It was on my heart to do this Biblical Research Project to show what the Bible says on this topic. In order to do this Biblical Research Project, I will use the New King James Version of the Bible [a.k.a. NKJV], biblegateway.com/ and other internet resources, as needed. Special note: Any time I use a capital “G” in God, I am referring to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and I will capitalize pronouns referring to Him . I will use lower case letters for all other references to god. I will use yellow to highlight God, His compassion, mercy, etc. . I will highlight passages in orange that say that the Lord God is the only God. Or there is no other God. I will highlight in green when the Bible talks about other references to god.Since it made it difficult to differentiate between all the false gods, idols, and other things people worshiped in the Bible, I tried to make a little spot with no highlighting to make it easier to identify them. Additionally, I will highlight the consequence for following false gods in blue. Since there are so many Bible passages that meet the parameters of this Biblical Research Project, I will put a turquoise highlight at the beginning of the Bible passages that are especially significant, to help narrow your focus.
You may read this Biblical Research Project, as well as others in their entirety on either of these two blogs I felt led to create: Biblical Proof! at https://BiblicalProof.blogspot.com/ or Do Biblical Inconsistencies Really Matter? at https://Biblicalinconsistencies.blogspot.com/
Sometimes Bible passages have the word “he” and “him” within them. I will put within brackets who is speaking and who is spoken to anytime I determine it is beneficial for clarity. Additionally, I will put my analysis, evaluation, comments, and opinions within brackets, as well.
[Note: Both of the passages in Exodus 34:13-17 and Leviticus 2-:4-8 and other passages in the Bible, talk about the Israelites playing the harlot or prostituting themselves to other gods, mediums and those with familiar spirits. The Lord God wanted the Israeltites to worship only Him, the One True God, who freed them from the oppression of the Pharaoh in Egypt. Although they know this and have seen how the Lord God miraculously provided manna, meat and water for them while they wandered in the wilderness, they still were led astray by those in other countries who worshiped false gods, used mediums, worshiped the sun and the stars, contacted the dead, had child sacrifice, and walked through fire, etc. The comparison is connected to how some people have been unfaithful going from person to person, just as the Israelites were unfaithful to the Lord God and went from god to god and turned their backs on the Lord God.]
[Some even led other Israelites astray so the Lord God had to have serious consequences for their choices to worship false gods as a deterrent. Sometimes, there was the consequence of death to stop others from continuing to be led astray. Other times, they were taken captive, so they could contemplate their choices and have the opportunity to turn back to worshiping the Lord God. It’s so amazing that when they would sincerely choose to turn back to the Lord God, He would forgive them and take them back.]
[Using Biblegateway.com/, I found out that the Old Testament speaks about idols 127 times and in the New Testament 31 times for a total of 158 times. Carved images are mentioned only in the Old Testament for a total of 46 times. Molded images are mentioned in the Old Testament for a total of 23 times. That does not count all the other times when it talks about false gods in different formats, like images made of wood, images made with their own hands, although many of these are in the verses I analyzed that follows.]
[Passages with Consequences for Worshipping false gods:
·
Exodus 20:5-6 says: ...you
shall not bow down to them nor serve them.
For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting
the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth
generation of those who hate Me, but showing
mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
·
Exodus
22:20 says: “He who sacrifices to
any god, except to the Lord only,
he shall be utterly destroyed.
·
Exodus 32:35 goes on to
say: So the Lord plagued the people because of
what they did with the calf which Aaron made.
·
Exodus
34:13-15 says: “But you shall destroy their [Canaanites, Hittites,
Perizzite, Hivites, and Jebusites] altars break
their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images (for you shall
worship no other god, for the Lord whose name is Jealous, is a jealous
God),
·
Leviticus 20:5 says: then I will set My face against that man and against his
family; and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit
harlotry with Molech [a false god whom they sacrifice their children to or
make them walk through fire]
·
Numbers 25:4-55 says:Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders
of the people and hang the offenders before the Lord, out in the sun, that the
fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel. So Moses said to the judges
of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men
who were joined to Baal of Peor [idol].”
·
Numbers 33:52 says: …’then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the
land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images,
and demolish all their high places;...
·
Deuteronomy
4:27-28 says: And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you
will be left few in number among the nation where the Lord will drive you.
And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
·
Deuteronomy 6:13-15
says: “You shall not go after other gods, the gods of
the peoples who are all around you (for the Lord your God is a
jealous God among you), lest the anger of the
Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of this
earth.
·
Deuteronomy 7:16 says: “Also you shall destroy all the peoples whom the
Lord your God delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.”
·
Deuteronomy 7:25 says: “You
shall burn the carved images of their gods with
fire; you shall not covet the silver of gold that is on them, nor take
it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for
it is an abomination to the Lord your God.
·
Deuteronomy 8:19-20 says:
“Then it shall be, if you by any means forget
the Lord your God, and follow other
gods, and serve them and worship them,
I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. As the nations
which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not
be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.”
·
Deuteronomy
17:3-5 says: “...who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them,
either the sun or the moon or any of the host of
heaven, which I have not commanded, and
it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently, And if
it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in
Israel, then you shall bring out to your gates that man of woman who has
committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with
stones.”
·
Deuteronomy 18:20 says: ‘But
the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded
him to speak or who speaks in the name of other
gods, that prophet shall die.’
·
Deuteronomy 27:14-15 says:
“And the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of
Israel: ‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and set it
up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen!’”
·
Deuteronomy 28:36-37
says: “The Lord will bring you and the king
whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have
known, and there you shall serve other gods- wood and stone. And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb,
and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you.”
·
Deuteronomy 29:20 says: “The Lord would not spare him [who turns away from
the Lord]; for then the anger of the Lord and His jealousy would burn against
that man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on him, and
the Lord would blot out his name from under heaven.
·
Deuteronomy 29:24-26 says:
“All nations would say, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this land? What does the
heat of this great anger mean?’ “Then people would say: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of
their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of
Egypt; for they went and served other gods and
worshiped them, gods that they did not know and that He had not given to
them.”
·
Deuteronomy 30:17-18 says: “But
if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely
perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the
Jordan to go in and possess.”
·
Deuteronomy 32:37-39 says: He will say: Where are their gods, The rock in which they
sought refuge? Who ate the fat of their
sacrifices, And drank the wine of their
drink offering? Let them rise and help
you, And be your refuge. Now see
that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.
·
Judges 2:13-15 says: They forsook the Lord and served Baal and the
Ashtoreths. And the anger of the Lord
was hot against Israel. So He
delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold
them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer
stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was
against them for calamity, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to
them they were greatly distressed.
·
Judges
2:16-17 says: Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered
them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they
played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They
turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the
commandments of the Lord: they did not do so.
·
Judges
2:19-22 says: And it came to
pass, when the judge was dead, that they
reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow
down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their
stubborn way. Then the anger of the Lord was
hot against Israel; and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My
covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, “I also
will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when
he died, so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the
ways of the Lord, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not.”
·
Judges 3:7-8 says: So the
children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
Lord. They forgot the Lord their God,
and served the Baals and Asherahs. Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against
Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia;
and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years.
·
Judges 10:6-7 says: Then
the children of Israel again did evil in the
sight of the Lord, and served the Baals
and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the
people of Ammon, and the gods of the
Philistines; and they forsook the Lord and
did not serve Him. So the anger of the
Lord was hot against Israel; and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines
and into the hands of the people of Ammon.
·
1 Kings 9:6-7 God warns
Solomon and says: “But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set
before you, but go and serve other gods and
worship them,
then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this
house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel
will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.”
·
1 Kings 11:9-11 goes on to
say: So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from
the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him
concerning this thing, that he should not go
after other gods: but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you
have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have
commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to
your servant.
·
1 Kings 14:8-10 God has
Jeroboam told: “...and [I, God] tore the
kingdom away front the house of David,
and gave it to you [Jeroboam]; and yet you have not been as My servant
David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do
only what was right in My eyes; but you have
done more evil than all who were before you, for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back- therefore behold! I will bring disaster on the
house of Jeroboam, and will cut off
from Jeroboam every male in Israel, bond and free; I will take away the remnant
of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone.”
·
1 Kings 16:12-13 says: Thus Zimri destroyed all the household of Baasha,
according to the word of the Lord,
which He spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, for all the sins of Baasha
the sins of Elah his son, by which they had sinned and by which they had made Israel sin,
in provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger
with their idols.
·
1
Kings 18:35-40 says: Elijah had challenged the priests of Baal to have their idol start their
burnt offering, but they couldn’t: So the water ran all
around the altar; and he [Elijah] also filled the trench with water. And it
came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah
the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel
and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.
“Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God,
and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt
sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water
that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their
faces; and they said, “The Lord, he is
God! The Lord, He is God~” And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized
them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.
·
In 1 Kings 21:24-26 God tells Elisha what to say to King Ahab: “The
dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of
the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.” But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do
wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up.
And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord had cast out
before the children of Israel. 21:28-29 further says: And the word of
the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “See how Ahab has humbled himself
before Me? Because he has humbled himself
before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. In the days of his son
I will bring the calamity on his house.” [Although the first part of this tells the wicked things King Ahab has
done, but the second portion shows what a difference turning to the Lord God can
make.]
·
2 Kings 1:2-4 says: Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room
in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, “Go,
inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Edron, whether I shall recover from this
injury.” But the angel of the Lord said
to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king
of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because
there is not God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god
of Ekron? Now therefore, thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not come down from the
bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.”’ So Elijah
departed.
·
2 Kings 10:21-22 says: Then
Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers
of Baal came, so that there was not a
man left who did not come. So they came into the temple of Baal, and the
temple of Baal was full from one end to the other. And he [Jehu] said to the
one in charge of the wardrobe, “bring out vestments for all the worshipers of
Baal. So he brought out the vestments for them. 10:25-28 goes on to
say: Now it happened, as soon as he had made
an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the
captains, “Go in and kill them; let no one come out!” And they killed
them with the edge of the sword; then the guards and the officers threw them
out, and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal. And they brought the
sacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them. Then they broke down
the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal and made it a
refuse dump to this day. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel. [God had Jehu kill those who worshiped the false god, Baal, so that
Israel would turn from their wicked ways.]
·
2
Kings 15:9-10 says: And he [Zechariah] did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the
sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin. Then Shallum the son of Jabest conspired against
him, and struck and killed him in front of the people; and he reigned in
his place.15:24-25 goes on to say: And he [Pekahiah] did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the
son of Nebat,who had made Israel sin.
Then Pekah the son of Remaliah, an officer of his conspired against him and
killed him in Samaria, in the citadel of the king’s house, along with Argob
and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of Gilead. He killed him and reigned in
his place.
·
2 Kings 17:16-18 further
says: So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And
they caused their sons to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and
soothsaying, and sold themselves to do
evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel,
and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah
alone.
·
2 Kings 21:20-23 says: And he [Amon] did evil in the sight of the Lord,
as his father Manasseh had done. So he walked in all the ways that his father
had walked; and he served the idols that
his father had served, and worshiped them. He
forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and
did not walk in the way of the Lord. Then the
servants of Amon conspired against him, and killed the king in his own house.
·
1 Chronicles 5:25-26 says:
And they were unfaithful to the God of
their fathers, and played the harlot after the
gods of the peoples of the land whom
God had destroyed before them. So
the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, that is,
Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and
the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity. He took them to Halah, Havor,
Hara, and the river of Gozan to this day.
·
2
Chronicles 24:17-21 says: Now after the death of
Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king
listened to them. Therefore they left the house of the Lord God of their
fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and
wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back
to the Lord; and they testified against them, but they would not listen. Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the
son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so
that you cannot prosper? Because you have
forsaken the Lord, He also has forsaken you.’” So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king
they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord.
·
2 Chronicles 24:22-24
further says: Thus Joash the king did
not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said,
“The Lord look on it, and repay!” So it
happened in the spring of the year that the army of Syria came up against
him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the leaders of
the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of
Damascus. For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men; but the Lord delivered a very great army into their
hand, because they had forsaken the
Lord God God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.
·
2 Chronicles 25:1-2 says:
And he [Amaziah] did what was right in the
sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal
heart. 25:14-16 goes on to say: Now it was so, after Amaziah came
from the slaughter of Edomites, that he brought
the gods of the people of Seir, set them
up to be his gods, and bowed down before
them and burned incense to them. Therefore the anger of the Lord was aroused against
Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have
you sought the gods of the people, which could not rescue their own people from
your hand?” So it was, as he talked with him, that the king said to
him, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Cease! Why should you be killed?” Then the prophet ceased, and said, “I know that
God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not
heeded my advice.”
·
2 Chronicles 25:27 further
says: After the time that Amaziah turned
away from following the Lord, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem,
and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.
·
2 Chronicles 28:5 says: Therefore the Lord his God delivered him into the
hand of the king of Syria. They defeated him, and carried away a great
multitude of them as captives, and brought them to Damascus. Then he was also
delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who defeated him with a great
slaughter. 28:9 further says: But a
prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out before the
army that came to Samaria, and said to them: “Look, because the Lord God
of your fathers was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand; but
you have killed them in a rage that reaches up to
heaven.
·
2 Chronicles 33:22-24 says:
But he [Amon] did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh
had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the
carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and served them. And he
did not humble himself before the Lord, as his father Manasseh had
humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and
more. Then his servants conspired against him, and killed him in his own house.
·
Psalm
106:12-21 says: Then they believed His [the Lord God’s] words; They sang His praise.
Then soon forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel, But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tested God in the desert. And He gave them their
request, But sent leanness into their soul.
When they envied Moses in the camp, And Aaron the saint of the Lord, The earth
opened up and swallowed Dathan, And covered the faction of Abiram. A fire was
kindled in their company; The flame burned up the wicked. They made a calf in Horeb, And worshiped the molded image. Thus they changed their glory Into the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior, Who
had done great things in Egypt.
·
Psalm 106:28-31 says: They joined themselves also to Baal [false god] of Peor,
And ate sacrifices made to the dead. Thus they provoked Him [the Lord God] to anger with their
deeds, And the plague broke out among
them. Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, And the plague was stopped.
And that was accounted to him for righteousness
To all generations forevermore. 106:39 yet says:
Thus they were defiled by their own works, and played the harlot by their own
deeds.
·
Psalm
115:3-8 says: But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear; Noses they have, but they do not smell; They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat. Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts
in them.
·
Isaiah
10:10-11 says: As my hand has found the
kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and
Samaria, As I have done to Samaria and her idols, Shall I
not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?
·
Isaiah
14:12-15 says: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you
are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in
your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars
of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides
of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the
Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought
down to Sheol [Hell], To the lowest depths of the Pit.” [Although
we all have choices, the Lord God doesn’t take kindly to Lucifer/Satan/Devil
trying to become more powerful than the Lord God and he shall be cast into Hell
at the appointed time.]
·
Isaiah
47:12-15 says: “Stand now with your enchantments And the multitude of your sorceries, In which you have labored from your
youth- Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you will prevail. You are
wearied in the multitude of your counsels; Let now the astrologers, the stargazers,
And the monthly prognosticators [try to foretell
the future using astronomy] Stand up and save
you from what shall come upon you. Behold, they shall be as stubble, The fire
shall burn them; They shall not deliver themselves From the power of the flame;
It shall not be a coal to be warmed by, Nor a fire to sit before! Thus shall
they be to you With whom you have labored, Your merchants from your youth; They
shall wander each one to his quarter. No one shall save you.”
·
Jeremiah 1:16 says: I will utter My judgments Against them concerning
all their wickedness, Because they have forsaken
Me, Burned incense to other gods, And worshiped
the works of their own hands.
·
Jeremiah
2:28 says: “But where are your
gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, If they can save you in the time of your trouble;
For according to the number of your cities Are
your gods, O Judah.” [The Lord God lets the
Israelites know that their choice to worship false gods and idols is
counter-productive and they won’t be able to help them in their times of
trouble the way the Lord God, their fountain of living water can.]
·
Jeremiah 5:18-19 says: “Nevertheless in those days,” says the Lord, “I will
not make a complete end of you. And it
will be when you say, ‘Why does the Lord our God do all these things to us?’
then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods
in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.”
·
Jeremiah
7:30-32 says: “For the children of
Judah have done evil in My sight,” says the Lord. “They have set their abominations in the house which is called by
My name, to pollute it. And they have
built the high places of Tophet, which is in the Valley of the Son of
Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in
the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into My heart. Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the
Lord, “when it will no more be called Tophet, or the Valley of the Son of
Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury in Tophet until there
is no room.”
·
Jeremiah 8:2 says: “They
shall spread them before the sun and the moon and
all the host of heaven [Zodiac], which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have
walked, which they have sought and which they
have worshiped. They shall not be
gathered nor bruised; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth.”
8:19 goes on to say: Listen! The voice, The
cry of the daughter of my people From a far country: “Is not the Lord in Zion?
Is not her King in her?” “Why have they
provoked Me to anger With their carved images- With foreign idols?”
·
Jeremiah 9:13-15 says: And
the Lord said, “Because they have forsaken My law
which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked
according to it, but they have walked according to the dictates of their own
hearts and after the Baals, which their
fathers taught them, therefore thus says the
Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them, this people, with
wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.”
·
Jeremiah
10:14-16 says: Everyone is dull-hearted,
without knowledge; Every metalsmith is put to
shame by an image [idol]; For his molded
image [idol] is falsehood, and there is no
breath in them [idols]. They [idols] are
futile, a work of errors; In the time
of their punishment they shall perish. The
Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He
[the Lord God] is the Maker of all things,
And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The Lord of hosts is His name.” [Jeremiah contrasts an idol made with human hands with the Lord God who
created everything!]
·
Jeremiah 11:11-13 says:
Therefore thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they
will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. Then the cities of
Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go
and cry out to the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them
at all in the time of their trouble. For according to the number of your
cities were your gods, O Judah; and
according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to that shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.”
·
Jeremiah 13:9-10 says:
“Thus says the Lord: ‘In this manner I will
ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, who
refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for
nothing. For as the sash clings to the
waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house
of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the Lord, ‘that they may become My people, for
renown, for praise, and for glory; but
they would not hear.’”
·
Jeremiah 16:11 says: `Then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers
have forsaken Me,’ says the Lord; they have walked after other gods and
have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me, and not kept My
law.” 16:13 goes on to say: Therefore I
will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you
nor your fathers; and there you shall
serve other gods day and night, where I
will not show you favor.’ 11:18 “And
first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have
defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance witht he carcassees of their detestable and abominable idols.”
·
Jeremiah
19:2-6 says: “And go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is by the
entry of the Potsherd Gate; and proclaim there the words that I will tell you,
and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of
Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God
of Israel: “Behold, I will bring such a
catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle.
Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have
burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, nor their fathers, nor the kings
of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents ‘(they have also
built the high place of Baal [idol], to burn their sons with fire for burnt
offerings to Baal, which I did
not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind), therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the
Lord, “that this place shall no more be called Tophet or the Valley of the Son
of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.” 19:12-13 goes on to say: “Thus I will do to this place,” says the Lord, “and
to its inhabitants, and make this city like Tophet. And the houses of Jerusalem
and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose roofs they have
burned incense to all the host of heaven [Zodiac, etc.], and poured out
drink offering to other gods.”’
·
Jeremiah 32:29-30 says: ‘And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall
come and set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs they
have offered incense to Baal and poured out
drink offerings to other gods, to
provoke Me to anger; because the children of Israel and the children of Judah
have done only evil before Me from
their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked
Me only to anger with the work of their hands,’ says the Lord. 32:34-35
goes on to say: ‘But they set their abominations
in the house which is called by My name,
to defile it. And they built the high
places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through
the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind
that they should do this abomination to cause Judah to sin.’ [Besides worshiping Baal, a false god, they made their children go
through the fire of Molech, a false god, which God would never have thought of
asking us to do.]
·
Jeremiah 50:38 says: A drought is against her waters, and they will be
dried up. For it is the land of carved
images, And they are insane with their idols.
·
Jeremiah
51:15-19 says: He [God] has made the earth by His power’ He has established the world
by His wisdom, and stretched out the heaven by His understanding. When He [God] utters His voice- There is a multitude
of waters in the heavens: “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”
Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge; Every metalsmith is put to shame
by the carved image [idol]; For his molded image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are futile, a work of errors; In the time of their punishment they shall perish. The Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the
Maker of all things; and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance. The Lord of
hosts is His name. 51:47 goes on to say: Therefore
behold, the days are coming That I will bring judgment on the carved images of Babylon; Her whole land shall be ashamed, And all her slain shall fall in her
midst. 51:52 yet says: “Therefore
behold, the days are coming.” says the Lord, “That I will bring judgment on
her carved images, And throughout all her land the wounded shall
groan.” [God is the Maker of the
world and all in it, why would anyone worship a false god, anything made by
man’s hand?]
·
Ezekiel 6:4-10 says: “Then your altars shall be desolate, your incense
altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
And I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and
I will scatter your bones all around your altars. In all your dwelling places
the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate, so that
your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made
to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
The slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Yet I
will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the
nations, when you are scattered through the countries. Then those of you who
escape will remember Me among the
nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their
adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the
harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they
committed in all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would bring this
calamity upon them.”
·
Ezekiel 8:16-18 further
says: So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at
the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about
twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces
toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun
toward the east. And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of
man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have
filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger.
Indeed they put the branch to their nose. “Therefore
I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and
though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”
[God wanted Ezekiel to see the abominations the
priests were doing behind closed doors and worshiping the sun and idols, so
they will get the consequence for their choices.]
·
Ezekiel 14:3-7 says: “Son
of man, these men have set up their idols in
their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into
iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them? Therefore speak to
them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his
idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into
iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the
Lord will answer him who comes,
according to the multitude of his idols,
that I may seize the house of Israel by their
heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.” Therefore say to the house of
Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Repent, turn away from your idols, and
turn your faces away from all of your
abominations. For anyone of the house
of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from
Me and sets us his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to
stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me,
I the Lord will answer him by Myself.
·
Ezekiel 22:3-5 says: “Then
say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time
may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself. You have become
guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have
come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the
nations, and a mockery to all countries. Those near and far from you will mock
you as infamous and full of tumult.”
·
Ezekiel 23:7 says: Thus she
committed her harloty with them, All of them choice men of Assyria; And with
all for whom she lusted, With all their idols, she
defiled herself. 23:30 goes on to say: “I
will do these things to you because you have gone as a harlot after the
Gentiles, because you have become defiled by their idols.''
·
Ezekiel 28:2 says: “Son of
man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the
Lord God: “Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of
the seas,’ Yet you are a man, and not a god, Though
you set your heart as the heart of a god.”
28:6-9 goes on to say: ‘Therefore thus says the
Lord God: “Because you have set your
heart as the heart of a god, Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against
you, The most terrible of the nations; And they will draw their swords against
the beauty of your wisdom, And defile your splendor. They shall throw you down
into the Pit [hell], And you shall die the death of the slain In the midst of
the seas. Will you still say before him who slays you, ‘I am a god’?
But you shall be a man, and not a god, In the hand of him who slays you.” [The Lord God tells of the consequence for the prince of Tyre who said
that he is a god, but when he has his consequence, he will die as a man, not a
god, in the hand of the person who slays him.]
·
Ezekiel 30:13 says: ‘Thus
says the Lord God: “I will also destroy the idols, And cause the images to cease
from Noph; There shall no longer be
princes from the land of Egypt; I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
·
Ezekiel 44:10-12 says: “And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel
went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear
their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, as gatekeepers of
the house and ministers of the house; they shall slay burnt offering and the
sacrifice for the people and they shall stand before them to minister to them.
Because they ministered to them before
their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have raised My hand in an oath against
them,” says the Lord God, “that they shall bear their iniquity.” [The Levites had been especially selected to be the ministers to the
Israelites, but chose to teach them to worship idols, so they will no longer
have positions of status and will only take care of the menial positions
for caring for the church and sacrifices for doing so.]
·
Hosea 10:12-13 goes on to
say: Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in
mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, Till He
comes and rains righteousness on you.
You have plowed wickedness; You have reaped iniquity, You have eaten the fruit
of lies, Because you trusted in your own way. In the multitude of your mighty
men.
·
Hosea 12:10-11 says: “I have also spoken by the prophets, And have
multiplied visions; I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets.”
Though Gilead has idols- Surely they are vanity- Though they sacrifice
bulls in Gilgal, Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.
·
Hosea
13:1-4 says: When Epharaim spoke,
trembling, He exalted himself in Israel; But when he
offended through Baal worship, he died.
Now they sin more and more, And have made
for themselves molded images, Idols of their silver, according to their
skill; All of it is the work of craftsmen. They say of them, “Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves [idols]!”
Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud
And like the early dew that passes away, Like chaff blown off from a threshing
floor [the waste part of the grain] And like smoke from a chimney. “Yet I am
the Lord your God Ever since the land of Egypt, And you shall know no God but Me; for there is no savior
besides Me.”
·
Micah 3:6-8 says: “Therefore you shall have night without vision. And
you shall have darkness without divination; The sun shall go down on the
prophets, And the day shall be dark for them. So the seers [fortune tellers] shall be ashamed, And the diviners abashed; Indeed they shall all cover their lips; For there
is no answer from God.”
·
Habakkuk 2:18-19 says:
“What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, The molded image, a teacher of lies, That the maker
of its mold should trust in it, To make mute
idols [idols that can’t talk]? Woe to him who says to wood, ’Awake!’ To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall
teach!’ Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, Yet in it there is no breath at all.” [It never ceases to amaze God that people would spend their time making
and worshiping the idols they made who do not breathe or talk and are nothing
but wood or metal or both.]
·
Malachi
3:5-6 says: And I will come
near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers,
Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans,
And against those who turn away an alien-
Because they do not fear Me,
Says the Lord of hosts. “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore
you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” 3:16-18 continues to say: Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another,
And the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written
before Him [God] For those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name.
“They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “On the day that I make them My
jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him.”
Then you shall again discern Between the
righteous and the wicked. Between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. [These passages speak of Judgment Day when the Lord God will choose
between His jewels, who worshiped Him, and those who not only worshiped false
gods, but also those who exploited women and orphans, and who turn away the
alien. Something to think about in our current time!!!]
· Revelation 9:20-21says: But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality of their thefts. [Even though they were warned and had many opportunities to change their choices, many still worshiped idols, demons, and did not repent and follow the Lord God.]
[Time and time again, the Israelites were led astray by worshiping the false gods and idols of the neighboring areas. God would warn them or have prophets tell them the consequences for going astray, but they rarely listened. When they had the consequences for turning their backs on the Lord God, they would cry out to the Lord and when they would turn back to Him and He would take them back again and again.]
[Sometimes, the Lord God gave them a judge or a prophet to lead and refocus them, and they did well until the judge or the prophet died. Then, they fell back into their old patterns of worshiping false gods and idols. Fortunately, the Lord God never totally gave up and continued to provide ways for them to see the error of their ways, so that they would turn back to worshiping the Lord God.]
[Passages with Promise that show the Lord God’s Mercy and
Compassion]
- Exodus
34:5-6 says: Now the Lord descended in the
cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And
the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God,
merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abounding in goodness and
truth,
- Deuteronomy 4:28-31 says:
And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which
neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
But from there you will seek the
Lord your God, and you will find Him if you see Him with all your heart
and with all your soul. When you are in distress, and these things come
upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey
His voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake
you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He
swore to them.
- Deuteronomy 4:35 says:
“To you it was shown, that you might know
that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.”
- Deuteronomy 4:39 says:
Therefore know this day, and consider it
in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the
earth beneath; there is no other.”
- Deuteronomy
5:9-10 says: For I, the Lord your
God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands to those who love
Me and keep My commandments.
- Deuteronomy 6:4-7 says:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the
Lord is one! You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in
your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall
talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when
you lie down, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.
- Deuteronomy
11:26-28 says: “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse:
the blessing, if you obey the commandments
of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments
of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you
today, to go after other gods which
you have not known.”
- Deuteronomy
13:17-18 says, “So none of the accursed
things shall remain in your hand, that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you
mercy, have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your
fathers, because you have listened to the voice of the Lord your God, to
keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right
in the eyes of the Lord your God.”
- Deuteronomy
18:14-15 says: For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the
Lord your God has not appointed such for you. The Lord your God will raise
up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you
shall hear.
- Deuteronomy 31:6 says:
“Be strong and of good courage, do not
fear nor be afraid of them; for
the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
- Deuteronomy
32:6 says:“For the Lord will judge His
people And have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their
power is gone, And there is no one remaining, bond or free.
- Joshua
22:5 says: “But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law
which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His
ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with
all your heart and with all your soul.”
- Joshua
23:6-8 says: “Therefore be very
courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of
Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the
left, and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of
their gods, nor cause anyone
to swear by them; you shall not serve
them nor bow down to them, but
you shall hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.”
- Joshua 24:20-23 says:
“ If you forsake the Lord and serve
foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good. And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will
serve the Lord!” So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses
against yourselves that you have chosen
the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are
witnesses!” “Now therefore,” he said, “put
away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel.”
[Although we might not have statues of
false gods, we can still have false gods in our lives. Anything that
becomes of too much importance in our lives, becomes a false god. Things
like: having the latest phone, trendy clothes, fast car, impressive job,
etc. can become false gods in our lives. It’s important to make the Lord
God our first priority, so these worldly items fall in place of lesser
importance in our lives.]
- Judges
2:16-17 says: Nevertheless, the Lord
raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered
them. Yet they would not listen to
their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and
bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which
their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the Lord: they did
not do so.
- Judges 2:18-19 says:
And when the Lord raised up judges
for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand
of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to
pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed
them. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead,
that they reverted and behaved more
corruptly than their fathers, by following
other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from
their own doings nor from their stubborn way.
- Judges
3:9 says: When the children of
Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the
children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s
younger brother.
- Judges
3:14-15 says: So the children of Israel
served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years. But when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the
Lord raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite,
a left-handed man. By him the children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon
king of Moab.
- Judges 10:10-16 says:
And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned
against You, because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals!” So the Lord said to the children of Israel, “Did I not deliver you
from the Egyptians and from the Amorites and from the people of Ammon and
from the Philistines? Also the
Sidonians and the Amelekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you
cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hand. Yet you have forsaken Me and served other
gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods
which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress.”
And the children of Israel said to the
Lord, “We have sinned! Do to us whatever seems best to You; only deliver
us this day, we pray.” So they put away the foreign gods from among
them and served the Lord. And His soul could no longer endure the
misery of Israel.
- 1 Samuel 2:2 says:
“No one is holy like the Lord, For there
is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.”
- 1
Samuel 7:3-5 says:Then Samuel spoke to all
the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your
hearts, then put away the
foreign gods and the Ashtoreths
[idols] from among you, and prepare
your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from
the hand of the Philistines.”
So the children of Israel put away the Baals and
the Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only. And Samuel
said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I
will pray to the Lord for you.”
- 1
Samuel 7:8 says: So the children of
Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for
us, that He may save us from the Hand of the Philistines.”
- 1
Samuel 7:10-13 says: Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the
Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the
Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before
Israel. And the men of Israel
went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far
as below Beth Car. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between
Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” So the
Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory
of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the
days of Samuel.
- 1 Samuel 12:8-11 says:
Samuel reminds the Israelites and says: “When Jacob had gone into Egypt,
and your fathers cried out to the Lord,
then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought our fathers out of Egypt
and made them dwell in this place. And
when they forgot the Lord their God,
He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into
the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and
they fought against them. Then they
cried out to the Lord and said, 'We
have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from
the hand of our enemies, and we will serve
You.’ And the Lord sent
Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand
of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety.
- 1
Samuel 12:14-15 goes on to say: “If
you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel
against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns
over you will continue following the Lord your God. However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel
against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be
against you, as it was against your fathers.”
- 2 Samuel 7:22 says:
“Therefore You are great, O Lord God. For
there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our
ears.
- 1 Kings 8:59-60 says:
“And may these words of mine [Solomon’s words], with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be
near the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His
servant and the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel,
as each day may require, that all
the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God: there is no
other.”
- 1 Kings 9:59-60 says:
“And may these words of mine, which I have made supplication before the
Lord, be near the Lord our God day
and night, that He may maintain the cause
of His servant [Solomon] and the cause of His people Israel, as each day
may require, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.”
- 1
Kings 11:38 says: Then it shall be, if
you [Jeroboam] heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what
is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My
servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring
house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you.”
- 2
Kings 17:39-41 says: “But the
Lord your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all
your enemies.” However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals. So
these nations feared the Lord, yet served
their carved images; also
their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their
father did, even to this day.
- 2 Kings 19:15 says:
Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord God of Israel the
One who dwells between the cherubim, You
are God, You alone, of all the
kingdoms of the earth. You have
made heaven and earth.”
- 2 Kings 22:15-20 says:
Then she [Huldah the prophetess] said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of
Israel, “Tell the man who sent you to Me, Thus
says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its
inhabitants- all the words of the book which the king of Judah has
read-because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the
works of their hands. Therefore My
wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.”’
“But as for the king of Judah, who sent
you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus
says the Lord God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard-
because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord
when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its
inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore
your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lord.
Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be
gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the
calamity which I will bring on this place.” So they brought back
word to the king. [This passage
shows that the Lord God can see when we turn from our sinful ways and turn
to Him. When we sincerely tell Him we are sorry for what we’ve done, He
will forgive us.]
- 1 Chronicles 5:18-20 says:
They [Some of the Israelites] went to war with the Hagrites, Jetur,
Naphish, and Nodab. And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who
were with them, for they cried out to God in the battle. He heeded their
prayer, because they put their trust in Him.
- 2 Chronicles 7:12-14 says:
Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this
place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven
and there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send
pestilence among My people, if My people
who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My
face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
- 2
Chronicles 7:17-18 goes says: “As for you, if you [Solomon] walk before Me
as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded
you, and if you keep My statutes and My
judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted
with David your fathers, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man as
ruler in Israel.’
- 2 Chronicles 13:8-10 where Abijah says:
“And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord, which is in
the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and with you
are the gold calves which Jeroboam
made for you as gods. Have you not cast out the priests of the
Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and
made for yourselves priests, like the peoples of other lands, so
that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams
may be a priest of things that are not gods?But
as for us, the Lord is our God, and we
have not forsaken Him; and the
priests who minister to the Lord are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites
attend to their duties.”
- 2 Chronicles 13:12-16 says:
“Now look, God Himself is with us as
our head, and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm
against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of
your fathers, for you shall not prosper!” But Jeroboam caused an ambush to go around behind
them; so they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind
them. And when Judah looked around,
to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they cried out to the Lord, and the priests
sounded the trumpets. Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men
of Judah shouted, it happened that
God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. And the children of Israel fled before Judah,
and God delivered them into their
hand. 13:18 says: Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that
time; and the children of Judah
prevailed, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers.
- 2 Chronicles 15:3-4 says:
“For a long time Israel has been without
the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; but when in trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was
found by them.”
- 1 Chronicles 16:25-26 says:
For the Lord is great and greatly to be
praised; He is also to be feared above
all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens.
- 2 Chronicles 33:10-13
says: And the Lord spoke to Manasseh
and his people, but they would
not listen. Therefore the Lord
brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who
took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him
off to Babylon. Now when he
was in affliction, he
implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of
his father, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty [request],
heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his
kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
- Psalm 31:24 says: Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen
your heart, All you who hope in the Lord.
- Psalm 50:1 says:
The Mighty One, God the Lord, Has spoken
and called the earth From the rising of the sun to its going down.
- Psalm
116:3-6 says: The pains of earth surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol
[Hell] laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon
the name of the Lord: “O Lord, implore You, deliver my soul!” Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our
God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He
saved me.
- Psalm
118:5-8 says: I called on the Lord in
distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on
my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is for me among
those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me.
It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man.
- Isaiah 17:7-8 says:
In that day a man will look at his Maker [the Lord God], And his eyes will have respect for the Holy
One of Israel, He will not look to the
altars, The work of his hands;
He will not respect what his fingers have
made, Nor the wooden images [idols]
nor the incense altars.
- Isaiah
30:22-23 says: “You will also defile the covering of your images of silver, And the ornament of
your molded images of gold. You will
throw them away as an unclean thing: You will say to them, “Get away!” Then He [the Lord God] will give the rain for
your seed With which you sow the ground, And bread of the increase of the
earth; It will be fat and plentiful, In that day your cattle will feed in
large pastures.”
- Isaiah 37:16 says:
O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One
who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the
kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
- Isaiah 42:8 says:
“I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My
praise to carved images.”
42:17 goes on to say: “They shall
be turned back, They shall be greatly ashamed, Who trust in carved images, Who say to the molded images, ‘You are our gods.’
- Isaiah 43:3 says:
For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One
of Israel, Your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and
Seba in your place.
- Isaiah 43:10-12 says:
“You are My witnesses, says the Lord, And
My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And
understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall
there be after Me. I, even
I, am the Lord, And besides Me
there is no savior. I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And
there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses,” Says
the Lord, “that I am God.”43:15 goes
on to say: “I am the Lord, your Holy One, The Creator of
Israel, your King.”
- Isaiah 44:6 says:
“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.’
- Isaiah 44:8-10 says:
“Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not
told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a
God besides Me? Indeed there is no
other Rock; I know not one. 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?”
- Isaiah 44:24 says:
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, And He
who formed you from the womb; “I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who
stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by
Myself:”
- Isaiah 45:5-8 says:
“I am the Lord, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me.
That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is
none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and created darkness, I make
peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.’ “Rain down,
you heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let
the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness
spring up together. I, the Lord,
have created it.
- Isaiah 45:12 says:
I have made the earth, And created man on
it. I- My hands- stretched out the heavens,
- Isaiah 45:15 says:
`Surely God is in you, And there is no
other; There is no other God.”’
Truly You are God, who hide
Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior!
- Isaiah 45:16-18 says:
They shall be ashamed And also disgraced,
all of them; They shall go in confusion together, Who are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved by the Lord With an everlasting
salvation; You shall not be ashamed or disgraced Forever and ever. For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens,
Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it
in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.” [Our everlasting salvation comes from Jesus Christ who gave His
life for us on the cross as the substitute for us and paid the consequence
for our sinful lives].
- Isaiah 45:21 says:
Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has
told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A just
God and a Savior; There is none besides Me. Look to Me, and be saved, All
you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no others.”
- Isaiah 46:9-10 says:
“ Remember the former things of old, For
I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,
Declaring the end from the beginning, And
from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying ‘My counsel shall
stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ 46:12-14 goes on to say: “Listen to Me, you stubborn- hearted, Who are far
from righteousness: I bring My
righteousness near, it shall not be far off; My salvation shall not
linger. And I will place salvation in Zion, For Israel My glory.”
- Isaiah 48:5 says:
Even from the beginning I have declared it
to you; Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you, Lest you
should say, ‘My idol has done them,
And my carved image and my molded image Have commanded them.” 48:12-13 goes on to say: “Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last.
Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, And My right hand has
stretched out the heavens; When I call to them, They stand up together.”
48:17 further says: Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, The Holy One of
Israel: “I am the Lord your God, Who
teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go.”
- Isaiah 51:12-13 says:
“I, even I, am He who comforts you.
Who are you that you should be afraid Of a man who will die, And the son
of a man who will be made like grass? And you forget the
Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of
the earth; You have feared continually every day Because of the
fury of the oppressor, When he has prepared to destroy. And where is the
fury of the oppressor?”
- Isaiah 54:5 says:
For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; And your
Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole
earth.
- Isaiah
57:13 says: When you cry out, Let your
collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry them all away, A breath will take them. But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess
the land, And shall inherit My holy mountain.” [The Lord God is saying to those who believe in false gods and
idols, when you have troubles, do you really think your false gods and
idols are going to save you? Only those who trust in Me, the Lord God,
will inherit salvation!]
- Isaiah 60:9 says:
“Surely the coastlands shall wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from afar,
Their silver and their gold with them, To the name of the Lord your God, And to the Holy One of
Israel, Because He has glorified
you.”
- Isaiah 64:4-5 says:
For since the beginning of the world Men
have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God
besides You, Who acts for the one
who waits for Him. You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who
remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned- In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved. [Jesus Christ is the one who saves all those who believe in Him as
their Savior.]
- Jeremiah
3:12-13 says: “Go proclaim these words
toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord; ‘I
will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the Lord,
I will not remain angry forever. Only
acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the Lord your God, And have scattered your charms To alien deities under every green
tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.”[The Lord God will
forgive the Israelites who turned astray to alien deities/false gods when
they admit their error and turn back to the Lord God.]
- Jeremiah 4:1-2 says:
“If you will return, O Israel,” says the
Lord, “Return to Me; And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, Then you shall not be moved. And you shall
swear, ‘The Lord lives,’ In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The
nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory.”
- Jeremiah
7:5-7 says: “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you
thoroughly execute judgment between man and his neighbor, if you do not
oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed
innocent blood in this place, or walk after
other gods to your hurt, then I
will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your
fathers forever and ever.”
- Jeremiah 10:6-7 says:
“Inasmuch as there is none like You, O
Lord (You are great, and Your name
is great in might), Who would not fear [worship] You, O King of the nations? For this is Your rightful due. For among all the wise men of the nations, And
in all their kingdoms, There is none like You.”
- Jeremiah 10:10-13 says:
But the Lord is the true God; He is the
living God and the everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth will
tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.
Thus you shall say to them [idols]: ‘The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth
shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.’ “He [the
Lord God] has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, And has stretched out
the heavens at His discretion. When He [the Lord God] utters His voice,
There is a multitude of waters in the heavens: And He causes the vapors to
ascend from the ends of the earth. He [the Lord God] makes lightning for
the rain, He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”
- Jeremiah
12:16-17 says: “And it shall be, if they will
learn carefully the ways of My people. To swear by My name, ‘As the Lord
lives,’ as they taught My people to
swear by Baal, then they shall be
established in the midst of My people.
But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,”
says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 14:22 says:
Are there any among the idols of the
nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O Lord our God? Therefore we will wait for You, Since You have
made all these.
- Jeremiah 18:7-10 says:
“The instant I speak concerning a nation
and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if
that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I
will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and
concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with
which I said I would benefit it.” [I like that the Lord God gives all of us choices. If those who
chose to do wickedly, turn to the Lord God and follow His statutes, they
will no longer have the consequence for their wickedness. But, if those
who had followed the Lord God get led astray and start following idols and
false gods, they will have the consequence for the wicked choices they are
making.]
- Jeremiah
35:15 says: “I have also sent to you all
My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Turn
now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them; then you will dwell in the land which I have
given you and your fathers.’ But you
have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me.”
- Ezekiel 11:17-21 says:
Therefore say, “Thus says the Lord God:
“I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where
you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’
“And they will go there, and they will
take away all its detestable things and all its
abominations from there. Then I will give them one heart, and I will
put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh,
and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in MY statutes and keep
My judgements and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be
their God. But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.”
- Ezekiel 16:62-63 says:
“And I will establish My covenant with
you. Then you shall know that I am
the Lord, that you may remember and
be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame [of
the wickedness you have done], when
I provide you an atonement for all you have done,” says the Lord God.’”
[This passage is pretty amazing! The Lord
God lets them know how terrible it is that they flit back and forth
between false gods, when He is their Lord God. Although they will have
consequences, the Lord God will not forget the covenant that He made with
them years before, and the atonement that He is going to provide is His
Son, Jesus, who freely gave His life as a substitute for all our sinful
choices, so that those who believe in Him as their Savior can go to heaven
when He calls us!]
- Ezekiel
18:5-10 says: “But if a man is just And
does what is lawful and right; If he has not eaten on the mountains, Nor
lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, Nor defiled his
neighbor’s wife, Nor approached a woman during her impurity; If he has not
oppressed anyone, But has restored to the debtor his pledge; Has robbed no
one by violence, But has given his bread to the hungry And covered the
naked with clothing; If he has not exacted usury [interest] Nor taken any
increase, But has withdrawn his hand from iniquity And executed true
judgment between man and man; If he has walked in My statutes And kept My
judgments faithfully- He is just; He shall surely live!” Says the Lord God.
- Ezekiel 18:25-32 says:
“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of
Israel, is it not My way which is fair,
and your ways which are not fair? When a
righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has
done that he dies. Again, when a wicked
man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves
himself alive. Because he considers and turns away from all the
transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel,
every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn
from all your transgressions, so
that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the
transgression which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For
I have no pleasure in the death of
one who dies,” says the Lord God.
“Therefore turn and live!” [This
is an amazing Bible passage, because it tells us that even if we have done
terribly sinful things in our lives, but choose to turn to the Lord Jesus
Christ as our Savior, He will forgive us and all we’ve done in the past.
On the other hand, it also says that if we followed the Lord God in years
past, but choose to turn away from the Lord God and do wicked things, we
will be judged on the Last Day according to the wickedness we chose to do
instead of following the Lord. He lets us know that He takes no pleasure
in the death of one who dies and warns all of us to turn to Him, our
Savior, and live!]
- Ezekiel 20:18-20 says:
“But I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the
statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. “I am the Lord your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do
them; hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you that
you may know that I am the Lord your God.''
- Ezekiel 36:18 says:
“Therefore I poured out My fury on them
for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with
which they had defiled it. So I scattered them among the nations, and they
were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their
ways and their deeds.” 36:24-28 goes
on to say: “For I will take you
from among the nations, gather you out of all counties, and bring you into
your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be
clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take
the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will
put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you
will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that
I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.”
[After all their choices to worship idols,
the Lord God will still bring them back and give them a new heart to
follow Him, His statutes and be His people.]
- Ezekiel
37:23 says: “They shall not defile
themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with
any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their
dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then
they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”
- Daniel 3:29 says:
“Therefore I make a decree that any
people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses
shall be made an ash heap, because there
is no other God.” [When the 3 Israelites
who had been thrown into the burning hot furnace for failing to worship
false gods, came out alive, King Nebuchadnezzar realized that the Lord
God is the only God.]
- Daniel 4:34 says:
And at the end of the time I,
Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to
me; and I blessed the Most High
and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an
everlasting dominion And His kingdom is from generation to generation. 4:37 yet says: Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and
honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways
justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.
- Hosea 14:1-4 says: O Israel, return to the Lord your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
Take words with you, And return to the Lord. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity; Receive us graciously, For we
will offer the sacrifice of our lips. Assyria shall not save us, We will
not ride on horses, Nor will we say
anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’ For in You the fatherless finds mercy.” I will
heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned
away from him.
- Joel 2:27 says:
Then you shall know that I am in the midst
of Israel: I am the Lord your God
And there is no other. My people
shall never be put to shame.”
- Micah 7:18-19 says:
Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does
not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. He will again
have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. [This passage is pretty significant if you think of all the times
in this research that God’s people have chosen to go astray to false gods,
but still has compassion on them to bring them back to Him.]
- Habakkuk
1:12 says: Are You not from everlasting, O
Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock,
You have marked them for correction. [The everlasting Lord God will have a judgment day, but corrects us
so that we have a chance to choose to follow Him instead of things that
lead us astray.]
- Zephaniah 1:4-7 says:
“I will stretch out My hand against
Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every
trace of Baal from this place,
The names of the idolatrous priests
with the pagan priests- Those who worship the host of heaven on the
housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, But who also swear by Milcom [false god];
Those who have turned back from following the Lord, And have not sought
the Lord, nor inquired of Him.” Be silent in the presence of the Lord God; For the day of the Lord is at hand, For the
Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests. [The sacrifice the Lord God prepared was the life of His only
begotten Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross as a substitute for the
consequence we deserve for our sins. His death and resurrection set us
free from our consequence and the Lord God invites people who believe in
Jesus to join Him, because the day of the Lord is drawing closer.]
- Zephaniah
2:11 says: The Lord will be awesome to
them, For He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth; People
shall worship Him, Each one from his place, Indeed all the shores of the
nations.
- Malachi 2:10 says:
Have we not all one Father? Has not one
God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another By
profaning the covenant of the fathers?
- Matthew 1:21 says:
And she [Mary] shall bring forth a Son,
and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their
sins.”
- Matthew 3:16-17 says:
When He [Jesus] had been baptized, Jesus
came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to
Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting
upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.”
- Matthew 4:233-24 says:
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching
in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all
kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame
went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who
were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were
demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He [Jesus] healed them.
- Matthew 5:3-12 Jesus says:
“Blessed
are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those
who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they
shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For
they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see
God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs
is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you,
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be
exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
- Matthew
6:14-15 Jesus says: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive
men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” [It’s easy to only look at what’s in it for me, rather than
realizing there is also the flip-side about what we should do for others
and the consequences for not doing so!]
- Matthew 6:25-33 Jesus says:
“Therefore
I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you
will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more
than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air,
for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by
worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about
clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither
toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the
field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not
much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry,
saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we
wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly
Father knows that you need all of these things. But seek first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
- Matthew 9:11-13 says:
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your
Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard that, He
said to them, “Those who are
well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn
what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but
sinners, to repentance.”
- Matthew 10:29-33 Jesus says:
“Are not
two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the
ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are
all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many
sparrows. Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also
confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me
before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” [Jesus Christ offers us so many blessings, but remember the
flip-side for those who deny Him before others.]
- Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says:
“Come to
Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take
My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden
is light.”
- Matthew
14:14 says: And when Jesus went out He saw
a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed
their sick.
- Matthew 15:24 says:
But He [Jesus] answered and said, “I was not sent
except to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel.”
- Matthew 15:30-31 says:
Then great multitudes came to Him, having
with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid
them down at Jesus’ feet, and He [Jesus] healed them. So the multitude
marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame
walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
- Matthew 16:24-27 says:
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever
desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My
sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole
world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for
his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His
angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”
- Matthew 17:5 at the Transfiguration of Jesus:
While he [Peter] was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed
them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased. Hear Him!”
- Matthew 18:11-14 says:
“For the
Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think?
If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not
leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is
straying? And if he should find it,
assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than the
ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your
Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”
- Matthew 19:13-14 says:
Then little children were brought to Him [Jesus] that He might put His
hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to
Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
- Matthew 20:27-28 says:
“And whoever desires to be first among you,
let him be your slave- just as the Son of
Man [Jesus Christ] did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
- Matthew 26:27-28 says:
Then He [Jesus] took the cup, and gave
thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My
blood of the new covenant, which is shed for the remission of sins.”
- Matthew
26:63-64 says: But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and
said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”
Jesus said to him, “It
is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son
of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of
heaven.”
- Matthew 27:54 says:
So when the centurion and those with him, who
were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened,
they feared greatly, saying, “Truly
this was the Son of God!”
- Matthew 21:28-32 says:
“But what do you think? A man had two sons,
and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’
He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and
went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and
said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his
father?” They said to Him [Jesus], “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and
harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the
way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and
harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent
and believe him.” [This passage is
soooo significant. It tells us that no matter what terrible things we have
done in the past, that once we truly turn to Jesus Christ as our Lord and
Savior, we can have Salvation with Him in heaven when He calls us
someday.]
- Matthew 25:34-40 Jesus shares this parable:
“Then the
king will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come you blessed of My Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For
I was hungry and you gave Me food: I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I
was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was
sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the
righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and
feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger
and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or
in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them,
‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to the least of these My
brethren, you did it to Me.” [Of
course, there is a flip-side to this. Verses 41-46, Jesus talks about
those who did not do it to one of the least of them, they did not
do it to Him, and the consequence of it.]
- Matthew 28:16-20 says after Jesus had risen from
the Tomb: Then the eleven disciples went away into
Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him [Jesus] they worshiped Him;
but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke
to them, saying, “All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things
that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end
of the age.” Amen.
- Mark 1:9-11 says:
It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee,
and was baptized by John [the Baptist] in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He
saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.
Then a voice came from heaven, “You
are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
- Mark 1:14-15 says:
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus
came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of
God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
- Mark
1:34 says; Then He [Jesus] healed many who
were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons, and He
did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
- Mark 2:17 says:
When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are
sick. I did not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
- Mark 3:10-12 says:
For He [Jesus] healed many, so that as
many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. And the
unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried
out, saying, “You are the Son of God.”
But He [Jesus] sternly warned them that they should not make Him
known.
- Mark 6:54-56 says:
And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region,
and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they
heard He [Jesus] was. Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the
country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they
might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him
[Jesus] were made well.
- Mark 9:7 at the Transfiguration of Jesus:
And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud,
saying, “This is My beloved Son. hear Him!”
- Mark 10:45 says:
“For even
the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His
life a ransom for many.”
- Mark
11:25-26 Jesus says: “And whenever you stand praying, if you have
anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also
forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither
will your Father in heaven forgive your tresspasses.” [This is almost identical to the passage in Matthew 6:14-15 and
Luke 6:36-37. I share them, because they are additional proof that Jesus
is the Son of the Almighty God, because there are many different people
who heard Jesus Christ and saw what He did and attest to it in the
gospels. Sure, they paraphrase it in their own words, the same as you or I
would do. Sure, some add more details and some have fewer details, but
this adds to the validity of the Apostles testimony about Jesus
Christ.]
- Mark 12:29 says:
Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O
Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” 12:32 goes on to say: So the scribe said to
Him [Jesus], “Well said, Teacher. You
have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.
And to love Him with all the heart, with
all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and
to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt
offerings and sacrifices.”they
feared greatly, saying, “Truly
this was the Son of God!”
- Mark
14:60-62 says: But He [Jesus] kept silent and answered nothing. Again the
high priest asked Him, saying to Him [Jesus], saying, “Do You answer
nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” But He [Jesus] kept
silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to
Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the
Blessed?” Jesus said, “I
am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting
at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of
heaven.”
- Mark 15:39 says:
So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him [Jesus], saw that He cried
out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
- Mark 16:14-16 says after Jesus had risen from the
Tomb : Later He
[Jesus] appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table, and He rebuked
their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those
who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved;
but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
- Luke 2:10-11 says:
Then the angel said to them [shepherds],
“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which
will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of
David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
- Luke 2:26-32 says:
And it had been revealed to him [Simeon,
the priest] by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had
seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when
the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the
custom of the law, he [Simeon] took Him [Jesus] up in his arms and blessed
God and said: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word; For my
eyes have seen Your salvation Which
You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring
revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
- Luke 3:21-22 says:
When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was
baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form
like a dove upon Him [Jesus], and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well
pleased.”
- Luke 4:16-20 says:
So He [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His
custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to
read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had
opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because
He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to
heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery
of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To
proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He [Jesus] closed the book, and gave it
back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the
synagogue were fixed on Him. And He [Jesus] becan to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled
in your hearing.” [This was
predicted about what Jesus would do in Isaiah 61:1-2, 100s of years before
His birth to Mary.]
- Luke 4:40-41 says:
When the sun was setting, all those who
had any that were sick with variou diseases brought them to Him
[Jesus]; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.
And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” And He [Jesus], rebuking them, did not allow
them to speak, for they knew that
He was the Christ.
- Luke
5:15 says when Jesus had told those He healed not to tell others: However,
the report went around concerning Him
[Jesus] all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be
healed by Him of their infirmities.
- Luke 5:31-32 says:
Jesus answered and said to them, “Those
who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but
sinners, to repentance.”
- Luke 6:20-23 says:
Then He [Jesus] lifted up His eyes toward
His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom
of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed
are you who weep now, For you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate
you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as
evil, For the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For
indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
- Luke 6:17-19 says:
And He [Jesus] came down with them and
stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude
of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and
Sidon, who came to hear Him [Jesus] and be healed of their diseases, as
well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were
healed.
- Luke 6:36-37 Jesus says: “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father
also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and
you shall not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.” [This is an
example of how some of the Gospel authors add more detail than the others
like in Matthew 6:14-15 and Mark 11:25-26, where they basically record the
same things, but with differing amounts of detail according to their
particular writing style.]
- Luke 7:20-23 says:
When the men had come to Him [Jesus], they said, 'John the Baptist has
sent us to You, saying, Are You the Coming One, or do we look for
another?’ And that very hour He [Jesus]
cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many
blind He gave sight, Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen
and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the
deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” [This was
predicted about Jesus in the Old Testament in Isaiah 61:1-3 100’s of years
before this.]
- Luke 7:40-43 says
after the woman had put oil on Jesus and some thought it was wasteful: And
Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he [Simon] said, “Teacher, say it.” “There was a certain creditor who had two
debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they
had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me,
therefore, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom
he forgave more.” And He [Jesus] said to him, “You have rightly judged.” [This passage is
very significant. Jesus doesn’t expect us all to have led perfect lives,
but He forgives all who love Him as their Savior!]
- Luke
9:11 says: But when the multitudes knew it, they
followed Him [Jesus]; and He received them and spoke to them about the
kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.
- Luke 9:33-36 says:
Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus,
“Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:
one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah''- not knowing what he
said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and
they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the
cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son,
Hear Him!”
- Luke 9:56 Jesus says:
“For the
Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And
they went to another village.
- Luke 12:6-7 Jesus says: “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?
And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your
head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than
many sparrows.”
- Luke 12:8-9 Jesus says: “Also
I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also
will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels
of God.” [This passage is
personally significant to me, because there was a time when I was embarrassed
to mention my faith in the Lord God to others. This passage really made me
reevaluate my hesitation. I can’ say that I always share with others the
way I should, but I try to be much more open to allowing Christ to lead me
in what to say in times of hesitation.]
- Luke 12:22-31 says:
Then He [Jesus] said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.
Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the
ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor
barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?
And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then
are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider
the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to
you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If
then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is
thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little
faith? And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor
have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek
after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the
kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear
little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.”
- Luke
18:9-14 says: Also He [Jesus] spoke this parable to some who trusted in
themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the
other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,
‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men-extortioners, unjust,
adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give
tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off,
would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast,
saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the
other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles
himself will be exalted.”
- Luke 19:9-10 says:
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house,
because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man [Jesus] has come
to seek and to save that which was lost.”
- Luke 22:70 says:
Then they all said, “Are You then the Son
of God?” So He [Jesus] said to them, “You rightly say that I am.”
- Luke 24:36-49 says
after Jesus had risen from the Tomb: Now as they said these things [about
seeing Jesus who had risen from the grave],
Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” But they were terrified and frightened, and
supposed they had seen a spirit. And He [Jesus] said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts
arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.
Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I
have.” When He had said
this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not
believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” So they gave Him a piece of broiled fish and some
honeycomb. And He [Jesus] took it and ate in their presence. Then He said
to them, “These
are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all
things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the
Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He [Jesus] opened their understanding, that
they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was
necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third
day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His
name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of
these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry
in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with the power from on high.”
- John 1:10-12 says: He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made through Him,
and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not
receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
- John 1:32-34 says:
and John [the Baptist] bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending
from heaven like a dove, and He [the Holy Spirit] remained on Him. I did
not know Him, but He who sent me to
baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending
from heaven like a dove, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes
with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have
seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
- John 1:40-41 says:
One of the two who heard John [the
Baptist] speak, and followed Him [Jesus], was Andrew, Simon Peter’s
brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is
translated, the Christ).
- John 3:33 says: “He who has received His testimony has certified
that God is true.”
- John 4:25-26 says:
The woman [by the well] said to Him [Jesus], “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ).
“When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
Jesus said to her, “I
who speak to you am He.”
- John 4:39-42 says:
And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the
word of the woman who testified, “He
[Jesus] told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans had
come to Him [Jesus], they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there
two days. And many more believed because
of His [Jesus’] own word. Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said,
for we ourselves have heard Him and know that this is indeed the Christ,
the Savior of the world.”
- John 5:24 says:
“Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting
life, and shall not come into
judgment, but has passed from death into life.”
- John
5:44 says: “How can you
believe, who
receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?
- John
6:2 says: Then a great multitude followed
Him [Jesus], because they saw His signs which He performed on those who
were diseased.
- John 6:35-37 says:
And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he
who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have
seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to
Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”
- John 6:40 Jesus says:
“And this
is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and
believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the
last day.”
- John 6:68-69 says: But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom
shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to
believe and know that You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.”
- John 6:47-51 Jesus says:
“Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness,
and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may
eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven.
If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I
shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
- John 7:37-39 says:
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and
drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart
will flow rivers of living water.” But this He [Jesus] spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those
believing in Him would receive; for the Holy
Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
- John 8:12 says:
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who
follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
- John 8:31-32 says:
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed
Him, “If
you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
- John
8:34-36 says: Jesus answered them, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. And a
slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son [Jesus] makes you free, you
shall be free indeed.
- John 9:3-5 says:
Jesus answered, “Neither this man [the blind man that Jesus
healed] nor his parents sinned, but that the woks of God should be
revealed in him [the healed man]. I just work the works of Him who sent Me
while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work, As long as I am
in the world, I am the light of the world.”
- John 10:9-11 Jesus says:
“ I am the
door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and
find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it
more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life
for the sheep.
- John 10:27-30 Jesus says:
“My sheep hear My
voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of
My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no
one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”
[I know it’s got to be confusing, but by
faith we know that Jesus Christ and God the Father are one. The Triune God
consists of God the Father, God the Son [ which is Jesus Christ], and God
the Holy Spirit. Although we can’t always understand the nature of God, it says in Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit.” In my opinion, as
Christians, we don’t have to always understand everything. Our knowledge
is limited to human understanding, but that’s not necessary, as long as we
have faith in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This next passage also
pertains to this topic.]
- John 10:37-38 Jesus says:
“If I do not do the
works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe
Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” [I want to include John 17:20-21 since it pertains to the narrative
above: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for
those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one,
as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us,
that the world may believed that You sent Me.”]
- John 11:27-30 Jesus says:
“My sheep
hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them
eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch
them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than
all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”
- John 11:25-26 says: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who
believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and
believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
- John
12:27-28 says: “Now My soul is
troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father,save Me from this hour’? But for
this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then
a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have
both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
- John 12:44-47 says:
Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me
but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have
come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not
abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do
not judge him; for I
did not come to judge the world but to save the world.”
- John
14:2-3 Jesus says: “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if
it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you
to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” [Jesus promised
this to His disciples, but also promises this to all who believe in Him as
their Savior!]
- John 14:5-7 says:
Thomas said to Him [Jesus], “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and
how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him,
“I
am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and
from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
- John
14:27 Jesus says: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you;
not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid.”
- John 15:4-5 Jesus says:
“I am the
vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much
fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide
in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them
and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
- John 15:12-14 Jesus
says to His disciples: “This is My commandment, that you love one
another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to
lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever
I command you.”
- John 17:3 Jesus says:
“And this
is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent.”
- John 20:19-29 says after Jesus had risen from the
Tomb: Then, the same day at evening, being the first
day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled,
for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood
in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands
and His side, Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So
Jesus said to them again, “Peace
to you! As the father has sent Me, I also send you.” and when He had said this, He breathed on them,
and said to them, “Receive
the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them;
if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Now
Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus
came. The other disciples therefore said to him [Thomas], “We have seen
the Lord.” So he [Thomas] said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the
print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put
my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And
after eight days His [Jesus’] disciples were again inside, and Thomas with
them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He [Jesus] said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My
hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be
unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas
answered and said to Him [Jesus], “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him,
“Thomas, because you
have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and
yet have believed.” [John chapter 21 tells of a third time that Jesus showed Himself to
a group of disciples.]
- Acts 4:24-26 says:
So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord
and said: “Lord, You are God, who made
heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the
mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the
people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, And the
rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’” [The Apostles are quoting a prediction in Psalm 1:1-2. made 100’s
of before the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Son
of God and our Lord and Savior.]
- Acts
19:17-20 says: This became known to the Jews and Greeks dwelling in
Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and
the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many who had believed came
confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced
magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.
And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand
pieces of silver. So, the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
- Romans 3:29-30 says:
Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He
not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the
circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. [This is a very significant Bible passage, because it verifies that
our Lord God is not just for the Hebrews, but is for everyone who believes
in Him.]
- Romans
15:5-6 says: Now may the God of patience
and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to
Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Romans 5:8-10 says:
But God demonstrates His own love toward
us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more
then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through
the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved
by His life.
- Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Romans 10:8-10 says:
But what does it say? “The word is near
you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we
preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in
your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For
with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.
- Romans 10:11-13 says:
For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes
on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew
and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
For “whoever calls on the name of
the Lord shall be saved.” [This
is a pretty significant passage, because it lets us know that it doesn’t
matter our ethnicity, but anyone who believes in Jesus Christ as their
Savior can go to heaven.”
- 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 says:
Therefore concerning the eating of things offered
to idols, we know that an idol is
nothing in the world, and there is
no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are
many gods and many lords), yet for us there
is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we live.”
- 1
Corinthians 10:13 sas: No temptation has overtaken you except such as is
common to man; but God is faithful, who
will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the
temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear
it.
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-10 says: For I delivered to you first of all that which
I also received: that Christ died
for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that
He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas [Peter], then
by the twelve. After that He [Jesus] was seen by over five hundred
brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to present, but some
have fallen asleep [died]. After that He [Jesus] was seen by James, then
by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one
born out of due time. For I [Paul] am the least of the apostles, who am
not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of
God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was
not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but
the grace of God which was with me. [This passages is significant in many ways, but it also tells us
that even those of us who have led very sinful worldly lives can be an
asset to the Lord God who used Saul, who used to persecute the church,
later known as Paul, to share the message of Jesus Christ’s life, death,
and resurrection for us!]
- 1 Corinthians 15:20-21 says:
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and
has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [died]. For
since by man [Adam] came death. By Man [Jesus] also came the resurrection
of the dead.
- 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 says: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in
all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any
trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by
God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our
consolation also abounds through Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 6:16 says:
And what agreement has the temple of God with
idols? For you are the temple of
the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among
them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”
- Romans 3:21-26 says:
But now the righteousness of God apart
from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on
all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as the propitiation
[substitute] by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His
righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins
that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His
righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has
faith in Jesus.
- Galatians 3:20 says:
Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.
- Galatians
4:7-8 says: Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by
nature are not gods.
- Ephesians 4:4-6 says:
There is one body and one Spirit, just as
you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one
baptism; one God and Father of all,
who is above all, and through all, and in
you all. But to each one of us grace
was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. [This Bible passage tells of God the Father, Holy Spirit and Jesus
Christ, all of one God. Additionally, it briefly addresses our salvation
through the grace of Christ, who gave His life the ransom for many.]
- 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 says: For they themselves declare concerning us
what manner of entry we had to you, and
how you turned to God from idols
to serve the Living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He
raised from the dead, even Jesus
who delivers us from the wrath to come. [This passage is pretty significant, because it notes Salvation is
also for those who used to worship false gods, but turned around and chose
to worship the Lord God. It also mentioned how Jesus Christ is the one who
delivers us from the wrath of the judgment we deserve as sinful human
beings. He paid the price for our sin in His death on the cross and
Resurrection, so that all who believe in Him as their Savior can someday
have Salvation with Him when He calls us to join Him in heaven.]
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 says:
For the Lord Himself will descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet
of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore
comfort one another with these words.
- 1 Timothy 2:5-7 says:
For there is one God and one Mediator
between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for
all, to be testified in due time,
for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle- I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying- a teacher of the Gentiles in
faith and truth.
- 2
Timothy 2:22 says: Flee also youthful lusts; but
pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord
out of a pure heart.
- 2
Timothy 3:16-17 says: All Scripture is
given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped
for every good work.
- Hebrews 10:8-9 says:
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today,
and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines.
For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with
foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with
them.
- Hebrews 13:5 says:
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as
you have. For He Himself has said, “I will
never leave you nor forsake you.”
- James 1:5-6 says:
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of
God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given
to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who
doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
- James 2:19 says:
You believe that there is one God. You do
well. Even the demons believe- and tremble!
- James 4:7-8 says:
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts you double-minded.
- 1 Peter 1:17-21 says: And if you call on the Father, who without
partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves
throughout the time of your stay here in fear: knowing that you were not
redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless
conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the
foundation of the world, but was manifest
in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him
from the dead and gave Him [Jesus] glory, so that your faith and hope are
in God.
- 1 Peter 5:6-7 says:
Therefore humble yourselves under the
mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your
care upon Him, for He cares for you.
- 2 Peter 1:17-18 says:
For he [Jesus] received from God the
Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent
Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased.” And we
heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy
mountain.
- 2 Peter 3:9 says:
The Lord is not slack concerning His
promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not
willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
- 1 John 3:5 says:
And you know that He was manifested to
take away our sins, and in Him [Jesus] there is no sin.
- 1 John 4:9 says: In this the love of God was manifested toward
us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world that we
might live through Him. [This is a powerful Bible verse telling how God loved us so much,
that He gave His only Son, Jesus, to live, be betrayed, mocked, beaten,
spit upon, crucified on a cross, died, was buried, and rose again
according to what Jesus had predicted...All that those who believe in Him
as their Lord and Savior could some day join Him in heaven, when He calls
us.]
- 1 John 5:11-13 says:
And this is the testimony; that God has
given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has
life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe
in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal
life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
- 1 John 5:20-21 says:
And we know that the Son of God has come
and has given us an understanding,
that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His
Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little
children, keep yourselves from idols.
Amen. [Again, this
clarifies that Jesus Christ is part of the One True God.]
- Jude
1:4 says: For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were
marked out for this condemnation, ungodly
men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
[This Bible verse also includes Jesus
Christ as part of God.]
- Revelation 3:20-22 Jesus says:
“Behold, I
stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who
overcomes I will grant to seit with Me on My throne as I also overcame and
sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit says to the churches.”
- Revelation 11:17 says:
“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was
and who is to come, Because You
have taken Your great power and reigned.”
- Revelation 21:3-6 says: And I [the Apostle John] heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes: there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.”
[In conclusion, after the analysis of all these Bible passages, the Bible is very consistent about the Lord God saying to have no other gods before Him. Deuteronomy 4:39 says: Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other”. Additionally, the Lord God went to great lengths to include this in the Ten Commandments and had many prophets throughout Biblical times that would warn the people to not worship other gods. The Lord God even had consequences like famine, captivity, and death to help them turn from their evil ways and turn back to faith in the Lord God. When they genuinely turned back to worshiping the Lord God and no longer worshiped idols, images, the sun, moon, stars, and host of heaven [Zodiac], witchcraft, sorcery, turned to mediums and spiritists, no longer followed evil rituals to sacrifice their children to their idols or to make them walk through fire for their idols, the Lord God would forgive them and welcome them back.]
[No matter what we’ve done in our lives before, the Lord God welcomes all who come to Him and believe that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior, even those who come doubting, but are open to knowing the Lord.]
In John 3:16-21 Jesus says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him [Jesus Christ] is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the lights, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
[My advice, Follow Jesus, the Light of the World!]
