Intercessors for America writes, "Your prayers are needed in a spiritual battle raging nationally," and WND writes that on October 25, 2019, "Thousands of witches to cast massive spell on Trump and his supporters."

As our culture is bombarded with the occult and the celebration of Halloween, we have a compelling opportunity to teach our children what God says about the occult and its dangers.

The following thoughts are intended to raise your consciousness about the occult in our society and to suggest appropriate responses for Christian families.

May the Lord bless your family for His glory!

The study of the occult can become oppressive and should not be taken lightly.  Any contact with the occult, even studying it, can progressively draw a person into a fascination with the occult and place him in a vulnerable position.

God warns us of Satan's overt and covert attacks:

"Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14)

"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.
     Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion,
     seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

Because of this very real danger, we need to teach our children to keep their distance from anything remotely connected with Satan and his power.  Instead we are told:

The occult is real, not imagined or made up.  We are in a spiritual battle:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
     but against the rulers, against the powers,
     against the world forces of this darkness,
     against the spiritual forces of wickedness
     in the heavenly places."  (Ephesians 6:12)

Occult refers to any practice that seeks to gain supernatural power or knowledge apart from the creator God.  Occultism has been rapidly growing in its influence and acceptability.  Read many informative articles on the Christian Answers website (see links to more articles at the bottom of the introductory page).

Wicca (another word for Witchcraft) and Paganism are now recognized "religions" listed and described in manuals for chaplains in the U.S. military and correctional services.

The list of 78 occultic practices on Christian Answers' website will open your eyes to the many forms of the occult.  Some examples are astrology, magic, spells, enchantments, charms, sorcery, wizardry, witchcraft, divination, fortune-telling, mediums, spiritism, necromancy, familiar spirits, wizardry, seances, channeling, clairvoyance, and spirit-guides.

The occult is also a part of yoga and transcendental meditation (a form of yoga).  Dave Hunt, author of Yoga and the Body of Christ, says, "The greatest yoga teachers all declare that the repetition of a mantra is a call to that god (i.e., the demon it represents) to come and possess the meditator."  Read online article, Is Yoga Demonic?

Any time a person gives up control of himself, except for a deliberate yielding to the Lord, he opens himself to be controlled by Satan.  This can include some martial arts, some so-called "Christian" (non-biblical) forms of meditation, hypnotism, and Theosophy.

Man seeks and hungers for a power higher than himself.  When he refuses to accept the true God, he is open to the alternative power of Satan.

All real super-human power is either from God or Satan.  There is no neutral power, nor is there any good power that comes from Satan (e.g., there are no good witches or "white witchcraft").

This should be remembered when encountering attempts to call good "evil" and evil "good" or to blur the lines between good and evil.

God has zero tolerance for the occult and treats it very seriously.

"There shall not be found among you anyone who . . .
     practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens,
     or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium,
     or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
     For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord."
     (Deuteronomy 18: 10-12)

"You shall not . . . practice divination or soothsaying.
     Do not turn to mediums or spiritists."
     (Leviticus 19:26, 31)

Both children and adults are being constantly exposed to the pervading presence of the occult in our culture through books, movies, TV, music, and games.

Even the seemingly supernatural power in some religious experiences needs to be identified with biblical discernment.

"But the Spirit explicitly says
     that in later times some will fall away from the faith,
     paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines
     of demons."  (1 Timothy 4:1)

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit,
     but test the spirits to see whether they are from God,
     because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
     (1 John 4:1)

When studying pagan cultures, be aware that many ethnic objects and practices are actually satanic.

We must take the occult's presence in our homes and children's lives seriously. It is not just innocent fun. We never know where a very little influence or involvement can lead.

Do a Bible study, reading and discussing the Scripture passages in this newsletter (see "What To Do About Halloween?" below) and others that are chain-linked in your Bible (or use a print or free online concordance).

As an exercise, identify and list any occultic influences in your home. They may come mainly through books, gaming, movies, and music.

•  Fantasy in Books and Movies.  Even writers such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien can provide an initiation into the genre of fantasy.  As the line between acceptable and unacceptable fantasy keeps being pushed further and further, this can lead to many works of dubious value and potential danger, still being rationalized by "good conquering evil."

One ministry has pointed out, "A big area where the occult realm is making headway these days is the whole realm of fiction and fantasy.  Young people, especially, are being drawn to witchcraft and other areas of the occult initially by becoming interested in fictional aspects of it.  From this, the jump into the real world of the occult is an easy, more familiar one to make."

•  Gaming.  Many video games, including Internet games, involve the occult, even though the "good" occult is fighting to conquer the "bad."  A good rule for games is that a child should not pretend to do something that would be wrong to do in real life.

You may determine that some things are not really occultic, but need to be explained and controlled.

•  Fairy Tales.  Provide parental guidance to your children when they encounter impossible or supernatural things in fairy tales.

•  "Magic."  Explain the difference between "magic" tricks (illusions) and the supernatural power of either God or Satan.

•  Limit Involvement.  It is important to limit the amount of time that a child is immersed in such questionable reading, watching, or playing.  He should not read only fantasy or spend hours each day playing a fantasy game.

You may need to do a purge of items from your home that are over the line or too close to the line.

•  Discuss.  Talk about these items with your children, explain why you believe it would be better for them, and please the Lord, if they were removed from your home.

•  Pray.  Pray together to ask for the Lord's wisdom and power to do His will. If your children are unwilling to give up a questionable activity, that might be a sign that it needs more attention.

•  Completely Remove.  The world derides "book burning," but the Lord records in His Word, for our edification, that after an evil spirit was sent out of a man in Ephesus:

"Fear fell upon them all
     and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.
     Many also of those who had believed kept coming,
     confessing and disclosing their practices.

And many of those who practiced magic brought
     their books together and began burning them
     in the sight of everyone;
     and they counted up the price of them
     and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.

So the word of the Lord was growing mightily
     and prevailing."  (Acts 19:17-20)

 •  Overtly Satanic Items.  Of course, overtly satanic games such as the ouija board and tarot cards should be strictly forbidden.

When we remove undesirable activities from our family's lives, we must fill the vacuum with Godly influences (see Christ's parable of the unclean spirit who was banished, then replaced with seven more wicked spirits in Matthew 12:43-45).

Fill your home and children's lives with:

•  God's Word – reading, discussing, studying, memorizing.

•  Good Christian music, such as hymns of the faith.  Also listen to Christian music online at Abiding Radio.

•  Wholesome reading materials and images.  Everything in our lives should meet God's standards:

"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
     whatever is right, whatever is pure,
     whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute,
     if there is any excellence
     and if anything worthy of praise,
     dwell on these things."
     (Philippians 4:8)

Teach your children to resist Satan, his temptations, and his power as Christ did with Scriptures that they have memorized.

"Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

"Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able
     to stand firm against the schemes of the devil . . .
     having girded your loins with truth,
     and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
     and having shod your feet with the preparation
     of the Gospel of peace;

in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith
     with which you will be able to extinguish
     all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

"And take the helmet of Salvation,
     and the sword of the Spirit,
     which is the word of God with all prayer
     and . . . be on the alert with all perseverance."
     (Ephesians 6:10-18)

 •  Online Information.  Read many articles about the occult at Christian Answers.

You might not agree 100% with these reviews, but they are a place to start and to alert you to undesirable elements.

 •  Plugged-in Online.  Reviews of movies, video/DVD, music, and television.

 •  Christian Spotlight on Entertainment.  Reviews of movies, Christian films, television, and games.

We need to recognize, but not fear, the power of Satan and his demons, which is nothing compared to God's power.

"For I am convinced
     that neither death, nor life,
     nor angels, nor principalities,
     nor things present, nor things to come,
     nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
     nor any other created thing,
     will be able to separate us from the love of God,
     which is in Christ Jesus our Lord"  (Romans 8:38-39)

"And the great dragon was thrown down,
     the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan,
     who deceives the whole world . . .
     Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
     'Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God
     and the authority of His Christ have come . . .
     And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb
     and because of the word of their testimony.'"  (Revelation 12:9-11)

See lyrics, download sheet music, read a devotional and hymn story, and listen to five 5-minute radio spots featuring this great hymn of the faith at songsandhymns.org.

Each year as stores and homes begin to decorate for Halloween, we can either ignore the holiday or respond to it in a way that will edify our families and others while honoring the Lord.

Halloween is an opportunity to teach the history of this holiday and what God says about the unseen, but real, spiritual world around us of Satan's evil and God's good.

Historically, Halloween was a pagan, occultic worship day.  Even today we see that the primary focus of Halloween is the occult, the devil, evil, death, fear, and horror.

• Free 58-page ebook:
  "The Tricks and Treats of Halloween" by John Muncy. Contains a lot of history, scripture, and frank conclusions.

By not celebrating this holiday as the unbelieving world does, we are acknowledging that as Christians we are different from the world and are obeying God's Word:

"Have nothing to do with the evil deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."  (Ephesians 5:11)

As citizens of Heaven who have been given the mission of being ambassadors for Christ, learn how your family can practice evangelism with Halloween tracts.

These will be invaluable life lessons for your family and an occasion to fulfill your family's goal of influencing our society for the Lord!

The first truth to teach is the pagan, occult, and satanic origin and present practices of Halloween.

Use a few of your family's daily devotional times to do a Bible study.  Look up and discuss all the Scriptures you can find related to the occult.  Use a Bible dictionary, your Bible's chain reference, and/or a topical Bible.

Be sure to balance your study of Satan and evil with the glorious attributes of God, His power, and Christ's victory over Satan by His death and resurrection.

A word of warning: when we expose Satan and his works and reveal God's Words to our family, the enemy of our souls will target us for attack.  We must put on "the whole armor of God," for this spiritual battle is real.

Here are a few suggested topics and passages to study.
     •  Light and Darkness:  Eph. 5:1-17
     •  Witchcraft: Deut. 18:9-14;  Lev. 20:27; I Sam. 28:3-25
     •  Satan: John 8:44; I John 5:19;  Luke 22:31; I Pet. 5:8
     •  Fear: Matt. 10:28; Ps. 118:6; 27
     •  Hell: Luke 16:19-31; Rev. 19:20; 21:8.
     •  God's Love: John 3:16;  I John 3:1; Rom. 8:31-39
     •  God's Power: Rom. 16:20; I Cor. 15:51-58; Luke 8:26-39
     •  God's Protection: Ps. 23;  John 10:27-30; Ps. 91
     •  God's Presence: Ps. 145:18;  Matt. 28:20; James 4:7-8
     •  Spiritual Warfare: Eph. 6:10-18;  II Cor. 10:3-5

You may want to select some verses that promise God's love and protection to memorize and be used to comfort and reassure your children when they are afraid.

"There is a real service of Christ in the distribution of the gospel in its printed form [tracts], a service the result of which heaven alone shall disclose."  – Charles Spurgeon

Many families use Halloween for an outreach ministry of tract evangelism.

•  You can turn your light on and welcome trick-or-treaters with candy and a gospel tract.

•  One family goes out on the sidewalks and offers candy and tracts to those who pass by.

•  Or you could wrap up plates of home-made cookies with tracts enclosed and take them around to your neighbors.

•  Select appropriate tracts (such as those from Living Waters or Crossway), or print free online tracts from Flanders Family Homelife.

•  Teach your children the courtesies of distributing tracts and the importance of being a good testimony while doing so.

•  Pray for the fruitfulness of the seed, God's Word, you will be sowing in the lives of people receiving the tracts.

Harvest Parties. Many families respond to the evils of Halloween with alternatives such as a harvest festival at their church.

For another view, read "Should Christians participate in Halloween?

Reformation Day. Some families celebrate Reformation Day on Oct. 31.  An excellent resource for that celebration is "A Night of Reformation" (print or instant-download PDF eBook) by Doorposts.  This 170-page notebook contains a short play about Martin Luther plus instructions and illustrations for games, carnival booths, crafts, food, music, costumes, decorations, and art and writing projects.

Anticipate questions that your children may be asked about Halloween and help them prepare an answer that would honor our Lord.

The Lord can help your family to turn Halloween into an opportunity to teach your children Biblical truth, disciple them in evangelism, and experience a fruitful time of ministry together.