As you read these thoughts I have written I ask only one thing from you before you begin; ask yourself, “Do I care what God has to say?” If you honestly say yes then I would invite you to read on, if the answer truly in your heart is no then I would encourage you not to waste your time reading what I’ve written.
Central Text: Deuteronomy 18:9-14NASB
The specific word is vampire is not used in the Bible, however Webster’s online dictionary defines the term as: “1 : the reanimated body of a dead person believed to come from the grave at night and suck the blood of persons asleep 2 a : one who lives by preying on others.” From this definition are several concepts that the Bible does directly address, these I will deal with in my study. The first has to do with the concept of reanimation of the dead. The next concept is the interaction with the dead. The final concept has two parts: The idea of murder and the human consumption of blood.
“There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire,” (Here God is issuing a prohibition against following an evil practice of child sacrifice.) “divination” (“ conjuration of the spirits of the dead for purposes of magically revealing the future or influencing the course of events”-Webster’s Online.) “witchcraft” (“The practices of witches; sorcery; enchantments; intercourse with the devil.”-Webster’s 1828.) “One who interprets omens(Looking at events and attempting to predict the future) “One who casts a spell” (Using special words with the intent of gaining a magical result) “Medium”( an individual held to be a channel of communication between the earthly world and a world of spirits” –Webster’s online)”spiritist”(Those who attempt to speak with the dead or those perceived to be from the spirit world) “One who calls up the dead” (Having to do with talking to, inquiring of or worshiping the dead) As I study these prohibitions I am reminded of the fact that it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees when it comes to word studies so we need to take a step back and keep the big picture in view. This is not meant to be a specific checklist of things not to do, but rather a statement that transcends the generations on God’s feelings toward the adoration or communication with the dead or any involvement with seeking supernatural power outside that of God’s power. From this I don’t see that we get a pass simply because the character in question is fictional.
Why were these things so detestable to God? (I think this can be summed up in the first and second commandments, that we are not to have any other gods or worship idols. These practices are an affront to God in that they reject His power in favor of something that the conjurer believes he can to at least some degree control. These practices find their root in the Garden of Eden with Adam’s interest being peaked at the thought of being like God) How serious does God take this, what punishment was there to be for violating this law? (Exodus 22:18 "You shall not allow a sorceress to live.” Lev 20:6 “As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.” Lev 20:27 “Now a man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.”
Some additional points to ponder:
The whole idea of a vampire steps clearly outside the confines of the revelation of Scripture. The Bible states that the world and all that has life was created by God with man being created in the image of God. This notion of a dead human reanimated with no soul is obviously contrary to a biblical perspective.
There is inherent “darkness” within the portrayal of vampires in all that I have seen. Not that they haven’t been given a romantic quality that may draw you to the character but their very being is opposed to God. The thought that you could hurt them by showing them a cross or putting “holy water” on them smacks of something not from God. Their aversion to sunlight speaks to the dark nature of this character. Prior to the formation the world there was darkness and God’s first command in the formation of the world was to dispatch the darkness with light. Therefore the notion that something is opposed to the light indicates opposition to God.
It seems as though everything associated with them is evil and negative.
God commanded that we are not to eat blood. We are not to kill.
Every person born has a soul and all of us will give an account to God for our lives and there is no exemption.
Cross reference to the point: Isa 8:19 “When they say to you, " Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?” (Not only is this a command to not consult the dead about the living but also seems as if God mockingly asks why would you engage in such silly behavior?)
1 Sam 28:9 But the woman said to him, "Behold, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?" (Here is an illustration of the Word of God being put into practice. It was obviously a well established fact that the punishment for doing this was to be put to death.)
2 Kings 21:6 “He made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD provoking Him to anger.” (Manasseh was an evil king who did wickedness. As I observe his life I notice a progressive nature to Manasseh’s behavior. Not only was he a wicked king and led Judah to do likewise, but it looks as if one sin stacked upon another. The whole notion is wicked in and of itself but it also serves a step along the way further away from God and that in and of itself should be enough to keep us away from it.)
Num 6:6 “All the days of his separation to the LORD he shall not go near to a dead person.” (Anyone taking the Nazirite vow was not to touch a dead body or he would be unholy. This is an indication that interaction with a dead body, even to touch it is at odds with holiness. Remember that God said to be holy as He is holy.)
Lev 17:10-14 “And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, 'No person among you may eat blood, nor may any alien who sojourns among you eat blood. So when any man from the sons of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, 'You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.'” (God has set aside blood as being special. As He states in these verses, blood is to be for atonement of sin and is not to be used for other purposes, to do so is to mock the purpose of the blood. I’m reminded of the passage from Daniel 5 where King Belshazzar uses the Temple articles for a party he’s having and God’s response to that. Those were intended to be set apart for a special use as is blood.)
Blood: Lev 17:10 “And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.”
Deut. 12:23 “Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh.”
Murder: Ex 20:13 “You shall not murder.”
Gen 9:6 “Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.”
Lev 24:17 “If a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death.”
Dead Raised: The Scriptures record only nine individual resurrections that have happened (Ten if you count Samuel) and two with the witnesses in Revelation 11 that are yet to come (there is a third depending on how you interpret the passage in Revelation that may be an indication of the Anti-Christ being resurrected) and then of course the resurrection of the church at the rapture then the resurrection for judgment. Of these I find no place where a resurrection is not the direct result of the intervention of God and for the purposes of glorifying Him.
Witches: The word “witch” seems to come from a word meaning “to know.” The popular understanding of the word gives us an indication of typically a woman, although it could be also said of a man as well, who through some sort of deal with evil spirits has been granted supernatural powers. This word is somewhat misleading as it is used in Scripture in that some of the contemporary understandings of the word were not known in Bible times. As a case in point the word used in 1 Samuel 28 of the “Witch” literally gives the indication of being “the mistress of a ghost” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia). The use of these terms seems to give an indication of a person who “works with the dead.” The exact nuances of what this entails depend on the situation but the negative light that Scripture casts on it seems to focus its attention on the interaction with the dead and with evil spirits and the use of drugs for nefarious purposes.
Blood: According to Psalm 16:4 is seems as though it was a practice among pagan cultures to consume blood as worship to their gods. Following these practices was absolutely condemned for followers of God.
Resurrection: The topic of resurrection of the dead among the Old Testament Jews seems almost unheard of. The author of the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia postulates that this was due in part to the focus on the notional identity of Israel and as such the individual fate was minimized at least to a degree. A number of the pagan neighbors of Israel held beliefs that held various doctrines of resurrection of the dead and as such this would be another reason for Israel to reject it. The Bible makes very clear the doctrine of the resurrection of all people, some to glory and others to damnation, but all will live again. With the exception of Elijah and Enoch there are none who haven’t passed through death.
As I’ve thought through and studied this issue the part of it that stands out most to me is that the whole notion of a vampire being a perversion of God’s revealed order and will through the creation of a fantasy creature. Of course once that box has been opened many new questions must be answered such as, does this mean that anything that is contrary to the revealed order of creation is wrong? If so then Vegi-tales is wrong because God never made talking vegetables. However I don’t think that fantasy creations is the issue here, but whether a thing, be it real or imagined is in conflict with Scripture. I do believe that the Word of God clearly teaches that anything that asserts itself to be able to circumvent the authority of God stands in opposition to God. The concept of vampires does exactly that, it stands opposed to God.
1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Philippians 4:8 (NIV)” Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.”
Leviticus 17:10-14 ESV
“If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood. “Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.
