There are many “false gods” but only “ONE true God.” The prophet Isaiah spoke much of the “false gods” that men invent in chapter 44. Yet before he did he declared in verse 6, “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God’” (NKJV). In verses 9-10, the prophet goes on to say this of the false gods that men manufacture, “Those who make an image, all of them are USELESS, and their precious things shall NOT PROFIT; they are their own witnesses; they NEITHER SEE NOR KNOW, that they may be ashamed. Who would form a god or mold an image that PROFITS HIM NOTHING?” And then from verses 11-17 he goes into detail describing the blacksmith and the craftsman who take their raw materials and fashion them into an image of a “god” that men fall down to worship. The absurdity of this is especially seen in verses 14-17, “He cuts down a cedar for himself, and takes the cypress and the oak; he secures it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it. Then it shall be for a man to burn, for he will take SOME OF IT AND WARM HIMSELF….indeed he makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and FALLS DOWN TO IT. He BURNS HALF OF IT IN THE FIRE…and THE REST OF IT HE MAKES INTO A GOD, his carved image. He falls down before it and worships it, PRAYS TO IT and says, ‘Deliver me, for YOU ARE MY god!’” Is this not absolutely ridiculous? For men to plant a tree, cut it down to warm themselves, and then take what’s left and make it into a god that they worship and pray to is the very epitome of vanity.

Hundreds of years later the Apostle Paul wrote on this same subject in Romans 1:21-23, “Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves to wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of incorruptible God INTO AN IMAGE made like corruptible man—birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” This clearly shows that men would rather devise their own god than acknowledge the “one true God.”

The Apostle Paul experienced this firsthand when he visited the city of Athens, Greece. In Acts 17:16 we read, “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that THE CITY WAS GIVEN OVER TO IDOLS.” You had asked “how many gods are there?” Here was one city that was filled with many gods! In fact, it has been said that in Athens (which was a large city) there were more gods than men! Later, in verses 22-25, Paul was given the opportunity to preach to them about the true God. He 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: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is he worshiped with men’s hand, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.”

Some may be thinking, “But we live in a civilized society where men do not form images of stone or wood and fall down to worship it.” The fact is, there are still religions (such as Buddhism and Hinduism) that do indeed form statues of their gods and then worship them. Even in Christendom statues are made (of the Virgin Mary) that are used in worship. Let me add in closing, that even men who don’t consider themselves “religious” have idols. That idol may be a house, a car, a boat, or something else that men’s hands have formed. Or it may be one’s job, a sports hero, an actor or actress, etc. An “idol” is anything that men admire and worship more than God; anything that takes the place of God in their heart. The Apostle John knew this, so he closed his First Epistle by saying, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1st John 5:21). (299.3) (DO)