DECIPHERING THE ALL SEASONS VERSE OF THE ANTI-CATHOLIC AGAINST IMAGES (EXODUS 20:4)

By: Paquito Cardo

Let us decipher the all seasons verse of the ANTI-CATHOLIC against images (Exodus 20:4). From cover
to cover of the Bible, we cannot find even a single deity which is in a human form worshipped as a god.
However, ANTI-CATHOLIC was kept on attacking us saying that Exodus 20:4 was violated by the
Catholics. Now, let us examine and decipher this verse.

EXODUS 20:4
"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.

1. HEAVEN ABOVE

a. DEUTERONOMY 4:19
19 When you look at the HEAVENS AND YOU SEE THE SUN, THE MOON, THE STARS, AND ALL THE
HEAVENLY BODIES, do not prostrate yourselves to ADORE AND SERVE THEM as gods.

- ASHTORETH, a goddess of war and fertility Jdg 2:12-13 Ashtoreth, the consort of Baal, was associated
with the evening star and was worshipped as Ishtar in Babylon and as Athtart in Aram. To the Greeks,
she was Astarte or Aphrodite and to the Romans, Venus. See also Jdg 10:6; 1Sa 7:3-4; 1Sa 12:10; 1Sa
31:10; 1Ki 11:5,33

- BEL, the chief deity of Babylon Isa 46:1 Bel was another name for the sun god, Marduk. Nebo, the god
of learning and writing was the son of Marduk. See also Jer 50:2; Jer 51:44

b. DEUTERONOMY 17:3
and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the SUN OR THE MOON OR ANY OF THE
HEAVENLY HOST, which I have not commanded

2. EARTH BENEATH

a. DEUTERONOMY 4:17-18
17 or in the form of ANY ANIMAL THAT LIVES ON THE EARTH, or of ANY KIND OF BIRD THAT FLIES IN THE
SKY, 18 or of ANY REPTILE THAT CRAWLS ON THE EARTH

- BAAL, a Canaanite and Phoenician god of fertility and rain Jdg 2:10-13 Baal, meaning lord, was
pictured standing on a bull, a popular symbol of fertility and strength. Baal was associated with Asherah
and Ashtoreth, goddesses of fertility.

b. EXODUS 32:4
He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a MOLTEN CALF; and
they said, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt."

In these verses, there is an evident allusion to the idolatrous worship in Egypt. Among the Egyptians,
almost everything in nature was the object of their idolatry; among BEASTS were oxen heifers, sheep,
goats, lions, dogs, monkeys, and cats; among BIRDS, the ibis, crane, and hawk; among REPTILES, the
crocodile, serpents, frogs, flies, and beetles; all the FISH of the Nile, and the Nile itself; besides the sun,
moon, planets, stars, fire, light, air, darkness, and night.

3. IN THE WATER UNDER THE EARTH

a. DEUTERONOMY 4:18
or of ANY FISH that lives in THE WATER UNDER THE EARTH.

- POSEIDON as the god of the sea was an important Olympian power; he was the chief patron of Corinth,
many cities of Magna Graecia, and also of Plato's legendary Atlantis. He controls the oceans and the
seas.

"POSEIDON." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2015): 1. Academic Search Complete. Web.
22 Oct. 2015.

- CASTOR AND POLLUX See also Ac 28:11 the two sons of Zeus, regarded as the guardian deities of
sailors. Invoked by sailors against shipwreck

Deuteronomy 4:16-19
16 Therefore, do not become corrupted: do not make an idol or a god carved in the form of a man or of
a woman,
17 or in the form of any animal that lives on the earth, or of any kind of bird that flies in the sky,
18 or of any reptile that crawls on the earth, or of any fish that lives in the water under the earth.
19 When you look at the heavens and you see the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the heavenly bodies,
do not prostrate yourselves to adore and serve them as gods.