Page 86 - Prophetic Word Newsletter Archive 2011

“WE KNOW THAT WE ARE OF GOD,
AND THE WHOLE WORLD LIES UNDER THE SWAY OF THE WICKED ONE.”

1 Jn. 5:19

“Cremation is a practice of ancient pagan origin. It was one of the ceremonies involved in ancient fire
worship. In an article entitled, “Cremation,” the Encyclopedia Americana states:
“In primitive cultures [that] have survived into modern times cremation is widely practiced. Burning
is not only supposed to destroy the dead body most effectively and thus prevent the possible return
of the ghost, but since fire serves also as a purifying [agent], it is often considered a good means of
warding off evil spirits… Besides discouraging the ghost from haunting the corpse and its former
abode, and serving as a means of purification from evil spirits and the contamination associated with
the dead body, cremation has also, in some instances…been associated with a belief in a heavenly
abode for the spirit of the deceased. The flames of the funeral pyre, leaping upward, are thought to
facilitate the ascent of the soul.”
http://www.thercg.org/questions/p035.a.html

I can hear the cry of opposition saying, “But I don’t believe such mystical nonsense today! That is not
why I choose to be cremated!” The absence of faith in the beliefs of such ancient mysticism behind
cremation is not the point! I am merely stating what was the motivation behind the practice of burning
the body at death. It is the ORIGIN of cremation we are establishing. The question for every Christian to
consider is this: Why does a believer in Jesus Christ reject the clear-cut biblical practice of burial of the
body in favor of an ancient custom and tradition invented by idolatrous pagan worshippers of the “Fire
Gods”? Why choose a method of disposing of the body that is steeped in idolatrous pagan beliefs
rather than obey the biblical pattern of Scripture for burial at death? If a Christian is rejecting God’s
specified plan for the body at death and replacing it with one of pagan origin, then the reason may not
be spiritually-based at all. Why the increase in cremation vs. burial?This is but one of many surveys
posted on the internet that have been taken in an attempt to answer that question. The initial statement
recorded in this survey as the primary reason given for preferring cremation over burial, is “it saves
money.”

Cremation is all
about money.
As followers of Jesus
Christ, as those who
profess to believe
the Word of God to
be infallible truth that
is applicable for
directing the
decisions of today’s
believers, we must
be able to list a
completely different
set of reasons for
rejecting cremation
and accepting what
has been recorded
about burial! This
survey proves the
unregenerate world
does not have a clue
about the importance
of the body in the
eyes of God.