Do other gods exist? Are they demons or fake idols?
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Do other gods exist? Are they demons or fake idols?
Does the Bible teach there are other gods besides our Trinitarian God of the Bible (Father, Son, Spirit)?
While the Bible teaches there is ONLY one true God – the Creator God of the Bible - did you realize it also teaches that there ARE FALSE gods as well? Consider 1 Corinthians 8:5:
“For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed, there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for US there is ONE God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”
As the world has seen many horrors and great evils, ever since the first humans existed – from wars of aggression to genocide, torture and brutality – what feeds and drives much of that evil? The pagans of Scriptural eras practiced all manner of evils in the name of their gods – even believing that these gods demanded they sacrifice their own children or young girls (virgins) upon altars in their high places. The Bible says the idols representing these false gods are not REAL gods, but are demonic entities.
Ephesian 6:12 says: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” No, there is no other TRUE God but the one of the Bible. But there WERE (and ARE) false gods that deluded the ancients into their worship and belief that they were actually worshiping real gods – when, in fact, they were being deceived and led by demonic entities. And just like with the serpents supernaturally created by Pharaoh's magicians in Exodus 7:8-13, these demons have supernatural powers to create miraculous deceptions, so as to foster and perpetuate the deceptions that these false gods are real and must be obeyed. So, there ARE unseen demonic forces which exist and that are CONTINUING to cause our world’s oppression, illness, disease, chaos, murder, mayhem, and war, as well as leading them into a myriad of pagan cults and sects across the world.
The Bible specifically mentions these dark, demonic forces (“principalities and forces”) directly, about six times – read about these here: https://www.gotquestions.org/principali ... owers.html
And did you know that the series of the famously horrific plagues God caused to miraculously free Israel from its centuries of Egyptian slavery, EACH targeted the powers asserted to be wielded by key gods worshiped by the Egyptians - to show the truth - that each of them / the demonic powers masquerading as gods, were powerless over Israel's God. For instance, the days of total darkness brought upon the Egyptians, revealed their sun god, Ra - the "king of their deities and the father of all creation, the patron of the sun, heaven, kingship, power, and LIGHT," - well, somehow, he couldn't seem to perform one of his most important daily tasks - to "keep the light of the sun on!"
The Apostle Paul talks about these other so-called “gods” in 1 Corinthians 8:1–6. He notes that idols made by human hands “have no real existence” and that there is “no God but One (Yahweh of the Bible!). But Paul also states, “indeed, there are many “gods” and many “lords.” But he contrasts the demonic entities posing as “gods and lords” with the TRUE God: “For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords” - yet, for us, there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist."
And, finally, Dr. Michael Heiser has elaborated on the existence of these false gods / demons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP4EONrojyY