“We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” – 1 John 5:19
I live on Long Island. An island is a land mass surrounded by water. I’ve lived around water pretty much all my life, and yet, I’m not a big fan of the beach or boating, or even swimming for that matter. I could probably save myself or tread water for awhile if I needed to, but ever since Jaws, well, I’m just not a big fan of water. There’s something about the depth, the darkness of deep water that just isn’t appealing to me.
I don’t like boating. For me, going from a pier into a boat is a scary shaky experience. Then when I’m in a boat I easily succumb to motion sickness. I find the constant rocking of a boat on water dizzying, unsettling, nauseating, and yes, even vomiting at times. (I’m dizzy just writing about it!) So, I stay away from boats, jet skis, and the like, but that’s just me. Solid ground, yes, solid ground, that’s for me. I like to eat fish, but not so much catch fish. I know a lot of people love the water. But me? I do a lot better with my feet on solid ground. I’m a land lover. I love to look out at the sea from the shoreline. My special spot to meet with the LORD is at a beach front area. But my spot is on shore, on solid ground.
1 John 5:19 states, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” This verse speaks of a spiritual conflict that encompasses the entire world. It speaks of a world where God’s kingdom is present but not yet fully in place. Part of the danger of this war is that the enemy lurks and uses disguise. The Apostle Peter captured the idea when he wrote, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9). What makes the devilish predator so dangerous is that, he lurks in darkness, he is not readily or easily seen. The devil hides in disguise and then pounces on his prey.
There is a beast lurking in the deep. It is lurking, in the dark, looking for prey to fuel its seeming never ending dark lifeless eyed pursuit of flesh. It intrudes on unsuspecting bathers having fun at the beaches of life. It shows a dorsal fin at the surface from time to time, but for the most part it isn’t seen until it strikes. And when it strikes, it is terrifying, life ruining, catastrophic.
1 John 5:19, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” This is a verse that draws a line between those who belong to God and those who do not. That line can be confused at times with shades of gray. It can be confused and overstepped by those who want to straddle the line keeping some parts of the world and some prats of the Lord. That is lukewarmness. Jesus said the Church of the last days would be lukewarm and make Him sick to His stomach. He said of that Church, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:16). We have to choose a side. I can hear the words of Joshua, “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). As for me and my house, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD. Are you able to say that?
October is an interesting month of contrasts. It is the month of Halloween when people celebrate the forces of darkness celebrate in all their regalia of black pointy hats and broomsticks, black cats, cauldrons, spells, incantations, and dark practices. It’s a time when spirits are summoned from the grave. But it is also a time when dark forces hide behind playfulness. Like a predator preying on a child with an offer of candy, the devil offers what seems harmless, but which in fact is a deadly lure. Halloween is a time of deception; it’s a time when the deceptions of the devil lurk beneath the surface of candy, apple bobbing, and friendly frights. Halloween comes around and what makes it dangerous, (and it is dangerous), is that like a predator shark, you aren’t aware of its danger until it strikes.
But October is also the month of the Reformation. Every October 31st we remember a time when the Church was called back to holiness. The Reformation reminds us we are sinners saved by grace not by our works. The Reformation reminds us of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and His solitary completed work on the cross and His resurrection. The Reformation reminds us of the Gospel. The Reformation was a time when the Church was confronted about manmade traditions that strayed from the profound simplicity of God’s word. I think the Church today needs to return to that Reformation spirit. The Church needs to turn from its human alternatives to the powerful word of God.
October therefore is a month of decision. This is a month when we can choose personal and church renewal and Reformation, or Halloween spiritual deprivation. There are some who try to blur this demarcation. There are some who try to redeem Halloween. They do so by adopting Halloween’s practice of costume trickery and try to sanctify it by using “holy” costumes of Biblical figures. That sounds more like Hollywood than a holy practice.
I realize this can be a touchy issue for some people. But the concept of holiness and eliminating sin in life is a strong theme in God’s word. In the Passover Sedar part of the ceremony involves searching out and removing leaven in the home, which is a symbol of sin. The idea is that sin is serious, serious enough to root out and remove. Sin is serious. Sin is like cancer; one cell can metastasize into a life-threatening problem. We ought to be nuking sin cells, not playing with them.
When God’s people were being prepared to make conquest of the Promised Land God advised them not to dabble or adopt pagan objects of worship such as idols, altars, sacred (pornographic) poles, or shrines. No, God instructed them to break them down and burn them to ashes. God said, “You shall destroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire” (Deuteronomy 7:5). God said, “You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. And you shall destroy their altars break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place” (Deuteronomy 12:2-3). Even the materials used for pagan objects were to be discarded:
Deuteronomy 7:25–26 (NKJV) – 25 You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. 26 Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing.
That’s a pretty thorough separating from pagan things. To burn something is to permanently destroy it. You can’t unburn something. Burning something is to make a permanent decision about it. In light of God’s instruction about pagan objects to burn them and “utterly detest it and utterly abhor it,” I don’t think if one of the children of Israel stood up and said, “Hey, why don’t we just make an alternative holy day using some of their stuff and ideas to celebrate Yahweh,” I don’t think that would have gone over to well.
Wait a minute pastor, wasn’t the gold and silver taken from the Egyptians used to build the tabernacle? (Exodus 12:35-36; 35). Wasn’t the plunder taken from the Midianites purified with fire and later used in the tabernacle? (Numbers 31:21-23; 31:50-54). Weren’t the metals taken in the victory at Jericho declared “holy to the LORD”? (Joshua 6:19 and 24). Wasn’t Gideon instructed by God to tear down the altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole and burn them as an offering to the LORD? (Judges 6:25-26). Didn’t David dedicate the silver and gold taken in battles to the LORD? (2 Samuel 8:11-12). Yes, fire purifies, and fire destroys. Using the valuable materials such as silver and gold was the result of a direct instruction by God. Is there any such direct instruction by God regarding adopting Halloween practices in principle or otherwise? There is not.
In the New Testament the Apostle Paul says pagan idols are really nothing and it shouldn’t keep us from eating meat offered to such idols (Romans 14 and 15; 1 Corinthians 8 and 10). He referenced the Athenian altar made for “an unknown god” and he quotes a pagan poet (Acts 17:23 and 28). But didn’t the new believers of Ephesus, a particularly occultic city filled with witchcraft and sorcery, burn their magic books? (Acts 19:19). Yes they did. They didn’t make them into an alternative to pacify those who had previously practiced the occult.
This brings to mind a problem of the Church that ultimately led to the Reformation. When the Church was adopted as the state religion by the Roman Emperor Constantine one of the first things he did was enact the Edict of Toleration. This removed the persecution of the Church. A seemingly good thing. But it also made Church membership a prerequisite to positions in society so that many people sought to join the Church not to have a personal saving relationship with God in Christ, but to facilitate privilege and prosperity in society. This led to the Church having a lot of un-discipled members many of whom held onto their old pagan practices. This created a conflict between the Church system of beliefs and those pagan practices especially around holidays. To remove this conflict church leaders christianized pagan holidays. The lines of holy demarcation between Christian and non-christian holidays were blurred. I know this is contested by some in our day, but the principle of Christianizing that which was formerly pagan does not have a good track record in history.
Later in his inspired letter to the church in Ephesus Paul instructed them, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11). We are “to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.” “Have no fellowship with” is a translation of a single Greek term, synkoinoneo, which means, to avoid sharing in or participating with others in certain activities or behaviors. It means to not co-participate in something. It means to not have a shared experience with, not participate together. Paul uses this word in relation to “the unfruitful works of darkness.” The word “expose” (Greek elencho) means to bring hidden things to light. This is especially in relation to sins or errors being exposed so that they can be corrected. Strong’s defines this term as confute, admonish. This is a powerfully relevant and instructive verse when it comes to the things of Halloween. It’s a verse that we should bring before the Lord in prayer and seek His guidance about when it comes to things Halloween.
1 John 5:19 contrasts two groups of people; one aware, one unaware of who they are. Christians know they are of God. One of the reasons John wrote his first epistle was so that people could “know” or fully experience God and have an assurance of their saving status with Him. John was inspired to write this epistle so that we could experience fellowship with God and the fullness of joy that comes from that relationship (1 Jon 1:3-4). He said if we walk in the light of God’s word we will have fellowship with God and be cleansed from our sin by the blood of Jesus (1:7; compare Psalm 119:105).
John wrote about the evidence of knowing Jesus and being in fellowship with Him. If we obey and keep God’s commandments it is a sign we know the Lord and are in fellowship with Him (2:3-4). The commandments John is speaking about are summed up in the supreme commandment, to love (2:5, 7-11). To love is to live like Jesus (2:6). To love like Jesus means we aren’t attached or in love with the things of this world but love God supremely (2:15-17). It means we are aware of and thankful for the incredible love God has bestowed on us (3:1). Living in this loving relationship with God through Christ enables us to have victory over sinful ways of life (3:6-9). Love in the believer is evidence of spiritual life and knowing God (4:7-12, 16-21).
Another evidence of knowing God is an anointing whereby we are able to discern truth from falsehood (2:20-21, 26-27; 4:1). We are able to discern those things which are against God’s truth. We can discern and expose superficial substitutes for the way of Christ (2:18-19). And what we discern is that Jesus came to “destroy the works of the devil” (3:8b). And if Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil it’s inappropriate for children of God to be associated with them in any way (3:10-21). The devil attempts to instill deceit, sin, and hate. Jesus instills truth, holiness, and love. Children of God are able to discern these things.
This discernment is not something that comes from us. Discernment and the love of God working in and through us come from the work of the Spirit in and through us (3:24; Rom. 5:5). It is the inward assuring presence of the Holy Spirit that helps us know that we have an abiding relationship with God (4:13). We are a product of the work of the Holy Spirit in and through us.
This knowing experience of God manifested in discernment, love and Christlikeness is implemented in us through faith. John was inspired to write, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith” (5:4). Faith and trust in God enable us to lovingly obey God in a way that is not heavy or burdensome to us (5:3). When you love God, to obey Him is a joyful blessed experience. That’s because we understand how great God’s love is for us. Obeying Him is a way to show Him how much we love and appreciate Him. We look at the profundity of the cross and Jesus, its grace and expression of Divine love, and we are reduced to a hushed amazed, a loving, “Thank You Lord.” “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (5:11; see 5:12). Praise the Lord! Such appreciation makes any sacrifice a pittance in comparison.
When we realize all that God has done for us it has a stabilizing and assuring affect on us. We trust God and come to Him in prayer asking Him for things according to His will. A Father who has loved us so much hears us and if He hears us we can be confident this loving heavenly Father will answer us (5:14-15). This confidence opens the door to a wealth of blessing and strength to get us through life. Prayer is a powerful tool for life.
Having experienced God so richly and having understood how much love has been lavished on us in eternal life (3:1; 5:13), it should move us to seek the salvation of the lost. We pray for those caught in sin, but who still have a chance to repent and be saved. There are those “under the sway of the wicked one” that love “the sway” so much that they have no desire to leave their wicked ways. There is a move in our day that is away from God and toward the occult and even Satanism. In situations where there is rock hard rejection of God and His truth, we turn away and move on to the next divine appointment to save a soul.
There are some “under the sway of the wicked one” who have so hardened their hearts that they can’t believe (see John 12:39). At what point a person reaches this hopeless condition only God knows. And so we are to follow the lead of the Spirit in such cases to seek and save the lost. Paul was adamantly opposed to Jesus before he was knocked down off his high horse (cf. Acts 9). But there are some who throw themselves so deeply into sin, that based on the testimony of scripture, they get to a hopeless state of reprobation (see Romans 1:18-32).
What might those under the sway of the wicked one look like? How might they behave? Based on 1 John they: deny their sinfulness (1:8, 10); are hateful (2:11; 3:17; 4:20); they love the world and the things of the world (2:13; 4:5); they oppose Christ and propose alternatives to Him as Savior, and deny He is God in the flesh (2:18; 4:2-3); they are liars and deny Jesus and the Father (2:22-23); they live lifestyles of sin (3:10-13); they may have come out of the church but were never truly a part of the children of God (2:19); they are false prophets (4:1). These are the characteristics of those under the sway of the wicked one.
What is sad is that those who don’t know Jesus as their Savior are living in deception, they fall under the lying, deceiving sway of the wicked one. If you go up to an unbeliever and ask them if they are under the influence of the devil, more likely than not they will deny it. The Bible states Satan, “the god of this world,” has blinded the minds of people (2 Cor. 4:4). Satan is a liar, a deceiver. Satan is a liar and deceiver by nature (John 8:44). He is wicked and seeks to murder people not only physically but eternally by stealing their souls. He uses deception to do this.
The word “wicked” is translated from the Greek term poneros. This is a word that means, vicious, evil, hurtful, calamitous, malicious, morally corrupt, and lewd. Poneros is connected to the word ponos which means “labor” and so the idea of poneros carries the idea of laboring to do evil. We get the English word pornography from this word. All the filth and falsehood permeating and pouring out into the world today can be traced to the work of the wicked one. And sinful industries like the Pornography industry make labor and hard work out of something God intended to be a holy binding and pleasurable experience.
There’s something about sexual sin that saps the soul. The Bible says, “Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ‘the two’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh.’ . . . Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:16 and 18). Sexual interactions outside of marriage pervert connections. Sexual relations between unmarried people bind a person to another that is only meant for marriage. Marriage includes a life commitment or covenant entered into in the sight of God. Sex without such a covenant commitment is desecrating to the most holy human bond.
There are “passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25). But those pleasures pass by pretty quick. Then you have a lifetime of unholy memories and emotional scars. And such scars of sin are bound to influence and complicate your eventual marital relationship. Satan doesn’t divulge any of these realities. He hides them under the bed. Then once you’ve indulged, he brings them out to compound his evil influence with thoughts of guilt and regret. The sway of the devil keeps you off balance. There is no stability with him, only shifting sand. Sexual sin is a downward spiral.
Look around you. See all the darkness and immorality, the muck and mire of sin. See people not only dabbling in it, but living in it, enjoying it, promoting it, intoxicated with it. It’s all part of the sway of the devil. Like a tasty morsel temptingly placed in the center of a web. Sinful practices are placed with the promise of pleasure. But any pleasure sin promises passes and only leads to death. A bug about to be caught in the spider’s web ventures out onto it not knowing it is a web until it is too late. The bug is lured in by the tempting bait. It may even take a few bites of the bait. Maybe the bug thinks, “Hmmm, yummy. That tastes good. What a find!” But then the immobility of being stuck on the sticky web sets in and it’s too late, it’s caught. Don’t get caught in the web of the wicked one!
Halloween is becoming increasingly sexually provocative. (It seems everything in society nowadays leads to some kind of sexual perversion.) The “holi” in “holiday” is taken from the word “holy.” “Holy” means separate, distinctive. In relation to God that which is “holy” is separated from the common and to God. Halloween is a “holiday” in that it is a day separated to the things of darkness. When you look at the origins of the dark things linked to Halloween it isn’t farfetched to think there’s a link to “the wicked one.” Halloween is a celebration of wickedness. And that wickedness can be very dark. Halloween can be a time for sexual predators and pedophiles to lure unsuspecting child victims into their web. The scary stuff increasingly frequently leads to sexually perverse stuff. Beware the sway of the wicked one, it can take you and loved ones to places you never thought you’d go.
This Halloween use spiritual discernment and ask yourself, “Is what I am, or my children, friends and others involved in really so harmless? Are those dark images and scary practices harmless, or are they a lure, the first step in a downward spiral into a web of sin?” There’s pleasure in sin for a season. The first nibble of the cheese in the mousetrap tastes good. But then comes the “WHACK!” and it’s all over. Rat poison is 99.99% nourishing to the rat: it’s the .01% of the poison that’s a killer. Remember that opening scene in Jaws. The kids are having a seemingly harmless fun party on a beach late at night. Then one girl giggles her way to skinny dipping into the waters at night. It all looks harmless enough, until she is violently consumed and dragged down into the darkness. That’s a perfect picture of what the devil wants to do to us.
Halloween is a dangerous time of deception because it subtly lowers our sensitivity to discerning darkness and light. It blurs truth from error. It contends, See, there’s nothing wrong with this. It all seems to be no big deal, until over time, all those slight deviations from the word of God start to add up and WHACK! The trap closes, the spider spins you in his web, the jaws of the shark close on your soul, and you’re caught in the sway of the wicked one. That which is presented as harmless isn’t always as harmless as it seems. That is the nature of deception. And that is the sway of the wicked one to bring you under his influence. Know who you are; you are of God! Live it and stay away from the sway of the wicked one!
So when it comes to Halloween if you’re one of those people who think, What’s all the fuss? This is just some good old fun from being frightened. It’s fun to be scared. It’s fun to dabble in darkness. I like candy. My kids like candy. We all like candy and to get dressed up in costumes and “be” someone else. It’s just all harmless fun. If you are one of those people, maybe even someone who tries to sanctify darkness by using the dark “holiday” to do “holy” things, I would just ask you to pray about it. Is that really how the Lord works; does He tell us to use unholy days in holy ways? Yes, God is able to use what people meant for evil and use it for good like He did in the life of Joseph (Genesiss 50:20). But that is a lot different than using principles of darkness like costuming, and cavity promoting candy gorging to reach people with a holy gospel. Remember, we are to have nothing to do with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather expose them (Ephesians 5:11). Think about it. Pray about it. Submit to the LORD about it.
Father we come to You in Jesus’ name. Please speak to our heart about the evil influences in this world and help us to keep clear of them. You tell us to have nothing to do with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather to expose them. Help us to do that. LORD Jesus help us to share You with the deceived lost people of this world. Holy Spirit, please help us to point people to Jesus and share the gospel with them. Please give us discernment, scripturally sound discernment. Please give us Your heart and a hunger to live holy lives unpolluted and uninfluenced by the things of this world. Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, please make us what we need to be, to do what You call us to do, for Your glory, until Jesus’ return. In Jesus’ name. Amen!