Thank you dear friends for stopping in to read this short but important article about images, or pictures of "Jesus." Before I was saved, I had one of these pictures, just like the one above (without the circle and slash of course). It was in a beautiful wood frame, and I would sit and look at it for several minutes at a time, several times a day. I would look at it and see how gentle and beautiful he looked. I would say in my mind, I love you, Jesus. Later on after I began to take God at his word, and believe what he says in it, I began to learn some things about who God is and the ways in which he commands us to serve him. Id like to share some of the things I learned with you. I realize this is not the typical format of the Myth vs. Truth web page, but all I can say is that this one is personal to me folks, and I really want to share with you the things that occurred to me as I studied. And so...
In Exodus 20:4-6 we read the following:
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: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; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
This here seems pretty cut and dry. God says you will not do this. You will not. Not you 'may' not, or 'sometime later it will be ok, but not now because this is the old testament', but THOU SHALT NOT make an image of anything and bow before them, or serve them. God says he is a jealous God, and that he most definitely punishes for this sin. Let's talk about jealous. We often hear that it is bad to be jealous. Envy and lust are definitely sins. There is however, a GODLY jealousy that paul speaks about in 2 Corinthians 11:2:
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
See how it says "I have espoused to you ONE husband"? Who is this husband? Paul here says our husband is Christ. In Isaiah we read:
Isaiah 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
So by these two not only can we state that Jesus is God, but also that God is our husband. And we know God is jealous, and we also know (not just think people, know. Remember we take God for his word, believeing that he means what his word says) that he commands us not to make an image of ANYTHING, bow before it or serve it. That includes an image of GOD.
Isaiah chapter 53 is a prophecy of Jesus Christ. It summarizes how people were going to feel about Jesus when he came. Verse two, however, especially concerns the theme of this article, images of Jesus.
Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Do you think the image above represents what this scripture is saying? Do you think if the artist went by that description to paint the picture, this is what he would come up with? The man in that image is not without form or comliness. There is much beauty in him. Also,why does "Jesus" have long hair, when the word of God tells us:
1Co 11:14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
So we can see here that this image (and all the others) do not even look like Jesus.This is an image created out of the imagination of man's heart (see Gen 6:5, and others). Ask yourselves this question people: How would I feel if my husband found a picture of a better looking woman, that looked nothing like me, put it in a frame, hung it up on the wall, and said it was a picture of me? Why, I'd be mad! I'd be downright JEALOUS! I would rip that thing off the wall and ask my husband if he was crazy. If this thing would make us jealous, why don't you think God would be jealous if we did it to him? Especially when he so clearly commands us not to do it!
Read these scriptures carefully:
1 ¶ God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
And this one:
1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
By these we can see that Jesus Christ IS God's very image. This explains why He didn't want US to make an image of HIM. You might say, I need a picture to remind me to worship Jesus. Well folks, I'm here to tell you that is untrue. Once you have believed that what Jesus did on the cross paid the penalty for ALL your sins, there is no way you can forget him. Why? Because He wont let you! Remember folks, we were given the promise of God's Holy Spirit when we have believed. Here are some of the great things God does for us when he dwells in our hearts:
Joh 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
Ro 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Isa 51:12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
1Jo 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Notice in particular John 14:26. He says the Holy Ghost will bring all the things Jesus said to our remembrance. That doesn't mean we sit around waiting for a revelation. It means that we have to learn what his words are, and know them. How?
Isa 34:16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
You do not need an image to remind you. God gave us the great gift of his spirit, to teach us, comfort us, keep us. He gave us the great gift of His written word, preserved for all generations (Psa 12:6,7) Believe Him! Do not give the glory only due to God to a picture of a man! Don't you think if we call a picture of some man 'Jesus' thats what we're doing? Do you realize that we're also saying that is a picture of 'Alpha and Omega, the Almighty'(See Rev 1:8)? See that ye do it not! Repent! God says he would not give His praise to a graven image(Isa 42:8). That means he will never ever say 'All these images are vanity, but this graven image is not.' NEVER! If God would not ever do such a thing, why would we? I ask you to pray and consider these things. Go and study graven images further. Read and see what God did to Isreal when she gave the glory only due to God to idols and images. Consider that God, who cannot change (Mal 3:6;Heb 13:8), and cannot lie (Titus 1:2), says he is jealous, and commands us that we shall not make an image, and give HIS glory to it. God bless you dear readers.
See Also Myth: I can't understand the bible
