How Can Advent Christians Leverage All Hallow's Eve?
Just over one-third of the way through the fall a holiday makes its annual appearance. For some it is a night of masquerade, mystery and the thrill of trick-or-treat, or harmless pranks. For others it is a night of spiritual significance, both good and bad; and for still others it holds nothing at all. That holiday is Halloween, October 31st.
For me, I loath the day, and do not look forward to its arrival. Halloween is a reminder of the sudden death of my paternal grandfather from a massive heart attack at age 58. I also do not like the shadow that the darkness of evil casts on the world this night—it is a reminder of a fallen angel, who is hell-bent on deception, destruction and death. For these reasons, I have not celebrated the holiday since I was 17 years of age. I also have encouraged others to think about the meaning of Halloween before they participate in the various festivities.
I believe, however, that late October and early November can present wonderful opportunities for Advent Christians to share the firmly held and distinctive doctrines God has entrusted to us since the mid-1800s. I propose that All Hallows’ Eve can be leveraged by Advent Christians in significant ways—let me explain . . .
When Mid-October approaches, we can share lessons our forebears learned from overzealousness to predict exactly when Jesus would come, and how we now are convinced that Jesus’ Second Coming (I prefer the term Second Advent) is imminent —TODAY JESUS MAY COME! What is more, we can passionately proclaim the gospel, and urge people to prepare for Jesus’ return by trusting in his sacrificial death and propitiation on Calvary’s cruel cross alone for salvation. We can plead with them to walk before Almighty God repentantly, seeking to know Him through his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
As All Hallows’ Eve approaches, we can share with others original sin, and how death, both spiritually and physically speaking, is its consequence; and how with that fatal choice, Adam and Eve forfeited the right to live forever in God’s Paradise, the Garden of Eden. We can once again proclaim the Gospel, and God’s grace that in the midst of judgment, God promised salvation through a Messiah—and that all who trust in this Savior can live again, though he dies.
Since the focus of Halloween is usually on the supernatural, Advent Christians can capitalize upon this interest in the unseen world to teach the truth about the intermediate state of death, and expose the deception and danger of witchcraſt, the Occult and Wiccan practices—and to warn all to flee far from it.
Our Resurrection Hope should be the focus of November 1st, All Saints Day. On this day we can remember our deceased Christian loved ones who are asleep in death, and proclaim our hope of seeing them again when Jesus returns to raise the dead. Further, we can share how Jesus will separate believers from unbelievers— emphasizing the eternal state of each in the New Heavens and New Earth, or second death in the Lake of fire. Once again, we can proclaim the gospel, and how Jesus’ resurrection is at the very heart of the gospel as well as how Jesus’ resurrection proves that he was indeed Messiah, God’s only begotten Son; provides justification and sanctification for the believer; and is the guarantee of our own resurrection when Jesus comes again.
Advent Christians can also use October 31st and November 1st to celebrate the Reformation by showing our solidarity with Protestantism by proclaiming that we believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, in its entirety. We do not hold creeds and traditions equal to the Scriptures, which are the only divine and infallible standard of faith and practice. Further, we believe the church of Jesus includes all Christians, of whatever denominational persuasion—and that local churches should be independent of outside control, congregational in government, and are not be subject to any dictation of priest, bishop or pope. Once again, we can proclaim the gospel and how the gospel allows us to have true fellowship and unity with all of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Finally, during this time, we can help our people come to understand the importance of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, and proclaiming the gospel with his emphasis, and our common belief in sola scriptura, sola gratia, sola christos. Aſter all, it is widely believed that Martin Luther deliberately leveraged October 31st to gain attention to his angst for the sale of indulgences—Advent Christians can leverage October 31st to proclaim our firmly held convictions as well!