The Bible contains many accounts of the faithful striving against the occult. Moses was in a contest with the Pharaoh's sorcerers; Elijah and Elisha performed many miracles in contest with the prophets of Baal; Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dreams when all of his magicians failed to advise him about the future. We might think, however, that these phenomena are relegated to the Old Testament--a time when people believed in the power of spells and curses and magic. And yet, we find witches and warlocks in the time of the early Church. These accounts are recorded in the book of acts.
Paul and Silas meet a Witch:
One day, as they were going to pray, Paul and Silas met a slave-girl. Now this slave-girl had a spirit of divination that she used to make a fortune for her masters. As the two apostles kept moving, the girl started to follow them, and she kept repeating, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." She kept doing this for many days. Annoyed, Paul turned and said, "I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And the evil spirit of divination came out of her. Later, when the slave-girl's owners saw that their way of making money was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the authorities. They brought charges of disturbing the peace and "advocating customs that are not lawful for Romans to adopt or observe." Paul and Silas were flogged severely and thrown in prison. Once in jail, the two apostles began praying and singing hymns. Suddenly there was a massive earthquake that tore a big hole in the wall of their cell. The guards rushed in to find Paul and Silas still sitting and praying. The jailers were frightened and they asked, "What must we do to be saved?" Paul and Silas preached the gospel and said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." The next morning, Paul and Silas were freed. (Acts 16:16-40)
Many Christians refuse to celebrate Halloween because they think that it is a holiday for the occult. Even if this were true, it is no reason to abstain from Halloween. [Last year, I think I wrote about how the origin of Halloween was thoroughly Christian, and is part of the celebration of All Saint's Day. See my blog: "Who're you gonna call? -or- Halloween: The Holy Day Christians Forgot"] First of all, we see in this passage that the occult is little more than an annoyance. Scriptures consider the occult real enough, but when compared to the Word of God, it is impotent. The occult may bring worldly gains, such as riches. But Jesus Christ offers salvation and eternal life. There is no contest.
Second, when it comes to confronting the occult, those who live in the gospel never turn away in fear. Paul and Silas confronted the slave-girl who carried the evil spirit. They called the evil out of her. Then later, when society told them what they could and could not do, God instigated an earthquake as a miracle to show that Christians are always free. You, therefore, according to your confidence in the Word and power of God, are allowed to confront the occult this Halloween. Feel free to dress up, and to fill your houses with decorations of the superstitious. The best way to show mastery over the Old Foe is not to run, but to confront. Still better if we laugh at the Enemy by masquerading, by showing how powerless worldly traditions and magics are--never forgetting that we need not fear anything, because Jesus Christ is stronger.
Third and finally, we learn from this passage that God responds to magic with miracles. Miracles look an awful lot like magic. In fact, the only difference between a magical act and a miracle is the source. Miracles come from God, Christ and the Word. Magic comes from evil or the world. In another account from Acts, Paul cast a spell on the warlock Elymas. Paul, "filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, 'You son of the devil.... And now listen--the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun.'" Elymas was blinded, and all who witnessed it were brought into the faith. [Read the whole story: Acts 13:4-12] The point is that we are called into contest against evil when we see it, and we are empowered to do deeds of power. In the Gospel according to St. John, Jesus is talking to his disciples and refers to the miracles that he has done throughout his ministry. He says (and I paraphrase), "When I ascend into heaven, and my Father gives you the gift of the Holy Spirit, then you will be able to do greater works than these." Jesus promises that we will be able to work greater miracles than he worked.
So, do not be afraid of Halloween, or the occult. Instead, celebrate with a free conscious, knowing the true power which God has given you. Let's take Halloween back from the occult--for they stole it from us and not the other way around.
Go out and celebrate God's victory over evil, for that is what Halloween is all about. It is a fitting prelude to All Saint's Day.
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