Majority of Christians are in satan’s captivity today, simply because they have no knowledge of what grace and truth is all about. Grace that came by Jesus Christ did not come alone but came with the truth as written in John1:17. Grace therefore came to teach all Christians to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world, as written in Titus 1:11-12. Grace is therefore not a licence to live a worldly life. But unfortunately most so-called Christian ceremonies, especially during burials, are characterized by all ungodliness and worldly lusts, with pomp and with all kinds of musical instruments during these ceremonies. As a result of this, Christians have become spiritually famished and spiritually dried up with thirst. In Isaiah 5:14, it is written and I quote “Therefore hell hath enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory and their multitude and their pomp and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.”
In Luke 16: 22-31, Jesus talked about the rich man in hell, who had not the Spirit of Christ but had in him the spirit of the world. This brought upon him the judgment of God, unto eternal condemnation. While the rich man’s soul and spirit, that is, the inner man, was under torture and torment in hell, the other five brethren, who like him, had not the Spirit of Christ but had the spirit of the world indwelling in them, were busy on earth giving the corpse, that is the dust of their late brother, a “befitting” and a very worldly burial which must have attracted the “elites” in the society because this rich man was a friend of the world, therefore an enemy of God. For as the scripture says in James 4:4, whosoever is a friend of the world is an enemy of God, as quoted thus “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship with of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
The rich man who was very conscious in hell, knew that his five brethren would also come into the place of torment if they did not repent of their worldly life-style. He had to plead with Abraham to send Lazarus from Paradise to his brethren to give them warning, if peradventure they might repent of their worldly lifestyle, as written in Luke 16:27-28 and I quote “Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house. For I have five brethren; that he may testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” Inverse 29,Abraham said unto him that they have Moses and the prophets and that they should hear them. This publication, therefore, is a summons to all Christians to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches, about the danger of worldly ceremonies to the souls of Christians, especially in burials and the consequent judgment of God upon these worldly Christians, who are the enemies of God.
Joseph of Arimathea, a very rich man and a disciple of Jesus, learned of the meekness, the lowliness and soberness in the lifestyle of Jesus, who commanded in Matthew 11:29-30, that all His disciples should learn of His meekness and lowliness of heart, and I quote “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Even though Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man, yet he buried his Master, Jesus, in a very simple, sober and lowly manner, as we can read in Matthew 27:57-60. This simplicity in burial is the yoke and burden of Jesus Christ, which is easy and light, as written in Matthew 11:30. Any burial that is ungodly and that is bedeviled with worldly ceremony is satan’s yoke; any load given to anyone by satan is always rigorous, troublesome and burdensome. It brings that person into satan’s bondage.
God Himself had to bury Moses in a valley in the land of Moab, to deliver the people of Israel, from committing a terrible sin before God, known as necrolatry, which is the subject matter of this publication. Necrolatry is highly esteemed among men butit is an abomination in the sight of God. It is a branch of idolatry, the worship of another god. The sure judgment of God is that all idolaters and necrolaters shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, if there is no repentance before they die, as written in Revelation 21:8“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now what is this necrolatry? It is the worship of, or sentimental reverence for the dead or dead bodies. Unfortunately, today, necrolatry has become the vulture in our culture and a terrible cancer in our Christian faith. In this part of the world, “dead” bodies have become the object of worship and of reverence, more than the living, so much so that there are always threats to lives over the dead bodies of loved ones, arising from the controversy about where to bury and how to bury. Existing sweet relationships that had been in a family, turn out into sour relationships among members of the same family because of dead bodies! Behind it all, is the devil. The pain in the heart of Jesus, is that so-called Christians, get themselves entangled in this physical warfare over burials of dead bodies, whereas Jesus specifically gave a command to all His true followers in Luke 9:60 and I quote, “Let the dead bury their dead, but go thou and preach the gospel of the kingdom of God.” The most guilty are the so-called ministers of God who compromise the truth about burials, and would not teach their congregations about the simplicity in burial, as exemplified by the burial of Jesus and of Moses.