What Does God Think About Halloween?

October 31st is made to be a big day in the USA. Children dress in costumes, go door to door demanding candy and shouting, "Trick or treat!" Ghosts, witches and skeletons knock on our doors, but some don't want a treat at all and prefer to try to frighten us, throw eggs, or nowadays worse. Television is programmed to be extra frightening on Halloween and its evening's entertainment makes one think that every scary movie ever produced has been dusted off and revived for the occasion.

 Halloween could easily be named The Feast of Fear, and because of social pressures, many Christian parents wrestle with the question of whether or not to allow their children to participate, and they search for answers. There is all kinds of information out there in the world, but we did some Bible research and investigation, and found that God deals with Halloween in a brilliant way. He never mentions it!

However, God is very aware of both man's preoccupation with fear and the temptation to trivialize and romanticize the subject. Simply stated, God says don't do it! The following teaching by Peter Wade reveals God's message to man concerning fear. -- Irene Baroni.
                                                     
                            Fear Not! 

                                             by Peter Wade

It is a continual exhortation from Genesis to Revelation, given by angels, prophets, apostles, and Christ Himself. The command is clear and distinct — “fear not.” Since these records are written “for our learning,” an examination of them will prove rich indeed to all believers.

Fear Not… I Am Still With You
David said in Psalm 23:4, “I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” This positive statement can be re-echoed by all believers. Notice also Psalm 118:6, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.” Feed your believing and your doubts will starve to death! Just feed your mind these encouraging thoughts from God’s Word and you will find that doubt will fly out of the window. “The Lord is on my side: I will not fear. “

Isaiah wrote many times the powerful words “fear not”. For example, Isaiah 41:10, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Jeremiah proclaimed, “Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord: for I am with thee…” (Jeremiah 46:28). Someone has estimated that there are at least 365 verses in the Bible against fear, and not one in favor of it! God’s constant message to his people is “fear not”.

Fear Not… Believe Only
In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 8, there is an interesting record in verses 41-44: “And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he [Jesus] went the people thronged him. And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stopped.”
   
Notice the interesting point shown by the repetition of the words “twelve years”. The little girl in verse 42 was just twelve years of age. The woman in verse 43 had endured her affliction for twelve years. Thus twelve years previously in one household there was joy over the birth of a daughter; in another house there was concern over the first symptoms of a disease that was to grow more irritating.
   
“And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched Me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue [dunamis, power] is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort [the positive equivalent of “fear not”]: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole” (Luke 8:45-50).
   
Isn’t that tremendous? These same words that angels gave to four different people involved in the Christmas story, were the same words spoken to Abraham, Isaac, and all through the Old Testament, through the Gospels, even in the book of Revelation — “fear not”. It is not by accident that right throughout the Word of God we are encouraged to “fear not”.
   
I particularly want to emphasize verse 50 because it ties the negative and positive together so wonderfully: “Fear not: believe only…” The moment you believe, you will not fear. Fear and believing cannot exist side by side. “Fear is faith in Satan; faith is fear in God.” Of course, by “fear in God” is meant awe. Fear is believing faith in Satan, and wherever we fear we will not believe God, and in that particular area of our lives we cannot manifest the more abundant life. But the moment we start believing God’s Word things happen, because all believing is receiving.

Fear Not… I Believe God!
In the book of Acts there is another occasion that will bear investigation. Chapter 27 records the storm which shipwrecked the apostle Paul on the island of Malta. For two weeks it raged and they were blown aimlessly, not knowing what to do. 
   
However, there was a believer on board. “But after long abstinence [not fasting and prayer, but lack of food due to the conditions] Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs [in view of what I just said to you], be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me” (Acts 27:21-25).
   
No matter how impossible the situation appears to your sense-knowledge, God’s exhortation remains unchanged, “fear not”. Paul was confident he would make it to his destination, for God had indicated that he would. Notice verse 24: “Thou must be brought before Caesar…” This was God’s will; therefore nothing could happen to Paul until he stood before Caesar. What was to happen at that point of time had not yet been revealed, but we know that Paul, as a son of God, would be looked after.
   
On only one other occasion did Paul need the encouragement of the words “fear not”. The incident concerns his ministry in Corinth and is detailed in Acts 18:1-17. After a negative response from the Jews, Paul moved his teaching headquarters from the synagogue to a house next door owned by Justus. In a vision one night the Lord said to Paul: “Be not afraid [fear not], but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city” (verses 9-10).The words “be not afraid” are a translation of the same Greek words we have been studying — “fear not”.
   
The scope of the usage of “fear not” (me phobeo, in the imperative or command mood) speaks loudly to earnest students of the Word. In the Gospels they are used 20 times, the Acts, 2, Revelation, 2. The Old Testament equivalent is used over 100 times. However, they are not used in the Church Epistles. Even in other grammatical forms of the words we find only one usage in the Epistles, and that is in a conjectural question (Romans 13:3, me phobeisthai) .

To understand why the words are not used in the Epistles, note these verses: “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption [sonship], whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). “For God hath not give us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (II Timothy 1:7).

The manifestation of the more than abundant life is a life without fear. It is God in Christ in us — and God’s attitude towards fear is “fear not”.

If you'd like to read this article in its entirety,  here it is.