WORSHIPPING THE LORD OR OTHER “GODS”?

Could someone you know be unknowingly worshipping Baal-like gods, “the antichrist” or “the man of sin;” even though the Bible says, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”? Checking the Bible carefully might give insights into this possibility (2 Timothy 2:16-17).

BAAL-LIKE “GODS”?

 Some people of God of the Old Testament were worshipping gods of Baal, rather than worshipping and serving the one true God. But God used his prophet Elijah to demonstrate that He was the one true God. To  show the people who the true God was Elijah arranged a contest with the prophets of Baal to see which God/god had the power to consume respective sacrificial offering by fire. The prophets of Baal called on their gods all day but their gods did not consume their offer by fire. Then Elijah built a trench and poured water over his offering three time , so that the trench was filled with water. Elijah prayed to God: “let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.  Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench  When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

Satan, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. But, the Lord God has filled  prophets and people with the fire of the Holy Spirit to go into all the world  to proclaim the glorious saving  gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God  (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:18-20).

ANTICHRIST NEW AGE “GODS”?

The Bible tells us: every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ is the divine Son of God (John 1:1-3; Hebrew 1:1-3); who came in the flesh and died for the sins of the world (John 1:14; 3:16; Romans 5:8;); who is the only way to God the Father (John 14:6)– This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already (John 1:4:3) . For many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, [died as the only way to the Father] have gone out into the world. Any such person is a deceiver and the antichrist spirit (2 John 7).

These antichrist deceivers exist today by “New Age Spirituality” and others names.  They still teach that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is not the only way to God and salvation. And he and the Father is not the only God we should worship (John 5:23; 10:30) One of my own relative, who is of the New Age Spirituality, said “I don’t believe Jesus is the only way as the Bible says.” But I still pray for and try to gently teach this relative and others the truth about Jesus Christ, “in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth” as the Bible teaches (2 Timothy 2:25).

MAN OF SIN AS “GOD”?

The Bible spoke of a “man of sin…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). The man of sin was not to come during the time of Early Church disciples, when the spirit of the antichrist had already come; but the man of sin would come some time later. 

And his “coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; bcause they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12).

Some believers may be confused about some distinctions between the antichrist and the man of sin; but they recognize that both are involved in “the working of Satan.”  For instance, in a you-tube video,  titled “Who Is The Antichrist,” it ascribed much of what the Bible described as the man of sin to the antichrist. However, the video makers concluded that the “working of Satan” which the Bible assigns to the man of sin is like that of the Papacy of the Catholic Church. 

The man of sin in the Bible is a man  “who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God”

Pope John Paul wrote in his book, Crossing the Threshold of Hope: “The Pope is considered the man on earth who represents God, who takes the place of the Second Person of the  omnipotent God of the Trinity.”

JESUS CHRIST THE LORD GOD!

The biblical Word of God declares: “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other” (Isaiah 42:8). “I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no Savior but Me”  (Isaiah 43:11). “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:28). “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

“YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIM ONLY SHALL YOU SERVE” (Luke 4:8; Deuteronomy 6:13).).