06/12/12

Unclean by the carcass of man

Isaiah 66:24 - And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.


These few days I was in debate with a few Catholics who were giving honour to the preserved body of their so called saints. The Catholics think since these people truly loved God and pleased Him therefore the Lord preserved their bodies as a sign, as a gift to honour them. One thought this was the eternal life which God spoke of in the Bible.

Dead have been honoured from the start of human history. Especially among the more popular religions the dead have a very special place. Their graves, their bodies, parts of their bodies, their clothing, their earthly possession etc. were and are yet literately worshipped.

Even the Israelites, although were called God's people were far from Him and the Truth. They too like the heathens also worshipped the dead. The bodies / graves of Men of God were like places of pilgrimage. They thought they were pleasing God by honouring the bodies of His loved ones. On the contrary they did not know their actions angered God more than please Him.

Among the greatest men for a Jew was Moses and God knew if they had the body of Moses they would mummify it or his bones they would preserve it or even his empty grave they would build monuments around it, that is why the Lord hid the body of Moses.

The tomb of David is among the pilgrim holy sites for the Jews. In between when they did not have access to the site they would climb roof tops nearest to the site and facing the site they would recite their prayers. David is second for the Jews in the list of people they worship. I know a Jew will deny they worship people but that is what the Bible says they did; like when they attacked Stephen, in their accusation they put Moses before God. The Jews also used the word blasphemy for speaking against Moses, a term used only against God.

Even after the coming of Christianity, Satan did not leave his old tricks, he innovated them into new ways. He tricked the Catholics to worship the dead on various excuses in the name of religion that is why they too like the heathen have tombs, monuments, statutes, rituals for the dead, festive where the dead are honoured, their bodies or objects are taken on procession.

Jesus said 'let the dead bury their dead' but those who are not dead to follow Him, that is to abide with the Word of God. According to the Lord the dead were buried outside the camp because we are not to disturb them nor disrespect them, Abraham puts it as 'out of sight'. We should realize the body is like a clothing and the spirit and soul is the real us. Since none of us is perfect (without sin) our bodies decay, it was only Jesus who was without sin, not only in spirit but also in body therefore the promise of being resurrected in body (the flesh) was given and fulfilled in Him alone.

People do not realize no person actually dies even when they die in the body. Let him be a Believer or a non-Believer. It is only that if they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ they do not go to Hell, while those who do not go to Hell. Those who go to the prison Hell they suffer for the remainder of their spirit life there and perish or die their spiritual death. But those who believe sleep in hope of the return of the Son of Man who would take them to Heaven so as to receive the promise of eternal life.

It is only in Heaven that we can live eternally since we need access to the Tree of Life to live eternally.

Note Adam and later Eve had access to the Tree of Life for a period of time yet they did not eat of it, but after they sinned the Lord took away their access to the Tree because the corrupt man should not have access to eternal life.

Life to live eternally is only in God and this ability is given to the Son since He came from the Father. Spirit man when created has a limited period of life and that has not changed what is changed is the life of the body he or she lives in on earth. It is not by eating once from the Tree of Life we will live eternally for by eating of it we get a renewal of life and thus to live eternally we need eternal access to the Tree of Life which means we need to always dwell in Heaven or have access to Heaven.

The Lord is saying who worship the dead are spiritual dead and He is not a God of them. He is saying they will go to Hell or be punished and the sins in them will be like worms that will eat into them as long as they live and they will be a testimony for all mankind.

Worshipping means offering prays, offering flowers, candles, incense etc... Communicating with the dead or even asking the dead to intercede is forbidden unless we can transfigure like Jesus.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, You are a Living God, God of those who have life and your Word is life. Lord, we pray for those who are deceived to worship or pray for the dead. We ask for deliverance from this darkness. May they see your Light and walk in your Light...


[ Reference Scriptures ]
Matthew 8:22 - But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Acts 6:8-11
8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke.
11 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.

Deuteronomy 34:5-6
5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.
6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knows of his sepulcher to this day.

Genesis 23:3-4
3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,
4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burial plot with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

Acts 13:33-37
33 God has fulfilled the same to us their children, in that he has raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, You are my Son, this day have I begotten you.
34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
35 Why he said also in another psalm, You shall not suffer your Holy One to see corruption.
36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid to his fathers, and saw corruption:
37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

Leviticus 22:4 - What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or has a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoever touches any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goes from him;

Numbers 5:2 - Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that has an issue, and whoever is defiled by the dead:

Numbers 6:2-8
2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves to the LORD:
3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come on his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separates himself to the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
6 All the days that he separates himself to the LORD he shall come at no dead body.
7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is on his head.
8 All the days of his separation he is holy to the LORD.

Numbers 16:47-48
47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the middle of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.

Matthew 22:24-33
24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed to his brother.
25 Now there were with us seven brothers: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife to his brother:
26 Likewise the second also, and the third, to the seventh.
27 And last of all the woman died also.
28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
29 Jesus answered and said to them, You do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying,
32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.

Read 2 Kings 23



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