Following is the Leader's Guide and answers for the Halloween Trivia Test that can be used in hosting an evangelistic Halloween Party for teens or young adults (see blog dated 10/26/13 for additional party tips). A link at the end of this blog will direct you to version of the test in printable format (pdf) which also contains this Leader's Guide to the Trivia Test.
Leader's Guide to the Halloween Trivia Test
The following section is to assist the teacher in answering the questions posed in the Halloween Trivia Test. It should be noted that not all questions are answered fully as some questions are repetitive in nature. Thus, for a full understanding of the issue, the questions should be answered one at a time beginning with the first and continuing in numerical order. This explains in part why the early answers are much longer than those that follow. For the teacher to be able to address all of the issues, he should first acquaint himself with all of the answers.
The Bible is where our entire discussion begins. God the Holy Spirit clearly teaches us that all information pertaining to the spiritual realm is to be received by Him through His holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word. It will be important for the teacher to familiarize himself with the passages associated with each question or statement as well as the study guide provided below. In some cases, you the teacher may discover that you have held a wrong belief or conviction. It is therefore important that you align your convictions with the plumb line of the holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word of God before presenting this material to your Bible study, home group or Halloween Party gathering (James 3:1).
Deuteronomy 29:29 makes a clear distinction in the area of truth. The secret things belong to God, that which is revealed belongs to man, all men, for all generations, as the Word of God is easily understood and divinely protected. Thus, when it comes to the spiritual world, we are not left to our own devices. Again, in Deuteronomy 30:11-14, we do not need to run here and there seeking spiritual truths, we do not need to seek out mystics, we do not need to attend Holy Spirit Deliverance Conferences where the specially anointed will reveal to us the secrets of the spiritual world and we do not need tobuy their books where they reveal truths only their anointing and power has made possible. Rather, we have only to open our Bibles. In fact, we are forbidden in 1 Timothy 3:1-3 from receiving any teachings from demons or spirits, and we are forbidden from passing on these teachings to others. Thus, we do not read books, listen to messages or go to meetings where the deceived and the deceivers are gathered to hear the words of demons and teachings of demons - on satan, demons, heaven or hell. No, we go to the eternal, inerrant, holy, written Word of God. Revelation 22:18-22 could not be more clear. The Word of God is our only Revelation until the return of Christ.
Question 1: False. God the Holy Spirit teaches us in 2 Peter 1:5-6 that to our knowledge we are to add discipline. Just because something can be known does not mean we may know it. It is possible to know what it feels like to murder, but we are forbidden by God from this knowledge. It is possible to know sexual experiences from many different people, but we are forbidden from God from this knowledge. It is possible to know slander and gossip, but again, we are forbidden by God from this knowledge. It is possible to know what demons have to say about the spiritual world, but we are forbidden by God from this knowledge, either directly or by second hand reading and recounting of experiences. This was in fact the temptation that brought sin into the world, to have knowledge which is forbidden by God (Genesis 3:4-6). satan’s temptation is no different today. “Why should you be limited to the Bible – talk to my demons, have spiritual experiences. Then you will know more than the people who only have the Bible!”
In 1 Timothy 4:1-2 pastors, leaders and yes all Christians are forbidden fromspeaking to, learning from and passing on the doctrines and teachings of demons. Simply because Jesus can do something does not mean that we may do it. There are many attributes of God, some of which are manifested by Jesus in the Holy Scriptures, which are forbidden to us. Vengeance and Judgment are but two of many. God is a God of both Judgment and Vengeance, yet we are forbidden from both. Jesus manifested this in the cleansing of the Temple, yet we are forbidden by God from any such activity. For a pastor to make a whip and drive Jews from their synagogue or apostate Christians from their church building would be a sin, even though Jesus did this very thing. Even so, Jesus may speak to and interact with demons while this is forbidden to us.
It is true that in Luke 8:30 Jesus spoke to the demons, they responded and we indeed learn something about demons from this interaction. That, though, is not a mandate for us to do the same. In Job chapter 1, satan enters into the throne room of God mingling with the other angels. He interacts with God, and we learn things about him. That is not a mandate for us to do the same. In this same chapter of Luke, Jesus stills the raging storm - that is not a mandate for us to do the same. Jesus raises the dead, Jesus meets with Elijah and Moses at the transfiguration, Jesus Himself rises from the dead, Jesus ascends into heaven, Jesus lives a sinless life and Jesus does many things which are as a result of His deity. Some we will never do simply because of the fact that we are not God. Others we should never do because we are forbidden by God from doing them. The commanding of demons to speak and then passing on this information to the church in the form of teachings and doctrines of demons falls into both categories and should be absolutely avoided.
Yet, despite these two facts – (1) we are forbidden from interacting with demons and (2) just because God has done something in the Bible that it is not a mandate for us to do the same - ministers still promote extra-Biblical knowledge based on interaction with demons and the spirit world. An illustration of this is the prevalence of books and meetings of so-called Holy Spirit Deliverance Crusades. In these books and meetings, we find out all sorts of things about demons, satan, heaven and hell that are not found in the Bible. For instance, we discover there is a “demon of greed.” Now, the Bible does not teach this so where do we find this information? We find it from the so-called minster's or prophet's interactions with demons. They teach him about the demon realms, and then he passes these “doctrines of demons” on to us. This is forbidden by God. It is possible to know, but it is forbidden. What are you to do if a minister begins sharing publicly gossip and slander he has heard from others? What are you to do if a minster should begin describing how he successfully carried out a murder? What are you to do if a minister begins describing the most intimate details of his latest sexual conquest? In each case, you are forbidden from learning these things from the minister – you are to leave, to run. In the same way, what are you to do if a minister begins relating to you information he has learned from demons? What are you to do if a minister begins to teach you spiritual truths which are not found in the Bible? In each case, you are forbidden from learning these things from the minister – you are to leave, to run.
Question 2: False. Many people needlessly fear the dead. All the depictions of the world of the dead come back to life are false. The Bible clearly teaches that when people die, they enter immediately into the presence of God. If they are Christians, then they are judged innocent and enter heaven. If they are non-Christians, then they are judged guilty and enter hell. In those two states, there is no going back. God has created a great gulf over which no man may travel. No man, no witch, no sorcerer, no occult figure, no prophet, no curse, no incantation, no spell, no nothing - no one has the power to bring back the dead. The fact that God, upon occasion, has raised the dead for His divine purposes is not by any stretch of the imagination cause to believe that man can do the same. God has done, upon occasion, actions which should be viewed as singular events in history and are in no way meant to be universalized by man. The earth has stood still in its rotation, fire has fallen from heaven, and yes, the dead have been raised. All this has been done on and by the instigation of God during the period of divine Revelation that it might be recorded in the Word of God. None of these actions/powers are promised to or given to man. They each stand alone as distinct events in time and are not to be universalized.
Question 3: False. satan is given certain latitude by God on earth. He is on a short leash, but never-the-less, he has power. This power, however, is only given within the absolute sovereignty of God. There are many things satan would like to do, but God restrains him. We need never fear that God will allow satan or his demons unrestricted access to us. We must realize, though, that satan and his demons can do miracles and can tell the future. Thus, we must never equate miracles or spiritual power with God the Holy Spirit. A prophecy, a miracle, a spiritual or mystical event or experience is not in and of itself evidence of the workings of God the Holy Spirit. satan’s magicians reproduced the miracles given by God to Moses to perform before Pharaoh. Without the Word of God, simply by relying on the scientific method, we would not be able to discern who was from God, the magicians or Moses. Both had the same miraculous powers. It is only because of the Word of God that we know Moses’ miracles were as a result of God the Holy Spirit and the magicians' were as a result of deceiving spirits. That is why we must rely upon the Word of God. By our own cognitive reasoning we will never be able to tell the difference between God the Holy Spirit and a deceiving spirit.
Question 4: False. This is categorically false. satan is a created being. He is an angel who is in rebellion against God. He is spiritual as all angels are, but he is not the equal and opposite of God. Just as angels are far below the Holy Spirit in their spiritual abilities so is satan far below the Holy Spirit in his. He is nothing more than a rebellious angel. There is no question of the outcome of the struggle – satan will be defeated, judged and thrown into the Lake of Fire. satan is not in charge of Hell; rather satan is in Hell being tortured with all the others.
Question 5: False. Nothing could be further from the truth. God created the night, and it was good. Night does not exist as a result of the fall but as part of God’s plan for Adam as he lived in the perfectly created world. The nighttime is a time of praise and worship, a time when we can see the stars, moon and other created elements of physical beauty made for the glory of God and enjoyment of man. The night stars instruct man and teach him humility. The evening hours are no less spiritual than those of the daylight hours, and the sovereign God rules over both day and night.
To be continued. . .
By His mercy, II Corinthians 4:1 Rev. John S. Mahon – in the last stages of departure for Nigeria
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