(English)추도장례예배는 우상숭배다!(Memorial and Funeral Service)_김양환목사

영어판 김양환목사 추도장례예배는 우상숭배(번역: 이건무 목사)

Chapter 2 “Memorial and Funeral Service

are Idolatry!”

(Pastor Kim, Yang Whan)

 

Do not worship dead ancestors and do not eat any food that was offered in

idol worship. Demon is never a spirit of a dead person.

Demons are fallen angels cast down from heaven.

They are evil spirits that want to corrupt the whole world under the

devil’s control.

 

Any memorial worship is idolatry. Why?

It is to remember the dead person every year, and worship

before the picture of the dead one. The ONLY ONE we should

worship is JESUS. Why do you violate the first and second

commandments? When you worship idols, you may be attacked

by various curses like wrath, calamity, diseases, poverty, or

punishments in hell. If you do not repent idolatry, you may

fall into hell fire and tortured forever as punishments when

you die.

 

Gathering together on the anniversary of death, for the dead one,

and thinking about the dead person and worship, is NOT worshiping God.

The memorial service is the same as pagan’s idol worship which is for demons.

If Churches worship idols like gentiles by changing its name as memorial

service, the devil will receive all the glories.

Offering flowers to a dead also is idolatry. If offering flowers to a dead is

not idolatry, what else would be idolatry? Offering flowers came from

traditions of gentile temples or shrines. Do you think the dead receives the

flowers? If offering flowers and expressing homage before dead is not

idolatry, what else would be idolatry?

 

Don’t be deceived by pastors who vainly approve of offered food for idolatry

for a meal. If your pastor is teaching that you can eat the food offered for idols,

he is a corrupted pastor. It doesn’t matter how great preacher he is or how

many doctoral titles he has. Lay person have to awake the pastor. If you

change one person like a pastor, all other congregation can repent and go to

heaven.

 

“But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our

 

judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols,

 

and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual

 

immorality." (Act 21:25)

 

 

 

“Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices

 

offered to the dead;” (Psa 106:28)

 

 

We shouldn’t go to hell in whatever situations. We should repent and go to

heaven at any cases. Have you heard the cries of the souls in hell “How is this

possible? Where is this place?” Every believer must abandon all forms of idolatry

committed before he/she accepted and believed Jesus. You will surely fall to

hell if you die with unrepented sins. If you completely repent whatever sins

you may have committed by asking Jesus for forgiveness, you may enter heaven.

 

 

Do you know those who fell into the hell fire by total deception? We are not

talking about non-believers. They are believers who learned wrong information

from their pastors so that they had memorial and funeral services, eating food

sacrificed for idols, and offered flowers to dead ones. They didn’t know those

traditions were idolatry and didn’t repent until their death. They attended their

Church and served God with their best through their life time. They believed

that they surely went to heaven. They all could not believe they were in hell!

They knew repentance and sins. But they were not considering their behavior

was idolatry, so they did not repent. Who is teaching wrong things NOW?

Who is sending their congregation to hell NOW? They are pastors who teach

wrong interpretations of Scriptures.

 

Those who are living NOW have chances to repent. Do not fumble the chances

to repent. I pray in the name of Jesus that do not believe the wrong teachings

of corrupt pastors, but obey the word of God in the Bible.

 

If you realize that you have committed sins, repent. Hell is for those who did not

repent, not for sinners. Do not superficially read the Bible, but read to

understand and to obey. You can go to heaven by your own faith, not by faith

of someone else. My life depends on trusting the word of God. You have to

believe the word. Do not let your life depends on trusting the blind leader

for your life. Let your life depends on the word of the Bible.

 

Now, do you know how many cults and pastors of pluralism are in this nation?

Many pastors in this nation are being contaminated by the pluralism. They

never say they are of pluralism, but they are slowly contaminated by the

pluralism. Some pastors clearly say “It is dogmatic idea that salvation is

only in Christianity.” Pastors of pluralism approve that salvation also is

in other religions. They are instruments of the devil. No salvation without

Jesus! We have to proclaim that salvation is only in Jesus, although our life

is threatened by a sword laid on our neck. There is no one who can escape hell

fire without repenting and believing Jesus.

 

God never can be figured out by human intellect. One who corrupts word of

God never is a servant of Jesus although how excellent theologian he is or

how good a preacher he is. When a pastor corrupts word of God and teaches

the corrupted word, his people will fall to hell after death because they will

never know what sins they have to repent or what idolatry they have to repent.

Those corrupted pastors says it is OK to have memorial services, it is alright

to eat sacrifices for idols after drawing a cross on top of it, there is no problem

to offer flowers to dead ones, and no issue is there to bow down and worship

before a picture of dead person or a grave to express their homage.

 

 

Conducts based on the laws are quite different from that of faith. We clearly

have to live by our faith. Believers should obey to the word and repent when

committed sins. There never is paradise of the Buddhism or purgatory

of the Catholic. Heaven or hell people will go to. Only Jesus we have to

repent to.

 

 

Why do we believe in Jesus? Don’t we believe in Jesus to go to heaven?

Why do Christians receive persecution? It is because Christians believe

and profess that only Jesus saves. Do you think Christians will be persecuted

if they say other gods save as well as Jesus? Is there any reason to preach

the gospel if salvation is there to other religions? It is clear that having

memorial services and offering flowers to dead ones recognize other gods.

 

There is only one chance to go to heaven. It is while we live. If you miss this

chance hell will get you. If believers are worshiping ancestors and eating

sacrifices just like those nonbelievers, they never get persecutions. How many

believers are persecuted by other family members because of worshiping

ancestors? Are you going to continue superficial religious life by disobeying to

the word? Or live true faithful life by repenting sins and obeying to the word?

We have to choose right. Obeying to the word comes from belief. Disobeying

never comes from belief.

 

I sincerely pray in the name of Jesus that we must realize the fact that once we

fall into hell no one hears your cry for help but eternal fearsome punishments

are there for you while we are alive, and must repent our sins while we are living

in this world. Again there are heaven and hell. There are innumerable kinds of

punishments in hell. I realized why Jesus died for all of our sins and

transgressions through seeing hell. Jesus knew these hell punishments are so

horrible and fearful. Believe that Jesus took our sins and died then resurrected

to give us life.

 

How much could we talk about heaven and hell if we were to discuss

theologically? Could we know how big heaven is? Could we talk about where

hell is and how wide and deep place it is? Lake of fire is not the only thing in

hell. There are numerous kinds of equipments for punishing souls, snakes

and maggots, centipedes, worms, all kinds of bugs and demons. These are

torturing souls for punishments. Indescribable stench of hell that gives

instant vomit, skins are peeled, heads are crushed, whole body is ground

in a blender, four limbs are pulled to tear off, intestinal are flowing out, legs

are folded to break, pouring sulfuric fire over a head, soul is pushed down

to a bottomless cliff, chopping bodies like processing food, smell of blood,

screaming for help, screaming after screaming, and endless echo of

screaming, it is the place of eternal punishments, and its name is hell.

 

Can we theologically talk about such hell? Do

  not talk about heaven hell just

superficially or conceptually. Do not believe Jesus formally but truthfully.

Do not believe Jesus conceptually or by saying only but by obedience.

Once you fall down to hell, you will never be able to come out of it!

 

Do you know how many pastors are falling into hell? Pastors are teaching

wrong things, and believers are learning wrong things. When they die before

they repent they all fall down to hell. You do not have to believe if there is

no heaven nor hell. The Lord is weeping with tears of blood and cries when

the souls are falling into hell, “I have paid for them by my blood!

They are falling because they did not repent.” Jesus cares our souls. Let’s

not burden Jesus’ heart. Let’s repent and obey. And let’s go to heaven.

We must go to heaven.

 

Why churches do not point out sins, do not teach repentance, do not teach

obedience, do not teach heaven and hell, and do not teach the identity of

demons? When we do teach about them, why Churches are criticizing us using

the words of “mysticism, cult’ and hindering the gospel and behave as

instruments of the devil? What do they really teach in their Churches?

Don’t they teach “Believe in Jesus and go to heaven”? Don’t they only

teach prosperity in this life?

 

Can one believe heaven without hearing about heaven? Can anyone know the

fear of hell without hearing the sound of hell? Can anyone cut sinful habit

away? Can anyone overcome the temptation of the world? Without proper

teachings from their pastors, can any lay person repent by knowing what

sins are? What would happen to congregation if pastors are seeking after

idols?

 

 

What is the true purpose of Jesus’ coming to earth? He came to save us from

sins, hell and power of the devil, and restore us to be God’s people and

people of heaven. Jesus, thus, commanded us to repent, for the kingdom of

heaven is at hand. How many times in a year do most Churches preach about

heaven and hell? What do Churches now really teach? Don’t they only teach

about the successful life on earth, or things of earth? I do really want all

Churches clearly teach about Jesus, heaven, hell, repentance, and obedience. I

also want all Churches teach about the true identity of filthy and evil demons

that do not let people go to heaven, causes people worship idols, and hinder

faith life of believers.

 

Readers must repent and go to heaven at any event. Don’t say “How could it

be? It can’t be…” Attending Churches will not save you. You have to believe

in Jesus: Obey to the word, repent when you commit sins. Stop formal and

superficial faith life and do not go to hell. Hell is real, Hell is real!!

 

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear

 

him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Mat 10:28)

 

 

A record of 1897 tells about the memorial service. It was a news paper

published by people including the missionary of that time Apenselor, ‘Chosun

Christians Illustrations’ 9/1897.

 

“The first person held memorial service was Lee, Moo Young

from Jeong Dong Methodist Church. He was a supply manager

in the Royal Palace with the Rank of

3rdQuality,ahighrankofficer,whoalsojoinedtheMovementofIndependencewithYoon,ChiHo.

 

Lee, Moo Yong devised a ‘memorial service’ when he was contemplating over

the anniversary of his mother’s death. Upon seeing this news, other believers

thought it was good, and this Church offered many such services.

 

It should be noted that just one believer decided to do so without following any

guidance and teachings of the missionary in a way of approaching solution of

an important issue.

 

After this, people said “The power of Korean Christianity is to decide things

on our own.” The denomination officially approved the memorial service in

1934 General Assembly of Methodist. They discussed to include the “Rules

of the Memorial Services of diseased Parents” in the “Doctrines and

Manuals” and added “Formats for Anniversary of Diseased Parents” to the

“Formats for Doctrines and Manuals”. This was due to Korean way of

thinking which highly value and honor their ancestors. By this Methodists’

influence, the Salvation Army and the Holiness Churches officially adapted

this in 1950, and Presbyterians at the end of 1970.

 

They finally overcame the criticism “It is idolatry to hold memorial services

which is merely different name of the ancestry worship,” and accepted the

value of honoring ancestors in Confucius Society in a Christian form. This is

no difference with the Catholic’s walk to accept the ancestry worship with

slight modification by adding the Rosary on the offering table in the name

of ‘mission’.