Halloween
Is it a Trick-or-Treat?
As you look at this question you might remember the times of dressing up and going door knocking for something good to eat. Or, you might think of the times that little children that came to your door all dressed up in their little Princess or Batman outfits, and think that nothing could ever be wrong with that. And if you were to look at the countless News Paper Articles you might say that you were right. But the truth of the matter is that there is a danger in this Holiday that many people don’t even realize.
I have read articles in the papers and have looked at web sites stating that there is nothing wrong with Halloween. In one article I read it stated that, “Halloween was only as evil as one cares to make it.” It went on to say that, “Many churches have Halloween parties and pumpkin carving events for the kids.” Even years ago I knew of a church that would have a haunted house in the basement to raise money for the church. Even still today some Christian don’t see a problem with dressing up like Bible characters, the only problem with that is that Satan is a Bible character. Now years later after studying the issue for the past few years I believe that it is important to set the record straight.
When we look at Halloween many people think that Halloween is just some Holiday that the Satanist decided to pick to worship Satan. But the fact of the matter is that Halloween has been around much longer than what most people even realize. One little fact that most people don’t know is that Halloween was banned in the United States until 1845. The reason for this was because of a Potato Famine of 1845-46 that hit Ireland. Because of this famine many emigrants came to the United States thru New York city. When they arrived they brought with them more than their clothing, they had also packed away in their minds their Druid holidays. One of those Holidays was the festival that marked the beginning of the Celtic New Year. In this festival they made human sacrifices to SAMAN (Shamhain). He was their, “lord of death and evil spirits.” Many people might have even seen him or even dressed up like him not knowing that it was in fact him. This pagan god was seen as a ghostly skeleton, holding a sickle in his hands. We today know him better as the GRIM REAPER.
The word “Halloween” gets it name from the Catholic Church. History tells us that in the 800’s the Catholic Church tried to establish a new holiday on Nov. 1st. This Holiday was called “All Saints Day” or “All Hallows”. (Hallows means saints) The night before this festival was called “All Hollows’ Eve” Then the name was changed to “All Hallow e’en. Which then the word Halloween gets its name from. No matter how the holiday received its name is not important, but rather what day it was done and what they did on that day that is in important.
Oct. 31st what could ever be wrong with this day? Remember that some believe that it was just a day that the Satanist chose to worship Satan on. But looking into other religions we find something very shocking. As we go back into to time we find that on this day and the days surrounding it something very wrong happened. Lets look at some of these other religions.
In Egypt we find many festivals but one stands out from the rest. It is the Festival and Mysteries of Osiris at Dendera.
(Oct 28-Nov 6) Festival and Mysteries of Osiris at Dendera.
This Festival celebrating the annual death and rebirth of Osiris, the corn god. Dendera thought to be one of the tombs of Osiris. As with most things Egyptians there were many local versions of this holiday throughout Egypt: common rituals include mixing wheat and water into a paste and letting it dry in the sun (or baking it into bread or cake), then embalming and burying it as the body of Osiris. On its most basic level a highly stylized, ritualized version of planting and harvesting the wheat.
You might say that there is nothing wrong with this Holiday until you understand the myth behind him. Osiris was not only the corn god but to the Egyptian was also the god of the afterlife. According to the myth Osiris was killed by his brother Seth. Not being satisfied just with killing him he continued to take his body and cut it into pieces. Once this was done he threw the pieces into the Nile river. When Osiris wife had heard what was done she went and found all the pieces of her husband and put him back together. According to the myth that after his body was put back together he was able to have a son Horus, with his wife. Since Osiris was able to bring forth life from his dead body the Egyptians believed that he had triumphed over death thus becoming the god of the afterlife.
Notice the days in which this festival takes place on: Oct. 28th – Nov. 6th some might say that there is nothing wrong with this but we find an Egyptian god of the afterlife being celebrated. Now look at Halloween and the god that is worshiped on this day. SAMAN who to the Druids the lord of death and evil spirits. And when do we celebrate him on Oct. 31st. We must say that it is strange at the very least. Now let’s look at another festival.
The next place to find about this Holiday is found in the Bible. You may have never noticed it, but even the children of Israel celebrated this Holiday. In 1st Kings 12:25-33 we find where Jeroboam was in trouble. Look at the following verses, and take note of the passages that are in bold print.
1 Kings 12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
1 Kings 12:26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
1 Kings 12:27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
1 Kings 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
1 Kings 12:29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
1 Kings 12:30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
1 Kings 12:31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
1 Kings 12:32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
1 Kings 12:33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.
I would like for you to look at verses 32 & 33. Notice that the feast that Jeroboam devised in his own heart was found in the 8th month and the 15th day. You might say that this has nothing to do with our Halloween because Halloween is found in the 10th month and the 31st day. But one thing we must remember is that in the Bible days the Jewish people did not have our Calendar as we know it. The Jewish people used two types of Calendars:
Civil Calendar – It was the official calendar of kings, childbirth, and contracts.
Sacred Calendar – It was used for all the Jewish festivals.
Since we are talking about a festival of the children of Israel, then we must use the Sacred calendar. The 8th month on this calendar is the month of Heshvan. Compared to our calendar it runs from Oct. 16th – Nov. 13th. The 15th day of Heshvan would be our Oct. 30th. The day before the world celebrates Halloween. Some will say because it wasn’t on the 16th day of Heshvan then it wouldn’t apply. To understand why this is linked to Halloween we must go back and look at the golden calves that Jeroboam had set up.
Look at the 28th verse.
1 Kings 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
At first glace we don’t find any god of the dead being worshiped here. But have you ever wonder where Jeroboam got the idea of worshipping the golden calves? The answer to that is found in Exodus 32: 19-24.
Exodus 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
Exodus 32:20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strowed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
Exodus 32:21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
Exodus 32:22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
Exodus 32:23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exodus 32:24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
As the children of Israel were waiting for Moses up on the mountain, we find that they became in-patient with him and decided to make their own gods. As we know the story we find that on the return of Moses he sees the calf and becomes very angry. If you where to read further into the chapter you would find that 3,000 people died for the sin that they had committed. This is where Jeroboam gets the idea for the two calves that he set up for the children of Israel to worship in 1st Kings. But where did Aaron come up with the first calf? In Exodus 12:40-41 we find that the Children of Israel had spent 430 years in bondage to Egypt.
Exodus 12:40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
Exodus 12:41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
As the Moses soon realized that it was easier to bring the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt than it was to get Egypt out of the Children of Israel. Now remember in Egypt they had a festival called, “Festival and Mysteries of Osiris at Dendera.” As we have brought out that this festival was celebrated in honor of the Egyptian god Osiris “the god of the underworld.” But how does the Golden calf that Aaron and Jeroboam tie into all of this?
As I looked for this answer it brought me to an animal called the “Apis Bull.” The Apis bulls (along with the Mnevis bull and the Buchis bull) were considered to be the earthly incarnation of a god - but unlike other animals who could only intercede with deities on behalf of humans, the Apis Bull was believed to be the very god himself living amongst the human population. Apis was the manifestation of Osiris, Mnevis of Re-Atum and Buchis of Re, all three were chosen for their special markings and were indeed treated as gods on earth - when the bulls died they were then mourned, mummified and then buried with the same glory that occurred with the death of a pharaoh. The Apis Bull was worshipped because it was to the Egyptians Osiris. Many times his name is found with the name Apis-Osiris. According to Plutarch “Apis was a fair and beautiful image of the soul of Osiris”. An Apis bull has distinctive marks. It is black, with a white diamond on its forehead, the image of an eagle on its back, two white hairs on its tail and a scarab-beetle mark under its tongue".
When we look back into the Bible we find that the Children of Israel worshipped these images for many years, and just like 1st kings 12:30 says, “And this thing became a sin”. In the book of 2 Kings 17:14-18 we find the Children of Israel once again worshipping these golden calves but they added to their sin.
2 Kings 17:14 Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.
2 Kings 17:15 And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.
2 Kings 17:16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
2 Kings 17:17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
2 Kings 17:18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
In verse 16 we find that not only did the Children of Israel worship the two calves but they also had made a grove in which they worshipped all the host of heaven. Notice the last word in this verse. Baal. When most Christians hear that name they remember the many times that his name is mention throughout the Bible. But who is he really?
The word Baal means "master" or "owner". In ancient religions the name denoted sun, lord or god. Baal was a common name of some Syrian and Persian deities. Baal is still the principally thought of as a Canaanite fertility deity. The Great Baal was of Canaan. He was the son of El, the high god of Canaan. The cult of Baal celebrated annually his death and resurrection as a part of the Canaanite fertility rituals. These ceremonies often included human sacrifice and temple prostitution.
In the Babylonian myth we find that the story of Baal and the story of Osiris is surprisingly seemlier. The Babylonians account of Baal plays out as him being the fertility god just like his Egyptian counterpart Osiris. In both accounts the god is killed and brought back to life because of the love of the gods wife, the whom is also their sister.
So with that said, we can come to the conclusion that Osiris and Baal are indeed the same pagan god just with a different name. Look at the following verse:
Genesis 10:6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
The reason why this verse is so important is because we find that these sons of Ham become great nations. Cush is the father of Nimrod who is the founder of Babylon. And we find Mizraim is the founder of Egypt. Egypt in Arabic is spelled Misr. Phut becomes allied with Egypt (Mizraim) and becomes the nation of Libya. Canaan becomes the father of the Canaanites. Since these all had the same father it would be easy to see how they all had the same myths. You might ask why did they have different names? Remember that Nimrod, the son of Cush, built the tower of Babel. When the language was changed the name of their god then took on many different names. But the fact remained that he was still the same so called god.
2 Kings 17:17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
In this verse we find that the Children of Israel provoke the LORD to anger. Notice in the way that they had provoked him to anger. If having the idols among them wasn’t bad enough, in which the way that they worshipped these idols that is important. The Children of Israel would sacrifice their children in the fire of Molech. (Which in 1 kings 11:7 says that it was an abomination of the children of Ammon.) They also used divination and enchantments. Now to those that believe that the Satanist just pick the day of Halloween as their day of celebration, would be wrong. Now remember that any day that we worship satan, or any other idols is to be considered a great sin. And those that decided to do such are provoking the True and Only God, Jesus Christ to anger.
Through out the world there are many festivals that celebrate the dead. Also in many customs we find a so called god of the dead or lord of the dead being worshipped. If we claim to be a Christian then we must also realize that there is only one True God. Some might say what is the difference between Jesus Christ and these pagan gods, didn’t he do the same as them? The difference is that while other false gods claim to have been raised from the dead only one can claim that he is the Living God.
1 Thessalonians 1:9 For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
1 Thessalonians 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Mark 12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.
Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Another difference between the false Idols and Jesus Christ is how they are worshipped. When we find a false idol being worshipped we find people or children being sacrificed in fire or some other way of murder. But with Jesus Christ we find that we are to die out to sin, and to become a living sacrifice.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service
If you still have the question about who is the true living God, then the best place to look is in the book of 1 kings 18:18-40. If you were to read the story, you would find that Elijah proved without a doubt that Baal (the god of the dead / Osiris or any of the countless other names) was not a true God, but only a trick that satan had fooled the people with. Notice the question that he asked the people that day.
1 Kings 18:19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.
1 Kings 18:20 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
1 Kings 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
In conclusion I hope that anyone that reads this will see that Halloween is NOT just a ordinary holiday. It is more then just a holiday that people dress up and get candy with. The truth is that there is so much danger in it if we can only see past the costume. The Bible also gives us a commandment that we are not to partakers with idols.
2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
2 Corinthians 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2 Corinthians 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
I hope that I have proven that Halloween is a trick and not a treat for those that claim to be a servant of the Living God, Jesus Christ.
Bro. Jon. Leslie
Pastor Bishop Jarret R. Spence
The Church of Jesus Christ
Portage, IN