Posted on 09/26/2006 6:26:26 AM PDT by NYer
You are speaking of the temple mentioned in Ezekiel's prophecies, which comes down from heaven?
There has to be some sort of temple built before then, since there is a false christ that will defile a "holy place" just before the Lord's return.
I've often thought a member of such a group was among Jesus' following.
First off, Catholics do NOT worship statues. These 'images' are no different than the photographs of your wife, husband, children, parents, etc. that you carry in your wallet. They are a constant reminder of the presence of God in our lives.
But, since you raised the topic, you may have forgotten about the many passages where the Lord commands the making of statues. For example: "And you shall make two cherubim of gold [i.e., two gold statues of angels]; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece of the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be" (Ex. 25:18–20).
David gave Solomon the plan "for the altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All this he made clear by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning it all, all the work to be done according to the plan" (1 Chr. 28:18–19). David’s plan for the temple, which the biblical author tells us was "by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning it all," included statues of angels.
Similarly Ezekiel 41:17–18 describes graven (carved) images in the idealized temple he was shown in a vision, for he writes, "On the walls round about in the inner room and [on] the nave were carved likenesses of cherubim."
In fact, during a plague of serpents sent to punish the Israelites during the exodus, God told Moses to "make [a statue of] a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live" (Num. 21:8–9).
One had to look at the bronze statue of the serpent to be healed, which shows that statues could be used ritually, not merely as religious decorations.
Catholics use statues, paintings, and other artistic devices to recall the person or thing depicted. Just as it helps to remember one’s mother by looking at her photograph, so it helps to recall the example of the saints by looking at pictures of them. Catholics also use statues as teaching tools. In the early Church they were especially useful for the instruction of the illiterate. Many Protestants have pictures of Jesus and other Bible pictures in Sunday school for teaching children. Catholics also use statues to commemorate certain people and events, much as Protestant churches have three-dimensional nativity scenes at Christmas.
If one measured Protestants by the same rule, then by using these "graven" images, they would be practicing the "idolatry" of which they accuse Catholics. But there’s no idolatry going on in these situations. God forbids the worship of images as gods, but he doesn’t ban the making of images. If he had, religious movies, videos, photographs, paintings, and all similar things would be banned. But, as the case of the bronze serpent shows, God does not even forbid the ritual use of religious images.
It is when people begin to adore a statue as a god that the Lord becomes angry. Thus when people did start to worship the bronze serpent as a snake-god (whom they named "Nehushtan"), the righteous king Hezekiah had it destroyed (2 Kgs. 18:4).
Now we enter the apocrypha, strange ideas indeed.
Long before. Enoch/Thoth
I've often thought a member of such a group was among Jesus' following.
Fascinating. Who?
Thank you, NYer! This is exactly the answer I had hoped for!
"Matthew 16:19 (Whole Chapter) "I will give you [Is 22:22; Rev 1:18; 3:7] the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and [Matt 18:18; John 20:23] whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."
may have had a special agenda in that regard.
Ah, I must disagree.
The Egyptians believed that knowing a god's proper name - and being able to pronounce it correctly - enabled them to control and use said god's powers.
The Scripture you point to documents a gift from God to man, not man's demand of God.
:) Gotcha.
*Snicker*
Yes, I want you to blow yourself up for Allah.
;)
Candelabra?
The candles that luminated the Ark? That had the golden bowls?
It's always something.
LOL!
Take care.
Whatever happened to the guy who was supposed to dig up the Ark in Israel this year?
again huh?
You sound quite leftist when you describe as "binding" the simple act of respect and reverence Jews accord the Almighty by refusing to pronounce God's real name. If such a benign rule appears so onerous to you, how do you function with other issues of traditional respect conservatives cherish?
The origins of the respect and deference we are instructed to accord God's name are in the Old Testament a text which Christians as well as Jews revere. [Deut. 28:58; Leviticus 19:12; Exodus 20:7; Nehemiah 9:5; Malachi 3:20 to name a few]
..................
Parshat Ha'Azinu includes the verse: "When I say God's Name, it should be with greatness." The commentators explain this to mean when we say God's Name, we must concentrate on the great significance of who God is - that He encompasses all of past, present and future.
http://www.aish.com/torahportion/TorahBytes/Pronouncing_the_Name.asp
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title. It represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relation of God to the Jewish people. In awe at the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for them, the scribes of sacred texts took pause before copying them, and used terms of reverence so as to keep the true name of God concealed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Judaism
You are talking about something entirely different.
"You are talking about something entirely different."
Something so sacred you can't even name it in your post?
"The "new testament," of course, has about as much credibility as the koran." Zionist Conspirator
Care to enlighten folks on what you mean by that statement?
...the possession of property known to have been stolen from another is, well, stealing.
Almost.
Property taken by conquest or derring-do is called Booty or Loot or Plunder or Spoil, and there's not a darn' thing wrong with that.
For example, most of the treasures of the Tabernacle (including the Ark of the Covenant) were made of goods "borrowed" by the Children of Israel from the Egyptians, on a rather permanent basis. (cf Exodus 12:35-36)
>> "The "new testament," of course, has about as much credibility as the koran." Zionist Conspirator
> Care to enlighten folks on what you mean by that statement?
I suspect Zionist Conspirator was just trying to be provocative, build credibility and/or give unnecessary offense.
A great way to make friends and influence people, if you ask me /sarc...
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