no other Healer

Pharmakeia – The Great Deception of Sorcery

The first six chapters exposed how Satan, Bible translators, and perhaps even Yahweh Himself have allowed critical commands to be obscured – commands that, if properly followed, would lead to “whole” healing and salvation. By mistranslating or ignoring Yahweh’s instructions through Peter and James, many Christians now commit sins of omission without even knowing it.

This chapter goes deeper.

Now we will examine how translators and teachers have obscured not just commandments, but sins that – when practiced – lead not only to physical harm but to eternal death. Their concealment points to the sobering warning in Revelation 18:23:

“For by thy sorceries [pharmakeia] were all nations deceived.” (KJB)

Stop. Unlearn What the World Has Told You

I know what internet preachers say. I’ve read the blog posts, heard the polished sermons, seen the shallow definitions:

• “Pharmakeia just means witchcraft.”
• “It’s only about mind-altering drugs.”
• “It’s the bad stuff—addictions and spells.”

That’s what the deceived among us want you to believe – because it requires no repentance. It protects their personal or corporate systems, and it keeps the Church asleep. But this is not harmless confusion. It is strategic deception, crafted to blind the elect and silence the most urgent prophecy in Scripture.

The lie began in the Garden: “You will not surely die.” It worked then, and it still works now – especially when Satan wraps his lie in religious language and scientific vocabulary. The Garden snake has become a dragon, deceiving the nations through pharmakeia – now masked as healing, wisdom, and progress.

Preachers preach it. Believers receive it. The Church ignores it.

But Revelation 18:23 still warns:

“By your pharmakeia were all nations deceived.”

This was never just about sorcery or witchcraft! It was always about trust. Satan has stolen that trust from the Name of Yeshua and handed it to pills, physicians, and prognosticators. And the whole world – even the Church – has followed.

What Pharmakeia Really Means

Paul warned the Galatians:

“Idolatry, pharmakeia, hatred… of the which I tell you before… that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of Yahweh.” (Gal. 5:20–21)

Most believers think, “That doesn’t apply to me – I’m not practicing witchcraft.” But that’s the lie deeply hidden in false words. Most English Bibles translate pharmakeia as “sorcery” or “witchcraft,” hiding the true danger beneath outdated language.

And so, eyes glaze over. Conviction never comes. The Church remains in danger.

This is not minor doctrinal confusion! Revelation 21:8 is clear:

“…the cowardly, the unbelieving… the sorcerers [pharmakeis]… their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

This is not poetic language. It is Yahweh’s final verdict. The warning is not against ancient witches – it is against modern compromisers. If we teach, bless, or participate in pharmakeia, and do not repent, we risk leading others – and ourselves – into judgment.

This is not accidental. It is demonic deception. Translating pharmakeia as “sorcery” hides at least three damning sins of the flesh sins still committed by millions today:

• Using man-made remedies or medicinal herbs. Pharmakeia
• Trusting in man’s healing instead of Yahweh’s. Idolatry
• Participating in occult systems disguised as science. Divination

Words are not neutral. Scripture says the tongue is full of poison. So are mistranslations. When preachers say, “Pharmakeia has nothing to do with the ‘good’ medicine people need,” they inject spiritual poison into the Church’s bloodstream.

The 21st Century Practice of Pharmakeia

The word pharmakeia as used by John and Paul most closely describes what today is called allopathic medicine:

“A system in which medical doctors and other health care professionals… treat symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation, or surgery.” (National Cancer Institute)

This includes not only the use of drugs, but the several occult methods physicians use to determine which treatment. These occult methods employed along with the prescriptive medicines are the second sin hidden in the word sorcery. Vine’s Expository Dictionary describes pharmakeia this way:

“Primarily signified ‘the use of medicine, drugs, spells’; then, ‘poisoning’; then, ‘sorcery’… In ‘sorcery,’ the use of drugs… was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occult powers … professedly designed to keep the applicant or patient from the attention and power of demons, but actually to impress the applicant with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer.”

Some argue that pharmakeia refers only to mind-altering substances, but this is a shallow interpretation. Even so-called harmless drugs – even those that rely on a placebo effect – effectively manipulate the mind of a patient to place trust in the practitioner or the remedy itself. This false faith supplants required a dependence on Christ with a forbidden confidence in man, which is the very essence of pharmakeia.

This is not exaggeration – it is the literal definition of pharmakon, a potion, a drug, a spell. In ancient times, these were inseparable. The drug altered the body; the spell altered the trust.

The greatest spell is not delirium. It is misplaced trust. And still… the spell is cast. When patients trust medicine more than Messiah, they aren’t even being healed. At least not by Yahweh’s definition of healed. Instead, they’re being enchanted. It is false healing – a spiritual counterfeit. And the ministers who administer it? Paul warned us – Satan’s servants disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:14–15).

Healing, once a sign of repentance and the power of the Name of Yeshua, is now attributed to the pill, the physician, or the science behind it. Family or friends who witness such healing ask, “what was your medicine;” not “who is your God?” So, like Paul learned, it is too late to say, “I prayed in the Name of Jesus.”

Even objections that pharmakeia only involves mind-altering substances miss the mark. I repeat, the greatest spell is not always one of delirium but of misplaced faith. When the sick, suffering, and fearful patients believe in medicine more than in the authority of Christ, they are not healed – they are enchanted by false signs and wonders. Satan, using his ministers of righteousness, has sufficient powers to deceive even the elect.

Let me speak plainly: modern allopathic medicine is not spiritually neutral. It is the modern form of pharmakeia – a healthcare system rooted in manipulation, prognosis, and substance-based hope. It is not just misguided – it is forbidden. Teachers of the Word must recognize that what they once called “science” (knowledge) now stands accused by Scripture as deception. (1 Tim 6:20) The evidence is overwhelming. The warning is eternal. And the time to repent is now.

Pharmakeia in the Septuagint and Law of Moses (Torah)

When translating the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, the Septuagint (LXX) used pharmakeia and its variants to render the Hebrew words kashaph and kesheph – always referring to sorcery and witchcraft. These practices were condemned in the Law of Moses and punishable by death:

“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.” (Ex. 22:18)

In contrast to the possible praise of medicine in Sirach 38, pharmakeia was never neutral – it was rebellion against Yahweh. In Galatians 5, it is listed among the “works of the flesh.” In Revelation 9:21 and 18:23, it is linked to humanity’s refusal to repent and global deception.

Two Deceptions of Pharmakeia

1. Obscuring the Meaning
Translating pharmakeia as “sorcery” conceals its modern expression. The use of sorcery in Rev 18:23 exposes the deception perpetuated by the Church itself. Pastors preach against magic and witches while prescribing the very thing Scripture condemns.  But every pastor has access to the truth – Greek lexicons, a concordance, and Greek dictionaries abound. To preach only half the truth is to participate in a lie.

2. Legitimizing the Lie
Pharmakeia seduces “all the nations” into believing medicine brings healing – without repentance. But Scripture warns it leads to death. The true meaning indicts the entire medical system as a false gospel: salvation through substances; comfort without confession; life through man’s inventions. It is not merely pharmacology – it is false worship.

The diseased are convinced they are healed – even if only by placebo effect – leaving no perceived need for confession or repentance. The deception is both physical and spiritual. All other remedies return Christian souls into bondage to sin and eventual death.

Thus, the deception of Revelation 18:23 is not merely external – it is internal. It is not only the world that has been seduced by the serpent of old, but also the church that has been complicit. The “whole” healing that belongs to Yeshua has been outsourced to the altars of pharmacology, while the shepherds have been silent. But the text still stands: “by thy pharmakeia were all nations deceived.” Or, if we trust the KJB translation of pharmakeia in Sirach 38:4, by thy “medicinal herbs’ all the nations were deceived.

My Confession

I speak from experience. Over the course of my medical career, I signed more than 100,000 prescriptions. I truly believed I was helping people. But now I see it for what it was: I was an unwitting agent of darkness. I was helping people trust in pharmakeia – not in the Name of Yeshua.

I wore the caduceus symbol on my badges – military, clinic, and hospital. I led others to believe in medicine. I carried two ID cards authorizing me to prescribe FDA’s most dangerous drugs; and a Nevada Board of Pharmacy card that licensed me to “prescribe poisons.” Yes, at the time, it was written on the back of the card as a reminder. As a sorcerer’s apprentice, I poisoned many people daily- some got sicker – and some died. I rarely looked at my ID.

Now, I repent. And I, in all humility, warn you. Do not be one of those people in Rev 9:21.

King James and the Legalization of Pharmakeia

The English word “pharmacy” comes directly from the Greek pharmakeia. Originally, it included the potions of healing and poisoning – primarily by sorcerers or magicians. Over time, it was sanitized and institutionalized:

King James feared poison – and rightly so. Witches and sorcerers targeted kings. His response was to publish Daemonologie (1597) to denounce them. But ironically, the very man who feared pharmakeia also legitimized it.

In 1617, James chartered the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries – authorizing the professional use of drugs. At the same time, under his rule, the word pharmakeia was translated not as “medicine,” but “sorcery.” He was himself reliant on pharmakeia for a chronic sickness – how could his hired translators say it was sin? There was a component of intentional deception on their part – Vulgata Clementina called it poison, and four English Bible before translated Rev 18:23 with “enchantments.”

This softening (or deliberate diversion) hid a warning in plain sight. Healing was politicized. Pharmakeia was legalized. A deception was institutionalized – and it remains so today.

The Serpent’s Presence in Modern Medicine

The serpent, Satan’s symbol since Eden, is found on emblems and logos across the medical world – the Bowl of Hygieia, the Rod of Asclepius, and Caduceus. (See Chart in Chap 8) Wherever healing is sought, the cunning serpent still whispers, “You will not surely die.”

Some object to the association between serpents and false healing by pointing to Moses lifting the bronze serpent in the wilderness (Numbers 21:8-9), claiming it as a legitimate symbol of healing. And indeed, Yeshua affirmed it as a prophetic type of Himself (John 3:14-15). But that does not sanctify the image itself. In fact, the serpent Moses raised was later turned into an idol. Nearly 500 years after the wilderness, Israel was still burning incense (symbolic praying) to it – until King Hezekiah destroyed it, calling it “Nehushtan,” meaning a mere piece of bronze (2 Kings 18:4).

He eliminated the high places, smashed the sacred pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah pole. He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been offering incense to it; it was called Nehushtan. 2 Ki 18:4 NET Bible

The serpent was their idol then and he is the symbol of idolatry today. The use of the serpent now stands for false healing – promising a full lifespan without repentance – without need to utter the Name of Yeshua.

Satan’s unwitting workers in his Babylonian healthcare system offer medicines². But medications do not lead to righteousness. They do not restore covenant relationship. They may indeed soothe the symptoms or reduce the signs – but they never will address the cause. And sadly, even if a person stops taking drugs, mere rejection of pharmakeia is not assurance of salvation. That would be putting a spiritual bandage on rebellion, hoping that invoking the Name of Yeshua will suffice without full repentance.

No. True healing requires turning completely – fleeing Babylon’s system of false hope, and returning to the Word of Yahweh. Healing in His Name is not a ritual. It is a covenant promise to the obedient children of Yahweh and followers of Yeshua. Those who seek healing without repentance usually find temporary relief – but they remain outside the Kingdom. To die in disobedience is to die without hope.

Wormwood – A Biblical Symbol of Medicinal Judgment

Herbs are also forbidden. Medicinal herbs – praised in Sirach 38 English translations – are also condemned in Scripture. Wormwood (absinthos) was a common remedy in Egypt, and China before that. But in Deuteronomy 29, Yahweh calls it a “root of bitterness” and warns against even having it in their possession:

“Let there not be among you… a root bearing such bitter poison and wormwood … Those who bless themselves while secretly disobeying will face Yahweh’s wrath … But YHVH will not forgive him. Rather, the anger and jealousy of YHVH will blaze up against that person. Every curse written in this book will be upon him. (Deut. 29:18, 20–21).”

Yes, a literal “root.” Wormwood was used (still is some cultures) medicinally by nations surrounding Israel and the Sinai Peninsula, but Yahweh forbade it – not because it was ineffective, but because it worked without Him. It interfered. Its power to bring relief from the physical symptoms of chastisement, punishment, or testing – apart from divine dependence – made it a detestable thing.

Deuteronomy 29:18 also warns symbolically of a “root of hemlock and wormwood” growing in the heart of those who turn away from the Lord to serve other gods. This is not merely physical idolatry, but spiritual rebellion: trusting in a created remedy instead of the Creator. Hemlock was used as an anesthetic in ancient times.

This exposes the heart of pharmakeia – a craving for relief from suffering that bypasses repentance, and a faith in solutions that work without Yahweh. Wormwood, therefore, becomes the very substance of the LORD’s judgment in Revelation 8:11,

The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter. (ESV)

Also, in Jeremiah 9:15 and 23:15, the LORD declares that He will give them wormwood to drink because of the prophets and shepherds who have spread defilement, leading the people astray. Wormwood, once an herbal medicine for pagans alone, becomes the curse – poisoning both the waters and the doctrine.

Many wise commentators insist wormwood is only a metaphor for spiritual bitterness. They are not incorrect about some verses where it is used. However, there are other Hebrew and Greek words that are also used to reflect bitter as an emotion against people and Yahweh. Proverbs 5:4 uses both Hebrew words.

“But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.”

The Church Must Repent

Pharmakeia is not science. Its alchemy. If protoscience, it must use human subjects as lab rats – trial and error – to see if their hypothesis works. It seeks the elixir of life apart from Yeshua. And, it is spiritual seduction. It was institutionalized by kings, justified by translators, and blessed by unfaithful churches afraid of man, human suffering, and early death.

But Scripture does not change!

“By your pharmakeia were all nations deceived.” (Rev. 18:23)

The faithful must repent. Reject man’s system. Return to the Name of Yeshua. Trust in Him – not the pharmacist, not the prognosis, not the pill. There is no other way but faith.

“Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

Footnotes

1. The placebo effect, often praised by the medical community, is perhaps the clearest modern example of pharmakeia’s deceptive power. Placebos – sugar pills or inert treatments – can produce measurable effects in patients simply because they believe the treatment will work. Studies suggest placebo response rates can range from 30% to over 60%, depending on the condition and the method of administration. But these effects are not neutral; they reinforce trust in the medical system and in the practitioner as healer. The patient is not placing faith in Christ, but in the ritual of diagnosis and prescription. This psychological manipulation produces a spiritual effect: false assurance. The healing appears real – but the glory goes to man, not to Yahweh.
2. Some may object: “But medications help people! Cholesterol pills, blood pressure drugs – they extend lives!” Yes, they may appear to prolong physical life. That is the deception the gospel of pharmakeia! But that is not THE Gospel. These agents of pharmakeia offer temporary relief of fear or other symptoms while leaving the soul in rebellion. Whose dietary guidelines led to the diagnosis of high cholesterol? Certainly not Yahweh’s! What worry, anger, or sloth contributed to the diagnosis of Hypertension? What level of gluttony possibly contributed to the diagnosis of Obesity, Diabetes, or heart disease? What ingested smoke or chemical abuse led to lung disease and bladder cancer? What sexual sin led to HIV or syphilis? Therefore, what good is a longer life if it is lived in disobedience to Yahweh? What comfort is there in surviving a heart attack if one remains dead in sin?
3. A thorough exegesis of Deuteronomy 29 reveals a context that can point to nothing less than idolatry and use (or even possession) of herbal medicines being used then. Verse 18 in particular is in two parts – revealing the known connection between idolatry and pharmakeia in several other places. Possessing it or using it is a dangerous influence on others in the community. There is probably no greater punishment for Israel and us than what Yahweh threatened those sinners with that day. Choose to believe Wormwood isn’t forbidden herbal medicine with caution. Please, take time to study the whole of Deuteronomy Chapters 28-29. And. use Father when you pray for guidance – in the Name of Yeshua.
4. David H. Stern, in his The Complete Jewish Study Bible, interprets shoresh poreh rosh (a root bearing gall) in Deuteronomy 29:18 as a botanical image – possibly referring to the hemlock plant, which has a thick, bitter root and a prominent flowering “head.” Though this reading is rare in modern commentaries, it has textual and lexical support. Both Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB) and the Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (HALOT) list rosh (רֹאשׁ) as a poisonous plant, possibly “hemlock” or “poppy.” Scholars such as S.R. Driver and Keil & Delitzsch also affirm that rosh refers to a concrete, bitter herb associated with death and divine judgment (cf. Deut. 32:32–33; Jer. 8:14; Jer. 9:15). Stern’s visual insight strengthens the warning: hidden rebellion is like a toxic root that produces a visible and deadly fruit – corrupting not only the individual but defiling the entire community. Think about it. Hemlock is known to be bitter to the taste because it was used as an anesthetic in ancient times.