Movement, also known as the Discipleship Movement, may be the most recognizable memory of charismatic witchcraft that spread like wildfire during the Charismatic movement in the 1970s. In fact, the practice is called charismatic witchcraft because of its rise during this important refreshing. Ironically, Derek Prince was one of the leaders of the movement. God redeemed the experience and gave him revelation on the evil of these practices.

Although the motive for launching the movement was pure, the Shepherding Movement quickly deteriorated into a cult-like environment in which people could not make personal life decisions, including marriage, house moves, and career choices, without their shepherd’s permission. I’ve known folks who have nervously disappeared into their pastor’s office to ask permission to marry another congregant, hoping that their request wasn’t denied and their love wasn’t dashed. And this wasn’t during the Shepherding Movement; this was recent.

Today, this type of charismatic witchcraft manifests as spiritual leaders recruiting volunteers to build their ministries while neglecting to minister to the real needs of hurting people. This is not a new practice. You can find instances in the Bible of spiritual leaders exploiting people to build their kingdoms. In Jeremiah 8, the Lord called out the abuse of prophets and priests, saying, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious” (Jer. 8:11 NIV). The root problems of people in the “church” were treated superficially. The pastor’s prominence was more important than the legitimate needs of the congregation.

In such cases, churches become like businesses. The pastor is more like a CEO than a spiritual leader who truly loves the flock. Staff meetings center on marketing initiatives that will bring more people—who will bring more tithes and offerings—into the sanctuary. Church services become about external appearances, but the whitewashed tombs are full of dead men’s bones. It’s religious at best.

Apostles and prophets are employing and deploying charismatic witchcraft to build mega followings with false operations that many do not discern because they are awe-inspired by an accurate utterance. They work in hype and play and prey on people’s emotions to get them to pay. Like me, victims of charismatic witchcraft may not realize they have been bewitched until they fully escape the snare. Charismatic controllers tend to hide behind the guise of spiritual coverings. It takes lovers of truth with spiritual discernment to recognize the sometimes-subtle signs of charismatic witchcraft. And it takes courage to confront it.

It may surprise you to learn that what the world—or even what the Wiccans—call witchcraft is not always one and the same as what the Bible calls witchcraft. For example, when you think of witchcraft, you probably think of black magic or conjuring the dead. Those abominations are covered in the Bible, but that’s not the fullness of witchcraft as God teaches us in the Word. There are two types of witchcraft mentioned in the Bible—witchcraft as a work of the flesh and spiritual witchcraft. But the work of the flesh can open you up to demonic powers that reinforce carnal behaviors.

Sensual, Carnal Witchcraft

The Spirit of God is against witchcraft in whatever form it takes, from divination to magic to rebellion to word curses—to works of the flesh. Paul explained that the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. What are the works of the flesh? Galatians 5:19-21 lists them: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like” (KJV).

Notice that witchcraft is listed right alongside adultery and fornication. Witchcraft is a serious offense in any manifestation. As a work of the flesh, witchcraft violates the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” The flesh opposes the move of the Spirit and resists all things spiritual. This is a serious struggle because Paul assures us that those who practice witchcraft will not inherit the kingdom of God (see Gal. 5:21).

But there is yet good news. If you walk in the Spirit, you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (see Gal. 5:16). How do you discern if you are walking in the Spirit? The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When you walk in the Spirit, this fruit manifests. That’s the same way you discern if someone else is walking in the Spirit. Remember, a prophet may be walking in a spirit, but is he walking in the Spirit?

If you know you are disobeying God in an area, repent of this sin, which God views in the same way as witchcraft, and get back in line with the Spirit. If you are cursing people with your negative words of gossip and death, stop practicing this witchcraft and begin blessing. If you are flowing in fleshly witchcraft, crucify your flesh with its passions and desires. If you live in the spirit, walk in the Spirit—and walk free from the practice of witchcraft. Sometimes you don’t discern the witchcraft tactics that fool you because you are, yourself, walking in fleshly witchcraft. Let me say this: If you are walking in carnal witchcraft it’s more difficult for you to discern charismatic witchcraft because you have come into some level of agreement with it.

Rooting Out Rebellion

Practicing witchcraft is a serious sin, and far more Christians are experts at sorcery than you may realize. Remember when King Saul was ordered to utterly destroy the Amalekites and everything they had—man, woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey? Saul found victory in battle against Israel’s enemy by the grace of God, but failed to obey the voice of God when the dust settled. He spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and kept the best of the livestock (see 1 Sam. 15:1-9).

Saul proposed that his intention was to sacrifice the animals to the Lord, but there’s no excuse for disobedience. Saul was so stubborn that he at first refused to admit his disobedience. He actually justified his actions. Only after Samuel rebuked Saul did he catch the revelation that obedience is better than sacrifice (see 1 Sam. 15:22). In that rebuke—and in Saul’s response—we find one way Christians are practicing a sin that’s in the realm of witchcraft—through rebellion that arises when the fear of man is greater than the fear of the Lord. Let’s listen in on the exchange:

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice (1 Samuel 15:23-24 KJV).

Unfortunately, Saul didn’t learn his lesson. He continued disobeying God and eventually lost his kingdom. Fear of man was at the root of his rebellion, but rebellion grows from many roots. If you see rebellion operating in your life, find the root and rip it out! You can’t discern the devil’s witchcraft when you are operating in witchcraft.

Saul goes down in Bible history as a witchcraft practitioner and fits the bill of a charismatic controller. Saul led by fear, intimidation, shame, and manipulation. He was known for jealousy and fits of rage when he didn’t get his way. He was rash and presumptuous. He demanded too much of the people around him, operating in paranoia, pride, and control. Saul eventually lost his ability to hear from God and alienated the prophet Samuel and wound up consulting mediums, demonstrating that witchcraft was his god.

You may not see charismatic witchcraft practitioners blatantly operate this way on stage, but if you listen to their words you’ll hear subtle hints. They will talk about how accurate they are prophetically and brag about their exploits. This violates Scripture because Proverbs 27:2 says, “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” Prophets tapping into charismatic witchcraft will take credit for the success of others, insisting your alignment with them is what led to your breakthrough.

Charismatic Witchcraft Curses

Prophets who operate in charismatic witchcraft may publicly issue curses against other ministries, complete with timelines. I’ve seen this more than once. A false prophet insisted another minister, who they used to work with, would see their ministry fall apart in 40 days if they did not come to them in repentance. The curse was empty. That same false prophet cursed another ministry, insisting their ministry would fall apart in 30 days because they left his covering. Thirty days came and went and the ministry not only survived, it is thriving since breaking that toxic alignment.

This type of cursing is part of what I call Jezebel’s witchcraft. In 2 Kings 9:22, right before the wicked queen’s demise, Jehu offered insight into an open door for the Jezebel spirit when he told her son, “What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?” (KJV). The spirit of Jezebel is essentially a spirit of seduction that works to escort believers into immorality and idolatry (see Rev. 2:20). And this spirit uses witchcraft against its enemies.

Jezebel’s witchcraft was rooted in rebellion, but the type of witchcraft in this verse refers to incantations and spells. In the modern church world, we call them word curses. Jezebel released a word curse against Elijah that carried a spirit of fear when she sent him this message: “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time” (1 Kings 19:2 KJV). He went running for the hills, hid in a cave, slept in a witchcraft fog, and wished he was dead.

In modern times, word curses aren’t always so dramatic. When we speak negatively over someone’s life—“They will never hold down a job acting like that,” “Their marriage is bound to fail the way he treats her,” “The doctors said he’s going to die in thirty days. Isn’t that sad?”—we are agreeing with the enemy’s plan and giving power to it with our anointed mouths. The power of death and life are in the tongue (see Prov. 18:21). If you are inadvertently—or purposely—releasing witchcraft over people with the words of your mouth, repent and get your mouth back in line with the Spirit of God. Again, if you are operating in witchcraft, it’s hard to discern it when it comes to attack you.

Hype Is Not the Holy Spirit

Strong preaching that gets us up on our feet is healthy. We all need to be stirred up at times, both in our spirit and in our soul, to rise up a little higher. T.D. Jakes is masterful at the art of preaching and teaching and often the congregation shouts him down because the words coming out of his mouth are resonating with a felt need and giving people hope for today—and tomorrow. So they stand and cheer. But the difference between Jakes and practitioners of charismatic witchcraft is the Holy Spirit’s operations are missing from the latter group. The Holy Spirit is not inspiring them.

Practitioners of prophetic witchcraft manufacture revival with hype. It’s interesting that the first definition of hype in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary is a slang word for “a narcotics addict.”2 People who fall prey to charismatic witchcraft often find themselves addicted to the hype that drew them in. The second definition of hype means “stimulate, enliven.” And the third definition is “put on, deceive.” The fourth definition is “deception, publicity.” As you can see, not one of these is something that sounds at all like how Christ operated in His ministry. As a matter of fact, these are antichrist operations.

Let’s look at each one of these definitions briefly for the sake of discerning it when you see it. One of the Greek words for witchcraft in the Bible is pharmakeia, which is tied to narcotics. Hyped up preaching seeks to stimulate your soul but does not feed your spirit. You walk away from the meeting with goosebumps but no real root in you from a true word of God planted in your heart. If the preacher preached the Word, they usually preached it out of context or twisted it, so you have to know the Word well enough to catch the hype.

Hyper grace is a good example. It’s called hyper grace because it hypes people up emotionally to believe we are forgiven once and for at salvation and never have to repent for future sins. The motive behind hype is to get into your emotions, not into your spirit. Charismatic witchcraft practitioners know how to exploit the emotions of people. Advertising and marketing firms exploit our emotions, promising breakthrough weight loss, clear skin, and loving relationships if we use their products. False prophets hype emotions to get you to sow for weight loss miracles, overnight breakthroughs, and the like. I believe in sowing, but you can’t buy a breakthrough.

Selling Breakthroughs

Some years back, a newspaper reporter called me to solicit my opinion on an elderly woman’s so-called “divinely inspired concoctions.” Her little shop of mystic wonderments peddles oils, herbs, sprays, and candles that claim to bring love into your life and even get others to obey your every command. As the reporter described the woman’s mixtures, supposedly potent enough to solve any problem known to man, I couldn’t help but see mental images of the apostle Paul wrestling the beast at Ephesus. But I digress.

The elderly woman has ten grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and a divination sanctum littered with statues and images of various saints. A necklace adorned with charms of the tools each saint works with dangles from her neck, according to the reporter’s observations.

On Tuesdays this oldster fills an aluminum pan with alcohol, lights it ablaze, and purports to chant away evil spirits.

An incense-filled pot meant to ward off the day’s evil guards the back door of her soothsaying studio. Granny acts as trusted advisor to her customers, who share with her problems both large and small. Then she meditates about the issues for a day before mixing a potion of herbs and oils designed to fix what ails them. For this she charges $75—or more—but she offers a 100 percent guarantee and asserts that she hasn’t had an unsatisfied customer yet.

If all that is not troubling enough, here is the clincher. The grandmotherly spiritualist professes a strong sense of faith and belief in the Bible and God. (The question is which Bible and what god?) She admitted that all her knowledge about helping people is “in her head” but alleges it is a gift from above.

So what did I say to the reporter who asked me for my view? I told her what you would say: “No Bible-believing Christian would claim a potion could help someone find and keep love. This is a form of witchcraft, essentially,” I argued in the newspaper article. “It’s not unlike the tarot card reader who proudly displays an image of Jesus in her front office. This woman is merely merchandising lonely people and using a religious mask to make them more comfortable with her deception.”

So here I see a merchandising spirit in operation. I see Jezebel deceiving people, many of whom are probably seeking help for hurts and wounds. I see religion attempting to make divination acceptable in the name of the Lord. I see idolatry. I see divination. I see witchcraft. And the world is not the only place I see it.

As Christians, we are quick to recognize the evil behind the tarot card reader, the aura cleansers, the potion makers—and the diviners with foreign accents who pollute the television airwaves with promises they can’t keep (even at $2.99 a minute). It seems utterly ridiculous that anyone would be foolish enough to shell out $75 a pop for bogus advice and pleasant-smelling concoctions, doesn’t it? I thought so, too, but apparently this level of deception has spread into the Church.

Can You Buy a Double Blessing?

I recently heard a radio commercial on a Christian broadcast. A “prophet” was proclaiming a double blessing and the prosperity oil to bring it into manifestation for anybody who would sow $29.95 into his traveling ministry. How is this any different from the potion-making granny? OK, the radio prophet charges less for his concoction, but it still reeks of merchandising.

“Here she goes, slamming false prophets again.” I can hear my critics now. But if Jehovah’s prophets don’t take a stand against this mess—in the world and in the Church—then who will? That brings me back to the apostle Paul and his wrestling match with the beast at Ephesus.

You remember in Acts 19, a huge ruckus broke out because Paul, as Demetrius the silversmith put it, barged in and discredited those who were manufacturing shrines to the goddess Diana. Demetrius stirred up the whole city against Paul for taking a stand against Jezebel worship. The Bible says there was great confusion after the people, who were worried about losing profits from selling their idolatrous wares, began to cry out in praise of Diana. “Some were yelling one thing, some another. Most of them had no idea what was going on or why they were there” (Acts 19:32 MSG).

We need to know what’s going on and why we are here—to take dominion; to invade the kingdoms of this world and make them to become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ; to set the captives free; to take the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.

With all this in mind, who could disagree with the need to break the deception over God-fearing believers who are being sucked in with ambiguous prophetic words that proclaim “the first 100 people to sow $638 according to Luke 6:38” will get their long-awaited breakthrough? Don’t get mad at me now. I’m not the only one who has witnessed these things. I hope that you agree that we need to wrestle this beast in the Church. We need to dispel this merchandising spirit from our midst so people are not hoodwinked into buying idols named “breakthrough.” You can’t buy a breakthrough, healing, or anything else from the Lord any more than you can buy love in a bottle sold by a great-grandmother in Florida.

If you go to a meeting where something doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t. If people try to manipulate you for money, run for the door. If ministers are pushing people down at the altar and standing on top of their “slain” bodies—yes, there is a photo of such a thing on Facebook—from such turn away. God is bringing a Third Great Awakening to America marked by signs, wonders, and miracles. We should expect that if the devil can’t stop it—and he can’t—he will try to offer a counterfeit move to fleece the sheep hungry for an authentic outpouring.

I am praying for a Hebrew 5:14 reality in the Body of Christ—that believers would have powers of discernment and would be trained to distinguish good from evil through practice. In these last days, we cannot take everything we see at face value. I am not suggesting suspicion. I’m advocating for righteous judgment, prophetic insight, and spiritual perception. I’m pleading with believers to study the Word of God, fellowship with the Spirit of God, and pray without ceasing.

Ultimately, I’m just suggesting we do what the Bible says we should do: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1 MEV). You can’t read a New Testament epistle without finding a warning about deception. Jesus Himself said, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24).

Witchcraft Prayers and Mind Control

Charismatic witchcraft practitioners want to play God in your life. If they do pray for you, they often pray witchcraft prayers. A witchcraft prayer is when you pray your own will instead of God’s will. Witchcraft prayers are not Spirit-led but flesh-led. Witchcraft prayers unleash demon powers to tempt and seduce people to think and do what you want them to think and do.

There are signs you are under a charismatic witchcraft attack. Confusion is a primary sign. Confusion is part of the curse of the law (see Deut. 28:28). God is not the author of confusion (see 1 Cor. 4:33). If you are confused as to whether something is of God, that may be the first sign that it’s not. A charismatic witchcraft spell works on your identity—or I should say works against your identity in Christ. You become dependent on the leader rather than God to make decisions.

Advanced charismatic witchcraft prayers and spells work to create soul ties between you and the wicked intercessor so that you will feel connected with them and their ministry. That makes it hard to leave. A soul tie is when your soul is knit with another person’s. We see this in Scripture in 1 Samuel 18:1, “Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” But witchcraft soul ties are dangerous and can be deadly to your spiritual progress in God.

When charismatic witchcraft prayers are released against you, sickness can attack your body, you can feel worn out all the time even though you are sleeping plenty, your emotions can go haywire for no apparent reason, and you can feel alone and lonely. The good news is you have authority over witchcraft and you can break soul ties by aligning your will with the Lord Jesus Christ, repenting for not discerning the assigment quickly, renouncing the witchcraft and relationship with charismatic witchcraft practitioners.

It’s noteworthy that most of the leaders of the Shepherding Movement later renounced what it became. The movement, at its peak, had 150,000 followers who were under fierce control. Bob Mumford, one of the Fort Lauderdale Five who initiated the movement, was on the cover of Ministry Today magazine in January 1990. The words on the cover said, “Discipleship was wrong. I repent. I ask forgiveness.” Derek Prince, who also repented, said, “I believe we were guilty of the Galatian error: having begun in the Spirit, we quickly degenerated into the flesh.”

Let’s all pray that the charismatic witchcraft practitioners will come to repentance because the Bible is clear—they will not inherent eternal life if they continue down this path.