Shining Yahweh’s Light on the Darkness of Halloween
10/17/15 (08/03) Video Broadcast
Why don’t I celebrate Halloween? Because I don’t celebrate morbidity, death, fear, terror, destruction, demons, tricks/deception, or suicide. My Savior taught me to celebrate and focus on the things that are lovely, pure, noble, holy, praiseworthy, just, virtuous and good (Philippians 4:8). I celebrate LIFE!
Video Transcript
This is a direct transcript of a teaching that was presented via video. Due to the fact that we often speak differently than we write, the written text may not flow and/or sound strange in some places. There may also be grammatical errors and unintended mistakes. It is encouraged that you to watch the video to complement this written transcript.
I find it interesting that just after the Fall Festivals that are mentioned in the Scriptures we have this time of unholiness, this time of un-holidays, and they begin their oppression.
We enter this time when ghosts and witches and jack-o-lanterns and goblins and people that are murdered being displayed; suicide being displayed; death, horror and morbidity being honored and lifted up as praiseworthy. And it is like a culture shock when you leave one and see the other.
All the things that are of Messiah are joy and blessing and life and goodness and holiness and peace. And yet, people who claim to believe in Messiah will dress their children to look like demons and goblins and ugly things. And I marvel how blatant and in-your-face traditions of men can be against the things of our Father in heaven.
And so, I want to take a moment and shine a light and put out the darkness. If I was to turn off every light in this room and it was completely black and there would be no darkness, all it would take is one candle and we would have light putting out darkness, because all the darkness in the world cannot overcome the light of Yahweh.
He puts out the darkness. And so, we are going to look into the differences between the clean and the unclean, between the holy and the unholy. And so, today I want to be shining Yahweh’s light on the darkness of this observance called Halloween.
Now if you look into any encyclopedia, Encyclopedia.com says: “Oct. 31, the eve of All Saints’ Day, observed with traditional games and customs. The word comes from medieval England’s All Hallows’ eve (Old Eng. hallow = “saint”).
“However, many of the customs predate Christianity, going back instead to Celtic practices associated with Nov.1 – the beginning of winter and the Celtic new year. Witches and other evil spirits were believed to roam the earth on this evening, playing tricks on human beings to mark the season of diminishing sunlight.”
Interesting. And it says here that these customs associated with this are predating Christianity. Now what does Yahweh, our heavenly Father, think about these customs? What does He think about them?
Obviously, they are dealing with witches, evil spirits, and so on. And people are dressing themselves up to look like witches and evil spirits, roaming the earth, playing tricks. People are dressing themselves up to walk in the image of these things rather than the image of Yahweh our Father in heaven.
So what I want to do is speak scripture, speak light, into these practices, because we will see how Yahweh feels about it pretty quickly if you haven’t already.
But this involves the Celtic new year cycle. That is what this is all about– the beginning of winter; the time of the Celtic new year; marking a season of, as it says here, “diminishing sunlight.” That is what this is marking.
And so, they saw the leaves falling down off the trees, and they looked toward the heavenly bodies and they saw that the sun was slowly becoming less and less prominent and less and less hours per day. And so, they made up their own ideas of what was going on in the spiritual realm.
But the heathens were very afraid this time of the year. They were afraid that the apparent death of greenery– leaves falling off the trees, plants withering and dying– that this meant a time of darkness, a time when evil was going to be more prevalent and more powerful.
And so, they did different things to try to ward off the evil spirits. And they were afraid. They were afraid perhaps the sun would not return.
But Scripture says in Jeremiah chapter 10, verse 2:
Jeremiah 10:2 – Thus says YAHWEH: Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
I am concerned that we have already learned the way of the Gentiles, we have already learned the way of the heathen, we have already learned the way of these false religions. And I have to share with you that the things that we are seeing today really are the way of the Gentiles, the way of the heathen, and we should not be engaging in their practices.
He says, “Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them.” They were afraid. They were afraid the sun was going to go away.
And so, these priestly classes of the Celtic people, known as the Druids, they taught the people that with all the supposed death of plants and things surrounding them, evil spirits and spirits of the dead also roamed about during this time. And so, they had this festival they called Samhain.
Samhain was on October 31st to mark the end of the year and the beginning of another year. And so, that is another thing, a totally different calendar produced by Celtic people coming from a false world view.
Now Yahweh gave us His calendar. In Exodus chapter 12, verses 1 through 2, He says:
Exodus 12:1 – Now YAHWEH spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2 – This month [shall be] your beginning of months; it [shall be] the first month of the year to you.
It is in the spring. The month of Aviv. “It shall be the first month of the year to you.” So He has His calendar, which His new year begins.
And there is something to be said about calendars, because maybe there is not a more significant concept that really shapes our lives, the place, the time, the order in which we do things than the calendars that we actually observe.
And we literally frame our lives around the calendar, you know… “What day next month are you going to do this?” “What day next week are you going to do that?” “Thursday,” which is “Thor’s day,” the name of a “god” named “Thor.” Or “Saturday,” “Saturn’s day.”
These different “gods” were given honor on these different days, and the same thing with months. “March” meant “Mars.” Mars would go out. That is the Roman god of war. And so, all of these things that we just assume, “Okay, this is the world we live in,” is very different than Yahweh’s calendar.
The calendar of the world gives homage and honor to the various idols that were worshiped down throughout history. But Yahweh’s calendar is different. And it is not like He came up with just some calendar for the Jewish people and He can look at it and say, “Oh, how quaint. Isn’t that cute?”
No, this is the way He Himself keeps time. This is something He established going all the way back to Genesis chapter 1, verse 14, where He said the lights in the heavens will be for seasons and times, and so on.
And every calendar that came after His calendar was in competition with His calendar because He is the one that came up with the idea of having a calendar to begin with. And so, there were competing calendars invented by men who were worshiping the devils, one of whom was Julius Caesar in the year 46 B.C.
Many of the months are named after demons or idols or Julius Caesar himself (for “July”). And so, we still follow this calendar, revised by Pope Gregory, to this very day. Now, do we understand that? Do we understand that the things that the Gentiles were worshiping were actually demons?
They were not Elohim. They were not some fake thing. They were literally demons. Scripture says so.
1Corinthians 10:19 – What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything?
20 – Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to Elohim, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.
21 – You cannot drink the cup of YAHWEH and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of YAHWEH’S table and of the table of demons.
1Corinthians 10:22 – Or do we provoke YAHWEH to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
Interesting how it is related to a cup and a table. From which table are we getting our food? From whose cup are we getting our drink?
Spiritual food is the Word of Yahweh. We live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Yahweh, according to Matthew 4:33.
So from whose mouth and from whose table did this doctrine of the calendar that we have today originate? From whose table did this Halloween observance originate? It wasn’t from Yahweh, my friends.
It was from a competing calendar, a competing theology, a calendar based on false ideas, a calendar based on the worship of the sun and by Gentiles who were dismayed at the signs of heaven. That’s our modern calendar today. And so, it is no coincidence that there are holidays associated with that calendar.
And so, what do we want to do? Do we want to observe holidays that are rooted in paganism and in the worship of demons? Or do we want to honor His Holy Days He gives us in the Scriptures, because Yahweh’s calendar is very different?
It begins in the spring, not the middle of winter, not the beginning of winter, but in the spring. His harvest festival is in the seventh month of His year corresponding to late September/early October to mid-October.
But the demon worshiping Druids observed their harvest festival based on their dismay of the signs of heaven, something Yahweh tells us not to be dismayed by. And they based their calendar and started their harvest festival on October the 31st and November 1st.
And so, whose system are we supposed to be focusing on? Whose system are we supposed to be framing our lives around?
When Jeroboam sought to keep the northern tribes from worshiping Yahweh in Jerusalem, he set up two idols for them to worship, two golden calves, and with that came a different harvest festival.
1Kings 12:31 – He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
32 – Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that [was] in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made.
The fifteenth day of the eighth month. Now we are here in 2015. Did you know that the fifteenth day of the eighth month on Yahweh’s calendar this particular year actually corresponds to October the 29th, only two days prior to this thing known as Halloween? I wonder where he got his theology. It could have been similar in its mindset.
But he made these man-made high places, and Jeroboam established his own worship system, developed his own holidays– alternative holidays– for the children of Israel to observe, and the northern tribes never did recover.
Not one of Israel’s kings of the northern tribes was righteous. Every single one of them were wicked, except for Yehu who was righteous for a while, but then he turned back to idolatry.
And so, the northern tribes observed these months, these alternative holidays and an alternative worship system, and it kept them from worshiping our Father in heaven. And we see the same kind of things happening in the New Testament in Galatians chapter 4, verses 8 through 10. It says:
Galatians 4:8 – But then, indeed, when you did not know Elohim, you served those which by nature are not gods.
“gods” or “elohim”
Galatians 4:9 – But now after you have known Elohim, or rather are known by Elohim, how [is it that] you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
10 – You observe days and months and seasons and years.
He is not talking about Yahweh’s days here. He is not talking about the holidays in the Bible. He is pointing them back to what these observances were when they were serving which was by nature things that were not really elohim, or not “gods.”
And so, it is the pagan days and months and seasons and years that he is actually speaking against. He said, “You used to serve these which by nature are not elohim, but now you are turning again to these things– the days and months and seasons and years.”
Once again, they were a mess. And so, I ask the question: What are you and I, as believers, supposed to be involving ourselves in? What are the roots of our celebrations? Does it matter?
Some of you might say, “Well, it doesn’t matter to me. Today it doesn’t mean this. It doesn’t mean that.” Since when is it man-centered religion that we follow? It is not what WE think about it. It is what HE thinks about it.
He says we cannot drink from the cup of Yahweh and the cup of demons or partake of both tables. You cannot do it. You will provoke Him to jealousy he says.
It seems to me we ought to be most focused on the things that are of Him, that are of the light, that are of the truth. And so, are we in tune with His calendar?
As we near these end times, it will be His calendar that determines things, not the calendars of men. It will be His Word, not words from the tables of demons.
And we don’t want their calendars. We don’t want their days. We don’t want their seasons. And we don’t want their years. I mean, we live in the world. We have to be aware of it. But our main focus is on His.
And so, the day will come, Scripture says…
Ezekiel 44:23 – And they shall teach My people [the difference] between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
Because the enemy has come in and dirtied up a lot of stuff, confusion set in, confusion from all these things, and we have to be able to discern the difference between the holy and the unholy, between the clean and the unclean. Because He says:
Isaiah 5:20 – Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those! And so, I want to shine a light on the darkness of the observance of Halloween and show the superiority of Yahweh’s table over the table of His enemy and our enemy.
Halloween, as we saw, is a Celtic new year’s festival. And it says that “evil spirits were believed to roam the earth on this evening, playing tricks on human beings to mark the season of diminishing sunlight.”
Well, it goes on to say: “Bonfires were lit, offerings were made of dainty foods and sweets, and people would disguise themselves as one of the roaming spirits, to avoid demonic persecution.
“Survivals of these early practices can be found in countries of Celtic influence today, such as the United States where children go from door to door in scary costumes demanding ‘trick or treat.'”
Now is this what we are supposed to be copying? Is this what we are supposed to be walking in the image of? I don’t think so.
Now, in my own research, I found that the Celtic people were very wicked. The males were commonly doing things with men that were shameful under the direction of their priest called the Druids. They worshiped numerous idols. And so, obviously, latching onto Celtic traditions is not something that we want to be doing.
The Celts believed that the souls of the dead persons would travel to another world on the night of what is called Halloween. And they believed the other beings, or fairies, would enter our world.
And they had these turnips. They would take these turnips and they would hollow them out and they would carve faces on them and put them in the windows to ward off these wayfaring evil spirits.
And that is why (today we have the American pumpkin, a western plant) the pumpkin carving occurs around Halloween and we put them on the windowsills and porches, and so on.
But look at what is being said here. It says people would disguise themselves as one of these roaming spirits, to avoid demonic persecution. They were afraid of the demons. And so, the origins of these customs were based on a fear of demons.
If you read anything about the third world religions, to this day you will see a lot of the idol worship that goes on in the jungles, in the places in Africa, and different places, that people look to the witch doctors to protect them from evil spirits that inflict them and possess them on a regular basis.
And many of these people are seized with terror over the power of these unclean spirits. Now compare that to the promises that we have in the holy Scriptures.
1John 4:4 – You are of Elohim, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
And so, we have Yahushua the Messiah dwelling in us who is greater than the devil and his cohorts. And for this reason, we don’t have to fear demons.
We regard him as a formidable foe, one who is our enemy, one who seeks to destroy and devour, but we do not walk in the fear of the devil because He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.
Do we believe that? If we saw Satan himself appear to us in the middle of the night, would we be afraid? Or would we, as I have heard one person say he did, he goes, “Oh, it’s just you,” and he rolled over and went back to sleep? He had no fear of the enemy.
And the enemy wants to appear intimidating. He wants to provoke fear in us of him for a reason, because the one we fear is the one we regard to be the mighty one, the one who is mightier than ourselves. And that is supposed to be Yahweh.
Yahweh is the One we fear, not Satan. Even Yahushua taught us, “Don’t fear those who can kill the body.”
Satan can even appear, though, as an angel of light if he wants to, but what he prefers is to look like something intimidating, hideous, scary, so that we will fear him, the enemy, rather than fearing Yahweh and putting our faith and trust in Him.
So that is his goal– to get us on the run, to scatter us, to get us to be afraid of curses, afraid of things. But the enemy is not one we need to fear. He is one we need to fight, we need to stand against.
And that is why Yahushua said:
Luke 12:4 – And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
5 – But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!
“Hell” = “Gehenna,” “lake of fire.”
So we are told not to be afraid of anyone who can kill the body. After that, that’s it. They are done. Satan and his demons, they cannot destroy the soul unless we let them. And even then, we are destroying our own soul by walking in their image.
And so, if we had no hope of the resurrection into life, we would have a reason to fear, maybe, and this life would be in our minds and there is nothing left to hope for. But we have the promises of Yahweh. We have every reason to look forward to what is on the other side. We don’t have to have any reason to really fear death.
Our lives are in the palm of Yahweh’s hand. He is the Author of life. He is the One who decides how and when we die. And we all have that date with death. We don’t know when it is going to be, but we won’t be late. We will be right on time.
But the whole world is seized with a fear of death, and this is bondage. Yahushua, He overcame the world.
Hebrews 2:14 – Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15 – and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Fear of death brings bondage. So the whole basis upon which the Halloween celebration was, was upon a fear of death, a fear of the demons, a fear of the one who had the power of death. But we are set free from that fear because greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.
So He did destroy him who had the power of death. And so, we don’t fear death.
2Timothy 1:7 – For Elohim has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
The spirit of fear is not Yahweh’s Spirit. I mean, there is a fear of Yahweh, but not a fear of the devil, not a fear of man, not a fear of death. We are released from that.
And so, unlike many observers of this Halloween who soak in this spirit of horror and death and bask in it every year through haunted houses and scary movies and all those things, we realize we don’t have a fear of death. We don’t have to be afraid.
Our death is simply a transition into eternal life where we meet our King and we see His face and we live with Him forever. And so, we walk in the fear of Elohim to insure ourselves that we will be there walking in life in the age to come– unlike Satan, who needs to be really afraid of the next age.
So to walk in the fear of Elohim is a wonderful thing. But to walk in the fear of the devil brings oppression and bondage.
So we have no reason to be afraid. Yahushua says:
Luke 12:4 – And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
5 – But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!
Fear Him. Fear Yahweh who has the power to kill you, both in the lake of fire and elsewhere. So, fear Him.
So when we choose to place ourselves in Yahweh’s care, we have made a decision to walk in faith. We know He loves us. He values us. And it is not a dreadful thing if we would walk in His ways. But we turn away from unrighteousness when we receive salvation through Messiah.
When we do that, when we get right with Him, when we seek to be at peace with Him, we realize how much He loves us and how much He values us.
And so, we fear Yahweh because we know He is the Author of life, and if we do things that are contrary to Him, we will be in the lake of fire. But we fear Yahweh because He is power. He is the greatest power there is in the universe and beyond.
But He cares about us to the point where He has numbered the hairs of our head. He counts our steps. He sees us as a treasured possession. And we are so awesomely blessed when we receive what Yahweh has to offer us.
And what does He call us? What does He say? How does He value us?
Yahushua says:
Luke 12:6 – Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before Elohim.
7 – But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Don’t be afraid. You are of more value.
So He values us… greatly, greatly values us. He has names for us. He calls us different things.
He says we are the light of the world.
A City on a hill.
He says we are children of the Most High.
We are called by HIs name.
We are branches of the heavenly vine.
Yahweh’s chosen people.
A royal priesthood.
A holy nation.
His special people.
The people of Yahweh.
He calls us the people of ISRAEL!
A new creation.
The Temple of Yahweh’s Spirit.
The body of Messiah.
His workmanship.
Adopted sons and daughters.
His Jewels.
His special treasure.
We are partakers of the Divine Nature.
We are ambassadors for Messiah.
We are people of power and love and of a sound mind.
We are complete in Messiah.
Transferred to His Kingdom.
We are the head, not the tail.
Above and not beneath.
Friends with Messiah.
Forgiven and Cleansed.
A people at peace with Elohim.
A people dead to sin.
And more than conquerors!
I would say He values us. This sounds like something to be rejoicing in, right? And so, we don’t fear death, because, actually, we regard ourselves as already dead.
Colossians 3:2 – Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 – For you died, and your life is hidden with Messiah in Elohim.
You already died. What do you have to be afraid of death for? Romans 6:11 says, “Reckon yourselves as dead.” We have nothing to be afraid of. Nothing. We already died.
And so, Halloween is all about terror and the fear of men, the fear of demons, the fear of death. And the enemy wants to steal our faith, replace it with a fear of him instead. But Yahushua came to destroy the works of the devil.
John 10:10 – The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly.
Abundant life. See, Halloween cheapens life. It makes light of the death of a human being, trivializing it, minimizing the value of human life. If for no other reason, we ought to reject it on that basis alone.
Skeletons and graves and morbidity… talk about cheapening human life! Something Yahweh views as valuable, numbering the hairs of our head. And they call it a “holiday.” It is not a holiday. It is not a holy day. Not at all.
Scripture says:
Psalms 116:15 – Precious in the sight of YAHWEH [Is] the death of His saints.
He sent Yahushua to us. He cares so much about our life that we might have the hope of the resurrection, the resurrection unto eternal life. That proves how much He values you and me. That proves it. Your life is precious to Him.
So compare the two. Compare the vast contrast here between the ways of Yahweh and the ways of what they call Halloween. Look at the differences. They are all about the TERROR OF DEMONS. But we are all about FAITH IN YAHWEH! And they are all about the FEAR OF DEATH. But we have the HOPE OF THE RESURRECTION!
And they are all about the SPIRIT OF FEAR. But we have POWER, we have LOVE, and we have A SOUND MIND!
And they are all about being IN THE HANDS OF AN EVIL ENTITY WHO SEEKS DEATH. STEAL, KILL, DESTROY. But we are IN THE HANDS OF A LOVING ELOHIM, A LOVING FATHER, WHO GRANTS US LIFE, ABUNDANT LIFE!
Can you not see the difference? It should be obvious. It should be so obvious. LIGHT vs. DARKNESS. LIFE vs. DEATH. HOPE vs. FEAR OF DEATH. FEAR vs. POWER and LOVE and A SOUND MIND.
We are not in the enemy’s hands. We are in the hands of a loving Father.
Now I want to point out another element about this celebration called Halloween. The Encyclopedia here says: “It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favorable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death.
“It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes.”
And so, the one they are afraid of they are also seeking help from.
Now some of us I think don’t really understand what divination is. Wikipedia actually describes divination as this: “The attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual.”
Now one such ritual that was observed in those days and is still observed even today (called a little differently) was something called “bobbing for apples.”
The Wikipedia article actually says: “The current game is based on a New Year tradition [the Celtic new year, right?], where whoever chokes on the apple first in the group will be the first to marry.”
They are seeking insight into a question through divination.
“The similar tradition of throwing rice at a wedding evolved from this, except apples were thrown originally.”
It is divination. It is actually what divination is. It is an idea: You do this, then that is going to happen. You do this and that gives you insight into what is going to happen next.
We don’t realize what divination is, but that is what it is. “Step on a crack, break your mom’s back.” All these different superstitions and rituals and things that people do.
The blowing out candles. You are making a wish to an unknown god, and then you blow out all the candles and the wish will come true.
These are all practices of divination, seeking the help of a deity that is not Yahweh. And 25 years ago, I didn’t even realize it, when we got married– I got married and threw the rice. I didn’t realize it.
And we did this garland thing, you know, where you put it behind your head and you flip it toward the other young people who are bachelors, and whoever catches it is supposed to be the next one to marry.
Or the throwing of the flowers? That is divination. By definition, that is what it is. And you might think of those as just being cute little customs and not really take them seriously. But it is just rehearsing an ancient ritual that Yahweh despises.
Leviticus 19:26 – `You shall not eat [anything] with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying.
As believers, we don’t even use rituals to foretell the future events. We seek Yahweh. We pray to Yahweh. We read His Word. But divination is all about looking at omens and things. It is forbidden. It is forbidden in Scripture.
And today, magic and divination and sorcery, you know, they are all kind of trivialized and sometimes even glamorized– cartoons that glorify magic, fairy godmothers, Rapunzel, magic carpets, genies.
All these things are glorified in Disney cartoons, other cartoons, and books about Harry Potter glorifying magic and sorcery. And this is all against Scripture.
Now Halloween is regarded, actually, by those who worship Satan and followers of the occult, to be their holiest day of the year. Oh, one other day is more holy… one’s own birthday.
And so, we need to look at these things, and say, “Wait, this is repulsive.” And if we don’t find it repulsive, maybe we have been just too indoctrinated and too brainwashed by the media and by our culture.
We want to let our thoughts be more in line with His thoughts as He reveals His thoughts to us in the Scriptures.
Deuteronomy 18:10 – There shall not be found among you [anyone] who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, [or one] who practices witchcraft, [or] a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
11 – or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
12 – For all who do these things [are] an abomination to YAHWEH, and because of these abominations YAHWEH your Elohim drives them out from before you.
Because of these abominations, because of these things, He drove out the heathen. You know, it is one thing to be wrong. But something that is an abomination is something that Yahweh totally detests, and looks at it and just– yuck!
So, He says:
Leviticus 19:31 – `Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I [am] YAHWEH your Elohim.
Isaiah 8:19 – And when they say to you, Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter, should not a people seek their Elohim? [Should they seek] the dead on behalf of the living?
20 – To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.
It is Yahweh’s Word that we are seeking, not omens, not divination, not all these other things which are abominations. It is Yahweh we seek.
And Satan is using Halloween to glorify himself, to inflate his actual power, to be things and act like he can do things he really can’t do.
It is amazing. When someone says, “Oh, it’s magic!” what they mean is it’s supernatural. Now, wait a minute! If something is supernatural, why does Satan automatically get the credit? That is something that doesn’t line up there.
You know, these books of magic and Harry Potter, and anything that would glorify magic– Disney books, Disney movies– anything that would have anything to do with magic or the power of the enemy and the glorification of him, we shouldn’t have any part of it.
What did they do in Acts chapter 19, verse 19?
Acts 19:19 – Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned [them] in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and [it] totaled fifty thousand [pieces] of silver.
They didn’t care. They burned it. They didn’t sell it to somebody else. They burned it.
Now I want to bring to light another element that we need to be aware of with this particular observance. The Encyclopedia says: “Witches and other evil spirits were believed to roam the earth on this evening, playing tricks on human beings to mark the season of diminishing sunlight.
“Bonfires were lit, offerings were made of dainty foods and sweets, and people would disguise themselves as one of the roaming spirits, to avoid demonic persecution.
“Survivals of these early practices can be found in countries of Celtic influence today, such as the United States where children go from door to door in scary costumes demanding ‘trick or treat.'”
Now these souls of the dead, these people, these ones that were roaming spirits (supposed to be revisiting their home)– ghosts and witches and hobgoblins and fairies and demons, and all these things– this is these evil spirits supposed to be revisiting.
And so, children, of all people today, children are being dressed up like these evil spirits and witches and goblins and fairies and demons. And so, aren’t we supposed to be walking in His image, in the image of our heavenly Father and the image of Yahushua the Messiah? That is what we are created to be.
And so why would we dress up our children to look like the enemy and walk in his image? We worship Yahweh. We are called to walk in His ways and walk in His image.
And so, continue reading here: “The date was connected with the return of herds from pasture, and laws and land tenures were renewed.
“The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about.”
And so, that is what people are dressing themselves to look like because it is the one whose image they are walking in. Maybe they don’t realize it… but they are. But Elohim created man in His own image, in the image of Elohim created He him; male and female…
Genesis 1:27 – So Elohim created man in His [own] image; in the image of Elohim He created him; male and female He created them.
So why would we walk around in the image of ugliness, of death and disease, and morbidity and horror? No! That is not us. He is not the one we are imitating.
It is sad. People are dressing impressionable children in these costumes. Now I am not trying to be rude. I am not trying to be harsh. But we have to wake up and look at what we are doing. We have to wake up just as Yahweh said in Psalm 106:19.
Psalms 106:19 – They made a calf in Horeb, And worshiped the molded image.
20 – Thus they changed their glory Into the image of an ox that eats grass.
There they are. That is their image. That is the image they are walking in. Their own glory is this ox eating grass. That is who made them.
And so, what do people do today with this holiday? They change their glory into the glory of the devil, walking in his image rather than the image of the incorruptible Elohim.
Now I realize people do this and may not even realize they are doing it, but they are just kind of going along with the flow, going right along with the spirit of the world and the culture it has produced.
But as believers, we don’t need to be so ignorant. We don’t need to be so gullible. We don’t need to be so blind. We need to pay attention to what we are doing and see whether it is pleasing to our Father in heaven, because we have not received the spirit of the world.
1Corinthians 2:12 – Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from Elohim, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by Elohim.
So for believers to dress their children in these things is preposterous and scandalous and an outright abomination.
And then for them to go around, jokingly or not, and say, “Trick or treat,” a threat to do harm to one who will not present them with the sacrificial offerings of candy and sweets while they are dressed up in the image of something that is morbid and something that glorifies the devil. Think about that. Who do we want our children to imitate?
This is nothing but the whispers of Samhain, a harvest festival of Satan himself, the festival honoring the one who seeks to kill, to steal, and to destroy, whereas Yahushua came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
So the thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. Those are his attributes.
John 10:10 – The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly.
Abundant life. It is not Yahushua’s way to go around threatening people demanding service and sweets. Instead…
Matthew 20:28 – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
He was one who would give rather than one who would just take. It was His way to serve and it is His ways that we want to observe. Rather than appealing to the carnal nature and fleshly hunger of children with gluttonous consumption of candies and gifts, He wants us to appeal to the spiritual nature of children through His Holy Days.
Look at what He said to Israel:
Exodus 12:26 – And it shall be, when your children say to you, `What do you mean by this service?’
27 – that you shall say, `It [is] the Passover sacrifice of YAHWEH, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ So the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
The Passover, which is in the spring, is a memorial of our Savior, Yahushua the Messiah, who willingly laid down His life so that we could inherit eternal life. That is why Scripture says:
1Corinthians 5:7 – Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Messiah, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
And so, rather than glorifying the works of the devil– terror, morbidity, fear of death– we glorify a risen Savior who came to serve, who, although the devil came to kill and steal and destroy, He overcame by the power of Yahweh within Him. And He is risen. And that is who we glorify.
And so, instead of partaking in candies and whatnot, we partake of Messiah Yahushua, who is our life, and we partake of the bread and the fruit of the vine. And through Him, even if we do die, we live.
Do we see the contrast between light and darkness, the enemy offering false divinations, whereas we have Yahweh’s true prophecies in the Scriptures? Do we see the differences between his doctrines, his ways, his calendar, his observances compared to the pure table of Yahweh?
Do we see the festival which commemorates death and terror and destruction and suicide and morbidity versus the light bearing festivals commemorating the life of Messiah and salvation of mankind? Every one of Yahweh’s festivals are demonstrations of Messiah and the salvation and the life we receive through Him.
And so, Scripture says… make a comparison: FALSE DEVINATION FROM DEMONS or TRUE PROPHECIES FROM YAHWEH! Make a comparison. Which table? FEASTING AT THE UNCLEAN TABLE OF DEMONS or FEASTING AT THE PURE TABLE OF YAHWEH? Which will we choose? WALKING IN THE CORRUPTED IMAGE OF DEMONS or WALKING IN THE HOLY IMAGE OF ELOHIM?
Which will we choose? THE FESTIVAL COMMEMORATING DEATH AND TERROR, DESTRUCTION, SUICIDE AND MORBIDITY or THE FESTIVALS COMMEMORATING THE LIFE WE HAVE IN MESSIAH AND SALVATION FOR MAN? Do we see the differences?
Too often we find people, “Well, you know, it’s no big deal. I’m doing all right. I’m pure. I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m okay. Really! I don’t mean anything by this. This is just a way for kids to have fun, you know?”
I want you to pay attention. There were people who thought they were doing the right thing back in Jeremiah’s day, too. He says:
Jeremiah 2:22 – For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, [Yet] your iniquity is marked before Me, says the Master YAHWEH.
23 – How can you say, `I am not polluted, I have not gone after the Baals’? See your way in the valley; Know what you have done: [You are] a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,
The “Baals” are the false idols. The issue is not whether you realize it or think it. What does HE see? Are your lives polluted through your observances? They were polluted. They didn’t think they were polluted, but they were polluted.
So the issue is not whether we see ourselves as polluted. The issue is whether HE sees us as polluted. And for those who think, “Oh, those are just customs, just cute, harmless– they don’t mean that anymore,” look, disciples of Yahushua, we don’t just go around following what’s “fun.”
We examine what is supposed to be fun and see whether it is something that really honors our Father in heaven and whether it is something He would find offensive and abominable. He stands above time. He looks at time as a thousand years is a day, a day is a thousand years. He sees where things originate and what we are copying.
And we have the opportunity to find out where things originate and whether it is something we ought to be copying. I think the answer ought to be pretty clear because the devil walks around offering his little treats. “Oh, just a little bit of fun. Just little promises of fun.” But in the end it is just one big trick, isn’t it? Trick or treat!
All his tricks are packaged like a treat. That is exactly what the children are getting. They are being conditioned to go around and get their treats, but the whole thing is one big deception and lie from the enemy. And so, what we want to be teaching our children is the dangers of the enemy’s so-called treats.
Candy may send pleasure to the senses, but it will sicken you in the end. Isn’t that just the way of the enemy who will promise you and give you pleasure to your senses? But his ways are nothing more than a trick that ultimately leads to death and damnation.
And so, as disciples of Yahushua, we want to check to make sure whether or not what seems to be fun and harmless is something that is actually a disguise, something that Yahweh finds unacceptable and maybe even abominable, because the most important command is that we love Yahweh.
That is the most important command, that we love Him with all of our heart, soul and strength. And so, we need to be concerned about what He might find to be offensive and make sure we are not drinking from the wrong cup, because we cannot drink the cup of Yahweh and the cup of demons. We cannot partake of Yahweh’s table and the table of demons.
1Corinthians 10:21 – You cannot drink the cup of YAHWEH and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of YAHWEH’S table and of the table of demons.
22 – Or do we provoke YAHWEH to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
We don’t want to provoke Him to jealousy, do we? No, we want to drink from the cup of salvation.
Psalms 116:12 – What shall I render to YAHWEH [For] all His benefits toward me?
13 – I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of YAHWEH.
This is what I do– “call upon the name of Yahweh.” That is why I use the name of Yahweh.
What am I going to render to Him? What are all His benefits toward me? What am I going to do? I am going to receive the cup of salvation and call upon His true, awesome name. That is the cup I want to drink from. How about you?
Now there are a percentage of churches today that have indeed rejected the Halloween festival and instead choose to observe what they call “All Saints’ Day.” It is a different way, I guess, of remembering the dead, an alternative way.
Now a Wikipedia article says: “Christians who celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day do so in the fundamental belief that there is a prayerful spiritual bond between those in purgatory (the ‘Church Suffering’), those in heaven (the ‘church triumphant’), and the living (the ‘church militant’).
“Other Christian traditions define, remember and respond to the saints in different ways; for example, in the Methodist Church, the word “saints” refers to all Christians and therefore, on All Saints’ Day, the Church Universal, as well as the deceased members of a local congregation, are honored and remembered.”
And so, it was actually Catholicism that gave us this alternative of All Saints’ Day, this what is called a “prayerful spiritual bond” between those in purgatory and heaven and the living. And so, Protestants took this and honored their dead, as well.
Now originally it was on May 13th of the Roman calendar, but in the year 835 they moved it to November 1st, obviously, to compete with Samhain, which the Celtics, you know… lived all throughout western and central Europe. It was a huge cultural influence, and so they moved this thing.
And so, they have this All Saints’ Day, which is a time of praying for the dead to try to bring the souls out of purgatory, which is a nonexistent place. It is not in the Scriptures. And so, it is still a festival of the dead. And curiously they move it to this day of Samhain and they change it to All Hallows’ Eve.
Of course, they begin their days at midnight, so the dark portion of November 1st begins on the night of October 31st. And so, this Celtic harvest festival, along with the Druid inspired activities, Christianity came along and tried to compete against it.
You know, it is a very common thing in Christian history to go around and Christianize demonic and pagan holidays so as to give people an alternative to celebrate. And the theme would be similar in some ways, but somehow Christianized and sanctified.
And my question for you is this:
Job 14:4 – Who can bring a clean [thing] out of an unclean? No one!
And do you know what? If the church had been observing the TRUE harvest festival the Bible talks about, the Feast of Tabernacles, they could simply have directed their converts to the true harvest festival rather than the false festival they invented themselves of Halloween and Samhain and All Hallows’ Eve, or whatever you want to call it.
They could have directed people to the true harvest festival that Yahweh Himself says in Zechariah chapter 14 the entire world will celebrate. Read it. It is unfulfilled prophecy. The entire world will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. And if we had done so, there would have been no need to create an alternative day based on paganism.
And so, why do we need such a thing? Why do we need it? We have one already that honors the living Elohim and everything He has done for us. And so, this tradition of focusing on the dead has its origins in other religions, a copycat of other religions.
So there is this belief, you know, if we imitate the world a little bit, you will win the world. But we don’t imitate the world to win the world. You win the world by imitating Yahushua the Messiah. And we know He kept the true harvest festival, the Feast of Tabernacles. And the day is going to come when everybody will.
Here is the verse, right here:
Zechariah 14:16 – And it shall come to pass [that] everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, YAHWEH of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
There it is! The whole world is going to do it! This is unfulfilled prophecy. It shows that when Yahweh’s will is finally done on earth, just as it is in heaven, Gentiles also will be keeping the Feast.
All the nations, every single one of them– all the nations, even the ones that came up against Jerusalem– will go up and worship Yahweh the King and keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
And so, we want to remember His festivals. This is what I am saying. We want to meditate on the things that are noble, just, good and holy, as Scripture tells us:
So let’s look at the things which are true, not the things that are untrue. Let’s look at the things that are noble, worthy of praise, not the things that are irreverent and gross and morbid and disgusting. The things that are just and righteous.
The things that are pure, not the things that are impure. The lovely things, not the ugly things. The things that are of good report, the virtuous things. The things that are praiseworthy.
I’m sorry, I see nothing praiseworthy about Halloween. Nothing good. And so, brothers and sisters, while the world praises the ugliness of death and the fear of demons, let’s walk in the way of Yahweh in faith, in life and in love.
Let’s honor the things that are praiseworthy, because His light, His Word, is praiseworthy and we don’t have any reason to fear.
Compare the two: LIES vs. TRUTH! DISHONORABLE THINGS vs. NOBLE THINGS! INJUSTICE rather than THINGS THAT ARE JUST! IMPURE THINGS rather than PURITY! UNLOVELY THINGS vs. LOVELY THINGS! BAD REPORTS vs. GOOD NEWS! THE EVIL OF SATAN compared to THE GOODNESS OF YAHWEH! THINGS THAT ARE WORTHY OF DISGUST rather than THINGS THAT ARE PRAISEWORTHY!
Where are our minds focused? Scripture says:
Psalms 56:9 – When I cry out [to You], Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because Elohim [is] for me.
10 – In Elohim (I will praise [His] word), In YAHWEH (I will praise [His] word),
11 – In Elohim I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
Psalms 56:12 – Vows [made] to You [are binding] upon me, O Elohim; I will render praises to You,
13 – For You have delivered my soul from death. [Have You] not [kept] my feet from falling, That I may walk before Elohim In the light of the living?
That is where our focus is, brothers and sisters– in the light of the living! Let’s not partake of the impure table. Let’s partake of the pure things from His table. Let’s teach people the difference between the pure and the impure, the holy and the unholy, the clean and the unclean, between what is repulsive and what is lovely.
And by that, we will call the people of this world into a more excellent way, where we are delivered from the one who seeks to steal, kill and destroy and we are granted life, abundant life. That is what we need to be doing. Are we doing it? Let’s not imitate them. Let’s follow and stick with the Scriptures.
Let’s follow the Lamb, wherever He goes. Let’s seek His ways and manifest the goodness of His awesome, awesome Spirit, His Word, His ways.
Heavenly Father, Almighty Creator, Almighty Yahweh, thank You for Your love toward us. Thank You for the pure and lovely things that You have granted us. Thank You for love. Thank You for life. Thank You for the pure things. Thank You for all that You have done for us and all that You will do for us.
Thank You for the hope we have in Messiah, the hope of the resurrection. Thank You for the faith that You have planted in our hearts as we hear Your Word. Thank You for delivering our souls from death. Thank You, Father, for Your festivals, for Your life and for Yahushua who gave His life that we might receive abundant life.
And Abba, we want to walk in that life and the light of the living. Through and by Your great Son, our Savior and King, Yahushua Ha Mashiach, Yahushua the Anointed, we pray these things. For truly Yours is the Kingdom and power and glory and majesty and honor and worship for all eternity.
Amein and HalleluYah!