Today Is Not a Holiday (at least for me)
Today is October 31, 2021 known through out America as Halloween. I have heard this day, Halloween, called a holiday. Even though it is also a Sunday, Halloween is not a holiday. The English word ‘holiday’ comes from the Old English words ‘Holy Day’, as in a day pointing to or celebrating the holiness, the light, and the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Halloween is the opposite. It ‘celebrates’ (for some) and points to (for most, even if innocently) darkness, death, and the defiling activitirs of satan and his demons.
Halloween is a time of innocent trick or treating for children and their parents. It is a time of costumes, many with occult themes and overtones, parties, carving pumpkins, and (at least when I was a child) the strange custom of bobbing for apples. But underneath these innocent and fun events, there is a darkness, a demonic foundation that ripples through the lives of everyone who participates in Halloween festivities, whether they know it or not.
Halloween is a time for witches and warlocks to engage in pagan rites that involve animal sacrifice. I have been told, but have no first-hand knowledge, that these rites can involve human sacrifice, especially the sacrifice of babies. These rites celebrate satan and his demons. The original ritual that morphed into Halloween in America was a Celtic ritual practiced in Ireland. Here the Celts gathered at a cave in Ireland thought to be the gateway to hell. On this night the Celts believed the veil that separated the unseen, supernatural realm from the world we live in was thinnest and demons could pass back and forth between the two realms with ease.
Today, Halloween is a time for many to engage in witchcraft and other occult practices. Darkness, death, the demonic, and satan are worshiped and celebrated. These practices give people power, but also lead to lives of despair, depression, disease, suicide, cutting, and addictions. That is the way satan works. His purpose is to steal joy and peace, kill life and liveliness, and destroy relationships.
Am I saying that the child trick or treating tonight will be oppressed or possessed by demons? No. But we are normalizing demonic activity when we ‘celebrate’ Halloween and are potentially laying a foundation for our children, when they get older, to begin dabbling in the occult. I have seen innocent occult activity, like visiting a fortune teller or playing with a Ouija board one time, open a door to demonic oppression, even in Christians.
Halloween shines a spotlight on witches and witchcraft. Even ‘good witches’ seek power from the darkness in the kingdom of the world. Witchcraft is the religion of the fallen world.. Any time a person looks for power, especially to control a situation or person from any source other than the Holy Spirit, that person is engaging in witchcraft. God’s word is clear on witchcraft:
“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist, of who consults the dead (called necromancy). Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you” (Deuteronomy 18: 10 –12 NIV).
People who practice witchcraft and the occult in general are detestable to Him. Furthermore, a nation that engages in these practices will be driven out of the Promised Land. America was the land of freedom and opportunity. No longer. As a government steeped in witchcraft enforces an increasingly socialist and totalitarian agenda, seeking to control all aspects of our lives, God seems to be driving us out of His Promised Land into a land of increasing darkness.
The New Testament also warns against witchcraft. In a verse that defines our culture in America today, Paul writes (and he is writing to Christians!):
“The acts of the sinful nature (self-centered, demanding my wants, needs, desires; pride; and a total disregard or hatred toward God) are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness (alcohol or drugs), orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (which is saying the same thing Moses did in Deuteronomy quoted above – you will not live your life in the Promised Land) (Galatians 5: 19 – 21 NIV).
The translation of this Galatians passage in the Passion Translation is even more relevant to America today:
“The behavior of the self-life is obvious: Sexual immorality (including, but not restricted to, the LGBTQ+ community), lustful thoughts, pornography, chasing after things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions, being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior. Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things will not inherit the Kingdom realm of God” (Galatians 5: 19 – 21 TPT).
Wow! Do you believe God’s word is true, requiring our obedience and practice? Do you see much of our lives in America described by these verses? I do and it frightens me. Where are we heading as a Nation? And why are we in this situation, which admittedly has been creeping up on us for decades?
My thought is that slowly, over generations, the spirit of witchcraft has invaded every level of our culture, from Disney cartoons and Harry Potter books, to the practices of our leaders in government, to the ever-increasing secularism of society, and satanic Marxism, which holds sway over America's colleges and Universities. There are only two kingdoms: the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world (aka the kingdom of satan) and everyone lives in one or the other, even if most people have no idea of what I am saying here.
When you live in the Kingdom of God, you place your life under the control of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. When you live in the kingdom of satan, you are in bondage to him and his demons. The former is life and light, the latter is death and darkness. Period. On the way to Damascus Jesus intercepted Paul and told him, “to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of satan to God” (Acts 26: 18 NIV). Nothing has changed.
Halloween is a ‘celebration’ of the latter – death, darkness, demons, and satan, all wrapped up in a spirit of witchcraft. And it is because we, as a Nation, have embraced a witchcraft way of life in America, we are, in my opinion, in the mess we find ourselves in today.
“What mess?”, you can ask. If you have read this far, now I am really going to upset some people. But before I go there, I want to make a few points.
First, Christians in America are in a war. But our war is not against flesh and blood. It is against the powers of darkness, including the spirits of witchcraft, Jezebel, and death. We are at war with satan and all his demons. No human being is beyond the redemption of Jesus Christ. We all sin. Our ticket out of the kingdom of satan and bondage to Him is true repentance, which includes turning away from sin. And then confessing Jesus first as Lord, and then receiving Him as savior.
Second, the spirit of witchcraft is an evil spirit – it hates God. It is marked by rebellion to God and His ways, laws, and principles. It fosters hatred and its objectives are domination and ultimately death. It is closely aligned with sexual immorality of all types and illicit drugs — which are a gateway to the occult. To dominate you, people acting under the influence of a witchcraft spirit will manipulate you if they believe you are stronger than them. If they believe they are stronger than you, they will intimidate you. Always, they use lies and deception.
Where you see manipulation, intimidation, and deception for the purpose of domination, you are in the presence of a spirit of witchcraft.
So, what aspects of American culture are rooted in a witchcraft spirit? Here is my list:
· Abortion – the spirit of witchcraft always partners with death
· New Age doctrine like crystals, dream catchers, astral projection, burning sage, etc.
· Yoga
· Racism
· Black Lives Matter movement, which is rooted in the occult
· Critical Race theory, which is a movement marked by intimidation, deception, with the purpose to dominate a segment of the population of America
· Gender fluidity, which is blatantly opposed to God’s order
· Social Justice and the ‘woke’ culture and the cult of climate change
· Sexual immorality including sex before marriage, adultery, and pornography
· LGBQT movement, which is also marked by intimidation and deception
· Socialism/Marxism. Marx was a Satanist. Marx hated God. BLM, CRT, White Privilege, and much of the Social Justice culture in America are manifestations of Marxism
· Drug addiction in America
· Sexual slavery and sex trafficking
· An authoritarian/totalitarian government, which is using intimidation and deception to control the country
· Social media, which is deeply rooted in manipulation and deception
· Mainstream media, which uses deception and intimidation to control
· The rise of the occult in America, including centers of witchcraft, sorcery, and divination
This is my opinion. In America today you can get into big trouble by expressing an opinion like this. But brothers and sisters, we Christians need to draw a line in the sand. We might be pushed up to that line, but we must not cross it. This is my line. I believe we empower witchcraft in our country, culture, and even the church when we appease the groups, doctrines, and practices on this list. How long will we back up, back up, back up, turning a blind eye to these detestable things? At some point, Christians will have their backs against the wall. Then where will we go? We will either have to deny God and His word or we will die, at least figuratively, if not literally.
Some might see this as hate speech. Listen to God’s word, “Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things will not inherit the Kingdom realm of God”. What a terrible outcome for one’s life. The alternative to life in the Kingdom of God is a life in a literal hell. It is never too late to repent and receive God’s mercy, grace, compassion, and life. But repent means confess sin and turn away from it. Jesus came to rescue us from this darkness. God is light and love.
“He (God) rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son (Jesus) He loves in whom we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1: 13, 14 NIV).
We are called to love our neighbor, who is basically everyone. But loving someone is not the same as agreeing with them about lifestyle choices and ‘detestable’ practices. Loving someone does not mean accepting and bowing to the spirit of witchcraft in their life, even if they don't see it. How is it loving when you know “they will not inherit the Kingdom of God” and therefore will “inherit” the other kingdom?
Culture in America is largely a victim culture, at least as portrayed by media. You risk your reputation, your property, your livelihood, maybe even your life or at least your health, if you speak out against the entrenched, well-funded movements listed above, many of which are really cults in the true sense of the world. It is easier to be silent, keep your head down, and live your life. That is not how wars are won; that is how wars are lost. We are in a war.
Where is your line in the sand? How much are you willing to “go along to get along”. These things are not going to disappear. What can we do?
Prayer is one of the most important things we can do. Pray for those who are lost; pray for your children and grandchildren. If God calls you, get involved in spiritual warfare. Pray for your city, county, and our country for God to destroy the spirit of witchcraft in these regions.
Pray for reformation and revival. In the end, that is our best hope. Pray for Jesus to touch the hearts of the wounded, hurting people around you. Ask God to set the addicts free and release those in slavery of every type. Pray for the veil of deception covering evil in our country to be ripped away -- pray for eyes to see and ears to be unstopped. Pray for God’s truth, justice, and righteousness to prevail. Pray for the persecuted who are standing for Jesus and His word. Pray that the Kingdom of God dispossesses the kingdom of satan. Pray that in your life you will release and advance the Kingdom of God, push back the darkness, take back the territory, and defeat the power of evil in whatever way, big or small, God directs you.
Look in the mirror. Pray for the Holy Spirit to identify, confront, and remove the spirit of witchcraft in your own heart.
Pray for the Church – for her to be an instrument of God, not an appeasing instrument of satan.
Pray for our eyes to be opened by the Holy Spirit to discern the spirit of witchcraft. Halloween, and all that it stands for, is not an innocent holiday. It is a celebration of darkness, death, and demons. Anyone who gives their time and attention to occult practices like Halloween, however seemingly innocent, opens a door for demons, even if they don’t manifest right away.
Prayer is important. But we must also speak up. Share our beliefs and our faith. Talk with people about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. Reach out to those who are unlike us. Get out into the world. It is fine to commiserate with each other, but the world needs to hear about Jesus. Share Him. “Go and make disciples of all nations”.
Finally, “Therefore, As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience . . . And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3: 12, 14 NIV).
We have a war to win. We will win it with love, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
John