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

In the Old Testament the Hebrews were repeatedly warned to steer clear of the idols of the inhabitants of the nations around them. God knew that it was easier to worship and love a god that one can see rather than One Who is invisible. The various idols of the surrounding nations, though originated in the imaginations of artisans and fashioned by fallible human hands, were appealing in the sense that one didn't need to exercise faith, but could 'see' them.

It seems incongruous that men should prostrate themselves to objects that were so helpless in and of themselves that they needed man to create and fashion them. God pointed this out to the prophet Isaiah in chapter 44. God contrasted Himself against the foolishness of mankind in seeking gods he could see to worship. He was the Lord who delivered Israel, who sent rain when His people needed it, who rescued them from their enemies. Yet, they longed to fall down to an image that they themselves had made. They apparently did not see the absurdity of hewing down a tree, using it to cook food and keep warm, and then using another part of it to form an image that he could appeal to for help and protection. Common sense would say that if there really was anything of supernatural ability in the tree, the man should have treated the whole tree with more respect and not used part of it for firewood. The surest way to offend a tree is to use it for firewood. If there was any divinity in the tree, does it make sense to treat part of the tree with such contempt as to utilize it for personal comfort and yet worship another part of it?

Forging images from metal was just as absurd. The smelter had to first purify the metal by melting it and then skimming the slag off so it could be used, otherwise the image would likely break due to the impurities left in it. The forger then had to work and pay constant attention to the process, having to forego sleep, food and drink until the process was completed. What kind of a god could profit a man if it first had to be purified and treated so gently during its formation? Such a temperamental god, if it existed at all, would be on a lower level than the man who took such care in making it. How could a god on a lower level help the man who created it, or bought it?

God pointed out this absurdity to Isaiah, stating that He had purposely shut up the understanding of the nations so they could not see the absurdity of what they were doing. They had chosen to worship a meaningless piece of creation rather than the Creator, and the consequence was that the Creator gave them over to their desires. A god that we can create has no power at all, but only as we give it our own power by submitting ourselves to our own imaginations which we have projected upon it.

We are familiar with the story of Moses and the Israelites coming to Mt. Sinai, and how Aaron obeyed the will of the people to make them a god they could see while Moses was in the invisible God's presence receiving His laws. Aaron caved in to the pressure of the recently freed slaves who were still so in bondage within themselves to the visible gods and shrines of Egypt. Fearing what these people might do to him, Aaron instructed the people to donate their gold earrings (Ex. 32: 1-4) to the cause of engraving an image they could see to follow, for they did not know what became of 'this Moses'. He had been gone for more than a month, and they were, one and all, forbidden to go up on the mountain themselves to find him (Ex. 24:2). Aaron's lame excuse ( Ex. 32:22-24) reveals much about the true nature of idolatry. It is based in impatience. And impatience is rooted in stubbornness. In the Old Testament God refers to the Israelites as a stiff-necked people, indicating that they were like a yoke of oxen or donkeys that would not follow the directions of the plowman, but had their own inclinations which they would rather follow. Indeed, we find Samuel berating the soulish king Saul for rebellion and stubbornness (I Sam. 15:23) in choosing to do things his own way instead of carrying out the Lord's instructions to the letter. Aaron, like Saul, was supposed to keep the people out of trouble by obeying the commands of the Lord, yet compromised to the stubborn will of the people. Idolatry then, is rejecting the true God as He has revealed Himself, and substituting Him with a more easy-going god of our own creation.

The epitome of this stubbornness and insistence on having things our own way is evident in Aaron's proclamation when he had crafted the golden calf:

Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, " Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord." (Ex. 32:5). What were they going to name this abomination they had contributed their gold to and forged in the fire? The LORD! According to Strong's Concordance, the word translated 'Lord' used by Aaron is 'Yehovah' or the Jewish national name of God! It means the self-existing God, the Eternal One. Yet they had made this unholy thing in their smelting fire, so they knew that what they had invented was not eternal! But they could not salve their consciences by totally rejecting everything God had revealed to them about Himself, so they made their own god, and gave it the name of the true God! Little wonder that God interrupted what He and Moses were doing and told him to go down to the people at once. Little wonder that God's anger burned against them so much so that he would have destroyed them but for Moses' intercession (32:10). They had made the very thing He most detested about the heathen nations, and then went one step further by naming this vile thing after Him! God told Moses to go down at once, for the people had corrupted themselves. The word 'corrupt' that God used to describe the condition of the Israelites He had rescued from slavery is not often used in the Bible. The first time it is used in the Bible is when God described the condition of mankind just prior to the flood when He indeed wiped out all humanity save for Noah and his family (Gen 6:12). We find also that the term is used of Satan in Eze. 28:17. The word is synonymous with decay and ruination. God was truly going to wipe them out, just as surely as He drowned the whole world of people in Noah's day, and condemned the rebellious angel Satan to eternal punishment. That is how corrupt the Israelites had made themselves by their very first idolatrous act, and but for Moses intervention, God's time table would have been set back several generations. God truly is a merciful God.

The intention of the people to make a false god and yet pray to it using the true God's name seems to be ambivalence on the part of the worshippers; yet this very act of contradiction indicates the true nature of idolatry. We want to give lip service to the idea of God, and we want to know the truth about God intellectually, yet at the same time we don't want to obey Him. The Israelites crafted a false god, imbued it with their own vices, stripped it of any moral claim to demand true righteousness from them, and pretended that it had power to come to their aid. In effect, they created god after their own image.

We are living in a world that is now vying for the title 'Most Idolatrous Age Ever'. But many of the idols are not as blatant as the ancient world crudely crafted them. Today, along with the animistic gods of the primitive tribes, the gilded gods of the Hindus and Buddhists, we worship personalities of prestige, power, popularity and political correctness. We fawn over sports heroes, musicians, actors, politicians-- anyone who can ease the boredom of our 'idle' hours. Beyond that, there are those who conjure up images of higher powers and ascended masters in their minds, having discussions with them, receiving guidance and instructions about becoming successful or overcoming past hurts. Modern psychology has swallowed the Lie hook, line and sinker, and injects it's self-esteeming poison into the masses of those already suffering from the consequences of living too much for self. Indeed, at the root of all idolatry is worship and indulgence of self. The real God has been displayed openly before us in His own creation (Rom. 1:20) but because Eve and Adam had decided to become gods on their own, with their own knowledge of good and evil, He is rejected. The very fact that man -is compelled to make some kind of object to be worshipped shows that he is aware that there exists more and higher than he himself. But mankind chooses to believe this God is less than He truly is so that his own esteem of himself is not shaken.

It is much easier to salve one's conscience by being accountable to a god who is not personal (so that he owes no responsibility to any-- Rev. 20:12); or perfect (thus he cannot demand perfection-- Matt. 5:48); or is not all knowing (so we can hide our evil deeds-- Psa. 94:9) or is a mixture of good and bad, ying and yang, (so we can get away with being mostly good-- 1Jn. 1:5); and that is visible (so He cannot demand that we separate ourselves from the seen world to enjoy fellowship with Him-- 1Jn. 2:15). Thus we find the New Agers of our day going even a step further than the vile Roman emperors who demanded that they be recognized as gods, making of all mankind gods and goddesses. Think of it, they teach that you are your own god. You make the rules. You have no one to be accountable to but yourself. Everyone who adheres to this false teaching knows that it is false, but they see so many others striving to believe it that they also invest all their energy into trying to convince themselves it is true. It is a heady, liberating experience to believe that you are accountable to no one, that what you choose to believe about yourself, others, and the future is what really is. Thus the world is peopled with gods and goddesses. But for all that, they are gods without power to change even themselves. People have become their own idols. They themselves are the gods they worship, whether it is before a pagan voodoo image or in talking to an 'ascended master' (a.k.a. demons) or justifying and rationalizing everything from one's own point of view. It is all rejection of the true God and substitution of self in His place.

Sadly, in the church of Jesus Christ it also follows true that self is exalted above the Lord. How can that be? Remember what Aaron did when he engraved the golden calf? Did he not know it was a crafted thing, yet he claimed it formed itself when all the molten metal was in the forge. And what did he proclaim was that dreadful thing's name? The Lord, Jehovah! It was something from his own imagination that became the image, yet he tried to pass it off as being eternal. And it was God's own hand-picked high priest that did this. Aaron knew the truth. And he knew what was of the lie, and deliberately chose to mix the two. All Israel knew that it was a pretend god, but abandoned themselves to promiscuity spiritually and physically in its honor.

Idolatry is substituting the real and True God with anything else. Just as Aaron made a substitution, so do many in the priesthood of believers today substitute a false Jesus for the real One. I am not talking about pictures and icons here either, but rather, taking the Jesus Who is revealed in the scriptures and making Him something other than He is. The apostle John, in his first epistle, was concerned about this very topic. In his day at the close of the first century, a cult reared its antichrist head, purporting that the Jesus the apostles were preaching was not as they perceived Him to be. They were claiming a special, superior revelation above that of the apostles who walked side by side with Him for three years, who bore witness to His bodily resurrection and ascension. This higher knowledge was given supernaturally to some who became known as Gnostics (from the Gk. term gnosis, knowledge). This Gnostic Jesus was a different Jesus than the One who lived in the flesh as attested to by all the apostles, and thus by definition, was an idol. John wrote his first epistle in response to the effect this false teaching was having on the church. This new teaching was based on gaining levels of spiritual knowledge and attaining salvation by how much of this spiritual knowledge was obtained. Confusion was threatening the stability of the Church, and many believers were being frightened by the assuredness of these deceivers. John did not, however, write First john as an expose of gnosticism, though that was clearly his intent for his day, but rather as a setting forth of dependable, truthful principles given by the lord to His apostles which form the basis of spiritual knowledge in the Church. What John did is not unlike the Treasury dept. training agents to detect counterfeit money. They spend very little time on studying the false, for as soon as one is uncovered, the counterfeiters will devise a newer, more clever method of deception. Rather the agents are schooled in the recognition of the minutest facets of the real bills. That way, whenever they encounter a bogus bill, they will instinctively know it as false, because they know the true bill so well. This is what John was doing, providing us with the genuine article so the false would stand out in sharp contrast, no matter what new deceptive angles Satan might try to foist upon the Church.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. Hereby we know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesses not that Jesus is not of God; and this is the spirit of antichrist... 1 Jn. 4:1-3.

Some have taken this passage to mean that if and when they encounter a demon, they are to demand it state whether Jesus is come in the flesh or not. This will profit nothing. First of all, if you are talking to another entity within a person (or yourself), it ought to be obvious it is not of God. Secondly, demons are notorious liars. They would say anything to get themselves off the hook. Demons (during deliverance sessions) have been known to state loud and clear that Jesus is come in the flesh. I have even heard one demon state that it was Jesus, come in the flesh, I assume-- of the person undergoing deliverance.

What John is doing here in these verses is not a manual for deliverance and discerning whether a person is demonized or not, but rather he is giving us a guide, a standard, a plumb line to discern messages coming from the spiritual realm via gifts of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit would never give a message contrary to the truth. This is how the enemy's lies are exposed. All we need do is examine the record of known truth about Jesus-- given us by His apostles. Does any message line up with what he said or did while he was with us in the flesh? If it does line up perfectly, then it is of God. If it is out of line, even in just one part, it is not of Him. For instance, if a prophecy comes forth that we are to venerate Mary, the mother of Jesus, we are to examine the record of Jesus' life, and if we find there a verse that supports this, we may venerate Mary. If, however, the record bears out that when someone suggested this to Jesus, and He would not allow it (Luke 11:27-28), then the prophecy is false and must be discarded, and the prophesier instructed. Whatever Satan's ploys are to gain entrance to the Church are contradicted and exposed by Scripture. We need merely examine the record to reveal whether any message is of Christ or Antichrist. Did Jesus do it? Speaking in tongues? Luke 10:21, when compared with Paul's statement in 1 Cor. 14:14 reveals that He did, and interpret, too. How about barking like a dog, or running around flapping one's arms like wings? Nope, not in the record, so not viable. In fact, if it purports to be as message from God but is proven not to be, it is of Satan, and is part of a larger plan to weaken and debilitate the Church.

All of this amounts to idolatry. Believing false spiritual messages, following the false example of sincere, but deceived people, accepting unchallenged exciting 'discoveries' and spiritual experiences. And if believers accept such things as being of Jesus when they are not, it is just what Aaron did-- making an idol and calling it God-- provoking God to such jealousy for His Truth and Righteousness that He was ready to destroy and start over again. Likewise, believing any false notion about God is idolatry. Not believing that the Father and Son are One is idolatry. Not believing in the Trinity (Rev. 4:1) is choosing to believe in a god other than the One Who has revealed Himself to His prophets and apostles, and is idolatry. Believing that God accepts homosexuality as an alternate lifestyle is idolatry. Believing that God would not allow the holocaust to happen to Jews is idolatry (Deut 29:15-20). Anything that changes the God Who is into something other than what He has revealed about Himself is idolatry, having another god other than the true one. By this definition, idolatry is in the Church. Jesus and the Father and the Spirit have been so maligned and watered down that the worship that takes place in many of those sanctuaries amounts to idolatry. Doctrines of demons have replaced apostolic doctrine. Psychology has put on Christian clothing and seduces fretful believers to embark on a twelve step course to freedom, or to visualize Jesus, or Mary, or Elijah coming to them and ministering to their past guilt. This is idolatry-- engaging a god other than the One who is revealed in the Bible.

What are our concepts of Jesus? Are they based firmly in Scripture, or have we imagined a Jesus the way we would like Him to be? A Jesus who does not discipline us when we need it, a Jesus who does not have expectations of the Church to rise up and be holy, a Jesus who doesn't demand we daily deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him? A Jesus who doesn't baptize in the Holy Spirit, a Jesus who doesn't consign to the lake of Fire? What kind of a Jesus do we individually have? Is it the real Jesus, or an idol?

It is interesting that in the whole of John's epistle, he doesn't mention the word idol until the very last verse. Yet the theme of his whole letter is about perceiving the real Jesus-- the True God, as opposed to the antichrist versions of Jesus-- the idol, in all its many incarnations. There is no excuse for being deceived, for the evidence is available to all believers via the testimony of John and his brother apostles ( 1 Jn. 4:6). John finishes up his letter with the three powerful "and we know..." statements (1 Jn. 5:18, 19,20) that should pretty much clear up whether any doctrine being taught is of Satan or God.

And we know that whoever is born of God does not commit sin, for He that is begotten of God keeps him, and that evil one touches him not...

And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in the evil one...

And we know that the Son of God has come, and given us an understanding in order that we might know Him who is True, and be in Him who is True, in God's Son, Jesus Christ. And this is the True God, and eternal life...

Thus John sums up in three brief statements all we need to bear in mind, finishing with the epigrammatic

Little children, keep yourselves from idols (1 Jn. 5:21). Adam and Eve were seduced by an idolatrous concept of God, and the Church today is being seduced away from her True Bridegroom by false images of Jesus.

Let that therefore remain in you which you have heard from the beginning. If what you have heard from the beginning abides in you, then you shall abide in the Son, and in the Father, and this is the promise He has given us-- eternal life (1 Jn. 2:25).
 

©John MacLeod 1998