And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. -Joshua 24:15
I often have a different name for the unholy day of Halloween. I prefer the more accurate term of "Helloween." We have never celebrated this helliday. (Not holiday, as it is certainly not a holy day. At least, not for Christians.)
Helloween was the pagan Roman feast of Pomona, which was in celebration of their false goddess of fruit and seeds. This false goddess’s name in the Bible was Ashtoreth, or the "Queen of Heaven." Helloween was also a pagan holiday called Parentalia, which was known as "the day of the dead."
Parentalia then points us to Samhain (pronounced sah-win) which was a Celtic pagan holiday. Samhain was seen as a time when the spirits of the dead would walk the earth. The ghosts of beloved dead ones were welcomed into homes for great feasts.
Some Roman Catholic churches celebrate their "All Saints Day," in which children dress up as their "patron" or favorite "saints." Most families celebrate Helloween by having their children don costumes and go door to door, asking for candy. Many Helloween costumes are of evil creatures, or the dead. This part of "All Saint's Day," and Helloween are throwbacks from their pagan helliday predecessors.
A stroll through some towns show decor of fake skeletons hanging from streetlights, massive stuffed spiders sticking to cottony webs, and more. A stroll through a dollar store or a grocery store reveals masks which portray serial murderers from horror movies, masks of faces contorted in expressions of pain, agony, or the appearance of evil surmisings. The other day, I met with some friends at a restaurant, and there were little skeletons hanging from each light, above each table. My, how appetizing. Eating food, while looking at a fake dead body hanging in front of your face. Not appetizing, and a poor choice of restaurant decor.
It is very clear that Helloween is a celebration of death, evil, devils, torture, murder, and all sorts of gore.
Some Christian families combat this by only allowing their children to wear cutesy costumes, such as those of princesses or police officers. They go with their children door to door to trick o treat.
Some Christian families feel this is still too much of the world, and an appearance of evil, so instead, they take their children, in their cutesy, non-violent costumes, to local churches that host "trunk o treats" in their parking lots, and/or "fall festivals/carnivals" inside or in their parking lots. Here, there is a total flesh-fest of sugary excitement, and costumes galore, all in the name of "getting the children off the streets on Halloween."
Is this okay? There is nothing Christian, whatsoever, about Helloween. If a Christian is not partaking in the yuck of it, then is it still okay to celebrate? What does God say? Let's look to His Holy, Inerrant Word, and find out:
"Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain" -Jeremiah 10:2-3a
1) Learn not the way of the heathen. What is the way of the heathen on or around October 31? It is the pagan festivals of Pomonoa, Parentalia, Samhain, All Saint's Day, Helloween, and more. We are told NOT to learn the way of the heathen. This means we are NOT to partake.
2) The customs of the people are vain. Helloween is a tradition, a custom. It's vanity. Christians are to have no part in it.
"Abstain from all appearance of evil." -1 Thessalonians 5:22
Christians are to not partake in something that even looks evil. Helloween is NOT a Christian thing. It is undoubtedly pagan - undoubtedly! In fact, it is considered one of the highest Satanic holidays. Therefore, Christians, even if they are going to "Fall Festival," or a church "Trunk or Treat," are still showing the appearance of Evil. Here, let me give you a real life example:
Christmas and Easter: two helladays that are also pagan, however the Roman Catholic church took those well-known pagan helladays and replaced the terminology with Christian sounding terms, and proclaimed these to no longer be pagan holidays, but Christian ones. Does that make it any different? Those helladays are still largely celebrated the same way as their pagan predecessors were. You can call Christmas Christmas, but that doesn't change the fact that Jesus was NOT born then, and that the pagan god Mythra was.
Therefore, a Christian church taking an obvious helladay such as Helloween, and turning it into a Christian night, is no different than the sin the Roman Catholic church committed, in taking the pagan god Mythra's birthday, and changing Mythra's name to Jesus, or taking the day of Ashtoreth worship - Easter, and proclaiming it a celebration of Jesus' resurrection, when in actuality it's a celebration of Baal's false reincarnation via Ashtoreth - the pagan "Queen of Heaven."
Taking Helloween and changing the name to fall festival, and inviting kids in costume to pig out on candy is not helping. "ABSTAIN from ALL appearance of evil." - 1 Thess. 5:22
This is an evil appearance. Pagans see the church's Trunk o Treats and Fall Festivals and laugh. We need to wise up, and cut it out. Make a choice - God, or world? Church alternatives to Helloween is WORLD. God says NO to Helloween, and Christian brethren, so should you.
"Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." -Romans 12:9
Helloween should disgust us. We should we should take no part. Turn off the porch light. You can hand out tracts any time. Cleave to the GOOD. Helloween is not good.
"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." -John 15:19
Helloween is of the world. So, if you do the RIGHT thing, and refuse to partake in it, in any way, meaning not even doing the hypocritical church festival stuff, then the world will hate you for it. You will receive persecution. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and He will always see you through. Do what's right - ALWAYS.
"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty" -1 Corinthians 1:27
If you shun Helloween, you will be called a legalist, foolish, stupid, and more. But brethren, we know the truth, don't we?
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." -Colossians 2:8
Helloween is a tradition of men. It started as a pagan helladay, and morphed into a night of evil imaginations, evil things to behold, gluttonous feastings on sugar, and the glorification of death and torment. The tradition of men is to dress up and trick o treat. The philosophy is that it's "harmless fun," but the truth is that if you are partaking of this stuff, then you are going after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." -James 4:4
Adultery isn't just physical. We learn from the Bible that there is also spiritual adultery. Helloween is just that. The world celebrates Helloween. Christians are to be set apart and shun that. You cannot be a friend of the world and Christ’s. You have to choose.
According to the above Scriptures, and James 4:4, a professing Christian partaking in Helloween is committing spiritual adultery against God!
Please take the below warnings very seriously:
"For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning." -2 Peter 2:20
"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." -1 John 2:16
"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." -Matthew 5:13-16
"Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain" -Jeremiah 10:2-3a
"Abstain from all appearance of evil." -1 Thessalonians 5:22
WARNING!
If you celebrate Halloween, and you still choose to celebrate Halloween, and you claim to be a Christian, heed the below warning, and then change your mind:
"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." -James 4:17
The Word of God is CLEAR that we are not supposed to partake of the stuff of devils, and also of the stuff of God:
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 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 Corinthians 10:16-21
If you partake in Halloween, then you are a partaker of that altar, regardless of what you "make it mean." The above Scripture is clear on this. You cannot be a partaker of the Lord's table, AND devils'. You can only choose one. A choice for both is a choice against the will of God.
Dressing in "non violent costumes," going to church trunk or treats or fall festivals is PARTAKING. If you are a professed Christian, and doing these things, then you are trying to Christianize the devils' table as you partake of the Lord's table. This is the same sin the Israelites committed at the foot of Mount Sinai, when Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments. They decided to keep a feast unto the Lord, AND keep a religious festival they were used to from Egypt, involving a golden calf. It if wasn't for Moses' intercession, all of them would have paid for this infraction against God with death.
This is serious stuff. If you are really for Christ, then you must be against these pagan religious festivals. Else, you are committing spiritual adultery. This is like one's taking their spouse dating other people with them. It is wrong. It is unfaithfulness, regardless if the party we are cheating on is with us, or not.
COME OUT OF MYSTERY BABYLON. Halloween is one of her many deceptions. May we purify our hearts, and truly live for the Lord, and not for the world, gluttony, fitting in, etc.
"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." -Revelation 18:4
"Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens." -Lamentations 3:40-41
