Halloween – The Eve of the Devil Part 7

Graveyards and Haunted houses

1st Thessalonians 4:16-18 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

With all that we have shown you about Halloween being darkness and death, let’s interject a bit of good news for a moment. In the Bible there are many verses about Death and Dying. There are too many to list here so click this link for death and dying, and this link on death. Get your Bible, if you have one, to study these verses further. It is not all bad IF you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Of course if you chose to follow the lord of Halloween, the god of this current world system, then you have reason to fear death! Death of this mortal body is really just the beginning. All of our bodies will go back to the dust of the earth that is if we die and get buried Ecclesiastes 12:7. Jesus has promised that He was going to prepare a place that believers will inhabit one day. John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” There is no reason to fear death if you are a child of God (1st Corinthians 15:50-58) and this is why we include the graveyard in this series.

The Graveyard or Cemetery

Ghoul Habitat or Sacred Refuge?
Graves have long been a frequent haunt of legendary and mythical creatures. Sometimes they’re spirits of the dead, other times simply nefarious beings who like to hang out near graves, such as the ghouls of Africa, India and the Middle East. But some monsters, like the Headless Horseman, are more afraid of graveyards than you are. In the Manx folklore of the British Isles, one sure way to avoid an attack from the terrifying buggane was to flee into the sacred protection of the churchyard. Unable to pursue you, the monster would rip its own head off and heave it in after you — where it would shatter to pieces. Source

People generally have a mentality that ghosts and evil spirits come out at night. More so in a place like a cemetery, where people’s fears get heightened thinking it is haunted. That fear about seeing ghostly figures is why many try to avoid going to the cemetery. Most people are afraid of death and being around or in a graveyard only reminds them of mortality. Most won’t even discuss funeral arrangements. Whatever the root of fear it may be from images and participation in Halloween activities as a child.

As Samhain/ Halloween is the time when the veil between the living and the dead is supposed to be its thinnest, naturally people who practice the dark arts and or worship the lord of the dead, are drawn to cemeteries/graveyards. Witchcraft teaches that there is innate power in the dirt from a graveyard. Many dark arts use the graveyard dirt for the purposes of casting spells/curses and draw power for the magic craft.

Vampires are thought to rise up out of their graves to prowl through the night. They must return to their graves by sunlight, according to the legends. Because of these beliefs about vampires and the current fascination with them, many people visit graveyards to practice vampirism and to worship the dead.

Halloween is also a time when many people participate in exchanging Ghost stories. Due to the curiosity these arouse, you might find groups of young people visiting graveyards to watch for any signs of Ghosts or hauntings. Foolishness that can cause much more problems for these folks than realize.

All of these groups are putting themselves in real danger, both physically and spiritually. Demonic spirits are not something you want to invite into your life. They are very real, and they have power. Some people are foolish enough to believe that they can control these demons. TRUST ME you cannot. The demons may allow you to think you can, just long enough for you to expose yourself. Once you do, they have you.

Here in the United States, people have become so obsessed with death and the grave, it is insane. Halloween has blown way out of control. It is at least equal to Christmas as far as money and effort spent on decorations, I am sure. It is unbelievable the lengths people will go to, in the interest of scaring people to death. No one can pretend any longer that this is all “for the children to have innocent fun”. Unwittingly those who are participating in all of this are giving power to the devil and opening themselves up for spiritual oppression or even possession. Here is a video that will demonstrate:

Halloween Yard 2012 The Hideous Horror on Howe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT4iANTdtGE (You may want to shut off/mute the sound on this video)

The Tombstone and its Symbolism

A headstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A tombstone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a tomb. They are traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases they have the deceased’s name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer, but they may contain pieces of funerary art, especially details in stone relief. In many parts of Europe insetting a photograph of the deceased in a frame is very common. Source Wikipedia

Once again, people have a fascination for graveyards and things related to them for various reasons. Halloween draws them all. Wiccans have a practice called grave-rubbing. If they see a particular tombstone that they like, for whatever reason, and want to preserve it.

Facebook: Gray Witches Grimoire
“Grave rubbing is used often when a person is researching and preserving their genealogy/ancestry line. But it can also be used to preserve the memory of a particular grave that you might feel a connection with or simply to meditate on the history of the cemetery. Put your grave rubbings in a special album or frame them and hang them in your sacred space. Framed grave rubbings can be a nice addition to your ancestral altar either at Samhain, or when remembering or calling forth and ancestor to help you.
Finally, always leave an offering for the spirit whose grave your took a rubbing from.”

The power of prayer over witchcraft
Here is a story that might bless you. It is about how a pastor overcame the dark forces through prayer: http://www.choicesforliving.com/spirit/part4/kenya.htm

Haunted Houses

A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property. Parapsychologists attribute haunting to the spirits of the dead and the effect of violent or tragic events in the building’s past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide. More scientific explanations for the perception that a percent of Americans, 28 percent of Canadians, and 40 percent of Britons expressed the belief that houses could be “haunted” Source: Wikipedia

A haunted house can be almost any structure converted on Halloween to be as scary as possible. When I was a child the little Methodist Church in I used to attend had one in the attic each year… a CHURCH!!

The Egyptians knew well that if you wanted to keep body snatchers away from a pyramid, the best way was to scare the hell out of them. Mazes, moving walls, self-opening doors, traps and the use of snakes and insects were commonplace in preserving treasures and dead royalty. Granted, they weren’t exactly charging admission for these scares, and the public was not lining up to get lost in the snake room, but this is one of the earliest examples of people crafting devices and sets to provoke fear.

The Greeks and Romans also unknowingly seeded the path for haunted attractions. Their folklore is rich with mazes and labyrinths, all filled with monsters. As theater was a vital part of their culture, it stands to reason that these ancients began devising rudimentary special FX to represent monsters and beasts. They also pioneered a number of theatrical devices that would evolve into the spooky elements used in haunts today, including fog, trapdoors, ghostly images and even fake blood and gore. Source Also see the same source for a complete history of haunted houses.

In recent history we have seen the “Haunted House Attraction” phenomenon expand at a hellish rate. They are increasing rapidly, not only in number but in fright factor. Top Haunted Houses of 2014 Check it out here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolm…alloween-2014/

Frankly, if baffles those of us of a gentler nature, why anyone would pay money to be scared out of their wits. But, more importantly, once again, these things give ground to the enemy.

Understand something, the power of the imagination is beyond what anyone can conceive. It has been proven, scientifically, that when an athlete is injured and unable to maintain his/her practice schedule, all they have to do is lie in bed and imagine themselves going through their routine and their muscles will actually maintain their size and skill level. Likewise, when you are trying to learn a skill, or if you are hoping to find a job, you are counseled to focus on that thing. It is even suggest that you create a wish board and put up pictures of what you are hoping to manifest. Because imaging is powerful. Be careful little eyes what you see. Remember that song from Sunday school? God told us about this truth in Matthew 5:27 “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

That does not just apply to adultery. It applies to any sin. The devil is fully aware of that. So, if he can get you to imagine in your heart, murder, lying, stealing, participating in Witchcraft… The whole idea of virtual reality, is straight out of the pit of Hell!

What are you helping to create in this world? What does your mind focus upon? Are you watching movies and TV shows about vampires, witches, torture and murder? Or, are you studying the Word of God, praying and singing praises to the Lord?

Continued in Part 8 –The Christian Connection!