Demons & the Occult: What the Bible Really Says

What does the Bible really say about demons, witchcraft, and the occult?
In this powerful episode of Behind the Mike Podcast with Mike Stone, we go beyond Hollywood myths and cultural trends to expose the real spiritual battle happening all around us.

You’ll learn:
• Where demons come from — and what they’re actually capable of
• Why “harmless” occult practices like astrology, crystals, and manifestation are more dangerous than they appear
• How Satan disguises himself as “light” to deceive the world
• Biblical stories that reveal the truth about demonic influence and possession
• How believers can find freedom and stand firm in Christ’s authority

Whether you’ve dabbled in occult practices or simply want to understand what’s happening in our culture, this episode will equip you with truth, courage, and discernment.

👉 Subscribe for more biblical truth and encouragement: YouTube.com/@BehindTheMikePodcast

👉 Connect: BehindTheMike.net

Scriptures referenced: Deuteronomy 18:9–12, Isaiah 8:19, Acts 19:18–19, Mark 5, Acts 16, Ephesians 6:12, 1 Corinthians 10:20, Colossians 2:15, James 4:7, John 1:5

#Faith #SpiritualWarfare #BiblicalTruth #BehindTheMikePodcast #mikestone

CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro: Why our culture is obsessed with darkness
03:00 – What is the occult? (Biblical definition and warnings)
08:00 – Where demons come from and what they want
14:00 – How the occult rebrands itself today (manifestation, crystals, astrology)
20:00 – Why people are drawn to the occult
26:00 – The real danger of opening spiritual doors
32:00 – How to fight back biblically
37:00 – Hope and victory in Christ
39:30 – Final encouragement and closing

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Have you noticed how obsessedour culture has become
with darkness?
Scroll through Netflix or TikTokand you'll see witchcraft,
ghost hunting, crystals,astrology and manifestation
trends everywhere.
We live in a world that laughsat the devil, denies
demons, and dabblesin the occult, often
in the same breath.

(00:20):
But here's the thingthe Bible doesn't treat
any of thisas harmless curiosity.
In fact, God warns his peoplenot to flirt with darkness
because once you open that door,you might not like what
walks through it.
So today we're going tounmask the truth about demons

(00:40):
and the occult.
Not from theHollywood perspective,
but from scripture.
We'll look at wheredemons came from, why the occult
is dangerous, how Satanstill deceives us today,
and what Jesus saysabout the authority
believers have over darkness.
This isn't about fear,it's about freedom.

(01:03):
Because lightalways defeats the dark.
All right, let's startwith the definition.
The word occult comes from theLatin occult, which means hidden
or secret.

(01:24):
It describes practicesthat try to tap into
supernatural poweror hidden knowledge
apart from God.
Things like witchcraft,divination, necromancy,
tarot, astrology,or speaking to the dead.
These are all attempts to accessspiritual truth or power

(01:45):
without the Creatorand Scripture's clear.
God hates these practices.
Deuteronomy 18 says, let no onebe found among you who practices
divination, interpretsomens, engages in witchcraft,
or consults the dead.
Whoever does these thingsis detestable to the Lord.

(02:06):
And it's notbecause the Lord wants
to spoil our fun.
It's because he knowswhat's behind them.
So I want to sharea story from a woman
named Tyler Lee.
She shared her story online,and she said her mom
introduced herto the Ouija board
when she was onlyfive years old.
That small moment of curiosityturned into decades

(02:27):
of spiritual bondage.
Tarot crystals, blood magic.
Psychic work.
Until one dayshe cried out to Jesus and felt
the oppression lift.
She saidwhat I thought was light
was really darkness.
Wearing a disguise.
Now that's the truth.

(02:48):
Satan rarelyshows up with the horns
and the pitchforks.
He shows up as light.
Check out SecondCorinthians 1114.
It says, for Satan himselfmasquerades
as an angel of light.
Deception.
All right, so where did demonscome from?
Let's talk about demons.

(03:08):
What are they really?
Well, Scripture shows us thatdemons are fallen angels
created by God,but they rebelled against God
under Satan's leadership.
Revelation 12 four describesa third of angels being swept
out of heaven with Satan.

(03:31):
They are personal.
They're intelligentand they're evil.
They know who Jesus is.
They tremble at his name,but they are also organized
and strategic,seeking to destroy
what God loves most people.

(03:54):
Jesus often confronted themdirectly.
There's another story.
From Mark chapter five.
Remember the manpossessed by Legion?
He lived among the tombs.
He was cutting himselfand screaming at night,
completely tormented.
So when Jesus arrived,the demons begged him

(04:17):
not to send them away.
This tells us something.
Even demons must submitto the authority
of Jesus Christ.
So the story goes on.
And after Jesus cast them out.
That man was found,said, clothed
and in his right mind.

(04:40):
You see, that's what Jesus does.
He restores orderwhere chaos once ruled.
There's another storyfrom acts 16.
So Paul encountered a slave girlwho could predict the future.
Now her owners made moneyoff of her gift.
But Paul recognizedthis wasn't from God.

(05:03):
He turned and said, and I quotein the name of Jesus,
I command youto come out of her.
And instantly that spirit left.
The Bible doesn't present demonsas myths or metaphors.
They're real beings.
In rebellion against God.

(05:24):
We talked about that last weekin our podcast about angels.
But here's the keyfor the believer.
They are already defeated.
Colossians 215 sayshe disarmed the rulers
and the authorities and put themto open shame by triumphing
over them in him.

(05:46):
So let's talkabout how the occult
rebrands itself.
You might think, well, I'mnot into witchcraft
or Ouija boards.
This doesn't apply to me.
But you see, the occulthas gone mainstream
and it often hidesin plain sight.
Let me give you a few examples.
Manifestation.

(06:06):
Manifestation is the idea thatyour thoughts
or your words can shapethe universe.
That sounds empowering, right?
But it replaces prayerwith self worship.
Angel numbers people lookingto the universe for signs
instead of God's Word.

(06:27):
God's word is our authority.
That's our foundation.
Then we have, energyhealing and crystals,
which claims creation itselfcan cleanse you instead of God.
Horoscopes and astrology.
Ancient divination wrapped inmodern graphics.
Even Christian tarot.

(06:49):
Yes, it's a thingmixing Bible verses
with occult tools.
All of these are counterfeitsof God's truth.
They promise enlightenment,but the deliver entrapment.
Jesus said in John 844that Satan is a liar

(07:12):
and the father of lies,and one of his greatest lies
is convincing peoplethat darkness is harmless
as long as it feels spiritual.
We've talked about Satan beforeand how he loves to deceive.
He's not stupid.
So why are people drawnto the occult?
Or here's here'ssomething to consider.

(07:33):
Most people don't startby wanting to serve the devil.
They start by wanting answers.
They want control.
They want comfort.
They want healing.
They want hope.
That's our world, right?
But the occult feeds onhuman longing.

(07:53):
From the beginning,you'll see in Genesis three
the serpent whispered,you will be like God.
That's the root of every occultpractice trying to obtain
divine power apartfrom divine submission.
Many who have leftthe occult say

(08:15):
they were searching for peace,but they found fear.
Or they were searching for love.
But they found loneliness.
Searching for control.
But they found torment.
We've had some of thosepeople on our show.
It's the samedeception repackaged
every generation.

(08:37):
The promise of secret knowledgethat ultimately
will enslave you.
Here's another story.
Between 2016 and 2024, searchesfor manifestation.
Manifestation on TikTokskyrocketed past 35 billion
with a B billion views,which talk the witchcraft

(09:03):
community on.
The app has more followersthan most Christian creators
combined.
There are nowmore self-identified witches
in America than there arePresbyterians.
That's not random.
It's a sign of spiritual hunger.

(09:24):
But what people are finding,it's poison.
So let me be clear.
The occult isn'tjust different beliefs.
It's dangerous because it opensspiritual doors.
You've probably heardEphesians 612.
It reminds us our struggle isnot against flesh and blood,

(09:45):
but against rulers,authorities, powers
of this dark world.
And spiritual forces of evilin heavenly realms.
When you engage in the occult,you're stepping into that realm
completely unprotected.

(10:05):
I'm going to give youa real life example here.
There was a young manwho shared online
that after playingwith tarot cards and astrology,
he started hearing voicesand he couldn't
sleep for months.
He wasn't crazy.
He was spiritually attacked.

(10:26):
When he finally surrenderedhis life to Christ,
the nightmares stopped.
There's a pattern.
Fear, confusion.
Torment.
Those are fruits of darkness.
Okay.
Fruits of the spirit.
Peace, joy and clarity.

(10:48):
That's in here.
Fruits of the spirit.
You can't serve both.
Paul wrote in firstCorinthians 1020 says,
the sacrifices of pagansare offered to demons,
not to God.
And I don't want you tobe participants with demons.

(11:08):
Guys, this is serious stuff.
But we don't end in fear.
We end in victory.
If you've dabbled in the occultor if you've
been influenced by it,there is hope.
Jesus doesn't condemn you.
He will deliver you.

(11:28):
So here's what Scripturecalls on us to do.
Number one, confess and repent.
Admit it to God.
Don't justify it.
Just bring it into the light.
Look up first John one nine.
Number two renounce it.

(11:50):
Break agreementwith any practice or object
connected to the occult.
In acts 1919, they burnedtheir scrolls publicly.
Okay.
Number three, submit and resist.
We find that in Jamesfour seven says.

(12:12):
Submit to God.
Resist the devil,and he will flee from you.
Number four fill your lifewith truth.
You have to replace thedarkness with something.
So fill itwith scripture, worship,
and godly community.

(12:32):
And number fivestand on authority.
Luke 1019 Jesus said,I have given you authority
to overcome all the powerof the enemy.
I read a story of a womanwho said, after burning her

(12:53):
tarot cards and deleting herastrology apps, she felt a
literal weight lift off of her.
She said, and I quote,I didn't realize how much peace
I had surrendereduntil I got it back.
That's what happenswhen you close the door
to darknessand you open your heart
to Jesus Christ.

(13:15):
The truth is, we don't fightfor victory.
We fight from victorybecause Jesus already defeated
the powers of hell at the cross.
Colossians 113 says, he hasrescued us from the kingdom
of darkness and brought usinto the kingdom
of his beloved son.

(13:37):
If you've been involvedin the occult, or
even if you have justbeen curious,
there's forgiveness.
There's freedom.
There's light.
Don't be afraid of what's hidingin the shadows.
Run to the onewho cast them out.
Let the name of Jesus be louderthan the lies of the enemy.

(14:00):
I want to sharejust one experience
that I've had.
I've heard so many storiesover the years
of demonic activity.
I don't know if they're true.
I've not experiencedthat for myself.
Other than one incidentand that was fairly recently.
I was, I was being harassedby a woman, and she

(14:23):
she began to put herhands on me and
started pushing me.
And as I backed away, Icould smell something.
And I couldn'tdescribe what it was.
It didn't last long.
I walked away.
But when I walked away,that smell

(14:44):
was just overpowering.
And I realized that it was thesmell of sulfur.
And and I thought, well,maybe it was on her clothes.
I don't know, but I do knowthat that smell, I could not get
that smell out.
And it was a very brief contact.

(15:05):
So I looked up somethings from other people
who have encountereddemonic activity,
and many of themsaid the same thing, that when
they experienced first handdemonic influence
or demonic contact,there was a lingering
smell of sulfur.
Now that was my experience,and I've learned in my life

(15:27):
not to use experienceas a foundation for anything.
This is the foundation.
But I do believe Godputs us in situations
or allows situationsto happen in our lives,
just to kind of help usto tangibly concrete things
in our hearts and our minds.
And I won't ever forgetthat experience.

(15:47):
I do believe in that momentthat there was
some demonic activity.
So I cling to John onefive again, which says
the light shinesin the darkness,
and the darknesshas not overcome it.
Well, thanks for joining meon this episode of Behind
the Mike Podcast.
I'm Mike Stone,and if this message

(16:07):
spoke to you, please share itwith someone
who might be searching.
We talked earlier aboutthe reason that people turn
to the occult, and it'sbecause they're
desperate for hope.
They're searching for answers.
If Satan is an angel of light,there are many things

(16:27):
that might look good over here.
But we know as believersit's all deception and lies.
And this is whereour truth comes from.
But for those who are searching,we need to be there
to remind themthat this is truth.
This is their hope.
This is what they'relonging for.
That empty space in their heartsthat only can be filled by

(16:51):
Jesus Christ.
So remember,you were made for truth,
not darkness.
Until next time.
Keep your eyes on the light.
Keep.