One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was the Temple of Artemis, located in the city of Ephesus. In that great temple, 6,000 priests and priestesses served, and people came from all over the world to worship this idolatrous deity. Artemis — also known as Diana, the Latin name for Artemis — was worshipped throughout the Roman and Greek-speaking worlds. 

When the Church was established in Ephesus and people began surrendering their lives to the lordship of Christ, many were delivered from demonic influences, including the pagan worship of Artemis. The Early Christians knew that the devil and his demons were a serious force to be reckoned with. In the same way, we need to take the devil seriously, which includes disconnecting from the evil practices of this world that expose us to dangerous demonic activity. 

Before surrendering their lives to Christ, many of those believers in Ephesus participated in the pagan practices that took place in the Temple of Artemis. Once they became saved, they shunned places like these because they were filled with demonic activity. They knew the devil and his demons were real, and they wanted nothing to do with them. 

As believers, we are called to follow this example and flee from all forms of idolatry and pagan festivities, including participating in Halloween. The reality is that Halloween is no laughing matter — it is a celebration that glorifies death and invites demonic activity. When the rest of the world is trick-or-treating and being scared out of their wits, Christians should refrain from engaging in such pagan practices. 

Toward the end of the First Century, the apostle John was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos for his faith in Christ. It was in a cave on this island that Jesus appeared to John and spoke to him about the seven major churches on the continent of Asia. He depressed great concern because many believers in these churches were flirting with the world and compromising their convictions by taking part in pagan practices and idolatry. 

For example, Christ rebuked the churches in Ephesus and Pergamum for their tolerance of the Nicolatians — a group who advocated worldly compromise in order to avoid being persecuted by pagans. Likewise, Christ also rebuked the congregation at Thyatira for a flirtatious attitude with idolatry. They were allowing a woman named Jezebel to teach believers to mix and mingle with the unsaved people in this community and pagan practices in hopes of being accepted. 

Jesus was against any willingness to compromise and assimilate with pagan culture. The situation had progressed to such a degree that believers were even willing to embrace idolatry alongside their worship of Christ. When John was released from Patmos, he returned to the city of Ephesus and wrote the gospel of John as well as First, Second, and Third John. Clearly, the words of Jesus had penetrated deeply into John’s heart, which promoted him to write the powerful charge recorded in First John 5:21:

Little children, keep yourself from idols. Amen.

There is much we can gain from understanding the original Greek used in First John 5:21. The word “keep” is the Greek word phulasso, which means to save, protect, preserve, or guard oneself from something. It depicts a military guard who exercised unbroken vigilance. Moreover, it pictures the uninterrupted vigilance shepherds showed in keeping their flocks. It also means to guard, protect, secure, shield, or watch over in order to protect one from some outside foul force. 

The word phulasso occurs at least 400 times in the Old Testament Septuagint and 31 times in the New Testament. Because of its frequent use, there is no doubt about its meaning. It describes the guarding and protection of a thing, such as the guarding of a house, property, possession, or grave, and it denotes the alertness and sleeplessness of the person who is on guard. 

When John commanded his readers to “…keep yourself from idols,” he was urging them to stay on alert regarding the dangers of idolatry. The word “from” here is the Greek word apo, meaning from or away from, and it implies intentional distance. So “…keep yourself from idols” could be translated, as “Be very intentional about putting space between yourself and idols.” The word “idols” in the Greek language is the word eidolon, which is plural and refers to idols of false gods. 

Clearly, idolatry and its insidious effects were so detrimental that believers needed to stay continuously alert in order to remain free from its contaminating influences. It was absolutely essential that they stood firm and refused to compromise. The same holds true for believers today. It is impossible to exaggerate the role that pagan temples and idols played in the ancient world. Most cities were built around temples and embraced the multitudes of pagan cults. Magic, incantations, amulets, charms, sacrifices, rituals, pagan festivals — all of these practices played a part in the life of all pagans. So for believers, living in close quarters with the demonic realm was a daily reality in the First Century. 

With this in mind, there is no record in the book of Acts that tells of preachers, apostles, or believers attending pagan temples and activities to meet people, advertise their messages, help them identify with local populations, or become more “seeker-friendly” to the unchurched. First Peter 2:9 says that God called people out of those dark environments and into His marvelous light. 

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

There was never an option to remain in both worlds. God knew that skirting around the edges of darkness was not the way for His children to truly flourish in His light. The very same is true for us today. Christ demands complete separation. 

During the month of October, people all over the world celebrate Halloween — including Christians. Many will say, “There’s no harm in participating in Halloween! Trick-or-treating is really no big deal.” But that’s not true. The fact is that their involvement in the holiday is placing them in close proximity to demonic forces — just as First Century believers were exposed to demonic activity by entering pagan temples and engaging in pagan practices. 

Friend, there is nothing beneficial about celebrating a day dedicated to death, the devil, and demonic spirits. We need to stay away from evil influences, and the spirits associated with Halloween are one of them.