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Sunday, July 5, 2009

Bible Questions Answered: Idolatry

Bible Questions Answered:
Our church has idols, or statues in it. Doesn't the Bible command us to revere and cherish the saints of God?
Andrew/ San Marino, Italy

Bible Answers:

New World Dictionary:
Idols: An image of a god, used as an object or instrument of worship: any object of ardent or excessive devotion or admiration.

Please stop at this juncture, and go read the following:
The Bible Prayer Line – View A List Of Subjects - - Bible Lessons: Commandments.

In this article, you will read of a church that has cut out the second commandment, and why they have done it.

Idols and or Idolatry: (In light of the Word of God.)

Exodus 20:4-6 KJV
[4] 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:
[5] 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;
[6] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.

Leviticus 26:1 KJV
Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 26:1 NLT
Do not make idols or set up carved images, or sacred pillars, or sculptured stones in your land so you may worship them. I am the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 4:15,16 NLT
15 “But be very careful! You did not see the Lord’s form on the day He spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai.
16 So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman,

Jeremiah 10:1-5,14-16 NLT
1 Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O Israel!
2 This is what the Lord says:“Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them.
3 Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
4 They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over.
5 Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.”
14 The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge! The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make, for their carefully shaped works are a fraud. These idols have no breath or power.
15 Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies! On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed.
16 But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists,...

Habakkuk 2:18-20 KJV
[18] What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?
[19] Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
[20] But the LORD is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him.

Acts 17:29 KJV
Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

Isaiah 42:8 KJV
I am the LORD: that is My name: and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images.

Isaiah 44:9-20 NLT
9 How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame.
10 Who but a fool would make his own god— an idol that cannot help him one bit?
11 All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen—mere humans— who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.
12 The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool, pounding and shaping it with all his might. His work makes him hungry and weak. It makes him thirsty and faint.
13 Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it. He works with chisel and plane and carves it into a human figure. He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine.
14 He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain.
15 Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it!
16 He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”
17 Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it.“Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!”
18 Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see.
Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.
19 The person who made the idol never stops to reflect,“Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”
20 The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask,“Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”

Isaiah 46:5-9 NLT
5 “To whom will you compare Me? Who is My equal?
6 Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it. Then they bow down and worship it!
7 They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there. It can’t even move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.
It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.
8 “Do not forget this! Keep it in mind! Remember this, you guilty ones.
9 Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like Me.

Daniel 3:1-30
Read the story of Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold, and three Godly men who would not bow down to it.

I John 5:21 KJV
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

Psalm 115:4-9 KJV
[4] Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
[5] They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
[6] They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
[7] They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
[8] They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
[9] O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: He is their help and their shield.

Jeremiah 7:16-20,30 NLT (The Idolatry of Judah)
16 “Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, and don’t beg Me to help them, for I will not listen to you.
17 Don’t you see what they are doing throughout the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
18 No wonder I am so angry! Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build sacrificial fires. See how the women knead dough and make cakes to offer to
the Queen of Heaven*. And they pour out liquid offerings to their other idol gods!

19 Am I the one they are hurting?” asks the Lord. “Most of all, they hurt themselves, to their own shame.”
20 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “I will pour out My terrible fury on this place. Its people, animals, trees, and crops will be consumed by the unquenchable fire of my anger.”
30 “The people of Judah have sinned before My very eyes,” says the Lord. “They have set up their abominable idols right in the Temple that bears My name, defiling it.

*The Queen of Heaven: The female complement of Baal. She was also known as Ashtoreth, or Astarte.
God told the prophet His absolute contempt for idols.

Acts 14:8-18 NLT (At Lystra/Derbe, Paul and Barnabas confront the crowds.)
8 While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was sitting
9 and listening as Paul preached. Looking straight at him, Paul realized he had faith to be healed.
10 So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking.
11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!”
12 They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker.
13 Now the temple of Zeus was located just outside the town. So the priest of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles.
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting,
15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.
16 In the past He permitted all the nations to go their own ways,
17 but He never left them without evidence of Himself and His goodness. For instance, He sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.”
18 But even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them.

Acts 17:16-34 NLT (Idolatry at Athens.)
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.
17 He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.
18 He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and His resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”
19 Then they took him to the high council of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said.
20 “You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.”
21 (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)
22 So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way,
23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.
24 “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since He is Lord of heaven and earth, He doesn’t live in man-made temples,
25 and human hands can’t serve His needs—for He has no needs. He Himself gives life and breath to everything, and He satisfies every need.
26 From one man He created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and He determined their boundaries.
27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him—though He is not far from any one of us.
28 For in Him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
29 And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
30 “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now He commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to Him.
31 For He has set a day for judging the world with justice by the Man He has appointed, and He proved to everyone who this is by raising Him from the dead.”
32 When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.”
33 That ended Paul’s discussion with them,
34 but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.


Acts 19:20-41 NLT (Paul at Ephesus.)
20 So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect.
21 Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. “And after that,” he said, “I must go on to Rome!”
22 He sent his two assistants, Timothy and Erastus, ahead to Macedonia while he stayed awhile longer in the province of Asia.
23 About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way.
24 It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He kept many craftsmen busy.
25 He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows: “Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business.
26 But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!
27 Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!”
28 At this their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
29 Soon the whole city was filled with confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.
30 Paul wanted to go in, too, but the believers wouldn’t let him.
31 Some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, also sent a message to him, begging him not to risk his life by entering the amphitheater.
32 Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there.
33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward and told him to explain the situation. He motioned for silence and tried to speak.
34 But when the crowd realized he was a Jew, they started shouting again and kept it up for two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven.
36 Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash.
37 You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.
38 “If Demetrius and the craftsmen have a case against them, the courts are in session and the officials can hear the case at once. Let them make formal charges.
39 And if there are complaints about other matters, they can be settled in a legal assembly.
40 I am afraid we are in danger of being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to say.”
41 Then he dismissed them, and they dispersed.

I Corinthians 10:19-21 KJV
[19] What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
[20] But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
[21] Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.

I Corinthians 10:19-21 NLT
19 What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods?
20 No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons.
21 You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too.

I Corinthians 12:2 NLT
You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols.

I John 5:21 KJV
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Ephesians 5:11 KJV
"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,..."

Revelation 21:8 KJV
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Revelation 22:15 KJV
For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

The Word of God is Not Silent, regarding idols, statutes, or shrines!

Romans 3:4 KJV
"...yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;.."

John 4:23,24 KJV
[23] But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.
[24] God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Danger Ahead:
There is coming to our world scene, as foretold by the Word of God, a
False religious (beast) leader/ and a False (beast) World leader of peace (The Anti-Christ.)

This false religious leader will....
Revelation 13:12-18 KJV
[11] And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
[12] And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
[13] And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
[14] And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
[15] And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
[16] And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
[17] And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
[18] Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.