Grave sucking refers to the controversial practice of laying on the graves of deceased Christians in order to absorb their anointing or mantle. This practice has generated significant debate among Christians regarding its biblical merits and potential spiritual dangers.
Origins and Prominent Figures
The term “grave sucking” appears to have originated in the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a charismatic movement that promotes modern-day apostles and prophets. Some prominent NAR leaders have endorsed grave sucking, including Bill Johnson, pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and Lou Engle, founder of The Call prayer movement.
Johnson in particular has faced scrutiny for advocating the practice, writing in his book The Physics of Heaven, “There are anointings, mantles, revelations and mysteries that have lain unclaimed, literally where they were left, because the generation that walked in them never passed them on. I believe it’s possible for us to recover realms of anointing, realms of insight, realms of God that have been untended for decades simply by choosing to reclaim them and perpetuate them for future generations.”
What Does the Practice Involve?
In grave sucking, adherents physically lay on the grave of a deceased Christian leader, prophet or influencer in order to receive that person’s spiritual anointing, power or mantle that they carried when they were alive. Practitioners believe they can absorb the deceased person’s gifts, abilities and supernatural strength by coming into contact with their grave in this manner.
Often, grave sucking rituals will also involve prayer and petitioning God at the gravesite for the transference of the departed’s mantle. Some advocates claim this practice can impart revelations, miracles, signs, wonders and the anointing of the deceased to the living. Graves of prominent faith healers, prophets, revivalists and evangelists like Kathryn Kuhlman, Aimee Semple McPherson and Smith Wigglesworth are frequent targets for grave suckers seeking to obtain these individuals’ spiritual power.
Arguments Made in Favor of Grave Sucking
Proponents of grave sucking use several biblical arguments to defend the practice:
The mantle passing from Elijah to Elisha (2 Kings 2:1-15) – When Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind, his mantle fell to Elisha, who picked it up. Some interpreters believe Elisha received a double portion of Elijah’s anointing through this symbolic act. Those who advocate grave sucking argue a similar transference of spiritual power can occur at gravesites of deceased Christian leaders.
The healing power from Elisha’s bones (2 Kings 13:20-21) – After Elisha died, a dead man was thrown into his tomb and revived after touching Elisha’s bones. Grave sucking supporters believe God’s power remained on Elisha’s body after death, and touching graves can release supernatural power.
The woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8:43-48) – When the bleeding woman touched Jesus’ garment, she was healed. This demonstrates spiritual power flowing even through a garment, grave suckers contend, let alone a grave.
Jesus lying in the tomb before resurrection (Matthew 27:57-60) – Some argue that by lying in the tomb, Jesus imparted power to it, and graves of holy people can exude similar residual power.
Criticisms and Concerns About Grave Sucking
However, many Christians take issue with grave sucking and reject its practice for various reasons:
Lack of sufficient biblical support – Critics argue the verses used to defend grave sucking are taken out of context. Nowhere does the Bible explicitly endorse lying atop graves to absorb spiritual power.
Pagan origins – Some connect grave sucking to pagan practices of worshiping or summoning the dead. They contend it risks necromancy and occultism which the Bible condemns.
Seeking power apart from God – Rather than seeking the Holy Spirit’s empowering presence, critics suggest grave suckers are pursuing spiritual quick fixes from questionable sources.
Contradicts teaching on death – Grave sucking seems to endow graves and corpses with ongoing mystical power, whereas the Bible teaches at death, the spirit leaves the body.
Anti-incarnational – God’s power flows from His Spirit to living believers in Christ, not through dead bodies, opponents assert. Grave sucking mistakenly seeks residual power in graves rather than active distribution through the Spirit.
Idolatry concerns – Some believe grave sucking risks making idols out of deceased Christian leaders, shifting focus from Christ to their graves.
Parallels pagan necromancy – The OT prohibits trying to communicate with the dead or utilize occult spiritualism. Critics contend grave sucking mirrors these pagan, demonic practices.
Seeking mantles, not the Holy Spirit – Rather than seeking the Holy Spirit’s fresh filling and leading, critics suggest grave suckers pursue the mantle of those already used by God in past generations.
Unverified claims – No empirical proof exists that grave suckers actually obtain spiritual anointings or gifts from the practice, raising questions about its validity and fruitfulness.
Responses to Criticisms by Advocates
Defenders of grave sucking acknowledge biblical support is indirect, but argue that just because the Bible doesn’t explicitly forbid something does not make it wrong. They claim grave sucking does not communicate with the dead, but simply honors their legacy.
Advocates assert they are not putting faith in graves themselves, but in praying faithfully to God at sites where late spiritual leaders did His work. They compare visiting these graves to worshiping in Solomon’s temple or seeing Paul’s tomb in Rome.
Johnson denies pagan connections, arguing corpses were conduits of God’s power in Elisha’s day and this biblical principle remains valid. He claims the Holy Spirit’s gifts are still mediated through God’s faithful departed.
Proponents assert grave sucking does not replace the Spirit but aligns with Him, any more than prayer cloths and handkerchiefs did in healing the sick (Acts 19:11-12). Just as relics in Hebrews 11 helped accomplish God’s purposes, they contend graves remain conduits of God’s grace if rightly approached.
Key Verses Often Cited
While the topic of grave sucking itself does not directly appear in the Bible, advocates attempt to support the practice by referencing several passages:
2 Kings 2:1-15 – After Elijah was taken up to heaven, Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle and struck the Jordan river, parting it miraculously.
2 Kings 13:20-21 – A dead man was thrown into Elisha’s tomb and revived after touching his bones.
Luke 8:43-48 – A woman with a discharge of blood was healed after touching Jesus’ garment.
Acts 19:11-12 – God did extraordinary miracles in connection with Paul, even having illness cured through touching his handkerchiefs.
Hebrews 11 – The “hall of faith” describes items like Jacob’s staff, Isaac’s blessings, and Joseph’s bones as playing roles in God’s redemptive plan.
Key Figures Often Associated With Grave Sucking
Contemporary Christian leaders associated with advocating or practicing grave sucking include:
– Bill Johnson – Pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, CA and influential figure in the New Apostolic Reformation. Has endorsed grave sucking in his book The Physics of Heaven.
– Lou Engle – Founder of The Call prayer movement. Has been photographed participating in grave sucking, including lying atop C.S. Lewis’ grave.
– Benny Hinn – Controversial faith healer, televangelist and prosperity gospel preacher who claims visiting Kathryn Kuhlman’s grave inspired healings in his ministry.
– Brian Simmons – Author of The Passion Translation Bible and proponent of Christians being able to absorb revelations from deceased church fathers. Has advocated grave soaking.
– Patricia King – Influential pastor in the New Apostolic Reformation who teaches on supernatural subjects like grave sucking. Hosts TV series Everlasting Love.
– Joshua Mills – Traveling minister who claims spiritual mantles can be recovered from gravesites as documented in his book Mantles of Glory. Teaches on grave sucking.
Historical Figures Whose Graves Have Been Targets of Grave Suckers
Famous deceased Christians whose graves have attracted grave suckers seeking to acquire their spiritual anointing and mantle include:
– Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947) – Early Pentecostal evangelist and revered faith healer. His grave in Bradford, England attracts many seeking his healing mantle.
– Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944) – Groundbreaking evangelist known for faith healing in the early 20th century. Her grave in Los Angeles has been a site for grave sucking.
– Kathryn Kuhlman (1907-1976) – Influential healing evangelist, author and founder of the Kathryn Kuhlman Foundation. Many visit her grave in Pittsburgh’s Allegheny Cemetery hoping to gain her anointing.
– William J. Seymour (1870-1922) – Leader in the early Pentecostal Azusa Street Revival which emphasized spiritual gifts and diverse worship. Buried in Los Angeles where people seek his mantle.
– C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) – Beloved Christian author. Some grave suckers have tried accessing his wisdom by laying atop his burial site in Oxford, England.
– Charles Finney (1792-1875) – Leader in the Second Great Awakening revival movement in early 19th century America. His mantle has been sought at his grave in Oberlin, Ohio.
– Evan Roberts (1878-1951) – Instrumental leader in the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival. His burial place in Loughor, Wales has attracted those seeking his revival power.
Possible Dangers of Grave Sucking
Critics caution that grave sucking potentially opens practitioners up to spiritual harm or deception, including:
– Necromancy and occultism – Attempting to harness power from graves could link participants with demonic spirits associated with sorcery, witchcraft or necromancy.
– Idolizing deceased Christians – Obsessing over gravesites may cross into spiritual idolatry and distract from proper adoration due Christ alone.
– Seeking mantles, not the Holy Spirit – Focusing on mantles could divert faith away from seeking the Holy Spirit’s fresh work and guidance each day.
– No fruit or proof – Documented evidence of improved holiness, anointing or spiritual power from grave sucking remains limited, raising questions of efficacy.
– Disillusionment – When expected results fail to materialize, grave suckers may experience disillusionment, loss of faith or diminished spiritual fervor over time.
– Lack of discernment – Without proper spiritual discernment, grave suckers may be unable to differentiate God’s true leading from demonic counterfeits.
– Syncretism – Blending grave sucking with Christianity risks diluting the gospel with folk magic elements foreign to the Bible’s teaching.
– Distorted theology – Elevating graves to possess mystical power seems to contradict biblical understandings of death and the cessation of the spirit’s activity.
– Slippery slope – Advocating grave sucking could open the door to increasingly aberrant practices that veer away from Scriptural truth.
Conclusion
The controversial subject of “grave sucking” highlights conflicting perspectives within modern Christianity regarding how believers should approach sites and remains associated with deceased holy men and women of faith. Some advocate directly accessing spiritual anointings from these graves as conduits of God’s supernatural power if pursued in faith. Others strongly reject the practice as undermining biblical teachings on death, promoting necromancy, or at least reflecting poor and unreliable theology. Each side marshals scriptural arguments taken from select passages that seem to support aspects of their perspective. Ongoing debate continues within the church about what stance Christians should take toward those who actively promote and pursue grave sucking as a resource for empowerment in ministry.