Halloween and the Bible

By Liaf

We often are warned about the pagan celebration of Halloween. However, are we aware where this Celtic ceremony started? Why is this holiday predominant amongst the Anglo-Saxon/Celtic peoples including those of the United States? Let’s look to the Bible and understand. What is the phase of the moon whenever we think of flying witches silhouetted against a moon and people changing to werewolves? Is the moon gibbous? How about first quarter? It would be awfully silly looking to have a witch fly across a half-lit moon, wouldn’t it? Once in a while, we may see Halloween pictures with a crescent moon if we want to make it into a sinister looking face. But for the most part, the moon is depicted as full. Full moon is always a bad omen.

We turn now to I Kings 12 in order to understand this festival. The historical setting is that the nation of Israel just split up after King Solomon. Solomon’s son Rehoboam would not lighten the taxes, but effectively said that if they thought Solomon was hard on them, wait until he dealt with them. What was the response of the Israelites? "What portion have we in David? To your tents, O Israel!" Now in verse 26 Jeroboam (the King of the house of Israel) feared that the Israelites would return to the house of David and worship in Jerusalem. For those who are poorly versed in Scripture and who have not heard me teach, will think that when I speak of the Israelites, that I mean ‘Jews’. No. The nation split into two parts. The word ‘Jew’ is derived from the tribal name Judah. The House of Judah to the South stayed with King Rehoboam. This split had its prophetic origins back in Genesis 49 when Jacob (Israel) gave the scepter (the right to rule) to the tribe of Judah. But the rest of the birthright went to the tribe of Joseph and his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh. The birthright tribes were to bear the name "Israel". The "house of Israel", which were the ten tribes to the North, is often associated with the birthright tribe of Ephraim. What was the birthright? That which was granted by right of birth, namely the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that his seed would become as the sand of the sea, they would become a great nation and a company of nations. They would be a blessing to all nations and they would be mighty possessing the gates of their enemies. He only split off the right of the Kings and rulers to the tribe of Judah. By the way, the tribe of Ephraim had a banner associated with a bull, and from Deuteronomy 33:17 the promise is given: "His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh."

Let’s continue with what Jeroboam did. In verse 28, it says: "Whereupon the King took council, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan." Jeroboam set one calf at each end (North and South) of Israel so that there would be convenient locations for the people. Bethel was not far from Jerusalem, so no doubt that made it doubly attractive to stop there before Jerusalem where they would still be in friendly territory. You may ask, "What does this have to do with Halloween?" Let’s continue looking at Scripture as to when this happened. Verse 32 says: "And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah." And it goes on to say about sacrificing to the calves. What is this feast that is in Judah that he likened it unto? In the seventh month on the fifteenth day of the month is the feast of Tabernacles. Those who heard me teach understand that the Jews (and these Israelites to the North) had a lunar-based calendar. The month started at new moon. The lunar cycle takes 29 or 30 days. Therefore the fifteenth day of the month is halfway at full moon. We know that Passover occurs near April 1 give or take a few days depending on the phase of the moon. This occurs in the first month. So when is the eighth month? About November 1. This calf worshipping festival occurred when we now have our Halloween. By the way, the Hebrew word for calf, pronounced "Aegel", is expressed in the equivalent English words "Angle" or "Anglo". These "Anglo" people or worshippers were an abomination to God.

Let’s continue this looking into the astronomical position of the moon. About Halloween in the 950 BC timeframe, the Sun would be in the constellation of Scorpio. A full moon, for those who are familiar with my teaching, is always opposite the sun. Now where is that located? Here’s at least one useful application of those astrology signs that we were told to shun. The first constellation after Scorpio is Sagittarius. Then comes Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, and the sixth one (opposite of Scorpio) is Taurus the bull. Could this also have been a determining factor involving calf worship and the full moon? Would Israel worship the moon? Would its position mean anything you may wonder? In Deuteronomy 4:14, Moses was commanded to teach Israel the statues and judgements so that they would do them when they go to possess the land. In other words they were not to corrupt themselves like the other nations. In verse 19 they are warned, "…lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldst be driven to worship them…". This warning to take heed showed the tendency of Israel to do such things. Before there was a written word of God, God showed His plan to the world by virtue of the names of the stars and constellations. This, of course, was distorted into star worship and astrology. Therefore, the Israelites were definitely prone to do such things, and later in history they were exiled and never returned to their land to this very day. Although this may not convince a skeptic, this feast of Jeroboam is one of many subtle connections we have with the house of Israel. That is because the Bible says that when they were exiled, they continued such practices and this would be an identifying mark of the house of Israel.

In Jeroboam's time, we see on October 31 the sun would be in Scorpio.

A full moon (opposite the sun) would be in Taurus.

What became of the house of Israel? The first chapter of Hosea states it well, although there are many, many references in the Bible to the same effect. Through Hosea’s marriage to the harlot Gomer (I’d like to see that man of God give his testimony on Christian television today), he had three children that prophetically gave the fate of the house of Israel. The first child was Jezreel which meant ‘scattered’. They would be scattered. The next child was called Lo-ruhamah which meant "not having my mercy". These people would be scattered and would be a people not having God’s mercy. Is that it? No. The last child, Lo-ammi meant "not my people". They were to no longer be known as God’s people. That’s the biggest case of national identity amnesia ever. Don’t expect these lost exiled people of God to even remotely resemble God’s people in worship and mannerisms (like a Jew would have). But God had birthright promises to keep to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In verse 10 God says: "Yet [i.e. in spite of these three conditions they are in] the number of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered." That means a lot of physical children. Now when we studied God’s Word in the stars, there was the constellation of Ursa Minor (the small flock representing the spiritual seed) and Ursa Major (the large flock). Some of these multitudinous people would embrace the New Covenant. As Hosea then says: "and it shall come to pass [i.e. after their multitudinous state] that in the place [of their exile] where it was said unto them, ye are not my people, there shall it be said unto them, ye are the sons of the living God." Paul used this as applicable to the Gentiles as receiving salvation. Indeed, this is true because the house of Israel became Gentiles who would be the light-bearers to the rest of the nations. The house of Israel would become Christian nations. Many people from them (but not all) would be saved to bring the gospel to the world. Isaiah says in chapter 42:19 "who is blind but my servant?" That’s not Christ. Christ is not blind. But the house of Israel was blind to their identity which all started with their idolatry. Israel was God’s servant nation to be a light to the Gentiles as Isaiah 49 states. After the redemptive work of Christ that so many teach about in Isaiah 53, Isaiah 54 immediately says "Sing O barren, thou that didst not bear… For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife." Judah (the Jews) were never divorced from God. They were punished. However, Israel was divorced and therefore they were no longer known as God’s people. Yet they were to be populous, re-covenanted, and a powerful people again according to Isaiah 54. Jesus said Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel as the gospel would be presented to them by his disciples and later by the apostle Paul. The other apostles went to the Jews, and also to the lost house of Israel amongst the Gentiles. That’s what Jesus said when he said I have other sheep which are not of this fold. However, Paul was the only apostle to the Gentiles. It was Paul who revealed the "mystery of the gospel", namely, that the Gentiles (non-Israelites) were also included in the promises of Abraham through Christ. God revealed that to Peter in the surprising revelation of Acts10, and later Paul’s work amongst the Gentiles was accepted (Acts 15). We must understand that before Paul, (as I have also taught), that an outsider before New Testament times became a member of God’s people through Israel and becoming part of them. When the Bible speaks of nations regarding the people of the Lord, it is oftentimes a reference to Israel in its multitudinous state since this Gentile mystery was not revealed to Paul until later. But exiled Israel would appear to the world as Gentiles, too. We erroneously believe then that they are all one and the same, but they are not.

In summary, Jeroboam started a festival at the time we have our Halloween. These people were later exiled, but the Bible says they continued these practices. Hosea and the other scriptures give the fate of Israel. Today we celebrate this festival which is one of our many similarities with the house of Israel. But what does God say about such practices? As Ezekiel 36:20 says: ‘And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land." If we have this connection to Israel, let us therefore do that which is good that is promised to Israel, or as Isaiah 43:21 says: "This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise". Because of all this, we can see the whole picture. We have assurance that God kept his word to us as the physical seed of Abraham, and from that we should break forth in praise to God doing the works of the Lord! Is it any wonder we are so richly blessed of any people on this earth? This was no accident. God kept his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob using us as his vehicle to be His light-bearers.

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		Click on the moon to return to HOME page. God's Word says that as long as there is a sun and moon in the sky, that a descendent of David will be on the throne!