Sermon Tone Analysis

SCRIPTURE

INTRO

Today is October 31st; the day labeled on our calendar as Halloween.

Halloween is named after the Catholic holiday of All Saint’s Day on November 1st and All Soul’s Day on November 2nd.

All Saint’s Day is also known as All Hallow’s Day.

October 31st was originally referred to as All Hallow’s Evening, but later got shortened to Halloween.

On these days they honored the saints and prayed for the dead souls in purgatory.

Today is also celebrated by some Protestants as Reformation Day.

It is the day set aside to remember when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the door of the church in Wittenberng, Germany on October 31, 1517, which began the Protestant Reformation and the split of Protestantism from the Catholic Church.

Martin Luther’s 95 Thesis are probably best known for rediscovering justification by faith as the way of salvation instead of the works-based system of the Catholic church.

But modern-day Halloween in America really has nothing to do with either of these Christian traditions.

I’m not going to take the time to go through all the history and origins of Halloween.

There is plenty of information available out there if you are interested.

But I will simply say that a lot of the Halloween traditions we have today originate from pagan practices.

Halloween seems to be mainly focused on evil and darkness; things like witchcraft, demons, vampires, ghosts, death, horror, gore, fear, and even Satan himself.

This can all just seem like innocent fun.

No one is really worshiping the devil or practicing satanism or witchcraft.

But I think we can all agree that when we look at Halloween, most of what we see has the appearance of evil.

And we’ve already read in the Bible where we are commanded to abstain from all appearance of evil.

Paul also tells us in Ephesians that we are to expose darkness.

There is real evil and real witchcraft that takes place during Halloween.

But it also goes on all throughout the year, not just at Halloween.

Halloween is just a time when it is more prevalent and more accepted.

But Halloween is also a very important time of year for those in

So this morning, we are Exposing the Darkness.

We are going to remove the veil and shine the light of the Word of God on the unfruitful works of darkness and expose some of the evil that God commands us to abstain from.

MESSAGE

Biblical Warnings of the Dangers of the Dark Side

First, let’s go back to 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 and unpack those verses.

Prove all things

We need to be able to discern between what is good and what is evil.

Without spiritual discernment, we can easily be deceived.

Hold fast that which is good

We should not preoccupy our minds with things that are evil.

Good things and the things of God should occupy our minds.

Abstain from

The word abstain means to:

Deliberately withdraw from,

To stay away from, or

To put distance between oneself and something else.

This is a strong word that means to have nothing to do with.

all appearance of evil

The word appearance here means an outward form, visible appearance, likeness, or resemblance of something.

We are to put as much distance between evil and ourselves as possible.

The Bible says that Job “feared God and eschewed evil.”

In other words, he strived to separate himself from anything evil.

Some Biblical Examples of Evil

Divination (Witchcraft)

Broad term that describes all occult activity and witchcraft in general.

Describes those who attempt to make contact with the spiritual realm.

Describes modern witchcraft as well (things like WitchTok).

Witchcraft is real and it is growing in popularity.

Observer of Times (Soothsayer)

Predicting the future by reading something in nature, like the stars.

Astrology.

Horoscopes.

Fortune tellers.

It glorifies the creation over the Creator.

Enchanter (One who interprets omens)

Gaining knowledge from the spiritual realm using an “aid” other than nature itself.

Tarot cards.

Crystal balls.

Palm reading.

Ouija boards.

Witch (Sorcerer)

Sorcery

Using drugs and potions to cast spells.

Charmer

Speaks in general of those who cast spells.

Consulter with Familiar Spirits

Mediums.

A medium stands between the physical realm and the supernatural realm as a mediator.

At least they profess to do so.

Most of it is mere trickery.

But some is real.

They are not communicating with your dead loved one, they are communicating with demonic powers.

The Witch at Endor is an example from the Bible.

Wizard

Means “knowing ones.”

They attempt to gain knowledge and change/alter reality through occultic powers.

This is a mockery of the Gifts of the Spirit.

Necromancer

Conjuring up the dead.

Attempting to speak with or communicate with the dead in some way.

Seances.

These Things are an Abomination to the Lord

Moses warned the Israelites that they were going to encounter these pagan practices as they entered the Promised Land.

But God, through Moses, also gives them a strict warning and commandment not to participate in these types of activities.

Moses tells them that these practices are an abomination to the Lord.

Those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

The Dangers of Dabbling in the Dark Side

Satan, or the devil, is behind all spiritual darkness and occult practices.

You can’t spell “devil” without “evil.”

Those who practice the occult get their power and knowledge from demons.

We are to seek God, not other methods.

Dabbling in the dark side opens up the door to the occult.

Some of the things we’ve talked about:

Astrology

Horoscopes

Psychics