The cross is often seen as a symbol of the church. However, the Bible proves the cross is merely an idol that God forbid us to make. This can be seen through the second commandment of the Ten Commandments that prohibits the worshiping of idols.
Ex 20:4-5 “You shall not make for yourself an idol 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.”
God explicitly said to not make an idol in the form of anything. Does that mean the cross is an exception to God’s words, “in the form of anything”? Even if we make an idol, is it okay as long as we do not bow down or worship it? Certainly not. God never stated the cross was an exception to this commandment, therefore even making the cross itself is disobeying God’s words “do not make an idol.”
About Idolatry
God explains in more detail that we should not commit idolatry.
Lev 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.”
An image, sacred stone, or a carved stone are all idolatry. Therefore, if anyone worships any image made of wood or stone, it is an idol. Then, what is the cross made out of? Wood and stone. Although many people say the cross is only a symbol, they inevitably depend on it and add a special meaning to it. Even so, the cross is a human-made idol that has no power.
Jer 10:2-5 This is what the LORD says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them. For the customs 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 melon patch, 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.”
Here, God clearly states any worship of idols is worthless. Even though it has silver, gold, and is hammered down, they can do no harm nor can they do any good. Although many Christians wear a cross as a source of comfort that they are protected or saved, God states a mere crafted piece of wood cannot save them.
The Result of Those Who Worshiped Idols
Although people may insist they do not worship the cross, they regard it as sacred and believe it holds sacred power. However, what will happen to those who set up the cross even though they already know the result?
Dt 27:15 “Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol—a thing detestable to the LORD, the work of the craftsman’s hands—and sets it up in secret.”
What will happen to those who set up an idol in secret? In other words, those who continue to erect the cross although the Bible says it is nothing but an idol? God says that, that person is cursed. It is important to be blessed by God, not cursed. Therefore we must never set up an idol no matter the image.
There are examples in the Bible that show what happened to people who ignored this stern warning of God and continued to worship idols, insisting the image will help them.
Jer 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!”
In the Old Testament times, the Israelites claimed to believe in God, but they worshiped idols made of wood and stone, and they were cursed and destroyed in the end. Just as the past was written to teach us (Ro 15:4), we can understand through this that if we worship idols, we too will be destroyed.
We must never make the same mistake idolaters made in the past. That is why it is so important to study the Bible to understand the time we are living in, so we can avoid making idols unknowingly.
The Cross and Christian History
Crosses did not appear in the Church until centuries after the time of Jesus Christ. The apostles never erected the cross as commemoration of Christ suffering on the cross. There is historical evidence about this in a theological dictionary.
“The public use of the cross was adopted by the Christians as a symbol at the time of Constantine. For the 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.
The cross is nothing but an idol which was introduced into the church as the church became secularized after the Roman Emperor Constantine authorized Christianity in A.D. 313.
This was already prophesied in the Bible.
The Prophecy About The Cross
Jn 3:14-15 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
In the Old Testament, Moses lifted up a bronze snake that saved them. However, the Israelites misunderstood the power of God, believing it was the snake itself instead of God’s word, making the snake an idol (Nu 21: 4-9).
Just as the Israelites made that mistake of creating an idol from the snake Moses lifted in the desert, just as Jesus is lifted on the cross today, many people mistake the cross as something with power, rather than God Himself.
We must continue to study the prophecies of the Bible to understand God’s true will and keep it faithfully.