Meaning of IDOL

Representation by means of an image, sculpture, or other means, of a person or animal or thing, in order to make it an object of worship, or the dwelling place of a divinity (Ex. 20:4, 5, 23; Judges. 17:3; 1 Sam. 5:3, 4; Rom. 1:23). Idols were made of silver, gold (Ps. 115:4; 135:15), wood or other materials (Is. 44:13-17).

Metal idols were made by pouring molten metal into a mold, which in this case were called cast statues or images. Other types of idols were made by carving wood, which was then gilded, silvered or polychrome. Made of stone or wood, these representations, worked with cutting instruments, are called carved or sculpted images.

Isaiah and Jeremiah describe its making (Is. 40:19, 20; 44:9-20; Jer. 10:9). The statuettes represented, among others, the domestic gods, called "terafim" (Gen. 31:34; 35:1-4). There were idols that had the dimensions of a human being (1 Sam. 19:16). Others, like the one Nebuchadnezzar built in the valley of Dura, were of colossal dimensions (Dan. 3:1).

In the 4th century AD, when the pagans were introduced en masse into the church, images entered with them into some Christian buildings, but only, it was said, for ornamentation and for the instruction of the people. In the year 736, the Emperor of Byzantium Leo III, the Isauric, promulgated the edicts against images. In the year 780, the Empress Irene reintroduced them into the Eastern Church, which was ratified in the year 787 by the Second Council of Nicaea.

The church of Rome also encourages the cult of statues and representations of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints. This is justified by stating that the latter are venerated, while only God and his divine son are worshiped. However, the law of Moses totally prohibited doing any


representation that could be used to worship him, whether of a man, a woman, or whatever (Deut. 4:15-18, 23-24). The second commandment of the Decalogue is one of the longest and most solemn (Deut. 5:7-10), and insists on the prohibition of serving images and prostrating before them.

Thus, it is prohibited to raise them on altars, kneel before them, place candles on them, direct prayers to them, and carry them in procession. These practices come from ancient paganism, being totally foreign to Christianity. On the other hand, the Lord is a jealous God, who demands our adoration and worship in an exclusive way.


In God's government, punishment is announced to the fourth generation for those who disobey this formal order. The Israelites fell into the sin of burning incense before the bronze serpent made by Moses in the desert (Num. 21:4-9), so King Hezekiah broke it into pieces to put an end to this idolatry (2 Kings 18 :4). The NT indicates the spiritual reasons for similar prohibitions.

Above all, Christ is our only almighty mediator and intercessor, and it is an offense to him and a folly to turn to creatures as much or more than to Him (Acts 4:12; Rom. 8:31-34; 1 Tim. 2 :5 Heb 7:24-25; 9:24). On the other hand, although it is evident that a statue is nothing more than a bit of marble, metal or plaster, Paul indicates that the worship offered to the idol is actually offered to demons (1 Cor. 10:19- 22).

This word may seem very harsh, but it is clear that a prohibited religious act can only benefit the enemy. An enemy that pushes idolatrous worship so that men lose sight of the one true God, and to attract them into the networks of the demonic powers that lurk behind idols.

The fact remains that both the Virgin and the "saints" represented by images are dead, not yet resurrected (John 6:40; 1 Cor. 15:22, 23). The OT prohibited, under penalty of anathema and even death, seeking contact with the deceased, even if they had been believers (Lev. 20:6, 27; Deut. 18:10-14; 1 Sam. 28:3- 19; 1 Chr. 10:13-14; Is. 8:1920).

On a spiritual level, it is evident that one can have other types of true idols. Everything that takes the place due to God in our hearts, whether people or things, are idols. The love of money, covetousness, greed, gluttony, all these are forms of idolatry (Mt. 6:24; Luke 16:13; Rom. 16:18; Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5 ; Phil. 3:19; 2 Tim. 3:4).

The men of the 20th century have the concept of themselves that they are much more refined than those of antiquity, but they are no less idolatrous for that reason. The gods they serve are Mammon, Venus, Sport, State, Power, Self, who put the creature, with its pride and insatiable appetites for pleasure, in the place of the Creator (Rom. 1:25 ).

Let us flee, therefore, from idols and from all idolatry, both external and internal (1 Cor. 10:7; Rom. 2:22; 1 Jn. 5:21). The only way to achieve this will be by giving our wholehearted adherence to the wonderful God, our Creator, who loved us to the point of giving his only begotten Son for us, and who seeks our worship in Spirit and in truth (John 4). : 23-24).