Is Friday the 13th unlucky?

Like every other superstition, Friday the 13th holds zero real power. One to three times a year, the 13th day of the month falls on a Friday. For centuries, this arbitrary date has had a superstitious connotation. Many attribute power to Friday the 13th and live in dread of the date, believing that, despite any other life circumstances, a date on the calendar could somehow bring them terrible misfortune or even death.

An Unnecessary Fear

"Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases." —Psalm 115:3

Officially, the fear of Friday the 13th is called "paraskevidekatriaphobia," which comes from three Greek words meaning "Friday" (Paraskeví), "thirteen" (dekatreís), and "fear" (phobia). Sufferers of this phobia are sometimes so afraid of Friday the 13th that they can't even leave their houses or do their normal routines.

As believers in a sovereign God, we can be certain that calendar dates have absolutely nothing to do with predicting what will happen. God is in control at all times—whether it's the first day of school, your birthday, Friday the 13th, or the last day of all time.

Even Job, a man who could be considered seriously "unlucky" said to God, "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted" (Job 42:2).

The Origins of Unlucky Thirteen

Fear of Friday the 13th is a superstition that has many different origin stories, none of which anyone can really settle on. Believe it or not, there are even some ways that Friday the 13th has been (mistakenly) connected to Christian beliefs and events!

There are a couple old superstitions about thirteen being an unlucky number and Friday being an unlucky day. Put them together, and you've got a really unlucky 24 hours. The idea of thirteen being unlucky comes from the theories of numerology that suggest certain numbers have certain meanings. (Numerology is as unbiblical as divination btw.)

According to numerology, twelve is a "perfect" number, based on the facts there are twelve months in a year, twelve signs in the zodiac, twelve hours of the clock, and the twelve gods of Olympus. Thirteen is then looked upon as irregular, or somehow messing up the perfection of twelve, thus making it unlucky.

Trying to Make Biblical Connections

Those trying to find connections between the Bible and "lucky" twelve will refer to the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles of Jesus.

Connections to thirteen refer to the Last Supper (Matthew 26-27), where there were thirteen people sitting at the table and one of them (Jesus) was arrested and crucified. This feeds the belief that having thirteen people around a table will make one of those people experience misfortune or even die within a year.

Those trying to find biblical connections to Friday being "bad" will refer to the fact that Jesus died on a Friday. These two combined, then makes for a bad thirteen-Friday combination.

Commercializing Friday the 13th

The significance of Friday the 13th has not been lost on those in media marketing. Many have taken advantage of the fact that people have very strong feelings about Friday the 13th and have capitalized on those fears and superstitions.

For example, the classic heavy metal group called Black Sabbath released their debut album on Friday, October 13, 1970. The 13th book in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) was released on Friday, October 13, 2006.

The novel The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (2003) revealed an ancient theory about the legendary Knights Templar, a secret order founded in Jerusalem in A.D. 1119. When they began to get rich and powerful, the French King Philip IV ordered the arrest of all the Knights in France—on Friday, October 13, 1307. *cue dramatic music*

Then we've got the horror movie franchise Friday the 13th, four of which hit theaters on Friday the 13th dates. Another Friday the 13th movie release was the film 2012 (2009), based on an interpretation of the Mayan calendar and purported that the end of the world would happen on December 21, 2012. (Oopsies)

Superstitions vs. God's Sovereignty

"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." —1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)

Superstitions of any kind should have no place in the mind or heart or life of a follower of Christ. Our God is in total control and nothing happens without His go-ahead (Isaiah 46:8-11). Nothing anyone says or believes will change what He has planned and willed for humanity (Proverbs 19:21).

Believing in luck (good or bad), changing our lives to get around superstitions, or relying on the "power" of supernatural forces other than God, opens our mind's door to the enemy, Satan. But it doesn't have to be that way (James 4:7). God's power is true and trustworthy—and always reliable.

"Humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." —James 4:7 (NLT)

For Bible references in this video, check the description on YouTube.

ALSO SEE: