Halloween – The Truth Behind

From Global Prayer (I should have posted this earlier!!)

Halloween is celebrated on 31 October every year in many nations, even by believers who are completely unaware of the origins or of the spiritual implications. This is the night when most paganists honor the spirits of the dead, offer human sacrifices and make pacts and covenants with the demonic forces.

It originated among the ancient Celts of Europe and was called the festival of “Samhain” or “All Hallowtide” (the feast of the dead). It started on the evening of 31 October, signaling the end of harvest and the beginning of winter and also the beginning of the New Year for the Celts.

During the “turning” of the year, the “veil between the worlds” was believed to be at it thinnest and the living could communicate with the dead. It was a time when deceased ancestors and other “friendly” spirits were invited to join in festivals and be reunited with loved ones.

It was also a time when faeries were active. Faeries were seen as those angels who did not side with either God or Lucifer and were condemned to walk the earth until judgment day. The Celtic people believed that chaos reigned on this night since it was a time between one year and the next. It was a night of magic charms and divinations, reading the future and many other rites.

“Trick or Treat”: Since it was the belief that spirits had to be appeased by giving them a type of offering (food or milk), people would imitate the faeries and go from house to house begging for treats. Failure to provide the treats would result in practical jokes being visited on the owner of the house such as: blocking the chimney, leading off cattle, throwing cabbages, etc. Another way to fool or scare away the evil spirits was to dress up to look like them. It was believed the spirits would bring them no harm then.

“Jack-o-Lantern”: Jack was an Irish scoundrel who liked to eat big red turnips. On Halloween day he trapped the devil in a tree and would not let him down until the devil promised Jack he would never live in Hell. The devil agreed and a year later Jack died. Because he did not believe in God, he did not go to heaven and the devil did not allow him into hell either. To help Jack find his way back to earth, the devil gave him a fiery coal. Jack put this fiery coal in a lantern he had carved from a big turnip. This first “Jack-o-Lantern” was supposed to help Jack find his way back to Ireland but he never found it, and is therefore still roaming the earth with his lantern.

Fire ceremonies: Halloween was one of the four great “Fire Festivals” of the Celts. All the fires in hearths were extinguished and then re-kindled from a central bonfire started ceremoniously by the druids. During this time the druids would wear animal skins and heads to disguise them from the spirits. The extinguishing of the fires symbolized the “dark half” of the year and the rekindling symbolized the return of hope. Fires or candles were left burning all night to honor and welcome the dead.

The early Christian Church tried to eliminate the Druid celebration by offering “All Saint’s Day” as a substitute. It was of no avail. Although the outward forms of such worship disappeared, the belief in these gods did not. In the mid 1900’s paganism returned to the western world and the pagan feasts were re-introduced. The uninformed Christian has no idea that demonic spirits that are contacted are actually activated as people call out to them in jest or in seriousness. Every act surrounding Halloween is in honor of false gods and spirits and to pray for the dead is totally against Scripture.

Satanists have adopted the Druidic High Days and celebrate Halloween as follows:
22-29 October – preparations for the sacrifices
30 October – Satanic High Day – related to Halloween with human sacrifice
31 October – All Hallow’s Eve – Blood- and sexual rituals with demons; animal or human sacrifices.

SCRIPTURAL PRAYER GUIDELINES:
2 Tim 1:7 – God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind. Resist the spirit of fear that seems to surface in the time of Halloween and is enhanced by movies portraying either the occult or extreme situations of fear.
Deuteronomy 18:9-14 – Do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations through sacrifice, divination, omens, witchcraft, casting of spells, mediums or consulting the dead. Resist the temptation to be drawn into seemingly harmless celebrations of this ancient demonic feast. If you were involved in the past, confess it. ​Ask the Lord for a revelation of His ways to people around you. Ask the Lord for forgiveness for the countless ways your town will be involved in this practice. Speak up and warn people of the danger of getting involved in any kind of occult practices.
Isaiah 8:19 – Should a people not consult their God? Why speak to the dead on behalf of the living? Call upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to His ways, and ask for a deeper revelation of His love. Ask Him to reveal to you His plan and purpose for your town and pray until He manifests His power in your area.

1 Chronicles 10:13-14 – Consulting the dead is being unfaithful to God, and can result in judgment. Commit yourself and your family once again to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. Ask for protection for those targeted for human sacrifices. Pray for all Christians to be protected against curses directed at them; pray especially for pastors, ministers and Christian leaders.

Pray for the salvation of many who practice the occult, that they will be confronted with the love, purity and holiness of God the Father through Jesus Christ.

Petition the Lord against the resurgence of serial killers, escalation of crime, especially violent crimes against children and women, tribal disputes, increased trade in narcotics and pornography, increased abortion, drought and spoilt harvests, financial destruction to the Church, calling up of spiritual forces to begin mass bloodshed and war in countries all over the world, evil forces meeting together to generate power to deceive the masses and the revival of the practice of magic, especially by teenagers and pre-teens.