......Influence of Pagan Worship Upon Christian Churches
The second reason for the centrality of worship in Revelation is John's concern over the influence of pagan worship upon the Christian congregations of Asia Minor. We detect this concern in the messages of rebuke to six of the seven churches. The messages reveal that some congregations were conditioned by the pagan worship around them. When compared with the rest of the New Testament books, Revelation contains unusual sharp rebukes. The reason is that John addresses some divisive teaching promoted by some influential members.
In
Revelation 2, John describes these false teachers by three different names: the Nicolaitans, Balaam, and Jezebel. "Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality" (Rev 2:14; NIV). The same issue of "eating of food sacrificed to idols" (Rev 2:20) is mentioned with reference to Jezebel.
Apparently, these false teachers saw nothing wrong in participating in the pagan worship of the Emperor and gods, by eating food which had been consecrated at their altars. This compromise with pagan worship threatened the spiritual life of some congregations. For example, the Church of Sardis is told: "I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die" (Rev 3:1-2).....
Warning Against False Worship Relevant Today
John's warning against false worship reaches beyond his time to the very end of time. This is indicated by the fact that the final attempts of the beast to enforce false worship, are followed immediately by the announcement of the fall of Babylon and the judgment upon the beast and her followers at the coming of the Son of Man in the cloud (Rev 14:14).....
False Worship is Promoted by the Papacy
The Papacy has played a major prophetic role in leading people into the false worship of God through icons, statues, crucifixes, relics, Mary, and above all, the exaltation of the pope. Any attempt to objectify Christ or the other members of the Trinity, by identifying them with objects, shrines, icons, crucifixes, or statues, is condemned by the Scripture as idolatry. This is the fundamental problem of Catholic worship. It is an idolatrous worship largely depended on objects as worship aids. Believers are deceived into believing that through the Eucharistic elements, holy relics, images, sacred shrines, they can experience the divine.
Worshipping God through objects ends up upstaging preaching, which is God's chosen means for communicating the faith and nurturing the spiritual life of His people. The Apostle Paul explains that "So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by thepreaching of Christ (Rom 10:17). This means that saving faith comes through the reading, preaching and hearing of the Word of God, and not through the partaking of the physical body of Christ or the veneration of "holy" objects.
The pope promotes false worship today, especially by reviving Marian Worship. During this past year, Pope Benedict XVI has made constant appeals to pray to Mary for guidance and protection. The website "The Marian Thoughts of Pope Benedict VI, "lists over 90 appeals to pray to Mary that Benedict made between April 19 and November 6 (
http://www.udayton.edu/mary/popessaying.html).
For example, on the day of the Feast of the Assumption, Benedict XVI said: "Mary was taken up body and soul into Heaven: there is even room in God for the body. Heaven is no longer a very remote sphere unknown to us. We have a mother in Heaven. And the Mother of God, the Mother of the Son of God, is our Mother. He himself has said so. He made her our Mother when he said to the disciple and to all of us: 'Behold, your Mother!' We have a Mother in Heaven. Heaven is open, Heaven has a heart." Does this mean that without Mary God does not have a heart?
It is hard to believe how the Catholic Church has succeeded in twisting Christ's words to John: "Behold, your mother" (
John 19:27). By these words Jesus entrusted Mary to the care of John, and not mankind to the care of Mary. This is clearly indicated by Christ's statement to Mary: "Woman, behold your son" (
John 19:26). By these two statements Jesus first entrusted John to Mary and then Mary to John. In these verses there is no exaltation of Mary as the mother of God and of mankind. The latter is a pure Catholic idolatrous fabrication.
Worship through Mary, saints, objects, shrines, icons, crucifixes, or statues, is condemned by the Scripture as idolatry. This is the fundamental problem of Catholic worship. It is an idolatrous worship largely depended upon human creatures and objects used as worship aids. Believers are deceived into believing that through Mary, the saints, the Eucharist, holy relics, images, sacred shrines, they are worshipping God, when in reality they are worshipping man-made idols."THE SETTING OF REVELATION AND THE MARK OF THE BEAST" Samuele Bacchiocchi
