Engulfed in False Doctrines

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Let’s review. We have established that Halloween originated with the Celts, who worshipped nature—the creation—rather than the one true God, who created nature and everything in it.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonour their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the [creation] rather than the Creator” (Rom. 1:21-25, NKJV throughout).

They had trusted the sun, as their god, to provide them with enough harvest crops to get them through the winter, rejecting God as their Provider. “‘…do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?…do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or…“What shall we wear?” For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you’” (Matt. 6:25-33).

They had put their trust in “sacred bonfires” to protect them from evil spirits, instead of trusting God as their Protector. “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies…For by You I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?…It is God who avenges me, and subdues the peoples under me; He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man” (Psa. 18:2-3, 29-31, 47-48).

The Celts believed in the immortality of the soul, a false doctrine Satan had taught man in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1-5)—and has used to deceive the whole world ever since that time (Rev. 12:9).

God says that when you die, you die. Period. No going to heaven (John 3:13; Acts 2:29, 34). No roaming the earth and haunting houses. No spending eternity in Purgatory, or some other humanly-devised place: “For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward” (Ec. 9:5). “Behold, all souls are Mine…the soul who sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:4). Sin is the breaking of God’s Law (I John 3:4). “For the wages [what you earn] of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), not eternal life, as most professing Christians falsely believe. Halloween sprang from direct opposition to God’s truth.

God’s Viewpoint

Notice what God says about pagan customs, traditions, practices and beliefs in general: “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” (Jer. 10:2-3, KJV).

God took a nation of slaves, Israel, and freed them from their cruel Egyptian masters. Leading them out of Egypt, He commanded them, saying, “According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances” (Lev. 18:3). God ordered the Israelites not to defile themselves with the practices and customs of the surrounding nations (Lev 18:24-29). “Therefore you shall keep My ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: I am the LORD your God” (Lev 18:30).

God gave Israel His laws, statutes and judgments. He gave them a way of life completely alien to mankind; a way that, if kept diligently and from the heart, will produce peace, joy, and prosperity—every good thing that He wants to abundantly share with all of humanity (John 10:10). God told the Israelites that they would be blessed beyond human imagination if they carefully kept His laws (Lev. 26:3-13). And that they would be greatly cursed if they rejected Him and replaced His ways with pagan customs, practices and traditions—no matter how innocent or harmless they seemed (Lev 26:14-39).

Origins of Halloween Customs

Below is a list of widely held customs and their ancient roots: Mischief-making, playing tricks: Celts believed that the ghosts of the dead who returned to earth on the night of Oct. 31 caused trouble and damaged crops; they also believed that their gods played tricks on them.

Black cats: Celts believed that bad spirits would take the form of cats and other animals on the night of Oct. 31. Costumes: Celts (and other Europeans) wore masks when they left their homes after dark to avoid being recognized by ghosts who might mistake them for fellow spirits. “Guisers” dressed up to impersonate the returning dead, singing and dancing to keep evil spirits away. Catholics dressed up as saints, angels and devils during Hallow-mas.

“Trick or treat”: Prior to the Protestant Reformation, women and girls went “souling,” visiting houses and begging for “soul cakes.” Seventeenth-century Irish peasants went door to door asking for donations for a feast to honor St. Columba (whom they believed had replaced the Lord of the Dead). Up until the early 1900s, the Irish went about asking for contributions in the name of “Muck Olla,” a legendary, gigantic boar.

Bonfires: Druids built sacred bonfires to frighten off evil spirits on Oct. 31, eve of the new year. Worshippers used them to burn animal and crop offerings to their sun god; they also rekindled their cooking fires to protect their homes from evil spirits. The Scots built bonfires, called Samhnagan, not for Samhain, but for Halloween merry-making and as a defiant welcome to the coming winter. The Catholic Church continued with the bonfire tradition on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2.

Fruits, nuts and other goodies: Handing out fruits and nuts may have originated from Pomona Day, named for the Roman goddess of fruits, trees, gardens, harvests and fertility. Later used for divination games.

Apple-bobbing, apple-ducking: May have come from Pomona Day; the Romans viewed the apple as a sacred symbol of their goddess Pomona. Apple-ducking was a divination game used to predict future love and marriage; for example, if a girl peeled an apple in front of a mirror in a room lighted by a candle, an apparition of her future husband would appear behind her in a mirror. Also, apple-ducking represented soul symbols (apples) in the Cauldron of Regeneration (the water), similar to the lord of the dead gathering dead souls to regenerate those who had been condemned to inhabit animals for the past year.

Parades, parties: The Scots, Celts and Welsh built bonfires for parading, dancing and merry-making; the Celts did so, wearing costumes made from animal skins and heads. The Scots assembled marriage-minded young people for divination games. Europeans who migrated to America brought with them “play parties” and public events to celebrate the harvest, as well as telling ghost stories and pulling pranks.

Jack-o’-lantern: The name may have come from a night watchman. In the British Isles, turnips and rutabagas were commonly used; pumpkins are the American tradition. In Britain, people hollowed out turnips and placed candles inside them to make food offerings to the dead; later on, they were posted just outside homes to keep away evil spirits.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica; “History Channel Exhibits: The History of Halloween”

“The History of Halloween” (www.auburn.edu/~willik5/halloween.html) Yet, despite God’s warnings, Israel would not listen. Even after God had sent them servant after servant, throughout their turbulent history, they still would not repent and whole-heartedly turn to Him. “And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets” (II Chron. 36:15-16). Because of their spiritual adultery and affinity for pagan practices, calling them holy when God calls them profane (Ezek. 22:26), God had no choice but to punish Israel. And, unfortunately, the modern-day descendants of Israel—the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, Israel, and others—will very soon be severely punished for failing to discern what is holy from what is profane (Jer. 30:4-7; Ezek. 24:13-14). The one true God—the Creator, Teacher, Lawgiver and Judge—does not take pagan practices lightly!

Satan Blinds the World

Most people do not believe that Satan the Devil exists—and that best suits his game plan. His goal is to keep the people of his world, his society, blind to his lies and deceits (II Cor. 4:4; Rev. 12:9). He even uses false ministers, who seem to be ministers of light, but are in reality Satan’s ministers of darkness.

Paul wrote, “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness” (II Cor. 11:14-15). Satan wants us to be so wrapped up in the customs and practices of this world—his world—that when presented with the plain truth about Halloween, we will shrug our shoulders and say, “I’m just celebrating it to have fun—what’s the big deal?”

Throughout mankind’s turbulent history, Satan has always managed to find a way to separate man from God (Isa. 59:1-3) by tempting him into various sins and false ideas that may seem right—that may seem innocent and harmless—but are in direct opposition to God! Jeremiah said, “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jer 10:23), and “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jer 17:9). Even when the Roman Catholic Church attempted to gloss over strange pagan practices of the Celts and Romans, it introduced its own false, Satanic doctrines, passing them off as Christian. Halloween is riddled with deceit and falsehoods.

Yet, even after all the historical evidence and biblical insights are brought to light, there will still be those who continue to view Halloween as just another harmless childhood practice. Nothing will convince them otherwise. Like a gleaming, white-washed tomb (Matt. 23:27), Halloween may sparkle on the surface, but in God’s eyes, it is filled with every spiritually unclean and filthy thing imaginable, a foul stench to His nostrils (Isa. 65:5).

No man or religious organization has the power to “white-wash” Halloween and declare it to be Christian. God unmasks Halloween and sees it for exactly what it is! Will you?

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