Why Halloween, With Its Pagan Roots And Worship Of Death, Is Not A Bible-Based Holiday

A Messianic Jewish call to cling to God’s appointed feasts and reject darkness.

Why True Believers Should Keep Far from Halloween: A Heart for Messiah, Torah, and Truth

Quick Summary

Halloween is rooted in pagan, death-worshiping practices, not Scripture.

The Bible warns strongly against witchcraft, mediums, necromancy, and calling up the dead (Old Testament).

The Gospels show Jesus as the God of the living—not of death or the dead.

As Messianic Jews, we are called to walk in light, not in darkness or shadow, and to worship God by His appointed times (Jewish holidays).

This post offers emotional and biblical reasons to avoid Halloween culture, and practical, faith-based alternatives for believers.

A Cry from the Heart: Why This Matters

You may feel the tension in your home. Neighbors decorating with skeletons and spirits. Children asking for creepy masks. Parties advertising “haunted houses.”

You’ve whispered in the silence: “Is this okay for a follower of Yeshua?”

Your soul recoils, because you know deep down: something is not right. You sense danger. You long to belong to God’s protection, not be pulled into darkness.

Let me speak plainly as a brother or sister in Messiah:

Halloween is not a neutral holiday. It’s steeped in lore and spiritual activity that Scripture condemns. To pretend otherwise is to risk our spiritual identity and call as children of the Light.

But there is hope. We can walk in conviction, yet also show mercy, teach our children, and live out an alternative that honors the One who redeems life itself.

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The Roots of Halloween — And Its Hidden Agenda

Pagan Origins

Halloween derives largely from the Celtic festival Samhain, when people believed the boundary between this world and the dead thinned, and the dead could return.

In ancient times, offerings were made, costumes worn to ward off evil spirits, and rituals carried out to appease forces of darkness.

Over centuries, the church overlaid “All Saints” and “All Hallows” ideas, but the core remains intertwined with ancestor worship, witchcraft, and fear of death.

No Biblical Basis

Halloween is nowhere commanded nor hinted at in Scripture.

The Gospels do not present Jesus or His followers observing it or reinterpreting it.

Instead, the Gospels teach life, light, resurrection, truth, and turning from darkness.

Which Powers Are at Play?

When you celebrate Halloween, you flirt with:

Necromancy / calling up the dead

Divination, witchcraft, sorcery

Glorification or mockery of death

Fear, spiritual darkness, spiritual deception

These are not harmless — Scripture treats them as serious spiritual dangers.

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Warnings from the Old Testament: Why the Bible Commands Separation

Because Halloween’s practices contradict God’s holiness, the Law warns us strongly:

> “There shall not be found among you anyone who practices divination, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.”

“For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD.”

— Deuteronomy 18:10-12

> “The person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits … I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.”

— Leviticus 20:6

> “Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire … he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft … consulted mediums and spiritists … He did much evil in the sight of the LORD.”

— 2 Chronicles 33:6

These are not optional warnings. They are part of God’s standard for how His people must relate to the spiritual realm.

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Gospel Truth: Jesus as God of the Living

When we read the Gospels, we find how Yeshua exposes death, darkness, and the power of Satan — and calls us into life:

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” — John 8:12

He confronted demons, cast them out, and healed the broken, showing authority over the invisible realm.

When asked about resurrection, He declared God is “not the God of the dead but of the living.” — “For he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” — Luke 20:38 (also in Matthew 22:32, Mark 12:27)

Yeshua restores what was lost in darkness. He triumphs over death. In Him, we live.

When we embrace Halloween’s darkness, we dishonor what He came to undo.

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Emotional Stakes: What’s at Risk If We Compromise

What You Lose The Spiritual Damage

Identity in Yeshua Blurs the boundary between light and darkness

Protective boundary for children Opens doors to fear, nightmares, spiritual confusion

Testimony to neighbors Weakens witness as people see us participating in what we verbally reject

Peace and rest Inner spiritual tension, guilt, unease

Covenantal purity Mixing pagan ritual with Torah faith dishonors God’s holiness

Many sincere followers risk these quietly, not because they want to, but because they don’t fully realize the battlefield.

I plead with you: this is not small. It’s a spiritual line drawn in the sand.

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Response from the Heart: What We Must Do

1. Decide Now, Before the Day Comes

Don’t wait until October to rethink. Resolve ahead:

Decide not to hand out candy in a “haunted” setup

Decide not to host or participate in typical Halloween events

Prepare your mind and your home in advance

2. Teach Your Children

Explain the spiritual reality in age-appropriate language:

Share about God’s power over death

Let them know spiritual warfare is real

Replace fear with trust: “We follow the One who conquered death.”

3. Create Holy Alternatives

Instead of giving in to darkness, offer light:

Host a “Harvest Night” or “Fall Festival” at your home or congregation

Use Torah-based symbols (fruit, light, gratitude)

Encourage costume themes from Scripture (heroes, prophets, biblical characters)

Provide safe door-to-door “blessing treats” (no scary imagery)

4. Pray for Your Neighborhood

Don’t hide. Intercede:

Pray for the spiritual atmosphere of your block

Ask God to send His light into neighbor households

Give out gospel-centered invitations or Scriptures with candy

5. Walk in Covenant Holiness

Continuously guard your spirit:

Fast or pray in the days around October 31

Meditate on Yeshua’s resurrection

Use biblical feasts to anchor your year in God’s appointed times (Jewish holidays)

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Jewish Holidays vs. Pagan Holidays: Where Our Heart Belongs

Because we are Messianic Jews, we don’t live by the world’s calendar. We live by the appointed times (moedim) that God set in Scripture.

These days are not arbitrary or dead rituals — they are living shadows, prophetic, filled with God’s culture:

Passover / Pesach: redemption, the first sacrifice

Feast of Unleavened Bread: sanctification

Bikkurim / Firstfruits: resurrection hope

Shavuot / Pentecost: giving of the Spirit

Feast of Trumpets / Rosh Hashanah: God’s call, His kingly reign

Day of Atonement / Yom Kippur: cleansing and forgiveness

Feast of Booths / Sukkot: God dwelling with us, future hope

These are light-rooted, covenantal, biblical, and messianic — the exact antithesis of Halloween’s darkness.

When we sink our identity in these Jewish holidays, we have no need for pagan shadows.

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How People Ask (and What They Search): Giving Voice to Their Questions

> “Is Halloween just harmless fun?”

“Can’t I just decorate without spiritual compromise?”

“But I’m not participating in witchcraft—what’s the danger?”

Answer: The problem is not only acts, but posture. To take symbols of death, witches, goblins, and repurpose them as “cute” is still breathing the air of darkness. The spiritual atmosphere seeps in.

> “But what about freedom in Messiah? Aren’t days not so important?”

Answer: Freedom never means embracing evil. In Messiah we are free to choose holiness. We are called out of darkness into light.

> “Isn’t this too strict?”

No — it’s a call to faithfulness. The same God who calls us to shun witchcraft also redeemed us from it.

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Let This Be Our Witness to the World

What if our refusal to honor Halloween became a testimony:

Neighbors ask: “Why aren’t you participating?”

We answer: “Because we worship the God who made life, not death.”

We invite—not judge—others to see the beauty of God’s appointed times instead.

A light in darkness draws attention. Let our homes be that.

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