Workers For Jesus Online Bible Study Table of Contents

False Gods

The Lord God is the only true god. False gods are other things that people worship. In the Bible, God warns us not to worship false gods.

But our Lord God is true. He lived in ancient times, and He lives now. He made the earth, the sun, and the moon. He makes the plants grow, and He makes the seasons change every year.  

Our God loves us, and He sent His son Jesus Christ to pay for our sins. After we die, we will live in Heaven with God.

We spell our true God's name with a capital G. We spell false gods' names with a small g.

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False gods in ancient times

In ancient times (a long, long time ago), people did not understand nature and science. They did not understand about the sun, moon, rain, storms, plants, and the seasons.  They thought that gods made the sun come up. They thought that gods made the plants grow. They thought gods made the summer go away and the winter come. Then they invented names for the gods and made idols, statues, or dolls for the gods. They worshiped the idols and took gifts to the idols. But these gods did not live. They were false. They were only stories and dolls.

Here are some of the false gods that ancient people worshiped.   

(From the web site:  http://www.geocities.com/dmathew1/gc6chart.htm


Aztecs-the Aztecs lived in the land we now call Mexico. 

Xipe Totec - god of spring and new life growing 
Huitzilopochtli - leader, god of war 
Tonatiuh - sun god
Tlaloc - god of rain, Aztec people sacrificed their children to him. 
Chalchiuhtlicue - goddess of water from springs and the sea
Quetzalcoatl - the snake god
Tezcatlipoca--god of night

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Babylonians and Sumerians--the Babylonians and Sumerians lived in the land that we now call Iraq.

This picture shows many of the gods of the Babylonians and the Sumerians.

The crescent moon--Sin
The eight-pointed star--Ishtar
The shiny four-pointed sun--Shamash. 
The two alters with horned crowns--An and Enlil, 
The fish/goat --Enki 
The umbilical cord and knife--Ninhursag.

The lion with wings and the pole with panther heads--Nergal, god of the underworld 
The vulture and carved weapons--Zabada, the god of hand-to-hand fighting; 
The grubs and curved weapon--Ninurta

The dragon--Marduk, the leader god
The triangular tool--Nabu, a son of Marduk and patron of writers 
The tablet on the sitar--Sod, god of wisdom  
The third god is Cula who is guarded by the sacred dog; she was the goddess of healing

The bull and altar with the forked lightning--Adad 
The lamp--Nusku 
The plow--Ningirsu 
The bird perched on a post--Sbuqamuma  
The other bird--Shimaliya

The altar with a sheaf--Nisaba, goddess of corn  
The scorpion--Ishtara 
The snake with horns --Ningizida, god of architects and engineers

From:   http://www.crosscircle.com/sumerian_and_babylonian_gods.htm

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Canaanites--the Canaanites lived in the land that we now call Israel.


El-- father of gods, mankind.
Athirat--El's consort
Kothar - and - Khasis--craftsman
Shachar & Shalim--twins
Shamu--sky god
Baal-- god of fertility, 'rider of the clouds', and god of lightning and thunder
Anath-- consort of Baal, also known as Astarte, Asherah, Athtart, Anat, and Ashtoreth;  lesser god of war and the hunt
Baalat-- fertility goddess
Tanit-- lady of Carthage
Shapshu-- sun goddess
Yarikh-- moon god
Kotharat-- conception and childbirth
Athtar-- possibly a god of the desert or of artificial irrigation
Sheger-- god of cattle
Ithm-- god of sheep
Hirgab-- father of eagles
Elsh-- steward
Sha'taqat-- a healing demoness
Nikkal and Ib-- goddess of fruit
Khirkhib-- king of summer and raiding season
Dagon of Tuttul-- god of wheat, inventor of the plow
Baal - Shamen-- lord of the Assembly of the gods at Gubla
Milqart-- god of the Metropolis and of the monarchy at Tyre and Carthage
Eshmun-- god of healing
Yam-- sea and rivers
Arsh-- monstrous attendant of Yam
Atik-- calf of El, enemy of Baal
Ishat-- enemy of Baal
Zabib-- an enemy of Baal
Mot-- sterility, death, and the underworld
Horon-- chthonic deity
Resheph-- pestilence
Aklm-- like grasshoppers
Rephaim-- deities of the underworld
Molech--parents sacrificed children to Molech

From:  http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa102197a.htm

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Egyptians--the Egyptians lived in the land of Egypt

From:    http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/gods_gallery.shtml

 

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Hittites--the Hittites lived in the land we now call Turkey

From    http://www.medeaschariot.com/mytholog/hittite.htm

Hedammu--a snake
Illyankas--a dragon
Inaras--a goddess 
Sea/Waters
Hurrian Kashku--moon goddess, the Hittites sacrificed sheep to her.
Upelluri--god who carries the world on his shoulders. 
Hannahannas--goddess, uses the symbol of the bee. 
Mikisarus
Imbaluris--messenger god 
Kumarbis--father of all the other Hittite gods
Anu--most powerful Hittite god 
Alalu--king of heaven, first of gods. 
Storm/Weather god--his symbol is the bull
Seris--a bull 
Aranzahas--a river god
Tella-a bull 
Tasmisus--a child of the god Anu
Suwaliyattas--a god of war
Hebat--a lion, wife of the storm god 
Wurusemu--sun goddess of Arrina, a goddess of battle.
Sharruma--a calf. Symbolized by a pair of human legs, a human head on a bull's body. 
Takitis--in charge of the gods' meetings 
Mezzullas--Daughter of the storm god and sun goddess. 
Zintuhs--the granddaughter of the the Storm god and Sun goddess.
Telepinu--a god of farming.
Vikummi--a weapon against the storm god.
Sun-god of Heaven--the god of justice, sometimes the king of gods. 
Tarpatassis--protects from sickness and grants a long and healthy life. 
Alauwaimis--drives away evil sickness.

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Romans and Greeks--the Romans lived in parts of the areas we now call Europe, Asia, and North Africa.
The Greeks lived in the country of Greece.