I Samuel 28: 1-15
Will Trick-or-Treating send your child to hell? No! But as we approach what is fast becoming a national holiday in the USA, let’s examine the one who gets the most glory from this day—Satan himself.
The word Lucifer can be translated “morning star, shining one or light-bearer.” The concept behind this name is that the devil often appears as something that He is not. “Satan himself appears as an angel of light” (II Corinthians 11:14). Lucifer is the Latin name for the planet Venus, for the planet Venus appeared as the brightest star in morning and evening. It is also interesting that all the other planets (except earth) are named after false Gods: Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, Neptune, etc.
Demonic activity always glorifies Satan. This is why Halloween is increasing in popularity every year in the United States. Satan knows that He has “but a short time” (Rev. 12:12), so he makes demons, devils and monsters appear as innocent fun, like the Jack-O-Lantern. What’s with Jack and his lantern anyway?
There is an Irish folk tale about a very mean and stingy man named Jack. When Jack died, he was not allowed to go to heaven. He was so mean, Satan didn’t want him in hell either, so he gave Jack a piece of burning coal and told him to put it inside a large turnip. Satan told Jack to use this for his lantern and walk the earth until judgment day. The legend says that Jack is still walking with his lantern, looking for a place to abide. As this story spread, the Irish carried candles and lamps inside carved-out turnips to scare evil spirits away. Children began making faces in these lanterns the night before the festival known as All Saint’s Day. When the Irish came to America, they brought this legend and its customs with them. Pumpkins were more practical to use for carving scary faces: thus the Jack-O-Lantern.
But no activity concerning demons and devils is innocent. You need not go very far into the Bible before you find King Saul consulting the witch at Endor for “spiritual counseling.” Read I Samuel 28:1-25 for the results of this counseling session. Leviticus 19:31 forbids consulting mediums, spirits and wizards “lest we be defiled by them”.
God has given us His Holy Spirit as our Counselor. It is the Spirit of God that Satan worshippers oppose—and they spend a lot of energy promoting Halloween in order to demean Him. Find alternatives for Halloween celebrations. Let’s remember that Halloween is the result of twisting what once was the eve of a religious holiday into exactly the opposite.