The sorcerers. As Christ works through the Holy Spirit the believer slowly gains the right kind of spiritual control over the material creation. Those who seek spiritual control and power in any way other than through obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ open their personalities to spirits from Satan.

The wrath of God is directed toward any individual who becomes familiar with Satan, his angels, or demons. Once Satan is invited into the human personality it is difficult to persuade him to leave. If you choose Satan over Christ, God will give Satan to you.

The idolaters. Five of the major idols of today are as follows: lust, money ("mammon"), pleasure, sorcery, and violence. The television programs are occupied primarily with the displaying and adoring of these five demon gods.

The New Testament writings call particular attention to covetousness, the love of money, making money our god.

Mortify [put to death] therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence [lust], and covetousness, which is idolatry: (Colossians 3:5)

For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (Ephesians 5:5)

The Lord Jesus Christ warned us that we cannot serve two gods. Either we will serve the Lord God of Heaven, giving our time, attention, and energy to Him, or we will serve money, giving our time, attention, and energy to it. We have to make a choice.

In the days of the Lord Jesus there were many gods worshiped by the nations. The Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians, as well as the other cultures, worshiped a myriad of gods. Jesus did not bother to mention any of these gods with the exception of one: mammon (money)—that historic enemy and competitor against the true God of Heaven. Jesus, Paul, and James warned us repeatedly that there is an important choice that men make: the service of God or the service of money.

There is no doubt in our mind that money, the love and service of it, is the mark of Antichrist. Money also may have much to do with the False Prophet who gives life to the image of Antichrist (Revelation 13:15).

The acquisition of wealth (the downfall of Balaam, Gehazi, Judas, and Ananias and Sapphira) has become the principal occupation of the civilization of our day. It was not always so. The spirit of money has crept up on us without our realizing it. Most professional services, medicine, education, law and so forth are performed primarily for the profit to be gained.

Even the Christian churches have entered the worship of money, the ministry teaching the people that money is the means of bringing Christ to the world, and an abundance of money is the sign the believer is Divinely blessed. The concept is, give money to the evangelist and God will bless you with money.

To be continued.