Idolatry In Ancient Times

Noah Webster defined idolatry this way in the 1828 edition of his dictionary:

IDOL'ATRY, noun [Latin idololatria. Gr. idol, and to worship or serve.]

1. The worship of idols, images, or any thing made by hands, or which is not God.

Idolatry is of two kinds; the worship of images, statues, pictures, etc. made by hands; and the worship of the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon and stars, or of demons, angels, men and animals.

2. Excessive attachment or veneration for any thing, or that which borders on adoration.

This mirrors the portrayal of idolatry in God's Word to man, the Bible.

Here we see it defined as worshiping anything made by our own hands, which matches the first definition of idolatry:

"And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them."

Isaiah 37:19 

Here we see the worship of heavenly bodies, which matches the first definition of idolatry:

"And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven."

Deuteronomy 4:19

Here we see the worship of angels or demons, which matches the first definition of idolatry:

"Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,"

Colossians 2:18

Here we see the worship of man, which matches the first definition of idolatry:

"And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.

But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man."

Acts 10:25-26

Here we see it defined as worshiping anything in our own heart, which matches the second definition of idolatry:

"Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?"

Ezekiel 14:3 

This should leave no doubt that in the eyes of God, worshiping anything other than Him is idolatry. 

Using the same 1828 Webster's Dictionary, we see the definitions of worship covers many dimensions. This definition is most important, as there is only one being worthy of worship - that is God Almighty, that is Jesus Christ:

WORSHIP, noun [See Worth.]

4. Chiefly and eminently, the act of paying divine honors to the Supreme Being; or the reverence and homage paid to him in religious exercises, consisting in adoration, confession, prayer, thanksgiving and the like.

However, worship also has these three definitions, which will be important for this article:

WORSHIP, noun [See Worth.]

5. The homage paid to idols or false gods by pagans; as the worship of Isis.

7. Idolatry of lovers; obsequious or submissive respect.

WORSHIP, verb transitive

3. To honor with extravagant love and extreme submission; as a lover.

Mankind has been given to idolatry ever since our fall in the Garden of Eden. Because of our sinful and rebellious nature, we take a gift that God has given us, the ability to worship our Creator, and twist it so that we redirect that ability to worship onto the creation. So rather than paying homage to the God who created everything, we instead worship what He created.

"Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen."

Romans 1:25 

When most people hear about worshiping idols, they probably immediately think of the worship of the idols of old. As mentioned in the definition from Webster's Dictionary above, they might think of worshiping a false goddess like Isis:

Or perhaps a false god like Shiva:

This is indeed idolatry, and it is the form of idolatry most covered in the Bible. Out of all the sins that corrupted man over history, idolatry has been among the worst. Whenever and wherever idol worship has existed, a slew of other sins has come with it. For example, people would murder their own children in sacrifice to idols, such as by making them pass into fire before the calf-headed idol Molech:

"And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.""

Jeremiah 32:35

People would cut themselves so that they bled all over in honor of the storm and sun god Baal:

"And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.

And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.

And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them."

1 Kings 18:26-28

People would perform perverted acts of fornication dedicated to Baalim (Baalim is the collective term for all the idols of Baal-worship, such as Baal, Molech, and Ashtoreth):

"And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.

And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods."

Numbers 25:1-2

Idolatry always leads to horrific sins of violence and sexual perversion, and there is a key reason why this is. An idol is nothing but a created entity, whether it is a physical idol, such as a piece of wood or a person, or an imaginary one formed in the heart:

"As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one."

1 Corinthians 8:4 

If an idol is nothing but a part of creation that a man or woman falsely worships, then why does worshiping idols lead to so much corruption and sin? The Bible explains this - for behind every idol, there are demons:

"What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?

But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.""

1 Corinthians 10:19-21

When one commits the sin of idolatry, they are in fact being influenced by demons. These demons can pretend to be these idols, and plant terrible thoughts in the idolater's head:

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;"

1 Timothy 4:1

In the ages past, it's obvious that idolaters knew that there were real, genuine spirits behind the idols. There were prophets of Baal, or priests of Isis, that claimed to speak for the false gods and goddesses. However, because idolatry in modern times is no longer understood, and has changed forms, now the fact that there are in fact spiritual entities behind idols has been lost among the general population. Many Christians still understand this, and some idolaters such as Hindus know there are spiritual forces at work, but the secular world is in the dark.