Are There Treasures In Darkness?

Isaiah 45:3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

The treasures of darkness?… 

This is a curious phrase in verse 3.

The previous verse says

2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: KJV

NASB: ‘I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.

These verses are a promise from our Heavenly Father that He will

make the WAY before us straight and smooth

by removing any obstacles that would hinder our progress

or, stop us moving forward by barring our path.

This implies, level the hilly places; as pioneers do.

I will go before thee — To remove all obstructions, and prepare the way for thee. 

Some other translations:

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And I shall give you treasures that are in darkness and hidden, buried things, that you may know that I AM LORD JEHOVAH, for I, The God of Israel, have called you by your name

Young’s Literal Translation
And have given to thee treasures of darkness, Even treasures of secret places, So that thou knowest that I, Jehovah, Who am calling on thy name — am the God of Israel.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, And hidden riches of secret places, That thou mayest know that I am the LORD, Who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I will give thee hidden treasures, and the concealed riches of secret places: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord who call thee by thy name, the God of Israel. 

The verse always makes the reader wonder…

Why would our Heavenly Father even want to give us something from darkness?

Doesn’t the scripture tell us He is Light?  

King James Bible
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And this is The Good News that we have heard from him and we evangelize to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness at all in him.

Berean Literal Bible
And this is the message that we have heard from Him and we preach to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

Young’s Literal Translation
And this is the message that we have heard from Him, and announce to you, that God is light, and darkness in Him is not at all;

Most believers would say they

do not want anything

from the dark side. 

What is this passage is really saying?

Chshk – darkness

chet sheen/shin kaf

חֹ֔שֶׁךְ

kaf 20 sheen 300 chet 8

opposite of light, absence of light.

First used in Gen. 1:2

chet: fence, a chamber.

sheen/shin: teeth, destroy.

kaf: arm, open hand.

Of Darkness

חֹ֔שֶׁךְ 2822 [e]
ḥō·šeḵ,   cho shech

The Treasures

214 [e]
’ō·wṣ·rō·wṯ    otz rot

אוֹצְר֣וֹת

4301 [e]
ū·maṭ·mu·nê   u mat nu nei

and hidden riches

וּמַטְמֻנֵ֖י

of secret places

4565 [e]
mis·tā·rîm   mis ta rim

מִסְתָּרִ֑ים

Isaiah 45:3 
HEB: לְךָ֙ אוֹצְר֣וֹת חֹ֔שֶׁךְ וּמַטְמֻנֵ֖י מִסְתָּרִ֑ים

KJV: thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches

חֹ֖שֶׁךְ hosek chosek

Isaiah 45:3 
HEB: אוֹצְר֣וֹת חֹ֔שֶׁךְ וּמַטְמֻנֵ֖י מִסְתָּרִ֑ים לְמַ֣עַן
NAS: of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places,
KJV: of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places,

וּמַטְמֻנֵ֖י – treasures – umatmune

Isaiah 45:3: “And I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places that you will know that I, the Lord, who called you by your name am the God of Israel.”

Isaiah 45: 2 tells us that God is going to open and make the trail for us as we journey in our calling and His plan for our lives.

In verse 3 He then tells us how He is going to equip us.  

He is going to give us the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places. 

Do we ever stop to think about it, what are the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places.

 

If we want to understand what our Father is saying to us, there are four Hebrew words we should look at; and by examining the Hebrew terms from which they originate, and the form in which they are rendered, we may get a picture or concept that is easier for us to understand.

The first two are orsaroth –  choshek 

(treasures of darkness).  

אוֹצְר֣וֹת 214 orsaroth

ר֣ צְ א

חֹ֔שֶׁךְ

choshek Strongs# 2822.

The word 

treasure (orsaroth) 

comes from the root word:

  ’asar 

ר֣ צְ א

This word has the idea of:

a storehouse, or treasures that are laid up but not lost.  

As the first thing that comes to our mind in western culture is something of monetary value, such as diamonds, jewelry, gold coins etc., in this context,  treasure would be a misleading word to use here. 

This treasure referred to in this verse is: 

a treasure of knowledge.  

 

Which we are encouraged in Proverbs to

get knowledge get understanding

which means:

learn how to wisely apply the knowledge you have been given!

King James Bible Proverbs 4:5
Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

King James Bible Proverbs 23:23
Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

The Hebrew word asar is spelled:

Aleph, Sade and Resh

ר֣ צְ א

and the combination of these letters tells us that this is:

knowledge pertaining to/of God’s love and power. 

The word for

darkness in Hebrew

is (choshek) chosheke

also expresses the idea of:

being obscure or hidden.

Seems like a contradiction?

 saying orsaroth is:

a treasure that is not lost.

However is Isaiah drawing a picture for us here? 

We must consider when this word was given which was during the reign of Josiah.

And because of the sinfulness of the people, at this time

the Torah, was hidden, BUT it was not lost!

During Josiahs’ reign the Torah was discovered buried deep in the royal archives. 

Is it possible that the treasures of darkness here refers to:

the deep mysteries of God stored away in His Word?

It is not hidden anymore than a library book is hidden on a bookshelf or library, or an item in our basements, attics or storage units; they’re there for us to access anytime we want. We may have to spend some time searching for it, trying to remember which box it’s in. It is the same with scripture, the more we study it the easier it is to find the treasures of knowledge within.

The next two words are:

matemenu misetarim 

hidden riches of secret places.  

Misetarim ם מִסְתָּרִ֑י  

(secret places) comes from the root word 

sathar 

which is the word for 

hidden, concealed or secret. 

 

Matemenu  מַטְמֻנֵ֖י

comes from the root word 

tamak /taman

נֵ֖ מַ טְ  

which has the preposition 

from in front of it

and is used to express 

hidden, concealed or protected treasures of knowledge. 

We could express this as: 

hidden riches of knowledge from concealed or protected places. 

In other words, 

taman /tamak knowledge

is not as easy to get to as 

 asar or treasure. 

To get

treasure – asar 

all we have to do is simply 

search for it.  

To get 

tamak – knowledge

we will need something more.   

Further trust…

A picture to help us to understand this may be for example: there are some legal documents that are referred to as being public record and are available for anyone to read. There are other records and documents deemed as classified and an individual needs a certain amount of security or level of clearance to access them.  

In order to obtain that security clearance a person will have to prove both a genuine need for these documents and the integrity required to be entrusted with the knowledge they contain.  This trust must be earned through faithfulness and correct handling.

Knowledge of our Heavenly Father is open to everyone, such as knowledge of His love, His plan of salvation, etc. 

And then there is knowledge which according to scripture is hidden (hidden riches of secret places). 

For access to this knowledge we will need…

the cleansing work of the blood of Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach, the power of His Holy Spirit and a personal relationship with the author; the One who has placed knowledge where it can only be found by those truly seeking the heart of the Father.

It appears that there are two levels of knowledge and many people are content with that which is easily accessible.  Few seem willing to earn the trust of our Heavenly Father, to seek His heart and receive the security clearance into the hidden riches of secret places.

Surely our desire to know His heart will open the way to His deep hidden secrets?

Treasure – Atsar or asar

Alef   א ox strength first

ר֣ צְ

צְ tsadik fishhook hook

Tzsar – trouble

Tsar is the hooked man

ר֣ resh reysh head person

To store gather accumulate

Tzsr – to press into someone or something

So we may conclude that in preparing the path ahead of where we are to walk, and as long as we are walking with Him in obedient relationship, He has removed every hindering thing that we may encounter.

Furthermore, as our trust and faith in His complete provision for our lives causes our relationship with our Heavenly Father to become deeper and more intimate; we earn His trust in us and as we continue to seek His heart the hidden riches of secret places are revealed.

We are led to the deep mysteries of God stored away in His Word.

They are hidden concealed BUT not lost.

Jesus/Yeshua said He had come to reveal things hidden from the foundation of the world in.

Matthew 13:35

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Amplified Bible
This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS [unknown and unattainable] THAT HAVE BEEN HIDDEN [from mankind] SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.”

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
So that the thing that was spoken by the Prophet would be fulfilled which says, “I shall open my mouth in parables and I shall declare things hidden from before the foundation of the world.”

Berean Literal Bible
so that it might be fulfilled that having been spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.”

King James Bible
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Matthew 13:35
So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

Berean Standard Bible
I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,

King James Bible
I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:

Amplified Bible
I will open my mouth in a parable [to instruct using examples]; I will utter dark and puzzling sayings of old [that contain important truth]

Young’s Literal Translation
I open with a simile my mouth, I bring forth hidden things of old,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
For behold, I shall open my mouth in proverbs and I shall speak in parables of a former time.

Lamsa Bible
I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter proverbs of old.

Jesus/Yeshua said quoting from Psalm 78:2

So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.” 

Jesus/Yeshua says in Luke 8:10

“And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables.”  

Matt 13:11 & Mark 4:11

Many times as Yeshua/Jesus spoke, His disciples didn’t understand what He meant. 

Why was this so?  Wasn’t Yeshua/Jesus “God manifest in the flesh?” 

Surely the words that Messiah spoke are the very scriptures we have today, so why didn’t they understand them? One would think that if God personally spoke it would be easy to understand what He meant?

Some of the people listening to Jesus/Yeshua misunderstood what He said because it was not given to them to understand.  Even though they had natural ears which could hear, the spiritual ears of their hardened hearts could not receive what Messiah said. Our Father says,

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Corinthians 2:14

Messiah states that it was given to His disciples/talmidim to understand while it was not given to others. It seems that, in order for even those disciples /talmidim who were closest to Him to comprehend His words, it had to be revealed to them.  In their case, Jesus/Yeshua revealed the truth to them personally.

And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

10He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’ 

11 “Now [the meaning of] the parable is this: The seed is the word of God [concerning eternal salvation].

Mark 4:9Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

11He replied, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables,

Like the disciples, It is also possible for us to hear the words of Jesus/Yeshua but not understand them. Unless it isgiven unto us to know the mystery of the kingdom of God” we cannot understand what He says.  

We rely upon His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth and the only way we can truly hear that truth, is through revelation given to our spirits, because everything that originates in the mind of our Heavenly Father is a mystery to our flesh. 

 Truthfully, we are supposed to live by His spirit, not by our flesh, and the study of the scriptures should be to search to see if these things are true. 

Why?

that thou mayest know that I am the Lord who call thee by thy name, the God of Israel. 

The conclusion is that Our Father Himself says

this is the reason for the previous verses…

that we may know He is the lord who calls us by our name He is the God of Israel

Calling us by name is the intimacy of a relationship on first name basis. Where two people are on first name terms and trust one another to confide things not shared with casual acquaintances.

The God of all creation through Yeshua/Jesus by the power of His Spirit of Holiness is now dwelling within us as His children and trusted disciples/talmidim. We have available to us the secrets of His kingdom, hidden from the foundation of the world.

Are we truly taking advantage of what He has opened to us?

It’s there for the asking… These are the real

treasures of darkness,

hidden only to be revealed to those it has been given to understand…

What treasures are we seeking?

Is it worldly success, wealth, comfort, natural resources, leisure, pleasure, or are we, the deep calling unto deep, desiring the true wealth of the treasure of the kingdom of the heavens.

Are we seeking spiritual gifts of supernatural and eternal value and endurance? The treasures that moth and rust can never destroy and nothing can take from us?

There is a darkness that is bad….

for more information

click link below

https://www.minimannamoments.com/no-treats-here-its-all-tricks/

but this darkness is not bad

or evil or to be feared;

it is simply a cover waiting to be lifted

by hungry hearts seeking to know our Father more intimately.

The more we come to know Him, the stronger and deeper the relationship becomes, the more He will give us by…

opening the treasures of darkness to us and

revealing the riches stored, hidden in secret places,

so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel,

who calls you by name.

Will we answer His call today?

Do we want to dig deeper

and

grow stronger

with our foundation on the ROCK

so when the storms of this life blow hard

we will not be moved or shaken?

Please don’t leave here without assurance of your salvation

and a deep inner knowing

that your life is firmly founded on none other than

the Rock of Ages..

Ps 62:2

He only is my rock and my salvation; 

he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.

Not sure ..you can be…

Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer,

Savior, Lord, and soon returning King

and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are very precious in His sight.

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.

No Treats Here – Its All Tricks!

 Open The Eyes Of Our Hearts Lord…Is Halloween An Invitation to the Occult?Hidden dangers that we may not see, are often subtly just under the surface and cunningly disguised by the enemy of our souls as seemingly ‘harmless fun’.Despite economic gloom casting a spell on consumer confidence, this year America’s darkest holiday is looking bright for retailers.  According to industry research firm IBISWorld , Halloween sales are expected to exceed a record-breaking $6 billion, sales are up in treats, candy and costumes for even more scary numbers.Let’s not be among those who line the pockets of greedy retailers and the fat cats of commerce, who would like to get their hands on our hard earned income and who also seek to profit from scaring and frightening our children at such a young and innocent and impressionably tender age.

Rather let’s

protect our children

from anything that would frighten them

and cause them to have sleepless nights and nightmares;

and not subject them to fears and anxieties that may

follow and torment them for years to come!

Jesus said suffer, (do not prevent),

the little children from coming to Me,

(not to the occult things of darkness)

for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

The scriptures encourage us in Eph 5:11 KJV: And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Amp: Take no part in and have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds and enterprises of darkness, but instead [let your lives be so in contrast as to] expose and reprove and convict them.Phillips Translation: For of this much you can be certain: that neither the immoral nor the dirty-minded nor the covetous man (which latter is, in effect, worshipping a false god) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Don’t let anyone fool you on this point, however plausible his argument. It is these very things which bring down the wrath of God upon the disobedient. Have nothing to do with men like that—once you were “darkness” but now you are “light”. Live then as children of the light.The light produces in men quite the opposite of sins like these—everything that is wholesome and good and true. Let your lives be living proofs of the things which please God. Steer clear of the activities of darkness; let your lives show by contrast how dreary and futile these things are. (You know the sort of things I mean—to detail their secret doings is really too shameful). For light is capable of “showing up” everything for what it really is. It is even possible (after all, it happened to you!) for light to turn the thing it shines upon into light also. Thus God speaks through the scriptures: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

 

Habbakuk 4:6 says ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge’.  When we have all the facts and understand the truth behind the curtains of seducing deception and we are educated, then we can make an enlightened and informed decision concerning future actions and participations. This is not a ‘party pooping exercise’, simply a heartfelt effort, with only a humble and loving motive, to protect and enlighten, while exposing the enemy.It’s always helpful to remember that darkness is looking for any way to capture our children and as fear is the opposite of faith, he uses things and events that scare and produce fear. The kingdom of darkness is based on fear and hate. Gods kingdom is the total opposite and is based on Faith and Love. It’s a good thing to consider which of these we would rather have our precious children exposed to. All the devil comes to do is steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).He uses seduction, temptation and deception among his arsenal of weapons. Many problems in adult life can be traced back to harrowing experiences associated with scary incidents at times such as Halloween. With this in mind… and not wishing to dwell on the subject more than to highlight its dangers...

Do we know where the word Halloween came from?

Halloween a day celebrated around the world when people dress up in costumes, collect candy from neighbors and have parties, but do we ever take time to think about the origins of Halloween? Most people don’t think twice about participating in it saying ‘It’s all in fun’ or ‘Its not evil to me’, but is this so called hallow evening really so innocent?

Do we know that a holiday named Samhain was celebrated on October 31st for centuries before the word Halloween was invented?

Do we know that Samhain is still celebrated by many, many people today?

Do we know that many Halloween traditions of today can trace back to the pagan practices of ancient peoples?

Do we know that the Lord commanded us not to be involved in the types of activities that take place on Halloween?

Once we learn the truth behind Halloween we’ll be stunned.

The Biggest Pagan Holiday Of All

“Halloween has been imposed by an esoteric- satanic culture which induces the community to perform rituals of witchcraft, spiritualism and satanism which can even lead to ritual sacrifices and violence. For satanists, Halloween is the most magic day in the year and during this night they perform black masses, esoteric-magical ceremonies and encourage witchcraft.”

“Christian parents and all those who believe in the values of life should know that Halloween is the adoration of Satan which has been disguised through games and parties for young people. Halloween is especially dangerous for young people because it encourages an esoteric-magical mentality which seeks to subvert religion by attacking spiritual values and what is sacred through an initiation of occult arts and images.”  
No fascination or pictures! – just the Facts!

This is always a difficult time for Christians, especially those with children. It has been suggested that for a Christian to be asked to celebrate Halloween is like asking a Holocaust survivor to celebrate Hitler’s birthday!

It is also a dangerous time for some, since many of the seemingly harmless involvements associated with Halloween can also be entries for the occult, and can prove very tragic for the unwary.In ancient Britain and Ireland, the Celtic festival of Samhain was observed on October 31, the end of summer. November 1 was the new year for both Celtic and Anglo-Saxon calendars and was one of the most important and yet sinister calendar festivals of the Celtic Year.

Settling in northern France and the British Isles, the Celtic people engaged in occult arts and worshiped nature, giving it supernatural qualities. The ancient Druids were the learned priestly class of the Celtic religion. Many of their beliefs and practices were similar to those of Hinduism, such as reincarnation and the transmigration of the soul, which teaches that people may be reborn as animals. The Druids believed that on October 31, the night before their New Year and the last day of the old year, Samhain, the Lord of Death, gathered the souls of the evil dead who had been condemned to enter the bodies of animals.The Druids also believed that the punishment of the evil dead would be lightened by sacrifices, prayers and gifts to the Lord of Death. 

The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired a sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature.On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther drove a stake into the heart of many of the prevailing non-Biblical concepts by nailing his famous 95 theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany, which started the movement known today as the Reformation. The single most important event in modern history. and appropriately, he did this on Halloween.In the eighth century Pope Gregory III decided to turn the pagans important day into a day of the church by calling it All Saints’ Day. 

Chosen to be a spiritual counteract against the previous nights occult activity; in the same way as many churches were constructed over pagan sites, to encourage those who were unsaved to participate in the Christian services that were then held in the same location.

In Western Christianity it’s celebrated on 1 November by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Methodist Church, the Lutheran Church, and other Protestant churches.Also known as All Hallows’ Day, Hallowmas, Feast of All Saints, or Solemnity of All Saints. This became a Christian festival celebrated in honor of all the saints, known and unknown.

So now we call Oct 31st All Hallows Eve or evening, or as we are familiar with today, Halloween.

Various customs have developed related to Halloween. In the Middle Ages, poor people in the community begged for soul cakes, and upon receiving these doughnuts, they would agree to pray for departed souls. This is the root of our modern day trick-or-treat.

Modern Halloween Traditions

In early American history, Halloween was not widely practiced until the 20th century, when it was introduced by the Irish Catholic settlements. Gradually, Halloween became a secular observance, and many customs and practices developed. The carved pumpkin may have originated with the witches’ use of a skull with a candle inside to light the way to coven meetings.

The Occult is Increasingly Popular

Halloween is, for many, a crossover involvement in which innocent games can lead to serious entanglement with real witches, neo-pagans, New Agers, and other occultists.

A common pastime is the use of a Ouija board to attempt to contact ghosts or spirits that are believed to be roaming about. This can lead to serious consequences including unwanted activity from evil spirits.Evil spirits have a vested interest in Halloween because it supports the occult, and it also offers novel and unexpected opportunities to control and influence people.

Occultism includes Satanism, astrology, Kabbalah, Gnosticism, theosophy, witchcraft and many forms of serious magic. It includes activities seeking the acquisition of hidden things, which are expressly forbidden by God in the Bible.

Jesus paid the price for our freedom with His Blood. 

The Biblical View

Halloween practices can open the door to the occult and can introduce forces into people’s lives that they are not equipped to combat.

There is genuine power in the occult, but it has its origin from darkness not the power of God through His Holy Spirit.

Any serious study of Biblical demonology will reveal Satan as the power behind false religion, witchcraft, idolatry and the occult.

The Word of God makes it clear that these are all to be shunned as dangerous. There were many superstitions and false concepts in ancient Israel about which the Bible is silent. However, occultism, in any form, was punishable by death! Why?

Because – The spiritual power and reality behind idols involves evil spirits.

 A Halloween Project?

Every year, many people are perplexed as to how to deal with the children’s celebrations surrounding Halloween. On the one hand, participating in the perpetuation of the usual pagan (and occult) rituals are hardly the enterprise of a Biblical Christian however on the other hand, creating constructive alternatives can be challenging.

Many churches and families organize a ‘Harvest’ festival with games, prizes, etc., as an alternative. 

Your ProtectionIntellect alone is insufficient.

“If it were possible, it would deceive the very elect.”

This is another example of the necessity to truly understand the Armor of God as outlined in Ephesians 6.

It’s not just the physical dangers of Halloween, of pranks gone too far, or the dangers of tampered with treats, as serious as those are, there are real spiritual dangers of this season.There are other activities though that go on around Halloween that we who are Christians must be aware and wary of. In the past two decades there has been a resurgence of paganism and witchcraft in our culture, largely in response to the secularization of our nations.

If people feel a spiritual void, they will fill it with something.  

The often colorful, folksy rites and accoutrements of popular witchcraft and paganism are attractive and can be quite appealing to the senses.

Anything that is used to find power apart from our Holy God, can be dangerous to our immortal souls.It seems that it’s at Halloween time that many otherwise devout, God-fearing people will go to a seance, allow someone to read the Tarot for them, will dabble in a little harmless white magic and otherwise play around with things forbidden by Scripture.

(In truth, there is no such thing as harmless magic.)

THAT is where the danger lies. The Powers of Darkness draw us in, not so much by great temptations, but by little enticements. “Oh, but that Tarot reading was just silly fun! (But, the reader did seem awfully accurate, didn’t she?)”, “I know we Christians don’t believe in reincarnation…but that little past life regression game…well, it was so real!”, “Oh, I don’t really believe in these candle burning rituals, but the colored candles are so pretty and, well, they do help me feel better.” And on and on. But doing these things…small and innocent as they may seem to us…not only opens the door, (even just a little) to evil, these are sinful in the eyes of a loving and Holy God.They contradict the honor,

respect, and loving fear

that we owe to God alone.

Spiritual PlumblineWhen in doubt?… Don’tAs we accept Jesus,

we are saying

YES to LIFE

and

NO to DEATH Halloween is a celebration of death!

Just say NO because When God gives you light… walk in itwe are encouraged that…  so here are some real treats

to look at and think on..

The God we love who sent Jesus

has created so many, many beautiful things…

 

He is TheLets fill our hearts homes and gardens with

His love, beauty and peace…

Be Safe this week..

you are greatly loved!