A Bolivian man, Víctor Alvarez, recently told the incredible story of how he escaped after allegedly being buried alive as a human sacrifice to Pachamama, the goddess of fertility and earth, in early August, The Daily Mail reports.

Some Bolivians believe that the goddess Pachamama opens her mouth for offerings at the Mother Earth Festival and those participating will make sacrifices including sweets, cocoa leaves, sheep fetuses and even live animals. Stories have even circulated of human sacrifices in the ancient past.

Alvarez, 30, who was attending this year’s festival held on August 5, 2022 is convinced that he was buried alive as a sacrifice to Pachamama after he passed out from drinking.

Because when he awoke, Alvarez found himself inside a coffin buried in the ground. Fortunately, he was able to break through the coffin and dig his way out.

The Bible mentions several instances of human sacrifice.

When the Egyptian Pharaoh ordered the killings of the Hebrew baby boys while in their Egyptian captivity, he did a very unusual thing. Instead of killing the babies on the spot, he ordered them thrown alive into the Nile River (Exodus 1:22).

Why would he go this second, unnecessary step?

I believe it was a form of human sacrifice, as the Nile was one of three major gods of Egypt, the other two being the Sun/pharaoh and the ox.

Parents also sacrificed their children to Moloch, a variation of Baal made up of a body of a man and the head of an Ox. A fire was set inside the massive metal idol, and the children were placed on the outstretched arms and rolled into the fire inside (Ezekiel 23:37).

But there is another interesting story that involved the sacrifice of an adult male, recorded in 2 Kings 3.

By this point, Israel had split apart into two nations, Judah and Samaria (Israel).

The Moabites had been subjugated by Israel and were paying an annual tribute. However, King Mesha had tired of this and refused to pay.

This resulted in Israel’s king, Jehoram, asking Judah and Edom to help bring Moab back into submission.

When Judah’s King Jehoshaphat had second thoughts about this war, the Prophet Elisha gave a prophetic word that God had given Mesha into their hands (2 Kings 3:18).

The three armies attacked and quickly routed the Moabite army. With his army decimated, King Mesha fled back to his castle with his remaining 700 soldiers for the final stand.

But in an act of desperation, Mesha took his eldest son up onto the wall and sacrificed him to their god, Chemosh.

After he did this, we are told that an odd thing happened, Israel withdrew from the battle:

²⁷ Then he took his oldest son who was to reign in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel, and they departed from him and returned to their own land. (2 Kings 3:27 NASV)

Even though Elisha had promised victory, Israel pulled back after experiencing what is described as a ‘great wrath.’

The Hebrew word translated wrath, qetseph, comes from the Hebrew word that refers to a person splintering wood in anger and refers to wrath or rage.

With the Moabite army now down to 699 men, this wrath certainly did not come from the soldiers cowering behind the castle walls.

But we see the same Hebrew word used to describe the wrath that fell upon Israel after a person took a forbidden object from Jericho.

After their invasion of the Promise Land, Joshua had warned the Israelites not to take any items from Jericho because it was accursed. If they did, then Israel would become accursed as well.

¹⁸ And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. (Joshua 6:18 NKJV)

And when Achan secretly stole some items from Jericho, we are told that Israel became accursed, and wrath fell upon the nation.

²⁰ Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.’ ” (Joshua 22:20 NKJV)

In both these instances, there was clearly a spiritual dimension at work here.

By sacrificing his eldest son, I believe Mesha unleashed a demonic horde on Israel.

But what is this wrath referring to?

It is uncertain what it involved, but I suspect that Israel was hit with a spirit of intimidation and fear, perhaps even night terrors (Psalm 91:5), that caused them to flee the battlefield.

But God had promised victory. All Israel had to do was withstand this spiritual onslaught, and Moab would have been defeated.

READ: Man ‘smashes his way out of a COFFIN after being buried alive “as a sacrifice to mother earth” when he passed out while drinking at a festival’ in Bolivia AND “Me han querido meter de sullu”: un hombre se salva de ser ofrendado a la Pachamama