Ancient gods, Polytheism, & Demons
I’ve been reading a lot of Old Testament lately, and there’s some crazy stuff that happens in there. One of the most memorable occurrences that I’ve come across has led me to think that ancient pagan gods might have actually been demons. Here’s why.
Pagan god unleashes “great wrath” on Israelites in 2 Kings 3
The first few chapters of 2 Kings tells the story of the prophet Elisha highlighting many of the supernatural things God did through him. Chapter 3 describes one of these supernatural occurrences: a battle Israel fought against Moab.
In this chapter, Moab’s King Mesha fails to pay taxes to Israel, so Israel and Judah decide to join forces and go to war with Moab. Before attacking, they agree to ask Elisha what God thinks of their plan. Elisha prophesies that God would deliver Moab into their hands, so they decide to attack.
The battle starts off going really well for the Israelites: they capture Moab’s cities, cut down their trees, and block their water supplies (just Elisha had predicted). Then… just as Israel starts closing in on the enemy’s king, and it seems like Israel’s victory is inevitable, something crazy happens:
Then he [Moab’s King] took his oldest son who was to reign in his place and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel. And they withdrew from him and returned to their own land. —2 Kings 3:27 (ESV)
As a last-ditch effort, Moab’s king performs a ritual and sacrifices his own son to his pagan god. The very next thing that the Bible tells us is that a “great wrath” (or “fury” in some translations) came upon Israel that was so strong that it caused the Israelites to turn around and run away even though their enemy was in the palm of their hands.
Isn’t that crazy??
If the Bible is true, then the only way I can explain this is by assuming that Moab’s pagan god must have been a REAL SPIRIT with REAL POWER.
Were ancient gods actually demons?
According to this passage, it seems very likely that Moab’s god was actually some sort of demon.
And if Moab‘s god was actually a demon, then it’s very likely that other gods of ancient cultures we are also demons.
Roman gods, Greek gods, Norse gods, Aztec gods: Were they made up by humans? Or were they actually spiritual beings?
I imagine it’d be really easy for a demon to convince a group of people that he was their god. Do any modern religions worship gods that are actually demons?
I think that’d be very possible.
More evidence for the reality of other “gods”
The Old Testament makes it clear that every nation pretty much had their own god. The reason why God commanded the Israelites not to have “any other god before him” is because their neighboring countries DID have other gods.
Egypt had sorcerers who the Bible admits were capable of replicating many of the signs and plagues that God brought about. Were these illusions, or legit spiritual activity?
In the Old Testament, God forbids sorcery, necromancy (communication with the spirits of the dead), child sacrifice, and divination. The fact that God outlawed these things means that people must have been practicing them.
Conclusion
Discovering this passage give me a new respect for the spiritual realm. There are real demons out there with real power. I’ve always thought that polytheism (belief in many gods) was an incorrect, made-up, worldview, but if other “gods” are actually demons, then there might be more truth behind polytheism than I thought.