Witchcraft and sorcery have subtly crept into many Christian churches today—not through broomsticks and cauldrons, but through compromise, counterfeit spirituality and rejection of biblical truth. This infiltration often has not been obvious or dramatic; it has been disguised in language that sounds spiritual, behaviors that appear supernatural and practices that seem emotionally powerful—but they are not rooted in the Holy Spirit. In my life, as you remember, I grew up in a cultlike “church” that practiced strange behavior that groomed me as a young girl to accept witchcraft. Those same practices, or even more subtle ones, are still taking place in the church today and many believers have no clue.
Remember, witchcraft is all about manipulation, intimidation and domination, as well as control, rebellion and the pursuit of power outside God’s ordained authority (1 Sam. 15:23). Sadly, many churches have unknowingly embraced these very practices. Some leaders in the faith have outright been manipulating the members of their congregations, both emotionally and financially—using tactics of fear and guilt or promises of blessing in exchange for more offerings or more loyalty.
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Be assured: God is not pleased with this. Other leaders in the church are just flaunting spiritual theatrics through false signs and wonders. Unfortunately, they’ve mistreated and misrepresented the simplicity and the beauty of the gospel. These ministries are operating in witchcraft. They almost never put any emphasis on biblical repentance, sound doctrine and holiness and that is a major problem. That creates a breeding ground for all kinds of false manifestations, emotional hype, soulish power plays, demonic influence and various acts of foolishness that are mistaken by people for a “move of God.”
We are living in a day and age when New Age practices have simply been repackaged under a “faith-based” brand, using Christian terminology and brought right through the front doors of the church. Ministers are preaching and teaching on topics such as the third eye, manifesting, energy vibrations and universal laws—straight from God’s pulpits and platforms all over the world under the guise of deep prophetic insight and spiritual knowledge.
Among believers, the use of crystals, dream catchers, burning sage and horoscopes is now growing like crazy and in many churches the prophetic ministry, which was once a very holy, reverent and sovereign office, has been hijacked by the onslaught of false prophets. These “leaders” operate their ministries more like a 1-800 call-a-psychic service or a medium than like the true prophets who come with the fear of the Lord that we read about in the Bible. Some churches I have found are conducting yoga classes inside the sanctuary of the Lord! Yes, it truly is a very concerning hour in this day. Chakra healing, meditation, spiritual shape-shifting, astral projection and the speaking of witchcraft incantations misrepresented as “prayers”—these are not harmless. Some of these “prayers” resemble revenge spells more than biblical prayers and they open demonic doorways that grieve the Holy Spirit, quench His flow and expose all those under that ministry to spiritual deception at the highest levels.
Witchcraft has especially crept into the church through manipulation and control. Usually it’s not noticed at first; then, when it’s noticed, it’s typically swept under the rug. As people continually ignore these red flags, slowly but surely, their discernment diminishes. This manipulation and control can be seen when leaders use fear, guilt and pressure to get people to do what they want rather than teaching the people to follow the Bible and the leading of the Holy Spirit freely for themselves.
Some church leaders will tell people that if they don’t give a certain number of money at that very moment, they could be “cursed” or their “blessing” would be “blocked,” even though the Bible tells us that giving should be done with a cheerful heart, not out of fear or any pressure from the pulpit (2 Cor. 9:7).
Now, I’m all for people giving to the Lord and for ministers expressing to the people the importance of that, but I am quite tired of the manipulations I frequently hear: “Sow one thousand dollars into the ministry right now if you want to get married and meet your husband within the next year.” When the church leadership starts to control people’s emotions, decisions and spiritual growth rather than encourage them to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and learn His voice for themselves, that’s when biblical exhortation has ended and spiritual manipulation has begun.
Frankly, many of these churches have become a cult! When members have to ask permission for everything they do…when they are encouraged only to go to that particular church and are never allowed to visit other places, or even go to conferences or other workshops provided by the body of Christ…when they slowly begin to disconnect from family and friends…the ministry has become like a cult. This is why we must be alert, stay in the Word and always test the spirits—really scrutinize what we’re hearing and what we’re seeing (the fruit).
One of the most subtle and dangerous ways witchcraft has entered the church is through rebellion—a spiritual condition that may look harmless on the outside but is deadly at its root. According to 1 Samuel 15:23 (NKJV), “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” This verse doesn’t just compare rebellion to witchcraft—it declares them spiritually equal.
Demonic influences flow through doors of rebellion. They operate through sorcery, along with manipulation, deception, confusion, control and spiritual blindness. It shouldn’t be a surprise that rebellion has crept into the church today, but I want to lay out some ways that you can easily identify it. You see, rebellion emphasizes independence that refuses any type of accountability. It puffs itself up in pride and resists any correction. Instead of submitting to God’s order and His will, someone in rebellion will replace that with self-promotion.
The spirit of rebellion often shows up with a religious mask that says, “I’m being led by God alone and I don’t need anyone else.” Yes, this may sound spiritual, but it is really a refusal to be accountable. People begin to reject sound doctrine and leadership, claiming they don’t need a pastor, a church body, a mentor, or any spiritual accountability. This refusal to submit isolates them and makes them vulnerable to deception. Others rebel by twisting the Scriptures to fit their own personal experiences or desires, rather than submitting to the full counsel of God’s Word. They begin to modify the truth and soon they have opened themselves up to counterfeit revelations, strange practices and even occult ideologies—all while thinking they are still walking with the Lord. This is how rebellion becomes a spiritual gateway, allowing witchcraft to enter not just individuals but entire congregations.
In the life of an adored church leader, witchcraft can be easy to fall into. Rebellion manifests when the leader seeks control and power rather than having a servant’s heart that leads like Jesus. All of a sudden, they will begin to manipulate people, using the tactics of fear, guilt and spiritual peer pressure, demanding that people remain loyal to them instead of pointing them to Christ. At that point, the church has become a very toxic environment where the Holy Spirit is quenched, truth is silenced and people are bound by strongholds.
This rebellion shows up in worship teams, intercessory groups, on the church board and even in prophetic ministry and it’s all because people refuse to receive correction. They compete for influence, operate in the spiritual gifts without submission, order, or humility and only want to do it their own way. On the outside it may look as if the leader is extremely anointed, but when we look at the fruit, it reveals that the spirit of witchcraft is operating.
The enemy knows that outright satanic worship wouldn’t make it past the church doors—but rebellion will, because it often looks like “boldness,” “freedom,” or “passion” when it’s really lawlessness in disguise. The result is a church that becomes spiritually compromised, filled with people who are gifted but not submitted, active but not obedient, loud but not aligned with the heart of God. This is why we must return to the fear of the Lord. True deliverance begins with repentance and submission. The church must recognize that rebellion is not a strength—it is spiritual treason. And when we tolerate rebellion in our church body, we invite the same spirits that fuel witchcraft to operate in our midst.
The Lord is coming back soon and He is looking for a bride and a church that is spotless and blameless before Him. That means, my friend, that we have a lot of cleaning up to do and it’s going to start, but not with us pointing fingers and trying to determine who or what is causing everything to go wrong. We must start to look at our own lives, our own actions and our own hearts first. This is where we begin to cry out, “Search me, O God and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting,” just like David prayed (Ps. 139:23–24, NKJV).
It will take people who are willing to fast and pray, not just once a year every January, but who will truly seek God for divine times of consecration consistently, all the time. The days of compromise, mixture and defilement in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ needs to come to an end immediately. You may be reading this right now and you are connected with ministries that are promoting witchcraft or that stand by silently and refuse to speak the truth. You have some soul searching and praying to do! Ask the Lord where it is you’re supposed to be planted in this season. You may be under a ministry or following so-called ministers online who are in extreme error, even steeped in witchcraft. You simply need to come out from among them and be holy and separate in Jesus’ mighty name!
Jenny Weaver is a devoted wife and mom, as well as a passionate leader in the world of revival, working alongside her husband, Stephen Weaver, at the Core Revival Center in Tampa, Florida. She has written more than 10 books and has appeared on popular shows like The 700 Club, Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural! and Fox News nationwide. Her new book, The Wicked World of Witchcraft, is available now at amazon.com.
