I was watching a Roman Mass on EWTN and it brought up a question for me.
All around the church there were crucifixes, icons of Mary, Jesus, etc. But up behind the altar there was a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, complete with cherubim.
Question is, if you believe icons to be idolatry, is the replica of the Ark as idolatrous as the icons themselves?
During the Old Testament when the Jews who were far away from the Temple in Jerusalem prayed, they looked towards the direction of the Temple as to worship the Shekinah Glory (divine presence) of God. So facing towards the Temple when praying was mandatory practice in acknowledging God's presence. The Ark of the Covenant was in the Holy of Holies and only the High Priest can enter therein, but once a year for making
REQUESTS of God for the forgiveness of the sins of the people.
Within the New Testament, The Temple is not a material building, but a spiritual one that is not made by human hands, but is where the Holy Spirit Dwells. The Shekinah Glory as Jesus informed the Samaritan woman, that God is no longer found in a physical temple or on Mount Sinai, rather as Jesus instructed true worship is in the spirit, in perpetual observance of the Lord of the Sabbath. The Ark of the Covenant where the commandments and the hidden manna are found are within the sanctified believers.
So that many forms of worship projected into the world maybe construed as idolatry. In the case of a physical ark of the covenant, this would be teetering on the verge of rejecting the Shekinah Glory within the spiritual Temple by virtue of the fact that Jesus defined this practice as
NOT a true form of worship and if it is
NOT a true form of worship, then it is idolatry.
As to the symbol of the Cross without a figure on it, this is purely used as a memorial to the works of Christ, that by the Might of the Cross many are being made subjects of Jesus Christ. So as Apostle Paul declared Jesus will continue to reign through his Cross until he makes many peoples of all nations His subjects.
As to the symbols of icons and statues and the depiction of personages in the form of arts, these can be a form of deflecting material objects, that
DO NOT count as true worship, meaning God does not hear
requests through these multitudes of doors. However, the depiction of departed saints can be a form of a
request to God, through worshipping God
only and inwardly in the spirit, by asking God for you to live to the spiritual standards of that particular saint. So to avoid confusion, we are not making requests through the saint, who is a divergent door and a false form of worshipping God. The danger of making images to saints as
multiple door requests is an old form of Ashira Pole worship, which is the most damnable forms of idolatry.
What is an Asherah pole in the Bible?
An
Asherah pole is a sacred tree or
pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the Ugaritic mother-goddess
Asherah, consort of
El. The relation of the literary references to an
Asherah and archaeological
finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate.
So the Pagan form of worship started with an Asherah Pole depicting the Queen of Heaven with icons surrounding her as extensions to alternate forms of worship through the many doors/pathways in making
requests.
What has done great damage to the Christian faith is the Mariology Gospel of the Queen of Heaven in the 6th Century, as she is called by her followers as Mother of humanity and surrounding her are other icons and doorways to her through her many minions (angelic/saints).
So where do we draw a line between what constitutes idolatry and what constitutes an inanimate memorial symbol?
It is not too complicated to answer this pertinent question. If
a request is made through any other doorway other than God and His Christ, then this according to Jesus constitutes a false form of worship that the Father is displeased off. If a person makes requests of Mary or a saint then this act is construed as an alternate doorway and is diametrically opposed to what Jesus said below...
And
I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. The Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
Basically, the ONLY doorway that we as Christians can make our requests to with the permission and blessings of the Holy Spirit is to the Son, because the sole purpose of TRUE worship is to glorify the Father by making requests to the Son Jesus Christ. Asking Mary and/or saints DOES NOT glory the Father within the context of TRUE worship, in fact, it has an opposite effect and this is where it is deemed by God the Father as idolatry.
Note: When a person makes a request of Mary and/or saints when venerating Mary and/or saints, then this is deemed by God the Father as idolatry.
Again as far as TRUE worship is concerned there is ONLY one door for making requests to God and as for those who willfully do NOT directly come to that door are deemed disobedient to the Holy Spirit commandment, hence this is an act of defiance against The Father's Will. This is the hallmark of entrapping one's self within a false form of worship and the question that begs is...
Why do It?
Because God will not hear anyone out who makes requests through Mary and/or saints and that person has certainly got God's attention for all the wrong reasons, so why would anyone do it?
Jesus does plead with those who use the many alternate doors for making requests of God...
Here I am! I stand at the door (your hearts) and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches/Ekklesia.” (Holy Spirit Commandment for Ekklesia to Obey by making requests to Jesus ONLY)
