Other gods part 2: Existence of other gods

Greeting Conquerors, in this post we continue the series on Other gods. In part 1, we looked at matters of religion and the confusion therein. This time we look at the basis for existence of other so called gods in history.

The story of creation is very clear on how it all began. Out of nothingness, the word of God called forth things that were not into existence. Genesis 1 and John 1 are very clear on this. So all things where created by God and all things are his. In Colossians the Apostle Paul gives an excellent summary of this fact when talking about Jesus Christ the King,

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”

(Colossians 1:15-20)

So God is sovereign, all things are his and all things were made by him including the devil and whatever instruments and mediums of his worship he has availed to mankind. A breeze through the Old Testament will reveal the struggle of mankind in the area of religion. Where once God had turned a blind eye on pagan worship and let man worship all kinds of things, his decision to make himself known and give a new commandment that he alone be worshipped as was the original plan brought a lot of confusion and resistance. In the book of Acts, Paul writes,

“Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead”

(Acts 17:29-31)

Today we see this confusion in that man would rather continue with other gods than follow Jesus. He was sent to redeem mankind back to his God by the power of the cross and resurrection. That blood that was shed means that all of mankind is now reconciled with his maker by faith. Believing the work of the cross means entry into eternal life and oneness with God. This is the simplicity in Christ- to believe (2 Corinthians 11.3). The power is in the word and accessed by faith only. There are no rituals or religious acts to qualify. It is obedience which is anchored by belief that seals the relationship and adoption. Unfortunately, it is not as easy as it sounds. This confusion can be traced back to the challenge of familiarity where it is generally factual that human beings resist change and are happier following their old ways even as Jesus declares,

“And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.”

(Luke 5:36-39)

This has always been the hindrance to true worship throughout the old testament into the new. We see cycles of deliverance in the bible in which everytime the people fell into idolatry because they sought to worship what they were familiar with and could see and relate with, God punished them in his anger until they cried out to him. Ofcourse as the merciful God he is, everytime they cried out he would hear them and send a deliverer and things would return to nomalcy. Then it would take a new ruler to introduce another kind of religion and the cycle would begin. It generally becomes apparent in observing these happenings especially in the books of Judges, Samuel, Kings and Chronicles etc that there is wisdom in the world that the curiosity of man taps into and begins to worship in desperate efforts to connect with the ‘unknown maker’. A true and authentic connection with God is through Jesus and should be accompanied by a complete refusal to validate or walk in the knowledge of elementary spirits or other gods.

Ancient traditions have their leg in Elementary spirits. These are the first spirits which are ancient spirits or spirits that inhabited the earth before mankind. They were here first so they are elementary. These spirits occupy elements of the earth e.g earth, water, wind and fire and will therefore also be known as elementary spirits. These are the devil’s weapon to use to lure people into idolatry. He is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2.2) and it is gross human error and an abomination to God to seek for signs and hidden knowledge from other created sources and not God the creator himself. When the devil revealed all of the world in a flash to Jesus in and attempt to lure him by his supposed power to reveal hidden treasures or things, the response of our Lord is significant. He just told him the truth of the Word- we are to worship God only and serve him alone! The devil as the ruler of this world has made gods of the elements of the universe, seducing mankind into seeing these as God because of his ability to reveal knowledge and perform signs and wonders. Unfortunately, it pleased God that even in that worldly wisdom, people could not know God but only through the the preaching of the Word-the true wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:21). Scripture declares that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom.

Moreover, true wisdom was with God before creation & was used to create (Proverbs 8:22-31) which translates to wisdom being the Word which was with God in the beginning ( John 1:1-2) and then became flesh-Jesus himself ( John 1:14). If man seeks Jesus, they find wisdom. Man is made with a hunger for his maker’s wisdom and communion with him. The devil knows this and has invented perverse means to satisfy this hunger. It appears that the mode of accessing God’s wisdom is what brings about different religions. The devil knows that man is more inclined to seeing and knowing secrets so as to have an edge above others. This he has carefully and cunningly packaged into other gods so as to lead man astray. There are many different gods and goddesses across religions, nations and cultures. As the devil would have it, there is a god or deity that will suit any kind of mindset perfectly in a way that will make the individual buy-in and worship with all of their heart and soul. These deities lead people groups that believe in them and seek answers from them.

As such, the idea of the existence of other gods simply means that the line is very thin between good and evil, faith and fear, love and hate as well as belief and unbelief in God Almighty through Jesus.

Thank you for reading this post. Join me in part 3 as we conclude the series by returning to the sovereignty of God the creator.

Till then

One Love

riseUPconqueror


falling is not the problem, failing to riseUP is!!!

2 thoughts on “Other gods part 2: Existence of other gods”

  1. Pingback: Other gods part 3: Only one God

  2. Pingback: Other gods part 1: Matters of Religion

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Open chat
riseupconquerorr
Good day. How can we help you.