The Babylonian Connection to Halloween

...they... believed a lie... (and now) had pleasure
in unrighteousness. (II Thess. 2:11-12)

The Halloween
Connection

We’ve discovered Easter’s pagan origins (in The Easter Connection).
Now, we’ll see that most all of the elements of our Halloween holiday also
could be traced back to ancient pagan superstitions, traditions, as well as
rituals - not anything Christian.

It seems that the ancient pagans celebrated the 1st of November as a day
to remember the dead. And, the night before this day also seemed to be
turned into a day of celebration – the day of Hallowe’en. The word itself is
derived from words all hallow (simply meaning “all holy”) and een (a
contraction of “eve” or “evening”). Put them together, and we have an “all
hallow’s eve” or “all holy evening” of paganism - the night before the feast
of the dead.

Just like Easter, there were also seasonal significances for having the “feast
of the dead” at this time (see The Easter Connection). We’ll soon see
why. But, first, we need to ask ourselves: why would anything of the Bible
point towards us celebrating anything or anyone who was dead? Isn’t God
the giver of life? Wouldn’t God want us to celebrate more positive things?
Because, as most know, death was the punishment He gave Adam and
Eve (for the sin in the Garden). Why would anyone want to eagerly
celebrate anything to do with the opposite of what God might consider
Holy, here? Of course, anything that truly opposes God may want to…

Interestingly enough, beyond this day as being noted the "day of death,"
traditions also sprung up about the time of Halloween being a "new
beginning." A new beginning of what? First, as we already know (from The
Easter Connection), Easter was the major commemoration of “a new
beginning” - in this case: of new life, rebirth, etc. We know how it was to
commemorate how the sun god brought new life back to Semiramis (i.e.
Ishtar/Inanna) and her slain son Nimrod (i.e. Tammuz) from the
underworld.

We also recall more of the supernatural/esoteric story behind all of this: of
which Semiramis claimed our natural world seemed to show people
obvious parallels to Nimrod’s “rebirth” - such as how sunlight begins to be
longer upon the earth, fertility increased in animals, plants would begin to
bloom, etc. If one noticed, this whole time of “renewal” or
“retransformation” – on both natural and supernatural levels – were to be
accredited to the power of the sun (the physical sun, as well as the
supernatural sun-god). These both seemed to be the source of life and heat
in both of our worlds.

Now, at the time of Halloween, there’s a different side to the story - the
"back end" of it, if you will. Now, pagans would celebrate the opposite
conditions of both worlds, here: not the beginning of life, but the beginning
of death. As one might guess, the time period of Halloween was to be set
around the time of year when daylight – or the sun’s contribution to our
natural world - would noticeably become less and less. Plants and animals
would seem to be considered “dying,” in ways - preparing to face the
upcoming cold and darkness of winter.

Now, the concept of death – and all the goes along with it – would be part
of this celebration… now, “front and center.” Remembering our study on
Easter (in The Easter Connection), we notice the period of the time of
Halloween would, in an esoteric sense, be situated at the approximate end
of the time period Nimrod (i.e. Tammuz) was brought back to life! We
recall, the sun-god only granted him stay on earth for a little while, after
being magically “renewed” from the underworld. Now, it was time for him
to go "die," or go back into the underworld, once again… at least for a little
bit. But, not to worry: since Nimrod (i.e. Tammuz) was a god, he wasn't
to be there for long.

To summarize: ancient pagans would, now, look around them, and see - at
the time of Halloween - their natural world preparing to “die,” or getting
ready for some really dark and cold times… symbolizing death, of course.
Obviously, we see how, just like Easter, this story seemed to be
manifested in the changing of the seasons!

In regards to this commemoration of death, there still would be a little
more to it. In true form, pagans knew that these dark, "death-like" times of
winter wouldn’t last forever. Spring was just around the corner - and so
was Easter! What they saw around them continually reminded them of
reincarnation - that, even though Nimrod had to go back to the
underworld for a bit, he would come back again... because the sun-god
made him a god, as well. And, regardless of what physical body he might
incarnate into - regardless of whether he comes back into a physical body
at all - he was still a god... forever.

Many people were, then, convinced, through what they saw around them.

Moving further. Since Halloween was a holiday related to the concept of
death, here, there sprung up a lot more to it. The souls of many who had
died, at this time, were also said to be able to return from beyond the
"veil" of death - if they wanted to! A lot of the concepts revolving around
death seemed to be interrelated, here! This also would have forced the
concept of Halloween as being so much stronger in the minds of individual
pagans, because of these interrelations, as well. Let’s explain…

The World Book Encyclopedia stated that:

  The Celts believed that the dead could walk among the living at this
  time… the living could visit with the dead.
                ("The Origins of Halloween - What Does the Bible Say About
                  Them?", n. d., p. 1)[1]

This ancient belief was even paired with the ability of some people to
communicate with these spirits of the dead! And, at Halloween, even this
was something to be embraced; even celebrated! The living surely could
find some way to capitalize with communicating to these spirits - gathering
occult power, giving them knowledge, etc. A lot of these exchanges
happened, quite often, in ancient times.

Yet, along with these opportunities, there were a great number of spirits
around on this day who weren’t exactly friendly. A number of them were
thought to have come from some dark side of the supernatural, or a dark
place. Good or evil, both were able to come through the “veil” on this day.

  The waning of the sun and the approach of dark winter made the evil
  spirits rejoice and play nasty tricks.
               ("Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?", n. d., p. 1)[2]

So, because of this, something may have needed to occur, in these
particular circumstances: The Encyclopaedia Britannica stated that
Halloween “was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the
processes of nature.”[3] So, as far as the “Trick or Treat” custom we
have, now-a-days, we can now figure that it stems from the idea that
certain spirits or ghosts might have the ability to create mischief on this
night; and needed to be appeased, or “bought off,” to assure their favour!

So, some people thought they could exorcise these spirits from their
presence, or free themselves from any evil sway one might bring them, by
setting out food for these spirits; even providing shelter, of some kind, for
them! If the living didn’t provide enough food (or “treats”) for these
spirits, the spirits could easily reciprocate; or “trick” the living, in ways.
Many feared the terrible things which may happen to them if they didn’t
honour the holiday, and the spiritual manifestations throughout! Hence, we
have the beginning of “Trick or Treat.”

Some of these ancients, in areas now known as Britain or France, even
believed they could escape the wrath of evil spirits by wearing ghostly or
ghoulish costumes themselves. They thought that, by disguising themselves
to look like evil spirits, the wandering spirits of the earth might mistake
them for one of their own, and leave them alone! Hence, this was the
origin of why people dress up in costumes during Halloween.

All of this, however, might sound like harmless fun to many, today. But, to
many back then, Halloween was truly a day of fear.

Beyond the needs to appease spirits for their own protection, some of the
more learned pagans also thought they could be able to capitalize on this
day, as we stated. Some priests and/or seasoned individuals of pagan
religion claimed they could assure themselves power and control over these
spirits, if they handled things properly! By that, they would pray to their
own pagan gods, as well as provide sacrifices to them, to gain themselves
power and control over most any spirit which may be around them. They
were even able to use their power allow them control over other people, as
well.

As one might guess, some people could have become really powerful on
this day, and spread fear throughout the populous. As we already stated, in
order to give the learned power over the spirit world, they needed to find
the best ways to appease their pagan gods - usually through sacrifice. So,
we see now that a lot of these same thoughts and attitudes were present in
minds way back to a very ancient time - in the Old Testament:

  There must never be anyone among you who . . . consults ghosts or
  spirits, or calls up the dead.      - Deut. 18:10-12 (The Jerusalem Bible)

Most probably, these practices went back to Babylon; and even beyond!
To provide some evidence for this: first, we learn that practically every
ancient civilization had some kind of pagan fire-god (or sun-god) in their
pantheon of gods. The Romans, for example, called him Vulcan. The
Greeks named him Kronos. The Phoenicians called him Saturn. But, as we
research, here, one would conclude these names were only variants of this
same old Babylonian story of Semiramis (see The Easter Connection).
These names, although each a little different, were the same titles of the
same “born-dying-reborn” god of old - Nimrod. We recall that it was the
Nimrod of Babylon who was (according to Semiramis) martyred, and then
brought back to life… via the supernatural rays of the sun-god (Baal,
Molech, etc.). Now, we'll see that Halloween represents the "back-end"
piece of this same old Babylonian story!

Let’s go back to this ancient story of Semiramis (the one which fooled the
world). As we recall: Semiramis and her “reborn” son Nimrod (or
Tammuz) was brought back from the underworld around the time of
Easter; and celebrated as such. But, as we know, Nimrod’s revitalized life,
as a baby in our terrestrial world, wouldn't last forever. And, since
Semiramis and this immaculately-conceived son (new-Nimrod, or Nimrod
“reborn”) would both have to physically die, someday, the reincarnated
soul of Nimrod wouldn’t be able to live in his body throughout all eternity!
The "revived," or reincarnated, baby Nimrod did grow into adulthood
(probably gloating on what everyone thought he was); but he still would die
- just like anyone else (and Semiramis understood that). This again would
have posed a problem to Semiramis' story. If she bore a god, then he, in
the baby's body, should be able to live in that body throughout eternity - as
any god should! But, we know her baby was just a normal, baby boy.
So, according to her, she found a way to explain it all: she claimed a true
god or goddess would still live on, beyond the death of any physical,
human body that they might occupy. A god was still a god! What really
mattered was that neo-Nimrod did come back at this time; now able to be
a god forever (as well as save the rest of the populous from the powers of
death in their world). All the populous had to do was believe that they
would be able go through this same cycle of reincarnation, and eventually
become a god or goddess... if they followed the new, pagan "ways" to the
divine she laid out. They bought it; hook, line, and sinker!

And, as a way to continue illustrating her points, the way our earth cycles
its seasons could easily parallel the same “born-dying-reborn” process of
Nimrod. The people had their "hope and change" right in front of them.

We already know the Easter holiday symbolized the time of Nimrod’s way
out of the underworld - his rebirth or reincarnation, if you will. Now, at
the time of Halloween, Nimrod needed to go back into the underworld, at
least for a little while. So, this perception of his temporary death would be
celebrated at this holiday.
Then, six-or-so months later, in true cylindrical fashion, Nimrod would be
celebrated again, as being revitalized - as being a god forever... at the next-
year’s Easter! This same cycle of holidays were supposed to be on ongoing
“proofs” to Semiramis’ story – to be observed by pagans, again, again, and
yet again.

Now, in the true spirit of duality, Nimrod was now considered, not only
the god of life and rebirth, but the god of death and the underworld. So,
he, and the sun-god who revitalized him (i.e. Baal, Molech, etc.), were
now subjects of most every pagan sacrifice that had to be had on this day!
Simple.

Returning to our subject of sacrifice, we now discover that there were a
few ways to maximize the way a learned pagan would provide sacrifice to
these gods - through human sacrifices. Human sacrifice seemed to be the
ultimate, ritual sacrifice, here - allowing the petitioner the maximum
amount of power gained through it! This practice, believe it or not, even
seemed to expand to one taking their own children, and slaughtering them
for the cause!

Yes, as horrible as all of this might sound, it all had a purpose: the
younger, more “innocent” a human sacrifice seemed to look to the gods,
the more it seemed to appease them! This would, on the other end, give
more power to the practitioner doing this horrible thing! Simple; but still
horrifying.

And, not only for the sake of giving one their power and control, many of
the ancients actually believed their human/child sacrifices would “purify”
(spiritually) the individual being sacrificed! Yes, they also thought the
sacrificed dead would be better off, after - at a better state of existence in
their afterlife… so why not? They thought things, such as:

  “…he who approached the fire would receive a light from divinity” and
  “through divine fire all the stains produced by generations could be
  purged away.”         ("The True Origin of Christmas", n. d., p. 6)[4]

This was the major reason why, in Biblical times, vast numbers of
children were made to pass through the fire unto Baal or Molech (i.e. the
sun god).[5]

  And they built the high places of Baal… to cause their sons and their
  daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded
  them not, neither came it into My mind, that they should do this
  abomination…                                           - Jer. 32:35 (KJV)

This, obviously, wasn’t like someone taking their infant to be water-
baptized, today. No - the burnt sacrifice obviously doesn’t come back!
Yet, there must have been a lot of “feel-good” thoughts on the mind of the
individual pagan, back then… for them to continue on. Of course, things
must have been truly twisted, back then; and, to a degree, today, as well.

Interestingly enough, the etymology behind the name of the major pagan
god - Nimrod (or Tammuz) - even seems to help provide proof for this
whole concept! The word Tammuz stands for Tam (i.e. “to make perfect”)
and muz (i.e. “fire”)… to “make perfect by fire.” So, we further discover
how all of these things are interrelated; and how all of it goes back to
Babylon.

The conclusion? The pagan sun-god they sacrificed to (Baal, Molech, etc.)
could easily have been traced back to Babylon. His viceroy, Tammuz,
could also easily have been traced back to Nimrod - another necessary
element of this whole process. Semiramis (of Babylon) also was able to
maintain her power over the ancient, pagan populous by swindling them
into believing her story of reincarnation, and making them observe the
changes of the seasons as evidence - even causing them to celebrate them
as “proof” to it all! So, her son’s death, his burial in the underworld, and
his divine resurrection (at Easter), as well as his return (during Halloween),
were brought to the populous with this phony, "copy-cat" story of
Babylon; and not Christianity. It was an abomination to God:

  …for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done
  unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt
  in the fire to their gods.                                  - Deut. 12:31 (KJV)

These holidays come from something all ancient; and it’s all pagan.

Now, we also can conclude how Halloween probably had the same pagan
roots - just like Easter. But, what more would the Bible have to say about
this all, if anything? Although the Bible does mentions the practices of
Halloween, such as human sacrifice, it doesn’t really mention the name
Halloween directly. As much as Halloween might have elements that
sound innocent enough to us, today, we know, now, that they're not as
“innocent” as they sound. Some people of the past did understand this all,
however; and tried to do something about it:

  In the fourth century, for example, some Christians attempted “to co-opt
  the holiday by celebrating the lives of faithful Christian saints… This
  was a conscious attempt to provide an alternative and re-focus the day
  away from ghouls, goblins, ghosts, witches and other 'haunted' ex-
  periences."   ("Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?", n. d., p. 1-2)[6]

In other words, we see an attempt of some, early on, to have paganism
and Christianity fused again; or having the Christian elements "blanket"
the pagan elements over - just like what was done in Easter: Christian outer
skin... smelly pagan underbelly. Christians would also be able to do,
somewhat, as their pagan counterparts - to celebrate death, as well… just
their Christian dead. Yet, how much of this could be diluted or made to
look “innocent” enough - how many pagan elements do we add on to our
own Christian commemorations - until it begins to head us right back in the
same direction as those who followed (and follow) the pagan religion?
That is the question.

The celebration of Halloween, today, might seem like a bunch of harmless
fun; but it has a much darker past. We’ve also discovered the ancient
pagan elements of this holiday, as well. And, the Bible clearly tells us, as
with Easter, that we should not merge such false religious practices with
the worship of God, in any way.

  Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the
  nations are defiled which I cast out before you… Therefore shall ye
  keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable
  customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not
  yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.
                                                           - Lev. 18:24, 30 (KJV)

  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the
  Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you…
                                                           - II Cor. 6:17 (KJV)

Yes, its everywhere around us. And, yet, its hard to entirely escape from it
all, sometimes. In conclusion, we just need to be careful, overall, to
understand as much as we can about it all - especially when anyone tries to
provide us with Christian claims to these holidays, or when anyone
attempts to co-opt anything of ancient pagan origin with those of
Christianity. We really need to see what we just might be getting ourselves
deeper into, in these cases… the deeper and deeper we get involved in
them.

The Christmas Connection could help us dig, even further, into these
issues; and help us to learn even more.

                                            Footnotes

[1] The Origins of Halloween - What Does the Bible Say About Them?, 1, https://www.jw.
org/en/bible-teachings/questions/origin-of-halloween/ (accessed June 8, 2016).
[2] Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?, 1, http://www1.cbn.com/questions/should-
christians-celebrate-halloween?cbn_next_article_nid=11217&cbn_next_article_title=
The+Pagan+Roots+of+Halloween (accessed June 8, 2016).
[3] The Pagan Roots of Halloween, 1, http://www1.cbn.com/the-pagan-roots-of-halloween
(accessed June 8, 2016).
[4] The True Origin of Christmas, 6, https://rcg.org/books/ttooc.html (accessed June 8, 2016).
[5] The True Origin of Christmas, 5-6, https://rcg.org/books/ttooc.html (accessed June 8,
2016).
[6] Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?, 1-2, http://www1.cbn.com/questions/should-
christians-celebrate-halloween?cbn_next_article_nid=11217&cbn_next_article_title=
The+Pagan+Roots+of+Halloween (accessed June 8, 2016).

Copyright 2016, Brett T., All Rights Reserved