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The resurrection is
everything! If God can bring the dead back to life, how much more
easily can he heal broken hearts, and raise the spiritually dead back into
communion with Him? Even my little boy Jude, age 3, has told me that he
can pray to God, who he knows is his Father in heaven, who can help him not
be sad anymore!
Before you react in knee-jerk
fashion, and accuse me without cause, and without reading, and claim that
"Halloween is Pagan" (Pagan meaning gentile, or "of the nations",
or heathen, polytheistic, non religious, or uncivilized), please read all of
the following research, which I have conducted into this topic over 11 years.
I believe Halloween is a
tradition of the Lost Tribes of Israel, specifically, the Feast of Trumpets
and/or Rosh Hashanna, and is a prophetic rehearsal of the Christian
resurrection of the dead.
The door is a symbol of Jesus,
and the candy is a symbol of heaven.
I have identified 9
comparisons between Halloween and the Biblical Feast of the Lord, the Feast
of Trumpets. Bear with me, the proof is all in this article. Last
year, when I sent out this article, good meaning Christians accused me,
"learn not the way of the heathen". Excuse me, we all know
the symbols of Halloween here in America, and I'm using them to teach about
the symbols and ways of the Lord now.
I believe the meaning of 4 key
Halloween symbols, are as follows:
The door is a symbol of Jesus.
The candy is a symbol of heaven.
The dressing up as skeletons, zombies, and ghouls are a symbol of those who
will be resurrected.
The jack-o-lanterns, pumpkins carved out with a candle light in them, are a
symbol of the dead being filled with the light of the Holy Spirit.
It's called Halloween, because
it's the Hallowed Eve, or "Holy Evening". The word
"Hallowed" is a Biblical word, as in "Hallowed be thy
name," from the Lord's prayer.
It's practiced on the evening
of the last day of the month, because in the Bible, the day begins at
dusk. "And there was evening, and there was morning—the
first day." from Genesis 1.
The Biblical Feast of
Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanna, begins on the first day of the seventh month, on
the new moon. Num 29:1, Lev 23:24
Rosh Hashanna is celebrated by
Jews today, and usually falls in mid September, on the day of the new moon.
The new moon is always the start of the month, on the Hebrew Lunar
calendar. Therefore, every new month really begins on the evening, at
dusk, of the last day of the month.
Halloween starts on the
evening, dusk, on the Gregorian Calendar, on October 31st, which is when the
kids go out door to door to get candy.
I believe this festival was
practiced, in some related form, by the Ten Lost tribes of Israel who were
exiled 720 years before Christ. Thus, they likely do not know who they
are, nor do they even know the prophetic Christian symbology of the feast,
since they did not yet have the New Testament to explain the symbols when
they were exiled.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes
Halloween has many
similarities to the Biblical Feast of Trumpets, which, today, is called Rosh
Hashanna, and is practiced by the Ashkenazi Jews, who are thought to be of
the two southern tribes of Israel, Judah, with whom the Northern tribes had a dispute prior to exile.
Christian missionaries have
began noting the similarities between Halloween and the Biblical Feast for
centuries.
When I first started my
research ten years ago, wikipedia did not even exist; so I'm getting excited
by what I'm learning today.
The wikipedia article on Rosh
Hashanna does not teach all of the Biblical symbols of the Biblical Feast of
the Lord, because the Jews today still reject Jesus, and thus, reject the
teachings of the New Testament, which greatly aid in the understanding of the
prophetic themes of the Feast of Trumpets.
Christians today mostly don't
know about these themes either, because they mostly reject the law, and
reject things that are considered "Jewish", such as the Feasts of
the Lord.
Furthermore, most Christians
condemn Halloween as a pagan holiday that calls undue attention to the dead,
somehow forgetting that the essence of Christianity is the resurrection of
the dead.
Most Biblical researchers
don't know about these things either, because the Bible does not say very
much about how to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets, nor does it explicitly say
much about the meaning of the symbols.
But here are a few scriptures
that I've gathered together that do explain a few themes about this Feast of
the Lord.
http://bibleprophesy.org/feastoftrumpets.htm
Here are a few studies on the
Feast of Trumpets, and a bit of an introductory summary:
http://bibleprophesy.org/introtrumpets.htm
One of the themes of the Feast
of Trumpets is the Wedding; as the Church is married to Jesus. So, here
are my studies on the Marriage in Scripture, as it relates to the prophecy of
the rapture.
http://bibleprophesy.org/introwedding.htm
The wedding or marriage as a
theme is something that is not seemingly related, or not a part of it, if you
simply study the Jewish Rosh Hashanna.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_Hashanah
(Even American Wedding
Traditions have a similar theme of going through the
door to heaven: The Husband carries the new Bride through the door, across
the threshhold, into their hew "heavenly" life together.)
Revelation 4:1 After this I
looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice
I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here,
and I will show you what must take place after this.”
The wedding does not appear to
be a key theme of Halloween. However, in Mexico, among the prostitutes
and drug dealers, there is a celebration called the "day of the
Dead". They dress up a skeleton as a bride, with a lantern, and eat
candy skulls.
The picture of five wise
virgins and five foolish brides with lanterns is shown in Matthew
25:1-13. I have a study on why that parable is
a picture of the rapture, here:
http://bibleprophesy.org/tenvirgins.htm
Why are the so-called
"ungodly" people in Mexico observing this holiday? Well,
those are the kinds of people God often speaks to, and calls to him.
Jesus said to the religious
leaders of his day, "tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the
kingdom of God ahead of you." Matthew 21:31-32.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise
according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of
noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;
God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is
low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing
things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of
God.
Let's examine the main themes
of Halloween, starting with candy.
Candy is associated with the
celebration of the Feast of Trumpets, as shown by Nehemiah 8:1-10: 10
Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet,
--"
I wonder, how did Nehemiah
know that about sweets, when the Bible never directly says to eat sweets on
this day? The answer must be tradition.
Candy apples are a tradition
of both Halloween and Rosh Hashanna.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween#Foods
"Because the holiday
comes in the wake of the annual apple harvest, candy apples (known as toffee
apples outside North America), caramel or taffy apples are common Halloween
treats made by rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup, sometimes
followed by rolling them in nuts."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_Hashanna#Symbolic_foods
"Symbolic foods
Rosh Hashanah table set with
symbolic foods Rosh Hashanah meals usually include apples and honey, to
symbolize a sweet new year."
Nehemiah wasn't the only man
in the Bible to observe this feast.
The Bible says that Joseph in
Egypt made it a decree to celebrate this day. That was about 400 years
before Moses gave the law in Numbers and Leviticus. Interestingly, it
does not say this in Genesis, but in the Psalms!
Pss 81:3 Blow the trumpet at
the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.
Pss 81:4 For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
Pss 81:5 He made it a decree in Joseph, when he went out over the land of
Egypt. I hear a voice I had not known:
Many Biblical practices and
traditions pre-date the law of Moses. Animal sacrifice and marriage do, too.
Some people think Jesus was
against traditions. But Jesus said, "Mark 7:13 Making the word of
God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many
such like things do ye."
In other words, if traditions
that invalidate the word of God are bad, then the corollary of that would be
that traditions that validate the word of God, such as Halloween and the
Feasts of the Lord, such as the Feast of Trumpets, would be good!
What's the next symbol of
Halloween, the door?
Jesus is the door. John
10:9 "I am the door"
On the new moon (the start of
the month, which is when the Feast of Trumpets falls on), every month, at the
start of the month, the door of the temple is to be opened.
Ezek 46:1 "Thus says the
Lord GOD: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the
six working days; but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened and on the day of
the new moon it shall be opened.
The door is also a symbol in
the parable of the virgins in Matt 25:1-13, and in Revelation 3-4, key
rapture verses.
Revelation 4:1 After this I
looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I
heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up
hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
To Philadelphia:
Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no
man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and
hast not denied my name.
Rev 3:10 Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you
from the hour of trial which is coming on the whole world, to try those who
dwell upon the earth.
Next Halloween symbol, the
skeletons. Dry bones are mentioned also in Ezekiel as a starting point
of the resurrection in Ezekiel 37:1-11. The passage reads as if it is a
scene right out of a modern zombie movie.
Ezekiel 37
The Valley of Dry Bones
1 The hand of the LORD
was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in
the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth
among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones
that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones
live?"
I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone
know."
4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them,
'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says
to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and
you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come
upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come
to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "
7 So I prophesied as I
was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound,
and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh
appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me,
"Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is
what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe
into these slain, that they may live.' " 10 So I prophesied as he
commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on
their feet—a vast army.
11 Then he said to me:
"Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our
bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' 12 Therefore
prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people,
I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you
back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the
LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my
Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then
you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the
LORD.' "
Another Halloween theme,
is the jack-o-lanterns.
Again, revisiting Matthew
25:1-13, we read about the importance of keeping the lamps lit. Lamps
that are lit are symbolic of readiness for the return of the Lord, and are a
symbol of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The symbol of the door is
also highlighted in this passage.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
Matthew 25 1"At that time
the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went
out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3
The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The
wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was
a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to
meet him!
7 "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.
8 The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are
going out.'
9" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you.
Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
10 "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom
arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.
And the door was shut.
11 "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door
for us!'
12 "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
13 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Not knowing the day or hour is
also a description of the Feast of Trumpets. The new moon falls on
every 29 and a half days. Thus, there is slight uncertainty on which
day it might exactly fall, especially if the observance of the prior new moon
was hidden by clouds.
Hiding is also a theme of this
Feast.
A bride hides her face
with a veil.
Kids mask their faces with
costumes.
Believers will be
"hid" in heaven for 7 years, the length of the tribulation.
And here are three passages on that:
Zeph 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all
ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness,
seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid
in the day of the LORD's anger.
Pss 27:5 For in the time of trouble
he shall hide
me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he
shall set me up upon a rock.
Isa 26:20 Come, my people,
enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were
for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
So, that's a summary of the
themes.
Here are other cultures, and
other versions of this feast.
In Mexico, they actually hid
their observance of this feast until recently.
"In contrast to the Day
of the Dead, overt worship of Santa Muerte (Dead Saint) remained hidden until the 19th century.
When it surfaced, reaction was harsh, requiring the burning of any image
found."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Muerte
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead
Daniel also said that in the
last days, knowledge would increase.
Halloween is also related to
All Saint's Day and the Celtic feast, Samhain.
Rosh Hashanna is, according to
the Jews, the new year.
Samhain is also the new year
to the Celts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain
"Many scholars believe
that it was the beginning of the Celtic year.[3][4][5]"
The Gaelic custom of wearing
costumes and masks, was an attempt to copy the spirits or placate them. In
Scotland the dead were impersonated by young men with masked, veiled or
blackened faces, dressed in white.[7][8] Samhnag — turnips which were
hollowed-out and carved with faces to make lanterns — were also used to
ward off harmful spirits.[8]
The Gaelic festival became
associated with the Christian All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, and has
hugely influenced the secular customs now connected with Halloween, a name
first attested in the 16th century as a Scottish shortening of the fuller
All-Hallows-Even.[9] Samhain continues to be celebrated as a religious
festival by some Neopagans.[4][10]
Samhain is a Celtic
festival. Some scholars say the Celts are one of the ten lost tribes of
Israel.
The Celts are Israelites Under
Another Name.
http://jahtruth.co.uk/celtisr.htm
That would mean that the
Celts, the Lost Israelites, likely had customs and feasts that are likely
similar to the original Feasts of the Lord.
The main Biblical symbol that
is missing in Halloween is the trumpet.
But there is a symbol of a
Cornucopia, a "horn of plenty" in Northern America that is often
associated with the fall feast known as Thanksgiving. The Cornucopia is
a twisted horn, and originally said to be a goat's horn, which is very
similar to the ram's horn, or Shofar, used in Rosh Hashanna.
Compare the google images of
the shofar to images of the cornucopia.
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source...oq=&gs_rfai=
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&gbv...525&bih=849
In the wikipedia article on
Halloween, they show that they knew this was a day the dead can come to life,
which is a description of the resurrection, but historians don't even know
why kids dress up for Halloween, only theorizing that they did so to ward off
evil spirits.
"The ancient Celts
believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on
Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The
family's ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were
warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to
the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a
harmful spirit and thus avoid harm."
The Feasts of the Lord are
commemorations, rehearsals, like a play.
The people are supposed to
play out what is supposed to happen on this prophetic day.
On this day, Jesus will
return, and raise the dead, and take them to be his bride, (changing them to
immortality, like superheroes) and take them to heaven through himself, as he
is the door.
To play that out, kids dress
up as the dead, and go door to door (to Jesus) and get candy (heaven).
Trick or treating is a means
by which the custom continues, because if you don't play along, and give out
candy to the kids, you get the trick instead, and get punished.
The original trickster was
Jacob (Israel), who dressed up as his hairy brother Esau, to gain the
birthright from the old Issac.
So, what does all of this
mean?
I think this is cultural
evidence that Americans and those who celebrate Halloween and similar
festivals are the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.
I think these festivals
provide further confirming cultural evidence of the reliability of the Bible,
and the reliability of the meaning of the symbols and themes of the rapture,
as interpreted in light of the symbols of the Feast of Trumpets and
Halloween.
I believe that God directly
provides direct and continued inspiration to cultures who are willing to
listen, and that these are the Feasts of the Lord, and that the Lord will
have HIS feasts observed, period.
Jesus himself said at the
prophetic event of his entry into Jerusalem, "the rocks would cry
out" if the people did not.
Luke 19:37 When he came near
the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of
disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles
they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the
Lord!”“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke
your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the
stones will cry out.”
There is certainly a lot more
that can be learned on this topic.
Who am I as to be so audatious
or bold as to make these claims and associations?
I'm merely a guy who has been
preaching about honest money for the past ten years, in a culture that is
99.9% deceived about the nature of money. I'm used to teaching things
that should be common sense, but are unknown, or hidden.
What does this article have to
do with silver? Good question.
It's my hope that this article
reinforces the reality of the truths of Scripture. That the Israelites
were not just a people in an old dusty book, but
that we are their descendants, and that we have unknowingly kept to certain
traditions that prove that to be true. I hope that you find that the
Bible is a book of truths, that God is real.
After the resurrection, what
kind of life will it be? God will wipe away all evil, and stop fraud
and theft on a national and institutionalized scale, so that people will be
able to enjoy the fruit of their labors. (Isaiah 65) Thus, there
will not be any such thing as paper money fraud in God's world. Instead,
there will be silver, and gold.
If we are the people of the
Bible, and if the Bible is real, then we ought to take it seriously. I
do.
Paper Money Violates All Ten
Commandments
1. Paper money debt
enslaves you to something other than God.
2. Valuing paper money is an act of idolatry.
3. "In God we trust" takes the Lord's name in vain.
4. The sabbath debt forgiveness times are ignored.
5. Lack of honest standards dishonors our parents.
6. Paper money has funded mass murder; two world wars.
7. Lenders, usurers, are committing spiritual adultery.
8. Paper money and banking is institutionalized theft.
9. Paper money requires a mountain of false testimony.
10. Paper money is supported by greed and covetousness.
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