Halloween Unzipped Would you give your son a snake when he asked for fish? Would you give your daughter a scorpion if she requested an egg? Why then would Christians honor the serpent of Eden (the dragon of Revelation) by sharing in his Halloween celebrations and permit our children to be caught up by its blinding? Why would we give our children the gifts of darkness, if they hadnt been first wrapped in deceitful light? An agent of pure darkness is disguised as an agent of innocent light. A roaring lion wears the mantle of a passive lamb. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) With little spiritual discernment Christians have bought the lies as wholeheartedly as the world. They too now call evil good, and that which is harmful as harmless. Satan has placed another yoke upon the shoulders of man, another burden to oppress, as the wallet is emptied and children are made vulnerable. The Lord of Light is slighted. Do not be deceived - the evil one is actively seeking only worship for him. Halloween is an elevation of the night to shadow the days and bring satan praise. Halloween has become a strikingly sanitary (and therefore enduring) presentation of darkness. Recognize this deception - call it out in truth, for what yoke of fellowship can darkness bear with light? (See further 2 Corinthians 6:14-15) Todays Soul Snippet: Those who seek to do much for the Lord must first be much with the Lord. ~ Michael Cartwright Making Sense of Halloween Introduction Ghosts and goblins, skeletons and skulls are the order of the day. Shrill voices and bright eyes of wonderment gaze hopefully upward and beg trick or treat. Pumpkins and black cats are all enlisted to create a mirthful ambience that horror is fun while death is a game. We used to go around tipping outhouses over, or turning over corn shocks on Halloween. Anything to be mean. ~ Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn seems to have captured the history and threads of Halloween very well (although I suspect unwittingly) as she echoes the dark overtones of this satanic festival. Halloween falls annually on October 31st. It marks one of two great seasonal turning points of the year. It is largely a northern hemisphere festival, so it celebrates the changing of summer to winter. The other significant turning point is May Day, where the promise of summer is enjoyed. In recognizing the return of winter Halloween marks a time of darkness, death and chaos. Halloween is a celebration of darkness that seduces those who are in the light to celebrate it too. Origins Originally Halloween was an ancient Celtic fire festival of the dead. There were four annually: 1.Imbolc - January 31st 2.Beltane - May 1st 3.Lugnasad - August 1st and 4.Samhain - October 31st These fire festivals began with bone-fires, where bones where used as kindling. (Hence the term bonfire.) From the bonfire a torch was lit and taken to each home to burn continuously for a year. At years end the old one was extinguished and a new one lit to mark the New Year. In recognizing the return of winter Halloween marks a time of darkness, death and chaos. Beltane and Samhain were two parallel festivals. Beltane signified the beginning of summer and Samhain the start of winter. It was also the advent of the Celtic New Year. Curiously Samhain was the brightest and most energetic of the four annual fire festivals. Dancing around the flames and leaping through them would supposedly guarantee a good harvest. Christians renamed Samhain as Halloween in 837 AD, literally it is All Hallows Eve with November 1st being All Saints Day and November 2nd being All Souls day. Halloween was the failed attempt to Christianise this pagan festival. The Celts believed that at Samhain their dead ancestors would come inside their house to warm themselves at the hearth. What happens? Central to Halloween was the celebration of the dead (explaining why so many ghost-like and skeleton costumes continue to this day). Halloween was the New Years festival to the Celtic Lord of the Dead, or the Lord of Darkness - Samhain. The Celts would correlate the fire festivals with the execution of convicted criminals. At the feast of the dead, the deceased were honoured and so too was the supremacy of dark over light. (Remember summer has gone and winter arrives.) Pagan belief holds that crucial joints between the seasons opened cracks/gaps in the space/time fabric, thus permitting brief and deliberate contact between the ghost/spiritual world and the mortal/physical one. These two worlds would join on the night between the old and new seasons. Consequently such thinking led to the belief that the dead could return to their homes for a night. Rituals were then developed for hospitality to the dead. This included the lighting of bone-fires to guide the spirits home. Central to Halloween was the celebration of the dead The Celts would put out food and drink for the dead with great ceremony. Homes were left open so the dead had unhindered access, as swarms of spirits flowed into the world on October 31st. Even the Celts knew that not all spirits were friendly, so they carved images of guardian spirits into vegetables and placed them on their doors to ward off evil spirits. This really was an inverted passover. At Samhain, the Lord of the Dead called together all the wicked souls who died within the previous year that were destined to inhabit animals. Hospitality to the spirits would placate them from doing evil. Prosperity was promised to generous donors and tricks to those who refused - hence trick or treat. This then led to the practise of souling. Souling began as a custom that begged special cakes for the dead. Under Christian influence this changed to wealthy people giving soul cakes to the poor. Conclusion Halloween is the sanitising of evil. - David Beasant Fear, death and darkness (all characteristics of Halloween) to those who live in the light is evidence to handiwork of the evil-one. Satan is celebrated/worshipped annually by a day masked in its dedication to him. Remember life is literally about who/what each individual worships - Halloween is the exact, but deceitful reality of what satan tempted Jesus to do in the desert, that is worship him! Growth in the Lord means a developing distaste for unrighteousness within the world. This is the path of maturity (see Hebrews 5:13-14). Satan is celebrated annually by a day masked in its dedication to him. That which meets the growing approval of the world, a world under the rule of the prince of the air is NOT going to meet the approval of God. This is the first indicator that Halloween is not acceptable. Our Christian response •Thank God that He has released us from darkness and brought us into the light. (John 1:4-5, 9:5) •Recognize this as true spiritual warfare with the powers of darkness deceptively gaining strongholds in this world. (Ephesians 6:1-1-3) •Halloween is literally making acceptable the unacceptable. When darkness is celebrated, the dead are honoured and indulgence is promoted it becomes clear that this festival is not seeded in light. •Refuse to share this naïve dancing with satan. Do not entertain it in any manner. To support it gives satan a stronger foothold with his influence of the world. (2 Corinthians 6:14-15) •Heed the Bibles warning, for this is no trivial festival. Countless people will celebrate it without thought, but for many it is the night of the greatest possible significance. •When children come Trick or Treating gift them food for the soul; some small piece of appropriate Christian literature. Refuse to be enrolled to support that which is against Christ and thus give this pagan festival more reinforcement/traction for next year. Further Biblical Witness Deuteronomy 18:9-13 Isaiah 8:19-20 1 Corinthians 10:20-22 Galatians 5:19-21 Revelation 21:8, 22:15 Would you like to receive the monthly SoulSense for free, direct to your inbox ... click here
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 12:20:10 +0000
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