Yes—people in the missionary stories feared witch doctors because the witch doctors exercised real satanic power.
Les Feldick recalls missionaries coming home from spiritually dark parts of the world and describing the terrifying power of witch doctors. That power was not a gimmick; it was Satan's power. Because these people knew the reality and threat of evil powers around them, but did not know the true God, they lived in fear and superstition.
Acts 17:22-23 — Paul tells the Athenians they are 'too superstitious' and worship an unknown God, showing that their fear and worship came from ignorance of the true God.
Exodus 7:11-12 — Egypt's magicians duplicated Aaron's rod miracle by their enchantments, showing real satanic power at work in the ancient world.
Acts 8:11 — Simon's sorcery bewitched the people of Samaria for a long time, showing how people could be held in fear by satanic power.
Scripture makes clear that people outside the knowledge of the true God can be gripped by real spiritual powers. When Aaron's rod became a serpent before Pharaoh, the magicians of Egypt 'also did in like manner with their enchantments'—they changed rods into serpents, but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. God's power was greater, but the magicians' power was nonetheless real. Likewise, in Samaria, a man named Simon 'used sorcery, and bewitched the people,' so much so that 'to him they had regard, because that of a long time he had bewitched them with sorcery.' People were captivated and deceived by satanic power, not merely by tricks. Paul met the same spiritual atmosphere in Athens. He said, 'Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.' An altar 'to the unknown god' revealed that the Athenians were worshiping in ignorance, mindful of many gods and powers but without knowing the true God.
Les Feldick teaches that the fear of witch doctors in missionary stories was real because the witch doctors' power was real. He remembers missionaries coming home in the 1940s with 8mm films of 'dark, uncivilized tribes' and describes the power of those witch doctors as scary. 'Hey, they had power. It wasn't gimmick. It was satanic.' He warns, 'Don't you ever sell Satan short.' Les places this fear in the context of pagan religion. Pagans were 'steeped in superstition' and were 'scared to death of the power of their gods' and 'the powers of the demons in the air around them.' They knew the reality of evil and the threat it posed, but they did not know the true God. Even the intellectually thriving city of Athens was full of superstition, and Paul found there an altar to an unknown god. Because these people were in spiritual darkness, their religious life was shaped by fear. Everything from sacrifices to the fear of demons entering through meat to the moral codes missionaries observed in those tribes was connected to this ignorance and fear of evil powers.
Les Feldick says the power of witch doctors was real. Missionaries returning from dark parts of the world used to rehearse the power of those witch doctors, and Les says it was not a gimmick—it was satanic. He compares it to the magicians of Egypt, who turned rods into serpents by Satan's power, and warns his listeners not to sell Satan short.
Pagan people were steeped in superstition and were scared to death of the powers that be—their gods and the demons of the air. Les says they knew the power of those demons all too well. He mentions Haiti and voodooism as an example: the people knew voodooism had intrinsic satanic power, so they feared it.
Their fear even affected something as ordinary as eating meat. Les says pagans believed a demon could enter the body by getting on the meat and then being swallowed. To protect themselves, they took their meat to pagan priests, who would put a blessing on it to keep demons off so the meat could be eaten safely.
Paul came to Athens, a city of philosophers and intellectual importance, and found an altar inscribed to the unknown god. Les says the Athenians were superstitious and did not know the true God, so they sacrificed to demons instead of God. Paul's words in Acts 17 make the same point: they were 'too superstitious' and worshiped in ignorance.
Yes. Les remembers missionaries saying that even people living under the influence of the witch doctrine, in deeply dark parts of the world, still had a moral code. He explains this by the conscience God placed in the breast of Adam and Eve and those following—a knowledge of right and wrong that operated even before the Law was given.
The Service of God Explained: What Israel's Worship Meant — Romans 9:4
worshiping, and it's sort of a help to my worship. Well bless her heart, I can understand her feeling up to a point, but on the other hand I have to come back and say, but listen the book doesn't teach that. The book says nothing about practicing a system of worship in this age of grace. Christ nailed all that to His cross, and we are now free.
Demonic Powers in Pagan Religion
Les explains that pagans were steeped in superstition and feared the powers of their gods and the demons in the air; voodooism in Haiti had intrinsic satanic power.
Witch Doctors Had Satanic Power
Les recalls missionaries describing how witch doctors in dark, uncivilized tribes exercised real, terrifying power—not gimmickry but satanic power—which is why people feared them.
Athenian Superstition and Ignorance
Les points to Athens as a thriving center of learning where people still did not know the true God, so they sacrificed to demons rather than to Him.
Fear of Demons in Everyday Life
Les explains that pagan superstition reached into daily life—people feared a demon could enter the body through meat, so priests blessed the meat to protect them.
Satan's Power Behind Witch Doctors
Les compares the magicians of Egypt to witch doctors: both operated by Satan's power, and missionaries' films made that power frighteningly real.
Conscience and Moral Code in Darkness
Les says even pagan people under witch doctrine had a moral code, because God placed conscience in the human breast from Adam and Eve onward.
The Dark Side of Pagan Worship
Les notes that pagan worship was still a form of worship, but on the dark side of the spiritual realm, often including gross immorality in temples.
Acts 17:22: Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
Paul identifies the Athenians as 'too superstitious,' showing that their worship grew from fear and ignorance of the true God.
Acts 17:23: For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
The altar to the unknown god shows they worshiped in ignorance, the opposite of knowing God's power.
Exodus 7:11: Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
Pharaoh's magicians could duplicate Aaron's miracle by their enchantments, showing real satanic power at work.
Exodus 7:12: For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
Aaron's rod swallowing the magicians' rods demonstrates that God's power is greater than Satan's.
Acts 8:11: And to him they had regard, because that of a long time he had bewitched them with sorcery.
Simon's sorcery bewitched the people of Samaria for a long time, similar to the power people feared in witch doctors.
Les Feldick says the power was real. Missionaries coming back from dark parts of the world described the power of witch doctors as terrifying, and Les says it was not a gimmick—it was Satan's power. He warns not to sell Satan short.
They were steeped in superstition and knew the reality of the demons in the air around them. They knew the power of their gods and demons all too well, but they did not know the true God and His power, so their religion grew out of fear.
Paul found an altar in Athens inscribed to the unknown god. Les says this showed the Athenians were ignorant of the true God and were instead superstitious, worshiping what they did not know and sacrificing to demons instead of God.
Yes. Les remembers missionaries saying that even pagan people under the influence of witch doctrine had a moral code. He explains that God placed conscience in the breast of Adam and Eve and their descendants, so they knew right from wrong even before the Law was given.
Watch the Teaching: The Service of God Explained: What Israel's Worship Meant — Romans 9:4