The Biblical View of the Cross
It was already prophesied in the Book of Law that, after the crucifixion, the cross would be publicly used within churches. Long ago, the Israelites went through the desert and bypassed the land of Edom. The people grew impatient along the way and spoke against God and against Moses. Then God’s wrath came upon them; He sent venomous snakes to bite the people of Israel, and many died. After hearing Moses’ prayer, however, God ordered him to make a bronze snake to deliver the Israelites.
Num. 21:8-9 『The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.』
The bronze snake itself had no power; it could not make the Israelites live. It was only God’s word that allowed the Israelites to live: "Anyone who is bitten can look at it [the bronze snake] and live." The Israelites burned incense to the bronze snake up to the time of King Hezekiah, falsely believing that the bronze snake had saved them.
2 Kings 18:4 『He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)』
※"Nehushtan" means "a piece of bronze."The Israelites, who had been bitten by a snake, could live by looking at the bronze snake. This history is a shadow and reveals that mortal spirits, who were deceived by Satan, can live by looking at Jesus Christ—by His precious blood of sacrifice.
John 3:14 『"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."』Just as the bronze snake had no power to give life, the cross itself, on which Jesus died, has no power to give us life. We can be saved only by the words of God—"The precious blood of Christ is the only thing that can give you life." The Israelites burned incense to the bronze snake for almost a thousand years after Moses. This abominable act is a shadow, the reality of which is seen in all of the people who worship the cross—a mere instrument of capital punishment—forgetting the power of Jesus’ precious blood, the power of the Passover. We must not set up any image to worship God, because God is spirit. The sacred law of the new covenant is the only way to worship God, and it is the true symbol of salvation.
Deut. 27:15 『Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol—a thing detestable to the LORD, the work of the craftsman’s hands—and sets it up in secret.』
Jer. 10:3-5 『For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk.』
The cross is mere an idol and cannot give us salvation. It is a tree that is cut out of the forest and shaped by a craftsman’s chisel.
Worship of the Statue of Mary
The Catholic Church honors Mary as the Mother of Jesus, as "the Mother of God," praying in front of statues of Mary. On the surface, such a practice appears to be a good way to teach filial piety, but within such worship is hidden the scheme of the devil, who takes advantage of the human mentality.
Matt. 12:46-50 『While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."』
Out of all of the creatures that He had created, Jesus chose a woman, Mary, to make Himself flesh, so that He might come to this earth. It is not Biblical to revere a mere woman, one of God’s creatures, claiming that she is the Mother of God—the Creator—simply because she bore Him. Actually, the practice of worshipping the image of Mary—followed by the Catholic Church—originated in the ancient Babylonian religion, not in the Early Church. In Babylon, there was a powerful king named Nimrod (Gen. 10:8) whose wife was named Semiramis. Because of her husband’s high position, Semiramis wielded great power. She claimed that when Nimrod died, he became the sun god. She named her son Tammuz and proclaimed him to be the reincarnation of Nimrod. Semiramis, the mother, was worshipped along with her child. Babylonian monuments depict the goddess Semiramis, holding her son, Tammuz, in her arms. This worship of "mother and child" spread to many other ancient countries who were under the influence of Babylon. In Germany, the goddess Hertha was depicted with her child in her arms, and Indian relics show the goddess Indrani carrying her child in her arms. In Egypt, the mother figure was referred to as Isis and her child as Horus. There are many statues and images of Isis, holding the infant Horus on her knee. This ancient, pagan religion spread to Rome, where it widely prevailed. These pagan customs infiltrated early Christianity, and the worship of the pagan goddess was reinterpreted as Mary holding the Baby Jesus. Thus, the Catholic Church’s worship of Mary originated in pagan idolatry, not from the Bible.
Cursed Is the Man Who Bows Down Before Idols
Lev. 26:1 『Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it.』Deut. 27:15 『Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol─a thing detestable to the Lord, the work of the craftsman’s hands─and sets it up in secret.』
From the Biblical point of view, sculpted images of Mary are idols. Whoever erects them, so that they may be worshipped, will be eternally cursed by God and will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
2009년 9월 5일 토요일
Cross is an idol [church of God,ahnsahnghong]
The Church of God does not erect crosses inside the church or on top of it, in accordance with the teachings of the Second Coming Christ, Ahnsahnghong.
The cross is an idol, and God’s people must never adore the cross, or bow down to it.
Nowadays, nearly every church uses the cross to symbolize Christ; however, the cross had been utilized as a pagan religious symbol long before Christ’s crucifixion.
The Bible never condones the use of the cross, and not a single verse reads, "The cross is to be the symbol of the church," or, "The cross should be erected on top of the church," or even, "The cross should be treated as a sacred symbol because it represents the precious blood of Christ."
Historically, the cross was only used as an executioner’s tool. The apostles never believed or testified that the cross should be erected within the church and revered by God’s people.
The truth of the Early Church did not include any teachings about the cross. The Early Church did not use the cross to symbolize Christianity and they did not believe that the cross held any power to drive out evil spirits. The saints of the Early Church did, however, repeatedly stress that idol worshipers would never be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. We need to judge for ourselves whether it is right to set up the cross—following the customs of men—or whether we should refrain from using the cross, in accordance with God’s teachings. God commanded His people not to use or make idols, of any form.
Origin of the Use of Cross
History discloses that the ancient Babylonians were the first people to use the cross for the purpose of worship; the symbol was used to worship Tammuz, the Babylonian god.
The first letter of his name ("T") was inscribed on the official garments of the priests, and their amulets were molded into the same shape. Thus, the cross was a pagan religious symbol.
As the Babylonian culture spread to Egypt, the cross—the symbol of the Babylonian god—was also introduced into Egyptian religion.
The wall paintings within the ancient Egyptian temples, as well as their monuments, depict Egyptian kings and gods holding crosses in their hands. The relics of Amenophis IV are covered with crosses, hanging around the sun. Assyrian sculpted monuments show soldiers with crosses around their necks as they battle against Egypt, and the symbol adorned the necks of the Assyrian kings. Thus, the cross had been used as an ornament to decorate garments, beginning around 1400 B.C. The Romans also worshiped the cross before their culture had fully developed, placing it over their tombs as a charm. Cross-idolatry continued even after the Roman Empire was established. Roman coins, crafted in 46 B.C., hold Jupiter’s portrait, along with a scepter where a cross hangs. The cross, popularly known as the "Calvary Cross," is also found on the ancient gravestones in Thessaly, Greece. Considering such historical evidence, it is clear that the cross had been worshiped by pagans long before the Christian era. It had been widely used to inflict capital punishment after being chosen, in the age of the Roman Empire, as a tool of execution. In those days, the cross was an instrument used to crucify vicious criminals. Since Jesus was hung on the cross, we can guess how much the people had hated Him.Nowadays, most churches use the cross. We can clearly see how corrupted Christianity became after adopting pagan customs. To use the cross as a symbol of the church is an abominable thing, and the churches who erect the cross inadvertently participate in the scheme of the devil—who put Jesus to death.
The Use of Cross
Many Catholics—who consider the cross to be an object of worship, and Protestants—who use the cross as a symbol of Christ, believe that the cross has been used since the days of the Early Church. However, there is no record of the cross being erected on the Early Church, or of such a pattern being made into an ornament.
Historically, the cross first appeared in a church or chamber in 431 A.D., and it was first erected on the top of a steeple in 586 A.D. Thus, veneration of the cross was only a religious custom that appeared after Christianity had begun to absorb paganism. We have to understand the true meaning of the cross, as it was written in the New Testament. The Bible does not boast of the cross itself on which Christ was crucified, but instead, the Bible boasts of Christ, who was sacrificed on the cross, shedding His blood for our sins.
Gal. 6:14 『May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.』
1 Cor. 1:17-23 『...lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God....but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles...』
The cross itself has no power and it cannot grant us salvation. The instrument itself, on which Jesus was sacrificed, is not important. It is only through the precious blood of Jesus that we can receive the forgiveness of our sins.
Eph. 1:7 『In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace...』
Some who boast of the cross say, "If there had not been a cross, there would have been no blood-shedding, no atonement for our salvation, and the prophecy that Jesus would be sacrificed as the Passover lamb, shedding His blood, would not have been fulfilled. Therefore, the cross—on which Jesus shed His precious blood—is the boast of Christians, and a symbol of faith." If this argument were true, they would accept the following false logic as well: "If there had not been no Jews and no Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus and instigated His crucifixion, the prophecy about Jesus shedding His precious blood would not have been fulfilled. Therefore, even Pilate—who executed Jesus—should be respected because he was the person who fulfilled God’s prophecy. He should be venerated as a symbol of salvation in addition to the cross." However, Jesus spoke of Judas Iscariot as follows:
Mark 14:21 『"The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."』
The cross is merely a cursed tree (Gal. 3:13), used by the Romans as a tool of execution. Those who hung Jesus on that tree will be tortured in everlasting hell.
http://text.watv.org
http://usa.watv.org
http://www.uccspace.net
The cross is an idol, and God’s people must never adore the cross, or bow down to it.
Nowadays, nearly every church uses the cross to symbolize Christ; however, the cross had been utilized as a pagan religious symbol long before Christ’s crucifixion.
The Bible never condones the use of the cross, and not a single verse reads, "The cross is to be the symbol of the church," or, "The cross should be erected on top of the church," or even, "The cross should be treated as a sacred symbol because it represents the precious blood of Christ."
Historically, the cross was only used as an executioner’s tool. The apostles never believed or testified that the cross should be erected within the church and revered by God’s people.
The truth of the Early Church did not include any teachings about the cross. The Early Church did not use the cross to symbolize Christianity and they did not believe that the cross held any power to drive out evil spirits. The saints of the Early Church did, however, repeatedly stress that idol worshipers would never be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. We need to judge for ourselves whether it is right to set up the cross—following the customs of men—or whether we should refrain from using the cross, in accordance with God’s teachings. God commanded His people not to use or make idols, of any form.
Origin of the Use of Cross
History discloses that the ancient Babylonians were the first people to use the cross for the purpose of worship; the symbol was used to worship Tammuz, the Babylonian god.
The first letter of his name ("T") was inscribed on the official garments of the priests, and their amulets were molded into the same shape. Thus, the cross was a pagan religious symbol.
As the Babylonian culture spread to Egypt, the cross—the symbol of the Babylonian god—was also introduced into Egyptian religion.
The wall paintings within the ancient Egyptian temples, as well as their monuments, depict Egyptian kings and gods holding crosses in their hands. The relics of Amenophis IV are covered with crosses, hanging around the sun. Assyrian sculpted monuments show soldiers with crosses around their necks as they battle against Egypt, and the symbol adorned the necks of the Assyrian kings. Thus, the cross had been used as an ornament to decorate garments, beginning around 1400 B.C. The Romans also worshiped the cross before their culture had fully developed, placing it over their tombs as a charm. Cross-idolatry continued even after the Roman Empire was established. Roman coins, crafted in 46 B.C., hold Jupiter’s portrait, along with a scepter where a cross hangs. The cross, popularly known as the "Calvary Cross," is also found on the ancient gravestones in Thessaly, Greece. Considering such historical evidence, it is clear that the cross had been worshiped by pagans long before the Christian era. It had been widely used to inflict capital punishment after being chosen, in the age of the Roman Empire, as a tool of execution. In those days, the cross was an instrument used to crucify vicious criminals. Since Jesus was hung on the cross, we can guess how much the people had hated Him.Nowadays, most churches use the cross. We can clearly see how corrupted Christianity became after adopting pagan customs. To use the cross as a symbol of the church is an abominable thing, and the churches who erect the cross inadvertently participate in the scheme of the devil—who put Jesus to death.
The Use of Cross
Many Catholics—who consider the cross to be an object of worship, and Protestants—who use the cross as a symbol of Christ, believe that the cross has been used since the days of the Early Church. However, there is no record of the cross being erected on the Early Church, or of such a pattern being made into an ornament.
Historically, the cross first appeared in a church or chamber in 431 A.D., and it was first erected on the top of a steeple in 586 A.D. Thus, veneration of the cross was only a religious custom that appeared after Christianity had begun to absorb paganism. We have to understand the true meaning of the cross, as it was written in the New Testament. The Bible does not boast of the cross itself on which Christ was crucified, but instead, the Bible boasts of Christ, who was sacrificed on the cross, shedding His blood for our sins.
Gal. 6:14 『May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.』
1 Cor. 1:17-23 『...lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God....but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles...』
The cross itself has no power and it cannot grant us salvation. The instrument itself, on which Jesus was sacrificed, is not important. It is only through the precious blood of Jesus that we can receive the forgiveness of our sins.
Eph. 1:7 『In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace...』
Some who boast of the cross say, "If there had not been a cross, there would have been no blood-shedding, no atonement for our salvation, and the prophecy that Jesus would be sacrificed as the Passover lamb, shedding His blood, would not have been fulfilled. Therefore, the cross—on which Jesus shed His precious blood—is the boast of Christians, and a symbol of faith." If this argument were true, they would accept the following false logic as well: "If there had not been no Jews and no Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus and instigated His crucifixion, the prophecy about Jesus shedding His precious blood would not have been fulfilled. Therefore, even Pilate—who executed Jesus—should be respected because he was the person who fulfilled God’s prophecy. He should be venerated as a symbol of salvation in addition to the cross." However, Jesus spoke of Judas Iscariot as follows:
Mark 14:21 『"The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."』
The cross is merely a cursed tree (Gal. 3:13), used by the Romans as a tool of execution. Those who hung Jesus on that tree will be tortured in everlasting hell.
http://text.watv.org
http://usa.watv.org
http://www.uccspace.net
피드 구독하기:
글 (Atom)