DEATH

Summer has passed and fall has arrived. With fall comes harvest and Halloween decorations. Now I like pumpkins- especially pumpkin pie, but I am not a fan of the creepy Halloween decorations that pop up this time of year. Have you noticed that much of this holiday revolves around themes of murder and mayhem? For example, just consider the plots of the horror movies that are typically promoted during this time of year. Further, there is an undue fascination with death. Consider the typical Halloween costume or decoration. Sculls, skeletons, coffins, graveyards, mummies, spirits of dead men (ghosts) dominate the scene.
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You don’t have to be a stodgy conservative to see that evil prevails with this holiday. Witches and wizards are also prominent. Though many in our culture would try to make us think that these magicians are harmless, the scripture makes it clear that they are evil. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says, “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.”
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I fear the “Christian” community has done an injustice in not warning about the dangers of these activities and in some cases has even promoted them. Books like the Chronicles of Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings, promote such abominations yet they are encouraged in Christian circles. No wonder Satan is getting such a foothold in this area. It is not just books and movies and cartoons though. Video games also promote witchcraft, wizardry, and communication with the dead (necromancy). God clearly speaks against such things. Though these verses come from the Old Testament, the Mosaic Law was for the Hebrew, yet the Gentiles are condemned for this activity in the Deuteronomy passage. The context of the passage shows that they should have known better than to do these things even without the Law that Moses gave.
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So why this fascination with all this evil at Halloween? Could it be a Satanic conspiracy? Don’t forget, a lot of people dress up like him too. Actually there are reasons why the devil would be fascinated with death. First of all, man is put here to glorify God, and once we die, we can no longer glorify Him on this earth. Further, it seems that Satan has been given a certain amount of power in this area of death. Hebrews 2:14 tells us, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;”
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This intriguing passage suggests that the devil had some sort of power of death. It also shows that by dying Christ was able to destroy that power. Consider Christ’s words in Revelation 1:18, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
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So what was this power concerning death that Christ has the keys to? “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12) Death came into this world when Adam, the first man ever created, sinned. The devil had a huge part in that, so you could say that he, Satan, tempted mankind into death. No wonder he loves death so much. But all is not lost. “For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)” (Romans 5:17)
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When Satan temped Eve and she ate the forbidden fruit and Adam followed her, sin and death entered the world. When Christ died on the cross, payment was made for our sins so we could have eternal life. Notice that nowhere did you read that what Christ did plus what we did defeated death. No, Christ did it all. Romans 5:17 makes it clear that it was by ONE, Jesus Christ that it was done- not by Christ plus us, or Christ plus the priest, or even Christ plus baptism. They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ
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This time of year as you are reminded of death, remember, as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. The only way to escape the judgment after death is to put your full confidence in what Jesus Christ did on the cross to reverse the consequences of sin and death. That means putting your confidence in Him alone, not in anything else. Anything more or less than Christ in your life means Satan has won your soul in your death. Let Christ have the victory over your soul in death, not Satan. Christ is God, and He has the power to save you all by Himself. He is stronger than Satan.