Deuteronomy
4:2, “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye
diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your
God which I command you.”
In
the scriptures it is made clear several times that we are not to add to
God’s word or take away from it. Many false teachers, religions, and bible
versions are guilty of this, and the Catholic Church is no exception.
Recently, I visited the website Beginning Catholic. There is a section
titled, “Essential Freedom: Catholic Ten Commandments.” This section
contains a list of the ten commandments according to the Catholic Church. So
where is the omission? Let us look at the list of commandments according to
this Catholic site.
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“I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.”
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“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”
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“Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.”
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“Honor your father and your mother.”
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“You shall not kill.”
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“You shall not commit adultery.”
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“You shall not steal.”
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“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
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“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.”
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“You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
To the untrained, and unlearned, eye, there does not appear to be anything missing. Oh, but there is! Let us look at the scriptures to determine what the Catholic Church has omitted from their list of commandments.
Exodus 20:1-17, “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”
Though the
Catholic Church has a second commandment, it is NOT the second commandment
according to the scriptures. The second commandment, according to the
scriptures, is Exodus 20:4-6, which says, “Thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the
LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And
shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my
commandments.”
The Bible clearly condemns making any graven image, or any likeness of
anything that is in heaven or earth, and bowing down to it in addition. Why
would the Catholic Church omit this commandment from the Bible? Because
Catholicism is a religion of graven images! (In browsing the aforementioned
section, it should be noted that there is absolutely NO admission of this
omission. How deceitful!)
The commandment against covetousness is NOT two, it is ONE. The Catholic
Church split the last commandment into two and renumbered them to hide the
fact that they omitted the commandment against images.
The ten commandments are repeated in Deuteronomy 5, and the commandment
against images is there as well. That is TWO witnesses against the Catholic
Church’s omission!
Deuteronomy 5:6-21, “I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Neither shalt thou commit adultery. Neither shalt thou steal. Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”
