Halloween, Trick or Deception

[Shammu]

Halloween, Trick or Deception

We can stay away from the pagan festival of Halloween if we understanding of the spiritual danger and history of this anti-Christian feast.

Our Pilgrim forefathers knew well of Halloween's occult roots. In fact they banned celebrating Halloween in America. Halloween was not celebrated in this country until 1845. At that time multiplied thousands of Irish emigrants flooded into New York because of the Irish Potato Famine of 1845-46. They brought with them an old Druid Holiday they called Halloween. Gradually celebrating this day spread throughout the rest of the country.

We must stay away from other practices associated with Halloween, the eve of the Celtic New Year festival. The Druid priests used to instruct their faithful to extinguish their hearth fires and lights and to gather around the fire of sacrifice to make their offerings and to pay homage to the Lord of Death. This sacred fire was the fire of the new year, to be taken home to rekindle lights and hearth fires. The sacred New Year=s fire developed into the practice of the Jack O= Lantern (in the U.S.A.; a pumpkin, in older days other vegetables were used), which was carved in imitation of the dead and used to convey the new light and fire to the home, where the lantern was left burning throughout the night. Even the use and display of the Jack O= Lantern honors the Samhain, the Celtic god of death. Orthodox Christians cannot share in this Celtic activity, but must counter the secular customs by instead burning candles to the Savior, the Most Holy Mother of God, and to all the Holy Saints. They were idolaters, occult practitioners and witches of sorts. Let’s begin with the information found in the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

    Halloween and its former attendant ceremonies long antedate Christianity. The two chief characteristics of ancient Halloween were the lighting of bonfires and the belief that of all nights in the year this is the one during which ghosts and witches are most likely to wander abroad. Now on or about the 1st of November the Druids held their great autumn festival and lighted fires in honor of the Sun-god in thanksgiving of the harvest. Further, it was a Druidic belief that on the eve of this festival Saman, lord of death, called together the wicked souls that within the past twelve months had been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals. Thus it is clear that the main celebration of Halloween was purely Druidical, and this is further proved by the fact that in parts of Ireland the 31st of October was, and even still is, known as Oidhche Shamhna, "Vigil of Saman." On the Druidic ceremonies were grafted some of the characteristics ! of the Roman festival in honor of Pamona held about the 1st of November. The Roman Catholics call this day, All Saints Day.

Depending on your source material, the Druid Lord of Death and evil spirits was called Saman, Shamhan, Samana, Shamhain or Samhain. I have received numerous letters and e-mail from witches telling me there was no such Druid god. Yet, in the source material that I have used, (see the above quote), such as the historic 11th edition of Encyclopedia Britannica, it identifies the Druid Lord of Death as Saman and his holiday named after him as Oidhche Shamhna, translated "Vigil of Saman." Other reliable sources call his "holiday" "The Vigil Samhain" (Shamhain is pronounced so-wein). I ask you, are the protests of the occult community an effort to "white wash" the truth about Saman and how they worshipped him in fiendish, bloody worship rituals? I believe that is probable.

Suffice it to say, at this point that the pagan worship day Samhain evolved into Halloween. But what of their Lord of Death? You probably have seen a modern day version of SAMAN without even knowing it. This pagan god was shown as a ghostly, skeleton holding a sickle in his hand. He later came to be known as THE GRIM REAPER.

Paganism, idolatry and Satan worship--How then did things so contradictory to the Faith gain acceptance among Christian people? The answers are spiritual apathy and listlessness, which are the spiritual roots of atheism and turning away from God. In society today, one is urged to disregard the spiritual roots and origins of secular practices when the outward practices or forms seem ordinary, entertaining, and harmless. The dogma of atheism underlies many of these practices and forms, denying the existence of both God and Satan. Practices and forms of obvious pagan and idolatrous origin are neither harmless nor of little consequence. The Holy Church stand against them because we are taught by Christ that God stands in judgment over everything we do and believe, and that our actions are either for God or against God. Therefore, the customs of Halloween are not innocent, but are demonic, precisely as their origins prove.

There are evil spirits. Devils do exist. Christ came into the world so that, through death, He might destroy him that had the dominion of death, that is, the Devil (Hebrews 2:12). Christians must see that our greatest foe is the Evil One who inspires nations and individuals to sin, and who keeps them from coming to the truth. Until we know that Satan is our real enemy, we can make little spiritual progress.

Ephesians 6:12  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Deuteronomy 12:31 Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.

Leviticus 18:21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

Have you ever wondered where the heinous pagan worship rituals of the Druids originated? I have. As it turns out it goes all the way back to Nimrod, who built Babel or Babylon. He conceived a one world government model in rebellion against Jehovah-God and went about to establish a one world government in the land of Shinar (which is today known as Iraq) and institute a pagan worship system that rejected the Lord God Jehovah. The primary false god worshipped was called Baal (Syrian & Phoenician), Bel (Assyrian), Moloch or Molech (Ammonites), Ra or Re (Egyptian) to name just a few. Here is why that is important. The American Book of Days says, "Many of Halloween's customs are derived from the ancient Baal Festivals. Other customs originate from the taking of omens from the struggles of victims in the fires of druidic sacrifices." Alexander Hislop wrote, "The worship of Bel (Moloch) and Astarte was very early introduced into Britain along with the Druids, the priests of the groves. From Bel, the 1st of May is still called Beltane in the Almanac; and we have customs still lingering at this day among us, which prove how exactly the worship of Bel or Moloch had been observed…" The reference to "lingering customs" refers to Halloween.

Now, allow me to turn your attention back to Nimrod for a moment. It is important that you know that Nimrod incorporated into his worship system the grisly practice of human sacrifice and cannibalism. Hislop says, "the priests of Nimrod or Baal were necessarily required to eat of the human sacrifices; and thus it has come to pass that ‘Cahna-Bal’ (cahna meaning priest & Bal referring to Baal), the ‘Priest of Baal’ is the established word (cannibal) in our own tongue for a devourer of human flesh." Here’s why that is important. "The god whom the Druids worshipped was Baal, as the blazing Baal-fires show and…children were offered in sacrifice to Baal." That’s what Baal (Moloch) worshippers did. We know that because of what we read in the Bible

Jeremiah 19:5 They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind.

There is absolutely no doubt that Samhain - Halloween, was a wicked pagan worship day. It is little wonder that even today Halloween’s focus is still on horror, mutilation, death, evil and the occult seeing that it is rooted in Baal worship! But, I come in contact with people regularly who protest, "That may have been true in the past, but that is not true today."

Witches have never given up Halloween! Occultists of all stripes still lay claim to the day and worship their pagan gods and goddesses on that day with demonic rituals.

I will state boldly that Halloween is harmful! Here are the reasons why. Many are exposed to Witchcraft and occult practices at Halloween activities

Like many others, I got my first exposure to occult practices at Halloween parties. My first experience came at a church Halloween party at our sponsor's house. A group of kids went to the basement began talking about contacting the spirits and asking them to show themselves by table levitation. I had not been exposed to anything like that before. Some of them claimed that it really worked. I became uneasy and I left the party. My second experience came when I attended the Halloween party of a classmate. When it came to "game" time, we went to the basement. Elizabeth asked us all to be seated in a circle and then placed a candle in the middle. She told us to hold hands and then turned off the lights. I asked why we were doing that and she said we were going to have a seance and to call up the devil. Not me! The last person I wanted to communicate with was the Devil. I got out of there.

Cont.  next post

[Shammu]

I can tell you that many children get their first exposure to occult activities at Halloween. In one school district a "real" Witch was brought in and told the children of the wonderful world of witchcraft including teaching them how to cast a spell, (no not where I live now.)  Another group of teens went on a school sponsored Halloween field trip and visited a channeler, which is nothing but a spirit medium who practices necromancy. They had a seance with the intent of contacting (channeling) the spirit of a dead rock star.

From about October 1st until October 31st, witches, vampires, Satanists and other occult minions can be seen and heard on TV and radio talk shows. There will be special features on witchcraft. Newspapers and magazines with be packed with occult related articles. Americans have been receptive to this over the years. But, what happens? That brings me to my next point. Children and even adults are conditioned to be receptive to occult doctrines and practices and are desensitized by the violence and death associated with it’s celebration

Psalms 101:3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

There is no better illustration of this fact than Ann Landers’ column that I came across while reading a newspaper in a restaurant one afternoon. The title of her column was Parents Must Tackle Violence. The parent wrote:

I heard something today that made my hair stand on end. I hope you will deal with it in your column because it is a symptom of a problem that warrants deep concern. Last October, the teacher of a fourth grade class asked her students to write a short essay on what they would like to do most to celebrate Halloween. Eighty percent of her 9 year-olds expressed the wish to "kill somebody". Where do children get such ideas? I believe it is fair to say that they get them from movies on TV. What are we going to do about this love of violence among the young? Frankly, it scares me to death. I am - Concerned in California.

I can almost hear some of you protesting, the kids were just kidding. You don’t actually believe that anyone would follow through on things like that do you? In fact there are some who do! Evangelist Dave Benoit tells of a mother finding a strange diary, called "The Book Of Shadows" in her son's room. She, with fear and trembling, leafed through pages filled with satanic drawings. Then her eyes fell on these horrifying words, "Last year I stole a car at Halloween and ran over a kid and killed him. This year, at Halloween, I plan to do the same thing!" The words in his satanic diary proved to be true. He murdered a person the previous Halloween as a sacrifice to Satan.

All parents ought to be concerned. Halloween does desensitize our children by exposing them to violence, death, mutilation and gore. Not only do they expose them to it, they glorify it! I well remember the only haunted house, (in 1980) that I have ever been in. I took a camera with me loaded with high speed film. I was shocked by what I saw. In one of the first rooms, there was a partially dismembered woman on an operating table. As I made my way along the darkened hallway a frightening mutilated man jumped out racing a electric saw and threatening to dismember me. And then, perhaps the most gruesome of all was a large lighted butcher’s meat case loaded with very real looking bloody body parts. Listen readers, I do not think that is funny at all. I spent several years on a fire department rescue squad and dismembered and mutilated people have never amused me. And why should it be acceptable at Halloween? Did you laugh and joke on July 22, 1991 when you heard the news t! hat police discovered 17 mutilated and dismembered bodies in apartment #213 which was occupied by Jeffery Dahmer? What are we telling our children if we accept that kind of scene on Halloween and yet gasp with true horror when murder-mutilations come to light on the news?

Halloween is desensitizing our children by its glorification of violence, death, mutilation and gore. Standard television and video viewing fare this Halloween will be slasher/horror movies like Dracula, Scream, "Nightmare on Elm Street", "Halloween", and "Friday the 13th" film series and others. Jeffery Dahmer’s favorite was the Exorsist II.

He "watched this movie on almost a weekly basis, for approximately six months, and sometimes 2 and 3 times a week. He identified with the main character in the movie because he appeared to be driven by evil. Tracy Edwards (one who escaped from Dahmer) testified that Dahmer forced him to watch this video. He said that Dahmer identified with the possessed former preacher and he wanted to be demonized. Edwards went on to say that Dahmer began to chant, rocking back and forth. While he did this, it seemed like he was not even there."

Are you wondering why I am bringing Dahmer into this picture? I’ll tell you why. Many of the horror/slasher pictures are inspired by incidents like the Dahmer case and Dahmer was inspired by a demonic horror picture. I should say, that this is not just my "wild speculation." Consider actor (and I use the term loosely) Robert Englund. He portrayed razor fingered, mass murderer Freddy Krueger in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series. Where do you suppose he got his inspiration to play his part? He drew his inspiration from the late Ted Bundy, who raped, brutalized, mutilated and murdered more than 28 women. Englund told Slaughterhouse magazine, "I just read an article on Ted Bundy, so a lot of my imagery is based on him."

I don't believe children should be exposed to such manufactured traumas. Why? Because exposing a vulnerable child can have harmful consequences that run the spectrum from nightmares to emotional damage. In fact, Dr. Grace Ketterman, M.D. says in her book, You and Your Child's Problems:

A tragic by-product of fear in the lives of children as early as preadolescence is the interest and involvement in supernatural occult phenomena.


1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."

My final reason that Halloween is harmful is because…

It provides the opportunity to experiment with the occult to see if it works and an excuse to do evil

Many who are curious about the occult experiment with occult rituals and practices at Halloween. Some of those who were "just playing around" get hooked. Ouija boards, seances, casting spells and small animal sacrifices are among the most common avenues of experimentation.

Others cannot wait for Halloween. They believe it is the most powerful occult day of the year. Jack Roper, occult researcher with C.A.R.I.S. (Christian Apologetics: Research & Information Service) says "...the time of the year where you have the highest rate of satanic ritual crimes is Halloween." He went on to say, "Around Halloween, one of the things you see is graveyard desecration." Self-styled Satanists use human bones in their rituals. Graveyard vandalism is a common occurrence at Halloween.

I well remember the shock and trauma caused when a Christian care facility discovered that several of the residents had been ritually abused in occult rites two years in a row at Halloween. I counseled with one of those who had been sexually abused. How could such a hideous thing ever happen at a Christian facility you may ask? The occult group was able to infiltrate the organization when one or more of their members were hired as house parents. Through carefully planned deception, occult members slipped in and forced some residents to participate in their perverted Halloween demon worship rituals. Residents were threatened with horrible reprisals if they breathed a word of what happened to anyone. Thankfully, after a second year of Halloween ritual abuse someone talked. The Christian organization moved quickly and brought in the police. After a careful investigation only one was prosecuted, though several were fired. But there were no convictions. The occultists got off scot-free. Those that were abused were left to deal with their physical and mental scars.

In my efforts to expose the dangers of Halloween and the other occult holidays I have been asked to evaluate many ritual sites and evaluate photos to give my opinion as to whether they are occult related. I have envelopes full of pictures of animals that have been sacrificed, graves that have been desecrated, living persons whose bodies have been mutilated in occult rituals by tattooing, cutting, piercing, whipping and branding. And then there is the envelope marked pictures of human sacrifice. There is not the least little doubt in my mind that Halloween is the Devil's celebration, packed with evil!

You may be wondering why I know about Halloween. I am of Scotch-Irish desent.

Resting in the hands, of Jesus.
Bob

Lamentations 3:49 Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission.

[LittlePilgrim]

Wow... I had known that Halloween was bad, and also that the church at one time had tried to turn it around as a day for honoring all saints. They called it 'All Hallow's Eve" which is where our modern name comes from. Sadly though, the sinful world is dominant and the church did little good.

Although I agree we should not celebrate halloween, I do believe that we as Christians should turn this awful practice around, and use it to honor God, to express our thankfullness to Him for his protection from these horrors. Dressing up, getting candy... These can be wonderful things. What matters is where our focus is.

For example, on the wednesday before Halloween, our church holds a harvest party where the kids can come, dress up like animals (or anything you'd find on a farm really. ), play games, get candy and little toys... And it is all wrapped up in a message of thankfulness to God for His providence.

We as Christians should not fear Halloween, but should not celebrate it either. I truly believe that there is no reason for fear when God is on our side. Even the Bible says,

"Greater is He that is within you than he that is within the world."

"In the world, ye shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world."

So yes, I totally agree with all you say about halloween. But I also think that we need to turn this awful day around, and use it just like any other day to glorify God. Do away with the occult practices, the satanism and its symbols. But celebrate the providence and goodness of the Creator.

[Reba]

Wow... I had known that Halloween was bad, and also that the church at one time had tried to turn it around as a day for honoring all saints. They called it 'All Hallow's Eve" which is where our modern name comes from. Sadly though, the sinful world is dominant and the church did little good.

Although I agree we should not celebrate halloween, I do believe that we as Christians should turn this awful practice around, and use it to honor God, to express our thankfullness to Him for his protection from these horrors. Dressing up, getting candy... These can be wonderful things. What matters is where our focus is.

For example, on the wednesday before Halloween, our church holds a harvest party where the kids can come, dress up like animals (or anything you'd find on a farm really. ), play games, get candy and little toys... And it is all wrapped up in a message of thankfulness to God for His providence.

We as Christians should not fear Halloween, but should not celebrate it either. I truly believe that there is no reason for fear when God is on our side. Even the Bible says,

"Greater is He that is within you than he that is within the world."

"In the world, ye shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world."

So yes, I totally agree with all you say about halloween. But I also think that we need to turn this awful day around, and use it just like any other day to glorify God. Do away with the occult practices, the satanism and its symbols. But celebrate the providence and goodness of the Creator.

If you believe this...

"Greater is He that is within you than he that is within the world."

Then is this true?    .....Sadly though, the sinful world is dominant and the church did little good.

[nChrist]

Dreamweaver,

Brother, I'll agree and disagree at the same time for the same reasons I would agree and disagree at the same time for Christmas, Easter, and the majority of all other holidays. Many have connections to pagans or something bad, but that doesn't mean they are used in that manner by individual Christians, their families, and their churches. In fact, all of our current days of the week are named after pagan gods, but that does not mean that Christians worship 7 different pagan gods each week.

My church and family subscribes to the principle that every day belongs to GOD. The devil doesn't own any day or any hour. My dad was a pastor for over 60 years, and my parents were very strict. We did have Halloween, Christmas, Easter, New Years, and other holidays when I was growing up, and they were all claimed for God. The same was true for my children, and the same is true for my grandchildren. My church has events on these holidays and worship services to go along with them.

The devil is loose 24/7, but my GOD is much more powerful than the devil. I agree that Christians parents should be informed about the devil, and they should certainly teach their children about the good, the bad, and the ugly. There is an incredible list of every day, ordinary things with connections to pagans or something bad. The examples are too numerous to mention, but I will mention wedding rings. My wife and I didn't use our wedding rings in a bad manner, so I'm not worried or concerned about it.

I have no problem with Christians who avoid several or all holidays. If they feel led by God to do that, that leading should be obeyed. On the other side of the coin is Christians who have claimed all days and hours for God and do not feel led to avoid holidays. This would not mean they are doing something evil unless they actually are doing something evil. My family has not done evil things on these days, rather the opposite, so we will continue.

Brother Bob, nothing personal is meant by this. We simply agree and disagree.

Love in Christ,
Tom

2 Corinthians 1:20-22 NASB  For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

[Shammu]

Brother Bob, nothing personal is meant by this. We simply agree and disagree.

Love in Christ,
Tom

2 Corinthians 1:20-22 NASB  For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

No, brother, your agree and disagree doesn't bother me. I still love you brother, how can I do anything else.  Think how boring the world would be, if each of us would agree, on every point.  Though our main point we both agree, Jesus is God. And God, just can't be beat! AMEN!

Resting in the hands, of the Lord.
Bob

Deuteronomy 30:16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

[Allinall]

I've always looked at it Tom's way.  It's not the same today as it was then.  We're not worshipping the Devil, we're getting candy!  But, with as bad as things are getting, I'm getting more and more uncomfortable letting my kids go around and get candy.  We check it, and only take them in my father-in-laws little country neighborhood where he knows everyone.  I still get worried.

All that said, I'll agree to disagree, and will respect Bob's beliefs.  One thing I've found in life is that one man's sin isn't always another man's, and if one man knows to do right in his heart but doesn't, then to him it is sin.  So I salute you Mr. DW!  

[Soldier4Christ]

Although I have never been big on the "traditional" halloween I have found ways to make use of it to the benefit of the Lord. As a teenager it was hayrack rides, horse riding, weiner roasts or a big pot of chili cooked over an outdoor campfire. We would have a sermon, prayers, good clean story telling and fellowship, inviting all the teens in town. The women of the church would have a party at the church for the younger kids doing much the same thing.

For those "stay-at-homers" try handing out tracts for kids along with the treats. Not just regular tracts because most kids can't or won't read them. There are a number of tracts available that are made in comic book fashion that are of more interest to children.

Any day, evil or not, can be used to benefit the Lords work. After all, as Brother Tom said, all days belong to God. Even for those that are against halloween this is an excellant way to entertain your children, learn more about God, testify to the unsaved and at the same time to keep them separate from that which you consider to be evil.

Col 3:17  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

[airIam2worship]

I always knew halloween was a satanic holiday, ever since i was in my early 20's, i just knew it wasn't right. I never let my kids go out to trick or treatm nor do I answer the door for trick or treaters. It really bothers me, that people think it is so innocent, if only they knew what harm they are causing their children. I hate deception, I think that all that stuff about the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy, and Santa Clause is just a lot of propaganda along with holloween.
See, the manger was taken away from public sites, because it represents Jesus, The Truth. Even though we know Jesus is not a newborn babe HE is our great and mighty God, King of Kings, Lord of Lords; yet people still feed lies to their children and expect their children to be honest with them. Sooner or later these children get older and they realize their own parents lied to them and they think its ok to lie. The world has a clever way of trying to make it ok by calling them "little white lies" There is no such thing, a lie is a lie big or small and it is a sin. When I try to tell people what holloween really is all about some people think I'm just a party pooper. I feel sorry for them because they are so blinded.
What parent in his or her right mind wants to expose their child to such crazy things? Let alone letting them get stuffed with sugar (hyperactivity, diabetes, tooth decay)
I am praying that more and more people's eyes will be opened and that the children who are innocent don't end up being exposed to the occult, or to all the lies the world has adopted to try to make their miserable life a little happier, or so they think. I pray for these little children, they are precious in the eyes of God and we should all be praying for them.

[ForHisGlory]

Hallelujah,
We do not have Halloween festivals here. Maybe in secret between people from the occult, and last year I noticed some night clubs sporting the theme.

Our children do not dress in customs and do not go from house to house.

I am glad of that.
Amen.

[airIam2worship]

ForHisglory, I have been raising my step-daughters for 7 years when I first got them they were 7 & 8, the first year they got here just about  6 weeks before holloween, they wanted to go trick or treating cause that is how they had been raised by their real mom. I sat them down and explained to them the history of holloween, I got them candy, and I took them to my church where we were having a hayride. They told me they had never had so much fun, they didn't miss trick or treating or any of that. My husband on the other hand, was out of fellowship back then and he gave me a very hard time about it. He accused me of robbing the kids of their right to enjoy themselves and be like other kids. Then it hit me that is what a lot of parents think, they think that their children have to go trick or treating because other children are doing it and they don't want their own children to miss out. How I pray that they would see the light and feel the same way about Jesus and eternal salvation. Now praise God, he sees the dangers, he has rededicated his life and now he too tells people with children the truth about holloween.  God is so, so good, I will praise Him eternally for all the good He has done for me.

[aribeth]

the only thing that made me celebrate holloween is free candy . what i do not think is good is costumes that represent the devil or any evil things. i feel terrible because when i was a little girl i always wnated to be a witch. now come to find out how aweful i feel for representing evil. i don't celebrate holloween now. sometimes if i have the money i get costumes but nothing evil. i like costuems that have pretty dresses they should get rid of the evil costumes especially the devil ones. if i ever have children i will not aloow them to dress in anything that represents evil. when i was young  i also liked dressing up as barbie.

[Pilgrim]

In the Image of Christ
Colossians 3:8-11

"The Christian and Halloween: Trick, or Treat?"

  “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.”  1 Cor. 10:21 (KJV)


        Who doesn’t remember their childhood Halloween experiences? I sure do! As a child I always looked forward to the end of October. The salmon were at the end of their run in the river, and the leaves had changed color and were dropping off,  making room in the trees for the following years buds. To me this meant that the time was fast approaching when I could dress up in my favorite costume, gather with my buddies, and go from house to house in hopes of obtaining my favorite candy. Yards were “decorated” with gravestones, and ghosts made of sheets were hanging from the trees. Some people dressed in their own costumes and answered the doors hoping to send chills up our spines.

        The approach was always the same, in unison we would cry out, “trick or treat!” and hold our bags out for the treat that awaited us. We always waited until about dark to begin our adventure so it would conceal our trickery along the way. They were harmless tricks like the smashing of eerily carved pumpkins and the ringing of doorbells and running for cover, or maybe the soaping of a few windows along the way, or toilet papering one of the houses that were not contributing to the wealth of the goody bag. As I became older, October 31 became a night out, not of dressing up and searching for candy, but a time out with my buddies to see how much trouble I could get into without being caught. Halloween for me had become a time of mischief.

        All this seems pretty harmless on the outside, like a phase kids go through, and besides, pretty much everyone does it, right? But after being born again and becoming a child of God, I began to examine this “harmless” custom in the light of the Word of God. Each one who claims to be a child of God should do this, but many people never get around to doing it. It’s easier to just “go with the flow.”  I discovered that there is no trace of this celebrated holiday in the Scriptures. So, to trace Halloween to its source I had to turn to secular, pagan sources, and there I quickly followed it to its source. Although there are conflicting views of its exact origin,  it is nonetheless clear that it is was never meant to honor God, and doesn’t do so. In fact, I learned what anyone involved in the occult already knows, that it is a time when the powers of darkness are glorified. It is a celebration of the dead, those that practice wicca (witchcraft) and those of other occult practices often view this as the best time to commune with the dead.

        The purpose of this article is not to debate the origins of this wicked holiday or to expose those that reverence this holiday trying to make ungodly spiritual implications. Rather it is to point out biblical principles to help us know how those of us who are genuine believers in Christ should deal with this “holiday”. The text at the beginning of this article offers us very clear  insight into what God would have us do regarding the observance of something that is not of God nor has anything to do with Him. Scripture is very clear that if you are not a child of God you are a child of the devil. There is no in between, no middle ground for the undecided, and every person will be judged by whether he knows God’s Son as his personal Lord and Savior, or has rejected Him and shown himself to be a child of darkness. Our text, 1 Corinthians 10:21, makes it very clear that you cannot serve both kingdoms. That little word “cannot” is powerful. It isn’t a suggestion. It’s not a piece of friendly advice or an opinion to take or leave as you please. It is a statement of fact. “You cannot” means it is impossible. You can only honor one, either God’s kingdom or the kingdom of darkness, by your choices and actions. Imagine two cups full of water and taking one in each hand, bringing them to your mouth at the same time to drink. What a mess you would have! Or imagine two tables set for two different occasions, try to sit at both of them at the same time. Impossible, yet this is the picture that we are given through God’s Word. The things we choose to do either honor God or they are in service to the devil.

    “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret."  (Eph 5:11-12  KJV)

        Every year, when this wicked holiday approaches, I am amazed at the newspaper articles I see from area churches and religious organizations, advertising their upcoming “haunted house” or saying, “come and celebrate Halloween in a safe place” or, “join us for your Halloween party.” We as Christians are called to a higher calling to live holy lives(1Peter1:16) and to be separate from the world. It is wrong to take something of the world that is a abomination to God and try to “Christianize” it (the meaning of: “Christen”). Halloween cannot be christened! Ephesians5:11 tells us to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. I fear some people use the word “fellowship” simply because it sounds friendly, and never give much thought to what it really means. The phrase “have no fellowship” here means not to partake in or be part of. “Works” refers to acts, things, or deeds done, and “darkness” refers to evil powers that dominate the world. Put it all together and God is telling us not to take part in anything that the prince of this present world has set up for his glory. We shouldn’t be participating in it, and we shouldn’t be supporting it. In fact our Bible passage goes on to give us further instruction, that is, to reprove them or expose, find fault with, denounce and correct them. Inform those with whom you come in contact concerning what is wrong with this practice. Many people find this very difficult because it causes them to be cut off from family and friends, it may cause us to question our church leaders if they are involved in these things. But God’s Word is right, even if “religiously respected” people contradict it. They did so in Israel’s day, and the prophets of the Lord decried the corrupt spiritual leadership of the nation. The key here is not what “my church” or “my pastor” does, but what the Bible says. We as Christians are to contend earnestly for the faith.(Jude 1:3) We serve a righteous and holy God and the powers of darkness are at war with Him. We are soldiers in His army, with a mission to fulfill, and we should be unswervingly loyal to Him. To take something as wicked and vile as Halloween and try to incorporate it into His church that His Son bought and paid for with His own (precious) blood is an affront and an offense to Him, and a shame to us for participating in such things. The idea of bringing pagan activities into the church and corrupting what God calls His should make us shudder, for the prophets of old denounced this very thing, as indeed they would today were they among us. “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isa. 5:20)

        “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you”  (2 Cor 6:14,17  KJV)

        I have heard that some Christians believe they can dress up in Halloween costumes and go out and evangelize by handing out tracts. God’s Word tells us differently, to “be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers,” and this should also apply to our deeds. It would be very difficult for someone from afar to tell the difference from one that is dressed up and seeking candy from one that is dressed up and handing out tracts. Nowhere in Scriptures do we see the Lord or the apostles taking on the way of the heathen to spread the gospel, it should be no different for us. We who are truly born again Christians, not just religious church goers, have been made righteous in Christ Jesus. We need to separate ourselves from the unrighteous works of the world,  not join them and try to mix the name of our Lord with a pagan holiday. Why would one want to enter back into or continue in the things from which we have been commanded to come out and to be separate? When you separate something from the rest of the group it means it is not allowed to be mixed with the one it has been separated from. This is the way it is for the Christian. Through the blood of Christ, true Christians have been set apart from the world. We have been saved from the judgement and wrath to come upon those who refuse to believe and obey. Halloween is a trick, not a treat. It is a dark and wicked holiday, and those that are of the light and walking in the ways of Christ Jesus should have no communion with it. Being a called out and separate people makes us a peculiar people (Titus 2:14). The world may mock and even persecute, but the Lord will glorify those that love Him and seek to do His will. Friend, if the Lord were to return on October 31st, where would He find you? Separate from the things of the world or involved right in the midst of their activities?

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