Through research over the last ten years, I have come to believe that Halloween is a prophetic rehearsal that shows the return of Jesus, the resurrection of the dead, and the rapture to heaven.
I believe the meaning of Halloween symbols, are as follows:
The candy is a symbol of heaven.The door is a symbol of Jesus.The dressing up as skeletons, zombies, and ghouls are a symbol of those who will be resurrected.The jack-o-lanterns, pumpkins carved out with a candle light in them, are a symbol of the dead being filled with the light of the Holy Spirit.
It's called Halloween, because it's the Hallowed Eve, or "Holy Evening". The word "Hallowed" is a Biblical word, as in "Hallowed be thy name," from the Lord's prayer.
It's practiced on the evening of the last day of the month, because in the Bible, the day begins at dusk. "And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day." from Genesis 1.
The Biblical Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanna, begins on the first day of the seventh month. Num 29:1, Lev 23:24
Rosh Hashanna is celebrated by Jews today, and usually falls in mid September, on the day of the new moon. The new moon is always the start of the month, on the Hebrew Lunar calendar. Therefore, every new month really begins on the evening, at dusk, of the last day of the month.
Halloween starts on the evening, dusk, on the Gregorian Calendar, on October 31st, which is when the kids go out door to door to get candy.
I believe this festival was practiced, in some related form, by the Ten Lost tribes of Israel who were exiled 720 years before Christ. Thus, they likely do not know who they are, nor do they even know the prophetic Christian symbology of the feast, since they did not yet have the New Testament to explain the symbols when they were exiled.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes
Halloween has many similarities to the Biblical Feast of Trumpets, which, today, is called Rosh Hashanna, and is practiced by the Ashkenazi Jews, who are thought to be of the two southern tribes of Israel, Judah, with whom the Northern tribes had a dispute prior to exile.
I know of nobody else in the world who teaches this. So then, why do I believe this? Because I'm probably one of the top 50 researchers and teachers of the Biblical themes taught in the Feast of the Lord called the Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanna, and I can see the many similarities to Halloween.
When I first started my research ten years ago, wikipedia did not even exist; so I'm getting excited by what I'm learning today.
The wikipedia article on Rosh Hashanna does not teach all of the Biblical symbols of the Biblical Feast of the Lord, because the Jews today still reject Jesus, and thus, reject the teachings of the New Testament, which greatly aid in the understanding of the prophetic themes of the Feast of Trumpets.
Christians today mostly don't know about these themes either, because they mostly reject the law, and reject things that are considered "Jewish", such as the Feasts of the Lord.
Furthermore, most Christians condemn Halloween as a pagan holiday that unduly worships the dead and the Satanic, somehow forgetting that the essence of Christianity is the resurrection of the dead.
Most Biblical researchers don't know about these things either, because the Bible does not say very much about how to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets, nor does it explicitly say much about the meaning of the symbols.
But here are a few scriptures that I've gathered together that do explain a few themes about this Feast of the Lord.
http://bibleprophesy.org/feastoftrumpets.htm
Here are a few studies on the Feast of Trumpets, and a bit of an introductory summary:
http://bibleprophesy.org/introtrumpets.htm
One of the themes of the Feast of Trumpets is the Wedding; as the Church is married to Jesus. So, here are my studies on the Marriage in Scripture, as it relates to the prophecy of the rapture.
http://bibleprophesy.org/introwedding.htm
The wedding or marriage as a theme is something that is not seemingly related, or not a part of it, if you simply study the Jewish Rosh Hashanna.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_Hashanah
Nor is the wedding a key theme of Halloween. But in Mexico, among the prostitutes and drug dealers, there is a celebration called the "day of the Dead". They dress up a skeleton as a bride, with a lantern, and eat candy skulls.
The picture of five wise virgins and five foolish brides with lanterns is shown in Matthew 25:1-13. I have a study on why that parable is a picture of the rapture, here:
http://bibleprophesy.org/tenvirgins.htm
Why are the so-called "ungodly" people in Mexico observing this holiday? Well, those are the kinds of people God often speaks to, and calls to him.
Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day, "tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you." Matthew 21:31-32.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
Let's examine the main themes of Halloween, starting with candy.
Candy is associated with the celebration of the Feast of Trumpets, as shown by Nehemiah 8:1-10: 10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, --"
I wonder, how did Nehemiah know that about sweets, when the Bible never directly says to eat sweets on this day? The answer must be tradition.
Candy apples are a tradition of both Halloween and Rosh Hashanna.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween#Foods
"Because the holiday comes in the wake of the annual apple harvest, candy apples (known as toffee apples outside North America), caramel or taffy apples are common Halloween treats made by rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup, sometimes followed by rolling them in nuts."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_Hashanna#Symbolic_foods
"Symbolic foods
Rosh Hashanah table set with symbolic foods Rosh Hashanah meals usually include apples and honey, to symbolize a sweet new year."
Nehemiah wasn't the only man in the Bible to observe this feast.
The Bible says that Joseph in Egypt made it a decree to celebrate this day. That was about 400 years before Moses gave the law in Numbers and Leviticus. Interestingly, it does not say this in Genesis, but in the Psalms!
Pss 81:3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day. Pss 81:4 For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. Pss 81:5 He made it a decree in Joseph, when he went out over the land of Egypt. I hear a voice I had not known:
Many Biblical practices and traditions pre-date the law of Moses. Animal sacrifice and marriage do, too.
Some people think Jesus was against traditions. But Jesus said, "Mark 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."
In other words, if traditions that invalidate the word of God are bad, then the corollary of that would be that traditions that validate the word of God, such as Halloween and the Feasts of the Lord, such as the Feast of Trumpets, would be good!
What's the next symbol of Halloween, the door?
Jesus is the door. John 10:9 "I am the door"
On the new moon, every month, at the start of the month, the door of the temple is open.
Ezek 46:1 "Thus says the Lord GOD: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days; but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.
The door is also a symbol in the parable of the virgins in Matt 25:1-13, and in Revelation 3-4, key rapture verses.
Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
To Philadelphia: Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Rev 3:10 Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial which is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell upon the earth.
Next Halloween symbol, the skeletons. Dry bones are mentioned also in Ezekiel as a starting point of the resurrection in Ezekiel 37:1-11. The passage reads as if it is a scene right out of a modern zombie movie.
Ezekiel 37
The Valley of Dry Bones
1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet-a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' "
The final Halloween theme, is the jack-o-lanterns.
Again, revisiting Matthew 25:1-13, we read about the importance of keeping the lamps lit. Lamps that are lit are symbolic of readiness for the return of the Lord, and are a symbol of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The symbol of the door is also highlighted in this passage.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
Matthew 25 1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.6 "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!7 "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'9" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'10 "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.11 "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'12 "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'13 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Not knowing the day or hour is also a description of the Feast of Trumpets. The new moon falls on every 29 and a half days. Thus, there is slight uncertainty on which day it might exactly fall, especially if the observance of the prior new moon was hidden by clouds.
Hiding is also a theme of this Feast.
A bride hides her face with a veil.
Kids mask their faces with costumes.
Believers will be "hid" in heaven for 7 years, the length of the tribulation. And here are three passages on that:
Zeph 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD's anger.
Pss 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
Isa 26:20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
So, that's a summary of the themes.
Here are other cultures, and other versions of this feast.
In Mexico, they actually hid their observance of this feast until recently.
"In contrast to the Day of the Dead, overt worship of Santa Muerte (Dead Saint) remained hidden until the 19th century. When it surfaced, reaction was harsh, requiring the burning of any image found."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Muerte
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead
Daniel also said that in the last days, knowledge would increase.
Halloween is also related to All Saint's Day and the Celtic feast, Samhain.
Rosh Hashanna is, according to the Jews, the new year.
Samhain is also the new year to the Celts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain
"Many scholars believe that it was the beginning of the Celtic year.[3][4][5]"
The Gaelic custom of wearing costumes and masks, was an attempt to copy the spirits or placate them. In Scotland the dead were impersonated by young men with masked, veiled or blackened faces, dressed in white.[7][8] Samhnag - turnips which were hollowed-out and carved with faces to make lanterns - were also used to ward off harmful spirits.[8]
The Gaelic festival became associated with the Christian All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, and has hugely influenced the secular customs now connected with Halloween, a name first attested in the 16th century as a Scottish shortening of the fuller All-Hallows-Even.[9] Samhain continues to be celebrated as a religious festival by some Neopagans.[4][10]
Samhain is a Celtic festival. Some scholars say the Celts are one of the ten lost tribes of Israel.
The Celts are Israelites Under Another Name.http://jahtruth.co.uk/celtisr.htm
That would mean that the Celts, the Lost Israelites, likely had customs and feasts that are likely similar to the original Feasts of the Lord.
The main Biblical symbol that is missing in Halloween is the trumpet.
But there is a symbol of a Cornucopia, a "horn of plenty" in Northern America that is often associated with the fall feast known as Thanksgiving. The Cornucopia is a twisted horn, and originally said to be a goat's horn, which is very similar to the ram's horn, or Shofar, used in Rosh Hashanna.
Compare the google images of the shofar to images of the cornucopia.
In the wikipedia article on Halloween, they show that they knew this was a day the dead can come to life, which is a description of the resurrection, but historians don't even know why kids dress up for Halloween, only theorizing that they did so to ward off evil spirits.
"The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm."
The Feasts of the Lord are commemorations, rehearsals, like a play.
The people are supposed to play out what is supposed to happen on this prophetic day.
On this day, Jesus will return, and raise the dead, and take them to be his bride, (changing them to immortality, like superheroes) and take them to heaven through himself, as he is the door.
To play that out, kids dress up as the dead, and go door to door (to Jesus) and get candy (heaven).
Trick or treating is a means by which the custom continues, because if you don't play along, and give out candy to the kids, you get the trick instead, and get punished.
The original trickster was Jacob (Israel), who dressed up as his hairy brother Esau, to gain the birthright from the old Issac.
So, what does all of this mean?
Well, being one of the first people in history that I know of to make most of these connections, it causes me to speculate even further than what I've already done.
I think this is cultural evidence that Americans and those who celebrate Halloween and similar festivals are the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.
I think these festivals provide further confirming cultural evidence of the reliability of the Bible, and the reliability of the meaning of the symbols and themes of the rapture, as interpreted in light of the symbols of the Feast of Trumpets and Halloween.
I believe that God directly provides direct and continued inspiration to cultures who are willing to listen, and that these are the Feasts of the Lord, and that the Lord will have these feasts observed, period.
Jesus himself said at the prophetic event of his entry into Jerusalem, "the rocks would cry out" if the people did not.
Luke 19:37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!""Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
There is certainly a lot more that can be learned on this topic.
Who am I as to be so audatious or bold as to make these claims and associations?
I'm merely a guy who has been preaching about honest money for the past ten years, in a culture that is 99.9% deceived about the nature of money. I'm used to teaching things that should be common sense, but are unknown, or hidden.
You can find out more about me, Jason Hommel, and what I do, at silverstockreport.com jhmint.com bibleprophesy.org=====I strongly advise you to take possession of real gold and silver, at anywhere near today's price, while you still can. The fundamentals indicate rising prices for decades to come.
Our Coin Shops are open 10AM to 5PM Pacific Time, Monday to Friday, closed weekends.
JH MINT & Coin Shop, Grass Valley, CA -- minimum $2000 order for free shipping, USA shipping only.Kerri: (530) 273-8822kerri.jhmint@yahoo.com (530) 273-8175www.jhmint.com
See also my Mom's Silver Shop in Sacramento, CAwww.momssilvershop.com3510 Auburn Blvd., #12Sacramento, CA 95821(916) 481 5656(Mom will ship with no minimum order size, and overseas, and take credit cards and paypal.)
Sincerely,
Jason Hommel In case you miss an email, check the archives (scroll down) at www.silverstockreport.com For the Biblical case for the benefits of using honest money, see www.bibleprophesy.org