In the first commandment the Holy Father declared that there is only one true God. Later He would, through the Apostle Paul, declare that there were many gods and many lords (1 Cor. 8:5). These were counterfeit deities created by those who would try to replace Him (God) as THE one and only God. The irony of this situation is that those who would reject Him would believe that they would spend eternity with Him. Being able to “declare the end from the beginning” (Isa. 46:10), the Almighty looked into the future and saw how salvation-seeking man would divide himself into many false faiths, denominations, churches, etc. and create gods and lords who would legitimize their individual group’s religious needs and wants.

The eternal God would not be a part of such a situation. Nothing or no one else could take His place or represent Him in the lives of His true saints. There could be no other God before Him. As noted earlier, the word “before” can mean “in front of” or “beside.” The meaning is clear–He was, is and will forever be THE GOD WHO RULES HIS PEOPLE THROUGH HIS LAW. All others are counterfeit Christians.

Religious man does not see things this way. However, in order to walk with the Lord we must always see reality from His perspective, which is the only perspective that counts. Satan convinced Adam and Eve that their perspective was what mattered. Though having been warned by God Himself about eating the forbidden fruit, Eve later saw the tree and its fruit from her own point of view: “And when THE WOMAN SAW that the tree was GOOD FOR FOOD, that is was PLEASANT TO THE EYES and that it was desirable to MAKE ONE WISE” she partook of its fruit and gave some to her husband who was with her (Gen. 3:6).

What had caused her to change from God’s clearly expressed viewpoint (vss 2,3) to the exact opposite viewpoint? She had earlier explained God’s way to the Serpent (Satan) in exact detail, adding that to even touch the forbidden fruit would bring instant spiritual death. The answer to the why question is found in verses four and five: “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You shall not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD, KNOWING (BEING ABLE TO DETERMINE) GOOD AND EVIL.” Nothing has changed. Satan is still deceiving the religious masses, enticing them to view good and evil from their own, self-serving perspective. Truly, Jesus was right when He said that Satan has deceived the whole world. His most prized mass deception involves “the church” in that he has always owned all other religions. Not satisfied with owning all except the church and 99% of those in her, he is working hard to lure in the 1% that remain in God’s family. And he is succeeding to the point that there are only a few thousand true believers to be found on earth today.

In His second commandment the Old Testament God told those who would be His people that they must not make for themselves ANY graven (man-made) image or ANY likeness of ANY thing that is in heaven above (birds, angels, sun, moon, stars, etc.), or on the earth beneath (people, animals reptiles, etc.) or that is in the water beneath the earth (fish, mammals, etc.). It is abundantly clear that God’s most cherished creation is prohibited from recognizing any other deity by making an image to it, regardless of the reason behind making it. It is clear that it would be a sin to make any type of image or likeness of anything or anyone that would in any way be ASSOCIATED WITH MAN’S WORSHIP OF OR SERVICE TO HIM.

I repeat: GOD’S PERSPECTIVE IS ALWAYS DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF MAN , AND HIS PERSEPCTIVE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT COUNTS. Anything, and I mean ANY THING that is created by man that in ANY WAY has ANY ASSOCIATION with Him, the Lord views as an IDOL–another god. Man sees it in a totally different light. God does not care how man sees because HIS VIEW IS THE ONLY LIGHT THAT MATTERS. We must understand this: ANY THING made by man relative to his (man’s) relationship with God IS AN IDOL. Crosses, fish symbols, pictures, statues, natural things, etc., used in relation to Him are forbidden by Him. Those who would join Him in His kingdom believe Him and obey Him. All others have replaced Him with gods who embrace the very things He (God) forbids. The question is: knowing what God has said about idolatry–that sin causes spiritual and physical death–what has caused this deadly change in salvation-seeking man’s spiritual beliefs? Answer: he has heard the voice of the serpent of Eden: “YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE … YOU WILL BECOME AS GODS ….” In other words, they would become their own idols.

Today some 2.5 billion people hear Satan’s seductive voice when they hang a cross around their neck or plant one in their yard, or place one on their dashboard, or a fish symbol on their car’s bumper. They unwittingly pay homage to the owner of the voice when they march into his house each sun god day, having walked past the so-called “Christian flag” and under a cross rising from atop his sanctuary on their way in. Once inside they hear another sermon preached by one of the devil’s false prophets who tell them that they are on their way to heaven. Satan smiles as God’s fury increases.

Returning to verses five and six we find the Lord continuing with His commands concerning the possession of any religious item made by man: “You must not bow down yourself to them (idols) nor serve them, for I, the Eternal your God, am a jealous God Who visits the INIQUITY of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them who HATE ME and showing mercy toward those who LOVE ME and (prove it by) keeping My commandments” (vs 6). Notice what God said: If we keep His commandments (Law) we prove that we LOVE HIM (and abide in Him–Jn. 15:10/Mat. 19:17). We prove that we HATE HIM by disobeying His Ten Commandment Law, which He calls “INIQUITY.” Hear what Jesus says about those who practice “INIQUITY” (Gk–LAWLESSNESS): “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that (judgment) day, ‘Lord, Lord, we have preached in your name, cast out demons in your name and done many wonderful works in your name.’ And then I will say to them, “I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME YOU WHO PRACTICE INIQUITY.”

The natural, carnal mind of unconverted man feels the need for some type of aid in the worship of the One he believes has already saved him. However, he absolutely refuses to obey his supposed Savior. He wants to look righteous without being righteous. He believes that his man-made symbol of righteousness is a fitting substitute for his self-inflicted, publicly-displayed unrighteousness. This amounts to RELIGIOUS FALSE ADVERTISING. Read Bait and Switch. Key word–Bait. Those who disobey God while wearing crosses, carrying Bibles, etc. are doing something that, in the secular world, would get them into trouble for breaking the TRUTH IN ADVERTISING RULE. What is done routinely by over two billion people is much more serious than doing what the merchant does when he advertises a superior item, then substitutes an item of lesser value. In the case of church people, the punishment is spiritual death now and physical death later.

True, Holy Spirit-led converts (Rom. 8:14) do not need aids in their walk with the Lord. As did their future Savior while on earth, they live (“walk”) in such a way that when people see them, they see God in their words and deeds. They do not need religious symbolic substitutes. This is what is meant by “walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh.” Let us “walk as Jesus walked” in this life (1 Jn. 2:6). He was led by God’s Holy Spirit, so must we be led if we are to join Him in paradise. Only those who love Him and the Father and prove it by obeying Their Law will join Him in the Kingdom of God. L.J.