This is a view of Volcano Irazú with the Basilica-the Main Catholic temple of Costa Rica, in the foreground.
Paul states: "gods made with hands are not gods" - Acts 19:26
Psalms 115:1-8
1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. 2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? 3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. 2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? 3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
I Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
Romans 8:34
Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised;
He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.
Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised;
He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.
All of the Idols above can often be found in the houses of the Catholics here in Costa Rica. The Ticos(Costa Ricans) pray or invoke these Saints for various things such as a good crop, a miracle, money, a house etc. Often, people receive miracles when praying to these Idols so they are deceived by the great deceiver to continue praying to them. Almost all Catholics that I have talked with think that all miracles come from God and that He is the only one who does miracles. So when they pray to San Isidro or Mary they think that that person took the prayer to God who in return, gave them the miracle. The following bible verses show us that Satan and the demons can do signs and miracles to deceive.
II Thessalonians 2:8-10
8 and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of His mouth and will bring him to nothing with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders, 10 and with every unrighteous deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth in order to be saved.
8 and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of His mouth and will bring him to nothing with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders, 10 and with every unrighteous deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth in order to be saved.
Revelations 16:12-14
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
When one prays to or invokes a created image/idol, this includes the dead saints, it isn't God who sends the blessing or miracle but it is a demon or Satan hiding behind the Image. we are told in I Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;". If there's only one mediator or itercessor between us and God then to pray to Saints is Idolatry and is against the word of God.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12
10 No one among you is to make his son or daughter pass through the fire, 5 practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery, cast spells, consult a medium or a familiar spirit, or inquire of the dead. 12 Everyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable things. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
10 No one among you is to make his son or daughter pass through the fire, 5 practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery, cast spells, consult a medium or a familiar spirit, or inquire of the dead. 12 Everyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable things. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
All of the "Saints" of the Catholic Church are dead people and when the people pray to them then they are "inquiring of the dead." just like Deuteronomy 18 mentions in the above text.
The Catholic Monstrance or in Latin cultures is called El Santisimo(the most holy) is a stand that has a sun burst and in the center is where the wafer is fixed in its place. The wafer is held in place by a crescent moon and once the wafer is in the center of the stand it completes the sun burst even allowing light to pass through the thin wafer. This Idea came from the occult practice of worshiping the sun and the moon with the sun representing Lucifer(Satan). This same Idea can be found in most of the false religions of the world as well.
We see that the Egyptians also worshiped the sun and moon as depicted in these five pictures. In the last two pictures notice how the moon is represented by the bull's horns as it cradles the sun disc.
In these three pictures we see that the Muslims worship the sun and moon as well. This tower is found on top of the temple and when the sun rises we see how it completes the occult sun/moon symbol. Notice the Islamic flag with the crescent moon and star and how the star is a five pointed inverted star. In the occult we find that this always is a symbol of the goat or Satan.
The Masons get most of their occult ideas and doctrines from ancient Egypt. In the first picture, we see A glowing star portrayed as the ultimate destination of a Mason’s journey. In the second picture we see a mason's apron with the sun and moon. In the third picture we find the Masonic Twin Pillars which represent the sun and moon in balance, causing the awakening of the Third Eye ". Today, the third eye represents the "all seeing" eye of Satan/Lucifer. The last image is of a trowel and square which has always been the Mason's symbol of representation. Notice the Sun burst in the center and how the square makes a crescent moon beneath it. Also, at the bottom of this picture, there is another crescent moon hidden as the arch of coordinates.
The Mormones also worship the moon and the sun as we see this in their temple carvings in Salt Lake City. In the 1st picture you can see The Salt Lake Temple Moon Stones. In the 2nd picture you see the sunburst(round window)with the crescent moon over it. In the 3rd picture we see another sun burst. In the 4th picture at the Mormon’s Nauvoo Illinois “Temple”, we see yet another sun burst.
The sun and moon are common symbols of the New Age Movement too as you can see in the above pictures. Notice the hidden moon in the last picture with the star/sun above it.
With some of the tribes of Native American Indians, we find sun and moon worship in different forms including dance. Some Indians have been known to pierce their skin before worshiping the sun as you can see in the first picture.
In witch craft we also find the worship of the moon and sun as well. The fourth picture represents a sun burst that is used within witch craft. The last picture shows a blue full-moon-potion bottle. Witches believe that the moon is a symbol of the divine Goddess & that the sun is the divine god that sustains all life on earth, gives light, growth, strength and power. When there is an Eclipse of the sun and moon, witches believe that this is 'The kiss of the god and goddess'.
We also find sun and moon worship in Hinduism as you can see in these pictures.
As we have seen, the false religions of the world all have something in common which is a religion based on the worship of created things rather than the Creator as they all worship the sun and the moon. This likely will be the very element that Pope Francis will focus on in order to unite the false religions of the world under a one world religion.
Various world religions: Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism.