Throughout Scripture, God warns His people to stay away from practices that attempt to predict the future or rely on supernatural powers apart from Him. Fortune telling, divination, and other occult practices are condemned as they lead people away from trusting God. Here are biblical insights and verses on this topic to guide us in faith and truth.
Also Read: Bible Verses About Divination
God’s Warning Against Divination
The Bible consistently warns against seeking knowledge or guidance through divination and other occult practices. These methods undermine God’s authority and lead people into spiritual darkness. Trusting in God’s wisdom is essential for a life of faith.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12
“For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.”
Leviticus 19:31
“Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the Lord your God.”
Isaiah 8:19
“Someone may say to you, ‘Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.’ But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?”
Micah 5:12
“I will put an end to all witchcraft, and there will be no more fortune-tellers.”
Acts 16:16-18
“One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.’ 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.”
Relying on God for Guidance
God desires His people to seek Him for wisdom and guidance rather than turning to fortune tellers or other ungodly practices. Trusting in God leads to peace and clarity, while relying on the occult leads to spiritual danger.
Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
Jeremiah 33:3
“Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.”
Psalm 32:8
“The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.'”
James 1:5
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”
Isaiah 30:21
“Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.”
The Danger of False Prophets
Fortune tellers often present themselves as people with special knowledge or insight, but the Bible warns us about false prophets who deceive and lead others away from God’s truth. God’s Word is the ultimate standard for discernment and guidance.
Matthew 7:15
“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.”
2 Peter 2:1
“But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.”
1 John 4:1
“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.”
Deuteronomy 13:1-3
“Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’—gods you have not known before—do not listen to them. The Lord your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul.”
Jeremiah 23:16
“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to his people: ‘Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you, filling you with futile hopes. They are making up everything they say. They do not speak for the Lord!'”
Also Read: Bible Verses About Prophecy
God’s Sovereignty Over the Future
Only God knows the future and holds all things in His hands. Trusting in His perfect plan gives believers peace and assurance, unlike the uncertainty and false hope offered by fortune telling and divination.
Isaiah 46:10
“Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.”
Psalm 139:16
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'”
Matthew 6:34
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Revelation 1:8
“‘I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,’ says the Lord God. ‘I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.'”
Trusting God Over Human Wisdom
Human wisdom, including fortune tellers’ claims, pales in comparison to God’s infinite knowledge and wisdom. He invites His people to rely fully on Him rather than seeking insight through unbiblical means.
1 Corinthians 1:25
“This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.”
Proverbs 14:12
“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”
Isaiah 55:8-9
“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.'”
Colossians 2:8
“Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.”
Psalm 147:5
“How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!”
Repenting from Occult Practices
God offers grace and forgiveness to those who repent and turn away from occult practices. He desires a restored relationship with anyone who seeks Him wholeheartedly, leaving behind all forms of divination.
Acts 19:18-19
“Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices. A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
“Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
James 4:7-8
“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”
2 Chronicles 7:14
“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”
Joel 2:13
“Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.”
Walking in the Light of Christ
As believers, we are called to walk in the light of Christ, rejecting the works of darkness, including fortune telling and all occult practices. In Christ, we find true wisdom, peace, and salvation.
John 8:12
“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, ‘I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.'”
Romans 13:12
“The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.”
2 Corinthians 6:14
“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?”
Ephesians 5:8
“For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!”
Colossians 1:13
“For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son.”