American Idols

Some teach that "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me" and "Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image" are two Commandments (Septuagint, Eastern Orthodox, Reformed Christians), while others (Jews, Catholics, Lutherans) consider the statements as one Commandment - Wiki(10Cmd) [1]. For the purpose of this article, when I say idolatry, I will usually be talking about both.

My purpose is to compare idolatry in ancient Israel with idolatry in modern America.

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History of Idolatry

Perhaps the most familiar Biblical example of idolatry is the story of the Golden Calf. I just want to highlight a couple verses. When Moses came down Mount Sinai, the people had managed to violate Commandments 1 and 2. Here is how God describes their actions to Moses:

Exodus 32:8 How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it. They have sacrificed to it and said, 'These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.'"

Note how this language parallels the commandment.

Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol ... 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them;

See how tightly linked Commandments one and two are? The behaviors that define apostasy (commandment 1) and idolatry (commandment 2) are:

make for yourself

bow down to it

serve it

sacrifice to it

What did Israel make for themselves? A golden calf.

Another familiar Biblical example of idolatry is the story of King Jeroboam, who made for himself two golden calves to worship. Note how he describes them.

1Ki 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Works of Your Hands

Is America guilty of making idols for themselves? Consider Isaiah's words.

Is 2:8 Their land has also been filled with idols; They bow down to the work of their hands, That which their fingers have made.

 

Teraphim

It may seem easy to point the finger at the ancient Israelites and say, “How could you worship that?” How can you make something like a statue with your own hands and then turn around and call it your god? It's God who created you, not the other way around. If you created it, you're the god of it, so to speak. But Isaiah's warning is for today. Our land is filled with idols “of silver and gold” and “the works of our hands”. It's not simply the pursuit of wealth, consider what Paul said on Mars Hill.

Acts 17:29 NASB Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.

Cell Phone Worship

The word translated here as skill is techne, from which we get the word technology. Much has been said and written about people glued to their phones. I don't think it is a stretch to say “bowing down to them” - Today.com [2].

Do we serve the works of our hands?

The Unholy Trinity

Ancient Israel served many false gods, Steve Shirley [3] lists 35 of them, but they seemed to serve three particular gods above the rest – Baal, Molech, and Ishtar - Jonathan Cahn [4]*. They also go by other names. Let's look at them in ancient Israel and today.

Baal

Baal

Baal was the title of the false god worshiped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. The worship of Baal penetrated Jewish (Israelite) religious life during the period of the Judges (Judges 3:7), became common in Israel during the rule of Ahab (1 Kings 16:31-33), and also influenced Judah (2 Chronicles 28:1-2).

In artistic depictions and archaeological finds, Baal took the shape of a bull or ram and had associations with fertility.

And of all the foreign gods the Israelites came into contact with, they appeared to struggle the most with worshipping this one - Who Is Baal [5].

Charging Bull

Baal or Baalim is mentioned over 80 times in the OT. Baal was also known as a god in Egypt - SGT_Report [6]. Remember those golden calves made by Aaron and Jeroboam. And we see that Baal is associated with the bull. Any connection to modern America? When the stock market is rising, it is called a bull market. So much so that a bronze statue of a bull stands in the financial district in New York City. This statue called Charging Bull is 11 feet high, 16 feet long, and weighs 7100 pounds. It is meant to symbolize optimism and the financial prosperity (promised by Baal) - Wiki(Charging Bull)  [7].

Or how about this? A giant mechanical bull called Raging Bull was rolled out during the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Raging Bull stands 30 feet tall and has red glowing eyes. During the ceremony, the human performers all bowed down to Raging Bull after it was subdued by a woman. The Washington Standard [8] gave this story the headline “Now They Are Literally Bowing Down & Worshipping Baal Right In Front Of Our Eyes”. 72 nations participated in the Commonwealth Games, the international audience estimated at 1.5 billion people - FirstMats [9].

Molech

Baby placed in Molech's arms
 

Molech was also a Canaanite god, best known for child sacrifice. He is often portrayed as an idol with a bull's head, like Baal - Wiki(Molech) [10]. The link between child sacrifice in ancient Israel and abortion in America is clear. Some prominent leaders claim that abortion is a sacred right. Ed Whelan,  deputy assistant attorney general for former President George W. Bush, snapped “Sacred if Moloch is your god” - DailyWire [11]. Satanists claim that abortion is a religious ritual protected as a person's free exercise of religion. In their own words, from their own website.

TST has petitioned the state of Texas to allow Satanic Temple members the ability to continue receiving voluntary abortions as part of a religious ritual -   The Satanic Temple [12].

Ishtar

Ishtar

 

One of the most complex and important Mesopotamian goddesses was Ishtar -  The Collector [13].

In the ancient world, it is difficult to overstate the importance of Inanna/Ishtar - World History [14].

She goes by other names, in the Bible she is called Astarte or Ashteroth, or Queen of Heaven; in Sumeria, she is called Inanna, and also other names in other places. Ishtar was known as the goddess of love, sex, and war, but not motherhood – or any of the traits normally associated with women, like nurturing, compassion, or comfort. The Bible doesn't say much about the specific practices of Ishtar worship, but it's not a secret, there are plenty of sources available today, sometimes contradictory however.

As America began to kick God out of its culture (one famous example is the Supreme Court banning school prayer in 1962 Wiki(School Prayer) [15]), the void was filled by Baal, Molech, and Ishtar. Legalizing abortion in 1973 was like an invitation to Molech. You could say that Ishtar brought the sexual revolution of the 1960's. It started as a movement to liberate women to be more independent. By the end of the decade, the sexual revolution embraced homosexuality. But this was nothing new to Ishtar. She was the original gender bender. Homosexuality among her male “priests” was common - Wiki(Inanna) [16]. And that was only the beginning.

A hymn to Inana for Išme-Dagan (Išme-Dagan K)

19-31. Inana was entrusted by Enlil and Ninlil with the capacity to gladden the heart of those who revere her in their established residences, but not to soothe the mood of those who do not revere her in their well-built houses; to turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man, to change one into the other, to make young women dress as men on their right side, to make young men dress as women on their left side, to put spindles into the hands of men - Sumerian Literature [17]

We now live in an age and culture where it is considered OK “to turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man, to change one into the other”.

Beware Idols

Why should we be worried about idols? The Bible tells us they are nothing, right?

1Co 8:4 Therefore, concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.

While it is true that the physical idol is nothing to fear (1 Corinthians 8:4), the diabolic presences behind them are something we should be concerned about. Just like John and every other apostle, prophet, and saint, Paul understood the spiritual realities behind idols; that these are demons, working toward the destruction of man by removing him from the worship of the one true God and engaging him in the worship of all that is evil and opposes the Almighty (1 Corinthians 10:20-22) - Christianity.com [18].

1 Co 10:19 YLT what then do I say? that an idol is anything? or that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything? — 20 (no,) but that the things that the nations sacrifice — they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not wish you to come into the fellowship of the demons.

We don't see idols in the same way as the ancient world. Surely WE don't serve THOSE idols. Maybe not in the same way as ancient Israel, but America is serving those demons. Whether people even know the names of these idols, they serve them. Remember, Rom 6:16 "you are slaves to the one you obey".

As in ancient Israel, so in America - after all, we are their descendants**. They turned away from God, and to fill the void created, they turned to other gods. They sacrificed their children, they served the Astheroth. America has also turned away from God, sacrificed millions of babies, and served Ishtar. God sent Israel into exile because of their idolatry, and He will do the same to America.

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* Jonathan Cahn's book "Return Of The Gods" gives LOTS more information than I've presented here. My intent was to show some of the themes of his book, but not rely on it as my only source, rather to verify it from independent research.

** Prophecy can be better understood when you know the identity of the tribes of Israel today. The prophecies can't all be fulfilled by the tiny nation called Israel. Check out these sources for information on a very large topic.

THE “LOST” TEN TRIBES OF ISRAEL…FOUND! by Steve Collins [19]

The Tribes: The Israelite Origins of Western People by Yair Davidy [20]

The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy by United Church of God [21]

REFERENCES

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments

2. https://www.today.com/health/horn-skull-bumps-caused-too-much-phone-use-t156858

3. https://jesusalive.cc/pagan-false-gods-in-bible

4. https://www.amazon.com/Return-Gods-Jonathan-Cahn/dp/1636411428

5. https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/who-is-baal-in-the-bible.html

6. https://www.sgtreport.com/2022/08/prince-charles-opens-the-2022-birmingham-commonwealth-games-with-an-idol-of-a-raging-fiery-bull-prompting-comparisons-to-baal-worship

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charging_Bull

8. https://thewashingtonstandard.com/now-they-are-literally-bowing-down-worshipping-baal-right-in-front-of-our-eyes-video

9. https://www.firstmats.co.uk/blogs/buying-guides/2022-birmingham-commonwealth-games-facts-figures

10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moloch

11. https://www.dailywire.com/news/sacred-if-moloch-is-your-god-democrats-ripped-after-calling-abortion-sacred-right

12. https://thesatanictemple.com/

13. https://www.thecollector.com/ishtar-goddess-of-love-mesopotamia/

14. https://www.worldhistory.org/ishtar/

15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_prayer_in_the_United_States

16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna

17. https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.2.5.4.11#

18. https://www.christianity.com/wiki/angels-and-demons/who-was-moloch-in-the-bible.html

19.  https://stevenmcollins.com/

20.  https://www.amazon.com/Tribes-Israelite-Origins-Western-People/dp/965902553X

21.  https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/the-united-states-and-britain-in-bible-prophecy

Unmasked

In the West, masks are mostly worn for protection, think of dust masks, ski masks, or surgical masks. But sometimes masks are worn to hide the identity of the wearer. Consider this definition of mask  from Encyclopedia Britannica [1].

Mask, a form of disguise or concealment usually worn over or in front of the face to hide the identity of a person and by its own features to establish another being. This essential characteristic of hiding and revealing personalities or moods is common to all masks.

Masks generally are worn with a costume, often so extensive that it entirely covers the body and obscures the wearer’s recognizable features. Fundamentally the costume completes the new identity represented by the mask.

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Origin Of Masks

Where did this practice of wearing masks come from? It appears that the origin of masks is in religious rites and ceremonies. Again from Encyclopedia Britannica [1].

African Tribal Masks

Many masks are primarily associated with ceremonies that have religious and social significance or are concerned with funerary customs, fertility rites, or the curing of sickness.

The mask, therefore, most often functions as a means of contact with various spirit powers, thereby protecting against the unknown forces of the universe by prevailing upon their potential beneficence in all matters relative to life.

In certain cultures, masks are worn to get in touch with the spirit world. This has been the case around the world, with Africa being the most well known, because African masks are sold as collectible art in the West. In order to contact the spirit world, the mask maker and the mask wearer must follow careful rules. The mask wearer is considered to be in direct association with the mask's spirit force, and can lose his own identity, assuming the identity of the mask, possibly undergoing a psychic change, even a trance. Some masks do represent evil spirits. Masks are worn in many religious ceremonies often in an attempt to "impersonate a supernatural power" - Masks: Reflections of Culture and Religion [2]. So in religious ceremonies involving masks, the mask and the wearer either represents a good spirit or an evil spirit.

Identity Masks

In the West, identity masks are only used at Halloween, Mardi Gras, or costume parties. The mask allows the wearer anonymity to release inhibitions. In other words, the mask wearer feels free to behave as they really want to, to do things under the cloak of anonymity. I'm pretty sure this doesn't bring out the virtue in people. Their real self is unmasked while wearing a mask. “A mask is not to disguise who you are but to show who you really are.” - Chloe Thurlow [3].



Of course, masks do not have to be physical. Many cultures have the mask of alcohol or other drugs, which lower inhibitions, that is unmasking the real self. Many people use a mask of anger to hide fear, weakness, shame, or embarassment - Psychology In Everyday Life [4]. Humor can also be used a a mask - Masking Depression With Humor [5]. In religion, tradition can be a mask - Behind the Mask of Religious Traditions [6]. Masks can work two ways, hiding the real self or revealing the real self, or perhaps who the wearer wants to be.

Masks and the Theater

Masks became a device of the theater in almost all cultures.

The mask as a device for theatre first emerged in Western civilization from the religious practices of ancient Greece.

Heavily coiffured and of a size to enlarge the actor’s presence, the Greek mask seems to have been designed to throw the voice by means of a built-in megaphone device and, by exaggeration of the features, to make clear at a distance the precise nature of the character. Moreover, their use made it possible for the Greek actors—who were limited by convention to three speakers for each tragedy—to impersonate a number of different characters during the play simply by changing masks and costumes.  Encyclopedia Britannica [1]


What were those Greek actors called? Hypokrites, from which we get the English word hypocrite.

Tragedy And Comedy Masks

The word hypocrite ultimately came into English from the Greek word hypokrites, which means “an actor” or “a stage player.” The Greek word itself is a compound noun: it’s made up of two Greek words that literally translate as “an interpreter from underneath.” That bizarre compound makes more sense when you know that the actors in ancient Greek theater wore large masks to mark which character they were playing, and so they interpreted the story from underneath their masks.

It took a surprisingly long time for hypocrite to gain its more general meaning that we use today: “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.”  - Merriam Webster [7]

Masks and the Bible 

Does the Bible have anything to say about masks? Indirectly. It does talk about hypocrites. In Matthew 23 alone, Jesus addresses the scribes and Pharisees seven times as hypocrites, "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, ..." - Matt 23:13,14,15,23,25,27,29. This is the Greek word hypokritai, the same word as the stage players of Greek theater. The scribes and Pharisees put on masks to appear righteous, not physical masks like other religions, but still a persona, Latin for "false face" - Masks: Reflections of Culture and Religion [2]. "So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." - Matt 23:28.

Putting on a mask to portray or become an evil spirit is simply bad.
Putting on a mask to appear righteous is also bad.

Portraying an evil spirit allows the evil side of a person to come out and be revealed.

Pretending righteousness allows a person to hide their evil side. This is the warning of  Matt 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits." Sounds like a mask, a whole costume if you will. And this warning in 2Cor 11:14 "No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." But remember, you will know them by their fruits, don't just listen to their words - 4 Ways to Identify a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing [8].




Are masks mentioned in the Old Testament? Possibly. In the story of the Golden Calf (Exodus 32), the people don't know what happened to Moses, they panic, and want a replacement for Moses, a replacement that isn't human and can serve as an intermediary between the people and God Himself. They had their chance to see and hear God directly at Mount Sinai, but they chose to have an intermediary instead.

Exod 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us a god [elohim] who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.

Aaron fashions a golden calf. Rabbi David Fohrman [9] argues that "egel maseka" in Hebrew could be translated as molten calf or calf mask. The people wanted an intermediary that could survive a face to face encounter with God, like Moses did. The calf mask was a shield to protect them. Only it doesn't work that way, the mask is a perversion of the relationship with God, which must actually be face to face. The irony is that Moses ends up being the one who has to wear a veil (masveh) when talking to the people. Moses face shone after forty days on the mountain with God, and when he came down, the people were afraid of him, so he wore a veil, not because he wanted to hide his identity. It's not clear to me how long Moses wore the veil, perhaps for the entire 40 years Israel wandered in the desert.


[paragraph added Mar 21, 2018]

I missed an important connection between masks and the commandment that says - "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain" - Exodus 20:7. A reader commented that this verse is really talking about hypocrisy, that is taking God's name in vain is more than using swear words. He paraphrased it like this "You shall not just act like you are one of God's people; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that bears his name in vain." Taking or bearing God's name has to be sincere, not a mask worn for the praise of men.

Masks and the Christian

Anyone who desires to live a moral life, anyone who calls on the name of the Lord, ie. a Christian, is at risk for hypocrisy. I have to think that no one actively seeks out evil deliberately and consciously, but that evil is a result of "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes" - Prov 21:2. That is to say, everyone decides for themselves what is right and wrong. But Christians have given up that right to decide for themselves. The problem is our own weaknesses and habits. Everyone sins, and falls into hypocrisy, "a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.” Do we put the mask on and pretend the sin didn't happen, or do we approach God face to face (because He knows anyway), and repent, that is, turn away from our sin, and bring forth fruit in keeping with our repentance?

God hath given you one face and you make yourselves another. - William Shakespeare, Hamlet

References

1. https://www.britannica.com/art/mask-face-covering
2. https://www.dollsofindia.com/us/library/mask/
3. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/mask
4. http://www.psychologyineverydaylife.net/2012/05/29/masks-of-anger-the-fears-that-your-anger-may-be-hiding
5. http://docdreyfus.com/psychologically-speaking/masking-depression-with-humor/
6. https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Mask-Religious-Traditions-Briggs-ebook/dp/B001R4BP7A
7. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypocrisy
8. https://faithinthenews.com/4-ways-to-identify-a-wolf-in-sheeps-clothing/
9. https://www.alephbeta.org/