Idolater (1496) eidololatres by Greek Word Studies

Idolater (1496)(eidololatres from eidolon = idol, image, a phantom or likeness [from eidos = form, appearance, literally that which is seen from eido = to see] + látris = servant, worshiper) (see study of eidololatreia) (See multiple Bile dictionary articles on idolatry) is literally an image worshipper or one who serves idols or images representative of false gods. Idolatry is the worship of something created which is in direct opposition to the worship of the Creator Himself. Ultimately it is placing anything in the place of God, Who alone deserves the right to be number one in our focus. Originally, a physical idol helped visualize the god it represented but later people worshipped the physical object itself (Ro 1:19; 20; 21; 22; 23 see notes Ro 1:19; 20; 21; 22; 23). Eerdman's explains idolatry as follows... In the Old Testament, the worship of gods other than Yahweh, especially through images representing them. The New Testament extends the concept to include any ultimate confidence in something other than God, e.g., covetousness, surrender to appetites (see Eph 5:5-note; Php 3:19-note; Col 3:5-note; cf. "two masters " - Mt 6:24 -note; 1Sa 15:23). (Myers, A. C.. The Eerdmans Bible dictionary. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans) (or Logos) Morris has an interesting note on the meaning of idols writing that they... are either physical images or mental constructs with which men try to explain and control the forces and systems of nature without acknowledging the one true God as Creator and Sustainer of all things. Paganism, with its pantheism and polytheism, worshipping the various forces and systems of nature personified as Mother Earth with all her other personifications as various gods and goddesses, was rife in John's day and, through various forms of evolutionism, has always been arrayed in opposition to the true God of creation and redemption. This is more true today than ever before, and it is absolutely vital that true Christians should refrain from all forms of idolatry, whether rationalistic humanism, economic materialism, or New Age pantheism--all of which are founded on an evolutionary world view. (Morris, Henry: Defenders Study Bible. World Publishing) Unger adds that... Idolatry may be classified as follows: (1) the worship of inanimate objects, such as stones, trees, rivers, etc.; (2) of animals; (3) of the higher powers of nature, such as the sun, moon, stars; and the forces of nature, as air, fire, etc.; (4) hero-worship or of deceased ancestors; (5) idealism, or the worship of abstractions or mental qualities, such as justice. Another classification is suggestive: (1) the worship of Jehovah under image or symbol; (2) the worship of other gods under image or symbol; (3) the worship of the image or symbol itself. Each of these forms of idolatry had its peculiar immoral tendency. (Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Chicago: Moody Press) We need to be ever vigilant against the flesh's attraction to idols even in the area of "religion" as sadly illustrated by the trap Israel fell into with the bronze serpent episode... Then (after the people cried out because they were dying from snake bites) the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he shall live." And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. (Numbers 21:8,9) Comment: During the period of the wilderness wanderings, Israel murmured against the Lord. As a disciplinary measure, God sent “fiery serpents” among them (Nu 21:5-9). When the stricken people imploringly turned to Moses, he at the command of God, made a BRONZE SERPENT, a replica of the viper with the stinging, deadly bite which had already bitten them. This standard over time (the details are not in Scripture) degenerated into the idolatrous practice of BRONZE SERPENT WORSHIP which persisted to the time of King Hezekiah (729-686 BC, some 700-800 years after the episode in Numbers!) as recorded in Second Kings... He (King Hezekiah) removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze (nechosheth) serpent (nahas/nachash) that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan (Hebrew means "a mere piece of brass" which appears to be a play on the word nahas/nachash = serpent). (2Kings 18:4) What was originally a symbol of sin judged and salvation given (Jesus made reference to and application of the serpent episode to the salvation through Himself - see John 3:14 - see study of typology), was perverted into an idol for the practice of idolatry. The flesh is incorrigible and if it won't worship the Creator, it will end up worshipping the creation (study Romans 1, beginning in Romans 1:18ff [see notes]) As we walk by and are led by the Spirit, we must continually choose to heed the NT imperatives to guard and to flee from seductive idols which are an abomination to God. Vine explains that... Heathen sacrifices were sacrificed to demons, 1Co 10:19; there was a dire reality in the cup and table of demons and in the involved communion with demons. In Romans 1:22; 23; 24; 25 (see notes), idolatry, the sin of the mind against God (see Eph 2:3 -note), and immorality, sins of the flesh, are associated, and are traced to lack of the acknowledgment of God and of gratitude to Him. An “idolater” is a slave to the depraved ideas his idols represent, Gal. 4:8, 9; and thereby, to divers lusts, Titus 3:3 (see note) (Vine, W E: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. 1996. Nelson) As Paul explains in Colossians (see below), greed or covetousness is synonymous with idolatry because it places selfish desire above obedience to God. Note that covetousness is the root cause of all sin, because when people sin, it is basically people doing what they desire, rather than what God desires. This in turn amounts to worship of self rather than worship of God, and this is the very essence of idolatry! The great Puritan writer Stephen Charnock spared no words in describing it this way... All sin is founded in a secret atheism.… All the wicked inclination sin the heart… are sparks from this latent fire; the language of everyone of these is, “I would be a Lord to myself, and would not have a God superior to me.”… In sins of omission we own not God, in neglecting to perform what He enjoins; in sins of commission we set up some lust in the place of God, and pay to that the homage which is due to our Maker.… We deny His sovereignty when we violate His laws… Every sin invades the rights of God, and strips Him of one or other of His perfections.… Every sin is a kind of cursing God in the heart; an aim at the destruction of the being of God; not actually, but virtually… A man in every sin aims to set up his own will as his rule, and his own glory as the end of his actions against the will and glory of God. (from his book The Existence and Attributes of God) (Bolding added) There are 7 uses of eidololatres in the NT (and surprisingly none in the Septuagint)-- 1 Corinthians 5:10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters; for then you would have to go out of the world. 1 Corinthians 5:11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he should be an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-- not even to eat with such a one. 1 Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 1 Corinthians 10:7 And do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play." Ephesians 5:5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Revelation 21:8 "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Revelation 22:15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. Vincent reiterates that the New Testament usage (of eidololatres) does not confine the term to the worship of images, but extends it to the soul’s devotion to any object which usurps the place of God. HAS AN INHERITANCE IN THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST AND GOD: ouk echei (3SPAI) kleronomian en te basileia tou Christou kai theou: Literally this reads "hath no inheritance in the reign of the Christ and God" (Young's) - The NAS places the no before "immoral." Eadie comments that this man (previously described)... “has no inheritance," and shall or can have none; the present stating a fact, or law unalterably determined. (Ephesians 5 Commentary) Has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God - Clearly Paul is warning that those who have a lifestyle characterized by the sins just listed are lost, still dead in their sins (Eph 2:1) and on the way to the Lake of fire (Rev 20:10, 14, 15, Mt 25:41, 46) and eternal separation from God (2Th 1:9, cp Mt 22:13, Jude 1:13). The kingdom in simple terms is where Christ and God rule as King. Those lives as Paul describes have no part in the present invisible Kingdom (Lk 17:20, 21, 10:9, 10, 11, Mt 12:28, Ro 14:17) nor in the future earthly kingdom of Christ (Rev 20:4, 5, 6, Mt 25:31,34). Note carefully that Paul is not referring to the Judgment Seat of Christ (bema - 2Co 5:10, Ro 14:10) and loss of rewards (1Co 3:12, 13, 14, 15). The subject is salvation not rewards. They are professors of Christ but lack the power of Christ which would validate them as possessors of Christ. Their lifestyle of sinful conduct discloses their true character as those still in Adam and not those who are by grace through faith now in Christ. Paul is not saying of course that they cannot be saved but that the implication is clear that if the salvation is genuine they will repent of these heinous sins as a lifestyle. J Vernon McGee minces no words declaring that... It is clearly understood that the unregenerate man who practices these sins has no portion in the kingdom of Christ and God. If a professing Christian practices these sins, he immediately classifies himself. No matter what his testimony may be on Sunday or what position he may have in the church, such a person is saying to the lost world that he is not a child of God. To live in the corruption of the flesh is to place one’s self beyond the pale of a child of God. (McGee, J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson) Has (2192) (echo) is in the present tense which pictures the continuing negative state.

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Idolater (1496) eidololatres

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