Numbers 21:8 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent (H8314), and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.”
H8314, A masculine noun meaning a serpent, generally a poisonous snake. There is a burning sensation from the serpent's bite sent as judgment.
King Hezekiah, a ruler in Judah, was one of the kings who did what was right in the eyes of God. He was a great reformer, campaigning against all forms of idolatry. 2 Kings 18:4, “He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.” Nehushtan, meaning literally "A Bronze Thing."
Much has been written and theorized concerning the Shroud of Turin as being the covering that was used to wrap Jesus's body
Why Shroud of Turin's Secrets Continue to Elude Science
“The 53-square-foot rectangle of linen known as the Shroud of Turin is one of the most sacred religious icons on Earth, venerated by millions of Christians as the actual burial garment of Jesus Christ.
It is also among the most fiercely debated subjects in contemporary science, an extraordinary mystery that has defied every effort at solution.
Over the 117 years since a photographic negative of the linen unexpectedly revealed the image of a tortured body, ranks of physicists and chemists have weighed in on the fabric’s age and the image’s composition. Forensic pathologists, microbiologists, and botanists have analyzed its bloodstains, along with specks of dirt and pollen on its surface. Statisticians have combed through mountains of data.”
[https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/150417-shroud-turin-relics-jesus-catholic-church-religion-science/]
The shroud appears to be that of a man who was crucified. Carbon dating indicates that it postdated Jesus by centuries. Then it was theorized that the piece of cloth tested had been added later. Speculation concerning the shroud continues.
Full Scale 3D Printed Model of Christ Created Using the Famous Shroud of Turin
“Professor Giulio Fanti at the University of Padua created this 3D printed carbon model of Christ using precise measurements taken from the Shroud of Turin.”
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsSKfCm8Fxo]
The Roman Catholic Church places great values on relics such as:
Head of St Catherine of Siena
Blood of Saint Januarius
The Tongue of St Anthony of Padua
The Finger of St Thomas
Like the fiery serpent, the above relics including the Shroud of Turin are just things. King Hezekiah broke the fiery serpent, “A Bronze Thing” as it had become an idol. Relics denigrate who Jesus was. It's very easy to get caught up in things and forget the simple declaration by Paul 1 Colossians 15:3-4, “3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
Of great spiritual importance to me is the burial napkin that was neatly folded beside where Jesus' head would have been. In that day a folded napkin meant "I am coming back." Jesus rose again and was seen by hundreds of people. We still have His promise of the folded napkin, He will be back!
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