What is All Saints' Day about? What is a biblical view of All Saints' Day?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

All Saints' Day is a special day celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church (and other Western Churches) on November 1. In Eastern Churches, All Saints' Day is celebrated on the first Sunday following Pentecost. All Saints' Day commemorates the lives of past saints and includes asking for their prayers before God in heaven. All Saints' Day is also known as All Hallows’ Day. From this, the celebration of Halloween has developed, or Hallows’ Eve, the night before All Hallows’ Day. The focus on spirits on this night originates with the superstition that the spirit world is most active on the evening before All Saints' Day. Other names used for All Saints' Day include Solemnity of All Saints, the Feast of All Saints, and Hallowmas.

Biblically, “saints” refers to all believers set apart by faith in Christ, not a special class of people. In many traditions—especially in the Roman Catholic and some Orthodox churches—people pray to saints on All Saints’ Day, asking for their intercession. However, this practice is not supported by the Bible, which teaches praying directly to God through Jesus alone, who is our one mediator and intercessor (Hebrews 4:14-16; John 14:13-14). Today, many Protestants focus All Saints’ Day on remembering and learning from the faith of past believers rather than praying to saints, using their example to inspire faithful living.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Saints in the Old Testament refers to God’s holy people (Psalm 31:23; Daniel 7:18). In Exodus 19:5-6, Israel is called a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” set apart by God.
• The Old Testament also emphasizes remembering and honoring faithful ancestors who trusted God (Deuteronomy 32:7; 2 Chronicles 7:14)
• The Bible cautions us about practices involving the dead. The Bible does not support praying to or through the dead (Deuteronomy 18:10-12; Ecclesiastes 9:5). Instead, the focus is on worshiping God alone (Exodus 20:3-5).

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• The Bible refers to saints as all believers who have been set apart by God and made holy through faith in Jesus Christ. The term does not describe a special or elite group of Christians but includes every person who belongs to Christ. Saints are those who have been sanctified in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2), called out of the world to belong to God (Romans 1:7), and made members of His household (Ephesians 2:19).
• The saints’ holiness is not based on personal achievement but on their identity in Christ and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2).
• Paul regularly addressed ordinary believers in the churches as saints (Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2), affirming their new identity through the gospel.
• Saints are also described as those who walk in the light (Ephesians 5:8–10), persevere in faith (Revelation 14:12), and are part of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–13). In Scripture, every follower of Jesus is considered a saint—redeemed, set apart, and called to live a life that reflects God’s grace and truth (Titus 2:11–14).
• Biblically, the saints who have passed on before us are alive with Christ. As the apostle Paul wrote, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).
• There is no biblical command to pray to saints in heaven or ask them to pray for us. Instead, Christians are commanded to pray to "Our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:9). Believers pray in the name of Jesus (John 14:13-14) by the power of the Holy Spirit.
• Hebrews 4:14-16 teaches Jesus is our intercessor and high priest, not the saints: "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
• We draw near to God in prayer directed to Him, not through the saints in heaven. First Timothy 2:5 adds, "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."
• Hebrews 11 reflects on past saints but does not call us to pray to them.
• Hebrews 12:1-2 reminds us of the many saints who have lived out their faith before us, but again, we are called to remember them not to pray to them: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith."

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

Because of the unbiblical nature of praying to saints on All Saints' Day, many Protestant churches choose not to observe it. Others may still recognize the day but focus it solely on remembering faithful believers who have gone before us. Rather than praying to saints, we can honor their legacy by learning from their faith and perseverance. We can let their stories motivate us to lay aside sin, trust God boldly, and endure hardship with hope. Their lives remind us that ordinary people can be used by God in extraordinary ways when they walk by faith. We can use All Saints’ Day to reflect on the “cloud of witnesses” that surrounds us—not to revere them but to be inspired by how they trusted God in their generation. Then we can ask ourselves: How are we being faithful in ours?

UNDERSTAND

• All Saints’ Day is a church celebration honoring faithful believers who have gone before us, traditionally observed with prayers asking saints for intercession—though this practice is unbiblical
• Biblically, all Christians are saints set apart by faith in Christ.
• All Saints’ Day is best used to remember and be inspired by the faith of past believers.

REFLECT

• How does understanding that all believers are saints affect how you see your identity in Christ?
• How can you be inspired by the faith and endurance of those who have gone before you without praying to them?
• Which examples of faith encourage you in your walk with God?

ENGAGE

• Why is praying to saints a common practice in some traditions, and how does the Bible challenge that practice?
• How can remembering the “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) encourage us to live faithfully today?
• What encouragement does it give us that we can pray directly to God rather than to saints?