Christ Ahnsahnghong Revealed The Cross is an Idol

This time, let us study about how Christ Ahnsahnghong revealed the cross is an idol. If one were to travel to a foreign country of which the native language was also foreign, and he/she saw a building with a cross, he/she would identify it as a church. The cross has become the universal symbol of Christianity. However, is God pleased with this act or is it a disrespectful act against God? As we shouldn’t base our acts of faith on our feelings, but rather on God’s approval, let us confirm that in the view point of God, the cross is an idol.

Exodus 20:4-5 ““You shall not make for yourself an image 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; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,”

‭‭Christ Ahnsahnghong’s Commandment About Idolatry

The second commandment of the Ten Commandment is a clear instruction from God to us to not create or worship idols. These idols can take the form of anything in heaven, earth and under the earth. Thus, any object within the universe that one reveres, worships or bows down to is an idol in the view point of God. The cross is no exception to this rule. As the cross was once an instrument of torture which is now revered as the symbol of Christianity, it is indeed an idol in the view point of God.

Leviticus 26:1 ““ ‘Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God.”

The Bible teaches the various forms that an idol can take; an image, a sacred stone or a carved stone. However, don’t objects we see and use in our everyday life have these forms? Don’t we treasure pictures of family? Or marvel at statues built thousands of years ago? Then at what point do these objects become idols? When we give sacred meaning to an object, like a picture of Jesus Christ, a carving of the cross, statues of the virgin Mary and stones used to set up altars, etc, then we make these said objects to be idols.

In the Bible, God talks about a specific idol and warns us that though many nations make it a practice to worship said idols, we should not fall into this trap.

Jeremiah 10:2-5 “This is what the Lord says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified by them. For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.””

When we look at the cross, does it take its form automatically or does it have to go through the processes mentioned in the above verse? Does a tree have to be cut down and shaped, chiseled and adorned? Does it need to be carried because it cannot walk and fastened because it cannot stand on its own? The purpose of a scarecrow is to scare off birds who are unknowing of its lack of power. Just like the scarecrow, the cross holds no power yet Christians hold much sacred value to it. Thus, we must heed God’s warning and remove our fear of it because it can do no harm nor can it do any good.

‭‭Many make excuses about why they continue to hold onto the cross. Some insist that they do not worship it. Others argue that they only keep it because it is a valuable heirloom they inherited. However, what warning does God give about such excuses?

The Cross is and Idol Brings Curses

Deuteronomy 27:15 ““Cursed is anyone who makes an idol—a thing detestable to the Lord, the work of skilled hands—and sets it up in secret.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!””

Even the one who comes to make the cross is said to be cursed. Then what about the one who sets it up in secret? An idol, like the cross, is a detestable thing in God’s perspective. From God’s own words, keeping an idol shows hate towards God (Ex 20:4-5). After all the sacrifice God has made for us from the beginning of time, do we really want to show God hate by holding onto the cross knowing that the cross is an idol?

‭‭Jeremiah 2:27-28 “They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’ Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns.”

From a literal perspective, the actions mentioned in the above verse may seem like an exaggeration. However, do not people bow down to pieces of wood carved into a cross and say “You are my father”? And do not people bow down to stones carved into statues of virgin Mary and say “You gave me birth”? This verse speaks to us living in these last days too and it must not be ignored. When we continue to hold the cross and other such idols, it is as disrespectful as turning our backs on God.

‭‭Appearance of the Cross in the Church After the Crucifixion

How, then, did the cross become so prominent amongst Christians since the cross is an idol, hated object by God? History shows that the cross was not introduced into the church until Roman Emperor Constantine authorized Christianity in about 313 A.D.

“The public use of the cross was adopted by the Christians as a symbol at the time of Constantine. For early Christians, surrounded by crucifixion as a grim fact of common experience, there was no danger of beautifying the cross by sentiment” (Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, p. 152).

Christ Ahnsahnghong Revealed the Cross is an Idol Through Prophecy

With regards to the cross, the Bible prophesied about man’s act of idolatry.

Numbers 21:4-6 “They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.”

As God was guiding the Israelites through the desert, the people began to grumble and complain about their state of living while in the desert. Due to this sin, God sent venomous snakes among the people and many of them died. Realizing their sin, the Israelites began to repent to God and thus God gave them a solution.

Numbers 21:7-9 “The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.”

‭‭As instructed, Moses built the bronze snake and when the Israelites looked at the snake, they were healed. However, did the bronze snake contain some power that allowed the Israelites to live? If Moses had built the snake without God’s instruction would it have saved the Israelites? No, because the real power lay in the words of God; had God not said that they would live, the Israelites would never have lived. Yet, the Israelites failed to recognize this and rather worshipped the bronze snake.

2 Kings 18:3-4 “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)”

‭‭This verse speaks about the actions of King Hezekiah. As Hezekiah entered the temple and saw the people burning incense to it, what did he do that pleased God? He destroyed it. Why did this please God? When incense is burned to an object, it is usually because that object is being worshipped. Therefore, as the people were burning incense to the bronze snake, this showed that they were worshiping it; they converted it into an idol. For 800 years, the people had committed this distasteful act of idolatry against God by failing to realize that the true power of healing was in the words of God. Taking into consideration all the disrespect we show God when we commit idolatry, we can only imagine God’s heart against the people who held onto this idol for centuries. This is why Hezekiah’s actions of destroying the Nehushtan (piece of bronze) was pleasing to God.

However, this history was a prophecy to be fulfilled in the New Testament times.

John 3:14-15 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.””

‭‭The history of the bronze snake is a prophecy of Christ being lifted up on the cross. Assessing each aspect of this history, let us once and for all extinguish the cross and all other idols from our lives.

The bronze snake was lifted up because the people were in dire need of help; they were dying from the snake bites as a consequence of their grumbling. In the same way, Christ was lifted up on the cross because we were destined to face an eternal death due to our unforgivable sin.

Nonetheless, the Israelites failed to realize that the source of their healing was in the words of God and not the bronze snake itself. Likewise, today, Christians revere and worships the cross failing to realize that God said we receive the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life through His flesh and blood shed on the cross, not the cross itself.

Furthermore, the Israelites maintained the detestable practice of idolatry for 800 years until Hezekiah came and destroyed it. To a more detrimental degree, Christians have been holding onto the cross for 1600 years and continue to do so.

Christ Ahnsahnghong, who came with the mission of restoring the lost truth, revealed the true nature of the cross and urged us all to follow in Hezekiah’s example by destroying the cross (and other idols) from our lives of faith. As He has shown us that the cross is an idol, we must get rid of it from our lives by remembering that it blocks us from entering heaven. For those who seek eternal life, let us follow the words that God sacrificed Himself, even two times to give us. Let us whole heartedly keep the Passover of the new covenant that Christ Ahnsahnghong re-established for our salvation.

God bless you.