"BELIVERS/CHRISTIANS/GOD'S/gods" Lesson 137

Lesson 137: “BELIEVERS/CHRISTIANS/GOD'S/gods”

In the beginning there was One God and in the beginning there were believers. Even Lucifer believed in God, however, he believed he would make a better one. In my mind this was the beginning of the “other gods”. Lucifer set himself up to be worshipped above God and some fell for it and some are still falling. Israelites believed in One God but other religions in the ancient world recognized a number of different gods. When the Israelites entered Canaan they came into contact with the various gods of their neighbors. The Law of Moses commanded God’s people to remain loyal to the One True God, who led them out of slavery and into the Promised Land (Ex. 20:1-5). Once in Canaan they were tempted to follow idol worship and often drifted away from Yahweh.

One of the most common names for ‘god’ was El. The Canaanites did not believe that El was the only god, but they did believe that El was the one who ruled over all the other gods. They believed El was the creator of the universe and the kind, compassionate father of the whole human race. El was worshiped in Palestine before the Israelites took over the land. In the Jewish Scriptures, “El” also frequently refers to the God of Israel. This could have been the cause of some of the confusion among the ‘new members’ of Canaan. Yamm was the god of the sea, Mot the god of death and Leviathan the sea monster is said to be slain by the True God ‘in that day’ (Isaiah: 27:1). Baal, which means ‘master, ‘husband’ and ‘’lord’, was the most popular name for the god in the ancient world. Baal was worshiped as a god of fertility who ensured good and abundant crops and connected with the storms that ‘watered’ the crops. Some believed that parts of nature were filed with god-like spirits, so they worshiped things like trees, rivers, fountains and caves.

Asherah was known as the mother of the gods and identified as the wife of El. Manasseh, a king of Judah, had a carved image of her placed in the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. The term Asherah referred also to the sacred poles that were erected for worship (2 Kings 21:2-5). Anat was famous for performing acts of violence against those who opposed her putting us in mind of the Queen Jezebel. The name of the city Anathoth arrived from her name meaning she was probable worshiped in this city at an earlier time. The Philistine’s chief god was Dagon (1 Sam. 5:1-5) and when they captured the ark of God, they took it and set it beside the idol in ‘his’ temple. The next day Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of the Lord. Each time they would put Dagon back in his place the next morning they would again find him on his face before the ark of the Lord. Did this cause the Philistines to ‘see the light’ and worship the true God? Well, they called a committee meeting and decided to have the ark of the Lord moved out of their city, to another city, and to another city, and to another city and finally they sent it back to Israel. They did not want that crazy box that held the afflictions of God if they worshiped other gods. Do you move the ‘box’ in order to do as you please (Judges 21:25)?

Astrology, the belief that the sun and the stars control human life, came out of Babylonia and had a great influence throughout the Greek and Roman empires. The people of Israel rejected this belief and believed that God created the sun, moon and stars (Gen. 1:14-19, Ps. 8:3, 147:4). Along with believers in gods and idol worshipers there were a string of philosophers who hinted at the belief in God but still spent their lives trying to discover what the world was made of (Socrates). Plato taught that ‘Reason’ was the nature of the universe, controlling things from within. He believed that the human soul was immortal, and that the soul is superior to the body. Aristotle taught that the knowledge of a thing requires an understanding of what caused it. He did, however, believe that the only true ‘form’ that caused matter to move was God. The list of gods, idols and philosophers goes on and on and have probable not all been named in the researches to date.

In the centuries before Jesus was born, the number of religions, cults and forms of philosophy in the ancient world had grown rapidly. The letters of the New Testament provide glimpses of how various religious teachings opposed Christian followers. 1 Corinthians 8 warns about eating food sacrificed to idols and becoming a stumbling block to those who do not understand. Galatians 1:6 Paul is astonished that the one who called the people by grace was being deserted to turn back to a different gospel. 1 John 2:26-28 talks about counterfeit anointing and those trying to lead you astray. Christianity came into being as one among many religions and philosophies spread around the ancient world by merchants and soldiers.

Although there have always been believers in God, Acts 11:26 tells us that the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. Both the Old and the New Testaments contain direct and indirect references to these other forms of belief. They have not all faded away and it is a sad fact that more are being added with each generation. It is, therefore, important to become aware of (not obsessed with) these other beliefs in order to understand the Bible more fully. Check everything against the Word of God, testing the spirits to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:1-6). “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him” (2 John). The ‘teaching’ spoken of here is of course acknowledging Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. Do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good if from God (3 John).

People that are trained to spot counterfeit money are not given the counterfeit bills to study. Instead they are trained to ‘know’ the real thing in every minute detail; therefore, being able to tell instantly when passed a phony. “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (Deut. 6:6-9). Meditate on God’s Word all day long (Ps. 119:9). “Heaven and earth will pass away but my Words will never pass away” (Luke 21:32). Watch out that you are not deceived! KNOW THE ONE AND ONLY GOD!