9.6 Help for the departed

9.6 Help for the departed New Apostolic Christians intercede in prayer for the departed: they ask the Lord to help those who have gone into the beyond in an unredeemed state. 9.6.2 The participation of the dead in Christ From 2 Maccabees 15: 12–14 it follows that departed souls can also offer in- tercessory prayers: “And this was his [Judas Maccabeus’] vision: that Onias, who had been high priest ... holding up his hands prayed for the whole body of the Jews. This done, in like manner there appeared a man with gray hairs, and exceeding glorious, who was of a wonderful and excellent majesty. Then Onias answered, saying, ‘This is a lover of the brethren, who prayeth much for the people, and for the holy city, to wit, Jeremias the prophet of God.’” Moreover, Holy Scripture tells us that the spirits and souls of the righteous can worship and praise the Lord: “O ye spirits and souls of the righteous, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt Him above all forever” (The Song of the Three Holy Children 64). The dead and the living in Christ comprise a single fellowship. Together they are part of the Lord’s work of redemption. In the beyond—as here—they will work in His mind, interceding with God for the unredeemed. The events on the Mount of Transfiguration also reinforce the conviction that redeemed souls continue to be active in the beyond (Luke 9: 30–31). 9.6.3 Imparting salvation to the departed According to 1 Peter 3: 18–20, those who died in the flood received special love and care from Jesus Christ: after His sacrificial death, He proclaimed the gospel to them in the realm of the dead. The fact that the departed need the proclamation of the gospel in order to “live in the spirit” is also stated in 1 Peter 4: 6: “For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live ac- cording to God in the spirit.” 355 9 Life after death Jesus Christ is Lord over the dead and the living. His gospel is equally valid for all. It is the desire of God that all men be saved (1 Timothy 2: 4–6; John 3: 16). This means that God’s will to save is universal. Salvation is offered through the proclamation of the word, the forgiveness of sins, and the sacra- ments. All of these are likewise intended for the departed. For them as for the living, belief in Jesus Christ is indispensable for attaining salvation. Redemp- tion occurs solely through Jesus Christ. The Apostles fulfil the commission of Jesus—namely to proclaim the gos- pel, to forgive sins, and to administer the sacraments—upon both the liv- ing and the dead. They act in Christ’s stead and in His name. Just as Jesus Christ brought His sacrifice on earth, salvation is also imparted through the Apostles on earth. Since sacraments always have a visible component, they can also only be performed in the visible realm. The effect of the sacraments as essential elements in imparting salvation is the same for both the living and the dead. The dispensation of Holy Baptism with water, Holy Sealing, and Holy Communion to the departed is effected when the visible act associated with each is performed upon a living person (see 8 and 12.1.13). Here the salvific effect is not for the benefit of the living, but rather exclusively for the de- parted. Departed souls who, through Holy Baptism with water and Holy Sealing, have experienced the rebirth of water and the Spirit are of equal standing with the dead in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4: 16). SUMMARY Since the sacrifice of Christ, salvation can still be attained even after physical death. (9.6) New Apostolic Christians intercede in prayer for the departed: they ask the Lord to help the souls who have entered into the beyond in an unredeemed state. (9.6.1) 356