Does the Lord Jesus Christ Authorize the Making of Graven Image as a Sign of Salvation? By Aquino Bayani Honest Answer: YES! But before we can fully understand the given answer, we have to know first the God of Moses. Christ is the God of Moses Q1: Who is the God called “I AM WHO I AM?” But Moses replied, “When I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ So what can I tell them?” God said, “I am who I am. You must tell them: ‘The one who is called I AM has sent me to you.’ Tell the Israelites that I, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have sent you to them. This is my name forever; this is what all future generations are to call me. (Ex 3:13-15, TEV) A1: Jesus Christ is the God called “I AM WHO I AM.” Jesus answered, “You belong to this world here below, but I come from above. You are from this world, but I am not from this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. And you will die in your sins if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am’.” (Jn 8:23-24, TEV) So he said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, you will know that ‘I Am Who I Am’; then you will know that I do nothing on my own authority, but I say only what the Father has instructed me to say. (Jn 8:28, TEV) Q2: Who is the Spiritual Rock that followed Moses and the Israelites in the desert? The LORD answered Moses, “Go over there in front of the people, along with some of the elders of Israel, holding in your hand, as you go, the staff with which you struck the river. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb. Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink.” This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel. The place was called Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled there and tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD in our midst or not?” (Ex 17:5-7) A2: Jesus Christ is the Spiritual Rock that followed Moses and the Israelites in the desert. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ. (1Cor 10:1-4) Does the Lord Jesus Christ Authorize the Making of Graven Image as a Sign of Salvation? Honest Answer: YES! And here are the proofs: Q3: Who is the God that sent killer snakes to the Israelites and commanded Moses to make the graven image of a bronze serpent as a visual sign of their salvation? From Mount Hor they set out on the Red Sea road, to by-pass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!” In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses, “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover.” Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered. (Num 21:4-9) A3: Jesus Christ is the God that sent killer snakes to the Israelites and commanded Moses to make the graven image of a bronze serpent as a visual sign of their salvation. Let us not test Christ as some of them did, and suffered death by serpents. (1Cor 10:9) Q4: Who is the Savior of all that authorize the making of graven image and empowered it as a sign of salvation? But as a warning, for a short time they were terrorized, though they had a sign of salvation, to remind them of the precept of your law. For he who turned toward it was saved, not by what he saw, but by you, the savior of all. (Wis 16:6-7) A4: Jesus Christ is the Savior of all that authorize the making of graven image and empowered it as a sign of salvation. Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. (1Jn 4:14) Is the Lord Jesus Christ Jealous of His Own Images, the Images of His Own Mother and His Own Saints? Honest Answer: NO! And here are the proofs: Q5: Who is the God of Moses who gave him the Ten Commandments which include this statuette on images? “I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God,” (Dt 5:6-9a) A5: Jesus Christ is the God of Moses who gave him the Ten Commandments which include the statuette on images. I will therefore admonish you, though ye once knew all things, that Jesus, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, did afterwards destroy them that believed not: (Jude 1:5, DRV) Therefore, why on earth or in Heaven’s name will God be jealous of His own image? He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Col 1:15) Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (Jn 14:8-9) For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of (Jesus) Christ. (2Cor 4:6) Does the Lord Jesus Christ Authorize the Making of the Graven Image of His Crucifixion? Honest Answer: YES! And here are the proofs: “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (Jn 3:13-15) O you poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians! Who has fascinated or bewitched or cast a spell over you, unto whom—right before your very eyes—Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was openly and graphically set forth and portrayed as crucified? (Gal 3:1, AMP) Does the Lord Jesus Christ Prohibit the Making of Graven Image During His Ministry? Honest Answer: NO! And here are the proofs: The Lord Jesus Christ never condemned the graven image of Caesar, but rather, He even endorses it as a legal tender: Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.” They brought one to him and he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They replied to him, “Caesar’s.” So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.’ They were utterly amazed at him. (Mk 12:15-17) The Lord Jesus Christ never condemned the graven image of Caesar, but rather, He even used it for their temple tax: When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes,” he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?” When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the subjects are exempt. But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you.” (Mt 17:24-27) Additional Facts: Fact #1: The Lord Jesus Christ never taught against the making of a graven image or any image during His earthly ministry. Fact #2: The Lord Jesus Christ of the Old Testament who authorized the making of graven image as a sign of salvation is immutable: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8).” Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ authorizes the making of graven image as a sign of salvation yesterday, today, and forever. Believe it or not! splendorofthechurch.ph/2013/09/30/does-the-lord-jesus-christ-authorize-the-making-of-graven-image-as-a-sign-of-salvation-by-aquino-bayani/#comment-5813
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 06:50:38 +0000
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