1 John 5:21

My little children, guard yourselves from idols.

The simple and obvious meaning of this is, "Keep yourselves from the pollutions of heathen worship."[33] Some of John's readers probably lived in Ephesus (where John himself labored); and all of the great pagan cities of that period (including Ephesus) were strongholds of paganism. As Plummer said, "Where the literal interpretation makes good sense, the literal interpretation is probably right."[34] And, taking Ephesus as an example of all the great cities of that era, such an exhortation certainly makes good sense.

Ephesus was dominated by the Temple of Diana of the Ephesians, that temple being the center of immorality and licentiousness. The temple institution was a force of incredible power in pagan civilization. The right of sanctuary for criminals of all classes had crowded it with the vilest men on earth. It was the financial center of the pagan culture, occupying about the same status in that ancient culture that the Bank of England enjoyed during the 19th century. "To have anything to do with the Temple of Diana was to be associated with the very dregs of society ... and to be brought into contact with commercialized superstition and the black arts."[35]

Beyond the literal and immediate application of this final apostolic edict, however, the spiritual overtones of such an admonition are universal and timeless. No Christian must ever set up in his heart any idol which usurps the place rightfully belonging to the Lord. The gods of the ancients lie buried under the debris of millenniums; but people still worship sex, gold, wealth, power, fame, "success," youth, humanity, self, pleasure, wine, or even their families, instead of the Lord Jesus Christ. The citadel of the heart belongs to the Son of God who died for us and loosed us from our sins in his blood. The final word of this epistle is directed to the guardianship of that citadel. May the child of God never forget that it belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ.

[33] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 123.

[34] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 143.

[35] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 125.