Shalom one and all:
So here I go again starting trouble when there is no need to. I always stick my nose into areas that it doesn’t belong, or do I. Well, you all know what time of the year it is? Yes, it is that sinfully wicked holiday of Halloween, and I just refuse to let sleeping dogs lie. You are more than welcome to hit the delete button if you need to, but for those of you who are heartier of spirit, stick with me.
I have decided not to take the traditional approach to the matter by giving all the historical reasons why believers should not celebrate this day. I already did that last year in another blog. If you need a refresher course feel free to reread that on our website at: The Pagan Roots of Halloween (Rabbi's Blog, 2010)
The point I want to concentrate on is the issue of freedom. Do we have the freedom to celebrate or try and redeem this day as so many “Churches" try and do? Is there a Scriptural mandate that makes it acceptable to participate in days that were once dedicated to satanic activities?
It doesn't take that much discernment to see that the world does have a preoccupation for Horror, especially on this day. All one needs to do is look on the fruit that is produced by the celebration.
The other day I received in the mail a post card inviting me to a “Church” on October 30th to enjoy “A fun and safe trick-or-treat experience”. Now, I know this pastor, and I don’t consider him way 'out there'. I am sure he loves the Lord. Yet, I wonder why is it that a “Church” would invest that much time and effort into a day that has clear demonic origins, and yet refuse to celebrate any of the Biblical Holy days that the Lord has established as prophetic displays.
I continue, to this day, to be challenged on my keeping the Biblical feasts by pastors. I am told that I am a Judaizer by trying to put men under the yoke of the law. I am reminded that when the “New Testament” arrived that the law was abolished. (I have yet to find this in Scripture).
It must be wonderful to be set free from the law. 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 the Lord 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 were we given permission to co-opt pagan practices in our worship of the Lord. As a matter of fact, it was 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 the Lord. Here is a list of Scriptures you might want to consider before you have your Halloween alternative. Please do the study on your own and read them in their full context.
Deuteronomy 12:
1“These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth. 2“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. 3“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. 4“You shall not act like this toward the LORD your God.
Numbers 33:
51“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52then 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:
3Now Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
1 Kings 12:
31And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. 32Jeroboam 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. 33Then 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.
You might say that these were commands for Israel and they do not apply to me. While it is true that these statements were made to Israel as they were entering the land, this does not mean that the Lord has changed Mal 3:6. He is still the same now as He was then. If you, who are the adopted seed of Abraham, have come into the family, then why would you want to emulate the very behavior that the Lord warned the natural born children to avoid?
We were commanded to have nothing to do with assimilated pagan practices in our worship of the Lord. This law was for everyone not just Israel.
Numbers 15:
16‘There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.’”
The Apostle Paul (Rav Shaul) even spoke on this matter in 1 Corinthians 10:
14Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. 16Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Messiah? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 17Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. 18Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? 19What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. 21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?
What boggles my mind is that the “Church” Will spend so much time, effort and money into everything under the sun, and still refuse to even consider the Biblical Holy days that were established by the Father as His memorials.
In the “Church” I have seen more Easter egg hunts, Halloween parties, Saint Valentines day sweetheart banquets, Christmas plays, Good Friday services, Maundy Thursday services, Ashe Wednesday events, than I can even count. Yet, when is the last time you ever saw that much time and attention put into a Passover? Maybe it happens in a few churches on occasion but dare I say that this is very rare and usually not an annual event.
Revile me all you want for celebrating the Biblical feasts. Call me names like 'Judaizer'. Accuse me of enslaving people under the law. Take your liberty to do as you feel. Enjoy your “Halloween alternative”. But I think I will stay right where I am enjoying the appointed times and seasons that have been set up by the Lord. I will revel in the fact that these wonderful days were the appointments kept by my Lord and Messiah Yeshua. I will be able to defend my faith through the prophetic displays of these Biblical and historical events. All you will have to show for you holiday is a bucket of candy and some rotten teeth.
Enjoy!
Shalom uvracha b'Yeshua
Rabbi Henry
So here I go again starting trouble when there is no need to. I always stick my nose into areas that it doesn’t belong, or do I. Well, you all know what time of the year it is? Yes, it is that sinfully wicked holiday of Halloween, and I just refuse to let sleeping dogs lie. You are more than welcome to hit the delete button if you need to, but for those of you who are heartier of spirit, stick with me.
I have decided not to take the traditional approach to the matter by giving all the historical reasons why believers should not celebrate this day. I already did that last year in another blog. If you need a refresher course feel free to reread that on our website at: The Pagan Roots of Halloween (Rabbi's Blog, 2010)
The point I want to concentrate on is the issue of freedom. Do we have the freedom to celebrate or try and redeem this day as so many “Churches" try and do? Is there a Scriptural mandate that makes it acceptable to participate in days that were once dedicated to satanic activities?
It doesn't take that much discernment to see that the world does have a preoccupation for Horror, especially on this day. All one needs to do is look on the fruit that is produced by the celebration.
The other day I received in the mail a post card inviting me to a “Church” on October 30th to enjoy “A fun and safe trick-or-treat experience”. Now, I know this pastor, and I don’t consider him way 'out there'. I am sure he loves the Lord. Yet, I wonder why is it that a “Church” would invest that much time and effort into a day that has clear demonic origins, and yet refuse to celebrate any of the Biblical Holy days that the Lord has established as prophetic displays.
I continue, to this day, to be challenged on my keeping the Biblical feasts by pastors. I am told that I am a Judaizer by trying to put men under the yoke of the law. I am reminded that when the “New Testament” arrived that the law was abolished. (I have yet to find this in Scripture).
It must be wonderful to be set free from the law. 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 the Lord 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 were we given permission to co-opt pagan practices in our worship of the Lord. As a matter of fact, it was 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 the Lord. Here is a list of Scriptures you might want to consider before you have your Halloween alternative. Please do the study on your own and read them in their full context.
Deuteronomy 12:
1“These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth. 2“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. 3“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. 4“You shall not act like this toward the LORD your God.
Numbers 33:
51“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52then 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:
3Now Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
1 Kings 12:
31And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. 32Jeroboam 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. 33Then 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.
You might say that these were commands for Israel and they do not apply to me. While it is true that these statements were made to Israel as they were entering the land, this does not mean that the Lord has changed Mal 3:6. He is still the same now as He was then. If you, who are the adopted seed of Abraham, have come into the family, then why would you want to emulate the very behavior that the Lord warned the natural born children to avoid?
We were commanded to have nothing to do with assimilated pagan practices in our worship of the Lord. This law was for everyone not just Israel.
Numbers 15:
16‘There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.’”
The Apostle Paul (Rav Shaul) even spoke on this matter in 1 Corinthians 10:
14Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. 16Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Messiah? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 17Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. 18Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? 19What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. 21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?
What boggles my mind is that the “Church” Will spend so much time, effort and money into everything under the sun, and still refuse to even consider the Biblical Holy days that were established by the Father as His memorials.
In the “Church” I have seen more Easter egg hunts, Halloween parties, Saint Valentines day sweetheart banquets, Christmas plays, Good Friday services, Maundy Thursday services, Ashe Wednesday events, than I can even count. Yet, when is the last time you ever saw that much time and attention put into a Passover? Maybe it happens in a few churches on occasion but dare I say that this is very rare and usually not an annual event.
Revile me all you want for celebrating the Biblical feasts. Call me names like 'Judaizer'. Accuse me of enslaving people under the law. Take your liberty to do as you feel. Enjoy your “Halloween alternative”. But I think I will stay right where I am enjoying the appointed times and seasons that have been set up by the Lord. I will revel in the fact that these wonderful days were the appointments kept by my Lord and Messiah Yeshua. I will be able to defend my faith through the prophetic displays of these Biblical and historical events. All you will have to show for you holiday is a bucket of candy and some rotten teeth.
Enjoy!
Shalom uvracha b'Yeshua
Rabbi Henry
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