Stay Away From Idolatrous Worship
Stay away from idolatrous worship is a message that we want our readers to pay close attention to. Why? Because our Father in heaven Yahweh said so. This is a serious command with very serious consequences to all those who will break it. This is the second command out of the Ten Commandments He gave at Mount Sinai. It states: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, Yahweh your Elohim, Am a jealous Elohim, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:4-6). Yes, the Creator Himself warned that disobeying this sacred command will bring very serious troubles to the families all the way to their third and fourth generations! As always, we’ll let the Bible interpret itself, as we are inspired of Yahweh to deliver this message unto this world. May you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear this heavenly warning message of His eternal truth.
Humans have a tendency to be physically-minded and often want physical representations to worship Elohim. Yet, Yahshua the Messiah taught that Yahweh wants to be worshiped in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). Notice also something that the apostle Paul wrote: “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against Elohim; for it is not subject to the law of Elohim, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please Elohim. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, he is not His” (Romans 8:6-9). You have to understand that icons are not spirit. All icons are physical objects. Not one adequately conveys the truth about the image of the Father or the Son. Thus, no one should use icons or other idols as “an aid” to worship or pray. You have to really understand this truth! Yes, the apostle Paul was pleased that pagans had interest in Elohim, but he told them that true Elohim was not to be worshiped with idols nor icons. He told them that being religious is not enough. Paul told them who Elohim is and how to worship Him correctly. Then he stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription on it: TO THE UNKNOWN ELOHIM.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: Yahweh, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Elohim of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is he worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek Yahweh, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of Elohim, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and of man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance Yahweh overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:22-31). Yes, Almighty Yahweh raised His Begotten Son Yahshua from death. And yes, we humans are all commanded to pray and to worship our Heavenly Father Yahweh the right way, which is in spirit and in truth! There is no other way around this.
While some have said that having icons around reminds them to pray, the apostle John disagreed with that very notion and he was inspired to write:
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. (1 John 5:21). He did not say that idols/icons should be around to encourage prayer. The pagans did just that. And the Bible teaches that the true Elohim does not want to be worshiped as other gods have been (Leviticus 18:24-30; Deuteronomy 12:29-31). The Bible points to Yahweh’s throne being in the far north (Psalm 48:1,2; Job 37:22; Isaiah 14:13; Ezekiel 1:4) and when I pray, I tend to look towards the heavens to the north, presuming Yahweh’s throne is above that (Isaiah 40:22). This helps remind me that Elohim rules the expanses of the universe, not that He is confined to some trinket made of wood, silver, and/or gold. Now, it should be noted that Elohim, in His mercy, does sometimes choose to answer the prayers of the unconverted. This is not only documented in the Bible (Judges 16:30; 1 Samuel 3:9), but even in some scientific studies in the 21st century verify that prayers involving those who are not truly converted are of value. Yahweh also does hear children (Luke 18:17) and seeks holy offspring (Malachi 2:15). If someone you know sincerely prays to Elohim, Elohim may hear them as He knows that their ignorance of His ways is not always deliberate and that their personal sincerity is real. Sometimes when Elohim is calling someone (John 6:44), Elohim will cause miracles to occur and/or answer certain prayers to encourage them. But no one should believe that if they remain in a state of sin, that Yahweh, our Elohim is pleased or is somehow obligated to answer. We beseech/exhort the religious people, especially those wanting to be true Christians to stay away from idolatrous worship or pagan-inspired idolatry!
In closing, Eternal Yahweh warns: “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it” (Deuteronomy 12:32). Most certainly, praying to anything that is made of wood, stone, metal, bronze, silver or gold is an abomination against Yahweh and we are all commanded to stay away from idolizing or worshiping such things. Again, our Creator Yahweh is a Spirit Being and He want us to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). True worshipers follow and obey His will and to do something else that He did not say will just be useless and is unacceptable to Him. Any work of art that creates a false concept of Elohim or distorts the true Gospel is certainly not acceptable, especially when such an object is perceived to have mystical, magical, or sacramental value. To claim that icons or statues serve as “sacraments” through which benefits are imparted to the believers is completely foreign to the revelation of the Bible. Such claim is very reminiscent of the pagan practice of worshiping Elohim through molded and hand-carved images. Such practice is called idolatry! Idolatry is more than an outward act or practice. Like other sins, the outward expression reflects a condition of the heart. If our mental portrait of Elohim is based on what we want Him to be rather than what the Bible reveals Him to be, we harbor the spirit of idolatry. Idolatry has no place in the life of a true Christian. Again, the apostle John urges, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen” (1 John 5:21). Worshiping in spirit and truth precludes the use of idols or icons or statues, for no man-made images can truthfully portray the incomprehensible Yahweh, our Elohim. We are to worship Elohim only in the manner He tells us to worship Him. The Savior of mankind Yahshua warns, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). We hope that you’re enlightened by this holy teaching. We also pray for blessings to come upon those who will hear and obey this sacred message. All of these things we humbly pray to Almighty Father Yahweh through Yahshua Messiah our coming Savior, Master and King, Amen. Halleluyah and Shalom to all of you.
