Posted on 11/23/2016 7:05:18 AM PST by Salvation
Monsignor Pope Ping!
It is interesting how artistic renderings over the centuries put their own spin on this topic.
For example, most artistic representations of the Virgin Mary that you see show her either with Nordic features, or being very Italian looking.
I was struck by a recent statue that depicted her looking like a young Jewish girl....much like she must have actually looked.
WWJD?
Flipping over tables and chasing people with a whip is an option.
How about rebuke 2nd Commandment violations?
The Second Commandment
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—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 nor 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 generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Exodus 20:4-6
“Broad and very comprehensive in its wording, the second commandment forbids the worship of the true God through icons, images, or other man-made symbolisms. Many of the heathen nations around Israel claimed that their images were mere figures or symbols by which the Deity was worshiped, but God has declared such worship to be sin. The attempt to represent the Eternal One by material objects would lower man’s conception of God. The mind, turned away from the infinite perfection of Jehovah, would be attracted to the creature rather than to the Creator. And as his conceptions of God were lowered, man’s worship of God—his view of God—would be lowered as well. Anytime we endeavor to represent God, by any devising of our imagination, we lower our concept of the Deity. Anything that we allow to take His place in our lives—be it our job, our bank account, our possessions, our family—of that thing we are making an idol. God calls for us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. In the second commandment we find principles of worship acceptable to God.”
http://godsholylaw.com/commandments/2.cfm
Once again Msgr Charles Pope nails another epistle to the electronic door for all to see an important aspect of the Gospel!
“When the crowds objected to Jesus’ teachings (such as His teaching on the Eucharist at Capernaum), He did not reconsider His words or go out and hire a public relations firm to improve His image. He did not conduct focus groups to test out His words and ideas. No, Jesus doubled down on disputed teachings and then asked His disciples if they were going to desert Him. He had an urgent mission to convey the truth, not debate it at length with detractors.”
I like this. I have often preached to others about the image, personality and character of Jesus is misrepresented.
Jesus was a VERY strong leader (in human terms). He had passion, conviction and was decisive. He didn’t waffle or waiver. He often, in fact usually, created turmoil and angst for Authorities (usually within the Jewish Community and religious leaders. AND he was very compassionate, understanding, forgiving and gentle. He was able to earn followers and loyalty even after being direct about what that loyalty and commitment would mean for them. People rallied around him. Many wanted him to be a king and take on the Romans.
Think of the great leaders in history (both good and bad). Churchill, Reagan, Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, even Hitler. They had charisma and charm. But they were bold and unwavering. AND they had the confidence of their followers because they preached about their love and loyalty to their followers. God loves you and I love you and you need to love each other in this way was as much as an order as it was a message. And it was well received by the people of Jesus.
King David was a ginger. (I Samuel 16:12)
Agreed. A meek, mild-mannered peacenick would not have had the Pharisees and officials in Rome quaking in their boots.
Let not your heart be troubled! In the “Parable of the Mustard Seed”, Jesus told us this would happen! He said the Kingdom of God would grow to the point where the “Birds of the Air” would nest in its branches. In explanation for the “Parable of the Sower”, He told us that the “Birds” were agents of Satan.
So there is a little Satanic infestation in the Catholic Church. So what? Msgr Pope consistently cuts through the bird droppings, so to speak, and delivers the True Gospel. Just say hallelujah and amen!
Excellent once again. Thanks for affording Msgr Pope a wider audience!
I often remind people that "Turn the other Cheek" was about forgiveness and not holding a hateful grudge. But "Anyone that would sin against a child should have a millstone cast around their neck and be thrown into the see." was about compassion. This confuses them. Was Jesus advocating the death penalty? He was silent on the punishment for crimes on the body. He didn't preach against stoning or crucifixion. He preached about the sprit; repentance, forgiveness, etc.
I don't believe Jesus would even comment about saving lives through justice. He was and is about "SAVING SOULS". And, personally, this is where I believe my own Catholic Church falters and has lost its way. Our "Social Justice" mission in the Catholic Church has overwhelmed and led us away from the original intent and mission of the church (My opinion & I am a practicing Catholic). Today, our own Pope seems to advocate salvation through forced government participation. How does advocating social and government action save the souls of God's people. Reducing their free will to participate in some 3rd party, farmed out sacrifice in the way of taxes and redistribution is not what God intended. Nobody is going to heaven simply by paying more taxes.
Apologies for the rant....
I’ve been a Christian since I was seven years old and I’m now 61. I am in no way (please) comparing Him to Trump, but I saw a few things during the campaign that made me realize that the same spirit that was around then is still around today. He didn’t draw those crowds because he was a milquetoast. The scripture says the common people heard him gladly. He fought against the corrupt religious leaders who were leading people the wrong way, which is why they fought against him so hard. He spoke truth forcefully, without compromise, and he held rallies! Big rallies!
Again, please don’t anyone flame me saying that I’m comparing our Lord to Trump...I’m just saying that the conditions and situations of the time seem to mirror what I’ve been seeing during this election season.
Jesus was a strong, uncompromising man of deep compassion. He understood the common working people and He was deeply loved and had a huge following.
Someone's personal opinion. I thought you guys were against adding manmade tradition to the Word of God, but here you go and do it. In reality, of course, you do it all the time.
BTW, the true God, in the same books where the Decalogue is reported, commanded that the Ark of the Covenant be surmounted by two gilded angels, and that the bronze laver be upheld by twelve sculpted oxen.
The Hebrew, BTW, explicitly condemns the making of idols, not generically "carved images" ... or printed images, or television images, or any other kind of image.
Made me want to jump up and holler, “YEAH!!!” (fist pump...)
The show with “Father Albert” where Ann Coulter argued against single mothers (discussed in another thread) is a perfect example of what being a truth teller gets you: SCORN.
Ann was absolutely truthful but the host and the audience basically rose as one to “stone her” with humiliation and contempt. Uncomfortable to watch towards the end.
Contrast this with the cotton candy reception many famous preachers get from their cottage industry of books, tapes and videos. They get fawned over, Ann gets regularly jeered and mocked. Hmmm.
No, I’m afraid he does not deliver the true gospel. He delivers a damning gospel. The Bible makes it utterly clear, Christ plus anything is damning. As has been said, salvation is by faith alone, but that faith will never be alone.
Unmasking the False Gospel
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1010665821
The Gospel Defined and Discerned
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=81901181950
It’s a tad strange what Msgr Pope does on his “Images” video, but -— on second or third thought, that’s OK.
I think that’s rather the point: Jesus is strange Because He’s God, and God will always strike us as weird: disturbingly outside of our expected categories.
I totally agree with you! YHWH often book marks ages or nations. Start The United States of America with an obviously Providential President, and end with an obviously Providential President!
The Bible, in its original languages, is the revealed Word of YHWH, the Ain Sof, the Creator of the Universe. The entire Word established the boundary conditions for all significant events in the Universe from beginning to end.
Everyone has free will until they bump up against a boundary condition that involves them. Then YHWH will “harden your heart” and you are stuck with your decision. In Quantum Mechanics it is called “spontaneous symmetry breaking” that collapses a superposition of states into one observed state.
We are very near the end of the Bible. The Revelation 12:1-2 great sign in the heavens will happen September 23-24, 2017. There is strong evidence that the matching verses, 12:5-6 mean that the people who believe in the Messiah’s First Coming, and his imminent return, will be “caught up to God and His Throne” and that the people who believe in the Promise, but missed Him the first time will be protected for 1260 days, from all Hell breaking out on Earth.
If you study the Word, you will find out that “nations” are very important to YHWH, and trying to unite all people in one government/religion, is despised by YHWH. It started with the Tower of Babel, so when the EU made their headquarters to look like a painting of the Tower of Babel, you know they are in trouble.
The United States of America was founded as a nation “ruled by God”, which is what Israel means. Many of the founders thought of it as a “New Israel”. Jonathan Cahn, has explored this extensively, and the events surrounding the 9/11 attack on the USA are compelling, and seem to identify the USA with the Ten Tribes of Israel that were dispersed by the Assyrians.
It is undeniable that decedents of Judah, Benjamin, and remnants of Levi and the ten other tribes that went into the Babylonian Captivity, are moving back into the original Promised Land (The Modern State of Israel). But only YHWH knows where the rest of those Ten Tribes ended up.
So that brings us to what can be happening here in the United States of America in the last year of the Age of Grace, the Church Age, the period between the First and Second Coming, or the two days between the final dispersion of the Jews and their regathering in Israel. It doesn’t matter what you call it. It is here, now.
As the Word says will happen in the Last Days, almost all the organized churches have fallen away from the original Gospel, to one degree or another. That means that there are a lot of Lost Sheep out there to be gathered in before the final harvest.
So what has YHWH done? Well, in the rest of the world He is gathering them in the old fashion way, but allowing Lucifer to persecute the Hell out of the Christians. This really spreads the faith, as it did in the Days of the Apostles.
With the United States, all fat, dump and happy from His material blessing, and now under the governmental control of the Luciferian New World Order, and their fly attracting leaders, He needed a different approach.
His answer appears to be one Donald John (voice crying in the wilderness, get it?) Trump who appears to be a melding of Samson, Cyrus and Nehemiah.
Read Judges 13-16 and then look at the characteristics Donald Trump shares with Samson: Doesn’t drink, ever; has really wild hair; is really harsh if you treat him badly or unfairly; ran around with a lot of foreign women.
You can read Isaiah 45 (FORTY FIVE! get it) to find out about Cyrus, a gentile who was God’s Instrument in punishing the Babylonians, and returning Judah back to Jerusalem.
Of course, Nehemiah was the one whom King Artaxerxes, sent back to Jerusalem to actually BUILD THE WALL (get it?) and after that to bust up the corrupt establishment and restore the Law of Moses to the land. Read the whole book of Nehemiah and think of how it could be paralleled in the first few months of a Trump Administration.
Next stop is the inauguration which will take place when Donald J. Trump is 70 years, 7 months, and 7 days old in the Hebrew year 5777! You can’t make this stuff up because God already did!
So, I think that if we all listen closely to what the Holy Spirit is telling each us Members of the Body of Christ to do, which may include working hard and praying for Donald Trump, then I think we get a Nehemiah period before we are harvested and the Luciferian New World Order folks get their wish to be rid of us, and to have the world all to themselves.
Pretty right on I think.
One thing is, he sure didn’t wear clerical garb and all the high-fallootin’ stuff that priests, bishops and the Pope wear - and would have been aghast at any suggestion to do so.
Priestly garb is just a more modern version of what the high priest and Pharisee’s wore - the one’s who arranged and called for Jesus death......
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.