|
|
|
|
Saturday, October 31 2009
From the Encyclopedia Britannica, the origin of "Halloween":
"Halloween, in medieval times All Hallows Eve, a holy or hallowed evening observed on October 31, the eve of All Saints Day; in modern times, it is the occasion for pranks and for children requesting treats or threatening tricks.""In ancient Britain and Ireland, the Celtic festival of Samhain was observed on October 31, the end of summer. The date was also the eve of the new year in both Celtic and Anglo-Saxon times and was the occasion for one of the ancient fire festivals when huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits. The date was connected with the return of herds from pasture, and laws and land tenures were renewed. The souls of the dead [see What Happens When You Die? and Where Is Your Soul?] were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favorable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes." (Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th Edition, volume 4, page 862)
"They sacrifice to devils, and not to God"
The LORD (i.e. your one and only Savior, Jesus Christ - see 'Before Abraham Was, I AM') makes very plain that His people are not to seek the advice of, nor behave like, demons. Such idolatry is a vile abomination in the LORD's sight. The spirit of demons cannot enter where the Holy Spirit of God is present.
"10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 10:15 I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 10:17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. 10:18 Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 10:19 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 10:20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils" (1 Corinthians 10:14-21 KJV)
By no coincidence, Satan himself masquerades (i.e. wears a mask) as "an angel of light" (see the Fact Finder question below):
"11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works" (2 Corinthians 11:11-15 KJV)
Judas the traitor is a prime example of what happens to those who consort with devils:
"6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 6:71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve." (John 6:70-71 KJV)
Demons (or "devils") have a single purpose in our time - to deceive and destroy humanity, if they are allowed to, by people refusing to repent of the evil of demon idolatry - upon which the wrath of God is coming:
"9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: 9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts" (Revelation 9:20-21 KJV)"16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty" (Revelation 16:13-14 KJV)
Fact Finder: What does Satan really look like? Dark and evil? Or bright and "righteous"?
See Face Of An Angel, Heart Of A Devil
| Daily Bible Study Library - Thousands of Online Studies! | ||
 |
Jesus Christ Bible History Prophecy Christian Living Encouragement |
Eternal Life By The Book Bible Places Curiosities The Spirit World |
This Day In History, October 31
1517: 31 year-old Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany - the event that is considered to be the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
1914: The Ottoman empire entered the First World War against Britain, Russia and France. Jerusalem at the time was under Ottoman (Turkish) control. When the Ottoman empire was defeated at the end of the war, Jerusalem came under the control of the British (see 1917 event below).
1917: During the First World War, British forces under General Allenby captured Beersheba from the Ottomans; the British went on to capture Jerusalem a few weeks later, on December 9. Their control of the land of Israel later made possible a Biblically-prophesied event - the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948 (see United States, Britain and Israel)
1922: Benito Mussolini, 39, became Prime Minister of Italy. Son of a poor blacksmith, formerly a journalist and schoolmaster, a corporal in the First World War (as was Mussolini's close ally, Adolf Hitler), seriously wounded in 1917, he founded the Fascist Party. The Fascists derived their name from the Fasces of Imperial Rome, an axe wrapped in a bundle of elm or birch rods symbolizing unity and power. The Fascist Party also adopted the ancient insignia as its emblem.
1926: Magician Harry Houdini (actual name Eric Weiss) died. He spent much of his life searching for genuine "mediums" and "spiritists" but found only frauds and con-artists - exactly as the Bible says they are (see Familiar Spirits).
1940: The Nazis forces all Jews in the city into the Warsaw Ghetto.
1941: Mount Rushmore was completed.
1952: The United States exploded the world's first hydrogen bomb (many times more powerful than the earlier "atomic" bomb) at Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific.
1961: Russia's de-Stalinization program reached a climax when Stalin's body was removed from the mausoleum in Red Square and buried.
1984: Indira Gandhi, prime minister of India, was assassinated at her home by 2 of her bodyguards.
1999: On the 482nd anniversary of Martin Luther's nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the castle church, representatives of the Roman Catholic and Lutheran Churches in Augsburg, Germany, signed a declaration to end the dispute that started the Protestant Reformation and led to the Thirty Years War.
