Hallowe'en
Every October 31, children across the land learn how extortion works through one of the most popular of ancient, pagan festivals.
We know it as Halloween, which is a shortened combination of the words "Hallowed" and "evening." But there is nothing holy about this night.
"Trick or treat!" the bantam, masked marauders cry as they go from door to door coercing goodies from mostly compliant residents. Along with blackmail, the chance to deface private property and get away with it is also a big part of the "hallowed evening." Shaving cream, soap, and toilet paper are essential in the bag of tricks some of the mischievous prepare especially for this weird, annual rite.
Not Just for Children Anymore
Visit many offices and department stores on October 31 and you'll see adult employees dressed in silly or grotesque costumes, perhaps with painted faces and fluorescent green hair.
They are psyching up for the Halloween party that night—when they'll get the chance to act foolishly without embarrassment. It seems that as our world sinks deeper into New Age paganism, this heathen, high holy day of the occult has zoomed to the top of the holiday charts. In fact, among adults Halloween is becoming as popular as Christmas.
But is Halloween just a harmless time of fun for the whole family, where everyone can practice their pumpkin-carving skills and then head for the store to try on this year's bizarre costumes?
It's time to rip the mask from Halloween and expose it for what it is. What we find underneath should concern anyone who professes a belief in the Bible.
Origins of Hallowe'en
In an article "Unmasking Halloween traditions," Christopher Nyerges writes:
"The roots of Halloween go back to the Celts. To the ancient Celts, there
were six significant fire ceremonies during the year. The greatest of these
were Beltane, the first of May, and Samhain, the last day of October.
"The feast of Samhain (meaning `summer's end'), marked both their Feast
of the Dead and the Celtic New Year. This time of the year, half-way between
the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, was a time of decay and death
on the earth.
"Samhain ushered in the darkest and most barren time of the year, a time fraught
with ghosts, witches, demons, and fairies.
"Fire rites, during which HUMAN AND ANIMAL SACRIFICES were made,
were performed in the belief that they'd protect the crops and flocks from demonic
influence" (Saturday, October 28, 1995).
The Celts believed that on the Feast of Samhain, the spirits of their ancestors would rise up from the cold fields and graves and come into the warm homes and cottages of the people, and had to be greeted with decorations and festivities, parties and acceptance, in order to get "protection" for the household from evil spirits during the coming winter months. Offerings were made to protect the household from malicious spirits or demons. Says Christopher Nyerges:
"Thus, in its origin, the Feast of Samhain was a rite designed to protect humans
from the `evil' activities of the dis-incarnate. It was, if you will, a BARGAIN
WITH THE DEAD so they'd stay away and cause no trouble during the next year."
The World Book Encyclopedia describes the origin of this holiday in these words:
"The Celtic Festival of Samhain is probably the source of the present-day
Halloween celebration. The Celts lived more than 2,000 years ago in what
is now Great Britain, Ireland, and northern France. Their new year began on
November 1. A festival that began the previous evening honored Samhain,
the Celtic lord of death. The celebration marked the beginning of the season
of cold, darkness, and decay. It naturally became associated with human death.
The Celts believed that Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to
their earthly homes for this evening.
"On the evening of the festival, the Druids, who were the priests and teachers
of the Celts, ordered the people to put out their hearth fires. The Druids built
a huge, new year's BONFIRE of oak branches, which they considered sacred.
They burned animals, crops, and possibly even human beings as SACRIFICES.
Then each family relit its hearth fire from the new year's fire. During the
celebration, people sometimes WORE COSTUMES made of animal heads and
skins. They told fortunes about the coming year by examining the remains of
the animals that had been sacrificed" (article "Halloween," p.25).
This Celtic holiday entered the Roman Empire after the Romans conquered the Celts in A.D. 43 and ruled Great Britain for about 400 years. During this time two Roman festivals of the autumn were combined with the Celtic Festival of Samhain. One of them, Feralia, was held in late October to honor the dead. The other honored Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruits and trees. Apples probably became connected with Halloween because of this festival.
Says the Encyclopedia Britannica, eleventh edition, of Hallowe'en:
"Hallowe'en and its formerly attendant ceremonies long antedate Christianity.
The two chief characteristics of ancient Hallowe'en 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 first of
November the Druids held their great autumnal festival and lighted fires in
honor of the SUN-GOD in thanksgiving for the harvest. Further, it was a Druid
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 celebrations of
Hallowe'en were 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 Samhan.' On the Druid ceremonies were GRAFTED some
of the characteristics of the Roman festival in honor of Pomona held about the
end of November, in which nuts and apples, as representing the winter store of
fruits, played an important part. Thus the roasting of nuts and the sport known
as `apple-ducking' -- attempting to seize with the teeth an apple floating in a tub
of water -- were once the universal occupation of the young folk in medieval
England on the 31st of October. The custom of lighting Hallowe'en fires
survived until recent years in the highlands of Scotland and Wales. In the dying
embers it was usual to place as many small stones as there were persons around,
and next morning a search was made. If any of the pebbles were displaced it was
regarded as certain that the person represented would die within the next twelve
months" ("Hallowe'en, p.857-858).
But what happened? How did this ancient Druid, Celtic festival in honor of the "Lord of the Dead," and celebrated in worship of the "Sun-god," ever creep into the practice of the "Christian Church"?
Hallowe'en Enters "Christianity"
Many ancient pagan practices became incorporated into the practices of the early Church, including virtually every pagan festival known to the Romans and the inhabitants of the Roman Empire. Hallowe'en was no exception. The World Book Encyclopedia relates:
"Many of the customs of the Celts survived even after the people became
Christians. During the 800's, the church established All Saints' Day on
November 1. THE PEOPLE MADE THE OLD PAGAN CUSTOMS PART
OF THIS CHRISTIAN HOLY DAY. THE CHURCH BEGAN TO HONOR
THE DEAD ON NOVEMBER 2. This day became known as All Souls' Day."
Writes Christopher Nyerges, in Unmasking Halloween Traditions:
"In the 700s, the Roman Catholic Church authorities accepted the fact that
they had failed in their attempts to eliminate the Samhain observations, which
were considered `PAGAN.' Thus, as has often occurred when New Religion
clashed with Old Religion, the names of the holy days were changed. Nov.1
became All Saints' Day, and the day before became the Hallowed Eve, or Holy
Eve, which we today call Halloween. THIS WAY, THE OLD RELIGION
PRACTICE OF SAMHAIN COULD CONTINUE, BUT NOW IT WAS A
CHRISTIAN [sic] HOLY DAY. As a result, the members of the Catholic
Church increased, everyone way happy and things went on as usual."
How blatant! How plain! How clever and odious! The Church could not conquer or stamp out the paganism in the hearts and traditions of the people, so it did the opposite -- it embraced, and took to its bosom, the paganism of old, and "baptized" it, and then called these pagan practices "CHRISTIAN"!
But what does Almighty God, and Jesus Christ, our Saviour, say about this sort of thing? Is it all right in God's sight if any of His people worship Him with the practices of ancient pagan religions? It is acceptable with God if we follow pagan-derived practices and call them "Christian"?
Christ never observed Hallowe'en. None of the apostles observed it. None of the early churches in the first century observed it. It did not even become an official "Catholic" holy (sic) day until the NINTH CENTURY -- over 800 years after the time of Christ!
The fact that Hallowe'en is making a huge successful comeback, today, and is observed by MILLIONS around the world, shows that paganism is itself making a tremendous leap forward under the guise of the modern "Christian" religion. Should any true Christian, observe the popular holiday?
What the Word of God Says
Jesus Christ very plainly said that man should not live by bread only, but by every word of God (Matt.4:4; Luke 4:4). All Scripture is given by God's inspiration and is profitable for doctrine, correction, reproof, and guidance in our lives (II Tim.3:16-17). God's Word is truth -- truth to live by (John 17:17).
What then does God's Word say about adopting and "baptizing" pagan practices and calling them "Christian" and following them?
Is it all right to combine PAGAN religion -- the "old religion"-- with God's truth? God's Word says: "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you" (Deut.4:2).
"Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God. When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations [pagan nations] from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; take heed to thyself that thou BE NOT SNARED BY FOLLOWING THEM . . . and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
"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.
"What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it" (Deut.12:28-32).
The prophet Jeremiah plainly tells us in straight language which brooks no compromise or misinterpretation: "Thus saith the LORD, learn NOT the way of the heathen . . . For the customs of the people are VAIN . . ." (Jeremiah 10:2-3).
The pagan origin of Hallowe'en, no matter how the Roman Catholic Church tries to whitewash it, or colorize it, or "Christianize" it, is plainly obvious for all to see. The real question is: Whom are we going to obey? The true God of heaven and earth, our Creator? Or the "god" of this world, Satan the devil, the real "god" behind the mask of Hallowe'en?
The Scriptures tell us forcefully that Satan is "the great dragon," "that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which DECEIVETH THE WHOLE WORLD" (Rev.12:9).
He is the master of subtlety and deception. He calls good evil, and evil good. He says, "What's the harm in observing Hallowe'en, and having a little `innocent' fun?" It is his purpose to delude, deceive, and destroy mankind by leading them into sin, lawlessness, and disobedience to the laws and Word of Almighty God.
When Caesar invaded Britain, he found the Druids leading the Britons in the worship of the sun-god and his consort, the queen of heaven. This was the same age-old "mystery" religious system that originated from ancient Babylon and Egypt. Samhain, the "lord of the dead," was none other than that old idolatrous figure Nimrod. Says Alexander Hislop in The Two Babylons:
"The Druidic system in all its parts was evidently the BABYLONIAN
SYSTEM. Dionysius informs us, that the rites of Bacchus were duly
celebrated in the British Islands . . . and Strabo cites Artemidorus to show
that, in an island close to Britain, Ceres and Proserpine were venerated
with rites similar to the orgies of Samothrace. It will be seen from the
account of the Druid Ceridwen and her child, afterwards to be noticed --
that there was a great analogy between her character and that of the great
goddess-mother of Babylon. Such was the system; and the name Dryw, or
Droi, applied to the priests, is in exact accordance with that system. The
name Zero, given in Hebrew or the early Chaldee, to the son of the great
goddess queen, in later Chaldee became `Dero.' The priest of Dero, `the
seed,' was called, as in the case in almost all religions, by the name of his
god; and hence the familiar name `Druid' is thus proved to signify the priest
of `Dero' -- the woman's promised `seed'" (p.81, footnote).
Hislop further tells us:
"The worship of Bel and Astarte [Nimrod and Easter] 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 (for both titles belong to
the same god) had been observed even in the northern parts of this island
. . . every year, at Beltane (or the 1st of May), a number of men and women
assemble at an ancient Druidical circle of stones . . . They light a fire in the
centre, each person puts a bit of oat-cake in a shepherd's bonnet. One piece
has been previously blackened, and whoever gets that piece has to jump
through the fire in the centre of the circle, and pay a forfeit. This is, in
fact, A PART OF THE ANCIENT WORSHIP OF BAAL, and the person
on whom the lot fell was previously burnt as a sacrifice. Now, the passing
through the fire represents that, and the payment of the forfeit redeems the
victim" (p.103-104).
One of Nimrod's names under which he was worshipped as a god, was "Molech," the god of fire. Molech was the god of barbarity, cruelty and blood. The name itself is a form of the Hebrew word `melek' which means "king." Nimrod was the first man after the Flood of Noah's time to become a "king" and to carve out for himself a "kingdom" on the earth (see Genesis 10:8-10). At first he was worshipped as the "revealer of goodness and truth," but gradually his worship was made to correspond to the darker and more forbidding side of his nature. The horrible rites associated with the worship of this fiend have made the very name a symbol of cruelty and terror, such as is associated with Hallowe'en. Only it was very read, not just pretend.
Says Hislop:
"In almost every land the bloody worship prevailed; `horrid cruelty' hand in
hand with abject superstition, filled not only `the dark places of the earth,'
but also the regions that boasted of their enlightenment. Greece, Rome,
Egypt, Phenicia, Assyria, and our own land under the savage Druids, at one
period or other in their history, worshipped the same god and in the same
way. Human victims were his most acceptable offerings; human groans
and wailings were the sweetest music in his ears; human tortures were
believed to delight his heart" (p.151).
Hislop relates that the Druids "offered human sacrifices to their bloody gods." He adds:
"We have evidence that they `made their children pass through the fire to
Molech,' and that makes it highly probable that they also offered them in
sacrifice; for from Jeremiah 32:35, compared with Jeremiah 19:5, we find
that these two things were parts of one and the same system. The god whom
the Druids worshipped was BAAL, as the blazing Baal-fires show, and the
last cited passage proves that children were offered in sacrifice to Baal. When
`fruit of the body' was thus offered, it was `for the sin of the soul.' And it
was a principle of the Mosaic law, a principle no doubt derived from the
patriarchal faith, that the priest must partake of whatever was offered as a sin-
offering (Numbers 18:9, 10). Hence, 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,' the `Priest of Baal,' is the established word in our
own tongue for a devourer of human flesh" (Two Babylons, p.232).
Thus our word "cannibal" comes from the word "Cahna-Bal," meaning originally "priest of Baal." Also, Molech, the name for "King" Nimrod, another appellation of Baal, or Bel, was obviously connected with the "bon fires" that were lit by the ancient Celts in their celebration of "Samhain," "lord of the dead." Thus the origin of the holiday we know as "Hallowe'en" is incredibly ugly, vile, and an abomination in the sight of Almighty God, and Jesus Christ.
God Word says of this inhuman and vile pagan religion: "And they built the high places of BAAL, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this ABOMINATION . . ." (Jer.32:35).
"They have built also the high places for 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: Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter" (Jer.19:5).
When we consider the horrible ancestry of this modern celebration of Hallowe'en, and its gruesome and grotesque connection with darkness and evil, how can a true Christian even imagine to have anything whatsoever to do with this hideous, horrible, and macabre eve of pagan glorification of Satan, witchcraft, demons, ghouls, sorcery, and diabolical Satanic deception? What should a true Christian do about such "holidays"? God's Word clearly commands and instructs us:
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for
what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
and what communion hath light with DARKNESS? And
what concord hath Christ with BELIAL (Satan the Devil)?
or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what
agreement hath the temple of God with IDOLS? . . . Where-
fore, COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM, AND BE YE
SEPARATE, saith the Lord, and TOUCH NOT THE UN-
CLEAN THING; and I will receive you, and will be a Father
unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the
Lord Almighty" (II Corinthians 6:14-18).
Make "no bones" about it. Hallowe'en is an abomination in the sight of God, and any son or daughter of His should have nothing whatsoever to do with this wicked, evil, and despicable "holiday" which the world around us celebrates with fervor and glee. God forbid that any of His children should get involved in this wicked abomination! As the apostle Peter declared, "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conduct; because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy" (I Pet.1:15-16).
Let's take a look at the familiar customs of Halloween, and ask ourselves whether they are fit for a True Worshiper's indulgence.
The Leering Jack-o-Lantern
In America it's a pumpkin, but in Europe it was often a turnip, large beet, potato, rutabaga or even a skull with a candle in it. The fearsome face of the jack-o-lantern was representative of the god of the dead, Saman, who would drive off less powerful evil spirits abroad that night.
As glimmering lights flickered over an English marsh or an Irish bog, people imagined dead souls had returned to earth. They would place the jack-o-lantern on posts and in windows to ward off the spirits of the dead on Halloween.
The word jack-o-Lantern is an abbreviation of "Jack of the Lantern." Jack is another name for joker or Satan. In the Irish tale, a man named Jack was fond of playing tricks on the devil. Annoyed, the devil tossed Jack a burning coal from hell. With the coal in his "lantern" Jack was condemned to walk the earth forever searching for rest.
The jack-o-lantern is a Halloween idol that keeps alive an ancient symbol of demonic superstition.
Witches and Black Cats
A pagan practice that was not eradicated upon the coming of Christianity was witchcraft. The word "witch" comes from the Anglo-Saxon wicce, or "wise one." Witches were thought to be possessors of magic.
Witches, who worship the deities of nature, have living talismans or symbols through which they derive their dark powers. They invoke evil spirits to enter the bodies of their talismans. Some have dogs, owls, snakes or swine for their talismans, but the most common are cats.
Cats have been closely associated with mystery religion from the Egyptians to the Norse. But the Celts had a particular fear of cats, believing they were humans who had been changed into feline form by evil powers. The black cat particularly was connected to demonic powers.
Black cats are the chief idol of the goddess of Wicca, Diana. In legend, she turns into a black cat to commit incest with her brother, Lucifer.
Eventually the Druids themselves came to be regarded as witches. Witch hunting during Halloween became almost a national pastime in the colonial years of our nation.
But that was yesterday. Halloween is regarded as the high "sabbath" for practicing witches today.
Witchcraft is demonic worship in diametric opposition to the worship of the Heavenly Father Yahweh. Yahweh minces no words about it. He told Israel through Moses, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Ex. 22:18). He says in Deuteronomy 18:10, "There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch." Death penaly in the Bible was only executed by the Judges, or rulers of the land of Israel.
How can a True Worshiper allow his son or daughter to dress up in imitation of a witch or warlock, knowing that Yahweh condemns witchcraft? We are commanded to avoid even the appearance of evil (1Thes. 5:22).
Flying Witches
The broomstick is a symbol of the male organ, on which the witch mounts and leaps high around the fields to "teach" the crops how high to grow. (ABC's of Witchcraft, pp. 48-49.)
The notion of flying witches relates to the fact that witches believed they could fly great distances to their feasts by smearing their bodies with ointments containing drugs. The drugs gave them psychedelic "trips" making them think they flew. (ABC's, pp. 142-146).
Shrouded in Blackness
"Orange, black, and red, the devil's colors, are the colors associated with Halloween...," so says the Good Housekeeping Book of Entertainment, p. 168. Black prefigures black magic and demonic influence. The black of night is when these forces of evil are busiest, using the cover of darkness for their sinister works.
Yahweh warns, "Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from Yahweh, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who sees us? and who knows us?" (Isa. 29:15)
In John 3:19-20 Jesus said, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."
How much time should any Bible believer give to a rite that is observed in the dark and that revels in the colors, symbols, and practices of Yahweh's adversary, Satan the devil?
Skulls and Skeletons
The skeleton is a form of the god of the dead, the witches' "horned god." The Dictionary of Satanism by Wade Baskin says this about skulls and skeletons under "skull worship": "Skulls play an important role as sacred relics and as objects of worship among primitives. Among Polynesians and Melanesians, skulls of ancestors are worshiped in order to establish connections with the spirits of the dead. Like the head of Osiris in Egypt, the skulls of ancestors may also serve as tutelar deities. The head or its parts, each of which may stand for the whole, can be used as magical food or as a means of increasing the fertility of the soil."
Under "Skull," the Dictionary of Lore and Legend says, "Symbol of death, often with crossed bones beneath."
Isaiah tells us what Yahweh thinks of courtship with death and the dead:
"When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their Elohim? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?" (Isa. 8:19-20, NIV).
Fire Rites
Being that Halloween is a Celtic new year's festival, many of its surviving rituals trace to the Celtic feast. The fire rite was practiced in many areas around the world on the night before the new year. The old fire was allowed to go out and a new one was kindled—usually a sacred fire from which the fires of the village were relit. The fires were thought to rejuvenate the waning sun and aid in banishing evil spirits. The Druids built hilltop fires to celebrate important festivals (Celebrations, pp. 258-259).
Ghosts and witches feared fire, it was thought, and so fire became the best weapon against evil spirits. Witchcraft was punished by burning at the stake, fire being used as a means purification. The light that fires gave off was a sign of sacredness.
Apple Bobbing
Popular at Halloween parties is apple bobbing. It was a means of divination among the Druids and survives in cultures influenced by the Celts.
Because the apple is also a common love charm, the practice of ducking for apples seems to have been associated with the selection of a lover (see The Folklore of American Holidays).
Hallowe'en Wears a Political Mask
Something diabolically insidious has wormed its way into modern Christian religion, but it isn't new. Its as old as ancient ritual and as modern as electronic televangelism. Hallowe'en did not begin with the Druids of the British Isles. It began with their ancestors, the House of Israel, a deliberate attempt to replace one of God's annual Holydays by changing the time and location of the feast. And that attempt has proven to be widely successful.
The plan to substitute a false holy day was part of a plot which made religion a tool of power politics.
Solomon's empire had fallen apart in civil war. The northern tribes of Israel had separated from the southern Kingdom of Judah (which included Benjamin and Levi). Solomon's son Rehoboam sat on the Throne of David in Jerusalem ( 1 Kings 12:15-20), and Jerobaom was made King over the people of the northern ten tribes of Israel.
Jeroboam needed to consolidate his power. He realized that the one thing that threatened his hold over the people of his kingdom was their worship at the temple at Jerusalem (verses 25-27). So he built two golden idols, placing one in Dan and the other in Bethel. He built structures in high places (places set aside for sacrifices) and made priests to serve his altars from amongst the lowest class of people (verses 28-31). Basically he mixed the Babylonian religion with God's religion, and made the people of Israel to worship. To find out about the origins of the Druids click here
"Jeroboam (king of Israel) ordained a feast on the 15th day of the eighth month (Heshvan - equivalent to late October early November), like unto the feast that is in Judah," ( 1 Kings 12:32). It was a feast Jeroboam deliberately copied after God's feast being held in Jerusalem on the fifteenth day of the seventh month-The Feast of Tabernacles.
His purpose was political. He used religion as his method to ensure that the people of Israel would not re-unite with the House of Judah.
In its aspects and character the feast Jeroboam set up looked like the feast of Tabernacles and undoubtedly included the eighth day-the Last Great Day of the feast.
Jeroboam's last great day has come down to us as HALLOWE'EN.
In the Roman calendar we commonly use, some of the months of the year are named for pagan gods, others a simply numbered. Some are named for Roman emperors, who proclaimed that they were gods and named months for themselves.
At one time, September was the seventh month, October was the eighth, November was the ninth, and December was the tenth, deriving their names from the Latin numbers.
Both Julius and Augustus decided that since they were gods, they should have months named for themselves. July and August were inserted into the calendar, and September became the 9th, October the 10th and so on.
The renaming of the months obscured the identity of God's annual festivals and pushed the memory of Jeroboam's false feast beyond easy identification.
God's Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day were established in the seventh month of the Hebrew Calendar (Leviticus 23:34-36). These festivals usually fall in late September and early October, followed by the eighth month beginning in late October.
The Feast of Tabernacles depicts the happy reign of Jesus Christ on earth, and his return to this earth to establish his kingdom. The feast of the last Great Day depicts the final Judgement period, when all those who have lived, and died without knowing God's way of life will be resurrected and will be given an opportunity to learn it and to submit to God's will. The final Holy Day, the Last Great Day, also called the Great White Throne Judgement Day. It is the day of Resurrection to life that is made a mockery of by Hallowe'en and festival of DEATH!
Today there are power hungry religionists out there who mix religion with politics pushing their own agenda. They are no different from Jeroboam, a commoner who liked playing King.
There is a danger mixing politics with religion. God reminds us of it again and again in indicting one king after another, "And he did evil in the sight of the Eternal; he departed not from, the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin" ( 2 Kings 15:9, 18, 24, 28).
Christians should consider the Satanic origin and character of Halloween with its occultic and heretical rituals and activities and the consequences of observing them. Christians are admonished to "Prove all things and hold fast that which is good" (1 Thes. 5:21).
When Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan, He answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:4). He warned, "Beware of false prophets..." (Matt. 7:15). And, "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many... For false christ's and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect." (Matt. 24:5-6,24).
How can you know who are false ministers? "You shall know them by their fruits." (Matt. 7:16). "And when they say to you, 'Seek those who are mediums, and wizards, who whisper and mutter,' should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony (the Word of God)! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." (Isa. 8:19-20).
The apostles also gave many warnings. Paul warned, "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work... The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thes.. 2:7,9-12)
James instructs, "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit to God, Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." (James 4:6-8).
Peter warns, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." (1 Pet. 5:8-9).
Speaking of the great false religious system inspired by Satan's deceptions, the Book of Revelation tells of its final end and warns mankind, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities... Therefore her plagues will come in one day--death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her." (Rev. 18:4-5,8).
Consider the following points regarding the Halloween observance: