USA (MNN) — It’s Halloween, and if you’re a Christian planning to trick-or-treat tonight, you may want to rethink those plans.
“Christians – who believe in Jesus Christ, who are to have nothing to do with fruitless deeds of darkness but rather expose them – should we be involved? I would say the answer is probably not,” Set Free’s Dean Vander Mey says.
Halloween’s pagan roots date back approximately two thousand years to Ireland, where ancient Celts wore costumes to ward off evil spirits. Known then as Samhain, October 31 was a night when spirits were believed to roam the world of the living.
(Photo courtesy of Annie Spratt/Unsplash)
In an effort to ‘Christianize’ Samhain during the eighth century, “Pope Gregory [III] established All Saints Day on November 1, and the night before became known as All Hallows’ Eve, which eventually became Halloween,” Vander Mey says.
“Many of these old pagan practices continued, and they took on new forms.”
As centuries passed, Halloween never lost its ties to supernatural darkness. Today, some occult members celebrate Halloween as a ‘high holiday.’
Believers who have come to Christ out of an occult background often share warnings about the controversial festival:
“Halloween is steeped in demonic rituals. People think it’s innocent, but the origins are rooted in the worship of the dead and spirits. We can’t compromise by changing it into a Christian holiday.”
Vander Mey adds, “Let’s not mess around with things that began as pagan worship, because that’s what Halloween depicts: death and darkness.”
If history does not sway believers, they might consider Halloween from a spiritual warfare perspective.
In the cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan, there are only two sides – light and dark. Which side are you on?
(Photo courtesy of Andreas Lischka/Pixabay)
“There’s an invisible war going on, according to the Bible, that’s taking place until Jesus Christ returns,” Vander Mey says, citing Ephesians 6:10-18 and Revelation 12:7-12.
“It doesn’t matter if you believe that or not; when God says this is true, then you can know it’s true.”
Jesus defeated Satan in the war in heaven and ultimately at Calvary. However, our daily choices do not always reflect that victory. Contact Set Free to learn more about spiritual warfare and its impact on your life.
“Millions of people have no idea, no concept, that there’s a spiritual war raging over them that is affecting them, spiritually, emotionally, or physically. They are not trained in that reality, so they go to doctors and psychologists, and they say, ‘I need help,’” Vander Mey says.
“Most of those clinicians or doctors prescribe medication, and that’s their solution. Many times, medication is not going to be the final solution – even though it might help numb some of the pain – but the real solution is dealing with the sin that’s been covered over.”
Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Nick Fewings/Unsplash.
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