We all need to ask ourselves: who do we trust? We need to seek and search, asking questions and genuinely looking for the truth. Absolute Truth will set you free – real truth, not your truth or my truth but Almighty God truth. Do you really want to be free though?
Do you really desire for the tough questions to be answered with the truth in love? Love is the one word that can unite us. Love is the word that describes the God of the Bible.
Read 1 Corinthians 13. Love is patient, love is kind, Love does not envy nor boast. It is not proud, and love is not rude. Did you catch that, my friend? Love is not rude nor self-seeking. Love thinks of others. Love is not easily angered. How are you doing with that, my friend? Love keeps no records of wrongs, but it's not stupid either. It is shrewd as a serpent yet gentle as a dove. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
Ah, there's that word again: truth!
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, and the One who loves us never fails.
United we stand; divided we fall. You can agree or disagree with my assessment and that is just fine.
What can we agree on though? Can we agree that it's time to get to know our neighbor and even some of our friends on social media better?
Instead of demonizing each other, let We the People start really having productive conversations because it's difficult to make someone a monster when you know them and they know you.
Listen and hear what someone else is truly saying. Don't worry about defending your position or a person, because we the people need to be on a mission for truth! We need to be willing and able to be wrong about what we think we know or have figured out if it is not truth.
TRUTH: it will set you free! It can set all of us free!
What is just one way you can be a part of the solution in this journey for truth? How can you grow up and mature to truly be a part of moving forward – moving things in God's direction? It’s all about truth and love.
Seek out truth, friends, and you will find the answer. This must first be done individually; take a really good look in the mirror. Evaluate and assess what is really going on, not only in the world but more importantly, what is going on inside of you? The only way to overcome is to be totally honest with yourself as you move into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.
What is just one way you can be a part of the solution? United we stand; divided we fall.
Instead of speaking venom and death today, why not attempt to speak out encouragement and life into someone else?
Check out 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and 1 John 5:1-5 for more.
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
by Chad Koons
In Witches, Christians, and Pagans, and Halloween: Part 1, I went into the Samhain/Halloween connection and the deity behind Halloween, Cerridwen. Now, let’s take a detailed look into the traditions and symbolisms within the holiday, as well as a real-life Elder Witch’s perspective.
Cultural Tradition and Symbolism
“Yeah, but I don’t celebrate Samhain, I celebrate Halloween!” This is commonly the type of comment I’ll receive after someone reads my research on the matter. Let’s do a comparison and see how different (or similar) the two are.
* On Samhain, faces were carved into pumpkins and gourds which were placed around the perimeter of the home or in the openings of the home such as windows or doors. Candles were placed inside of them to act as a guide for the spirits walking past the home.
- On Halloween… we carve faces into pumpkins which are placed around the perimeter of the home or in windows or doorways. We place candles inside of them. This is exactly the Samhain practice. The next time you see a “Jack-O’-Lantern,” remember what it means.
* On Samhain, candles are lit inside of the home as a means of guiding the spirits from outside to inside the house. Once inside the home, dinner parties are then hosted for these spirits (who are believed to be “spirit guides” or dead relatives) for the purpose of appeasing and thanking them. Eating together with the spirits is an invitation for the spirit’s guidance over the next year.
- On Halloween… candles are lit inside the home and in windows. We gather inside of homes for spooky themed Halloween parties where we eat together. Now you know where these traditions come from.
* On Samhain, fires are lit. These are intended to be magical fires used in witchcraft and divination. Spells are performed around these fires, along with stories of spirits, ghosts, gods, and goddesses. The fires are danced around, eaten by, and are the hub of celebration.
- On Halloween… fires are lit, and we have parties around these fires where we celebrate and tell spooky stories. Have you ever had bonfires with ghost stories during a Halloween party? These are not some random practices; the idea was born during Samhain.
* On Samhain, there was (and still is) decoration of the home, a creation of an altar, meditation on what it means to live in spirit, and get this… activities for family and children.
- On Halloween… we decorate our homes, think about ghosts and the supernatural, and we create and hold activities for families and children. Communities, schools, and even our churches are eager to host these Halloween activities! Our families are celebrating Samhain and we don’t even know it.
* On Samhain, spirits were thought to walk the villages and treats were offered on the thresholds of homes. These spirits were called the “Aos si” (pronounced “ees-shee”). They were ancestral spirits (ghosts), spirits of nature, malevolent spirits, or even gods or goddesses. These spirits were sinister at worst and tricksters at best, therefore the occupants of the villages needed to appease them somehow. The villagers offered fruits, sweet baked goods, or nuts upon their doorsteps in attempts to appease the Aos si. It was believed that the spirits would accept the sweets as an offering. If a home did not offer a sweet treat, however, then the Aos si would either harm the house, harm the occupants, curse the home, or play a trick on the people in some way.
Because of this supernatural activity, it was believed unsafe to travel at night during Samhain. Therefore people would dress in disguise (called “guising” or “mumming“) and imitate the Aos si. These disguised people would then go house to house just as the Aos si did. They would stand upon the doorstep of the home and recite a pagan song or phrase. The occupants of the homes were then expected to provide these people with the same food or sweets that were offered to the Aos si. If the house did not hand out a treat, then the people in disguise would imitate the Aos si by playing a trick upon the house.
- On Halloween… we follow this same pattern. We dress in disguise while going door to door, presenting the occupant with a choice: give us a treat or we will play a trick on you. Here it is, folks, the Samhain practice of disguise and collecting treats or threatening a trick has turned into our modern-day Trick or Treat. Now you know what it means.
* On Samhain, death and fear of harm are the driving forces. Spirits of the dead are thought to enter the world of the living during Samhain, since the veil between worlds is believed to be at its thinnest. Ghosts, malevolent spirits, and even other supernatural beings such as gods and goddesses are believed to seep through into our natural world to interact with humans. Motivated by fear, people needed to find ways to welcome, appease, or blend in with these spirits in order to avoid harm or death.
- On Halloween… we are driven by these same forces. The imagery of fear, death, and bodily harm are everywhere. This is why we see haunted houses, ghosts, monsters, witches, and the undead throughout Halloween. Have you ever wondered why Halloween is full of fear and the glorification of death? Halloween is full of fear and death because Samhain is. We even follow the same pagan practice of surrounding ourselves with this imagery. We welcome it and blend in with it the same as the pagans did (and still do). Halloween and Samhain are two different names for the same thing.
The Samhain celebration and practice is exactly what our modern culture continues to express in Halloween. Samhain hasn’t changed, it just wears a Halloween mask.
A Witch’s Perspective
The vast majority of the pagan and witchcraft community equate Samhain with Halloween. But don’t take my word for it, hear it from the source. Here’s what a leading witch has to say on the matter.
The following is an excerpt from a book entitled Sabbats: A Witch’s Approach to Living the Old Ways by Edain McCoy. Edain is an elder in the Wiccan tradition and priestess of Brighid. Edain drops some historical truth on the subject, as well. Some will cry out, “Halloween is not Samhain, Halloween is just a silly holiday!” Sorry to burst your bubble, but this Elder Witch disagrees:
Samhain is popularly known today as “Halloween,” a contraction of the words “Hallowed Evening.” It retains much of the original form and meaning it had long ago in Celtic lands, despite the efforts of the church to turn it into an observance of feasting and prayer for their vast pantheon of saints. The church began by calling it the Feast Day of St. Michael, but the old Samhain holiday proved to be too potent a drawing card for one lone saint to combat. So it was renamed the “eve of all saints”, or “All hallows eve” precedes All saints Day. But even after all this effort, so much Samhain practice and lore remained within the popular culture.
Edain does a good job at explaining a couple of key points.
First, that Samhain is known today as Halloween. Yes, they are the same.
Secondly, that the church tried to redeem this Pagan holiday and subsequently failed.
Leave it to a real-life elder witch to, shall we say, “boil it down” for us (pun intended). Samhain is alive and well today, thinly masquerading as Halloween, and the church cannot redeem it.
Conclusion
At the end of my research, I found myself at a loss for words. I was shocked, perplexed, and quite honestly feeling a like I needed a spiritual shower. Sometimes the truth is much more horrid than fiction.
So what would I do with Halloween? What would I have my children do with Halloween? The evidence was quite compelling, and I could no longer ignore it. Halloween would no longer enchant me, and it most certainly would not be permitted to seduce my children. We cut it off. As a Christian parent, I cannot stand before the Lord knowing that I allowed my children to participate in a pagan holiday. It would seem that witches, Christians, and pagans do not mix.
Now that you know the truth, you have a decision to make – a decision that not only impacts your life, but the lives of your children. What will you do with Halloween?
Finally, I leave you with these words…
“Have nothing to do with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather EXPOSE them.” – Apostle Paul, Ephesians 5:11.
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
“This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means 'king of righteousness'; then also, 'king of Salem' means 'king of peace.' Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people —that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.” -Hebrews 7:1-10
Who is Melchizedek? He has been mentioned before in the book of Hebrews – 5:6, 5:10, and 6:20 right before this passage. For more on the Hebrews 5 references, check out this post, and you can read about the context leading up to the chapter 6 reference here. Melchizedek was also mentioned in Psalm 110:4, with the context of a priest “in the order of Melchizedek” just like we see in Hebrews 6:20.
The only other reference to Melchizedek in the Bible is Genesis 14:18-20. The context of that passage is during Abram’s time, shortly before God made His great covenant with Abram. Melchizedek is referred to as the king of Salem, but he was also a priest of God and he gave a blessing to Abram: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything he had, and then we don’t hear anything more about him.
While the author of Hebrews previously referred to Jesus as a high priest in the order of Melchizedek, he develops that further in this section. This is significant because priests were generally considered to be in the order of Aaron, so this signifies Jesus as a different type of priest. This shows the uniqueness of Jesus and the great work He accomplished.
The meeting between Melchizedek and Abram is referenced in Hebrews 7:1-2. It’s important to note that the name Melchizedek means king of righteousness; “melek” is the Hebrew word for king, and “tsedek” is the Hebrew word for righteousness. The author of Hebrews points out that “king of Salem” also means “king of peace.” The Hebrew word used for “Salem” in the Genesis passage is not quite the same as “shalom,” which means peace, though they do come from the same root. Many scholars think that Salem may actually be short for Jerusalem. But it’s interesting that the author of Hebrews doesn’t mention that potential connection with Jerusalem, as Jesus had many significant life events there. There are also other places that were sometimes referred to as Salem in the Old Testament.
In verse 3, we see that Melchizedek is referred to as not having a father, mother, genealogy, or any dates that he was born or died. Along with the phrase that he resembled the Son of God, some scholars interpret this to mean that Melchizedek was not human, perhaps an angelic being. The genealogy of a priest was important, as priests needed to be from a certain heritage, so it’s significant that this is not the case for Melchizedek. But, what the author is doing here is applying these truths to Jesus as the Son of God – He has no earthly father, no lineage, and as God, He was never born nor died nor had a mother, though He did experience those things as a human.
The rest of the passage discusses the process of tithing, which brings out the greatness of Melchizedek and therefore Jesus. Abraham’s giving “a tenth of the plunder” (verse 4) to Melchizedek; the word there in Greek indicates that Abraham gave him the very best, “the top of the heap” so to speak. Then, the author begins focusing on the requirements of the law. This is specifically referring to the law of Moses, which did require the people to give a tenth of their income to the priests, so the priests could support themselves and the temple. This did not make the priests superior to their fellow Israelites, but they got their income from others because they were doing the work of God with their lives.
Because of all this, we see how Melchizedek was superior to other priests – he was not a descendant from Levi like all the other priests (Levi would have been one of Abraham’s great-grandsons), Abraham chose to give him a tenth before it was required to do so, and Melchizedek rewarded Abraham with a blessing. The law of Moses (that required people to give ten percent to priests) did not exist for generations after the interaction between Abraham and Melchizedek.
So, the author has established that Melchizedek was a great high priest who lived before the role of priests or a high priest was a formal role. That was established in the law of Moses for the nation of Israel after their exodus from Egypt. But why does all of this about Melchizedek even matter? Stay tuned, as the author Hebrews connects Melchizedek to Jesus in the next passage.
But, we can still learn from this passage and apply it to our lives today. Abraham gave Melchizedek ten percent not out of obligation but out of a desire to honor him. If you give out of your income to God, whether ten percent or some other amount, do you do it because you feel like you are obligated to? Or do you do it out of a desire to honor God? Abraham’s motivation was clear, and because of that Melchizedek blessed him. What is your motivation to give to God? If it is out of a desire to honor God and not because you feel like you have to, I believe God will bless that in your life.
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
~2 Timothy 2:24-26
Last week, I wrote about truth and how lies will literally make someone insane. I want to emphasize on the “come to their senses” statement, because this is a key feature that I really didn’t see until I started writing this series. A big lightbulb when on when I began to unpack this passage, so I want to really dig into this.
A false teaching is a lie. Let’s call it what it is: it’s a lie. It came from the father of lies. It usually looks like the truth, but it isn’t. It’s a deception, a snare, a trap, and when people believe the lie, they are hooked to it. A fog comes over their heads and they no longer can think straight. When someone joins the Mormon church the elders come and “lay hands” on that person for the “Holy Spirit” to come upon them. But we know that Mormonism is a false religion, a cult. So what “spirit” is coming upon them? I have family members who are Mormon, and we’ve tried to witness to them, and they simply cannot process the truth unless it goes through the filters that the Mormons have instilled into them.
I have had many debates on origins (yes, I keep bringing that up), and the more I engage and the more I discuss it, the clearer it is to me that it’s a spiritual issue. Russ Miller describes how he can go on to college campuses and refute Evolution without too much of a problem. But if he starts to question the age of the earth, then he says he needs bodyguards. And that’s on college campuses, or in many modern churches. Deep Time is a spiritual problem. Little has convinced me of this more than just listening to the testimonies of those who come out of it. Those who are convinced by Deep Time tend to talk in terms of education, enlightenment, and/or “listening to other opinions.” But those who come out of Deep Time tend to describe their conversion in terms of being rescued, being delivered, freedom, or a fog being lifted. Deep Time is part of the “spirit of the age.” If you dare question Deep Time in academia or many churches, there is an instant reaction of “Woah, don’t go there!” Many pastors refuse to discuss it or let it be discussed because of how “controversial” it is. But the more discussions I have with those who believe in any form of Deep Time, the more I feel like we are talking different languages with different dictionaries. We can agree on nearly every core doctrine of Christianity, but there’s that fog that prevents them from using the very same tools they use to make their conclusions about Christ when it comes to Genesis. It makes no logical sense until I realize this is not an intellectual issue, but a spiritual one.
Those under a false teaching cannot think straight, at the very least regarding that teaching. They cannot think clearly, nor can they see the issues. Logic that refutes their position doesn’t compute. They cannot see it, and in some cases they won’t see it intentionally. This is why Paul told the Corinthian church that the things of God are foolishness to those who are perishing and that they cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned. I know this theoretically, but I still struggle to put this to practice. I keep trying to argue with them through that fog. It is not working because the fog of false teachings is ultimately a spiritual issue. They are blinded and they cannot see. That’s why Scripture tells us we need to pray away the blinders so that they may see. But take notice that just seeing the light and truth alone may not save someone. Unless God is working on them and preparing them for regeneration, the sinful person will see the light and only hate God even more. But we aren’t responsible for that. I’d rather have someone reject God knowing what he is rejecting than to try to get someone to embrace something that isn’t true. The end result of the latter is the same as the former.
The technique for how this happens is called brainwashing. See this post I wrote last summer to get some details about it. It is psychological warfare, and it is VERY effective. The saying goes, “Teach a lie enough times and it becomes truth.” That’s the one-sentence version of what brainwashing is. You tell a lie early enough and long enough and without a deep-rooted knowledge of truth, you will believe it. No one is immune to this. This is why the government systems of Communism, Nazism, Fascism, the Liberal Left, Evolution, and now the sexual perverts are all going after the children at young ages. A parent lashed out at Hitler saying, “I’ll never submit to you.” Hitler laughed and said, “So what? You’ll be gone. I already have your kids.” I heard a Catholic priest say: “Give us your kids until they are five and they will be Catholic for life.” Evolution is taught at the earliest of ages to get the idea of millions of years rooted before they can begin to process truth. In the last couple years, we are having drag queen library readings, exotic dancers performing before kindergarteners, and child drag queens are being celebrated by the media. If we don’t train our children, the world will teach them THAT, and they will do whatever it takes to get them submitted “to the system.” Now our nation’s children are thoroughly confused about gender, politics, economics, science, and religion, and they can’t process truth. And the church in general with few exceptions is doing nothing about it.
As I am writing this, I am getting a whole new understanding of what Jesus said on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Paul stated that if the enemies of Jesus knew what they were doing, they would not have crucified Christ. The enemies of Jesus fulfilled prophecy, all the while trying to deny Him that title, showcase the sovereignty of God. But here is the thing that we should be wary of: God told Moses He made the tongue for speaking or holding it back. God also made the mind. He can let it operate and He can shut it down. He shut down Nebuchadnezzar’s mind for seven years, turning him into insanity to eat and live like a wild animal. God has allowed all these false teachings to turn so many people insane. He can also free the mind in an instant.
When we truly understand and learn the about the sovereignty of God and apply that to this issue, it is God who determines who is sane or insane. He still holds us responsible for our actions and our choices, however light received yields more light, and light rejected yields darkness. God does not make anyone “insane.” He lets their sin simply run its course because the person chooses insanity over truth. God won’t give us more light unless we obey that which we have. If we regularly and continually reject light, God will hand us over to a depraved mind. But when dealing with someone who has gone insane into error, if we take this passage to heart, through gentle rebuke, seeking that they might repent, God may grant them repentance, letting them receive the truth, and they may return to their senses. But if we just focus on “being right,” we miss the point. While God can still save them in His sovereignty, He may not. We are still responsible for how we witness. We’ll get into that in a couple weeks. But first, we need to look at these snares and how the devil entraps us.
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
by Chad Koons
When I was a kid, there was no better feeling than the thrill of Halloween! It was the time of year that I looked forward to the most. While not nearly as profitable as Christmas (random candy vs. cool toys), Halloween was certainly much more alluring. There were ghosts, ghouls, monsters, the supernatural, spooky stories, scary movies, parties, naughtiness, danger, dressing up in costumes, and let’s not forget the candy! Everyone seemed to love it, kids and adults alike. It was a feeling so surreal that it was almost intoxicating. Though it never really made sense to my young mind… why did we celebrate this spooky holiday?!
The other major holidays were quite clear. Christmas centered around the birth of Christ, Easter centered around the resurrection of Christ, Thanksgiving centered around thankfulness to God, you get the idea. But… Halloween? What was the deal with Halloween?! I didn’t give it a whole lot of thought as a kid, but now as a dad of two young children, I needed to know what Halloween was really about. If Halloween was just innocent fun, then I wanted my kids to love it like I did. But if Halloween was not innocent, if it was of evil origin and practice, then I needed for my kids to honor the Lord and have nothing to do with it.
So, I began studying Halloween. Perhaps not surprisingly, I quickly realized that internet articles, Christian magazine write-ups, and Facebook posts failed to agree with one another and seemed to be based upon sketchy, shallow, and/or biased research. If I was going to find the truth, then I needed to begin by digging into history. And so I did.
The Seeds of Halloween
The very first thing I discovered was the Halloween/Samhain connection. Halloween finds its roots in an ancient holiday called “Samhain” (pronounced “sow-win” or “sah-win”). Therefore, to understand Halloween, we need to understand Samhain.
Despite what many well-meaning Christians will tell you, Samhain is not a mythical “God of the Dead” or “Dark lord.” Samhain is actually a very real pagan holiday. It was originally practiced by Celtic peoples perhaps 2,000 years ago. At its heart, the Samhain holiday is a celebration of death (and the life that comes through it) and may have originally marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the dark half of the year, or marking a new portion of the year. Now all of this may sound innocent enough, so what’s wrong with that? Well, this is where it gets interesting.
Regarding its origin and practice, Samhain is both natural and supernatural. It was believed to be the time when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest. Witchcraft and divination are part of its makeup. It is important to note that Samhain is not merely an obscure ancient holiday; it is actively celebrated by the witchcraft and pagan communities today. We don’t often hear of the Samhain celebration nowadays, and there is a reason for this: Samhain is popularly known today under a different name. Any guesses? Correct, Samhain is known today as “Halloween.”
Origin and Meaning of Samhain
Upon learning that Samhain is a pagan holiday, I realized that I needed to refer to pagan sources. As much as I didn’t want to, into the pagan sources I went, and here’s what I found out.
Samhain is celebrated on October 31st. It is the final harvest, a celebration from the light and warmth cycle into the cold and darkness of winter, a celebration of life into death, a celebration of death and spirit, celebrating that all spirits are “as a whole” and eternal. The veil is believed to be at its thinnest at this time, so as to connect the earth with the dead and to honor and commune with the dead and the eternal cycle of “reincarnation.”
Samhain happens to be one of the four greater “Sabbats” of the year (Sabbats are pagan holidays), and it is considered by most Wiccans the most important Sabbat. Interesting… Samhain, which is known today as Halloween, is the most important pagan holiday of the year. If this doesn’t alarm you yet, just keep reading.
Deity of Samhain
Uncovering the holiday of Samhain got me thinking. Many major holidays of the world are centered around a deity of some sort. For example, Christmas revolves around Jesus (His birth), Easter revolves around Jesus (His resurrection), and Thanksgiving revolves around gratitude towards Him. Ramadan revolves around Allah and the prophet Mohammed. So, this made me wonder if there was there a deity, a god or goddess, behind Samhain? It seemed a good question to investigate, so I did. According to the pagan and witch communities, the answer is… yes, Samhain does revolve around a deity, a “dark goddess” by the name of Cerridwen, the Keeper of the Cauldron (pronounced “Kare-ah-dwin”).
Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving = Jesus
Ramadan = Allah and Mohammed
Samhain/Halloween = Cerridwen
Who is Cerridwen? Cerridwen is the Goddess of Samhain. She is a dark goddess of the underworld, associated with witchcraft. She represents the ”crone,” which is the dark aspect of the triple goddess (a trinity within one goddess, or three aspects of the one goddess, of which Cerridwen is the Dark aspect). She is often called “The Cauldron Goddess” or the “Goddess of the Witches.” She is symbolized by the cauldron, which appears in force during Samhain (this is why we see big black cauldrons or kettles during Halloween). She is considered the destroyer and the healer, and she is to be feared. She is of things passing and moving on in the spirit, she has powers of prophecy, and she is the keeper of the cauldron of knowledge and inspiration in the underworld. She has two children, a daughter light and fair and a son dark, ugly, and malevolent. She is believed to have the powers of change, rebirth, and transformation. She is said to be the Mother and the Crone, associated with a white pig and the full moon (this is why a full moon is symbolized in Halloween). Her cauldron is believed to be the well of life; all life comes from her cauldron and returns to it after death, and all new life is born again from her cauldron (this is partially why death is symbolized at Halloween).
Have you ever wondered why we see cauldrons, full moons, and the glorification of fear and death during Halloween? The answer will blow your mind… we see them because these are the symbols of the dark goddess Cerridwen. She is the spiritual force behind Halloween! Does this sound like something you should celebrate and lead your children into?
As believers in Jesus, we are not to interact with witchcraft, sorcery, divination, omens, etc., nor are we to follow after those who do! See Leviticus 20:6. Halloween is a clear source of these detestable works, do not follow after them!
Has any of this helped you see Halloween in a different light? Make sure to look for my next post; I will uncover the cultural tradition and symbolism of Halloween in addition to sharing what a real-life Elder Witch has to say about the Samhain/Halloween connection. Walk as children of the light, and I’ll see you soon!
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
“When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, ‘I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.’ And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” -Hebrews 6:13-20
Right before this passage, Hebrews 6:12 said, “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” This section then builds on that promise, first using the example of Abraham.
Abraham is the prime example of faith for the people of Israel. God made many promises to Abraham, but the most notable one is what’s quoted here in verse 14, which can be found in Genesis 22:17. Interestingly, this occurrence is not the first time God made that promise to Abraham; Genesis 22 tells the narrative of God commanding Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. After God spares Isaac, He reiterates this promise to Abraham.
By this point, Abraham had already waited many years just for this one son, even getting impatient with God and having a son with a servant first. Notice that the author of Hebrews points out this long time of waiting in verse 15, but that Abraham did receive the fulfillment of this promise. His son Isaac became the father to Jacob; Jacob’s name was changed to Israel and he was the father of that great nation. Abraham was blessed and given many descendants.
But that’s not the author’s point in sharing about Abraham here. He’s focusing on the fact that God swore by Himself when giving this promise to Abraham in Genesis 22:17. If we want to make an oath and swear by something, we need to swear by something greater than ourselves in order to give the oath its proper weight. But there is no one greater than God, so the greatest thing God could swear by was Himself. This sets up the author’s point in sharing about oaths and God’s character.
Verse 16 tells us that when a person swears an oath, he is making certain that what he says is true. If it is determined to be false, that person’s entire reputation is at stake. The wording used here in Greek refers to an old Egyptian legal formula that still expressed a legal guarantee. An oath was understood in that society to be the end of discussing a matter; the answer has been found and sworn as an oath, so no further argument is needed.
The author then turns from people making oaths to God making an oath in verse 17. Since God cannot lie, He really had no reason to make an oath; His word has always been and will always be completely true and binding. But God needed to use this human construct of an oath to explain that to humans. God’s nature is unchanging and His promises will always be fulfilled. The use of the phrase “to the heirs” is significant here in the context of Abraham’s descendants; Abraham was not immediately the fulfillment of this promise, but it took a few generations for his descendants to become as numerous as God had promised.
So why did God swear this oath? Verse 18 tells us that humankind now has two unchangeable things: the promise and the oath. We can and should be greatly encouraged by this fact! We could not trust in a God who would change; knowing that God does not change means that He is fully worthy of our trust. Similarly, knowing that God always fulfills His promises further means that we can fully trust in Him for everything that He has promised us. That doesn’t always mean we’ll get it exactly how or when we want it; after all, Abraham had to wait many years to even have just one son with his wife! But God will fulfill His promises in the way He knows is best.
This is important for us as verse 19 says: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” There is nothing more firm and secure than God’s promises and God’s character! This is what stabilizes our lives when this world threatens to toss us about. No matter what other chaos is going on in our immediate world or the greater world around us, God does not change. His Word is always firm and true. We can always trust in Him.
Along with being an anchor for our souls, this hope also “enters in the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.” This imagery would have been familiar to the Israelites - it depicts the Most Holy Place where God dwelled in their temple. That room was symbolic of God’s presence, and people were not allowed to enter it except for the high priest on one day a year (see this post for more on that). But now, this hope that we have allows us to enter God’s presence.
Why can we now enter God’s presence? Verse 20 tells us – because Jesus entered on our behalf! This returns to the discussion of Jesus as the great high priest that the author began back in Hebrews 4:14. This passage ends with a mention of the order of Melchizedek, which the author will discuss more in the next section.
So, what does all of this mean for us today? God’s character does not change, so the God of Abraham is the same God as when Hebrews was written and the same God today. If God could be trusted to fulfill His promises to Abraham, then God can be trusted to fulfill His promises to us today. God confirmed this with an oath, though there is nothing greater to swear by than Himself. Because of this truth, we can always fully trust God with our lives. This hope is the anchor for our souls in this chaotic world that we live in. Put your trust fully in Him today!
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
~2 Timothy 2:24-26
“And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”
~John 8:32
There is nothing like truth. It takes little time to be around me to know I am truth oriented. My life and my very modus operandi are in and about truth. I’m very much like John MacArthur in this regard. One of my favorite sermons from him is titled The Primacy of Truth. It is the opening of a series he did on 2nd and 3rd John, and in it he makes the point that divine truth is the most important thing of everything. Without truth, we have nothing else. While Paul declares the greatness of love in 1 Corinthians 13, there is no love without a foundation of truth. Paul speaks about truth – defining it, warning against distorting it, and alerting us against those who distort it – more than any other singular topic across his letters. He wrote one chapter on love, making references to it throughout the other letters. He wrote entire books on truth (namely Galatians). Jesus said the truth shall set us free, and Paul tells Timothy that those he will deal with do not have truth. But if we do not quarrel and instead be gentle, able to teach, patient, and humbly correct, then God may grant them repentance, so they may know the truth.
We live in a world full of lies, and it’s getting harder and harder to determine what is reality and what is not. No one trusts the media anymore (you wonder why) and people are asking, “Why don’t people trust science anymore?” I get lots of death stares when I answer, “When science became political.” Isaiah lamented in his day that truth had fallen in the street and justice had been turned backwards. Does that not sound like our day now? Even those who hate the lies from the far left are easily falling for the lies on the far right. A cliché says: “A lie gets halfway around the world before truth can gets its pants on.” And what we are seeing is a more and more clear divide between those who love the truth and those who hate it.
When someone is lost, they do not know the truth; otherwise, they would not be lost. If you are in a maze and you know where you are, you aren’t lost. But you only know where you are if you have the map to the maze. God is the truth. He is the standard of all truth. All reality can only be known factually by what God says. Sin is utter rebellion and treason against God. Since God is the truth, and sin hates God, that means by definition that sin hates truth. Instead of letting God define the truth, sinful people want to define it themselves. That was one of the first promises of the serpent to Adam and Eve: “And you will be like God, knowing good from evil.” This statement says, “You can be the arbiter of truth. You can determine your own reality. You can do all things your own way.” As a result, we lose all grip of reality and ‘truth’ becomes whatever we want it to be, whatever satisfies our sinful cravings.
There are two things I’ve noticed about lies. 1) They come automatically whenever someone wants something or when they are in trouble. A baby has never had anyone teach him how to lie; it comes by instinct. That’s the sinful nature. 2) False teachings have to be taught. Despite the sinful nature being in automatic rebellion against God, God has already taught each of us His standards. While our sinful instinct is to rebel against truth, the reason we have that instinct is because we KNOW the truth intuitively. That’s why we lie without being taught – we know the truth and we don’t like it, therefore we will suppress it and fight against it. No one has an excuse. But I want to emphasize this point.
I will declare that no one believes Evolution (just for an example; it also applies to Mormonism, Critical Race Theory, Communism, or any other wild, crazy idea) because the evidence supports it. The evidence is not there; what is shown doesn’t actually support it. They believe it because they were taught it and they were NOT taught ALL of what is involved with it. What’s the most common answer to why most scientists believe in Evolution, Big Bang, and all the other Deep Time methods? “Because most scientists believe it.” You will have a hard time coming across a scientist who can actually articulately describe and explain an example of evidence for these ideas. The standard answers we get don’t actually support those models as proclaimed, but rather are parroted from what they read without any hint of critical thought. Evolution is widely believed, not because it has truth, but because is taught as truth not to be questioned, and any dissent is virulently attacked. This is true with any false teaching, but it’s also easily seen in cults. You have to be taught the lies. There isn’t evidence that, when fully investigated, will showcase the lie to be valid. When cross-examined, the lie falls apart. You can’t do a scientific experiment that will showcase a lie. You can’t do a historical or evidentiary analysis or a logical analysis. Any honest test you throw at a lie will make that lie collapse. But if you throw an honest test against the truth, it always stands tall.
These lies DO have some truth, however. In fact, the most successful lies are those that are about 95-98% truth. But rat poison is also 95-98% fine; the other 2-5% poison is what kills. The same is true about lies. They look like the truth and will act like the truth, but they are not the truth. Cults feed their new converts all the soft stuff that is very artistic, well-decorated, and looks like the truth. But the lies are mixed in, often only sporadically to make an alert person raise some eyebrows but diluted enough to hopefully not have them catch on. Then once the person is completely sucked in, then they are embraced into the full teachings (such as actually becoming “God”). Once this process has taken root, it usually takes a jarring uprooting to get someone freed from it. Often it takes a tragic event to break that person free of it. The people who are sucked into these teachings lose their rationality. They no longer can think straight. This is what sin does by itself, but we see it on display in cults. They are ensnared by the devil and then enlisted to do his bidding. What I am describing here is the process of brainwashing. See my series here from last year for details on that. Only the truth can set them free, and it takes God to break through to them. Next week, we’ll look at the insanity that lies produce.
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
