The 2nd commandment vs. the 11th commandment
The second commandment (called the eleventh by many), you will find in Exodus 20.4-6 and Deuteronomy 5.8-10 and it reads:
King James Version
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. 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; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
New International Version
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, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
New American Standard Bible
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
English Standard Version
You shall not make for yourself a 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 on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Few people know that the so-called Second Commandment was erased by the Roman Catholic Church, and even fewer know its content. Doesn't the 10th commandment from the Catholic version seem strange to you? The Church defends itself against this by explaining that its first commandment is both the first and second. By the way, it's worth mentioning that the fourth commandment talks about sanctifying a specific Saturday day. The Catholic version doesn't specify which day it refers to (in the Catholic version it is the third commandment).
Due to the fact that it is very difficult for a person to change his beliefs, and if he has already established for himself that the Catholic Decalogue is true, then even if you give the true version, he is ready to recognize that the Bible is wrong, and church tradition has corrected it. Absurd, but that's how it is. Some Catholics, emphatically argue that since the church created such and not other commandments, it means that they are more important than the Bible. Thus, an erroneous copy has replaced the original. Sad.
When and why was the second commandment removed
Dear reader, know that the vast majority of Catholic inconsistencies with Scripture are due to the fact that the Roman Catholic Church introduced them during the reign of the Romans and the medieval period. Paganism was rampant in Rome, and in order to attract a multitude of more followers, pagan cults were introduced into the Roman Catholic Church, including statues, figures of deities and saints, among others. What is being pursued today, namely ecumenism, has been done. The pure true faith is being killed in favor of a religious mixture that the true God has always forbidden and condemned.
Since 726, and officially in 787, the Council of Nicea allowed the veneration of the cross, relics and images of saints, at which time the second commandment was thrown out and the tenth commandment was divided into two parts. Because of this, we still have the veneration of relics and images in churches around the world today, although in 306 the Synod of Elvira determined that images should not be venerated or prayed before. This is not surprising, however, since in 595 Pope Gregory I ordered repression of those Christians who celebrated Saturday as a holy day, a day indicated in Scripture.
How can one believe that the popes, who were under the power of emperors and later had such power themselves that they poisoned each other, murdered, had wild orgies, raped and had no respect for people, but with their hubris and the rule of power could establish the correct truths of the faith? There was even a time when the Bible was blacklisted by them, forbidden to read, supposedly in defense of the faith. Oh horror, there are still people in this world who still believe that the Holy Scriptures should be taken away from the population and read only by Catholic clergy. What today is considered tradition and church culture was established by people rotten to the core. Put an end to tradition and start professing the true God!
Why it's important
The problem comes from the fact that people generally don't read the source, which is the Scriptures, and if they do, many consider the Old Testament invalid, which is terrible foolishness, because the Old Testament foreshadows the New, and the New constantly quotes the Old, which Jesus also did. So if Jesus quoted the Old Testament and considered it necessary, how do we simple people have the nerve to claim that the older part of the Bible is no longer valid. If you claim that, then you are putting Jesus in the role of a liar. I sincerely encourage you to read the Scriptures, you will then discover how many irregularities there are in the current creeds.
God teaches us that He is everywhere, no statues or images are needed for this. He knew that people would fall so low that they would not be able to pray to Him without so-called aids, and still others would pray directly to statues (pieces of wood, clay or plastic). While some people use pictures or figurines to focus, another part of them pray directly to these things, thus replacing God with a piece of wood or clay. By praying to figurines you are pushing God into the background, and He is the Creator of heaven and earth. Don't pray to the product of human hands, but to God.
Does this commandment apply to the gods
Defenders of the cult of relics and images claim that this commandment applied to the creation of other gods. This is partially true, but not entirely. They claim that cherubim were placed over the Ark in the Temple, and that Moses possessed a copper serpent. This serpent somehow pointed to the death of Jesus. Note, however, that they were not used for prayer; one prayed to God, not to objects.
When the Israelites made worship of the copper serpent, it was destroyed by Hezekiah; 2 Kings 18.4 "He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan." He was not afraid, to destroy the serpent that God had ordered to be created during the plague that afflicted the Israelites. People carry elephants in their wallets, because they believe that this will prevent them from experiencing poverty. They pray to statues believing that by doing so God will better listen to them. Isn't there a God among us that we must create objects and pray to them or consider them talismans? Exalt God in your heart and put away the products.
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