Many religions use images, crosses, medallions, figurines, and rosaries for prayer. Images depict God, Christ, the Virgin Mary, and people to whom religions have permitted prayer.
The first thought that comes to mind is: how do we know what God, Christ, and His mother looked like?
We don’t know. All these images and figurines represent fictitious representations. The Shroud of Turin is also a forgery. Christ could not have had long hair, as the Bible tells us:
https://jesu.pl/was-christ-a-nazirite-a-nazorean/
Let us look at these verses and analyze them with a clear mind…
1 – The First Commandment – the decalogue:
„Then God spoke all these words: 'I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.'” „You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me.” – Exodus 20:1-5
The Ten Commandments prohibit the making of any images for prayer or worship. Note that it prohibits praying „through” and „to” images/statues/figures, etc.
These are strong words. They also appear in subsequent books of the Old and New Testaments.
2 – The prohibition against making sculptures of people:
“12 And the Lord your God spoke to you from the midst of the fire… 15 Now be careful, since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, 16 lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female…” – Deuteronomy 4:12-16.
3 – You shall not make for yourself any graven image or any likeness:
„See, I am giving you this land. Go, possess it… See, you shall not make for yourself any graven image or any likeness… You shall not bow down to them or serve them” – Deuteronomy 5:8–9.
4 – Cursed is he who prays to idols:
„Cursed is everyone who makes a carved image or cast metal—it is an abomination to the Lord, the work of a craftsman’s hands, and sets it up in a secret place. And all the people shall answer, saying, Amen.”—Deuteronomy 27:15.
5—God’s covenant did not allow for carved images, statues, or pictures:
„Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you, and not to make for yourselves a carved image of anything the Lord your God has forbidden you.”—Deuteronomy 4:23.
6—Falls prostrate before a piece of wood:
„All the idol makers are worthless; their favorite works are worthless; their worshippers do not see themselves, nor do they realize that they are covering themselves with shame. Who carves an idol and casts an image so as not to profit? Behold, all the worshippers of this idol will be ashamed; its makers are themselves human beings. Let them all gather and stand! Together they will be terrified and ashamed....from the rest he makes a god, before which he prostrates, he creates a carved image, before which he prostrates, he makes his own god, his idol, to which he prostrates and before which he prays, saying, 'Save me, for you are my god!’ [Such] ones have neither knowledge nor understanding, for their eyes are darkened, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. Such a one does not reflect; he has neither knowledge nor understanding to say to himself, „Half I have burned in the fire, and baked bread on hot coals, and roasted the flesh that I eat; and with the rest I will make an abomination. I will worship a piece of wood” – Isaiah 44:9-20.
7 – God cannot be represented in pieces of wood or gold:
“Therefore, since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that what comes from God is like gold, silver, or stone, the work of man’s hands, or the device of his devices” – Acts 17:29 (ESV).
8 – They became fools. They exchanged God for images:
“Thus, professing to be wise, they became fools. They exchanged the immortal glory of God for images like corruptible man, birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things” – Romans 1:22-23 (ESV).
9 – Paul acted against the artisans making figurines:
„A certain silversmith named Demetrius was bringing in large profits to artisans making silver shrines of Artemis. He gathered them together with those who made similar things and said, 'Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this trade. You see and hear that not only in Ephesus but throughout almost all of Asia, this Paul has convinced and seduced a great number of people, saying that those made by hands are not gods. There is danger that not only will our trade be disgraced, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be considered worthless, and she, whom all Asia and the whole world worships, will be stripped of her majesty.” – Acts 19:24-27
10 – They burned the prayer statues:
“They threw their gods into the fire, for they were no gods, but the work of human hands, wood and stone, and they destroyed them.” – Isaiah 37:19.
11 – Sculptures and statues are a fraud:
“7 The craftsman has polished the tongue of these gods, but they are gilded and silver-plated, and they are a fraud, unable to speak.”
“25 Because they have no feet, they must be carried on the shoulders, thus showing men their worthlessness.”
“50 Therefore let it be known that things of wood, gold-plated, and silver-plated are a fraud.” – Baruch 6:1-72.
12 – Praying before images and statues is prostitution:
„You took the ornaments of gold and silver that I had given you and made for yourself human images and committed prostitution before them” – Ezekiel 16:17.
13 – Praying to images or through images/crosses is NOT praying to God:
„10 And those who are wretched and arrogant in inanimate things are those who call the works of human hands gods: gold, silver, works of art, and animal images, or useless stone, the work of an ancient hand.”
„11 And behold, a certain carpenter cut down a suitable tree, skillfully stripped off all the bark from it, and after working it carefully, made an implement suitable for daily use.”
„12 And he used the scraps from this work to cook food and was satisfied.”
„13 He took from it a scrap that was no longer fit for anything, a twisted log full of knots, and carved it, amusing himself with work for leisure, and fashioned it, testing his skill. He recreated in it the image of a man.„
„14 Or he made something like some lowly animal. He painted its surface with lead, reddened it, and covered it with every blemish.”
„15 He prepared a suitable room for him, placed it on the wall, and fastened it with iron.”
„16 So he took care of him, lest he should fall, knowing that he could not help himself, for he was only an image and needed help.”
„17 But when he prays for his possessions, for the marriage of his children, he is not ashamed to speak to the soulless. And from the powerless, he prays for health.„
„18 To the dead, he prays for life. The most helpless begs for help, and for a safe journey, from the one who cannot walk.
„19 For wages, for work, for a happy hand, for strength, he prays to the one whose hands are completely powerless.” – Wisdom 13:10-19
14 – We are to have nothing to do with idolatry:
“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” – 1 Corinthians 10:14 (ESV).
15 – Revelation informs us that some people will still pray to and through images:
“And the rest of humanity, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk” – Revelation 9:20.
Reader, pay attention to what this verse says: images depicting a so-called god, because it’s unclear who is depicted in them. This is the worship of demons, idols.
16 – Statues and images do NOT depict the true God:
“What good is an idol carved by a sculptor, or a cast metal, or a false oracle? How can a craftsman rely on his gods, on silent images that he himself has made? (19) Woe to him who says to a tree, ‘It will awaken,’ or to a dead stone, ‘It will rise!’ Can a deity answer? It is covered with silver and gold, but there is no spirit or breath in it.” – Habakkuk 2:18-19.
17 – For God, images and figurines are separate deities:
„Not to us, O Lord, give glory, not to us, but to Your name, because You are good and faithful. (2) Why should the nations say, 'Where is their Lord God?’ (3) Our God is in heaven, and He does everything according to His will. (4) But the gods of the gentiles are silver and gold, the work of mere human hands. (5) They have mouths, but they speak not; they have eyes, but they see nothing; (6) They have ears, but they hear nothing; they have noses, but they smell nothing. (7) They can hold nothing in their hands; their feet are not for walking; no sound comes from their throats. (8) Their makers are like gods, and all who trust in their gods.” – Psalms 115:1-8
18 – Those who bow down to carved images are worshiping idols:
“Let all who bow down to carved images be ashamed, all who boast in their idols” – Psalm 96:7 Septuagint.
19 – Demons, or rebellious angels, are gods:
“For great is the Lord and must be praised, more to be feared than all gods, and all the gods of the gentiles are but demons” – Psalms 95:4
20 – God is not like images of stone, gold, or silver:
“Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we should not think that anything that belongs to God is like gold, or silver, or stone, the work of human hands and devices” – Acts 17:29.
21 – Let those who worship carved images become like them:
“Where is their God? Our God is above, in heaven! Whatever is in heaven or on earth, He has made whatever He pleases. But the idols of the gentiles are only silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak; eyes, but cannot see; ears, but cannot hear; noses, but cannot smell; hands, but cannot feel; feet, but cannot walk; they cannot utter a sound. May those who make them become like them, and so also all who rely on them.” – Psalms 113:10-16
22 – It is forbidden to worship God using images or sculptures:
“What good is a carved image? And they formed a kind of mold, a deceitful image. The maker of these shapes placed such great hopes in them that he began to make mute images. Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake, arise,’ or to stone, ‘Stand upright,’ when it is only a figment of the imagination, a mass of gold and silver. There is no breath in it. But the Lord dwells in His holy temple. Let all the earth fear Him” – Habakkuk 2:18:20
After reading these verses, an interesting question arises: do religions fail to see these Biblical verses?
Why has God placed, in many places in the Bible, prohibitions against the use of images, sculptures, medallions, and rosaries?
Please note that through these verses, God informs us that these images, crosses, and figurines are separate deities.
Why?
Because it is unclear whose image they represent.
Many religions have a problem with these verses because there are so many of them and they are so clear that they cannot be refuted, thrown into the trash, or erased from the Bible.
They exist, and we should consider why God commanded them to be included? What does He want to tell us?
Do religions not know about them?
Some argue that we are not allowed to interpret the Bible ourselves, that we have no right to criticize religions and their traditions, that they are wiser than expressing opinions. Does this mean that we cannot cite these verses, that we cannot think, that we cannot read the Bible?
Let’s see what God said about people who, having heard new teachings, began to verify them in Scripture:
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily to see whether those things were so” – Acts 17:11.
Notice! They were commended by God for reading the Bible, analyzing it, and drawing conclusions!
God did not say: „Why do you question the words of My servants and verify the teachings in the Scriptures? You have no authority to do so… if you do not believe the apostles, you do not believe Me.”
Nothing of the sort.
They were commended for verifying the teachings in the Scriptures.
Scripture is not just addressed to scientists, researchers, professors…
Let’s see what Christ said to God:
„At that time the Son of God rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 'I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for such was Your good pleasure.'” Luke 10:21
Let’s consider this: if some of the Judeans „searched the Scriptures daily,” they must have read them, analyzed them, and drawn conclusions.
Let’s do the same…
In summary,
What you, the reader, do with this knowledge is your personal business. God gave us free will to choose between truth and lies, God and satan.
I only ask one thing of you.
Sit comfortably in a quiet place, read these verses again, and check your Bible to see if they read the same.
Why?
Because this is an important issue regarding the book of life:
https://jesu.pl/are-you-written-down-in-the-book-of-life/
If you remember Christ’s story about talents, those who multiplied their talents were rewarded, while those who did nothing were thrown away.
How can talents be multiplied?
By researching, seeking the truth, and analyzing Christ’s teachings, and that, dear reader, is what I wish for you.
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