Idols and the Occult

Have you ever heard a friend refer to someone as their idol? We generally translate that to mean someone who is greatly admired. Your friend does not fall to the ground and actually worship the person they admire. Perhaps you are familiar with the TV series “American Idol.” The word idol is used in a figurative way. We don’t have a problem with idolatry. Right?

Idolatry was a real problem in Old Testament times. Even in the New Testament we read how the apostles had to deal with the problem. Of course, it wasn’t the Christians with a Jewish background, it was all those pagans. See for yourself; idolatry is not mentioned in the gospel accounts. It is not an issue until the gospel started going into the Gentile world. Right?

Have you ever thought about idolatry? Have you ever wondered why God was sooooo firmly set against it?

Ultimately, it is a matter of truth and trust.

In the Ten Commandments God instructed the Israelites NOT to make idols, saying specifically that they should not make images that bore the likeness “of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.” Heaven is literally, heavens, plural, and refers to the two heavens above the earth: sky and space. So, God’s instruction included idols bearing the image of humans, animals, plants, inanimate objects including celestial bodies in space. Add to that anything that man creates.

Think with me… If we made an idol, what would be the purpose? Isn’t it true that the idol only represents something believed to be real? In pagan religions idols represented a god or goddess believed to have power. For example, the Egyptian god Horus was generally depicted with a human body and a head of a hawk or falcon. This image/idol represented a god believed to provide protection over the Pharaoh. In truth, this god of protection was made up. So was the image representing it. So, whenever a Pharaoh turned to this god for help, he was turning to nothing. He was searching for help apart from the one true God and Creator of the universe.

The same could be said of all the gods of all pagan religions and mythologies.

God instructed his people NOT to use divination, NOT to consult mediums or witches or sorcerers, NOT to consult those who interpret omens or cast spells or call up the dead. (These practices are referred to as the occult.) He told His people that He would speak to them through prophets (Deuteronomy 18:10-15).

In the New Testament we are told that God spoke to people in various ways in the past, but has now spoken to mankind in His Son, Jesus, who is the “exact representation of His nature” (Hebrews 1:1-4). Listen to Him!

It is God’s intention for every Christian to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18). His purpose is not so people will bow and worship the likeness, but that people will be drawn to Jesus and listen to Him.

You’ll need to decide what to do with your jewelry and key rings with crosses, doves and the sign of the fish. You’ll have to decide whether to ornament your yard or Christmas tree with images of God and Jesus. Just don’t pass these things off as mere symbols. Remember the Israelites at Mount Sinai; the golden calf was supposed to symbolize the God of Heaven! However, it was an image, forbidden then and now!

Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

—1 John 5:21

Mark Stinnett

June 25, 2023