Don't
Invalidate His
Word With Your Time-Honored Customs
"but
you--this is what you say: `If a man says to his father or mother, That
is
consecrated, whatever it is, which otherwise you should have received
from
me--he shall be absolved from honouring
his father';
and so you have abrogated God's Word for the sake of your tradition." (Matthew 15:5-6 [Weymouth New Testament])
"You
shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in
heaven above
or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth." (Deuteronomy
5:8
[NASB])
Idolatrous
steeples [Baalim / Asherim]
are set up / reside
on top of church buildings all across the landscape.
The Egyptians placed obelisks at the sides of
temple portals in pairs, dedicating them to the sun god.
What will the people of the Lord do when they
discover that their steeples' origin is based on symbolism to the sun
god and
goddess, and have been instituted for such a purpose? I
wonder how many people who claim to fear the
Lord already know there are idols on their holy sanctuaries (but yet
remain
impious toward God, choosing to let the idols stay "to draw the world
toward
God").
In the Old
Testament, the
Lord makes it very clear that such a practice is not acceptable.
Have we (as a people) gone the way of the
Scribes
and Pharisees to choose to transgress the commandments of God to
preserve our vain
traditions? (See Matthew 15:1-6)
"You
shall not set up for yourself a sacred
pillar which
the LORD your God hates." (Deuteronomy
"Do
not
make idols or set
up
carved images, sacred
pillars,
or shaped stones to be worshiped in your land. I, the
LORD, am
your God."
(Leviticus 26:1 [NLT])
"Thou
shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees
near unto
the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt
make
thee. Neither shalt
thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth." (Deuteronomy 16:21-22 [KJV])
(See
also Leviticus 26:1)
Groves / "sacred pillar" / Asherah
poles are symbols of the false goddess / false female deity known as Astarte (also known by Babylonians as Ishtar). This
"goddess" is an associate of the Baal (the
false god who represents productive forces of nature).
These false deities and their symbolisms were
denounced by the prophets of God (See Judges
In the Amplified
Bible (AMP)
interpretation / translation of the bible, Exodus 34:13 reads:
"Thus
saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the
heathen" (Jeremiah 10:2a [KJV])
Since the
steeples have
sacrilegious origin purposed to symbolize false gods and their false
authority,
could anyone who reverences and is led by the Lord believe that our
Lord does
not hate these abominations? (See Malachi 1:6)
"Take
heed to
thyself, lest thou make a
covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest,
lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:
But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut
down
their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD,
whose
name is
Jealous, is a jealous God:" (Exodus
34:12-14 [KJV])
Some have set up
the
obelisks / steeples to draw people to the House of the Lord. But, that nullifies the Lord’s command to
abstain from idols (See Galatians
"let us cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh
and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
(2 Corinthians 7:1 [KJV])
"Abstain
from all appearance of evil." (1
Thessalonians
"But
if any man say unto you, this is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat
not for
his sake that shewed it, and for
conscience sake: for
the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness
thereof:" (1
Corinthians 10:28 [KJV])
In addition to paying
homage to false deities, these obelisks are designed in symbolism of
(representation of) male reproductive organs (Baal is the false god who
represents productive forces of nature).
Exodus 20:4 and Deuteronomy 5:8 express that these idols are not
acceptable. (We are not to make idols in
the form of anything on earth).
Even though this
abomination often is crowned with a cross, it is not holy.
The image of a cross does not make something
sanctified or clean. Hanging a bell on
an idol to summon the "faithful" does not make it holy.
As a cross on top of a Buda statue can not
make the idol / statue holy, a cross on an obelisk / steeple can not
make that sacrilege holy either. No matter
how you
dress it up, a steeple remains a high place, inspired by the
adversaries of God, provoking Him to jealousy and anger.
"Notwithstanding
the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith
his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that
Manasseh had
provoked him withal." (2 Kings 23:26 [KJV])
"For
he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had
destroyed; and
he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of
Israel; and
worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them."
(2 Kings 21:3 [KJV])
content revised: 9/18/05
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