Grafted-In Ministries
Why I Don't Celebrate halloween
Rabbi Henry Morse
I realize this is late. I did this on purpose because so many people I know celebrated Halloween in some way shape or form, pastors and lay people alike. People I would consider strong believers. Many of them continued to make an unbiblical excuse as to why it was all right for them to participate in trying to redeem this day and recognize it. So I thought writing in the middle of this mess wouldn't be received at all. I am sure I will get protestations even after the fact, but here goes…
We're not celebrating Halloween. They say it's just a harvest party. We're not celebrating Christmas. They say it's Jesus' birthday. We're not celebrating Easter. They say it's the resurrection. It's not a graven image, no, it's just a picture that helps us focus on Jesus. What do all these responses have in common? They are all said in direct disobedience to the Word of Yehovah because each of these are pagan in origin in every way. What makes us think that Yehovah has given us a pass on redeeming paganism when that is absolutely forbidden by the Word? Scripture is pretty clear on how we are to handle things of this nature.
I find it rather curious that those who defend their right to celebrate these pagan festivals always seem to use the New Testament as a defense for their celebration. They cite that we have been set free from the Torah and therefore can now redeem these pagan celebrations for Yehovah. Yet it is absurd to come to this conclusion when Rav Shaul (the Apostle Paul) quotes Tenach (the First Testament) as his source. So if it's good enough for Paul to use the Tenach as his source of authority, then it's good enough for me. He doesn't seem to have a problem recognizing its authority. Why should we?
Jeremiah 24:7
And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Yehovah: and they shall be my people, and I will be their Elohim; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
Jeremiah 31:33
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Yehovah: I will put my Torah in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people.
Jeremiah 32:38
And they shall be my people, and I will be their Elohim:
Ezekiel 11:20
That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their Elohim.
Ezekiel 37:23
Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their Elohim.
Ezekiel 37:27
My tabernacle also shall be with them; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people.
Ezekiel 8:8
And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be my people, and I will be their Elohim, in truth and in righteousness.
What do these verses have in common? Yehovah is calling His people to walk in His commandments, to not defile themselves, to retain His Torah in their hearts and return to Him.
What were the prophets reflecting on in these passages? The only thing they knew, the Torah, where His commands were found. Now what did those commandments teach us?
Deuteronomy 12:29-32
Be careful to listen to all these words which I command you, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of Yehovah your Elohim."
When Yehovah your Elohim cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, "How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?" You shall not behave thus toward Yehovah your Elohim, for every abominable act which Yehovah hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.
Yes, the immediate context of the verse is meant for Israel and their entry into the Promised Land. But that doesn't mean that there is no application for the New Covenant believer, especially in light of the 2 Corinthians passage quoted above.
Deuteronomy 7:22-26
Yehovah your Elohim will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you. But Yehovah your Elohim will deliver them before you, and will throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed. He will deliver their kings into your hand so that you will make their name perish from under heaven; no man will be able to stand before you until you have destroyed them. The graven images of their gods you are to burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, or you will be snared by it, for it is an abomination to Yehovah your Elohim. You shall not bring an abomination into your house, and like it come under the ban; you shall utterly detest it and you shall utterly abhor it, for it is something banned.
If the Scripture commands Israel not to even redeem the gold from the idols of pagan nations, then doesn't that sound like a good precedent for us as well? Redeeming pagan customs or artifacts is not permitted by Yehovah.
King Saul was rejected because he refused to obey Yehovah in reference to trying to redeem the detestable things.
1 Samual 15
Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying, "Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal." Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of Yehovah! I have carried out the command of Yehovah." But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to Yehovah your Elohim; but the rest we have utterly destroyed." Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait, and let me tell you what Yehovah said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak!"
Samuel said, "Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And Yehovah anointed you king over Israel, and Yehovah sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.' Why then did you not obey the voice of Yehovah, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of Yehovah?"
Then Saul said to Samuel, "I did obey the voice of Yehovah, and went on the mission on which Yehovah sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to Yehovah your Elohim at Gilgal." Samuel said,
"Has Yehovah as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of Yehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yehovah, He has also rejected you from being king."
I continue, to this day, to be challenged by pastors on my keeping of the Biblical Feasts. I am told that I am a Judaizer by trying to put men under the yoke of the Torah. I am reminded that when the "New Testament" arrived the Torah was abolished. (I have yet to find this in Scripture).
It must be wonderful to be set free from the Torah. It would be so refreshing to be able to live a life of lawlessness. I can't imagine what it would be like to be able to celebrate anything I wanted, no matter what the origin.
I keep the Feasts of Yehovah because of what they represent. Each and every one of them is a prophetic picture of salvation. Every Biblical Holy Day is a reminder of what the Lord did for us, and what he is going to do. They are the appointments that could only be kept by Yeshua.
Nowhere in Scripture are we given permission to co-opt pagan practices in our worship of Yehovah. As a matter of fact, it's quite the opposite. Would there be any difference if I was a member of the mafia and wanted to donate my ill-gotten gains to Yehovah?
Here is another list of Scriptures we might want to consider in reference to having a Halloween alternative.
Deuteronomy 12:1-4
These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which Yehovah, the Elohim of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth. You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place. You shall not act like this toward Yehovah your Elohim.
Numbers 33:51-52
"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places...'"
1 Kings 3:3
Now Solomon loved Yehovah, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
1 Kings 12:31-33
And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. Jeroboam instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. Then he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart; and he instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense.
Ephesians 5:11-16
Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and the Messiah will shine on you." Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
So in light of all that is written in the Scriptures we have to ask ourselves, how detestable is this day known as Halloween? I have attached part of an article I posted a while ago about the history and background of Halloween. Now you have some information to check out yourselves. If you refuse to do the research then the verdict is in: you are more concerned with defending this foolishness, or you are just too lazy. The burden is on you to be obedient to the Scriptures whether you like it or not.
The Pagan Roots Run Deep
From the website www.neopagan.net/Halloween-Origins ~
“The pagan roots of Halloween are well documented. The holiday is rooted in the Celtic festival of Samhain, which came at summer's end. Paired with the feast of Beltane, which celebrated the life-generating powers of the sun, Samhain beckoned to winter and the dark nights ahead. The reality of the celebration as an occultic festival focused on the changing of seasons undoubtedly involved practices pointing to winter as a season of death.”
"More than a thousand years ago Christians confronted pagan rites appeasing the lord of death and evil spirits. Halloween's unsavory beginnings preceded Jesus' birth when the druids, in what is now Britain and France, observed the end of summer with sacrifices to the gods. It was the beginning of the Celtic year and they believed Samhain, the lord of death, sent evil spirits abroad to attack humans, who could escape only by assuming disguises and looking like evil spirits themselves."
“The custom of wearing costumes, especially costumes imitating evil spirits, is rooted in the Celtic pagan culture. Most of our Halloween practices can be traced back to the old pagan rites and superstitions.”
"Samhuinn, from 31 October to 2 November was a time of no-time. Celtic society, like all early societies, was highly structured and organised, everyone knew their place. But to allow that order to be psychologically comfortable, the Celts knew that there had to be a time when order and structure were abolished, when chaos could reign. And Samhuinn, was such a time. Time was abolished for the three days of this festival and people did crazy things, men dressed as women and women as men. [This happened at Beltane too — IB] Farmers' gates were unhinged and left in ditches, peoples' horses were moved to different fields, and children would knock on neighbours' doors for food and treats in a way that we still find today, in a watered-down way, in the custom of trick-or-treating on Hallowe'en.”
“But behind this apparent lunacy, lay a deeper meaning. The Druids felt that these three days had a special quality about them. They believed the veil between this world and the World of the Ancestors was drawn aside on these nights, and for those who were prepared, journeys could be made in safety to the 'other side'. The Druid rites, therefore, were concerned with making contact with the spirits of the departed, who were seen as sources of guidance and inspiration rather than as sources of dread. The dark moon, the time when no moon can be seen in the sky, was the phase of the moon which ruled this time, because it represented a time in which our mortal sight needed to be obscured in order for us to see into the other worlds.”
“The dead were honored and feasted, not as the dead, but as the living spirits of loved ones and of guardians who held the root-wisdom of the tribe. With the coming of 'Christianity', this festival was turned into Hallowe'en (31 October), All Hallows [All Saints Day] (1 November), and All Souls Day (2 November). Here we can see most clearly the way in which Christianity built on the Pagan foundations it found rooted in these isles. Not only does the purpose of the festival match with the earlier one, but even the unusual length of the festival is the same.”
“The Christian Church was unable to get the people to stop celebrating this holiday, so they simply sprinkled a little holy water on it and gave it new names, as they did with other Paleopagan holidays and customs. This was a form of calendrical imperialism, co-opting Paleopagan sacred times..."
The complications of Halloween go far beyond its pagan roots, however. In modern culture, Halloween has become not only a commercial holiday, but a season of cultural fascination with evil and the demonic. Even as society has pressed the limits on issues such as sexuality, the culture's confrontation with the "dark side" has also pushed far beyond boundaries honored in the past. So what is a believer to do with this information? My suggestion is to do what the Scripture says.
Torah of Possessing the Land
Numbers 33:50-52
Then Yehovah spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places.'”
Laws of the Sanctuary
Deuteronomy 12:1-5
"These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which Yehovah, the Elohim of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth. You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place. You shall not act like this toward Yehovah your Elohim. But you shall seek Yehovah at the place which Yehovah your Elohim will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come.”
Rehoboam Misleads Judah
1 Kings 14:22-24
Judah did evil in the sight of Yehovah, and they provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with the sins which they committed. For they also built for themselves high places and sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and beneath every luxuriant tree. There were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which Yehovah dispossessed before the sons of Israel.
1 Timothy 4:1
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.
Ephesians 5:11-16
Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper and arise from the dead, and the Messiah will shine on you." Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Romans 13:12
Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
In short it seems pretty conclusive that Elohim has given us a clear Scriptural mandate concerning what we should avoid and what we should cling to. So please be very careful not to take the days that were dedicated to Satan and try and co-opt them for Elohim. That flies in the face of Elohim, invalidates His appointed times and seasons, and replaces them with pagan high places.