IS CREMATION AND AQUAMATION BIBLICAL?

IS CREMATION AND AQUAMATION BIBLICAL?

The modern society of the 21st century has witnessed unprecedented corruption. The Bible warns that the sign of the last days will be wide spread corruption. “THIS know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come” 2 Timothy 3:1.

The Greek word for “perilous” is chalepos, which means hard to bear, trouble, or dangerous. This adjective is used only twice in the New Testament, in  Matthew 8:28; and 2 Timothy 3:1. 

In Matthew 8:28, chalepos is used to describe two men who were possessed with demons: “And when he [Christ] was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes [Gadarenes], there met him two possessed with devils (daimonidzomai), which means to be possessed by a demon or evil spirit], coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce [chalepoi lian], so that no man might pass by that way.” 

Hence, the two demon-possessed men who came out of the cemetery to meet the Lord Jesus were so vicious that no one but Christ could travel that road in safety. Christ had previously encountered demon-possessed men in Matthew 8:16, but He had not met any that were as crazy, vicious, and strong as the ones who came out of the cemetery. 

The heresy exposed in the Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy in Chapter 2 and therefore the corruption in society of chapter 3 have a profound connection. Corruption spreads faster when either heathenism or only “a form godliness” exists according to 2 Timothy 3:5. 

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Paul named unnatural affection among the signs of the last days. “Without natural affec- tion” of verse 3 is among the characteristics of a corrupt society. The Greek word translated “Without natural affection” in the Greek is the plural of astorgos. Which  means destitute of natural instinctive affection or without affection to mankind, and one finds that it is used only twice within the entire New Testament in Romans 1:31; and 2 Timothy 3:3. A number of the unnatural things in our corrupt society are abortion, insemination, surrogate mothers, choosing mother- hood without fatherhood or fatherhood without motherhood, homosexuality as an accepted lifestyle, choosing the required sex of a baby, euthanasia, and cremation, to mention but a few.

My attention in today’s blog is to examine within scriptural context the subject of cremation and the new so-called environment friendly aquamation. In reality the both are the same. There is no difference between cremation and aquamation, the only difference is in the process. In one fire is the application straight to the body of the deceased while in the other water and chemicals begins the process before fire is finally applied. 

Wikipedia says the following about aquamation. “The process is based on alkaline hydrolysis: the body is placed in a pressure vessel that is then filled with a mixture of water and potassium hydroxide, and heated to a temperature around 160 °C (320 °F), but at an elevated pressure, which prevents boiling. Instead, the body is effectively broken down into its chemical components, which takes approximately four to six hours. A lower temperature and pressure may be used, but at a longer duration (98 °C (208 °F), 14 to 16 hours). At the beginning of the process, the mixture is strongly basic, with a pH level of approximately 14; pH drops to 11 by the end, but the final pH level depends on the total operation time and the amount of fat in the body.”

In an article by Washington Post on the subject of aquamation, the article said, “In aquamation, a machine uses “a heated (sometimes pressurized) solution of water and strong alkali to dissolve tissues, yielding an effluent that can be disposed through municipal sewer systems, and brittle bone matter that can be dried, crushed, and returned to the decedent’s family,” Philip Olson, a technology ethicist at Virginia Tech, wrote in a 2014 paper.The process takes three to four hours at a temperature of around 300 degrees Fahrenheit, though it can be longer if lower temperatures are used, according to Olson. By comparison, fire-based cremation takes around two hours at a temperature of 1,400 to 1,800 degrees.”

Now that we have a perfect picture of both cremation and aquamation let us proceed to Biblically tackle the subject. 

Cremation is another unnatural practice in an amoral society. That which is of heathen origin must not be practiced in what is regarded to be a civilized society.

“Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.”

                                                                                                           Deuteronomy 12:31

“Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.”

                                                                                                               2 Chronicles 28:3 

However, what as Christians we must know that what the ungodly considers wisdom and what God calls wisdom are two different things:

“For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” 

                                                                                                      1 Corinthians 1:19-21

Nobody can deny that the wisdom of this world has made things worse instead of better. The inhabitants of this world has information concerning God but apart from regeneration, they will and can never know God. God can be known essentially by means of general revelation according to Romans 1:19-20, but He is known representatively in Christ by means of special revelation according to Romans 1:16-17. 

“Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”

                                                                                                                Romans 1:19-20

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. “

                                                                                                               Romans 1:16-17 

Therefore, a real knowledge of God is reached only through our Lord Jesus Christ who is Wisdom Incarnate according to Proverbs 8. Plato lamented in his day that he was unable to find the Father of the universe. Socrates deemed such knowledge the best happiness, but he confessed he failed to know the way to get it. Hence, man’s highest wisdom is simply folly.

The Moabites were so perverse that they added crime to crime, proving they were wholly inhuman and barbarous: “THUS saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime: But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet: And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD” (Amos 2:1-3).

God punished the Moabites because they burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime. The one thing which will be said about people who practice cremation is that they who live like pagans may equally have their bodies disposed of like them. They need no criterion by which to evaluate what God approves or disapproves. Their depraved subjective opinions have blinded them to the objective truth of God. Consider the pagan religions today that practice cremation. In God’s sight, cremation was the foremost dishonorable way of deposing human bodies.

God commanded cremation to be the most severe punishment in Israel. The purity of Israel was so important that the strongest punishment was administered upon the sin of Achan according to Joshua 7. Had God allowed Israel to triumph at Ai, He would have manifested indifference to the sin of the people and revealed that He could sanction “the accursed thing” according to verse 11. Achan was unable to hide his sin from God. Therefore, God was among  Israel to bring Jericho to ruins not only due to Achan’s sin but because his sin had leavened the entire nation.

“And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. “

                                                                                                                   Joshua 7:10-12

“A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. “

                                                                                                                      Galatians 5:9

The whole nation was involved in Achan’s sin because the covenant relationship imparted a unity to any or all the people. The country was bound together in such a way as to incorporate all in the sin of one. Israel was one nation; therefore, it was impossible for anyone to posit an independent stand. This same principle applies to every local church. Realizing that the entire congregation of either Israel or the local church is held accountable for sin in her midst is peculiarly solemn to a Christian. When sin is not tackled by God’s people, they stripped of spiritual discernment. Joshua failed to understand that the glory of God’s great name necessitated the defeat at Ai, the same way it had achieved the victory at Jericho.

The appointed leader of Israel should have concluded that something was wrong concerning the condition of the people. He should have known that the failure was with Israel and not with God. Having seen what God’s presence secured, Joshua should have known that God demanded holiness of life. How fearful to think that an individual, for the sake of self gain, could plunge the entire nation of Israel into trouble and defeat.

Defeat will never become victory until sin is judged. Therefore, Joshua must lead the people to destroy the accursed thing and sanctify themselves against tomorrow according to Joshua 7:10-21. There must be no delay no matter the painfulness of the task. Some are more concerned for the sentiments of relatives and friends than the presence and honor of the Lord.

Although Achan’s sin was revealed, he remained impenitent and had to be punished in the most severe manner. Achan’s confession can easily be compared to that of Judas in  Matthew 27:4

“Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.” Real confession of sin is impossible until one first gets a glimpse of divine perfection and human imperfection. The Israelites were responsible to lay hold on Achan, his family, and his possessions and exercise God’s most severe punishment upon them: 

“And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day” 

                                                                                                                  Joshua 7:24-26

The burning of Achan’s children does not contradict Deuteronomy 24:16 because his sentence was based on the instruction of dealing with accursed things in Deuteronomy 13:16-17. 

“The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”

                                                                                                           Deuteronomy 24:16

“And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again. And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;”

                                                                                                      Deuteronomy 13:16-17

Achan’s family became participants with him in his crime; therefore, they fell under identical judgment with him.

God commanded cremation as punishment not just for certain individuals but also for idols: 

“The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God”

                                                                                                          Deuteronomy 7:25 

“And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel” 

                                                                                                                  Joshua 7:15

“And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them” 

                                                                                                                 2 Kings 10:26

Cremation was Tamar’s punishment for being a harlot:

“And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.”

                                                                                                                  Genesis 38:24

Hazor, head of the kingdoms against Israel, was burned:

“And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire.” 

                                                                                                                      Joshua 11:11

God’s method of dealing with the deceased human body is given after man fell: 

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” 

                                                                                                                      Genesis 3:19

As wonderful as the Psalmist described the human body in Psalm 139:14-16, God formed it from the dust of the earth and not from the celestial (heavenly) bodies which were formed in Genesis 2:7. 

“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”

                                                                                                               Psalms 139:14-16

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

                                                                                                                        Genesis 2:7

The conclusion of “...dust thou art...”  is a humbling thought to man. This points to the transitoriness of the fabric from which the flesh was made; “...unto dust shalt thou return” points to the corruption to which the body is destined in time according to Genesis 3:19. Job attested this truth: 

“And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God”                

                                                                                                                        Job 19:26

The deceased bodies of saints should not be be treated as being divinely cursed but as belonging to God.

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”

                                                                                                     1 Corinthians 6:19-20

These bodies which have served as temples of the Holy Spirit while alive should never be treated as being under God’s curse in death. Therefore, Abraham purchased land which served as Sarah’s burial ground in  Genesis 23. Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah were all buried within the same place according to Genesis 49:30-31;  50:13. 

Joseph died and was laid in a coffin in Egypt; but some 300 years later, Moses moved his bones to Shechem for burial.

“And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.”

                                                                                                                     Exodus 13:19

“And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.”

                                                                                                                     Joshua 24:32

Our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus was buried in Joseph’s borrowed tomb.

“And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.” 

                                                                                                               Mark 15:42- 47 

Both John the Baptist and also the first Christian martyr were buried.

“And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.”

                                                                                                            Matthew 14:10-12

“And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.”

                                                                                                                           Acts 8:2

Although many are recommending cremation today because it is said to be sanitary and economic, the bodies of saints in no way should be treated like those of pagans. To treat the body which belongs to God as if it were the body of a pagan is a blatant sin. Nobody will deny that cremation is cheaper, but economics must not take precedence over that which honors God. Furthermore, nobody will deny that cremation is sanitary, but so is burning garbage in a dumpsite.

Apostle Raymond Tamakloe

Lovesprings International Church