Chasing Dragonflies and Reading Omens: Things Christians Should Avoid
When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD and because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this. Deuteronomy 18:9-14 ESV
Halloween is approaching, and as we near this time, many professing Christians like myself will not be celebrating this holiday for different reasons. There are many who will vehemently express disdain for this holiday because of the appearance of darkness. I understand the personal conviction. Yet it leaves me wondering about some discrepancies that appear as hypocrisy in the areas of the church, particularly those who prescribe to the charismatic leaning, such as I once did. I cannot help but to notice that while there is disdain for Halloween and cries against the occult, there are practices condoned and even encouraged that are forbidden in Scripture. I say this as someone who did some of these things, not realizing that it was forbidden in Scripture. I want to share them with you in hopes that if a course direction needs righting even a degree, you will be steered in the direction of the truth and the way everlasting.
In Deuteronomy 18, God lays out commands for the people of Israel when they come into the Promised Land. He tells them that they “shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations.” (Deuteronomy 18:9) He goes on to tell them what these forbidden practices are, “There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead.” (Deuteronomy 18:10-11) The Lord had not allowed them to do such things. It was an abomination to the Lord. All these practices ultimately led away from God and to false gods, breaking the First Commandment. This commandment along with the second, third and fourth are fulfilled in one of Jesus’ commandments to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37) Interestingly, Jesus was referencing Deuteronomy 6:5. Sadly, the false god we are worshiping is self when we engage in such activity.
Currently there is a great draw toward signs in the apostolic/prophetic circles. People take great stock in them and allow them to help determine the course of their lives. These signs vary from names with particular meanings to specific objects or items manifesting and the repetitive appearance of numbers and such in moments of the day. Several years ago, I kept noticing dragonflies wherever I went. They would hover over me or my car. I had read from a well known “prophetic” minister that the presence of dragonflies symbolized transition. I also noticed many times that when I looked at the clock, elevens were prevalent, which was also said to be a symbol of transition. There are so many things that can be said to be a prophetic sign these days. I did not test these things or even read my Bible to see that this was neither a wise nor biblical practice. In my ignorance I participated and I have repented since. I take no stock in these things now to direct the course of my life.
Here’s the truth: God has called a people unto Himself, and we are made righteous by grace through faith in Christ Jesus alone. He is the same God then as He is now. He has not changed His mind on such matters. It matters not where these verses are located in the Bible as to relevance because all Scripture is relevant to our understanding, and we are not to even have the appearance of evil. It also does not validate the reading of omens numerically by relating it to a particular passage of Scripture with the same numbers represented. This is irreverent and contradictory. We do not realize it, but in entertaining such things, we are making ourselves God. We have decided that our ways are better than His Word, which is sufficient to teach us, to correct us and to train us in righteousness. We have adopted the ways of this world for answers. This ought not to be so.
Trying to determine the appearance of repetitive numbers throughout your day is omen reading. Assigning a life changing meaning to the appearance of such things as a dragonfly before you is also omen reading and divination. It is seeking the will of the gods rather than the God who knows no other God before or after Him. It is to be avoided. This leads away from the One True and Holy God, and it leads our hearts unto ourselves. If you want to know what your purpose is as a Christian, read the Bible, not omens. It will tell you how to conduct yourself as a Christian and who Christ is in you. Hide the Word of God in your heart that you might not sin against Him.
Remember, the Word is Christ centered and not man centered. Pray. Seek Godly counsel from solid Biblical leaders who have shown themselves approved by the Word of God. Be willing to evaluate yourself and your practices with Scripture. We may have strong feelings against Halloween, but we may also be engaging in practices that God explicitly forbids as mentioned. Our experiences do not interpret the Word. Repentance is a beautiful thing before our Lord and thank God, we can come boldly before the throne of grace. All believers in Christ are to be led by the Spirit, and though our emotions and opinions will lead us astray, the Holy Spirit never gets lost.
** a portion of this blog post is an excerpt from a self published book, Nonprophet Woke: The Reformation of a Modern-Day Disciple
20 thoughts on “Chasing Dragonflies and Reading Omens: Things Christians Should Avoid”
Our business is having a family fun fest day on 10.31.20 our church will be handing out christ centered pamphlets and candy with scripture. We thought it was a way of giving back to the community and share Jesus. From this article your saying using Halloween as a way of sharing Jesus is a sin? Even if we are not promoting witchcraft or sorcery?
Hi, Sheila! I am not saying that at all. That is great that you all are reaching out to the community and doing something to share the gospel. My point is that there are people who judge others for celebrating Halloween and yet they may not be aware that they are practicing things like omen reading and such. I am addressing the hypocrisy. I hope that helps.
God speaks to His people in many different ways, and the enemy always counterfeits the authentic. I believe this is true of numerical meanings, as with many other things that originated from the Father.
I appreciate your comment, and I would say that God is not going to do something that contradicts His Word. Practices like this stem from the occult and New Age. Though I understand what you are saying and such things as specific numbers in the Bible have a consistent description, this does not mean that reading into these things is prescriptive for our lives. The enemy does not always counterfeit. He distorts the truth because he is the father of lies. God bless!
Thank you!
I have wondered if it is biblical to prophesy according to repetive numbers, name of competion winners etc. but did not find the relevant Scripture – yes, I read the Bible systematically every day and find new things but did not notice that those verses you wrote explain it. I’m thankful!
I appreciate your thoughts on this subject. I am drawn to the apostolic/prophetic teachers however I start questioning some who get into numbers as God speaking things. I prefer to let God speak to me through his word. I noticed awhile back I started focusing too much on looking for signs, angels and dreams. I am seeking to stay in the truth and balance without totally disregarding the prophetic.
Hey Dawn! Great article. I sincerely appreciate and respect your perspective, and I find myself mostly in agreement, with a slight reservation.
The scripture here is solid, but we do know from scripture that God uses signs throughout history to show His presence, His blessing, His direction, His timing, etc. I believe He still does. At what point does a sign become sorcery? When I examine my own heart in this matter, I have felt for years that a certain sign specific to me is a “kiss” from God, reminding me (especially in dark times) that He is with me. This has sustained me! Are signs today ever, even in the greater church context, not witchcraft? When is sign sorcery? Thanks!
Hey, Carmen! Thanks for the question, it is a good one! When I read throughout the Bible and see signs mentioned both in the Old and New Testament, a common theme is seen. In the Old Testament, they testified of God as the True God while the signs in the New Testament pointed to the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. For example, the signs in Exodus with the plagues not only testified of the omnipotence of God, but that He was the only God and each plague in fact countered every false god which the Egyptians worshiped. In the New Testament, Jesus performed signs and wonders, which had nothing to do with omen reading, divination, necromancy, etc. and He did these things to fulfill the Law and the words of the prophets and to point people to Himself as the Messiah. Jesus had people following Him around continuously wanting signs, but it would seem that it was for their own gain or personal fulfillment rather than making it about Christ. I am also reminded that signs are not a guarantee of God’s Presence. We can have every manifestation under the sun and still not know Jesus Christ, and we are warned in Scripture of false prophets in the last days who will manifest false signs and wonders with the ability to possible deceive even the elect. Signs are also not a guarantee that people will turn to God. John 12:37 tells us that though Jesus had done many signs before the people, they still not believe in Him.
With regards to your question about sorcery, I would say that when we are chasing signs or desiring signs that are more for us than for exalting God and who He truly is, then we are in danger of the work of the flesh in sorcery. Sorcery is a work of the flesh as mentioned in Galatians 5 just for reference. But when we are led by the Spirit, He will lead us into all truth and not into works of the flesh. Though I do believe that God does things today for which our finite minds cannot fully understand or reason, there are also things which can act to deceive and to draw us away from God and unto our own understanding. I am reminded daily of the Scripture about my own heart and that it is deceitful. I do not trust my heart, but I trust God and His Word. At the end of the day, the Word of God is sufficient for instructing us and keeping us from deception. I was guilty of teaching false things, believing false things and ultimately believing that my experiences were valid without testing them against Scripture. This is why I share this and not to condemn, but to draw attention for us as believers to be aware. I hope this helps. I may not have adequately answered your question, and if I have not, please let me know. I am certainly not above questions or correction. God bless!
You answered this beautifully! And I did intend the question to be collegial, not contentious. Thank you for such a robust answer!
I am going to dive a little deeper into this. I have a sense that the answer, as always, lies in the heart. It also makes a difference, as you say, whether God and Jesus are glorified in the sign, and whether one’s faith remains rooted and grounded in Him, with or without signs. It requires me to study a bit more, to be sure, but your map is sound and it will be helpful. I am thinking of the golden snake and just what that signalled to the Israelites. Because it was God, I know it was not sorcery, but this must have been terribly confusing!
Thank you for pointing to Truth. I enjoy your blog very much and share it far and wide! God bless you and keep you safe in your quest.
Thank you, Carmen! To God be the glory!!
Hi Dawn, have you ever looked up the meaning of a dragonfly?
From the perspective I saw was that it was a representation of her being near water, (where we need to draw close to Holy Spirit) & when the sun (Son) light hit it’s wings you can see the colors of the rainbow ( God’s Throne ). Just an observation.
Hi, Cynthia! Thank you for taking the time to send me this question. I have seen numerous interpretations and meanings for dragonflies, many of them are New Age and related to other religions while tying in Christianity. This brings me reservation to rely on such things when we have the Word of God to point us to Jesus Christ and to sanctify us in the truth. I know that there are people who will say that we need to redeem what has been hijacked by the New Age and reclaim it for God, but we are never instructed to do such things. I will be doing a podcast on this post and going into more detail about this if you are interested. Blessings!
Amen YayGod Glory… 2 Cor 5:17-21 Matt 28:18-20
#noplaceleft
Great article! I’m so thankful to have come out of charismatic teaching and I am with you on this 100%!
Amen agree !
I was never pulled into it but we did attend a church that was led by pastors of the faith teaching , Prosperity teaching as a absolutely from God .
That teaching never set well in my spirit . I was in the word and prayer 3-4 hours a day before we began attending this new Church plant .
God paces Us there to serve the people and intercede . We learned a lot from this I believe it was like Samuel under Eli. That’s the word I was given and the lessons I
Learned early in my walk to not follow signs and wonder , not to make money an idol in my life . I began to be very persecuted there because the people would come to me for prayer and to ask questions . The pastors wife had placed me over her outreach ministry then became angry women people we brought to church were off the streets and poor , but so hungry and humbly seeking to hear the word . I’m grateful for the years of suffering I endured that prepared me to see what we now call Charismatic movement or faith movement. These large mega churches that are drawing crowds with entertainment and no call for repentance our lifestyle and honors Christ but I focus on manifestations and vein repetitions of songs that becomes sensuous and miss leading. The charismatic movement or faith movement. These large mega churches that are drawing crowds with entertainment and no call for repentance or lifestyle that honors Christ but I focus on manifestations and vein repetitions of songs that become Sanchez and miss leadingThis is the book of Jude bring fulfilled . This is the apostate church age ! The great Falling away from the truth Is what Jude taught and Dawn is telling us exactly that .
Thank you for this place to share . I love reading the questions and answers .may God lead us all I pray !
Hi, first of all thanks for the blog. I’ve been seeing repititive numbers for several years. It was new for me, so I tried to understand the meaning where several non Christian occult websites had definition for each number. I started following them and wanted to see them every time. If it’s not from God,I don’t want it. My question is I was not asking for it, then why it happened to me?
Hi, Wilfred. Thank you for sharing as I know that many of us have dealt with this and still do to some extent. I do not fully understand why these things happen to us even when we are not seeking them except to say that we live in a fallen world and we know that just as truth is present, so is error and deception. There are things all around us to tempt us into getting distracted and led astray. This is not to scare us, but as believers in Christ, we are hopeful because we have the sure Word of God to lead us into all truth. I understand as I continue to see numbers every so often and other things that I heard had specific life meaning, but now I realize that I was trusting in those things more than in Christ. Be encouraged by your faith in Christ alone. This Scripture has been a personal encouragement in my own life
And He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Phil 1:6
God begins the work in us, and He is faithful to complete the good work He began in those who are His. Blessings!
Hi I have watched the live you did on Facebook regarding coming out and my question is are you now a Cessationist? Is it that you no longer believe that they are current day Apostles and Prophets as you insinuated in the live? Doesn’t Jesus still do miracles, signs and wonders in this our time? Who had called you a prophet when you operated as one? Did you make up the content of your words such that you straight up lied? I have so many questions?
Hi, Priscilla. Thank you for your questions! I was told that I was a prophet by several people, in particular the “apostle” that I was under for nearly two decades. He had prophesied over me on more than one occasion and said that I was a five fold prophet and also a prophet to the nation. With regards to my writing, I sincerely thought that I was internally hearing God’s voice, and I would write what I thought He was saying to me. I did not test my words, and many times, I used Scripture out of context to validate the words. It was gnostic in nature as well as mystical. I would share words thinking that I was glorifying the Lord when really, I was deceived and leading people astray from the Lord. They were not hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ, and my writing encouraged experiences and a focus on self rather than on Christ. For all of this, I have repented. My intention was never to lie. Again, I was deceived myself in thinking that I was doing something right.
With regards to your other questions, I am still trying to figure out some things based upon Scripture in proper context and sound Biblical teaching. My understanding of cessationism from those who hold to it is that they believe the Apostolic gifts have ceased with the Apostles of Christ, which were the twelve and Paul. When studying the Scriptures, we can see that Jesus Christ did miracles, signs and wonders to fulfill the Law as well as to confirm that He was and is the Messiah. He gave His apostles the same ability to confirm the authenticity of the gospel to which they laid the foundation (Ephesians 2:20). I do believe that God still heals and does miraculous things today for which there is no explanation. I also do believe in spiritual gifts in proper Biblical context. I do not believe that there are modern Apostles today as the main prerequisites for being an Apostle was that the man had to have been called by Christ Himself and he had to have witnessed the resurrection of Christ. This is found in Acts 1:21-22, 3:15, 4:33, 5:30-32 and 10:39-41 to reference some passages. There are also apostles in the Bible who were not foundational Apostles, but rather better defined as messengers. We could potentially call missionaries and church planters today apostles in that sense. As for prophets, the jury is still out on that one, and I will say this. Prophecy is not just foretelling (future), but to prophesy is also inspired preaching, forthtelling. The prophets in the Bible that we see did tell of future events at times, and certainly the Old Testament foretold of Christ hundreds of years before He came into the world as all God and all man. However, they pointed the people back to God and to repentance.
I hope this helps, and if you have any other questions, I am happy to answer them to the best of my understanding and to also say that you may ask something for which I would say, I don’t know. What I do know is that I was part of something that was spiritually abusive and unBiblically sound, and I did not realize how damaging it was until God opened my eyes to see the truth, and for that, I am thankful for His mercy and grace. The only thing I know to do now is to warn others and to point people to Jesus Christ. If I have led you astray in any way with my writing, please forgive me. I was deceived and though I was sincere during those times, I was sincerely wrong. The Word of God must take precedence as a follower of Jesus Christ, and everything is to be tested in accordance with Scripture. Blessings to you, Priscilla.
Thank you so much Dawn for this post. We have chatted a few times via email. I too woke up out of NAR just last year. As I began to see all the deception and trickery and wake up, I nearly wanted to die. I mean often felt that way. How could I be so mislead by these prophetic signs, even healings when I prayed for people. How could it not be from God. But it wasn’t. That’s the truth. I am NOT saying God does not heal- I believe He does- but the enemy does too and often especially if it will keep people following signs and wonders. Following their “destiny” their “calling” There is such a balance to our self worth and Christ centeredness-one which is being totally exploited in the church today and focusing on self. I wanted to mention a great resource I found. A man named Warren B Smith has written some great books on how the New Age is infiltrating the church. How he was deceived and how he got out. He was new age before he became a Christian- and his perspective of how the enemy used supernatural occurrences to keep him believing in his “truths” as a new ager.
https://www.newagetoamazinggrace.com/
Bless you!! Ironically one number I always always saw 18- and many scriptures I was lead to that were 18s –even Duet 18:18 where you cite some text for this post lol a false spirit convinced me I was a prophet. (not someone else prophesying over me) smh So grateful that the Lord truly woke me up–Not this great awakening the world is calling for. Oh no– the bible is clear- there is a falling a way and persecution in the last days. but it was a personal wake up call to deception. and I am grateful and so excited to see that it’s happening throughout these false religions. There is a harvest no doubt– but not an awakening– unbiblical, occult , new age dogma that has creeped in and mislead many.
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