Mark,


In the bible, idols are referred to as “gods.” Isaiah 44 is a good example of this. Isaiah 44:8 reads:


Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” (KJV)


That was the verse I spoke of with you earlier. Steven W. Gibson (Entrepreneur-in-Residence at BYU-Hawaii) said of this verse: “Isaiah 44:8 is not a statement delineating how many Gods exist in the eternities, but a statement telling Israel there is no other God over them--no pagan or graven god has his power, and that only Jehovah can save them.” The problem with this explanation should be obvious (in my humble opinion), and that is that God says in the verse, “Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” If God, who is omniscient, “know(s) not any,” than there can be none. 


Throughout the Old Testament we are told, over and over, that there is one, and only one God. Other “gods” are referred to, but in every case they are man-made gods which, in reality, are not gods at all. Rather they are idols substituted for the one and only God.


Isaiah 43:10 makes it clear that there was no god formed before Yahweh (Jehovah) and that there would be none formed after Him:


“Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” (KJV)

This is either true or it isn’t. If it is true then the Mormon doctrine that there are many worlds and many gods cannot also be true. Neither would the doctrine that men can become gods be true.


Isaiah 45: 21-22 tells us again that there is but one God and Savior:


 21Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

 22Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.


God keeps repeating Himself. He wants to make it clear - He is the one and only God. There never was another and there will never be another. All other “gods” are not gods at all, but merely inventions of man. They are a vain attempt, through which man deceives himself, in which man attempts to meet his own need for God without actually having to deal with the True God.


You are a wonderful friend, Mark, and I cherish that friendship. I am grateful that you are willing to discuss these things with me. May it ever be so.


Phil 

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