Questions for Those Who Claim the "Supreme Beings"
Of the Nations Are the True God
by Sandy Simpson, 10/14/13

 


I have some questions for those of the World Christian Gathering of Indigenous People (WCGIP) adherents such as Don Richardson, Daniel Kikawa, Richard Twiss (deceased), Terry LeBlanc, Danny Lehman, Aloha Ke Akua, YWAM as well as many in the Emergent Church (EC) ... the questions arise from their claim that the "supreme beings" of the nations are all the True God, YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  You can read more on this subject in our book "Idolatry In Their Hearts" or in the WCGIP section of my site.

 

My main question for them is this: When did ANY of the Patriarchs and Prophets in the Old Testament and the Apostles or Jesus Christ in the New Testament EVER claim that the "supreme beings" of the nations were Elohim/YHWH, the one True God?  Let's look at some examples in the form of questions and you can check out the source links as well.

 

Did Abraham claim that the God who called him from Haran was the same as the god Baal of the Canaanites? 

 

Genesis 12:4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.

 

The word for “LORD” in the above verse is YHWH, the name of God, the I Am.  Baal was a false god of the Caananites, not YHWH.  The "supreme beings" of Canaan were actually a polytheistic couple, Baal and Asherah (http://home.comcast.net/~chris.s/canaanite-faq.html) as in all ancient cultures modeled after the false religion of Nimrod and Semiramis at Babel.

 

Did Joseph, upon being taken to Egypt, tell the Pharaoh that they had always been worshipping the true God by the name of Amen (Amon)?

 

Jeremiah 46:25 The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh.

 

The God of Israel, thus the God of Joseph, said He would bring punishment on the false “supreme being” of the Egyptians and the leaders who worshipped it.  The "supreme beings" of Egypt were Amen and Mut (http://socsci.colorado.edu/LAB/GODS/)

 

Did Moses, after going up to the mountain of God, come down and tell Israel that their worship of the Golden Calf was good because it was the same as the worship of YHWH?

 

Exodus 32:8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’

 

The golden calf is contrasted against the true God of Israel by Moses.  Interestingly, the golden calf was not only an idol meant to take the place of YHWH, but it was a symbol of the Pharaoh who was considered a “god” by the Egyptians.

 

“I have established that the ONLY god specifically called a "GOLDEN CALF" by the ancient Egyptians in their writings is Pharaoh in the Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts (these texts exist into later New Kingdom times in reworked formats). In these texts Pharaoh calls himself a "Golden Calf," born of heaven, who wishes to be allowed to board the sacred solar bark or boat which carries the Sun god each day across the heavens. Pharaoh was called "Son of the Sun" and in New Kingdom times "the Sun," in letters from Canaanite princes addressed to Pharaoh Akhenaten (reigned ca. 1350-1334 BCE).

(Source: Bible Origins)

                                                                                                                                                     

So Israel wanted to go back to Egypt and back under the rule of Pharaoh who was to be worshipped as a “god”.

 

Did Joshua, in conquering the nations in Canaan, claim that Baal was the True God?

 

Judges 2:8-13  Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten.   And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.   After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals and forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshipped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

 

During the time of Joshua the people of Israel worshipped the true God, by in large.  But a generation after Joshua died they turned away from YHWH to the worship of Baal & Ashtoreth.  The "supreme beings" of Canaan were the Baals and Asherahs (http://home.comcast.net/~chris.s/canaanite-faq.html)

 

Did Elijah test the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel for a good laugh because Baal was really the True God?

 

1 Kings 18:21 Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing. 

 

The whole conflict was between the false god Baal and the true God, YHWH.  The modern Inclusivists would have never had this showdown.  It would have shown that Inclusivism is garbage. The "supreme beings" of Canaan were the Baals and Asherahs (http://home.comcast.net/~chris.s/canaanite-faq.html)

 

Did Jonah tell the people of Nineveh to repent to their god el, who was not Elohim but the consort of Athirat?

 

Jonah 1:1-2 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."

 

Jonah 3:1-5 Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you." Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city—a visit required three days. On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned." The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

 

Anytime you see the word “LORD” in capitals in English Bibles it is the word “YHWH”.  YHWH sent Jonah to Nineveh and when they heard that God was going to judge them they repented.  Jonah then got angry because they were Gentiles who worshipped false gods.

 

The origin of the name Nineveh is obscure. Possibly it meant originally the seat of Ishtar, since Nina was one of the Babylonian names of that goddess. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineveh) 

 

El & Athirat were the "supreme beings" of Ninevah (http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa102197.htm).  They were not worshipping the “El” Who is YHWH, but a generic singular El which means “god”.  They were continuing in the polytheistic worship of Babel which was the worship of a male and female supreme beings.

 

Did David tell the Philistines to continue to worship the god Dagon because he was the same as YHWH?

 

1 Samuel 5:7 When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god."

 

You will remember that the statue of Dagon fell twice in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant and the men of Ashdod admitted that their god was different than the God of Israel. The "supreme beings" of the Philistines were Dagon and Derceto (http://voices.yahoo.com/biblical-overview-history-philistines-1952417.html).  Inclusivists of today would say that since Dagon was a “supreme being” that he was the true God, and they would get Bible translation societies to include his name in the Ashdod Bible.

 

Did Daniel tell king Nebuchadnezzar to continue the worship of Marduk as the One True God?

 

Daniel 4:33-37 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes towards heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honoured and glorified him who lives for ever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No-one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honour and splendour were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

 

Nebuchadnezzar had to be taught a lesson by the LORD (YHWH) so that he would be humbled and recognize who the True God was.  He had built a 90 foot statue either of himself, Nimrod or Marduk since Marduk is a direct link to the worship of Nimrod. The "supreme beings" of Babylon were Marduk & Astarte (continued worship of Nimrod & Semiramis) (http://home.comcast.net/~chris.s/assyrbabyl-faq.html)

 

Did Ezra and Nehemiah ask the Persians if they could rebuild the Temple as a tribute to the Persian god Ahura Mazda?

 

Ezra 7:19 Deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles entrusted to you for worship in the temple of your God.

 

The king Artaxerxes ordered that the temple implements be returned so that they could eventually rebuild the temple of the “God of Jerusalem”.  This was not for the Persian gods but for the True God.  The gods of the Persians were Ahura Mazda & Spenta Armaiti (Source)

 

Did Paul use a clever missiological technique by telling the Greeks that God is Zeus, or the Romans that He is Jupiter or the Ephesians that He is embodied in Artemis?

 

Acts 14:11-18  When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

 

This situation is entirely consistent with Paul teaching over and over again that the Gentiles “do not know God”.  Paul was there to bring them the Gospel, not to syncretise their own god with the God of the Bible.  This is exactly what he did in Aereopogus also when he explained to them Who the “Unknown God” was, and most of them did not want to hear the truth.

 

Gal. 4:8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
1 Cor. 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Rom. 1:28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worth while to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
1 Thess. 4:5 ...not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God...
Ephesians 2:12-13 ...remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
2 Thess. 1:8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

 

The "supreme beings" of the Greeks were Zeus & Hera, though Zeus had a number of other consorts spawning a pantheon of gods (http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/zeusgirl.html). Jupiter and Juno were the "supreme beings" of Rome, again spawning a pantheon of other gods (http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/roman/). Artemis was a virgin goddess, never married, but was the daughter of Zeus & Leto (http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Artemis.html)

 

IN CONCLUSION

 

The obvious answer to the questions above, both from the Bible and historical records, is a resounding "No".

Joshua 23:7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them.
Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
Micah 4:5 All the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we (Israel) will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.
Zephaniah 2:11 The Lord will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the earth. Distant nations will bow down to him, all of them in their own lands.

There is only one Name (Jesus Christ) under heaven by which men may be saved.

 

Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.

 

And yet these new false teachers claim a person can be saved by "general revelation" of "God" without the revelation of Jesus Christ.

 

John 14:6 Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

This is abundantly clear in their messages and videos on this subject and now in the new book by Don Richardson called "Heaven Wins".  The WCGIP and EC heretics also cannot answer the many verses in the Bible that state that the Gentiles "did not know God". This type of teaching is the final step in the Apostasy and constitutes a grand delusion and a new radical Replacement Theology where the one True God of the Bible is replaced with "supreme beings" from all cultures and Israel is replaced by all the nations.  They have even helped the Bible translation societies to put the names of the false gods of the nations in the Bible.

 

You can read my article "Monotheism In Ancient Cultures Is Virtually Nonexistent" for more information on the false polytheistic gods of ancient times.  It is important to note that in virtually every culture from Babel on, the "supreme beings" were not a monotheistic god but a male/female pairing patterned on the worship of Nimrod and Semiramis of Babel.  Also note that every one of these "supreme beings" spawned a pantheon of other false gods to be worshipped.