Halloween and the Encounters with the Unholy - Charlaine Martin
Unmasking spiritual forces working in the background and waging war on them in the Name of Jesus.
Have you ever felt the hair rise up on the back of your neck and experienced a horrible sense of dread you couldn’t wait to escape from, but you didn’t know why? This season is filled with horror, evil, and the unholy. If it doesn’t make you shudder, then you might want to read about some of my spine tinglers, brushes with the unholy, otherworldly beings who come against the Kingdom of God, and that the power of God is greater still. How important it is for us to stay set apart for the Lord—holy, if you will.
Angels & Demons About
Since we can’t get away from the Halloween craziness, let’s take a look at some true-life events of evil bumping around here and there but encounters with the Holy that overpowers those forces.
In case you haven’t studied up on angels or demons, there’s plenty to discover in the Bible about these beings. Angels serve God, take care of humans, and are a holy spiritual force who answer to God (GotQuestions.org). On the other hand, demons are fallen angels who do Lucifer’s bidding, evil to the core. Two-thirds of the angels belong to God, with only one-third of the fallen angels cast to earth with Satan (Isaiah 14:4-7; Luke 10:17-19). Unfortunately, many people—including Christians—don’t believe these beings exist or have great misunderstandings about them. All of them are subject to God and Jesus Christ.
Understanding what the Bible says about angels of both kinds is essential so we don’t worship, summon, or pray to them. Our prayers should be reserved for God, in the Name of Jesus. Many individuals think it’s great fun to play around with all that is unholy during October, often believing nothing will come of it after all, it’s just for fun—isn’t it? But there are consequences to be sure.
Let me share some spine-tingling experiences that should keep you up at night, praying for God to keep you on the right path.
Spine-tingler 1: my experience with demonic oppression before I accepted Jesus as my Savior.
At the age of twenty-six, I fell into post-partum depression after the birth of my third child. It was horrible! But I discovered two years later that an additional element was at play. A licensed Christian counselor revealed to me that some of these elements had nothing to do with post-partum depression. Rather, the severity and longevity were demonic harassment. Voices not my own telling me to do things that made me shudder, distorting faces in the darkness, and thoughts that weren’t my own were all a result of demons trying to win a battle for my soul.
I’d heard the plan for salvation in a sermon series our pastor preached. One early morning, I woke up battling otherworldly voices and thoughts. Then it occurred to me: I’d never accepted Jesus as my Savior. So I prayed to accept Jesus as my Savior, and when I did, I felt a warm, tingling sensation flow from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. The visions, voices, and thoughts from “someone else” stopped. My life changed drastically. I no longer wanted to go to sleep and not wake up because God had won the battle for me! From that point on, God led me to Christian counselors who helped me heal from childhood abuse. Jesus had the victory!
Spine-tingler 2: Dream of a man in white showing me glowing “landmines” to avoid.
God called me to ministry a few years after I accepted Jesus as my Savior. During that interim, before following through with my call, I dreamed of being in a barn with a man dressed in white with a white beard and hair. As we talked, he took me outside to show me a fiery 2 in the night sky, with a blazing 1 shooting out away from the 2 like a comet, landing in a field and leaving glowing pieces scattered across it. This looked fascinating, but the man told me not to touch them because they would harm me. I hadn’t even read about Lucifer and the demons being cast out of Heaven yet!
Fast forward—I later had an experience with New Age at a church in an evening Bible study. The guest pastor led us in guided imagery. She encouraged us to allow a “light” to travel through our bodies. Suddenly, I thought about how Satan masquerades as an angel of light. This practice wasn’t from God! I began praying, reciting Bible verses, and singing hymns in my head. After the “service,” my husband and I talked about it. He had the same discomfort and did the same thing I did.
Fast forward again—God took me through World Religions classes three times during my bachelor’s degree studies—and I got As all three times! God impressed on me to avoid New Age and teach against it.
Spine tingle 3. Yoga instructor at the Y and her unholy alliance.
Much later, I worked at a YMCA, and our family ministered at a small church in Northeast Ohio. Our worship team wanted to participate in a talent competition hosted by our Y, so I connected with the person in charge, our new Yoga instructor. As I approached her, I felt a horrible presence around her that made the hair on the back of my neck rise up. Puzzled because she seemed like a nice person, I prayed about it while signing our team up for the talent show.
Our worship team performed a couple of their best worship numbers at the talent show. And then, after some other performances, the yoga instructor’s boyfriend and his band played a song denouncing Jesus Christ! God immediately revealed to me the source of discomfort around her—the demonic influences in her life.
Spine-tingler 3: candles from witches coven on church property.
Our tiny congregation at a church in renewal where my late husband pastored suddenly fell ill, including our family. Everyone had different symptoms that made no sense with any viruses making their rounds in our area. When my husband and I walked the back lot that was left fallow, we found a place where the grass had been pressed down. In the middle of it were pyramid-shaped candles—one purple and several white. They had been burned for a while. We discovered that a Wicca witches’ coven performs rites like this when they induct a new “witch.” My husband took all the candles to our parking lot, gathered our congregation in prayer, and burned those candles in a bonfire. The very next day, many of us felt better. Our illnesses cleared up within a few days! I learned about Wicca witchcraft, which believed in white magick, but evil and demons are actually behind that magick. Only by removing this presence could healing come.
Spine-tingler 4: Dream about a wolf on the ridge & evil spirit ready to take my husband’s life.
After my kids left home, we moved to Pennsylvania to lead a church in a small-town community. Two weeks into our living there, I had a dream that the ridge across the street from our church had no houses on it. In reality, there were two houses. On the ridge, a wolf stood glaring defiantly at us. I woke up startled and couldn’t shake it off. So, I shared it with my husband. He noted it, and we prayed for God to show us 1) the dream’s source and 2) its meaning.
Fast forward—we discovered troublemakers on our church council, who caused us problems and set us up to be ousted. My husband shared with me that God showed him who the “wolf on the ridge” was and that my dream was from God warning us about a demonic stronghold in our church and the region. By this point, my husband’s cancer was terminal.
Fast forward—in my husband’s last few months as pastor, I woke up with a start. I sensed an evil presence in our room. Thinking it was a dream, I tried to go back to sleep, but the repulsive presence remained. So I prayed, asking God to reveal what it was. God answered me: an evil presence was there to take my husband’s life! Immediately, I wrapped myself around his body—with a chemo pump attached to his chest—prayed, and sang praise songs until the presence left. Finally, I could relax and sleep, but that spiritual battle left me exhausted the next day.
Spine-tingler 5: dream about an angry “man” disrupting my class and a horrible illness.
After my late husband died and I remarried, I’d been blogging for quite some time. We lived in an apartment in Michigan while we built our home there. One night, I had a disturbing dream of teaching at a university. Before my class began, people mingled in a back room, some singing and dancing drawing me into their celebration. When it was time, I came to the podium in the next room with a class filled with these people. Suddenly, in the middle of my lesson, an angry man raged around the room, scribbling things on the dry-erase boards, with a couple of men trying to stop him. Then he stopped before me, glaring, huffing, and puffing. I asked the class to begin praying as I proceeded to drive this demonic presence out. And then I woke up with my heart pounding out of my chest. I shared this dream with my Boaz, and we prayed for God to reveal this dream to us.
Fast forward—I ran into several incidents in 2017 that caused me to fall ill and later trigger mixed connective tissue disease. The final straw came when water leaked through the roof of our building and dripped water in our bedroom closet. The apartment manager couldn’t get the roofer to take care of it for two months! The snow on the roof had melted periodically, but it was too dangerous for him to go up there, and he had other work. I cleared our closet and put a bucket in it to collect the water, along with a fan for ventilation. Mold had accumulated, making me seriously ill.
Fast Forward—the roofs were replaced on all the buildings in our complex that summer, causing our community to reek of mold! None of the ceilings were replaced, including ours. My heart rate and blood pressure plummeted dangerously low. Then, I was diagnosed with mixed collagen vascular disease. Much of my writing and ministry through Be Totally Fit for Life! came to a screeching halt, just like the “man” who disrupted my class. One day, my heart rate was 38 bpm, so I decided to walk the neighborhood to elevate my heart rate. I knew my neighbors would call 911 if I passed out on the sidewalk. As I trudged around the block, I got a message from a prominent preacher who asked how he could pray for me. I told him what was happening and that I thought it was spiritual in nature. He prayed over me. Afterward, God led me to treatment and getting out of that toxic building!
Spine-tingler 6: Redirection by an angel with demons following me
Wage freezes encouraged me to look for work elsewhere. With a family, costs increased yearly, but my stagnant income didn’t work. So, I interviewed with another gym not far from our home. While waiting for their decision, I dreamed of walking along a dark path. Cats started following me, but they didn’t seem safe, stalking me to pounce. I came up to a man standing outside an open gate. He stopped me, pointed the direction from where I had come, and told me to return the way I’d come. The cats had disappeared in the meantime, and I followed his instructions.
I later found out the prospective gym couldn’t hire me or anyone. They actually began laying people off, eventually closing. I would have been without a job quickly if I’d gone there! God protected us with that angel’s redirection. I had a similar dream much later, also with an angel telling me to go back because the direction I was headed was treacherous.
Spine-tinglers and the Holiness of God
All of these spine-tinglers point out that demons are real, but God’s power is greater. The “man” in some of my dreams was one of God’s angels protecting me. It also helps you understand that if you involve yourself in the unholy, you will eventually come in contact with beings that have no care or regard for you. When you involve yourself in casting spells, smudging, balancing energies, transcendental meditation, the occult, and more, you are dealing with a real, dangerous spiritual world. The potential for demon possession, demonic harassment, and mysterious illnesses or harm increases. Why would anyone want to be part of that?
These spine-tinglers also point you to a God who loves you and wants you to have eternal life with Him. The saints who died before us will celebrate with the heavenly angels when we come Home. The dead don’t roam the earth or come to visit us. They are in a place with God where no evil, night, pain, or sadness will ever enter those gates, which are always open. In the meantime, here on earth, believers have the Holy Spirit—God’s Spirit—residing in us, Who guides, directs, and leads us. He also gives us peace, joy, patience, gentleness, love, and self-control. Even in difficult circumstances, we aren’t in it alone. God sends His angels to minister to us and protect us.
God is indeed God of all things! The heavens proclaim His glory! He created all things and rules forever. Satan and his demons were cast out of Heaven to the earth, where they ravage the earth, deceive and attack God’s people. God warns us in His Word to stay away from diviners, witchcraft, consulting the dead, and worshiping creation, including angels (Jeremiah 27:9, Deuteronomy 18:10-11). We don’t need spirit guides, who are demons in disguise. We must know God’s Word, His character, and His will for us. He will reveal what we need when we need to know. Angel worship has long been a thing, but God’s angels will direct you to worship only God, not them. God is not in everything, and those who don’t believe in Jesus as Savior don’t have the Holy Spirit in them. Although the stars led the wise men to Jesus, they don’t predict our futures as astrology tells people, nor do they direct our lives. Our dead loved ones are in one of two places—Heaven with God or Hell. God doesn’t send people to Hell, but when they reject Jesus, they choose Hell. Do you grasp the difference?
So why celebrate Halloween? Wasn’t it started by the church centuries ago? No. It’s part of Celtic nature worship, from which Wicca is based, celebrating Samhain, when they believe the veil between the living and dead is considered the thinnest. Christians at that time held superstitions and tried to ward off evil spirits with Jack-o-Lanterns and creepy costumes. There is a great chasm between those who belong to God and those who don’t (Luke 16:19-31). The veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom when Jesus died, and the dead roamed the earth for a short time until Jesus’ resurrection (Matthew 27:50). Jesus holds the keys to death and Hell (Revelation 1:17-18), and is seated on His Throne at the right hand of God, the Father (Matthew 22:44, Acts 2:33). Those who know Jesus as Savior will spend eternity with Him while those that don’t will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, the second death, with Satan and the demons (Revelation 20-21). Jesus has the victory, and because He does, we have victory over the demons who cause problems for us. We need only to call on the Name of the Lord and worship Him who sits on the Throne!
Let’s celebrate All Saints Day on November 1 instead and thank God for sending godly people into our lives. Those who’ve gone Home before us are cheering us on in our faith!
