Is burning incense to LORD Jesus Christ equivalent to idol worship?
Those sentences which are colored in orange are from Maharishi Dayananda Saraswati book Satyarth Prakash (The Light of Truth) and those which are colored in black are Jerry Thomas’s response.
"And when he had taken the book, the four beast and four and twenty elders ell down before the Lamb, having everyone of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints." (5:8.)
C. We wonder when Christ was not in heaven whom did these four beasts and twenty-four elders, etc., worship by burning incense and lighting lamps and offering food (eatable) performing arti.( *It is the name of a ceremony performed by Indian idolaters in adoration with a lamp.) Now the Protestant Christians condemn idol-worship, whilst their heaven is the veritable home of idolatry.
Answer: For the interpretation of the symbolic language in the prophetical books, please read the article Introduction to the Revelation and Figurative Language of Prophetical Writings.
Maharishi missed on the prophetical language in most of the questions in revelation due to which I have to repeat and remind the same thing in almost all answers in Revelation.
One wonders how falling before the LORD God Jesus Christ becomes idol worship? Protestants have never told anyone not to worship LORD Jesus Christ. In fact, Protestant Christians have been vigorously preaching to worship LORD Jesus Christ. Worshipping the true God is never idol worship. What differentiates the true worship from the idol worship is the person whom we worship.
Further, Maharishi asks whom were the elders and living creatures worshipping before the ascension of LORD Jesus Christ.
As for the elders and living creatures, we have already seen the interpretation. That itself is sufficient to answer these erroneous questions. Further, the Book of Revelation itself bears witness that these are things that are to shortly take place at the time of writing.
Revelation 1:19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
Revelation 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."
So, evidently these are after the seven Churches mentioned in the Revelation 2&3. Maharishi’s question is about events before what had happened at the Revelation 2&3. So, the question is invalid.
