“Therefore, go out from their midst and be separate from then, says the Lord…”
II Cor. 6:17
Growing up in the sixties, I never remember Halloween being dark. It was fun dressing up, having parades at school, and coming home with bags full of candy. When we had young kids of my own, our church hosted a harvest party in lieu of Halloween one year. I remember wondering what was wrong with celebrating Halloween, so I went to the LORD and asked Him to tell me if this grieved His heart.
A few days later, He spoke from His Word. His voice jumped right off the page and pierced my soul. “I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy?” (I Corinthians 10:20-21) That was the end of Halloween in our household. As hard as it was for the kids to forego all the frivolity, I’ve never looked back.
Over the past twenty years Halloween has exploded in popularity with huge blow-up lawn decorations that are scary for adults, let alone little ones. Flying witches, werewolves, gigantic spiders, and ten-foot skeletons abound in our neighborhood. Skeletons hang by ropes, sit in lawn chairs wearing Phillies hats, and sit with their skeleton dogs on front lawns. Halloween has been an open portal for the demonic. Occultic shops downtown now cater to witches, and offer crystals and tarot card readings. The town hosts Witches and Warlocks Festivals, ghost stories, and shop discounts for witches. There are Pride Parades, drag queen story hours and drag queen karaoke nights. When I was growing up, the worst danger we faced was an occasional razor blade in an apple. Now, it’s fentanyl disguised as gumballs. We celebrate both the sin and the wages of the sin – death (Rom. 6:23). It’s curious that those neighbors who boldly hang their skeletons out are the ones who fall apart at funerals. How the enemy has taken us captive.
As I’ve grown in Christ, His Word continues to confirm His call to part ways with Halloween. We’re to have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness (Eph. 5:11). The Lord strictly forbids witchcraft, sorcery, divination, and consulting the dead (Deut. 18:10-12). We’re to reject every kind of evil, stand against the devil and the spiritual forces of evil (I Thes. 5:22; Eph. 6:11). We’re to put aside deeds of darkness and refrain from pagan observances (Rom. 13:12; Gal. 4:10).
For the believer, there is only one death worth celebrating – the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross that reconciled us back to the Father in order to present us holy and blameless and above reproach before Him (Col. 1:22). Jesus destroyed the one who has the power of death – the devil (Hebr. 2:14). Death once reigned in us, but when we received the free gift of righteousness, we now reign in life through Christ. (Rom. 5:17) When we were baptized into Christ Jesus and his death, we were raised to walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6:4) If we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like Him (Rom. 6:5). Death is swallowed up in victory (I Cor. 15:54). Death has lost its sting (I Cor. 15:55). If we’re absent from the body, we’re present with the Lord (II Cor 5:8).
The Lord Jesus gave us a means to celebrate His death until He comes through the elements of bread and wine. Maybe this Halloween is a good time to celebrate the only death that brings life. Prayerfully carefully which death you’re celebrating and who else needs to hear this Good News.
“Father, forgive me for not guarding my heart from the deceitfulness of sin and for conforming to patterns of this world when You’ve called me to be set apart. Forgive me for neglecting Your commands to depart from evil. Thank You, Jesus, for paying the price to redeem my life and for tasting death for me so that I could have abundant and eternal life with You. It’s Your life and death alone that I choose to celebrate. Empower me with grace to make You known.”
Lisa Moore