All men die. All gods are dead. Every godman will descend to the grave. There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. – Job 3:17-19. Death has been the sad normal and a great leveller ever since man fell into sin and sold himself to inequity. It is the wages that man gets because of his sin. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: - Rom 5:12.

Satan is thrilled at watching the crowning glory of God’s creation going to a God-less eternity one soul at a time. Satan’s excitement is manifold when there is mass extinction of mankind whether naturally, passively man-made or actively by man’s sheer arrogance against God. Terrorism and war are of the latter kind. Satan was elated when he saw the Prince of Life on the cross, dead. But He thought he had achieved the ultimate and averted the inevitable. He was blindsided by the fact that every one of those moments in the life of Christ on earth was planned and executed perfectly by God Who is the only One powerful enough to perform what He has purposed.

On the third day of His death, God raised the Man Christ Jesus from the dead! The Lord Jesus Christ triumphed over Satan on the cross once and for all. And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. – Col 2: 15. That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; - Heb 2:14. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, Who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. – 2 Tim 1:10. Satan’s head was bruised on the cross – the very weapon he thought he had used effectively to achieve his end. Ultimately, it brought his own end!

Never in history was anything like this seen or heard. Yes, there were at least two instances when men were raptured even without facing death. Enoch of the pre-diluvian earth and Elijah of the ante-diluvian period were taken up to heaven even while alive. Yes, there were at least three instances when the Lord Jesus raised people from the dead. Jairus’ little daughter; the only son of the widow of Nain; Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary. But these died again later in their lives. The resurrection of Jesus was unique; He rose from the dead never to die again. He raised Him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption. – Acts 13:34. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. – Rom 6:9. He “is gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him”. – 1 Pet 3:22.

The death of Jesus was not His last chapter. It was yet another in His-story. While it was certainly a significant chapter, there was more to come; the next chapter and the next and more. His resurrection opened doors to mankind that goes beyond the scope of life here on Earth. In fact, there is a lot more to come that overshoots Time. A lot more chapters keep coming in His-story, so much that there would not be space enough to write them even if we could.

Satan was cast to the ground, the earth, from the first heaven, the earth’s atmosphere, when Christ arrived on this earth for the ultimate faceoff.

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. – Rev 12:7-9.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the ground, you did weaken the nations! – Isa 14:12.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, triumphed against the very adversary of God, Satan himself. Satan’s countdown to defeat began when Jesus was born as the promised Messiah. And Jesus said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. – Luke 10:18.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. – Rev 12:10.

After several attempts on His life while on earth, Satan somehow managed to bruise the heel of Jesus at the cross of Calvary, but not before Satan’s head was crushed first as planned, right here on earth when Jesus Christ died. His victory was demonstrated when He rose again on the third day. Now, He is waiting for His Church to trod on Satan’s bruised head - And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. – Rom 16:20. This is at the return of the Lord for His own. The dead in Christ will rise first. Then those who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds shouting, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory?”.

The slaughter of animals in the name of sacrifice to God was instituted by God Himself when mankind fell into sin. God showed that innocent sinless blood must be shed for the sin of man thereby reminding him that sin was so deadly and gruesome. The life of the flesh is in the blood and sin must be paid with life. But God also showed to man (who was sacrificing an innocent animal) that this was only a temporary stop-gap arrangement but that He has planned a permanent solution in time through an ultimate Sacrifice for the sin of the whole world that would eventually put an end to animal sacrifices. And that sacrificial offering would be His Son who would shed His precious innocent blood for the whole of mankind. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. – John 1:29. So, every time an Old Testament believer offered a sacrifice by shedding the blood of an animal, he testified to the fact that he is a sinner deserving the death penalty and that the sacrificial animal was taking his place as a substitute to shed its blood for the forgiveness and covering of his sins. (Unfortunately, the guilt and the power of sin remained). He also showed his faith in the promise of God that Christ the anointed One is coming to put an end to animal sacrifices and to make a permanent covenant with His people through His blood shed and His life offered on the cross for the forgiveness and cleansing of sins. (Thank God, sin and guilt were removed – a double cure (as Isaac Watts put it), and the power of sin was neutralised as well). All who offered such animal sacrifices during the Old Testament period looked forward to the fulfilment of the promise of God in Christ. All believers post the sacrifice of Christ on the cross look back to the atoning death of Christ and His resurrection for the forgiveness and remission of their sins.

Since the spiritual requirement of animal sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins is no more relevant, believers should spearhead the movement to stop the slaughter of animals in the name of sacrifice. But, vegetarianism and veganism are social systems that focus more on the human body and, are attempts to put the animal world on par with mankind. Man was created in the image of God and in His likeness. Animals were not created so; they don’t possess living souls as does man. Man’s body was originally designed for a vegetarian diet but his falling into sin and the ultimate destruction of the then world by the Global Flood called the deluge, resulted in drastic atmospheric and environmental changes. This eventually required man to alter his diet to meet his nutritional requirements. In fact, God permitted mankind to eat of even the animal world as all the fruit trees and herbs that fed him drowned and died in the Flood waters. It should have taken at least some time for man to see fruits appearing on trees as they required the right soil to germinate, grow and yield fruit. It is only after the flood that mankind learned to pursue organised farming and grow crops. Until then, it was all herbs, shoots and leaves.

Believers should not insist vegetarians to adopt a non-vegetarian diet nor should the vegetarian believers accuse flesh-eaters as gluttonous and pitiless people. A mature non-vegetarian believer would avoid eating flesh in the presence of a vegetarian believer who finds non-vegetarian food disgustful. This is what even God recommends through Apostle Paul. if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world stands, lest I make my brother to offend.- 1 Cor 8:13. Staying away from blood and strangled animals (that still had blood in the flesh) are two of the four restrictions that the early church sent as instructions to the non-Jewish believers who were probably non-vegetarians too. (Abstaining from food sacrificed to idols and from sexual immorality are the other two).

The food-craved mankind has managed to produce meat – animals, birds and fish – by artificial insemination, hybridization and large-scale animal farming. Scientists have developed artificial hormones and growth enhancers that can help produce protein-rich meat-yielding animals. The meat also contains a combination of antibiotics and excess hormones harmful to the health of human consumers. The food industry is thriving because of the gluttonous society that is glorifying gourmet eating and drinking. Street Kitchens and food festivals are becoming commonplace. Fast-food culture has spread so quickly everywhere in the world that soon there will not be a township without a popular burger or a pizza joint outlet. And, one can get this on the table (not necessarily the dining kind!) on a phone call or by ordering through a mobile app. There are food and cooking programmes on television round the clock bringing the cuisines of the world into our living rooms. It looks as though the present and the previous generation were born to eat, drink and be merry and do nothing much else.

Then there are the Genetically Modified (GM) vegetables, fruits and grains - hybrid and grown with the help of gibberellins, auxins and other growth-stimulating hormones. Seedless fruits are produced with a technology called parthenocarpy and stenospermocarpy. Farmers will have to depend on seed sellers for seeds all the time forfeiting their privilege to perpetual seed availability from the crop they cultivate. God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb-yielding seed, and the fruit tree-yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. – Gen 1:11, 12. Fruit with no seed in itself is not good.

Hybridization or producing new species of plants and animals by crossbreeding two different varieties to produce desirable ones with superior characteristics has gone to the extreme of eliminating the natural method of breeding plants and farm animals. The farmer is forced to grow these species at the cost of his control over the seed and the pedigree for propagation. Genetically modified seed gives the farmer greater yield but also increases his dependency on the seller of the seed for the next sowing season. Large corporates become owners of the agriculture and farming profession taking control of the reins from the helpless, ignorant and gullible farmer.

Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you. – Lev 11:12. God warned mankind of bad food, but this has fallen in deaf ears. Crabs, Prawns, Lobsters, Clams, Oysters, Sharks, and Stingrays are still on the delicacies list while also being classified as unhealthy food even in human terms.

Roman Catholic priests (they are not Christians) offer Mass every Sunday. Mass means sacrifice; Thirupali in Thamizh. While it is not a sacrifice of an animal, they consider that Jesus is sacrificed for their sins every time the priest offers prayers upon the “host”. The Roman Catholic parishioners believe that the host transforms into the flesh of the Lord. They call this transubstantiation. They also believe that the wine turns into the blood of Jesus Christ instantly. (Water turned into blood during Moses’s time in Egypt and water turned into wine at the wedding feast at Cana during the time of the Lord Jesus. Wine turning into blood is unprecedented!). That is the reason the easily soluble wafer dipped in wine is placed gently on the tongue of the confirmed parishioner so that their Lord would not feel the pain of being bitten by accident! And the wine is not given to the parishioner in the fear of being spilt by mishandling and causing dishonour to their Lord! This sacrifice or mass is totally against what the Scripture teaches. The once-and-for-all sacrifice of the Lamb of God at Calvary is the basis on which the believers’ faith is built. There is no need of another bloody sacrifice and Jesus is not shedding His blood again and again for the remission of the sins of His believers. In fact, those who crucify the Lord afresh time and again are putting Him to an open shame (Heb 6:6). Such people are cursed to face doom as would all the backsliders who turn their back to their Saviour.

Yes, the Lord asked His believers to remember His priceless sacrifice by partaking of the bread and the wine that the church is supposed to observe as communion. There is a deeper meaning to it than want is superficially understood. Believers are to be partakers of His flesh and blood – becoming one with Him – He, being the Head and the church of believers being the body – comparable to the husband-wife relationship that the Lord instituted originally when he created the first man and the woman. They were to be one flesh though they were two individuals. That is why Adam, when he saw Eve for the first time stated, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”. – Gen 2:23. Regarding Christ and His church, we read, “We are members of his body, of His flesh, and of His bones”. – Eph 5:30.

Eating His flesh and drinking His blood means drawing nutrition from Him for the sustenance of life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so, he that eats Me, even he shall live by Me. This is that Bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead: he that eats of this Bread shall live forever. – John 6:53-58.

Apart from taking part in the food cooked with the animal sacrificed to a deity, there is also the tradition of worshippers partaking of the deity in the form of cakes made of fine flour and presented to them as offerings (Prasadham in Sanskrit). The Easter bun myth is one such example.

Many religions also have long-drawn traditions of eating the food presented to idols which they believe is equivalent to partaking of the deity to whom they offer the food. Kozhukattai (Modhak in Hindi), Sundal and Maavu Urundai are some Thamizh delicacies presented to idols. That is the reason why believers of the Lord Jesus Christ are instructed to abstain from food offered to idols as this would mean partaking of the very idol behind which there is a demon / evil spirit. Are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What say I then? That the idol is anything, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is anything? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and of the table of devils. – 1 Cor 10:18-21.

As Thamizhar still worship their ancestors, they offer food on Vazhai Ilai (plantain leaves) placed in the open even today to crows which are said to be representatives/reincarnations of the loved ones who have passed away in the family. Superstition!

Bakri-id should have been the commemoration of the one perfect sacrifice that Jesus offered for mankind on the cross as the Lamb of God. Jesus was the ultimate Passover lamb that Moses instituted (at the command of God) for the Israelites so that they will be saved from the angel of destruction. The destroyer would pass-over every house that had the blood of the lamb applied to its doorposts and lintels. Muslims keep sacrificing animals every year as a matter of tradition ignorant of the fact that Christ has put an end to animal sacrifices that were required for the remission of sins and for the restoration of relationship with the living God.

Indians keep offering vermillion-filled white Pumpkins (Gourds) to pacify their deity or earn favour from their gods. These are thrown broken at street corners or in front of residences and commercial establishments. The blood-red vegetable offering is a representation of an animal sacrifice by those who can’t afford an animal every time or who find blood-shedding disgusting or awful. There is also a simpler representative of the blood sacrifice – offering coconuts to be broken or a lemon crushed in front of an idol (and under the tyres of a vehicle) in order that its “blood” can be shed.

The Jewish Aryans and all who have been enslaved by them under the name Hindus also apply the vermillion on the foreheads – though in different styles. The women wear it to show that they are yet to be married or married with a surviving husband. Little do they realise that it represents the shed blood of Jesus that brings them forgiveness and protection (for themselves and their spouse). The widows have lost their “head” and are prohibited from wearing it. Saivites apply three horizontal ash bands on their foreheads, a sandal dot in the middle and the vermillion on top of it – three bands representing the Trinity, the middle one representing Jesus, the second person in the Trinity, the wood of the tree signifying the cross and the vermilion signifying the blood that was shed by Jesus on it. The Vaishnavites apply three vertical bands with the vermillion in the middle and showing it to spill from the top down. The ash, co-incidentally, represents the ash of the heifer that was to be burnt (dung and all) outside the Israelite camp, which was used to sanctify the people after mixing the ash with water. This was one of the instructions given to Moses by God – all of these indicating the ultimate sacrifice of the Lord Jesus who was anticipated by them in history. What the shadow was in the Old Testament was fulfilled by the Subject, the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave rise to the New Testament.

Saivam is vegetarian in Thamizh. As the Lord Jesus has given Himself as a One-for-all sacrifice on the cross, there is no need for another animal sacrifice. So, Saivite Thamizhar who believed in His one superior sacrifice adopted a vegetarian lifestyle even in the first century in South India.