“The Cross, a Christian Symbol”

                                            Matthew 11:28-30 & 27: 39-42

The yoke that Jesus wanted his disciples to take upon themselves was not the Cross that He was to bear, rather it was He Himself and the pur­pose of His coming. He did not set before us the pain and humiliation that He was to suffer, He instead offered us rest, the rest which is to be found only in the gift which He came to give which was redemption and Eternal Life. Those who taunted Him as He hung on the Cross were not His people and most definitely not the ones to and of whom He spoke in Matt 11! If however we wish to locate and identify these who taunted Him as Matthew described we can look at I Thessalonians 2:14-16. People you need to understand right here and now that if Paul were alive today he would bring the same asscusation against these same people. He would know from the account of the betrayal found in the four gospels that it was the Mossad Jewish secret police) of that day  who brought Christ Jesus before the International bankers and ADL for trial. Paul would tell you this today, because he would want you to know the enemies of the Kingdom and of Christ!

The process of crucifying people on a cross was not a new thing, and the Romans were not the first to use the cross as an implement of death. Going back into antiquity we can find that Egypt, Persia, Assyria, Carthage and Greece as well as Rome used the Cross for the purpose of punishing criminals. I think it interesting that some very reliable historians set the invention of crucifixion to a woman, Queen Semiramis. This devil-woman is known by many names in history, Astarte, Ishtar, Isis Diana and others. She would be the perfect role model for the woman of Revelations 17:, the one who sat upon the scarlet coloured beast, for she surely was the mother of harlots. She was a queen of Babylon who lived a few centuries after the flood of Noah’s time and she was a paragon of unbridled lust and licentiousness. She was worshipped as the “Great Mother of the Gods”. We will cease on this discourse for now as we need to leave the darkness of the occult and get to the strength of the cross.

For purposes of clarification and definition we will trace the meaning of the word Cross as it is given in Strongs Exhaustive Concordance;

*4716-Stauros, a stake or pole set upright. Specifically a pole or a cross as an implement of capital punishment.

*4717-Stauroo, to impale, as on a Cross.

There are those, whom I and scripture deem to be outside of the Elect, those who say, "You Christians are a perculiar lot for taking an instrument of death and holding it up as an object of worship, especially since it is by the use of the Cross that your Saviour died.”  This is typical of the uncalled and uneducated, and I answer them with this truth; “The Cross is looked upon today not as an object of worship but rather as an object that was used in the most earth shaking event in the history of Man. The knowledgeable Christian knows that upon the Cross, the greatest victory of our Race was won, the victory over sin and death. As an instrument of death, the Cross is in no way blasphemous to the Christian for it was used as the Altar for that last and supreme Blood Sacrifice which was made by Jesus Christ, that Perfect Lamb of GOD.. .John 1:29 and I Peter 1:18-20. The Cross is that last Altar where the Atoning work of GOD the Son-Jesus Christ was brought to fulfillment. .John 19:30. Those three words, "It is Finished,” not only set Jesus apart as the one who suffered, it gives comfort and insight to all those who possess knowledge of the Glory which was to follow. The Cross as the last Altar of sacrifice exemplifies the power of Yahweh in preparing the way for revealed glory to become mani­fest.

The complete thought and total reality of Christianity is revealed in the Cross and everything it represents, Atonement, Salvation, Redemp­tion, Freedom from fear and the curse of death. It also reveals to us the hope of the resurrection and Eternal Life. The Cross is and always will be a reminder to all Christians of the author and finisher of our Faith, Jesus Christ, That God Approved man of miracles. As we look upon the object of the Cross, we are reminded of the extreme cruelty that the jewish mob inflicted upon our King and redeemer. (This is where in my own personal thoughts I say with passion,”To Hell with the entire Jewish nation.”) The Bible tells us that the death Jesus suffered on the Cross was as a substitute for a people called Israel, a people ordained before time to be His family in the earth Eph 1:1-5 and I Peter 2:9. We are to look upon the Cross and realize that Jesus Christ set for us there an example of obedience to God, which we were to follow. Philippians 2:5-8. .Jesus, the Son of GOD took the form of a servant and was made in our likeness, or of the same family, and He humbled Himself even to the point of suffering such a horrible death, as the death of the Cross.  As the GOD-Man and our Family member Jesus went to the Cross as our Kinsman redeemer, and as our redeemer He rose from the grave and ascended into the Heavens where today He is seated at the right hand of the Majesty as mediator between GOD and man.

There are those who write of the Cross today and down-play the very significance of what happened so many years ago. They would have you believe that this was simply the execution of a radical or an extremist of that time. They possess a great deal of information which is secular, but have absolutely no comprehension of anything of a theological nature. If you hold the Cross to represent something Godly or have some kind of purpose in worship, you are a heathen or pagan. Granted, the heathens had a corrupt purpose for the cross, and used it thusly. However, those who passed through their lands with a totally different knowledge of the Cross and what it meant to them were not heathens. Scattered among the nations of the Phoenicians, Summerians and such in the lands of Persia, India & Assyria were the Sons of Adam. Some were the tribes of Israel out of Egyptian bondage and some from the Zarah branch of Judah. Some of these who were the few who returned to the land of Palestine from the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities had the truth of the Cross as a last Altar of Sacrifice. I Cor 1:17-23, Colo  1:3-4 & 18-20! YAHWEH has always given His people reminders of things past, present and future, and it is a small wonder that the Cross in some form or other has been visible. A form of the Cross is very visible in Exodus 12:22-23, this is describing how the blood of the passover lamb was to be applied in a form of the cross on the door of the house. This method was the way of GOD providing Blood cover for the Israelites. So, think it not strange that Jesus was nailed to the Cross at the time of Passover and that the blood He shed was the provision made for the Safety of a people called Israel. The blood-Cross on the door of the Israelites in Egyptian bondage pre-figured the blood on the Cross of Jesus that was shed for the cover of the Israelites who had recently made good their escape from the captivity in Assyria and Babylon. Paul said in I Cor 1: that the preaching of the Cross to the saved is the power of GOD. In vs 22 & 23 Paul said that the jews required a sign and the Greeks would require wisdom, now this is a strong key here as to whom the Bible should be applied, “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the jews a stumblingblock; and unto the Greeks, foolishness.” Paul is speaking here of three distinct peoples, Jews, Greeks and We; We who? In Romans 9:3&4 he speaks of his kinsmen in the flesh who are Israelites. In vs 5 he says that it was them for whom Christ came. Folks the Word of GOD has just spoken, GOD has a Chosen people in the earth for whom Christ Jesus came and went to the Cross for and that is a people called Israel, and Paul has just drawn the distinct line in the sand that there is a difference between the Jews, Greeks and Israel. It should not be too difficult for even the most hard of all hard-shell baptists or puritan like Presbyterians to see the truth of this scripture. We pray that you will, soon.

In Apostolic times and afterward, the Church of the Living GOD was in constant danger and continually under assault by the seed of the ser­pent and proselytes. The Church Militant devised signs to denote the areas where Christianity was alive and well, signs such as the fish, dove, dolphin, anchor, lamb and the good shepherd. Even today, some or all of these signs are recognized as having to do with the Christian Faith; the Pentecostal congregations use the Dove as if it were theirs exclusively. The fish and the Lamb are prevalent in almost all the protestant churches and the Catholics use the fish and the good shepherd frequently. What I would like to ask is this, “When is the last time you heard these symbols of the Christian Faith being attacked as Heathenistic or Pagan?”  The correct answer is never, thus it should be very clear, even to the most brain-washed of the bunch, that the Cross is under assault from the anti-christ element because it represents the "Last Altar of Sacrifice".  That anti Christ element is the same one that decries Prayer in the schools, Manger scenes in parks and civil buildings such as City Hall and the Court House. Isn’t it clear to the Christians in the United States of America that the Eastern European faction of the Jewish Khazar world has caused countless disruptions in our Christian way of life; Simply because they hate the Cross and the Christ whom they murdered on it?

We can read in the old testament of the Kings of Israel anointed with oil when they took the Throne. I Sam 10:1 II Sam 2:4 & 5:3. The Apostles anointed with oil as is told in Mark 6:12-13 & James 5:14, and we Pastors in the Kingdom Identity Churches of America do likewise, at the baptism , the one receiving the sacrament is anointed in oil with the sign of the Cross in the forehead. The same anointing takes place during the ceremony of Soldiers Ransom. The anointing with oil or marking is not new, as is told in Ezekiel 9:3-4 and 16:8-14. To be anointed with the sign of the cross is one of the steps in sealing and signing in to the Covenant and being consecrated to The Father of Lights. Do you remember how the blood was struck at the first Passover (Ex 12:23)?  This was copied by the Romans who at one time forced their captives to pass under what they termed the “Yoke and Cross.” This was two spears standing straight up and a third spear lying across the top of them.

In closing this study I want to say that I will not debate the validity of the Cross as a Christian symbol with anyone, the burden of proof lies with them who would deny it. I will say this, those who see fit to deny the Cross will eventually deny the One who died upon it. I find Victory and Triumph  in the Cross of Christ in that it is a symbol of The Altar of that Last Great Sacrifice for Our Sins,  and give thanks to YAHWEH daily for it, for if the event of the Cross had never been, I would be eternally lost.

PASTOR RICK GIESENSCHLAG

CHRIST'S  CHURCH  MILITANT

HOUSTON TEXAS

Copyright (C) 2002 a.d.