REFRAIN FROM IDOLS: PART 1 - 1 JOHN 5:21

Verse 21: Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

John now concludes his epistle with a command to his loving children that they should guard themselves from idols. The word guard means to keep1 with the objective to actively refrain from idols. This recollects the second commandment given by God to Moses which is still applicable today:

“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me.” (Exodus 20:4–5)

But what exactly is an idol? To begin with, the word idol comes from the Greek word to see, meaning that it is something visual or visualized. Visual idols are often considered to be simply man-made objects, such as statues patterned from various materials: stone, wood, metal, rubber or plastic. They were designed to be viewed and/or hand-held for pagan worship and adoration; many were invoked to assist the worshiper with worldly matters: crops, sex, combat, suffering, etc. Scripture frequently identifies many of these idols: the golden calf (Exodus 32); teraphim—household idols (Gen. 31:19; Judges 17:5; 1 Sam. 19:13; Hosea 3:4); the “silver shrines” of the goddess Artemis’ (Diana) temple (Acts 19:24ff); and Athens, the city full of idols (Acts 17:16ff). They are characterized as abominations (Deut. 29:17; 32:16) and demons, not the true God (Deut. 32:17; cf. 1 Cor. 10:20–21). The worship of idols is unquestionably the sin of idolatry.

The extent of the problem of idols in the Jewish nation compelled Isaiah to write that the land had been “filled with idols” (Isaiah 2:8). And Jeremiah admonished them of the foolishness and irrationality of idol worship, proclaiming that idols cannot speak or walk “nor can they do any good” (Jeremiah 10:2-5). And those who disobeyed God’s mandate against idolatry were ridiculed:

“Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’ To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’ And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it.” (Habakkuk 2:19)

John is not alone in warning against idols, Paul charged the Corinthians to flee from idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14), to run and earnestly avoid it.2 Paul also commended the Thessalonians for having “turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God” (1 Thess. 1:9). On this point, John may have been concerned that his readers would be deceived by the Gnostic heresy that denied the deity of Jesus Christ and instead of serving the true God that they would idolize the false concepts of Christ that the Gnostics promoted.

Idols in the World

In our culture today, there are celebrities in sports, entertainment and even in politics that are considered stars or idols that are fervently admired. Not that they are being worshipped in a religious manner, but they have become the center of attention for their fan base and the mainstream media. To what extent they are venerated is relevant only to the individual admirer. For there are many who are so obsessed with a celebrity that they attend all their events, watch all their shows and own their posters, recordings, videos and signature clothing.  

Thus it might be asked: do believers today have idols? Some believers admire Christian entertainers and their music or acting abilities; and there have been some ministers, television evangelists and Christian authors who have enthusiastic followers. We must each carefully consider whether our love for God is superseded by our affections for these individuals and if it distracts us from our serving and genuine worship of Our Lord.

John’s intention here is to caution against more than physical idols of pagan worship; he is warning believers that replacing their affections for the true God with anything is contrary to the teaching of Scripture. For the all-consuming idolization of a person, object or social trend are aspects of the “things in the world” that John has commanded that we are not to love (1 John 2:15). The apostle Paul was of the same thinking, commanding the believer to “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2).

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[1] As it is translated in many English versions - ESV, NKJV, KJV, NIV.

[2] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G5343.

 

GOD'S TRUE DISCLOSURE - ISAIAH 44:24

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself and spreading out the earth all alone” (Isaiah 44:24)

“Disclosure Day”

The new Steven Spielberg movie Disclosure Day is in theaters everywhere. It is a follow-up to his classic movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). A concise summary of Disclosure Day was provided by journalist Ben Mankiewicz: “It's part chase flick, part '70s thriller, and part big tech conspiracy, all colliding to make Disclosure Day a sci-fi story for a modern audience.”1

In an interview, Spielberg also described his movie:

"Disclosure Day is about how, if somebody had the power and if somebody had possession of the entire archive of visual evidence of what's been happening for the last 80 years, what would happen if they decided to do a data dump across the entire world all at once?" Spielberg said. "And the people who are trying to stop that data dump from happening, that is basically the core of this chase movie.”2

The release of this movie could not have happened at a better time for the “modern audience” since there has been much in the media concerning the publishing of Government files concerning UFO’s (Unidentified Flying Objects), most of which pertains to UAP’s (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena). There have been many purported sightings of UFO’s around the world, but no physical evidence has been presented that establishes conclusively that any actual extraterrestrial aliens (ET’s) have landed on earth. This doesn’t dissuade those who believe that alien beings have visited our planet or are presently among us, for Spielberg happens to be one of them, having stated: "I absolutely think that they have been here, and they are here."3

Faith vs. UFO’s

There is an added element about this movie that should concern all who believe in Jesus Christ, as noted by journalist Dylan Scott:

But his movie also focuses on a second topic that has long preoccupied Spielberg and other sci-fi directors: faith. It’s a story about believing in something—whether it’s religious doctrine or UFO brain downloads—and the tensions that could arise between different kinds of prophecy.4

Likewise, Spielberg commented:

 “And the movie also takes the position of the church. What does this do to the fundamental beliefs that many of us have? Is God our God only on this planet? Or is God a god for every system where there’s civilization and intelligent life, and even developing life?”5

Scott notes that “religious thinkers have contemplated life outside of Earth for generations—and they’re surprisingly open-minded about what we might find. Pope Francis even said he would baptize an extraterrestrial.”6 Scott goes on to state:

But religious leaders here in reality tend to sound much more chill [agreeable] about aliens. The Vatican has acknowledged the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe and affirmed its consistency with Catholic theology. Jewish rabbis have contemplated ETs and reached the same conclusion, as have Muslim scholars who see textual evidence that life could exist out in the vastness of space.7 Buddhists believe8 that their sacred traditions anticipate that life on earth is part of a much grander cosmic community.9

Our culture’s fixation upon extraterrestrials has been widespread since the Roswell, New Mexico incident of 1947.10 Even the discontented youths of the 1970’s Vietnam era expressed a hope that extraterrestrials might help in attaining world peace:

 There's life in other worlds,

Maybe they'll come to earth,

Helping man to find a way.

One day I hope we'll be in perfect harmony,

 A planet with one mind.11

However, note the questions that the mainstream media carefully refrain from asking: If there are extraterrestrials would it cast doubt upon everything that Scripture claims about God’s existence and His created universe? Should the existence of extraterrestrial alien beings undermine and destabilize the Christian’s faith in God?

The Short Answers

The short answer to the first question is “No.” But only when a person understands God’s almighty and sovereign character as declared by Scripture: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1; cf. Isa. 37:16; Acts 17:24).

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained. (Psalm 8:3)

He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. (Psalm 147:4; cf. Isa. 40:26)

The vastness of His creative act “in the beginning” is still active; for there is not only scriptural evidence but physical evidence that the universe is still expanding. In 1929, astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe is indeed expanding.12 NASA claims that “our universe is not only growing, but that expansion rate is accelerating.”13 This substantiates the claims of Scripture:

 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. (Isaiah 40:22; 42:5; 44:24; Ps. 104:2)

The answer to the second question should also be “No.” For the believer in Jesus Christ ought to know that with God nothing in impossible or too difficult.

Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You. (Jeremiah 32:17; cf. Luke 1:27; Gen. 18:14; Matt. 19:26)

Final Thoughts

This is God’s universe and He is able to do anything He chooses—like creating life in another galaxy. Yet He has chosen not to reveal the entirety of what He has done in His universe.

Instead, we need to recognize that in Scripture He has provided “to us everything pertaining to life” (2 Peter 1:3)—that is, our Christian life. Therefore, at this present time, our lives should be focused upon being His effective witnesses on planet earth. For Jesus associated us with Him in the task committed to Him by the Father,14 Who sent Him to earth: “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).

Today’s culture already offers many distractions for believers: entertainment, politics, internet, etc. The contemplation of extraterrestrials may be interesting, but don’t let this sidetrack us from doing His work of spreading the gospel—speaking this truth so that other might hear and believe in Christ for eternal life (Rom. 10:13–17).

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[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/disclosure-day-director-steven-spielberg-on-alien-visitations/ [Retrieved June 25, 2026] 

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] https://www.vox.com/culture/491587/disclosure-day-steven-spielberg-movie-aliens-ufo-files  [Retrieved June 25, 2026]

[5] Ibid

[6] Ibid

[7] https://aboutislam.net/counseling/ask-about-islam/aliens-extraterrestrial-islamic-look/ [Retrieved June 28, 2026]

[8] https://www.academia.edu/92025838/buddhism_and_extraterrestrial_life  [Retrieved June 28, 2026]

[9] https://www.vox.com/culture/491587/disclosure-day-steven-spielberg-movie-aliens-ufo-files [Retrieved June 25, 2026] 

[10] https://www.britannica.com/event/Roswell-incident [Retrieved June 30, 2026]

[11] My Song, written by Michael Thomas Pinder, © BMG Rights Management, Concord Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group; From the Moody Blues album Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971).

 [12] https://cosmology.carnegiescience.edu/timeline/1929.html [Retrieved June 29, 2026]

[13] https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/science-highlights/discovering-a-runaway-universe/ [Retrieved June 29, 2026]

[14] A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Jn 9:4.

 

© 2026 David M. Rossi