What is Halloween?
When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer (one who communicates with the dead). For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. (Deuteronomy 18:9-12)
Halloween is upon us. What is the background of our mild-mannered Halloween, practiced in America today? The word: Halloween comes from two words: “hallowed evening.” It was the evening before All Saints Day, established by the Roman Catholic Church. They were trying to “Christianize” the Celtic celebrations. The Celts believed that at this time of year, departed spirits of the dead returned to earth. The Celts built bonfires and wore costumes to scare off the returning ghosts.
www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween The History Channel has several 3-minute videos that are informative (plus lots of commercials). Without question, Halloween is connected to the underworld of Satan. It is built upon the idea of many returning departed spirits. This gets into witchcraft and communication with the dead. However, communication with the dead is Satanic deception. Familiar spirit: Sorcerers or necormancers, who professed to call up the dead to answer questions. were said to have a "familiar spirit" ( Deuteronomy 18:11)
The marshmallow stage is the sweetest and safest-appearing version; the candy version. It is the most visible, the most practiced and the most smiled upon version. Children are taken by their parents to a dozen or so homes. They knock on the door and announce: “Trick or treat!” You know how that’s done. Who could say anything about the sweet and innocent celebration of Halloween as it is now done in America?
In researching this article, I read that at least a fourth of all the candy sold in America takes place around the celebration of Halloween. So, like Christmas, it has become big money. Money Magazine says: “Americans will spend over $8 billion on candy, decorations, costumes and cards this year.
What would Jesus do about Halloween? Jesus would be in total agreement with His Father. He would ask: “What is the theme of Halloween?” The theme of Halloween is about encountering departed spirits of the dead.
How to deal with the sweet version of Halloween is not easy. It takes a strategy and some planning. Make no mistake about the wide web Satan is spinning to suck in your children. It’s not just about “trick or treat.” It is so much bigger than that. The goal is to enlist your children into allegiance to him. There are drugs, pornography for older children, raunchy music with a message of rebellion against parents and authority in general.
The sweet version of Halloween is going on with church people joining right in to help make it a success. We don’t like conflict, so we just go along with the flow. In most Christian homes, the Bible is never read. Parents are not praying with their children. No spiritual bonds are being made in the home to counteract the strong bonds being made with friends and school indoctrination in evolution. It’s a field day for Satan to own the children. Halloween is just one spoke in the wheel.
What can we do to counteract Halloween? If your church has a Harvest Festival celebration, then make sure you and your children are a part of that. Support it. Participate in it. Thousands of churches in America are now hosting Harvest Festival activities in opposition to Halloween. Churches should do this when possible. If there is not a church-sponsored Harvest Festival in your area, a few families can get together and plan a fun-filled Harvest Festival at a home. Dress up but not in satanic uniforms and without the paraphernalia of spiritism. Decorate the place with bales of hay, corn shocks, pumpkins and other fall produce, bob for apples and come up with games suitable for the ages attending. Have a prayer time and testimony time.
At our house, for many years we have had candy ready and greeted the young Halloween players at our door. We try to have a good tract on Halloween that goes into each bag. Takers have slacked off in recent years. I think church activity on Halloween night is attracting many of them.
We should not make light of the Kingdom of Satan and his hierarchy of demonic spirits. Many years ago, it was my duty to witness a two-hour wrestling between a counselor and a demon in a teen-age girl. The girl was sitting on a raised flat surface, sitting up. The demon would take hold of her vocal chords and she spoke something like a man, but in a guttural sound. After a while she was wearing down and would lie back. When the demon wanted to talk, she would bolt up into a sitting position like she had been hit with electricity and begin to talk in the other voice. This went on until at last the demon left her. After it was over, she slept for most of two days.
The Teen Challenge Ministry, begun by David Wilkerson, had many problems with demon possessed teenagers in the large cities of America. I learned this from a counselor in a counseling center in Indianapolis, IN. The counselor worked with teens in a Teen Challenge location for several years. In Indianapolis, I was witnessing the counseling by this man with a troubled pastor. During a break, I noticed that the counselor’s books were in disarray in a book shelf. He said that the day before he was counseling a teenager in that office and the teenager began making passes at him. When he refused, the teenager raged at him in a demonic voice. Suddenly the girl jumped up and began pulling down his books onto the floor. He had not had time to clean up the mess before our scheduled meeting with him.
There is such a thing as a spirit world of demons who operate in this world. It’s not pleasant to think about but it is true, and the Bible is strong on this. Halloween is party time for demons who find people that will allow them to enter their bodies. Don’t tinker with demons. We are no match for them unless we are right with God and command them in the name of Jesus Christ. If this happens, you’d better make sure that you and the Holy Spirit are one and there’s no unfinished business between you and the Lord.
I was sharing a radio broadcast with Pastor B.S. and Missionary R.M. in Pensacola, FL. After the broadcast we went to a coffee shop to talk. The missionary had just returned from Japan. He told about a young missionary who went into a Japanese sacred shrine temple and began to order the demons around that sometimes inhabit the idols in the shrine. The missionary was warned not to do that. The demons jumped him and beat him up. He thought he could do it in his own strength. He was wrong.
Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., founder of Bob Jones University, wrote in one of his books, his experience of attending a seance with some people and a spirit medium when he was a young preacher. No one can talk to the dead. Some can talk with demons who are imposters of the dead. Dr. Jones said the spirit medium told him some things about himself that no one knew but himself. One time was enough for him. He left the demons alone. Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
OCTOBER 31, 2017 – TUESDAY
A.M. Jeremiah 29-30 P.M. Titus 1
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Good Verse to Memorize:
For whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Romans 14:23b
Song for Today:
Holy, Holy, Holy (5:21) (Royal Albert Hall – London)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39ZfrO0UW_s
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