God Forbids Crystal Healing

By Pastor Ron Jones, © The Titus Institute, 2020

Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


The Bible reveals that the use of crystals to heal is sorcery (magic) and is forbidden by God. To understand this, we must understand how God heals directly using his supernatural power from the spiritual realm and indirectly using plant-based medicines he has created in the physical realm.

The Bible reveals that God created the physical realm.

Genesis 1:1-2 says

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

This tells us that God created the physical realm of time, space, energy, and matter which includes the earth in an unmolded state. In Genesis 1, God molded the earth into a place for living creatures to dwell and then created the living creatures to dwell there. In this process he created food for his creatures to nourish themselves.

In Genesis 1:11-12, Moses writes,

And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind.

"Vegetation" is most likely the general word for all the various kinds of plants on the earth which are then divided into two categories, "plants yielding seeds" includes those plants specifically but also bushes and grasses generally, and "fruit trees" includes those trees specifically, but also includes all other trees generally.

In Genesis 1:29 God gives the primary purpose of the vegetation he created. It says,

And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food."

The primary purpose of these plants was to be food for us that would help our bodies function properly. The nutrients in food enable the cells in our bodies to perform their necessary functions. This, in turn, helps our immune system heal our bodies when we are sick and injured.

We know from the Scriptures a secondary purpose is that plants and their derivatives can be used for healing. Plant-based medicines in the form of oils, teas, creams, and the like have been derived from these God-created plants and have been used for thousands of years. However, the healing is strictly physical and is the result of chemical interactions between the plant derivatives and the human body in the physical realm. The Bible refers to this kind of physical healing with approval by God.

The Bible reveals God created the spiritual realm.

In Colossians 1:15-16, Paul writes about Jesus Christ,

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him.

In this we see Jesus as God created a spiritual realm along with a physical realm. Paul contrasts the "all things" and "the thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities" he created in the two realms, "in heaven and on earth," and "visible and invisible."

So, there are two realms. The physical realm we have already discussed is physical and visible. The spiritual realm is invisible. The word "heaven" here is used more generally for the spiritual realm rather than just the place where God and the good angels dwell. In this spiritual realm are God and his holy angels and Satan and his evil angels. God is in control of everything and allows Satan and his demons a certain amount of evil activity for his purposes.

The physical realm and the spiritual realm are the only two realms.

The physical realm and the spiritual realm are the only realms God created according to the Bible. There is no third metaphysical realm that God created. "Metaphysical" means "beyond the physical." There is no realm that is between the physical and spiritual realm. There is no metaphysical realm where psychic or metaphysical powers reign and can cause things to happen. The idea of the "metaphysical realm" is not Biblical and does not exist.

The Bible reveals that humans cannot affect the spiritual realm but spirits can affect the physical realm.

According to the Bible the physical realm and the spiritual realm are separate realms. God has not made human beings to be able to affect the spirit realm when they are physically alive, except to enter it by physical death or by divine power such as Enoch (Genesis 5:24) Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) and Christians who are alive at the rapture.

The Bible reveals that evil angels can possess the bodies of unbelievers and use them for occultic purposes. In Acts 16:16-18, Luke records,

16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation." And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her."And it came out that very hour. 19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.

A fortune teller was following Paul and Silas and proclaiming that Paul and Silas were from God. This was most likely a ploy to get people to follow her when they left. Paul, by revelation from God, sees that she is demon-possessed and casts the demon out of her. Satan does not possess all fortune tellers or those participating in occultic practices, but he does some to entrap others into these practices. He cannot possess Christians, but he can tempt Christians to get involved in sinful occultic practices through demon possessed unbelievers and unbelievers trapped into believing their lies.

Demons can move objects in the physical realms. In Job 1:14, demons moved lightening and in Job 1:16 they moved the wind. They can certainly move Ouija boards, pendulums, and other physical objects as part of their occultic activities.

The Bible reveals that God heals human beings directly by his divine supernatural power.

Physical healing can come directly by God supernaturally. Throughout the Scriptures, God reveals that he heals supernaturally the human beings he created, especially those who are his people. Throughout the Psalms, we see that God is called on by OT believers to heal them, and that God heals, and God is thanked for healing his people.

In Psalm 6:2, David asks God to heal him. He says,

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.

In Psalm 30:2, David praises the Lord for healing him in response to his cry for help. He proclaims,

"O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.

Later in Psalm 103:2-4 David blesses and thanks the Lord for healing all his diseases acknowledging that the ultimate healer of our bodies whether directly or indirectly is God himself. He declares,

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.

In 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, Paul prays to the Lord for healing. Based on Galatians 4:15, many scholars believe that Paul had some kind of eye condition that plagued him. He wrote,

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

The Lord revealed to Paul that he was not going to heal Paul, but he wanted to display his power in Paul's life through this weakness. Paul accepts this and praises the Lord for working his power in him through this weakness.

The Bible reveals that God heals human beings indirectly through the application of plant-based medicines and medical procedures by physicians.

As we saw in Genesis 1:11-12, God made all plants and trees. The plants and trees God created was primarily for food which would nourish the body and strengthen the immune system to help the body prevent or cope with illness and disease. But it has a secondary purpose which God does not state directly, but clearly refers to as good for human beings. Some of the plants and trees can be used for medicinal purposes to help heal our human bodies.

In the Old Testament and New Testaments, God implies the blessing of ancient Jewish physicians who used plant-based medicines and medical procedures for injuries. They were a blessing because they helped God's people heal. These Israelite physicians were forbidden by God in the Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 18:9-14 as we shall see below) to mix their physical healing which consisted of plant-based medicines and procedures with the spiritual occultic practices of the pagan nations around them. These physicians were important in Israel and referred to by God in the OT and NT with the implication that they were good and helpful to people.

In Jeremiah 8, God refers to physical healing by natural means as well as medicine and physicians. V.22 mentions health that physicians brought through the "balm of Gilead." It says,

Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?

The "balm of Gilead" was an aromatic, medicinal substance derived from a plant in Gilead. It was part of God's creation which God gave to human beings to help heal them.

Jeremiah 30:13 mentions medicines for healing. It says,

There is none to uphold your cause, no medicine for your wound, no healing for you.

Jeremiah 46:11 mentions the balm of Gilead, medicine, and healing. It says,

Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have used many medicines; there is no healing for you.

God refers favorably to a physician and using the balm of Gilead for healing which the physician applies to the patient. He also refers to "medicine" which refers to plant-based medicines. These substances from plants were part of God's creation and acted upon the human body based on physical chemical reactions. All healing from them was part of the physical realm which God provided for natural healing for his people.

God also refers favorably to medical procedures used by physicians.

In Ezekiel 30:21, God speaks of binding up a wound with bandages. It says,

"Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword."

Isaiah 1:6 refers to the process of "binding up wounds." It says,

From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil.

Besides the physician, the midwife also had an important role in Israel.

In Genesis 35:17, Jacob and Rachel had a midwife to help her deliver Benjamin.

In Exodus 1:15-22, God blesses the Jewish midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, who trusted God and resisted the king's command to kill all male babies born to the Jews. God used them to protect Moses when he was born so God could use Moses him to rescue Israel from Egypt and create the nation of Israel.

In Luke 10:34, Jesus speaks of the good Samaritan using natural plant-based healing methods (oil and wine) to help the wounded man recover. It says,

"He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him."

In Matthew 9:12, Jesus refers to physicians who heal the sick. It says,

But when he heard it, he said,"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick."

And of course, Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke, was called by Paul "the beloved physician" in Colossians 4:14. It says,

Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.

In the ancient pagan world, physicians curing diseases and healing wounds were bound up with the supernatural realm of pagan gods and eliminating demonic spirits, but in Israel, the physicians were bound up with the one true God who healed supernaturally or natural means of the remedies he gave in the plants and trees he created. These plant-based medicines heal the body physically through the chemicals in the medicines and their interactions with the chemicals in the human body. This is part of the physical realm God created.

Scientists and doctors recognize this today. In an article entitled, "Mother Nature's Medicine Cabinet" in Scientific American Online Magazine, Kate Wong writes,

"From the plant-choked jungles of Malaysia to the coral reefs of the Caribbean, scientists are combing the planet for cures to our most intractable maladies. Such bioprospecting is tedious work on average only one in thousands of natural compounds tested shows pharmaceutical promise, and only a handful of those ever make it to market. Yet despite the high risk of failure, researchers press on, driven by the realization that with millions of years of experience under her belt, Nature is the ultimate chemist...Indeed, nearly half of all human pharmaceuticals now in use were originally derived from natural sources."(Wong, Kate (2001), Mother Nature's Medicine Cabinet, Scientific American, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mother-natures-medicine-c/)

The Bible reveals that crystals can be enjoyed for their beauty, not for healing.

The Bible clearly shows that God created crystals for their beauty. The beauty of crystals causes them to be considered precious by human beings. God used their beauty and preciousness as symbols in the clothing of the High Priest of Israel which the Scriptures explains clearly. They cannot and should not be used for any other reason.

The most famous passage in the Bible about God's use of crystals is Exodus 28 where the clothes of the High Priest of Israel are described.

Exodus 28:9-14 says,

"9 You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. 11 As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. 12 And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance. 13 You shall make settings of gold filigree, 14 and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings."

Exodus 28:1-2, at the very beginning of discussing the sacred clothes of the high priest which would include the crystals being embedded in the clothing, God gives the purpose for all of it.

Exodus 28:1-2 says,

"Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests-Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty."

The purpose stated by God himself for the high priest's sacred clothing including the crystal gems was "for glory and beauty." It was to display the glory and beauty of the office of high priest.

D.K. Stuart in his commentary on Exodus quotes G. Wenham on the significance of the clothing of the high priest being thus adorned, "Essentially a uniform draws attention to the office or function of a person, as opposed to his individual personality. It emphasizes his job rather than his name...Furthermore, we can see that, in general, the more prestigious the office, the more splendid the uniform...In putting on these clothes [Aaron] took to himself all the honor and glory of the high-priesthood. In a religion the principal doctrine of which was the holiness of God, the high priest, who mediated atonement between God and man, was an extremely important person. His glorious clothing symbolized the significance of his office." (Stuart, D. K. (2006). Exodus (Vol. 2). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

George Rawlinson adds, "The garments ordered to be made for Aaron and his sons (ver. 41), are said to have been for glory and for beauty. 1. 'For glory.' To exalt the priestly office in the eyes of the people-to make them look with greater reverence on the priests themselves and the priestly functions-to place the priests in a class by themselves, in a certain sense, above the rest of the nation. 2. 'For beauty.' As fit and comely in themselves - suitable to the functions which the priests exercised-in harmony with the richness and beauty of the sanctuary wherein they were to minister. God, himself, it would seem, is not indifferent to beauty. He has spread beauty over the earth. He will have beauty in his earthly dwelling-place. He requires men to worship him 'in the beauty of holiness' (Ps. 29:2; 96:9; 1 Chron. 16:29). He ordains for his priests rich and splendid dresses 'for glory and for beauty.'"(Rawlinson, George, Exodus, Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 2, Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.), New York, Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909, 279)

This is the theme of the crystals, to have their beauty and preciousness reflect the honorable position of the High Priest as the mediator for Israel before God. There is no mention of health or healing or anything else.

The first stones mentioned in Exodus 28 are in v. 9-12

Exodus 28:9-12 says,

"9 You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. 11 As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance."

The two stones were onyx stones and were to be a remembrance or memorial. Stuart in his commentary gives their meaning, "The valuable stones were to be carefully engraved, with the names cut deeply and permanently into the onyx...mounted in fancy gold settings to enhance their dignity, fastened permanently to the shoulders of the ephod by braided gold chains, and thus borne by Aaron with him whenever he ministered in the presence of Yahweh...a reminder to all that Aaron represented not merely himself but the whole people and that the whole people were important to God. The stones were not hidden or a minor embellishment on the ephod. They hung by their special gold chains and swung noticeably as Aaron moved, an easily visible reminder of the people's corporate solidarity with Aaron before the Lord of Glory."(Stuart, D. K. (2006). Exodus (Vol. 2, p. 609). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

God gives the purpose of these onyx stones as a memorial. There is no mention of health or healing or anything else.

Then in Exodus 28:15, twelve crystal stones are mentioned which were to become a part of the breastpiece (breastplate) of the High Priest.

Exodus 28:15-21 states,

15 "You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it - of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it. 16 It shall be square and doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth. 17 You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; 18 and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. 21 There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes."

What this breastpiece (breastplate) and its crystal gems looked like can be seen here. LINK https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/2460750/jewish/The-High-Priest.htm

These crystals were in four rows of three and had a name of one of the tribes of Israel of Israel inscribed on each stone.

Row 1 = sardius, topaz, carbuncle

Row 2 = emerald, sapphire, diamond

Row 3 = jacinth, agate, amethyst

Row 4 = beryl, onyx, jasper

These crystals reflected how God felt about the nation of Israel which he had divided into twelve tribes. These crystals were beautiful and fulfilled the purpose of the high priest's clothing stated in Exodus 28:2 "for glory and for beauty." They were also considered precious and valuable jewels which reflected the heart of God toward the nation of Israel. They twelve tribes of Israel were like precious jewels in his sight. This was the symbolism of the crystal stones.

John J. Davis, in his commentary writes, "The presence of such jewels reflected the great interest and love God had for his people. They were his jewels. (Malachi 3:17)" (Davis, John J., Moses and the Gods of Egypt, Baker Book House, Grand rapids, MI, 1971, p.274-275)

In his commentary, Lange further adds, "The twelve precious stones denote the variety, manifoldness, and totality of the natural and gracious gifts bestowed on the people of God, and united in the one spirit of heavenly preciousness." (Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., & Mead, C. M. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Exodus (Vol. 2, p. 119). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software)

In Exodus 28, God clearly reveals his purposes for the use of the crystals and it has nothing to do with health or healing. No credible Bible scholar of the Old Testament anywhere says that these crystals stones were to be used for health or healing. The idea that these crystals were given by God to be used for health or healing is purely from the imagination of fallen human beings.

To use Exodus 28 for the purpose of supporting the use of a crystal pendulum or crystals for anything other than as physical stones that are beautiful to look at is twisting God's Scriptures to support false doctrine.

The Bible reveals that the pagan practices of divination and sorcery (magic) for healing or any other reason are an abomination before the Lord and forbidden by God.

The Bible reveals that God forbids his people to participate in the occultic practices of pagan nations which involved attempts to heal. Moses was very clear about God's commandment to reject all pagan occultic practices when the people came into the land of Canaan to settle it.

In Deuteronomy 18:9-14, Moses says,

9 "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. 10 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 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 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. 13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, 14 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."

These were not just pagans practicing "divination" which was using physical objects to receive supernatural revelation, but also "sorcery" (v.10 above) which was an attempt to use physical objects to wield supernatural power such as curses and to wield supernatural power to heal people. Whether these practices actually moved demonic spirits to interfere in the physical realm or not didn't matter. They were demonic practices that involved demonic spirits and were an abomination before the Lord. Notice in v.10, the practice of "sorcery" or "magic" which was the practice of healing or other displays of power such as curses using physical objects to display the supernatural power of pagan gods or spirits.

In 2 Chronicles 33:1-2, God, through the author, condemns Manasseh for participating in the abominations of the pagan nations. It says,

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.

v. 6 describes some of those practices and includes sorcery (magic). It says,

And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.

In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul condemns sorcery (magic) as a deed of the flesh and warns that anyone who practices such things shows that they are unbelievers and will not inherit the kingdom of God. It says,

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Crystal healing is a form of sorcery (magic) and is forbidden by God.

The use of crystals for healing is sorcery (magic). Sorcery (magic) are not just attempting to use physical objects to display supernatural power of spirits or demons for healing, it is also using physical objects to display any kind of power for healing that is not from God and not given by God in the physical realm for healing.

God heals directly by his own supernatural power or heals through the physical chemical reactions of plant-based medicines upon the human body which he created. Any other kind of attempt at healing using physical objects is sorcery or magic and is thus condemned by God.

If someone believes that stones such as crystals have healing power (which God has not given to them) and then try to heal people with them, that is practicing sorcery or magic and is condemned by God.

There is no scientific evidence for crystal healing.

Article entitled, "Crystal Healing: Stone-Cold Facts About Gemstone Treatments" by Elizabeth Palermo

Crystal Healing: Stone-Cold Facts About Gemstone Treatments

Article entitled "Crystal healing is back and growing in popularity. What does that reveal about our society and alternative medicine?" by Steven Novella

(https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/crystal-healing/

Crystal Healing is Back and Growing in Popularity.


Summary:

The Bible reveals that healing takes place directly through God's supernatural power or indirectly through medicine from plant-based medicines which God has provided for that purpose. Physicians are also beneficial for the healing medical procedures they have developed which align with how God made the human body.

God condemned both divination (the use of physical objects to tell the future or receive revelation of any kind) and sorcery or magic (the use of power or movement from physical objects by outside spiritual sources or even one's own mind to wield power to heal or diagnose health).

Christians are not to be involved in any of these kinds of activities condemned by God.