CHRIST’S SECOND COMMANDMENT

Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

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Please notice that this Commandment comes in two parts. First, we are to never, but EVER make any graven images. This author does not need to show Strong’s definition for this term because Christ delivers His definition within the Commandment. And Christ is quite clear. Second, if we do, for some reason, make any graven images, we are CERTAINLY NOT to bow down in their presence and worship.

This particular letter is going to be half, about the actual Commandment; and half, about excuses that we make here in this little world that we live in. Then a small dose of: IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT OUR CHRISTIAN LEADERS TEACH ABOUT THEIR SINFUL GRAVEN IMAGES!

My dearest friends, if you go to church, please think about the inside of that church. (Also, never forget that this Commandment is about our homes and our lives also.) This author grew up in the Catholic church so we will start with that one. Thankfully, for the purposes of this letter, it happens to be the worst of all churches regarding the second Commandment: and that makes it the easiest to demonstrate. Catholic churches are full of graven images, just as in their Vatican. Statues, paintings, crosses everywhere, mangers depicting the birth of Jesus, etc. Pictures of their saints, their Popes, images in their stained glass windows, etc. All GRAVEN IMAGES!

Now, please consider that all Christian leaders fully understand this Second Commandment, but they also reject Christ’s Commandment here. How do you think Christ might feel about this abomination? Consider the Catholic Church, once again. They actually REWROTE their Catholic Bible and removed Christ’s Second Commandment! Why? Because they possess more graven images that any other church on this earth.

THE CATHOLIC TEN COMMANDMENTS

SOURCE: https://www.beginningcatholic.com/catholic-ten-commandments (Link opens in a new window)

I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

Imagine that . . . a group of folks thinking they know more than God!

“Sorry God, but you got this one wrong. We Catholics will fix it for you.”

Now, please think about your homes and possibly your workplaces. Do you have a cross, religious pictures, or figurines? ALL GRAVEN IMAGES! And Christ forbids them. Simple.

Now, let’s get to the excuses . . .

This author has heard them all:

“This statue represents such and such.”

“This cross reminds us of Christ’s sacrifice and suffering.”

“This nativity scene illustrates God shedding His Glory, and becoming one of us.”

“These stations of the cross remind us of the suffering of Jesus.”

“This statue of Nebuchadnezzar represents this or that.”

Oh, this author could go on and on . . .

All good excuses . . . every single one of them! This author understands every single one of them and admits that they seem to be goodhearted, wholesome, and honoring Christ. To be quite honest, this author even likes some of them: partly due to this author being raised in the midst of these beloved traditions and partly due to this author’s love for our LORD.

But!

Christ commanded us to the contrary!

Remember, that this is Christ speaking to Moses below:

Deuteronomy 4:1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.

Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

Christ understands Satan more than we ever shall. It is Satan who tricks us into creating false gods and it is Satan who tricks us into actually believing those lying excuses just listed above. Why does Christ forbid such things even though we might convince ourselves of their “good?” Because every moment that we consider those graven images is a moment we are not considering the greatness of our Creator. Every ounce of preciousness that we place upon those graven images is a removal of the preciousness of God! And Satan has accomplished this one ounce at a time, to the point where God no longer occupies the center of our attention. One statue here, one picture of Mary holding her baby, one image placed in a stained glass window, one cross hanging on the wall, and my gosh, this author could go on forever here.

Now multiply all of those forbidden graven images times the billions of people on this world and you can now imagine how “small” we have made our LORD. Small things to us, but quite enormous to Satan and our LORD. Because only they understand the magnitude of our failure: we do not. We must always at least try to consider God’s side of this life. For truly, He is our Creator and He shall be our Judge. We are to obey! And why did Christ place our “obedience” at the top of His list regarding His expectations of us? Because Christ knows there are many things that no person can ever understand, here on this little earth. Christ understands that He crafted perfect commands which will help us navigate this evil-filled world that we live in. Christ also understands that if we fail to obey His commands, then we do not love Him, despite our frequently telling other folks that we do. He is recording all of our deeds in a Book and our disobedience is included in His records. This little world is nothing, compared to our LORD’s eternal existence. This little world is nothing, compared to OUR future in Heaven and OUR eternal existence. When you make or possess graven images, you are placing your eternal existence in jeopardy. Satan fully understands this and Christ’s Second Commandment is just one of Satan’s deceptions in this world. Satan’s deception? Well, contrary to what your Christian leaders teach you, Satan does not want to destroy you. Satan wants you to worship him, as if he was your god.

Satan needs you and Satan needs you to do well in your lives . . . as long as you are worshiping him. But Satan only needs you, to the extent that he can proudly stand in front of this little earth, smiling, as he declares unto our LORD, “This world is mine now and I am their god!” Christians, you will understand this fully on our next page regarding Christ’s First Commandment (concerning false gods). But for now, please accept Christ’s Truth that all graven images are false gods.

Christians . . . can you now understand just ONE MORE reason why Christ hates all Christians?

I freely place the material found on this webpage in the public domain. Any person may reproduce, copy, and distribute the material found on this webpage “at will.” This author does humbly request that you do not use the information here until you actually “own” it (within your heart). Then, teach it as if you “created” it: you need not give this author, nor this website, any credit. Make the material yours and then teach it like it is yours! For this is the best way to teach anything. Our time remaining is incredibly short now.

POSTSCRIPT:

But now Christians, there is one final and most important matter to consider here. Christ spoke the following words below while He was using that earthly body of Jesus.

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

One of Christ’s simple Truths here is that if you possess any graven images, or if you worship in their presence, He knows that you do not love Him. Simple! And unarguable!

CHRIST HATES ALL CHRISTIANS!

And here is just one reason why!