Christians, Witchcraft and Drugs

By Jim Lynn, Copyrighted 2007

What would you think if the next time you take the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion) a drug is offered to you instead of bread? “Crazy,” you say?

No faithful Christian would knowingly replace bread (which represents the Body of Jesus) with a drug. And yet, this is what is happening millions of times everyday. Many Christians routinely taking drugs forget the sacrifice Jesus made in body on their behalf for healing.

Keep your eyes on the pill:

What is it about man’s fascination with drugs that holds such sway over the Body of Christ? Why do so many Christians trust a pill over God with their body? Well, a lot of it has to do with the original King James (KJ) Bible translators.

During the time when the KJ Bible was first being translated, witches and witchcraft occupied the minds of many Church leaders. Hundreds of people were tried and executed for being a witch. So when Bible translators came to the Greek word “pharmakeia” in the New Testament, they choose to use the lesser meaning of the word, “witchcraft,” instead of the word’s primary meaning, “use of drugs.”

At the time of translation back in 1611, using the word “witchcraft” must have made sense. Witches created and used drugs and potions made from plants, animals and earth. So the word, witchcraft, fit the times and translators wanted to make that point. After all, the Bible condemns witchcraft (Exodus 22:18).

That’s all well and good except that: When we read about the “acts of the flesh” in Galatians 5:19-21 today, no mention is made of using drugs, only of witchcraft. Here’s how KJ translators translated the passage:

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21) King James Bible

 Now compare that same passage transliterated from the Greek text in the Heritage Bible and notice how different it reads:

And the works of the flesh are manifest, which are: Adultery, sexual promiscuity, uncleanness, lack of moral restraint, 20 Idolatry, use of drugs, hatred, quarreling, jealousies, hard breathing, strife, dissensions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, carousings, and the such like, which I tell you before, as I also said previously, that those practicing such things will absolutely not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21) Heritage Bible

There it is: “Use of drugs.” There is absolutely nothing mentioned about witchcraft, because the original Greek word primary meaning means use of drugs. It’s not until you get into a secondary meaning where you then will find witchcraft and sorcery.

Houston, we have a problem:

Christians today are faced with the same problem Bible translators had back in 1611, only in reverse. Witchcraft is not the issue of the day, drugs are.

The medical, industrial and agricultural drug industry today dominates our lives. Drug use is so prevalent, drug traces show up in our food and water supply, and even threatens extinction of certain plants, animals and marine life. But that problem only touches the hem of the garment. The real problem lies in the human death toll created directly through legally prescribed drug consumption.

Witches do not cause this problem. The problem is caused by a giant industry that wants every man, woman and child hooked on their product: Drugs! In fact, the Bible warns of this very thing happening: Here is how the Heritage Bible interprets the Book of Revelation, 18:23

And the light of a lamp will absolutely not shine in you any more, and the voice of the bride-groom and of the bride will absolutely not be heard in you any more, because your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because in your spell inducing drugs all the races were led astray. (Revelation 18:23) Heritage Bible

For a generation of Christians who grew up with drug proliferation and a trusted medical industry that heavily pushes them, drugs seem normal and acceptable. This generation of Christians believes the big lie that “drugs are good for you.”

It is inconceivable to this group of Christians that taking legally prescribed drugs on a daily basis is an act of the flesh. They reason that medical drugs are an invention of modern man, and that God would certainly not condemn drugs for medicinal purposes. But they have only the lie they believe to stand on, nothing in Scripture to support their belief that God condones the use of drugs.

Because their Church teaches them nothing about God’s natural laws (found in the Bible) or of the healing power found in the Body of Jesus Christ, millions of Christians have turned to the world for healing. It’s sad, but they do so without God.

Without an accurate translation of God’s Word to guide them, millions of God-loving people have been led astray. They have been seduced by the world into reliance on drugs instead of relying on God’s natural law and the Body of Jesus Christ for healing.

Without realization, many Christians have replaced the bread of communion with that of a drug. And for many: Drugs have become a religion, which places trust in the world over that of God’s Word.

Imagine how different our faith would be today had the KJ Bible translated pharmakeia as “use of drugs” instead of “witchcraft.”  Almost all of Christendom knows and uses the KJ Bible. Some regard the KJ Bible as the only authorized translation and use no other Bible. So how are these people to know God condemns the practice of routinely using drugs? They will not.

The truth is: God is our healer! That declaration removes all other possibilities. God has provided for our every need found in the plant kingdom and through Jesus Christ. Those who look elsewhere will find only suffering and death.

If this truth leaves you struggling, you have been victimized by the prince of this world. My prayer is that you turn away from the false reality of drugs, and turn to God’s Word for truth and healing.

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Jim Lynn is Director of God's Healing Word ministry. Discover why a Church that does not teach healing is like a grade school that does not teach math. Learn how to distinguish good medicine from bad, and why secular medicine cannot heal disease. Subscribe to our free newsletter and receive E.M. Bound's ebook, Essentials of Prayer.