October 31 2001
Josh 24:15-15,Deut. 18: 9-14
Halloween not the day, but it is the way that we handle it that can serve God or Satan.
The FBI said Monday night that they have asked all law enforcement officials to be on "high alert." (Oct 29 2001)
Sources say Osama Bin Ladin’s network is poised to strike this week in the United States in a major way, but no one knows when, where or how.
You see if you are a true Muslim and one who follows the Quron and the Hadith- then you agree with Mohammed that the Christian and the Jew are your enemy. You see if the Muslim is following the jihad practice, which by the way he is mandated to do so, then the Christian and the Jew are to be killed because they are infidels to their god Allah and our religion is inferior.
Now of course you can be spared if you deny Jesus Christ and Yahweh and pay the tax they impose on you and worship Allah.
I call this a Holy War -but brothers and sisters in Christ- we do not fight the way the Muslims do who are following jihad. We love and pray for our enemies.
Because we know from: Eph 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
What does this Holy war have to do with Halloween?
EVERYTHING!
The battle for us is Spiritual and we need to determine today whose side we are on?
Josh 24:15 "And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."Josh 24:16 And the people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;
People we have really only two choices, Joshua knew it, I know it and you know it. We can serve God or we can serve the Devil.
I think the basic question for the believer is will my life as I spend it be pleasing to God?
If that is our desire then we will ask every day, every hour, every moment is what I am doing or about to do going to please my Father in heaven.
* If you know from his word what you are about to do pleases Him according to His good and perfect will, go for it.
*If you know what you are about to do does not please god, abstain from it.
If you really do not know God’s will in the matter, than you have a responsibility to find out what His will is and follow it!
Shall we look for a moment at God’s word -open your bibles to:
Deu 18:9 "When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations.
Deu 18:10 "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
Deu 18:11 or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
Deu 18:12 "For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you.
Deu 18:13 "You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.
Deu 18:14 "For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do so.
I am not here tonight to judge Christians who trick or treat, I am here to inform you of the basis and purpose of the event and allow you through God’s word to draw your own conclusions.
Would it surprise you if I told you that Halloween started just like Easter and Christmas as Pagan holidays. But the church to counteract the world tried to Christianize it.
So we know the truth is that Halloween’s deepest roots are decidedly pagan, and unlike Christmas and Easter, it has kept those pagan roots, despite its now Christian name. Christians didn’t simply speak out; they tried to institute a Christian alternative. Actually the church had 3 holidays All Hallow’s Eve Oct 31st and All Hallows day (November 1) to honor dead martyrs of the faith and then Nov 2 All Souls day was a day of prayer to move people from purgatory.
The term Halloween comes from the phrase All Hallows Evening.
Halloween as we know it wasn’t celebrated in the USA until the mid 1800’s. The traditions are believed to have been brought to America by the Irish and the Italians.
Halloween today means Goblins, Ghouls and witches, people decorate their yards with tombstones and caskets.
The ancient Druids in the British Isle were the first to celebrate the traditions of Halloween as we know it and most of the traditions and symbols came from their practices.
The Druids were the priestly class of the Celtic/Pagan religion. They worship nature and Mother earth or the created things in the world and not the creator. They were the source of the Christmas tree, which cames from the Festival of Fires, because they worshipped the Oak and the Holley. They celebrated what is called (summa- heen) Samhain, who was one of their Gods called the Lord of Death. Today he is called the Grim reaper.
Halloween of the 3 holidays is the one that has kept its pagan roots.
Satanists believe that it is on Halloween that it is a night that the demons and the Devil are given special powers. This is a night when witches have their major sabbats.
There are 8 major holidays on the witches calendar.
Halloween is the beginning of the witches year, one might say it is their Big Fall kick off. It is a day where people pray for the dead.
Should the Christian have anything to do with witches , psychics, etc.
Our scripture tonight tells us absolutely not:
Deu 18:13 "You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.
On this night the Druid priests would offer sacrifices to the Devil, often these sacrifices would be human, most often they were criminals sacrificed to make (summa heen) Samhain happy, so he would consider sparing their relatives.
Satan loves Halloween because it glorifies evil and puts fear in the lives of people about his power. Satan also loves Halloween because by his church, the church of satan it remains his special day.
Yet as Christians we fear no evil, we know that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.
Let’s look at where some of the traditions we see and practice today came from:
1. Costumes- The Druids believed that evil spirits roamed the earth during Samhain casting spells and tricks on people. They believed if you wore a mask or a costume you could trick the demons into thinking you were one of them and they would leave you alone.
2. Trick or Treat- This came from the belief that if you set food or candy out on your door step for the night-the spirits would pass you by, not cause your milk to spoil or your cattle to have birth defects, or damage your family. The Druids would then go around collect the food and burn it as a sacrifice to their gods. They were also known to burn your house down or castrate the males in the house if they arrived and the treat was not at the door.
3. Jack O Lantern- An ancient symbol of condemned souls. The story originated from a guy named Jack that supposedly tricked the devil into chasing him up a tree and then Jack jumped out and mounted his crucifix so the devil could not get to him. Jack then put an ember that the devil threw at him from Hell inside a pumpkin or gourd and used it as a lantern. It was also a symbol used by the Druids and pagans to determine who was in agreement with them and deserved mercy from the tricks. Just like today we fly the flag to show our unity. People lit a jack o lantern to show the Druids hey we are one of you. Currently, witches use hollowed out gourds and skulls as a light during their rituals.
October 31st by itself, dressing up in costumes, eating candy is not inherently evil. What is important here is that we know what the devil, the church of satan and witches think about the day and what part we will have with the devil.
That is why I am glad we have a Fall Festival with many activities for our children.
I leave you with this scripture
Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.
Phil 4:9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.
