Again, Christianity was not to emulate the Jewish faith which provided the symbolisms foreshadowing many heavenly things....with the introduction of the new covenant, those symbols were done away with because the worship of Christians no longer required them.
Although the Jews had a Scriptural basis for regarding Jerusalem as the center for worshiping their God, Jesus’ comments to the Samaritan woman at the well, showed that this arrangement for worship was not to continue.
John 2:20-22....
"Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus told her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews."
So as God's Temple for worship had only one location (in Jerusalem) and only at the Temple could sacrifices be offered.
Jesus returned to offer the value of his sacrifice to God in heaven...not on earth.
Hebrews 9:24-26....
"For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, so that he now appears in the presence of God on our behalf."
25 Nor was it his purpose to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters into the sanctuary year after year with the blood that is not his own. 26 For then he would have had to suffer over and over again since the creation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once and for all at the end of the ages to abolish sin by sacrificing himself."
So....the sacrifices, festivals, priesthood and the like, forming a part of the Jewish arrangement for worship, were a shadow of greater things in heaven.
“The Law contains little more than a shadow of the good things to come and not the true image of them. These sacrifices that are offered year after year can never bring the worshipers to perfection.” (Hebrews 10:1)
So, once Jesus died and returned to heaven, emulating Jewish worship was pointless.....Christianity was a new arrangement under a new covenant. The "shadows" were no longer necessary. Anywhere Christians gathered, Christ was there in their midst (Matthew 18:20)....providing that the ones who were rendering worship to Jehovah were doing so in accord with all his commands, and not in a ritualistic manner as before.
When the Romans destroyed God's Temple in 70C.E. it was razed to the ground as Jesus had foretold....
"not a stone will be left upon a stone"....But since the Temple was required for sacrifices, if the Jewish system was to continue, then God would have had the Temple rebuilt....it never has for almost 2000 years.....and they still await their Messiah.....who never comes because of failed expectations, not because he just didn't show up.
Are you trying to justify the ostentatious edifices that dot the landscape of every country in which mainstream Christianity is practiced?
Here are 22 of those cathedrals in various parts of the world....
22 of the Most Beautiful Cathedrals in the World
Now imagine who attended such edifices and how the poor could have benefited from the money spent currying favor with the rich, which is exactly what the pharisees did.
The Catholic church as well as other religious institutions are sitting on vast fortunes whilst their poor go hungry and without shelter...even in a wealthy country like the USA, thinking of itself as a "Christian" nation, the churches have the resources, but do not direct them to their own members in need.
There are many architecturally beautiful "churches" but the word in Greek means the congregated people, not the building.....so the building itself is of no consequence, once dedicated to God for worship, no matter how humble....it was what went on in those buildings that mattered....and what went on outside of them as well.
It all depends on who wrote the history.....how many of the history book could be rewritten if the truth were actually told from both sides.....? So no, I know that my brotherhood has always tried their best to follow through on the Bible's teachings without the additions that came in over the centuries and corrupted the heck out of what Jesus started.....his words at Matthew 7:21-23 say it all to me......those who offer him their excuses as to why they did not do the will of his Father as they were commanded to do, will hear
"I NEVER KNEW YOU, get away from me you workers of lawlessness"......in saying that to professed Christians, Jesus is showing that what is done "in his name" means nothing if there is no obedience to his teachings. When he says "I NEVER KNEW YOU"..."NEVER" means "NOT EVER"......so not in their whole existence has Jesus set foot in their elaborate buildings or corrupt institutions.
Jesus set the example....he was fully immersed in the waters of the Jordan River...
Matthew 3:16-17....
"After Jesus had been baptized, as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened and he beheld the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
The word "Baptized" ("
baptizō") means...
"to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk)" (Strongs)
So no sprinkling of water, and no infant baptism because infants cannot make a solemn decision to become disciples of Christ.... and there is no proxy arrangement.
Once I left Christendom...I left all of it.
