Anyone can research this subject, but those who refuse to honor and respect the choice of God in the care of the body at death and in burial will accept paganism and cremation.
In pagan religious cremations it is an act of friends and relatives purifying the soul of the dead. The dead cannot do this salvation act for themselves. So their salvation or their future in the karma/reincarnation cycles will depend on friends and relatives to purify them by the fires of cremation. Family and friends can purify the dead of their sins and evils by the fires of cremation. Cremation is said by the religions that practice this fire-purifying, to release the soul and spirit of the dead to go to heaven for a short stop-over, allowing a space of time for them to come back to earth in a reincarnation. Or, as some believe, the fire/purifying allows them to ascend up to the next higher level of consciousness in another spiritual realm.
In Hinduism, children under two are not burned up. Because their soul is considered pure until they reach their third birthday. Children three and up are cremated so they can be purified. They make their dead children pass through the fire of cremation exactly like the ancient pagans in the land of Canaan. Something God forbid the Israelites to do. God called this cremation ritual an abomination. If it was an abomination for children, we see no reason God would change his mind about this heathenism if adults were burned up.
Within these religions, cremation is the time the soul is redeemed. A person will pass through the fire to be redeemed. Passing through the fire in cremation was practiced by Gentile heathens before the time Israel came out of Egypt. God hated this pagan invention of salvation. Man created this alternative religious ritual. God is not needed to purify, man will do it on his own by fire.
According to Leviticus 18:21, God said to Israel: "And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech."
Molech was a god of the children of Ammon (Ammonites). The Ammonites descended from Lot and his youngest daughter. This god was a god of those enemies of Israel. The Ammonites were a profane and ungodly people. Their god was the example of their immoral and ungodly practices and rituals. Their god Molech demanded the worshippers of the Ammonites to burn up their dead, to cremate them. And by this act of fire, the souls of these dead were believed to pass "to" the presence of the god Molech. So far as I am concerned, every idol god was nothing but a facade of the devil himself. It was satan who was behind all idol gods and they in some manner represented something about him. In the god Molech, and in the cremations involved, the dead would pass through the fire to satan himself. Cremations are not a funny matter. This is not a subject to be treated with stupidity.
According to my research, prior to the cremation ritual, there was a final purification of the body of the dead with special "holy water." Something similar to the last rights observed by Catholics where the body must have its last sprinkle of holy water before going to be purified by the fires of purgatory so they can go to heaven. This "holy water" was sprinkled upon the dead and prepared the body for the final purification of the soul by the fire of cremation. The special holy water is said to come from a worship ritual by the friends and relatives of the dead. Once the special ritual has been completed, the flowers and water used in the ritual are now considered to possess special purifying powers. The ritual is called Puja. And the flowers and water are Puja. At lease one source said Puja is Pu=meaning continuous repetitious praise; Ja is the same as Ya and refers to some god. So the special holy water comes from a ritual were the worshippers have been chanting the name Ja or Ya. And by the chanting of this name over the flowers and the water, they are transformed into having a purifying power for the dead.
It is interesting that Baal and the worship of this god also included cremation rituals together with dancing, shouting, and joy as the dead children and adults were consumed.
This special holy water is now acceptable to sprinkle on the body of the dead. With this application of water upon the dead, the body is now purified, all sins have been removed, and the cremation by fire can now commence and release the soul.
It is believed by those who follow this religious belief, that the soul of the dead cannot be saved if they are not burned up. The soul must be released from the body by the fires of cremation. As the flames of fire from the body jump and leap upward toward heaven, the celebrants of the cremation will rejoice and dance that the soul has been released. There is happiness, joy, dancing, and shouting as the fires get higher and higher. This is said to signify there was a great and good release from the body. According to one source of my research, the pagans believed that by burning up the body of the dead, it prevented the deceased from being a vagabond ghost. By burning up the body the soul would not be cursed to be a homeless spirit trapped in this condition. It was believed that by burning up the dead, evil spirits are prevented from taking possession of the dead body. The Romans and Greeks held to some form of this belief.
I am sure those of you who are honest Christians can see that all of this cremation ritual totally rejects the Lord Jesus Christ and the finished work of Calvary. We also can see that salvation depends upon each individual's acceptance of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. This great salvation of being born again is something we must do while we are alive and have our appointed day. There is nothing in the Christian faith were someone can purify us by their works after we are dead. And there is nothing in the Christian faith of the dead being released from their sins and evils by the fire of cremation. Cremation is an act of saving the dead. In the Christian faith, no one can do anything for the dead. There is nothing anyone can do for the dead once they are dead. All these rituals of Catholicism and Protestantism for the dead are all from pagan sources.
Cremation is not and never will be a Christian or a Godly way of disposing of the body of the dead.
God has his way, the devil has his way.
Burial is God's way and cremation is the devil's way.
If someone ask you to participate in their cremation after they are dead, I advise do not do it.
In fact, I will not conduct a funeral for anyone who will be cremated. I will not even attend their funeral. I refuse to participate in a funeral where the body of the dead will pass through the fire to satan by means of cremation.
No Jew or Christian can find cremation and burning up the dead in the Bible among the true followers of God.
It is my belief that anyone who wants to be cremated is turning from Christ to paganism in their death. Jesus was buried. Our water baptism is by faith in this burial. And so at our death we expect our family who remains to give us a proper Biblical burial.
I heard recently that many backsliders from the Apostolic faith are now saying they want to be cremated. I can understand this choice. I mean if they are going to reject salvation in Christ to die a sinner, why not go ahead and start the fire early. Sure, some of them are so silly to think if they are already burned up God will not restore them to a body he will then make suffer the eternal flames of hell. So they psych themselves out believing as they will not know about the fire of the crematory furnace, they will not know of the fires of hell.
I want to be perfectly straight-forward here, if you choose a pagan and heathen way of disposing of the body, you are not showing faith in the Biblical manner God has accepted.
God will never accept cremation.
All who choose cremation are going against God's will.
And if you do this, cremated or not, you will still burn in the eternal fires of hell.
Bishop Reckart
A Man God Loves
Bishop i thank God you had the boldness to write this.I read an article on this and studied it out over a year ago.And was so surprised that no apostolic ministers were teaching this.and when i would ask and write some they ould scoff at me like i was crazy.Thank you for writng this! Now i do not feel so alone on my stance against cremation.Brother S.Sparks
ReplyDeleteInteresting! Never heard this before but as i read it the prohibition in the old testament not to allow ones children to pass through the fire to Molech makes a lot more sense.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bishop