TheSimpleAnswers.com

Surely that picture of Jesus on your wall, or the Angel statuettes your sister gave you, or that dreamcatcher over your child’s bed isn’t an idol! After all, you’re not bowing down to it, or praying to it, are you?? Of course not!

 

How does GOD feel about it? Does it really matter how YOU feel? If you’re right, then you are allowed to have pictures and representations of other gods in your home, as long as you don’t actually WORSHIP them. At best, this means you get to have some trinkets decorating your home.

 

But if I’M RIGHT, they will ROB YOU of your salvation! I DARE to make the bold statement that if you knowingly keep a dream catcher in your home, GOD WON’T BE THERE!! Don’t you think it’s worth investigating and finding the REAL TRUTH of this matter, and not the way that seems right to a man, the way that seems right to YOU, the way that leads to DEATH!

 

Let us take, for example, a cute little statue of Buddha. It’s totally harmless, perhaps a souvenir from your trip to China. Surely that’s not going to interfere with your faith, is it? I mean, YOU know that it’s just a lump of porcelain. YOU know that it’s not an idol TO YOU, so it must be alright!

 

First, I chose this example because it is very clear. Your cute little Buddha IS an idol. Maybe you don’t bow down before it, to worship it, but it IS an idol. Where in the Bible does it give you permission to purchase idols from the heathen and place in your own home, just for “looks”?

 

Why would you even WANT to have an idol like the heathen? You should HATE their idols - the very SIGHT of their idols should make you ANGRY. You should want to destroy and utterly crush every idol on earth - not buy one for a souvenir of your trip!! Do you think GOD would have one of those disgusting idols in HIS home? Does He think they’re “Cute”??

 

Deuteronomy 12:3 And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.

 

Exodus 32:20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

 

2 Kings 23:6 And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.

 

God has the idols ground to powder, and FED to the people who worshipped it! He doesn’t keep it around for His knick-knack shelf! How DARE you! The idol is a disgusting, unclean thing, whether YOU serve it or not, God hates it, and hates the devil that it represents!

 

Leviticus 26:30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

 

That’s how GOD feels about idols! Yes! You are free to believe any ridiculous thing you wish, and justify having that Buddha in your home ALL YOU WANT, but GOD hates it, and He hates you having one! Whether you “serve” it, or not, it is UNCLEAN to him!

 

2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? 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. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

 

Why on earth would you even WANT an idol in your home? Why? Is there nothing else in the world you could place on your knick-knack shelf instead? Why must you have THAT unclean filth? God doesn’t even like you touching it!

 

Isaiah 52:11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.

 

Now that you’ve been told, as long as you have that statue of Buddha there, God WILL not be with you. I’m not making this up; see for yourself. Believe what you read there - or reject it!

 

Deuteronomy 23:12-14 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee: For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: THAT HE SEE NO UNCLEAN THING in thee, and turn away from thee.

You’ve just read scriptures that call idols UNCLEAN things. It doesn’t matter whether or not you think this idol troubles your conscience or not! Maybe you ARE mature enough so that this idol doesn’t bother you; but GOD ISN’T! Because if God walks into your house and sees it, it offends HIM! Just because it IS, what it is! A statue of His enemy!

 

Deuteronomy 7:25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God. Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a CURSED THING LIKE IT: but thou shalt utterly DETEST it, and thou shalt utterly ABHOR it; for it IS a cursed thing.

 

That is God’s CLEAR COMMAND NOT to take an Idol from another person, and bring it into your home - EVEN if you just want to melt it down for the silver and gold! Even if you AREN’T going to worship it, it is CURSED, and God commands you to DETEST it, and ABHOR IT! And if you disobey and reject that command of God, YOU are cursed JUST LIKE IT IS!

 

And yet, regardless of this, just like your fathers, many people STILL justify themselves. Ask yourself; does this next scripture describe you? Remember, God broke your yoke, and forgave you, and you said “I will not transgress”, at Baptism. Have you kept that promise?

 

Jeremiah 2:20-24,35 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot. Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD. How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? …Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.

 

Can you believe that? Israel, while practically in the process of offering their children to Baal, said “I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim?”!! Then they had the colossal nerve to say ” Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me”, and “I have not sinned!”

 

Could this be YOU? When Israel played the harlot, they did so with pagan Gods. Do YOU play the harlot with your statue of Buddha? And then turn to God and say “I have not sinned! After all, I’m not worshiping it!”?

 

I leave that to you to answer. All that I say, is that your cute little statue is a sin. And God hates it, and will not walk in your house as long as it is there. And that’s just one example, with a few scriptures! What about a dream catcher?

 

A dream catcher is an IDOL. It is used for an idol by millions across the country. Some say the dream catcher was invented solely for tourists, that it hasn’t been worshiped by the Native Americans for thousands of years - but see, that doesn’t matter! WHEN they invented it doesn’t matter, what matters is that it is an idol now!

 

Here is a quote from a dream catcher ad I copied off the internet;

 

“Dream catchers originated from the Native Americans. There are many versions of the legend describing their birth, but they all agree that dream catchers should be hung over the head of the bed, and that good dreams will filter through the web and drop from the feathers onto the slumbering person, whilst bad dreams will become hopelessly entangled in the web and remain trapped until they melt away with the first rays of dawn.”

 

They claim it protects you from bad dreams! That it catches the evil thoughts and prevents them from giving you bad dreams! And so you hang it over your bed, and what has it become! An idol! An idol that protects you from evil spirits!

 

And so what will GOD say to you when you turn to Him and need help for some calamity in your life? I happen to know exactly what He will say to you. Do you? He’ll say…

 

Judges 10:14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let THEM deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

 

God doesn’t even like to have the NAME of these gods spoken! He has given clear commands on the subject! Maybe you haven’t noticed, but God REALLY HATES IDOLS! He doesn’t think they’re cute, or harmless! And if YOU believe otherwise, you do so without ANY scriptural authority whatsoever!!

 

Joshua 23:6-7 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:

 

Notice that God isn’t commanding that you don’t mention their names AND swear by them, AND serve them, AND bow down to them, making a complete WORSHIP package! Most people who want to keep their pagan idols try to prove that, so that they can keep them, but it’s just not true!

 

God doesn’t want you to do ANY PART OF IT! He doesn’t want you to mention their very names, OR swear by them, OR serve them, OR bow down to them! That’s what the scripture just said, as you can see!

 

Exodus 23:13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the NAME of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

 

So, it should be a simple matter now for you to apply this thinking to a picture of a long-haired Jesus hanging on your wall! Even the most devout “Christian” will admit that that ISN’T what Jesus looked like. It is a picture of ANOTHER JESUS, a FALSE Jesus, a picture of one of Satan’s idols He wants to pass off as Jesus! And again, GOD HATES IT, so WHY SHOULDN’T YOU??

 

2 Corinthians 11:3-4 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth ANOTHER JESUS, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

 

Since noone knows what the REAL Jesus looks like, the picture you have is of ANOTHER JESUS whom Paul, and we, do NOT PREACH! And thus it is a heathen idol which should be burned, and the people who own them should be forced to eat the ashes! That is how GOD dealt with that problem! God doesn’t WANT you to have a picture of HIM in your home! And I can prove that!

 

Deuteronomy 4:14 And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and MAKE YOU A GRAVEN IMAGE, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

 

God said that the children of Israel DIDN’T SEE HIM that day, because He KNEW they would make an idol of whatever they saw! And HE DIDN’T WANT a picture, or a statue, of Him in their homes!! That’s how GOD FEELS about HIS PICTURE in YOUR HOME!!

 

Now, I’ve said enough; any thinking person can apply this to crosses, statues of angels, pictures of the last supper, wizards, dragons, hearts, four-leafed clovers, fortune cookies, wreaths, elves, horoscopes, and anything else that represents the enemies of God!

 

Destroy them all if you want God to be near you! Because I think we all know how HE feels about them now!

 

Psalms 16:4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

 

So, FILL your house with Buddhas and Dreamcatchers and pictures of Jesus if you want! But *I*…, well,

 

Psalms 101:3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

 

First of all, let’s solve one simple argument. It’s pretty much a given that God is pretty smart. And therefore, God probably knows most of the languages on Earth. Ok, so He probably knows all of them. So we can assume that God speaks Swahili. He probably even speaks Quechua and Apache. So then we know that if someone who speaks Spanish says “Dios, socorro!!!” (God, help me!), that God will *understand* him. Granted, God may be offended that He didn’t use the proper name, but we know for a fact that God will Understand Him. So then, the only argument that remains is whether God PREFERS that you use the right name, whether He REQUIRES you to use the right name, or whether He DOESN’T CARE. Those are the only options. So which is it? And which is the “right name”?

Right up front we have to say that no one knows the proper name. Most believe it is YHVH, or YHWH, or just YH… but nobody can pronounce it. You see, the Jews were so terrified of speaking the name of God, oops, I mean, YHVW, that they forgot how. Hebrew doesn’t have vowels, per se. So the written language doesn’t tell us how a word was originally pronounced in most cases.

Imagine if even a word as short as “God” was written without vowels, like “Gd”. Now further imagine that as few as one hundred years go by without it being spoken aloud. Now finally, picture yourself, a native German speaker, let’s say, trying to pronounce that word then. Why, it could be Gad, God, Gid, Gud, or Ged - not to mention if there were two vowels, like Goad, or Giud, or Gead.

And there you have the problem with the perfect name. Only, it’s been a few thousand years and Hebrew bears less similarity to English than English does to German. Not only that, but YHVW most likely has three or more vowels in it. That means there are dozens of possible ways it could be pronounced. So no matter what you do, at best you MAY be able to spell it, you cannot ever PRONOUNCE the “perfect name” without divine revelation. But the question of the hour is, does God want you to try anyway?

Well, let’s find out by asking the age-old question - what would Jesus do? Read the rest of this entry »

Of all questions in modern Christendom, none is more agonizing than this one. “Have I committed the unpardonable sin”, many ask; uncertain whether or not God has accepted their repentance, their faith is crippled and their spiritual progress stalled.

Many others fear for good friends and loved ones who have been in the church, been converted, and then for one reason or another drifted back into the world, perhaps in complete rebellion to die in their sins; are these people lost forever? Will their next moments of consciousness involve an angelic boot to the seat of the pants into a lake of fire?

Of all the wonderful pieces of understanding, perhaps none offers such comfort as the one you are about to read; none allows you to watch WITH UNDERSTANDING as a loved one makes a choice they will one day regret and walks away from God and the truth. None offers you hope for this persons future as this one does. So JUST WHAT IS THE UNPARDONABLE SIN? AND HAVE YOU COMMITTED IT? Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most popular doctrines in the world today is that certain races are literally descended from an unholy union between the Devil and Eve. I couldn’t count the number of times people have come up to me and, after only the briefest talk about religion, half-whispered to me conspiratorially that THEY believe that Eve and the Devil had um… an affair… and produced Cain, or something similar.Did this happen? MANY, MANY people believe this today. Why? Is it true? Does the Bible teach it? On what do they base this belief? On the Bible? And do they base it on the ENTIRE Bible, or only certain passages that support this belief?

There are many variations of this doctrine. Some say that the “Two seeds” of Genesis 3:15 refers to Adam’s children and Satan’s children by Eve. Others believe that Angels married women based on Genesis 6:2. Still others believe that Cain’s wife was a creation of the Devil, some sort of pre-Adamic half-woman. Read the rest of this entry »

Can you unlock the secrets that tell you when the end of the world is coming? Does God have a set date and time for this event laid out in his PLAN for mankind? Will He reveal it to man before the end comes, and before He sends His son back to rule the earth with a rod of iron? The Bible tells you, YES!

Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

His father KNEW, nearly 2000 years ago, the DAY and even the HOUR of Christ’s second coming! Not even Christ knew this, when he was on earth. But later, after his resurrection, he said “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”(Matthew 28:18)

If ALL POWER was given to him, would the tiny power of knowing when he was returning be held back? Absolutely not! Further proof of this can be found in the first chapter of Revelation.

In verse 1, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God GAVE unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass;”

When Christ was on earth, even He did not know the day and the hour of his return. This is why His father had to GIVE him this revelation, and there is no question that He did this at some point before the close of the first century, at the writing of the book of Revelation.

So then, can we understand it today? Will God reveal unto his servants the day and the hour? The Bible tells us that He will! Read the rest of this entry »

 All the Churches in the world today believe that Grace allows you to break the law of God without being punished for it. They teach that Jesus kept they law so that you don’t have to - to take away the “burden” of keeping those commandments.

Other articles deal with that concept in detail, showing that Paul disowned this concept of grace (Romans 3:8) and considered it slander that people claimed that he taught it. We find Jude (Jude 4) the brother of Jesus condemning those who turned Grace into license to sin. Into a free pass to break the commandments of God. But in this article I want to focus on “Antique grace”. This false grace that is taught today is not new. It is in fact, very old. Very, very old. It predates even Paul.

It has gone unrecognized by most people because they don’t see clearly what the false grace taught by the world really is; so let me make it clear before I start. When you say that Jesus lived the commandments for you, it means that you don’t have to keep them at all. Sure, you should “try” to do “good”, but if you fail it really doesn’t matter. Because either way, you’re saved by “grace”

The problem with that is that God says the exact opposite; He says “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” and “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” (John 14:15, 21) Read the rest of this entry »