A lady recently asked my wife, Rachel, if a relative that committed suicide and was cremated could go to heaven. Two or three days later, a different lady asked me about one of her relatives that committed suicide. She said several members of her family, especially the parents and wife of the deceased, are having trouble dealing with it.

These questions have nothing to do with Bible prophecy, but they concern ministry, and the proximity of the two incidents caused Rachel to suggest that I write an article on this.

Understand that I am not saying that cremation is a good thing. As a general rule, I advise against it because it can lead to problems like the ones that are mentioned above. But a person’s salvation is not based upon how a person dies or what happens to their body after they die. It is based on their decision to accept or reject Jesus before they die. Their soul and spirit will be in heaven or hell before anything is ever done with their body.

Many Christians have been burned at the stake. Others have died in bombed buildings, burned down houses, plane crashes, car accidents and the like. They didn’t go to hell because their body was incinerated. But even if they did go to hell or they drowned at sea hundreds of years ago, God will still raise them from the dead (I Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 20:13). God couldn’t do all things, if He couldn’t raise those from the dead who have been cremated, but He can do all things.

There is just one unpardonable sin and it is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (unbelief or attributing the works of God to Satan) not cremation (Matt. 12:31). Also, if the grace of God can cover sins such as murder, adultery and lying, it can cover suicide and cremation.

Paul made a very important statement along these lines. He said,“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).  “Us” is a key word in this passage. It refers to those who have truly accepted Jesus. The passage means a sincere confession of faith in Jesus is not canceled by how a person died or what happened to their body.

The story of Samson is an excellent example (Jud. 13:24-16:31). In essence, Samson committed suicide and God gave him the strength to do it. Even though he took his own life, Samson was saved because he is mentioned in the Hall of Faith (Heb. 11:32).

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck

With regard to Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons, two important things took place in Washington, DC on Wednesday October 2, 2014: 1) A report prepared by James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence for the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee was released, and 2) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House to discuss several issues, but primarily Iran’s efforts to build nuclear weapons.

Mr. Clapper’s report revealed that Iran’s nuclear program has made great strides and the nation is close to being able to produce and deliver nuclear bombs. This confirms the Sept. 17, 2014 statement of Israel’s Minister of Intelligence, Yuvall Steinitz, who said Iran is nine to eighteen months away from developing a nuclear bomb and Iran already has missiles that can deliver one.

Mr. Clapper’s National Intelligence group has determined that Iran has the knowledge and manufacturing facilities to eventually produce nuclear bombs and his group is well aware of the fact that Iran has installed large numbers of additional centrifuges and stored large amounts of slightly enriched uranium hexafluoride that will allow Iran to eventually produce nuclear bombs. Emphasis was placed on the fact that Iran has a large inventory of missiles, an active space program and would eventually be able to produce intercontinental missiles.

Iran’s devilish antagonism toward Israel, and really the whole world including all non-Shiite Muslims, causes this to be a major problem. Iran’s leaders have often said if they get a nuclear bomb they will use it on Israel. They even call Israel a one-bomb nation because they believe they only need one bomb to wipe the tiny nation of Israel off the map. This is a major reason why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran is a greater threat to Israel and the world than is ISIS when he addressed the UN General Assembly on September 29, 2014.

The other event was the meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Pres. Obama. I got the sense that Prime Minister Netanyahu doesn’t trust Pres. Obama, or if he does trust him, he doesn’t think Pres. Obama the seriousness of the Iranian threat. He seemed to believe that Pres. Obama will cave in the nuclear negotiations with Iran. It was reported that he told Pres. Obama that “Iran seeks a deal that would lift the tough sanctions that you worked so hard to put in place and leave it as a threshold nuclear power, and I firmly hope that under your leadership that would not happen.”

Mr. Netanyahu wants Iran’s nuclear facilities put out of commission, but he believes Pres. Obama is going to let Iran have the ability to go nuclear. If Iran has the ability to go nuclear, they could do so in a matter of weeks. Israel would probably attack them and it could trigger a bigger war. If Iran’s nuclear facilities are put out of commission, it could be years before they could be restarted.Israel wouldn’t have to attack them anytime soon and it could prevent a bigger war.

Israel should not overlook Pres. Obama’s Muslim background (father, mother, step father) or the fact that Pres. Obama’s Senior Advisor, and perhaps the real power in the White House, is Iranian born Valerie Jarrett (although her parents were American citizens). Israel should not overlook the fact that Pres. Obama placed a Muslim is in charge of the CIA, placed Muslims in the U.S. Dept. of Defense and in the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security.

Israel should not overlook the fact that Pres. Obama has allowed thousands of Muslims to immigrate to the U.S. Nor should they overlook the fact that he has often shown animosity toward Mr. Netanyahu and condemned Israel’s settlement policies, the death of Palestinians, etc. Pres. Obama obviously has Muslim sympathies that may be clouding his decisions.

Nevertheless, the decision on what to do about Iran’s nuclear reactors is coming down to the wire and the world could be only weeks or months away from world changing events.

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck