Thank you I learned a lot from this article! Very interesting connection between the use of the golden snake by Moses and Christ as means to remove sin.

In my religion, (Baha'i) we believe that the root of sin is in turning away from the messengers of God for each day. So in Moses' day it was turning away from acceptance of the divine will as given by God to Moses. Thus in one level turning towards the golden serpent is an outward symbol of obedience to the Divine laws brought by Moses. This turning towards the Divine law is what removes sin and spiritual death.

In the days of Isaiah God sent another messenger to announce the coming of the Messiah, thus turning towards the Divine law and recognizing the truth of Isaiah's prophethood was how one avoided spiritual death. No longer was turning to the old golden serpent enough and then it became just "a piece of bronze".

Now when the Messiah Christ came, obedience to the divine will required recognizing Jesus as the Christ and letting him into your heart. No other physical object, method of worship could save your soul.

It is my opinion that Christ's promised return has already come to pass in the person of Baha'u'llah, the prophet founder of the Baha'i Faith. Thus in this respect salvation can in this age only be attained through recognition and obedience to him. Paying reverence to the cross or anything else will no long achieve salvation for one's soul.