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.
Question 6: False. Again, foolish superstition. God protects children, as He protects man. As we learned in questions 3-4, satan is on a leash. He may only go and do what God allows. Children need not fear satan at night, nor fear his demons. God and His holy angels watch over children. Parents are to be vigilant in safeguarding their children. They are to be vigilant against physical predators such as wild animals. They are to be vigilant against human predators such as kidnappers. They are to be vigilant against spiritual predators such as demons. But a careful parent need not live in fear and certainly children of Christian parents need not live in fear. There is not a single teaching, nor a single example in the holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word of God concerning the snatching of children by demons or spirits.
Question 7: False. This is a common myth that results from learning our doctrines from books, TV and movies rather than God the Holy Spirit through the holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word of God. It is true that in books, TV and movies, the more evil that gathers, the more mystical or spiritual power that evil possesses. This, however, is simply not true in the real world. It is not taught in the Word of God, and there is no example of this in Holy Scriptures. In fact, just the opposite is revealed through the Word of God. I cannot think of a time in history when the world was more ruled by the occult in terms of sheer numbers than during the period of the writing of the Holy Scriptures. Yet in the Old Testament times (such as that of Elijah) and the New Testament times (such as that of Paul), we see a complete indifference to the overwhelming numerical advantage of the worshipers of satan. In fact, the saints of old found it ludicrous. Both Paul and Elijah could not refrain from laughing at their opponents though they were both outnumbered thousands to one (1 Kings 18:27; Acts 17:23). Christians who huddle together during pagan festivals, be it Halloween or any other pagan festival, who huddle together in fear of the “spiritual power” which is out and about are an embarrassment to the faith and a source of ridicule to satan. You play right into his hands. For his only hope is to intimidate you since he has no power over you or against you.
Question 8: False. Hell is not ruled by satan. Hell is ruled by God. satan does not take people to hell; God casts the unregenerate, those who do not know Christ as Savior, into Hell. satan does not torture people in Hell; God tortures those who are in Hell. satan and his demons are all in Hell being tortured by God, in the presence of Jesus and the holy angels, along with all those who have not received Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Question 9: False. All descriptions of satan are that of beauty and awe. We do not know what he looks like in his fallen state, but we do know that he disguises himself to be attractive to man. Those who claim to have spoken to angels, to Mary the mother of Jesus or to Jesus Himself are deceived. satan or some demon has appeared to them and deceived them. I have but one question to ask them, “What are the five facial characteristics that distinguish Jesus from satan? What are the five facial characteristics that distinguish a demon from an angel? What are the five facial characteristics that distinguish Mary the mother of Jesus from the demon goddess Aphrodite?” The answer is of course, “I don’t know,” and the answer to those who claim to have spoken or seen Jesus, or an angel or Mary is that they do not know who or what they saw.
Question 10: False. satan is afraid of us. One Christian is more spiritually powerful than a thousand satan worshipers. We have nothing to fear of satan. We fear him no more than we fear any other created fallen creature, whether angelic, animal or human. They all can do damage but only in the context of the sovereignty of God. We are not to be foolhardy but neither are we to give them the respect of fear.
Question 11: False. No, the devil, demons, hell, witches and the rest are all real and not symbolic. The passages of Holy Scripture which speak of them make this clear. If these entities are symbolic, then God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and Heaven must also be symbolic as they occur also in the immediate context of the discussion of satan, demons and hell. This, of course, is ludicrous. All are revealed as real in Scripture.
Question 12: False. The devil is a fallen angel as are demons. They are not the equal and opposite of God. They are not omnipresent. They experience the limitations of time, space and movement. It is clear from the holy Scriptures that satan must move about. He is not at all places at once. Thus, satan can only be attacking one person at a time. Unlike God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit who can be 100% present and conscious and attentive and at work in an infinite amount of locations in the exact same point of time, satan is limited by time and space. God can be ministering to and protecting all Christians at once; satan can only attack one person at a time.
Question 13: False. All numerology is superstitious and apocryphal in nature. The holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word of God gives no credence nor sanction to numerology. There is no teaching in Scripture concerning lucky and unlucky numbers nor concerning symbolic numbers. Not only does the Bible not say that 13 is an unlucky number, it does not say that 7 is a perfect number, nor that 3 is the number for God, nor does it teach on the meaning of the number 12, nor any other number. Even the number 666 has no evil spiritual power in and of itself but is rather an identifying number of historical prominence in prophecy. If your phone prefix is 666, you are not under a curse. At one point in my ministry, I served in a church where the prefix for all phone numbers in that particular geographic area was 666. It was a regular question at church business meetings on whether we could petition the city to have the prefix changed as it was viewed as unlucky or unspiritual or somehow giving satan a spiritual opportunity to have to dial 666 in order to reach someone at the church office. Similarly, hotels never have a 13th floor. All numbering jumps from 12 to 14. It is to their shame that many Christians would hesitate to stay on the 13th floor or sit in the 13th row or submit to any other fear based on numerology. These fears simply reveal the superstitious nature of all numerology. There are not unlucky or cursed numbers. If your phone number is 666 or if you stay on the 13th floor of a hotel, you are no worse off than if any other number was associated with your phone or room number. If your phone prefix is 7, 3 or 12, you are not under the blessing of God. The Word of God does not teach numerology and as such we reject all forms.
Question 14: False. There is not a single reference to cats in the entire holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word of God. Thus, this is simply a superstition unworthy of the children of God.
Question 15: False. Absolutely untrue (see question 2). Cemeteries are the creation of man, and there is no mention of cemeteries in the Word of God nor of church-sanctioned cemeteries in the Book of Acts or writings of the Apostles. The belief that cemeteries are the dwelling place of dead spirits and somehow cursed or to be feared or that the property around churches is holy ground and the dead there are more blessed are equally superstitious. The desire to be buried with family in a church plot so that you might be close to them and the desire to not be buried next to people you do not like or next to pagans or religions you do not like are equally superstitious, dating back to the Roman Empire and are unworthy of the children of God.
Question 16: False. Nowhere in the holy Scriptures is satan depicted as afraid of the Bible - neither its physical appearance, nor its written Word, nor the chanting or incantations of its spoken word. From the very first encounters with man, satan has both known, spoken and distorted the Word of God. During the church age, he raises up false teachers and prophets who will use the Bible to their ends. The Word of God knows of no mystical or magical power of the Bible as a physical object, nor of any Christian symbols including the bread and wine used in the Lord’s Supper. There is no indwelling of the Holy Spirit in inanimate objects nor in animals. There is no indwelling of inanimate objects, animals or people by angels. The use of “holy water,” the elements of the Lord’s Supper, so-called "blessed" objects such as icons or religious medals, items taken from Israel or other physical locations associated with the historical work of God throughout the world, Bibles, pages of the Bible, etc. are completely worthless in terms of combating satan, warding off evil or acquiring the blessing of God. God, angels or blessings do not associate, indwell or impute power to inanimate physical objects. This, however, is not true of satan and his demons. Demons associate themselves with and indwell animate and inanimate objects (Leviticus 17:7; Revelation 13:14). Demons can indwell animals (Matthew 8:32), and demons do indwell people (Luke 8:27). This practice of spiritualizing physical objects plays right into the hands of satan and his demons.
Question 17: The teacher at this point has three goals in concluding the study. First, to help the students see the importance of basing their beliefs on the holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word of God and not on experiences, the media, superstitions or fables (as passed around by word of mouth in their extended family, in the Christian and in the non-Christian community). Second, to give the students confidence in their position in Christ and the spiritual power and authority that comes with this position. With this confidence comes a freedom from fear. The Christian life should be one of confidence and joy and not overshadowed by superstitions, especially those associated with pagan rites or the calendar year. Third, this should be a time of reflection as the students take stock of their relationship with God. It is here that the teacher gives a clear presentation of the gospel with the exhortation that only those who know Christ as Savior can face the spiritual world in a fearless and confident manner.
By His mercy, II Corinthians 4:1 Rev. John S. Mahon – in the last stages of departure for Nigeria
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