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Idolatry is the number one sin today.

It is therefore the first of the ten commandments with very good reason.

Most are not even aware of how they are involved in idolatry and how they

suffer as a result of their activities.

This applies to Christians and non-Christians.

One catechism stated the first two commandments as follows.

1. Adore and love one God supreme

2. Forbear to curse or to blaspheme.

Although we should of course pay attention to the above it does not

tell us what the commandments actually say.

Exodus 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought you out of

the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 One You shall have no other gods before me.

4 Two You shall not make unto you any graven image,

or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above,

or that is in the earth beneath,

or that is in the water under the earth:

5 Three You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them:

for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the

fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of

them that hate me;

6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me,

and keep my commandments.

When this is read, we can easily see how the greatly abbreviated but

correct, Adore and love one God supreme, allows any sort of activity.

It is very incomplete and inadequate.

The commandments specifically state what we should do.

These verses show that to keep the commandments is to love God.

To break them is to hate God.

The Word Of God makes it clear that it is possible to be cursed by others,

however, it is far more likely that we are bringing curses on ourselves

without realizing it, and we end up as the nation of Israel was, repeatedly

in a house of bondage

Christ’s own words tell us that it is possible for others to curse us.

We are told how we should react, by blessing them.

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them

that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them

which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

The apostle Paul confirms the same thing.

Romans 12:14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

It is clear that the way to react to a curse is to bless.

In Exodus 20:5 quoted above, we see that the sin of idolatry will result

in a generational curse handed down to the third and fourth generation.

On the other side of the coin, those who obey the commandment will be

blessed to thousands of generations. The thousands is directly related

to generations not just to thousands of people.

Many teach that there are no such things as curses today, particularly

for Christians. It is true that Christ became a curse for us when he took

on our sins on Himself, in our place, to pay the full price for our sins.

1 Peter 2:24 He took our sins on himself, giving his body to be nailed on

the tree, so that we, being dead to sin, might have a new life in

righteousness, and by his wounds we have been made well.

The Word is very clear and gives many accounts of the nation of Israel

embracing idolatry and the consequence of this activity.

We can be certain that we cannot have one foot in one camp and the other

foot in the other camp. That does not and will not work.

1 Corinthians 10:21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord,

and the cup of devils: you cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table,

and of the table of devils.

In the book of Revelation we see the conclusion of the matter.

We see that in spite of the punishment of plagues, the people

continue to carry out their idolatrous customs.

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:

21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries,

nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

We see a mixture of everything evil.

We are clearly told that we are wasting our time praying and going through

various rituals to inanimate objects which can neither see, hear or help us.

If we do get a response we can be certain that it is not of God.

Burning incense and worshipping idols is nothing new.

There are many examples in the Old Testament.

2 Kings 22:17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense

unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works

of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place,

and shall not be quenched.

This expansion of other gods to include 'all the works of their hands'

completes anything not covered by the materials mentioned above.

Today this will include: worship, work, even the 'work of God' of,

'super stars' sport, movies, music, television, also jobs, possessions,

money and even ourselves, our high technology, games, cars, computers,

good works, and on and on the endless list goes. We can be so involved

with God's work that it becomes our idol and effectively replaces Him.

Astrology and it is idolatry.

2 Kings 23:5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of

Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of

Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned

incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets,

and to all the host of heaven.

'Incense' is to do with worship. We certainly give great prominence today

to astrology. Horoscopes appear in most magazines, newspapers, radio and

computer sites. Countless millions look to the host of heaven for indications

of what they should do.

Today actual image worship generally in the West utilizes small statues

of porcelain, china or some other material. In the Orient they can be

massive stone statues weighing several tons or gold plated stone statues

also of enormous weight.

Regardless of the size, we are warned not to pursue this course of action.

Throughout scripture you find idolatry linked with fornication.

Where you find one you will find the other.

Fornication is the illicit sexual union between two people.

Idolatry is also an illicit relationship.

Let us consider how Christ referred to Deuteronomy when He

defined the first commandment.

Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the

commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength:

this is the first commandment.

Now this should make us think again.

We can easily say, do not be silly.

We do not commit idolatry.

I am a Christian.

That is fine, but how do we get along with the following four questions ?

1) Are we loving God with all our heart?

2) Are we loving God with all our soul?

3) Are we loving God with all our mind?

4) Are we loving God with all our strength?

If the answer to any of these is no, we will find that God is not in the

number one position that He should be. There is something or someone

taking His place.

The reality is that if that is the case, we are committing idolatry.

This is further expanded in:

Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us,

and has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a

sweet smelling savour.

3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness,

let it not be once named among you, as becomes saints;

4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting,

which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

5 For this you know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person,

nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom

of Christ and of God.

6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things

cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

It is important to see verse 5 in context.

The various translations add clarity.

Weymouth 5 For be well assured that no fornicator or immoral person

and no money-grubber—or in other words idol-worshipper—

has any share awaiting him in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.

Darby 5 For this you are well informed of, knowing that no fornicator,

or unclean person, or person of unbridled lust, who is an idolater, has

inheritance in the kingdom of the Christ and God.

Darby makes the following connection and similarly Rothrham

fornicator linked as Idolatry = fornicator

unclean person Linked as Idolatry = impure person

unbridled lust Linked as Idolatry = greedy person

Rothrham 5 For, this, ye know, if ye take note—that no fornicator,

or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance

in the kingdom of the Christ and God.

I believe that we might well have to think again regarding the question do

we commit idolatry today? We might not be as pristine as we think we are.

There are many powerful demonic practices which go under the

title of 'Religion'.

Today there are 'holy wars'. That is a contradiction in terms and is totally

against what Christ taught. The world is seemingly, perilously close to

the brink of major hostilities in the light of the destruction of the

'World Trade Centre' and the 'Pentagon', in the USA.

Devastation which destroyed thousands of lives directly and

indirectly all in the name of God. We teach tolerance of all Religions

as we equate them to Christianity.

They could not be further from God if they tried.

They have a litany of false Gods which parade as the true God.

They worship weapons and destruction.

Sadly it has to be said that the Denominations have failed the people utterly.

There is another worldwide phenomena, it is ancestor worship.

It is found in sophisticated countries such as Japan to less developed African

countries.

It is an abomination and it will destroy the minds of those who get involved

in these customs. We need to be aware that one of the things of which we

have to repent is our 'culture'. As a Christian we cannot continue in wrong

practices which the Word of God condemns, such as Ancestor Worship and

believe that it is acceptable to God.

Being a Necromancer as it is referred to in the bible is such and activity,

a part of a culture and it requires repentance.

The fact that it is possible that you might see manifestations that appear

to be deceased relatives does not make it right.

They might even give you guidance.

That does not matter in the slightest. Satan, the god of this world, the most

evil being in the universe appears as an angel of light.

Bible In Basic English 2 Corinthians 11:14 And it is no wonder;

for even Satan himself is able to take the form of an angel of light.

Weymouth 2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder. Satan, their master,

can disguise himself as an angel of light.

That makes it crystal clear that destructive demons can masquerade as the

opposite of what you might think. Whether we know it or not we are being

observed by the spirit world, therefore it is not a problem for a demon to

tell you some obscure fact about someone living in another part of the world

or even someone who has died recently or long ago.

We can think oh that is incredible, and happily continue down that road

thinking because of the 'revelation' it must be good.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The dead cannot generate life, the dead only produce decay.

The dead by definition cannot give life, neither in word or deed.

That applies to the physical dead and the spiritually dead.

In order to give life you have to have life.

Satan and sin results in death which is classified as a 'law'.

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me

free from the law of sin and death.

Dabbling with the occult or the demonic puts your sanity at risk.

This is the opposite of a sound mind

which we are clearly told is a gift from God.

Additionally this can result in generational curses.

We are told that we must choose life not for ourselves only, but if we

choose life our children will also benefit. We need to ask the question if

we choose death are we not also choosing it for our children ?

Deuteronomy 30:15 See, I have set before you this day life and good,

and death and evil;

16 In that I command you this day to love the LORD thy God,

to walk in his ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments,

that you may live and multiply: and the LORD your God shall bless

you in the land whither you go to possess it.

17 But if your heart turn away, so that you will not hear, but shall be

drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

18 I denounce unto you this day, that you shall surely perish,

and that you shall not prolong your days upon the land,

whither you pass over Jordan to go to possess it.

19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you,

that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing:

therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live:

20 That you may love the LORD your God, and that you may obey His voice,

and that you may cleave unto Him: for He is your life,

and the length of your days: that you may dwell in the land which the LORD

swore unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

The good land for us today is Christ. He is the green pastures of Psalm 23.

It is a great error to think that these scriptures do not apply to us today

because they are in the Old Testament. There is a spiritual application for

every word in the bible as we are told that all of it is the word of God and

that it is Spirit and Life.

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing:

the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable

for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

We must not forget that God is not a respecter of persons.

Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that

God is no respecter of persons:

If anyone doubts that we are in the last days they simply need to see the

rapidity with resulted in the recent chaos. In a single day the whole world was changed

with the destruction of the World Trade Centre Twin Towers.

The world is being edged into world War

Luke 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days

of the Son of man.

27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in

marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came,

and destroyed them all.

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought,

they sold, they planted, they built;

29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone

from heaven, and destroyed them all.

The point is that the entire world system is corrupt from the very top down

to the bottom and what we have sown we will reap therefore the verses quoted

above have an application to us today.

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows,

that shall he also reap.

If we sow idolatry we will inevitably reap the consequences of it, death.

We must not be fooled by thinking that because something appears to be

'good' in our sight that it is indeed good.

Of the two trees in the garden,

One tree was the knowledge of good and evil whose fruit was death.

The other tree was the tree of life whose fruit by definition was life.

We see here that what is 'good' and pleasant to the sight

can lead to death.

Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,

and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make

one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat,

and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Idolatry appears right, pleasant and indeed even good.

In spite of the incredible miracles that God performed when He delivered

the nation of Israel from Egypt, at the first opportunity, as soon as Moses

turned his back they made a golden calf and promptly started to worship it.

The worship of idols is a consistent theme throughout the Old Testament of

God’s chosen people. Sadly it is the same with us today, idols abound.

There are two important reports of image worship, one past and the other

yet to happen. The first is in the book of Daniel. It is a fore-runner of the

second and final disastrous enforcement of image worship in the book of Revelation.

Babylon at the time of Daniel was exceedingly wealthy,

it was referred to as the head of gold.

Daniel 3:31 You, O king, saw, and behold a great image.

This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you;

and the form thereof was terrible.

32 This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver,

his belly and his thighs of brass,

38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and

the fowls of the heaven has he given into your hand, and has made you ruler

over them all. You are this head of gold.

Nebuchadnezzar the king made a massive golden image of approximately

90 feet high and 9 feet wide.

He demanded that his entire country worship it or die.

Daniel 3:1 ¶ Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height

was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in

the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes,

the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors,

the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication

of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers,

the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces,

were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that

Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar

had set up.

4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations,

and languages,

5 That at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp,

sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and

worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up:

6 And whoso falls not down and worships shall the same hour be cast into

the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of

the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music,

all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped

the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

We can see that this was a very serious matter, worship the image or die.

We might mistakenly think 'well that was in the olden days'.

The only problem with that is that the enemy seems to feel that it is still

serving him well and he will employ it again at the end time. This time it

will have the same consequences as in the time of Daniel, worship or die.

The Edict

Daniel 3: 11 And anyone not falling down and worshipping is to be put into

a burning and flaming fire.

The Charge

12 There are certain Jews whom you have put over the business of the

land of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men have not

given attention to you, O King: they are not servants of your gods or

worshippers of the gold image which you have put up.

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his wrath and passion gave orders for Shadrach, Meshach,

and Abed-nego to be sent for. Then they made these men come

in before the king.

An opportunity to Sin.

15 Now if you be ready that at what time you hear the sound of

the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds

of music, you fall down and worship the image which I have made; well:

but if you worship not, you shall be cast the same hour into the midst of

a burning fiery furnace;

A Challenge against God.

and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answering Nebuchadnezzar the king,

said, There is no need for us to give you an answer to this question.

Response to the death sentence.

17 If our God, whose servants we are, is able to keep us safe from the

burning and flaming fire, and from your hands, O King, he will keep us safe.

Total refusal to commit idolatry.

18 But if not, be certain, O King, that we will not be the servants of your

gods, or give worship to the image of gold which you have put up.

The sentence carried out.

21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats,

and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery

furnace.

Their Justification and Deliverance.

These young men chose to obey God rather than men, even if it meant death.

The final instruction on image worship at the end time is found in Revelation.

There will be separate documents dealing with other facets of this situation.

However, for the moment we will concentrate on the fact that at the end time

there will be an individual who will arise and be empowered by Satan, himself.

He will demand worship my image or die.

His miraculous power will be so great that he will do great signs and wonders,

including giving life and a voice to the statue.

All those who do not conform will be terminated.

Many Christians are focused on signs and wonders and this can prove to be

a great trap to them if they are not watchful and careful . Of course there

will be signs and wonders, however, our focus must be Christ.

Revelation 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;

and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.

12 And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him,

and causes the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast,

whose deadly wound was healed.

13 And he does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven

on the earth in the sight of men,

14 And deceives them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles

which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell

on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the

wound by a sword, and did live.

15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image

of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship

the image of the beast should be killed.

16 And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,

to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

Finally we see the ultimate fate of idolators.

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 burns with fire and brimstone:

which is the second death.

I do not think that this needs any explanation except to say that I do not

think that any one us would want to have any part in the second death.

Rather we must all seek to overcome and be a part of the New Jerusalem.

The only way out of this dilemma is Jesus Christ.

He is the only way of escape.

Praise the Lord.

Come soon Lord Jesus.

Amen.

Messages By Peter James

(Bible Explanations, Messages of Life, Hope & Encouragement)