A THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CHRISTS CROSS SYMBOL ACCORDANCE WITH THE BIBLE AND ITS USAGE BASED ON JOHN 19:17-25 Denny Austin Panjaitan & Milton Thorman Pardosi BACKGROUND
All humans have sinned, but Christ has taken the wages of sin through death on the cross. The crucifixion is one of the cruelest executions, because its essence is not death, but suffering. The crucifixion of Christ was carried out by the Roman Empire. General understanding, the Cross of Christ consists of two wooden blocks called Stipes (vertical pole) and Patibulum (horizontal pole).
The word of the cross in the original language of the New Testament Bible (Greek) is Stauros and Xulon, when translated literally is a straight pole, a stake, an upright pole. The Cross emblem is not of Christianity, but a symbol of Mithra (Persian) religion. Emperor Constantine carrying a cross of bars in Christianity. Under the facilities given by Constantine, the
Church was silent about it and more eager to receive new symbols. LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH PROBLEMS In order for the writing of this paper is not deviant and floating from the original purpose and make it easier for authors to obtain the necessary data, the authors set the boundaries as follows: 1. What is the definition of the cross based on the Greek language that is the original language of the New Testament contrary to the current cross symbol? 2. What is the cause of the change of the cross of Christ in the world of Christianity? 3. Can the true church and God's people use a symbol that is inconsistent with the Bible even more so from paganism?
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Based on the identification of the issues that have been raised, then the objectives that are to be achieved in this research in detail is to know: 1. To know the definition of the cross based on the Greek language that is the original language of the New Testament Bible and whether it is contrary to the current cross symbol. 2. To know the cause of the change of the cross of Christ in the world of Christianity. 3. To give an understanding to the church and God's true people about the use of symbols that are inconsistent with the Bible and especially derived from disbelief.
BACKGROUND OF THE BOOK JOHN The Gospel of John is enriched with the Greek mindset, much of the Greek culture and gnostic thought found in it. (Logos, light, the world up and down, rabuni, etc.) This Gospel writes more about Jesus' ministry. All the Gospels tell the story of Jesus' life,
but only the Gospel of John is claimed to be an eyewitness to the title of the disciple whom Jesus loved. (John 21:24) DEFINITION OF THE CROSS ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE LANGUAGE STAUROS kai bastazn heaut ton stauron exlthen eis ton legomenon Kraniou topon ho legetai Hebraisti Golgotha, . . . heistkeisan de para t staur tou Isou h mtr autou kai h adelph ts
mtros autou Maria h tou Klpa kai Maria h Magdaln - 19:17-25 19:17-25 Stauros : An upright stake; a pole. There is not a single sentence in the New Testament writings, which in the original (Greek) language shows evidence, even indirectly, that the stauros Jesus used was a cross. Moreover, there is no evidence to suggest that it consists of two pieces of wood nailed to form a cross
but a piece of wood. XULON There are 5 xulon references contained in the New Testament of Acts. 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; Galatians 3:13; and I Peter. 2:24. A Greek-English Lexicon, by Liddell and Scott, gives the following words xulon: "Wood cut and ready to use, firewood, wood for buildings, a piece of wood, logs, blocks, milestones, short peduncles,
wood, poles where criminals are nailed from living wood, trees. " XULON ON OLD TESTAMENT If a man commits a sin worthy of death, then he is put to death, and then hangs him on a stake, then let his body be left overnight on the stake. . . - Deuteronomy 21:22, 23 In the native language of the old covenant (Hebrew) the word translated as pole is "( ( " h-',), h-',), and this word when translated in LXX becomes xulon. Ean de gentai en tivi amartia creama thanatou tai en tivi amartia creama thanatou kai apothantai en tivi amartia creama thanatou kai kremastai en tivi amartia creama thanatou te auton epi xulon. . . . The KJV translation also translates the word h-'
as a tree instead of a cross. CROSS WAS REJECTED BY EARLY CHRISTIANS Cross were found in India in 2000 BC. Early Christians even rejected the cross for being pagan. Jesus sculptures originally did not depict him on the cross, but in the good Shepherd's guise that brought the sheep. By the mid-3rd century churches had abandoned or ridiculed certain doctrines of the Christian faith. The unbelievers are accepted in the churches without being
converted by faith, mostly allowed to retain their pagan signs and symbols. THE CAUSE OF THE CROSS IN CHRISTIANITY The sign of the cross (cruise) is actually not belonging to Christianity, nor comes from the obstacle of Jesus Christ. In the list of collections of Christian signs, Clement does not mention the cross (cruise) in it. Christians have begun to wear the mark since the Emperor Constantine saw the bar in his dream, essentially a mere thing he saw with his eyes only, for it was a mark of the heathen religion centuries before Christ. There is a sign of the Egyptian religious bar that is housed within the Alexandrian Capital Museum. In Ireland there is already a such bar, where there are pictures of people being docked. However, it is evident
that the image is a picture of a Persian prince, not the image of Jesus the prince of Nazareth. The real cause of his head appears to be a crown of the Persian kingdom, not the crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29). The cross is a sign of Mithra religion, originally from Persia. Indeed in Ireland and in Chester many relics of the signs of that religion. USE OF THE CROSS IN CHRISTIANITY
First-century Christians never used cross bars and objects that describe them were never used. Using cross bars in worship is tantamount to using a statue in worship, and it is a practice condemned in the Bible (Exodus 20: 2-5; Deuteronomy 4:25, 26). True Christians do not use cross bars personally or in worship. One important reason is that Jesus Christ did not die on a crossbar. Because the Greek word used in redemption is an upright pole (stauros and xulon), not a cross (cross). There is no evidence that for 300 years after Christ's death a Christian claimed to use a cross in the worship service.
