The Unseen Realm Week 14

Introduction (5 minutes)

Overview and Objectives: Briefly introduce the key themes of Chapter 14, focusing on the concept of modern idolatry, the Baalim, and the implications for individuals and society. Explain that the study will involve discussing these themes under different headings and what insights or applications can be drawn for personal lives.

Part 1: The Identity of a God (10 minutes)

Reading: Quick read-through of the section describing what constitutes a god or idol.Discussion Question: What are some modern-day idols that people unknowingly worship today? How do these 'gods' influence our decisions and lifestyle?

Part 2: The Baalim (10 minutes)

Reading: Review the explanation of the Baalim and their significance in the ancient and modern context.Discussion Question: In what ways do you think our society serves the Baalim? Can you identify any personal experiences where you felt driven by such idols?

Part 3: Lords of America (10 minutes)

Reading: Consider the parallels drawn between ancient idolatry and modern American culture.Discussion Question: How do the Baals of money, success, and pleasure enslave individuals today? Discuss any personal observations or experiences that reflect this bondage.

Part 4: The High-Tech Idol (10 minutes)

Reading: Focus on the discussion about technology as a modern Baal.Discussion Question: In what ways has technology become a 'god' in our society? Are there positive and negative aspects to this development?

Part 5: The Breach of Reality (10 minutes)

Reading: Examine the text’s perspective on the virtual world blurring with reality.Discussion Question: How does the breach between image and reality affect our perception of truth and our interpersonal relationships?

Conclusion and Reflection (5 minutes)

Reflection: Invite participants to reflect on the discussion and how it might influence their personal views and behaviors.Closing Question: What steps can we take to guard against the modern Baalim in our daily lives?

Additional Tips:

Encourage participants to share their thoughts freely, ensuring a respectful and open environment.If time allows, you might want to conclude with a short activity where everyone writes down a personal action plan based on the discussion to tackle one 'Baal' they feel influenced by in their lives.Consider assigning different participants to lead each part of the discussion to involve everyone more actively.

Chapter 14

The Masters

WHEN THE PEOPLE of Israel turned from God, they turned not only to the gods, but to a specific kind of god:

They sacrificed to the Baals, and burned incense to carved images.

They turned to the Baalim. Who or what exactly were the Baalim? In order to answer that, we must first define what exactly the gods and idols were to the people of the ancient world—and what they are to us now.

The Identity of a God

With regard to the worshipper, a god or idol is that which one ultimately worships, serves, and lives for. It is that which one most focuses and dwells on, and from which one takes the greatest joy. It is that which one most reveres and is led, moved, and driven by. It is one’s ultimate reality and the purpose of one’s life.

So if one turns from God, there will always be another, a god or an idol.

The Baalim

The Hebrew word Baalim literally means the “Baals.” The Baalim was Baal in his plural form. He had appeared in a multitude of forms and variations and was embodied by a multitude of idols. So Baal was manifested through the Baals. The word Baalim can also be translated as “the lords,” “the owners,” and “the masters.” If one turns away from God, one will end up serving the Baalim, or one of the Baalim, a god or an idol that will end up becoming one’s master, one’s owner, and one’s lord.

Having turned from God, Israel became subject to the Baals, the new lords and masters. The Bible records that the Israelites served the Baalim. The Hebrew word translated as “served” also means “to labor under,” “to be kept in bondage to,” “to be enslaved by.” Their apostasy began with the promises of prosperity, fulfillment, and liberation. But it would end in bondage.

Lords of America

So too for America. The lure of the Baalim was the promise that turning away from God would bring freedom and fulfillment. But instead, it led to enslavement, to the bondage of the Baalim. And as in ancient times the Baalim appeared in a multitude of forms.

So Americans now served and were mastered by the Baals of money, pleasure, success, acceptance, sexual gratification, addictions, work, comfort, the internet, self-fulfillment, self-obsession, and countless other gods and idols—the Baals of the modern world.

Instead of freedom, Americans saw their culture becoming increasingly driven, restless, conflicted, obsessed, and addicted. And the further the nation moved from God, the more powerful the Baalim became. To America, devoid of God, the pursuit of money and success became an unbridled spirit that possessed millions. With Americans devoid of God, the pursuit of pleasure led to a multitude of addictions and self-destruction.

The Altars of Baal

The Israelites offered up sacrifices to the Baalim. So did the Americans. For the Baalim of money and success, they sacrificed much of their lives. For the Baalim of pleasure, they sacrificed their well-being, their health, their marriages, their families, and their children. The new, modern Baalim were more than ruthless masters—they were deadly.

Of Israel’s fall to idols, the prophet Isaiah wrote:

Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands.

That was the irony of idolatry. They worshipped as gods the very thing that they themselves had created, “the work of their own hands.” They had created their own Baals.

The Mars Hill Mystery

When the apostle Paul came to Athens, a city filled with gods, altars, and idols, his spirit was, as recorded in the Book of Acts,

…provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.

When he later stood on Mars Hill before the city’s leaders, he addressed the worship of idols:

Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.

He was using the same argument presented by the prophets. They were worshipping that which they themselves had devised, what their own hands had made.

In speaking of the creation of idols, the apostle used the Greek word techne. From that same word, linked to the idols of man, we get the modern word technology. In other words, technology comes from a word used in Scripture in connection with idols.

The High-Tech Idol

America was largely responsible for ushering in the age of high technology and for creating the modern computer. The computer represented the most sophisticated and advanced work of man’s hands, the most advanced form of man’s techne. And in the age of apostasy, it has become among the most powerful of man’s idols and the most complex of the Baalim.

Under the spirit of Baal, the Israelites worshipped and served the works of their hands. Under the spirit of Baal, America did likewise. The ancient idols were deaf, blind, and mute, unable to move or act. But the high-tech idols of the modern world were more powerful; they could see, hear, and speak, and do almost anything. And each generation became more attached to them, more plugged in, and more addicted to them than the generation before. And each found it harder to break free of their spell.

The Breach of Reality

In the pagan world it was not only the god who was worshipped but the idol, the image of the god. The idol and the god were one. Image became reality; reality became image. So in the paganization of America and modern culture, the line between image and reality was likewise breached. Image became reality, and reality became image. More and more people were living more and more of their lives in a virtual world, a world of fabricated virtual reality.

The virtual became increasingly real, and the real became increasingly virtual, just as truth became increasingly virtual. American and modern culture was now saturated with a flood of images and sounds that signified nothing—a hymn to the idol.

They Will Become Like Them

The Book of Psalms reveals a profound truth concerning the dynamic between the worshipper and the idol:

Their idols…have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see.…Those who make them are like them.

In other words, the one who makes, serves, or worships an idol will end up being transformed into its image. So the new technological idols, the digital Baals, would begin altering the nature of man. Computers began taking on human functions, abilities, and similitudes. Artificial intelligence was increasingly rivaling human intelligence and taking over its functions. At the same time, man, increasingly joined to his computer, began taking on the qualities of his digital master. The more one was joined to a computer, the more one began functioning as its appendage. So computers became more human, and those joined to them became less and less so. As the ancient warning of Scripture had foretold, those who made them had now become “like them.”

The Machine Man

The line between man and machine was blurring. There was more and more talk and experimentation involving merging man and technology, whether through digital implants or other technological enhancements of human abilities. The line became even more blurred as people began having sexual and romantic relationships with robots.

But even this was part of the ancient mystery of paganism and the gods. In paganism man creates gods and worships the works of his hands; the creator worships his creation. The line between creator and creation is blurred and breached. So if technology is the creation of man, then the pagan blurring and merging of God and man will be manifested in the blurring and merging of man and his technology, creator and creation, man and machine—a hybrid of both.

American and Western civilization had now created the most powerful of idols. And the present generation, more than any other, now served its own creation, its new master, the techne of its own hands. It was the day of the new masters—the age of the technological Baalim.

An object appeared in the streets of New York City. It was shrouded in mystery, covered in a sheet. Most of the city’s inhabitants had no idea what it was. The city would unveil it.

The object was linked to an ancient god, and to the dark trinity.

Chapter 14 Study Guide: "The Masters"

Fill-in-the-Blank Questions

1. The Hebrew word "Baalim" literally means the "______."

2. According to the text, if one turns from God, they will end up serving _______, which can become one's master, owner, and lord.

3. In America, the allure of the Baalim promised freedom and fulfillment, but instead led to _______, or the bondage of the Baalim.

4. The new, modern Baalim were described as more than ruthless masters—they were _______.

5. The apostle Paul's visit to Athens was notably provoked by the city being given over to _______.

6. Paul argued that the Divine Nature should not be equated with things made of _______, _______, or stone.

7. Technology comes from a Greek word linked to idols, which is the word "______."

8. In modern times, idols could _______, _______, and _______, which are actions beyond the abilities of ancient idols.

9. The text claims that living in a virtual world where image becomes reality is comparable to the breach between _______ and _______.

10. The phrase "They will become like them" suggests that humans who worship idols will end up being transformed into their _______.

Multiple Choice Questions

11. What does the text suggest is the ultimate reality for someone who has turned from God?

• A) Baal

• B) Money

• C) An idol

• D) All of the above

12. What did the Israelites sacrifice to the Baalim?

• A) Money

• B) Health

• C) Prosperity

• D) Well-being

13. What does the Greek word "techne" imply in the context of the chapter?

• A) Art

• B) Technology

• C) Craftsmanship

• D) Idolatry

14. How has the role of high-tech idols changed according to the chapter?

• A) They have become less significant.

• B) They can perform many human functions.

• C) They are only used for entertainment.

• D) They are less advanced than ancient idols.

15. What is suggested about the future interaction between humans and technology?

• A) There will be less interaction.

• B) Humans will serve technology.

• C) Technology will be abandoned.

• D) It will focus only on communication.

These questions should help guide your understanding of Chapter 14, "The Masters," by highlighting key themes about idolatry, the transformation of values, and the impacts of technology in modern life.