Halloween in Our Culture
In our culture, Halloween has become a time for people to dress up, attend parties, or ask friends and neighbors for treats. This highly commercialized time focuses on haunted houses, telling scary stories, and horror films. Where does this fascination with skeletons, death, and scaring people come from?
From the times of the early Church, Christians have remembered the saints (hallows), martyrs, and all of the faithful departed. This became the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day. However, departed saints and loved ones are largely forgotten in popular culture where All Hallows’ Eve or Halloween commemorates a night when supernatural beings are said to roam about. These beings are known to be malignant spirits, even so, many believe they can be appeased by giving them something in exchange for good fortune. Halloween is not a Christian holiday and today hides a veiled truth that there are spirit beings that will meddle in our lives with evil intent whenever they can.
Spiritual Wickedness
These spirits, Satan, and the angels that followed in rebellion against God are bound to this earth Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him”. Satan is a deceiver and is said to have in 2 Corinthians 4:4 “blinded the minds of them which believe not”. Satan is described as an adversary where he is “standing at his right hand to resist him”. Zechariah 3:1.
One of Satan’s main activities is revealed in Revelation 12:10 “the accuser of our brethren … which accused them before our God day and night”. One of his primary means of attack is to bring accusations of sins we commit and, of course, he would have an airtight case except for the fact that for believers, our Lord, our Advocate, defends us, by presenting to him the full payment for our sin. All our sins were paid for. 1 John 2:1-2, “if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world”.
Satan is also the tempter who came to tempt Jesus in the wilderness but failed. Matthew 4:1-3 tells us that Satan knows scripture and quotes it out of context (as the cults also do). When Jesus quoted the scriptures (in context), he fled. Quoting scripture will defeat him all the time. He hasn’t changed and is still at work in the Church. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 3:5, “I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you”. Temptation has been the devil’s work from the beginning. He tempted Eve to accept his counterfeit plan, (independence from God) Genesis 3:5, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil”.
Satan’s does have authority over this world (because of Adam’s disobedience) and his place of authority is clearly described in several scriptures: John 12:31 he is called “the prince of this world”, and in Ephesians 2:2 “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience”. Then it says in Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”.
Authority Through Jesus Christ
Through His obedience, Jesus as the 2nd Adam, took back the authority the devil acquired from Adam in Colossians 2:15 “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” and He has delegated it to us as His body in the earth in Matthew 28:18-19a “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Therefore, go …”. Satan, then, and his minions have no power over us unless we give it to him, Let us not be deceived by opening any door for evil. Ephesians 4:27, says “give no place to the devil” but instead, let us turn our hearts toward God. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things”. As we walk in the Spirit and use our authority, we will be victorious over wickedness, deceit, and temptation so we can live as examples of the light of Jesus Christ.
