I see the need for clarification on this subject: witchcraft. There is a lot of misinformation out there and fears stoking division and strife. I don’t like being dismissive of other’s views, but the record must be set straight to stop the paranoia and accusations.
First of all, I lived for nine years among a tribe whose main stronghold was witchcraft. I lived in a small village with six practicing witchdoctors and many lay practitioners. I was their primary target. Many wanted to destroy me, get me out of there, and others to coerce or force me to bless them. They constantly attacked my mission and members. Numerous practitioners secretly joined our ranks. Several practitioners repented from witchcraft and became authentic saints. They witched my well, my car, put objects in my house foundation, put stuff in fence posts, in the path of my gate, at my farm, at my door, in my garden, my yard, dogs, and so on. Several of the objects were recovered upon receiving supernatural revelation. They even tried to kill me and my children.
They would eavesdrop on me using my own cats. I could write hundreds of pages of stories about my experiences with witchcraft. Before I knew the depth of the occult around us, I was once almost killed by a powerful witchdoctor from another tribe who deceitfully joined our ranks. He almost succeeded. I was in a terrible accident. When it was a black box, it was intimidating and instilled fear. It was like fairies and pixie dust. I was clueless about what I was up against. But later that changed.
After being equipped by the Lord to deal with it, I was once visited by a neighbor practitioner who placed a bundle of plants by my door, and then entered my veranda and rubbed both forearms on my neck back and forth trying to act like he was hugging me with a fellow African looking on in horror because they knew what he was doing. I simply smiled and gave him the few dollars he came asking for knowing full well his work was powerless against me. You see, witchcraft is not fairies and pixie dust. It is simply soliciting demons to perform a task through rituals. It’s literally an assignment for demons. The bad work is done by demons. Once I knew it was just demons, all my fear was eliminated. You see, we have all authority over demons. Luke Chapter 10:
17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.
I have a question for you. Is there any biblical example of Jesus or the saints being fearful of a demon? Is there any example of Jesus or the saints being fearful of witchcraft? Never! They knew the authority they possessed. (Yes, the seven sons of Sceva were beaten by demons, because they did not have that authority).
One might say God was serious about witchcraft because witches were eliminated under the law. Yup. They were. Along with adulteresses and rebellious children. Did Philip fear dealing with Simon the Sorcerer? Nope. What about Peter chastising him. No problem. What about Paul dealing with Elymas the magician (Bar-Jesus)? Fearless and authoritative encounter.
I emphasize this because people are living in fear about something that they have authority to deal with. And those fears are founded on a wrong understanding. And those fears are propagated to others. And people believe brethren to be enemies, when scripture clearly states our enemies are not flesh and blood.
Demons do not require human impetus (witchcraft) to attack someone. A demon can attack as they see fit. Most target victims of trauma (soul wounds) and those given to sin. If someone does send witchcraft, simply defeat the demons in prayer (deliverance). Send angels to deactivate the object. Cancel the orders. It takes a moment. Deactivated objects no longer solicit demonic action. Only objects of ongoing idolatry can invite another demon. And ritual witchcraft is not the only way to send a demon. Instilling fear can send demons of fear. Spoken curses from people in authority can send demons, such as a father telling a son you will never amount to anything (defeat) and a mom saying your marriage will never work (division). No need for rituals at all.
That said, demons are the enemy. Witchcraft is only one means they target people. You have all authority over demons. We put on the full armor of God, directing our attack on them, not people. The devil prowls like a lion, we resist him. We pray for people. Yes, Paul was aggressive with Elymas. But that was because he was opposing the gospel. The people I see brothers attacking are likewise believers leading people to Christ, not away. Stop the paranoia. Stop the myths. Stop the accusations. Direct your energy and aggression towards the real enemies, the demons.