A Clever Disguise

A Clever Disguise

Eph 6:12, Lev 17:7, 1 Cor 10:20-21, 1 John 1:5, Acts 19:18-19, Eph 5:11

October 11, 2000

I. There are very few sermons that I preach twice and there are none that I preach as much as I have preached this one, but it is something that I have felt strongly about for a long time.

A. In the year 2000 a Wiccian minister lead the prayer the Dallas City council meeting.

1. There are Wiccian groups that are being allowed to meet in high Schools now, and children and Teenagers are recruited on school campuses now to be a part of Wiccian groups.

2. The Internal Revenue Service has given tax-exempt status to the church of Wicca which is the official church of Witchcraft.

3. Today, Wicca is one of the fastest growing cults in America. Wicca is based on the symbols, seasonal days of celebration, beliefs and deities of ancient Celtic society.

4. Wiccans, if you are not aware are witches. Modern witches celebrate eight main holidays, the most important of these is Samhain (Halloween).

5. Samhain is considered the most important because they consider it to be the time that dividing line between the world’s of the living and the dead is at its thinnest point in the year, making communication easier. The souls of the dead are reported to come to the land of the living during Halloween.

B. In addition to this, Halloween is the High Holiday of the Satanic church in America.

1. Anton Lavay, who is the author of the "Satanic bible" and held the position of high priest of the Satanic church in America is quoted as saying, "Halloween is the most important day of the year for a Satanist."

2. Rose Warnke , says,"Halloween is to the Satanist what Christmas is to the Christian."

3. Doreen Irvine, a Christian who was the former "ruling witch" and wife of a Satanist, says, "If Christian parents had any idea what Halloween really is, they wouldn’t even mention the word to their children."

C. More and more we are surrounded by things that are not Godly, and more and more Christians are being chastised for their beliefs

D. I know that some people might not like what I have to say about this and some of you have heard it before, but I believe that it is my responsibility as a pastor to make our church aware of things that are a danger to our families.

E. We are faced more everyday with influences in our lives and the lives of our children that go directly against what God has said is right. More and more God us being pushed out of our public schools and groups of Witches and satanist are being allowed to have open meetings.

F. The lines that used to divide what we see as right and wrong are becoming more and more vague.

G. Halloween is a holiday that Christians have participated in for years, that I believe we shouldn’t.

II. I want to remind you that we as Christians are at war against the powers of evil in this world. Satan the leader of the powers of darkness, is our enemy and God’s enemy.

Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

A. I am going to go back to the origin of Halloween and some of the things that are associated with it.

B. 300 to 800 Hundred years before Jesus was born, there was a civilization of people on the British Isles that were called the Celtics. As a matter of fact that is where some of my family came from.

C. The Celtics were controlled by a group of Satanic priests known as the Druids.

D. Druids were Satanists that worshiped "Samhain" (sa-man), who was the demonic god of death.

E. He was pictured as a skeletal figure in a black robe with a long sickle, who later be came known as the grim reaper.

F. The Druids controlled the people’s lives through fear and sorcery. Their power and control was great and their practices were completely demonic.

1. They practiced black magic and all sorts of divination.

2. When a Celtic king became too weak to lead in battle or father children, they would cut him open while he was still alive and remove his internal organs for the purpose of casting magic spells.

3. Human sacrifice was also a part of their religious practices.

III. I tell you all of this because these are the people that began the celebration of Halloween.

A. Halloween, October 31, was the Celtic New Year. It was the time of the celebration to the god of death, Samhain.