For the balance of this study, let us take a look at the most grievously misused of these religious symbols, the Cross, the so-called ‘Star of David,’ and the Fish symbol.
The Cross: Symbol of the Sun-god Tammuz
Christian churches have some form of visible image which the masses are expected to reverence (or to serve).
For example, most Greek Orthodox churches have various icons and paintings posted all about the walls. And, in addition to paintings and icons, most Catholic churches have statuettes and figurines of various ‘saints’ (and sometimes even of animals, gargoyles, and even demons). Even the majority of the Protestant churches normally have at least one cross prominently displayed before the people.
As we research the cross, we find that not only is this image not commanded, but that it also serves as the sign of the sun-god Tammuz. This is easily verified by the works of numerous scholars on this subject, or can be verified by entering the words “cross” and “Tammuz” into any good Internet search engine (e.g. www.google.com).
Amazingly, Christian scholars who know that the cross is the sign of the sun-god Tammuz still argue in favor of using the cross as a symbol of faith in the Messiah, saying that it reminds them of the Messiah’s sacrifice. This, however, is like honoring Doctor Martin Luther King or Abraham Lincoln by putting a portrait of the weapons that killed them up on the wall.
YHWH forbids us from reverencing any religious icon that He Himself did not command us to make, which certainly describes the cross. Since the cross is the symbol of the false Roman sun-god, why bring it into our assemblies?
Should we bring the sign of a Roman sun-god into our assemblies, just because the Romans tried to put the Messiah to death on one? Once again, it is like honoring a murder weapon.
YHWH even prophesied through Ezekiel that the House of Israel (or Ephraim) would not only serve false images, but that they would also revere the sun-god Tammuz. This is the very thing that most of our lost brethren do.
Yehezqel (Ezekiel) 8:6-12
6 Furthermore He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the House of Israel
7 So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall.
8 Then He said to me, "Son of man, dig into the wall"; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door.
9 And He said to me, "Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there."
10 So I went in and saw, and there — every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the House of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls.
Verse 10 tells us that there are images of every sort in the sanctuaries of the House of Israel (i.e., in the Christian churches), with idols portrayed all around the walls. This is a fairly accurate description of the inside of most Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches (which are still the two most prevalent forms of Christianity).
The problem is that the idols and images that are inside of these churches are the very same kinds of idols that all forms of paganism require, to open the door for demons.
All forms of demon-worship depend upon idols of one form or another. This is because when one serves (or reverences) the idol, it takes one’s internal focus off of YHWH, and puts it on the idol. And, while most Christians scoff at the idea they are actually worshipping idols by having icons and symbols in their places of worship, YHWH tells us that the spiritual reason they continue to worship these idols is because they do not believe that YHWH ‘sees’ them.
11 And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the House of Israel
12 Then He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the House of Israel
When we examine any form of rebellion honestly, it is typically due to the rebellious one’s lack of belief. Not believing that YHWH is able to ‘see’ everything, they believe that YHWH does not ‘see’ the sin committed.
If the rebel understood the extent of YHWH’s sovereignty, he would understand that YHWH indeed ‘sees’ all; and then he would fear, and not sin.
20 And Moshe said to the people, "Do not fear; for Elohim has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin." [Exodus 20:20]
Weeping for Tammuz
Then, in verses 13 and 14, YHWH speaks to yet greater abominations than even the worship of the idols, icons, statuettes and figurines.
Through His servant Ezekiel, YHWH tells us that the women of the House of Israel
13 And He said to me, "Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing."
14 So He brought me to the door of the north gate of YHWH’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.
How ironic it should be that the sign of Tammuz is the cross; and that the cross should be prominently displayed in most houses of worship within the House of Ephraim.
However, the sun-worship in the shrines of the House of Israel does not stop with the cross. There are also Easter Sunrise services, as well as numerous other abominations which Ezekiel tells us of.
15 Then He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again. You will see greater abominations than these."
16 So He brought me into the inner court of YHWH’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of YHWH, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of YHWH and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.
Numerous scholars record the early Church practice of praying facing east to the sun at sunrise (even when Jerusalem
Easter Sunrise services today are merely an extension of that. And, as we detail in the Nazarene Israel study, the shift in the days of worship (from the Sabbath to the ‘sun’ day) serves (or reverences) the sun, rather than serving (or reverencing) the Creator.
In addition, Christianity has also incorporated numerous other sun-worship services which are not commanded anywhere in Scripture, such as Easter sun-rise services (the first sun-day after the vernal equinox), Christmas (which celebrates the re-birth of the sun four days after the Winter Solstice), and others.
There is much more we could say about the worship of the sun, the cross, and Tammuz, but these are outside of the scope of this introductory work. However, for those who wish to avoid doing anything wrong, the best advice is simply to avoid any and all religious images in one’s life, as well as avoiding unnecessary imagery as well.
Anything that takes one’s attention away from YHWH is a thing that does not serve: and if it does not serve YHWH, then there is no reward for it; so why have it in your life?
The Magen David: Star of Remphan
The House of Ephraim is not the only one who is guilty of profaning his places of worship with pagan symbols.
Proponents of the so-called Magen David (‘Shield of David’) argue that the Jews have used the Magen David as an image of their faith since before Yeshua’s time, and that this therefore makes it a perfectly valid image to use in today’s times.
The problem with this argument is that an image is not made clean, simply because it is ancient.
If an image was clean, simply because it was ancient, then one would also have to accept the use of the golden calves as a valid image, since they were in use in Jeroboam’s times.
Melachim Aleph (1st Kings) 12:28 -29
28 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.
Here are your elohim, O Israel , which brought you up from the land of Egypt
29 And he set up one in Bethel
30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.
Making an image for ourselves was a sin in Jeroboam’s times, but the golden calf was in use even when the Ten Commandments were handed down
The golden calves were very popular among Israel
Shemote (Exodus) 32:5
5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to YHWH!"
People need to be careful not to add or take away from the commandments, lest their names be taken away from the book of life. The fact that Orthodox Jewish and Christian people have been worshipping images a long time does not make these practices legitimate.
Some argue that the Paleo-Hebrew letter Dalet (ד) is shaped in the form of a triangle, and that if one allegedly doubles the triangular shape of the Paleo-Hebrew Dalet one gets a symbol that looks like the hexagram. This, of course, does not alter the fact that what one has created is a hexagram, which is the most powerful black magic symbol in all of witchcraft.
Then there is the argument that if one cuts a cross-section of a pomegranate (which was a commanded image in the Tabernacle, e.g. Exodus 28:33), one gets something that sort of looks like a Magen David (although not really). This, however, does not alter the fact that YHWH does not command us to make any image that looks like a cross-section of a pomegranate, a six-pointed “Shield of David,” or a hexagram.
Forbidden Image: Star of Remphan
Right before he was stoned to death for believing on Yeshua, the Apostle Stephen accused the Pharisees (i.e., the Orthodox Jews) of making an image of the Star of Remphan.
Ma’aseh (Acts) 7:43
43 You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your elohim Remphan (i.e., Kiyyun), images which you made to worship: Therefore I will carry you away beyond Babylon
When we look up this word Remphan, we find:
NT:4481 Raiphan or Rhemphan; by incorrect transliteration for a word of Hebrew origin [OT:3594]; Remphan (i.e. Kijun), an Egyptian idol.
When we look up the reference to OT 3594, we get:
OT:3594 Kiyuwn (kee-yoon'); from OT:3559; properly, a statue, i.e. idol; but used (by euphemism) for some heathen deity (perhaps corresponding to Priapus or Baal-peor):
This word can be found on page 475 of the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon. It is basically a reference to Saturn, another forbidden celestial deity.
Since the so-called Magen David is not commanded anywhere in Scripture, and since the Magen David was already in widespread use by the rabbis at the time they returned from Babylon, and since there is no other star that has been historically used by the Jews as a religious symbol, the Magen David is the only likely candidate to be the ‘Star of Remphan’ that Stephen is referring to.
There will be those who will argue in favor of the Magen David no matter what Scripture says. However, if the Magen David was not the star of Remphan (or Kiyyun) to which our forerunner Stephan was referring, then what other symbol was there which was:
- Used by the rabbis; and
- Was in widespread use; and
- Is not commanded in Scripture?
The Menorah Fish
The argument for the ‘Menorah fish’ as a legitimate icon for worship has the same fatal flaws as the argument for the so-called ‘Star of David’ (i.e., the Star of Remphan).
Basically the argument for the ‘Menorah fish’ tells us that at some point following Yeshua’s resurrection (whether it was in the second century, or the first), messianic believers began a symbol that incorporates a menorah, a ‘Star of David’ and a fish as a legitimate symbol of their faith in Yeshua.
Those who have been paying attention at all during this study may already be able to spot the fatal flaws in this argument. No matter how ancient this symbol might be, it violates the Second Commandment against creating religious images for ourselves.
Shemote (Exodus) 20:4
4 "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….”
While the Torah clearly lists the menorah as an object that is to be found inside of the Tabernacle, it was never commanded to be seen outside of the Tabernacle. Further, the ‘Star of David’ is not commanded anywhere, and it was the Philistine (Palestinian) deity ‘Dagon’ that was always symbolized by the fish.
OT:1712 Dagown (daw-gohn'); from OT:1709; the fish-god; Dagon, a Philistine deity:
One has to seriously question the mindset that claims to worship an invisible Creator, but yet feels the need to represent itself by some visible object of reverence. Can this attitude (or this spirit) really be from Elohim?
To make a menorah image for display on the outside of the Temple or Tabernacle is questionable, since the menorah was supposed to dwell inside of the Temple Set-apart Place
So why, then, do some continue to try to teach people to reverence (or honor) visible objects?
Demonism and witchcraft make heavy use of images. Many Christians and Jews will tell you that they are not ‘reverencing’ or ‘serving’ or ‘relying’ on the images of the cross, the ‘Star of David,’ the Menorah Fish, or other popular images by looking at them. They will tell you that they are “just looking” at them, perhaps in order to be reminded of what they stand for. However, in the language of Scripture, this is to ‘serve’ these images.
As we explain in the Joseph’s Return study, YHWH is an invisible Elohim, and it is important to Him that we not make visible substitutes for Him. We are only to make those images which He has commanded, and we are only to put them in the locations which He says.
Even if it were legitimate for us to make a carved image of a menorah as an icon of worship (which itself is highly questionable), to blend the menorah with a so-called ‘Star of David’ and the Fish of Dagon would irreparably adulterate (or ‘mix’) it; and such adulterated (or ‘mixed’) worship is absolutely forbidden.
Some of the more obvious problems with the so-called ‘Menorah fish’ as a visible object of reverence are that:
1. It asks us to reverence something visible (which can never be representative of YHWH).
2. It asks us to reverence something pagan (as the fish symbol is the symbol of Dagon, and the hexagram is symbolic of Remphan (or Kiyyun).
3. It is nowhere commanded; and therefore it is an image that men have made for themselves.
Some, not wishing to submit to Scripture, will argue that the apostles first made the ‘Menorah fish.’ However, even if that were true, it would still be wrong for us to use it.
Even if Kepha (Peter), Ya'akov (James), Yochanan (John) and Shaul (Paul) all got together and said, "Hey, you know what? I think we should make a visible image to identify ourselves," it would still be a wrong image. Why? Because it would not be a commanded image, but an image that men have made for themselves, which is precisely what the Second Commandment prohibits.
Shemote (Exodus) 20:4
4 "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….”
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