The first two of the ten commandments as recorded in (Exodus 20) read as follows:
The Work of Men’s Hands
Basic: The physical idols of wood, metal or stone which
pagans worship.
Higher: Modern inventions such as technical gadgetry,
innovation, screen images, robot-controlled machines,
sophisticated modes of transport and military hardware.
The Heavenly Host
Basic: The literal stars and planets in the heavens:
and their supposed influence on human life.
Higher: The Spirit beings, (angelic host) human philosophy
in its endless attempt to cure man's ills. The worship of all
these objects and concepts are strictly forbidden in scripture.
| Isaiah 2: | 8: “Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:” |
| Deuteronomy 17: | 2: “If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, 3: And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 4: And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: 5: Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.” |
| 2 Kings 17: | 29: “Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. 30: And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31: And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32: So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. 33: They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence. 34: Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; 35: With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: 36: But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice. 37: And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods. 38: And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods. 39: But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. 40: Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner. 41: So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.” |
| Ezekiel 8: | 15: “Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. 16: And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.” |
Reading a horoscope is the modern manifestation of an ancient
superstition that the stars influence one's life. The practice is
forbidden in the Scriptures.
| Deuteronomy 4: | 19: “And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.” |
| Colossians 2: | 8: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” |
| Ezekiel 28: | 11: “Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 12: Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13: Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14: Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15: Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16: By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17: Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18: Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19: All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.” |
| Revelation 12: | 3: “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4: And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 5: And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 6: And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. 7: And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8: And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9: And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” |
This rebellious host of evil angels is still around. They are
the brains behind most - if not all - the vain ideologies the
human race has implemented in the centuries past. They are
the false gods we are commanded not to worship. They are
the demons and evil spirits behind every bogus religion that
has plagued mankind since the creation. Writing of these evil
beings the apostle Paul warns:
| Ephesians 6: | 10: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11: Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” |
Sad to say, idolatry is an international sin. Like the
ancient city of Athens the whole world is now given over to
idolatry. All nations are currently worshipping human
products and human ideologies. Yahweh's laws are seldom
considered. Moral standards have plummeted. Sin is rampant
and society is paying the price. Rebellion has spread from
the angelic host to the human heart. Comparatively few want
to obey Yahweh and His law. Listed below are a few more texts
concerning idolatry. Beware how you live: because failure
to take warning will prove catastrophic!
| 1 Samuel 15: | 23: “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”
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| Acts 17: | 16: “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry,”
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| 1 Corinthians 10: | 14: “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.”
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| Colossians 3: | 5: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. 8: But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9: Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;” |
| 1 Corinthians 6: | 9: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,”
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| 1 Corinthians 10: | 7: “Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”
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| 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, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:”
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| Revelation 21: | 8: “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.“
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| Revelation 22: | 15: “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” |
Sin is rampant these days. The commandments of the Most High are broken with impunity. They are treated with disdain; even by leading Christian churchmen. Millions worship the gods of their own choosing and the work of their own hands: illicit sex, money, food and drink and a host of forbidden things too numerous to mention. The Almighty is not unaware of what man is doing. He takes full account of every thought, word and deed. His day of reckoning is fast approaching. Never forget that fact!
What About You?
How do you fare when you measure yourself against the passages
of scripture you've just read? Are you blatantly sinning,
disdainfully supposing that you are safe from the reach of these
ancient scriptures? Or is your conscience telling you that you
need to repent: and that in several areas you need to ask forgiveness
of the Almighty?
At best A Voice In The Wilderness - Canada can only inform you of your danger. We can bring to your notice what the Almighty has said in His Word. But only His Spirit can convict you of sin. Bear in mind that the Saviour is anxious to save you from all your sins - however small or great they may be. No one is beyond redemption; especially those who know deep within themselves that all is not right in their lives.
Salvation is possible for all souls through Jesus Christ. And salvation is free! That is the beauty of the Gospel. It is good news that salvation is free! The Almighty is offering you free pardon from all sin. He also offers you life eternal in the Kingdom of Heaven. You cannot afford to ignore His offer. No one on the face of this earth can afford to reject that offer. For further details about salvation see A Voice In The Wilderness - Canada articles:
