Millions of people in Africa and elsewhere believe that death is not an end to life but merely a transition, a passage to life in the spirit realm, the domain of both divinities and ancestors. Scholar John Mbiti, an expert on African religions, writes about the belief in ancestors, whom he calls the “living-dead”: “These are the ‘spirits’ with which African peoples are most concerned . . . They know and have interest in what is going on in the family [on earth]. . . . They are the guardians of family affairs, traditions, ethics and activities. Offence in these matters is ultimately an offence against the forefathers who, in that capacity, act as the invisible police of the families and communities. Because they are still ‘people’, the living-dead are therefore the best group of intermediaries between men and God: they know the needs of men, they have ‘recently’ been here with men, and at the same time they have full access to the channels of communicating with God.”

What, though, does the Bible say about the condition of the dead? It shows that there is no such thing as the “living-dead.” People are either alive or dead—never both. God’s Word teaches that the dead are unable to hear, see, speak, or think. The dead are in no position to police the living. The Bible says: “The dead . . . are conscious of nothing at all . . . Their love and their hate and their jealousy have already perished . . . There is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol [the grave], the place to which you are going.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10) “[Man] goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.”—Psalm 146:4.

Returning to the Dust

If you find this difficult to accept, consider what happened to the first man, Adam. Jehovah formed Adam “out of dust from the ground.” (Genesis 2:7) When Adam disobeyed Jehovah’s command, the penalty was death. God said to him: “You [will] return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.”—Genesis 3:19.

Before Jehovah created Adam from the dust, Adam did not exist. So when he ‘returned to the ground,’ he again became lifeless, like the dust. He did not cross over to the realm of ancestral spirits. He did not go to heaven or hell. When he died, that was the end of him.

Does the same thing happen to other humans at death? Yes, it does. The Bible states: “All [both humans and animals] are going to one place. They have all come to be from the dust, and they are all returning to the dust.” (Ecclesiastes 3:20) The Bible does promise that God will awaken the human dead to life in a paradise earth, but that time is yet future. (John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15) Meanwhile, we should not fear the dead or make sacrifices to them, since they can neither help us nor harm us.

Satan and his demons want to mislead people about the condition of their dead ancestors, so they promote the lie that people live on after death. One way they do this is through false stories. (1 Timothy 4:1) They also use visions, dreams, and spirit mediums to deceive people into thinking that they have communicated with the dead. But it is not the dead that are contacted. Rather, it is demons who pretend to be people who have died. That is why Jehovah strongly condemns those who inquire of the dead, either directly or indirectly, through other means, such as divination.—Deuteronomy 18:10-12.

Since the dead are lifeless, there is nothing to be gained by worshiping them. Making sacrifices to the dead only promotes the lies of Satan and the demons.

Do God’s angels desire our worship? By no means! Faithful angels give glory to God and encourage humans to do the same. Twice, the apostle John tried to worship angels, but they rebuked him, saying: “Be careful! Do not do that! . . . Worship God.”—Revelation 19:10; 22:8, 9.

Satan and his demons, in contrast with faithful angels, want to be both worshiped and glorified. This was evident when Satan tempted Jesus when Jesus was a man on earth. The Bible relates: “The Devil took [Jesus] along to an unusually high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him: ‘All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.’”—Matthew 4:8, 9.

Jesus replied: “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’” (Matthew 4:10) Jesus knew Jehovah’s Law, and he refused to violate it.—Deuteronomy 6:13.

Though Satan was not able to make Jesus worship him, he has succeeded with others. Of course, few people worship Satan deliberately. Nevertheless, by means of trickery, deceit, lies, and fear, Satan and the demons have turned so many people away from the pure worship of Jehovah that the apostle John wrote: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19) Those who worship in ways contrary to God’s Word honor Satan, not Jehovah. The Bible warns: “The things which the nations sacrifice they sacrifice to demons, and not to God.”—1 Corinthians 10:20.