Cross: Difference between revisions

[[File:Nazaret Kirke Copenhagen altar.jpg|thumb|The cross on the altar in a Catholic Church in Denmark]]

'''Cross''' is an image that most Christian churches use as a symbol of Christianity. However, it was not first introduced as a symbol of faith after [[Suffering on the Cross|Christ’s crucifixion]], but it had been worshiped in pagan religions since ancient times. The cross-shaped frame was also used as the execution tool for the death row inmates in the ancient Near East.

[[Jesus Christ]] was crucified on the hill of Golgotha outside Jerusalem to atone for the sins of mankind on the [[Feast of Unleavened Bread]], which fell on the day before the [[Sabbath]]. For the members of the early Church, there was no possibility that the cross would be used as a symbol of faith because it was an execution tool for not only Jesus Christ but also many church members. According to the Bible and the history of Christianity, there is no record of the early Church using the cross as a symbol of faith. It was said that the cross, which was a symbol of pagan religions and used for a death sentence, began to be established in the church in the fourth century as the church became secularized and the truth was changed.<ref>{{인용 |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/cross-religious-symbol |title= Cross |quote= |website=Britannica}}</ref>

[[file:가톨릭백과사전 십자가의 종류.jpg|thumb| 250px|right |Kinds of the Crosses<ref><i>The Catholic Encyclopedia</i>, Vol. 4, The Encyclopedia Press, Inc., 1913, p. 538</ref>]]

Christian churches began to use the cross as a symbol of Christianity from the time of Constantine I of the Roman Empire (reigned A.D. 306–337).<ref name="십자가">Cross, ''Baker's Dictionary of Theology'', Everett F. Harrison, Baker Book House, 1960 pg. 152</ref> This proves that the church had not set up the cross for almost 300 years after Jesus until the time of Constantine. Among the Romans, there was a general feeling of disgust that crucifixion was an instrument of execution only for the most notorious criminals. There was no danger of beautifying the cross by sentiment for the early Christians, surrounded by crucifixion as a grim fact of common experience.<ref name="십자가" /> This is because the cross was one of the instruments used by the Roman Empire to execute Christians while persecuting the early Church. It is said that Apostle Peter was also martyred, hanging upside down from the cross.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=John+21%3A18-19&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=John 21:18–19|quote=}}</ref><ref>Peter Is Crucified Upside Down, 1001 Days That Shaped the World, Michael Wood, ''Quintessence'', October 13, pg. 89</ref> It was in the time of Constantine that crucifixion was abolished.

The second of the Ten Commandments warns us not to make idols or worship them in any image.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Exodus+20%3A4-6&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=Exodus 20:4–6|quote=}}</ref> There is no record in the Bible that it is okay to make an exception to the image of a cross. Regardless of how much you worship a cross or depend on the image of the cross, making it to serve God itself is an act of rebelling against the commandment. God told us not to compare Him to any images. When it comes to worshiping God, we must never make anything with materials nor honor it.

{{quote5 |내용= “Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.” |출처=[https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Exodus+20%3A23&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 Exodus 20:23]}}

{{quote5 |내용= “You shall not '''make''' for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or '''worship''' them.”  |출처=[https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Exodus+20%3A4-5&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 Exodus 20:4–5]}}

The Bible forbids relying on or worshiping idols made of gold, silver, wood, or stone.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Leviticus+26%3A1&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=Leviticus 26:1|quote=}}</ref> The cross made of wood or other materials is also an idol mentioned in the Bible. The Bible teaches that idols made of these materials have no power to curse or bless people,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Jeremiah+10%3A1-5&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=Jeremiah 10:1–5|quote=}}</ref> and warns that those who make and worship idols will be cursed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Deuteronomy+27%3A15&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=Deuteronomy 27:15|quote=}}</ref>

The history of the Israelites written in the Bible prophesied that the church would worship the cross. The Israelites left Egypt by the power of God 3,500 years ago, and headed toward Canaan. As they were told to take a farther route, they grumbled and complained against God and [[Moses]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Numbers+21%3A4-5&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=Numbers 21:4–5|quote=}}</ref> Then, God’s wrath came upon them, and many of them were bitten by venomous snakes in the desert and died.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Numbers+21%3A6&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=Numbers 21:6|quote=}}</ref> Moses prayed to God for the people,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Numbers+21%3A7&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=Numbers 21:7|quote=}}</ref> and God asked Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole. Then, He said, “Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Numbers+21%3A8-9&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=Numbers 21:8–9|quote=}}</ref> When Moses did what God said, the Israelites lived by looking up at the bronze snake on the pole. It was God’s word and power that made them live. The bronze snake itself was just a material and tool, and it had no power to save people. However, because of their wrong belief, the Israelites worshiped the bronze snake until the time of King Hezekiah for approximately 800 years. King Hezekiah, who was called a religious reformer of South Judah, broke the bronze snake that had occupied the hearts of the people and called it Nehushtan (a piece of bronze).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=2+Kings+18%3A3-4&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=2 Kings 18:3–4|quote=}}</ref> The case of the bronze snake in the Old Testament was a prophecy about the crucifixion of Jesus in the New Testament.

{{quote5|내용="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." |출처=[https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=John+3%3A14-15&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 John 3:14–15]}}

In the Old Testament times, the Israelites were saved by the power of God’s word, “Anyone who is bitten can look at it [the bronze snake] and live.” It shows that the saints in the New Testament will be saved through the sacrifice and power of Jesus on the cross. However, in the Old Testament times, the Israelites worshiped the visible bronze snake, forgetting the power of God’s word. Likewise, in the New Testament times, many Christians forget the sacrifice of Jesus shedding precious blood on the cross, but they honor a visible image of cross itself. Many times, the apostles of the early Church mentioned that the cross is merely an execution tool and a piece of wood, just as a bronze snake is merely a piece of bronze.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Galatians+3%3A13&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=Galatians 3:13|quote=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=1+Peter+2%3A24&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=1 Peter 2:24|quote=}}</ref>

The Bible shows that the salvation of mankind was not accomplished through the image of a cross, but through Jesus’ precious blood of sacrifice.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=Ephesians+1%3A7&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=Ephesians 1:7|quote=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=1+Peter+1%3A18-19&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3|title=1 Peter 1:18-19|quote=}}</ref> The essence of the [[New Covenant]] that Jesus established with His precious blood is the [[Passover]]. So Apostle Paul, who said that he had nothing to boast about except the cross of [[Christ]], celebrated the sacrifice of Christ through the Passover of the new covenant, and preached it. If we want to boast about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we shall keep and preach [[New Covenant Passover|the Passover of the new covenant]] not the image of the cross.  

{{quote5 |내용= For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread . . . "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the '''Lord's death''' until he comes. |출처=[https://www.studylight.org/study-desk.html?q1=1+Corinthians+11%3A23-26&q2=&ss=0&t1=eng_n84&t2=eng_kjv&t3=eng_nas&ns=0&sr=1&ot=bhs&nt=wh&hv1=1&b=verse&d=3 1 Corinthians 11:23–26]}}

[[Category:Bible Common Sense]]