Catholics have to be dog people? Jezebel not far

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The topic of dogs on Catholicism and the associated catechism. An author, obviously a dog lover, highlights dogs in a special way. Catholics should be dog people. But wherever dogs appear in the Bible, Jezebel is not far away.

There are “saints” on the subject of dogs

Sometimes it’s amazing what you can worry about, or what topics could be treated as a “real problem”. The Catholic magazine “catholic.com” obviously sees it as necessary to answer the question of whether Catholics are not allowed to like dogs. Actually, Catholics should be dog people, according to the author (Quelle).

A patron saint for dogs

Catholicism has even chosen a patron saint for dogs, “Saint” Roche. According to the stories, he was a rich bachelor who was orphaned at the age of 20, gave all his possessions to the poor and then followed in the footsteps of Francis of Assisi. Above all, Roche rendered great service to the victims of the plague. Once he was ill himself, a dog brought him food every day and licked his wounds, so the story goes.

The “birth” of the St. Bernard dogs

“Saint” Johannes Bosco also benefited from a helpful wolfhound who fought for his defense. It was also “Saint” Bernhard who founded a monastery in the high Alps where he housed dogs in order to use them to rescue people in need in the Alps. This is how the St. Bernard Pass got its name, as did the famous St. Bernard dogs, which are often stereotypically depicted with a small rum barrel around their neck.

The Roman Catholic Church describes in its Catechism (2416) that animals are God’s creatures. May God surround the animals with providence. The very existence of animals honors God and therefore people owe the animals kindness.

Deeper meaning? None!

The author lists a whole series of the dogs’ outstanding characteristics. Added to this is the very early domestication of the former wolf for the service of humans. Adam would certainly not have responded negatively to God by saying that he was “really not a dog person.” That would be a ridiculous hypothesis and just as ridiculous for any Christian today to make such a claim.

However, the motive, let alone the teaching, of this article remains a mystery. The conclusion is that the author is undoubtedly a Catholic who really likes dogs.

On the topic of “dogs” the Gospel at hand

But if you put the Catholic catechism aside and pick up the Gospel instead, then the dog definitely plays a role. Animals are also created by God. For this knowledge you do not need the catechism of this church, let alone its interpretation, but a look at the first chapter of the Bible is sufficient. The animal was created even before man. First the animals of the water and the birds of the sky, and only then the animals of the land. The dog in particular is mentioned in the Bible in such a context that the Catholic actually wanted to be anything but a dog person, as long as he actually understood the context.

In general, the dog appears as a symbol for the Gentiles, as in Revelation 22:15:
“For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.“

At this point, “for without” means the place outside the new Jerusalem.

Dogs and Isabel – A “piquant” combination

Where dogs play a role, Jezebel is not far away. Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, the then king of northern Israel. She, the daughter of the priest of Baal in Tire, brought idolatry and with it apostasy into the land. Under their influence, Israel once numbered 450 priests of Baal and 400 priests of Asherah. It was she who, through her lies and intrigues, had the God-loyal Naboth killed so that Ahab could get to his coveted vineyard. Jezebel wanted to have the prophet Elijah killed because he cleared away the pagan priests after the proof of the only true God on Mount Carmel.

God did not let Jezebel’s crime go unpunished and announced her “special” end. 1. Kings 21:23:
“And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.“

Dogs will completely devour everything

After Ahab, Jehu followed as the new king of Israel. He received the commission to “clean the slate” with the house of Ahab and Jezebel, 2. Kings 9:7:
“And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel.“

Jehu went to find Jezebel and she evidently expected something other than her own end, 2. Kings 9:30:
“And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.“

Jezebel was pushed out of her window into the depths and her death. Jehu subsequently fulfilled the prediction of Jezebel’s final treatment, 2. Kings 9:36-37:
“Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel: And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.“

Jezebel – Nothing is left

Jezebel is also mentioned in the New Testament. Particularly emphasized in the letter to the community of Thyatira, which in the prophecy represents the time from 538 AD (letter to the 7 communities – info). The Beginning of the Tyranny of the Roman Church, Revelation 2:20:
“Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.“

Jezebel were completely devoured by the dogs, a symbol of the Gentiles. There was nothing left of her. Just as the image in Daniel 2 is shattered by the unmoored rock and nothing is left. The apostate woman depicted in Revelation 17 (Whore of Babylon) will meet the same end, Revelation 17:16:
“And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.“

Jezebel – type of church in Rome

The dogs will eat Jezebel, the ten horns (Gentile kings) will eat the harlot. Jezebel was a schemer, a liar, an idolater, a murderer, always holding her own hands in apparent innocence and she adorned herself and liked to stand at the high window to look out. Is there an institution today whose head likes to prominently look out of the high window? It is obvious that Jezebel represents the Roman Catholic Church (Info).

In relation to dogs, if already discussed, a look at the Gospel is far more illuminating than a look at the Jezebel Catechism. Hence the urgent call in Revelation 18:4 to come out of “her”. Coming from where? here.

Bible verses from King James Version