Template:Concerning Idols
Concerning Idols
There were lots of different words translated idol.
- miphletseth תצלפמ = horrid thing[1]
- eliyl לילא= “worthless”[2]
- gilluwl לולג=Idol, images[3]
- ‘aven ןוא = iniquity [4]
- cemel למס = image, idol [5]
- atsab בצע = hurt, grieve, toil[6]
- Eidolon εἴδωλον= idol[7]
Are the Idols just graven images or carved statues?
Are the images like words of language "Symbol of of ideas"?
- Acts 7:41 "And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol <Eidolon>, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands."
Most of the idolatry and adultery mentioned in the Bible has to do with national fornication and the worshiping of false gods.
What was the story of the golden calf really about?
What was the purpose behind making it?
Was it about the statue or was it about the institution the statue represented?
To think that the idea of a Graven images is about carving statues is to unmoore the meaning of the Bible from its godly principles, from the Spirit of God Himself. Was it the statue itself or ways and systems those statures represented?
- Acts 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols <Eidolon >, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
- Why is the pollution of idols associated with fornication?
- Fornication was a metaphor for idolatry. [9]
- What are "things strangled, and from blood"? [10]
- Is it adultery and sacrilege to say you love Christ but seek the benefits of men who through an exercising authority provide those benefits by force. Is that remaining faithful to the Bride of Christ?[11]
- 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol <Eidolon > is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
- 1 Corinthians 8:7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol <Eidolon > unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
- What are "things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols"?
- And why should we not eat them?
- Who are these gods many?
- What do they have to do with those strangled bloody sacrifices?
- What does it mean "lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak"? [12]
- So are you drinking and eating at the table of devils[13]?
- Psalms 69:22 Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.
- Romans 11:9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:
- Proverbs 23:1 ¶ When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what [is] before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.
- 4 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
- 6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
- 9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
- 10 Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
- Who are the fatherless and what is the fields of the fatherless?
- 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols <Eidolon >, even as ye were led.
- How are we carried away'?
- 2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols <Eidolon >? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
- What agreement?
- 1 Thessalonians 1:9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols <Eidolon > to serve the living and true God;
- What does it mean to serve the living and true God"?
- Is this the meaning of Pure Religion?
- 1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols <Eidolon >. Amen.
- How do we keep ourselves from idols?
- The context begins 1 John 5:18 ¶ We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
- Revelation 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils[13], and idols <Eidolon > of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
eliyl לילא= “worthless” Aleph-lamed-yod-lamed
- Aleph-lamed powerful one
- aleph-lamed yod My God
- aleph-lamed yod My God
gilluwl לולג=Idol, images Gimel-lamed-vav-lamed
- Gimel Lamed cause to teach or learn
- Gimel-lamed-vav-lamed to cause to teach and learn
- aleph-lamed-hey an oath
- Aleph-lamed-vav-hey god or one who yokes to another
Gods
Galatians 4:8 "Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
There are gods many.
- 1 Corinthians 8:5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
Who are these gods many and what is a god? http://www.hisholychurch.org/sermon/godsmany.php
Creating a false god can be done by the use of stone, clay, wood or forms of wood like paper.
But it is not the images that we use to represent those gods but what those gods represent in our failure to do what God has desired to write upon our hearts and minds.
We create these gods many by making covenants with them, by praying to them, which means by application to them, usually for benefits offered by them in exchange for your loyalty, service and allegiance and thereby offering and bowing down to them in service to them.
- Exodus 23:32 "Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods."
- Exodus 34:15 "Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;"
These false gods are sometimes represented by images like lions, bears and eagles or even statues of men or by flags but the sin is in giving them power over our choices through covetous and pride. This is, again, done often by application and participation to and with these 'men who call themselves benefactors but who exercise authority' over us and our neighbors.
- Luke 22:25 "And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so..."
Seeking the Kingdom is about learning to pray to God rather than coveting your neighbor's goods through the use of contracts, covenants and constitutions which involve coercing your neighbor into contributing to your personal welfare.
- Psalms 69:22 "Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap."
- Romans 11:9 "And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:"
We have gone so far from the simplicity of the Gospel of the Kingdom at hand that we have forgotten or no longer believe that communities and nations may live as free people without a coercive state to force us to care for our neighbor.
Striving to seek the liberty of the Kingdom and the righteousness of God is about learning to live in a society entirely dependent upon faith, hope, and charity and the perfect law of liberty. This is what Christ came to teach us. It is His sacred doctrine and it is the purpose of the Church to help bring all men who will go the way of Christ closer to His Kingdom.
- Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
We are trapped in a system of the unrighteous mammon through at least some fault or neglect of our own. But God is forgiving and we may be friends with the unrighteous mammon as we began to seek more righteous habitation.
- Luke 13:24 "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."
- ↑ 04656 ^תצלפמ^ miphletseth \@mif-leh’- tseth\@ from 06426; n f; AV-idol 4; 4 1) horrid thing, horrible thing
- ↑ 0457 ^לילא^ ‘eliyl \@el-eel’\@ apparently from 0408 לא ‘al meaning nothing; adj m; AV-idol 17, image 1, no value 1, things of nought 1; 20 1) of nought, good for nothing, worthless 1a) of physicians, a shepherd, a divination 1b) of false gods
- ↑ 01544 ^לולג^ gilluwl \@ghil-lool’\@ or (shortened) ^ללג^ gillul \@ghil-lool’\@ from 01556 ^ללג^ galal 1) to roll, roll away, roll together; n m pl; AV-idol 47, image 1; 48 1) idols
- ↑ 0205 ^ןוא^ ‘aven \@aw-ven’\@ from an unused root perhaps meaning properly, to pant (hence, to exert oneself, usually in vain; n m; AV-iniquity 47, wicked(ness) 8, vanity 6, affliction 3, mischief 3, unrighteous 2, evil 1, false 1, idol 1, mourners 1, mourning 1, nought 1, sorrow 1, unjust 1, vain 1; 78 1) trouble, wickedness, sorrow 1a) trouble, sorrow 1b) idolatry 1c) trouble of iniquity, wickedness
- ↑ 05566 ^למס^ cemel \@seh’- mel\@ or ^למס^ cemel \@say’- mel\@ from an unused root meaning to resemble; n m; AV-image 2, idol 2, figure 1; 5 1) image, statue, idol
- ↑ 06089 ^בצע^ ‘etseb \@eh’- tseb\@ from 06087; n m; AV-sorrow 3, labour 2, grievous 1, idol 1; 7 1) pain, hurt, toil, sorrow, labour, hardship 1a) pain 1b) hurt, offense 1c) toil, hardship 2) vessel, creation, object 3) (TWOT) idol
- ↑ 1497 ~εἴδωλον~ eidolon \@i’-do-lon\@ from 1491; an image (i.e. for worship); n n AV-idol 11; 11 1) an image, likeness 1a) i.e. whatever represents the form of an object, either real or imaginary 1b) used of the shades of the departed, apparitions, spectres, phantoms of the mind, etc. 2) the image of a heathen god 3) a false god
- ↑ "Freedom is the Right to Choose, the Right to create for oneself the alternatives of Choice. Without the possibility of Choice, and the exercise of Choice, a man is not a man but a member, an instrument, a thing.” Archibald MacLeish
- ↑ 4202 ~πορνεία~ porneia \@por-ni’-ah\@ from 4203; TDNT-6:579,918; {See TDNT 654} n f AV-fornication 26; 26
- 1) illicit sexual intercourse
- 1a) adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals etc.
- 1b) sexual intercourse with close relatives; #Le 18:6-23
- 1c) sexual intercourse with a divorced man or woman; #Mr 10:11,12
- 2) metaph. the worship of idols
- 2a) of the defilement of idolatry, as incurred by eating the sacrifices offered to idols
- See as metaphors: 4202 n porneia "worship of idols", 4203 v porneuo "given to idolatry", 4204 n porne "Idolatry", 4205 n pornos from v piprasko 4097 a bribed to become the merchandise of another.
- Benson Commentary states : "The original word, πορνεια, implies criminal conversation of any kind whatever; and is used by the LXX., and by the writers of the New Testament, in the latitude which its correspondent word hath in the Hebrew language, namely, to denote all the different kinds of uncleanness committed, whether between men and women, or between men, or with beasts. Accordingly it is used in the plural number, chap. 1 Corinthians 7:2. Here the word signifies incest joined with adultery, the woman’s husband being still living, as appears from 2 Corinthians 7:12. In the Old Testament whoredom sometimes signifies idolatry, because the union of the Israelites with God as their king being represented by God himself as a marriage, their giving themselves up to idolatry was considered as adultery."
- 1) illicit sexual intercourse
- ↑ Romans 2:22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols <Eidolon >, dost thou commit sacrilege?
- ↑ Revelation 21:9 ¶ And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
- ↑ 1 Corinthians 10:19 What say I then? that the idol <Eidolon > is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 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. 22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 1140 δαιμόνιον daimonion [dahee-mon’-ee-on] neuter of a derivative of 1142; n n; TDNT-2:1,137; [{See TDNT 169 }] AV-devil 59, god 1; 60
- 1) the divine power, deity, divinity
- 2) a spirit, a being inferior to God, superior to men
- 3) evil spirits or the messengers and ministers of the devil