Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals Friday August 22 2025: The Origin Of The “God” Odin

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Psalm 96:4-5-For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. 5  For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.

Again:

Psalm 96:4-5 (LXX)-For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is terrible above all gods. 5  For all the gods of the heathen are demons: but the Lord made the heavens.

Many people I have been blessed to work with over the years worship a god known as Odin, who is said to be the chief god of the Norse pantheon. What many do not realize is that Odin is, indeed, a real “god,” but not “the” true eternal God.

What’s more, the Bible teaches this!

Let’s study.

The Hebrew text of Psalm 96:5 reads “the gods of the peoples are idols,” while the Greek text of the same passage reads “the gods of the heathen are demons.” The reason the translators of the LXX used “demons” instead of “idols” is due to the fact that idols and gods/demons were understood in the times of the Psalms to be closely related. Idols were seen as the dwelling place of gods/demons. Heiser goes into detail of the word demon (daimonion) as used in the Greek Old Testament (LXX) in this (and other) passages:

“The following instances of daimonion are instructive in this regard. The ʾelōhı̂m/ šēdı̂m allotted to the nations are daimoniois (“ demons”) in Deuteronomy 32: 17. The LXX translator made the same translation choice in the only other Old Testament passage where we find šēdı̂m (Ps 106: 37; LXX Ps 105: 37). LXX Psalm 95: 5 (Heb. 96: 5) reads, “For all the gods (theoi; Heb. ʾelōhı̂m) of the nations are demons (daimonia), but the Lord made the heavens” (LES). Here the LXX chose to translate Hebrew ʾelōhı̂m literally, but the ensuing term is not šēdı̂m but ʾĕlı̂lı̂m (“ idols”). The Hebrew Bible here draws a close association between the spirit beings and the objects of worship they were believed to inhabit. In ancient Near Eastern thought, the two were not the same, though closely associated. Construing this as meaning that the biblical writers thought the gods of the nations were merely handmade objects does not reflect the reality of ancient beliefs about idols. Michael Dick, whose research focuses on idolatry in the ancient Near East, cites ancient texts that reveal the idol maker using deity language for the idol that he made with his own hands while still maintaining a conceptual distinction between the image he made and the deity it represented. The deity would come to reside in the statue, but it was distinct from the statue. Dick notes one occasion where “the destruction of the statue of Shamash of Sippar was not regarded as the death of Shamash. Indeed, Shamash could still be worshiped.” 31 Gay Robins, another scholar of ancient cult objects and idolatry, explains the conceptual distinction between deity and image maintained in the ancient Near Eastern worldview: When a non-physical being manifested in a statue, this anchored the being in a controlled location where living human beings could interact with it through ritual performance.… In order for human beings to interact with deities and to persuade them to create, renew, and maintain the universe, these beings had to be brought down to earth.… This interaction had to be strictly controlled in order to avoid both the potential dangers of unrestricted divine power and the pollution of the divine by the impurity of the human world. While the ability of deities to act in the visible, human realm was brought about through their manifestation in a physical body, manifestation in one body did not in any sense restrict a deity, for the non-corporeal essence of a deity was unlimited by time and space, and could manifest in all its “bodies,” in all locations, all at one time. 32 The point is that, for ancient people—including Israelites—gods and their idols were closely related but not identical. This is important because Paul cites Deuteronomy 32: 17 in 1 Corinthians 10: 21–22 to warn the Corinthians about fellowshipping with demons. Paul obviously believed daimonia were real. Paul would not be contradicting the supernatural worldview of his Bible.” (Michael S. Heiser, Demons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness, 49-51 (Kindle Edition): Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press)

The Bible often connects “gods” with “demons” and “idols.”

For example:

Deuteronomy 32:17-They sacrificed to demons, not to God, To gods they did not know, To new gods, new arrivals That your fathers did not fear.

Psalm 106:37-38-They even sacrificed their sons And their daughters to demons, 38  And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with blood.

1 Corinthians 10:19-21-What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20  Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21  You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.

What is interesting for our present study is how the Bible identifies the “gods” and “idols” of the Gentiles with ‘demons,’ a word that was used to refer to the spirits of the dead (often to the spirits of the dead Nephilim). With this in mind, consider how Ken Johnson documents the true origin of the “god” Odin (also spelled Oden):

“Six ancient manuscripts still preserve the linage of the Scandinavian people of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and the Anglo-Saxons….These six histories show a combined list of twenty generations from Noah to Odin. Scholars have long noted that the Scandinavians refer to Japheth, Noah’s son, as Sceaf….The twentieth generation is Oden or Woden. Oden was the principle ancestor worshiped as a god by the pagan Scandinavians.”. (Ken Johnson, Th.D., Ancient Post-Flood History: Historical Documents That Point To Biblical Creation, 2378-2435 (Kindle Edition); Xulon Press)

Odin was a real man-a descendant of Noah-who was later deified and worshiped as a god.

In other words: the gods of the pagans are demons, just like the Scriptures affirm.

Later, in explaining the research and usage of the church fathers knowledge with these matters, Johnson informs us:

“In order to spread the gospel, the early church fathers (Lactantius and several others) started researching history books that were already very ancient in their time. These included the history books of Herodotus, Strabo, Sanchoniathon, Ennius and others. The church fathers discovered the “gods” were simply deified men. The fathers identified where the “gods” actually ruled, died, and where they were buried.” (Ken Johnson, Th.D., Ancient Post-Flood History: Historical Documents That Point To Biblical Creation, 2846-2995 (Kindle Edition); Xulon Press)

Consider some quotations from the church fathers in this regard (all copied from David Bercot, A Dictionary Of Early Christian Belief: A Reference Guide To More Than 700 Topics Discussed By The Early Church Fathers, 795-802 (Kindle Edition): Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers).

“I will further write and show, as far as my ability goes, how and for what causes images were made to kings and tyrants, and how they came to be regarded as gods. The people of Argos made images to Hercules, because he belonged to their city. Furthermore, he was strong, and by his valor, he slew noxious beasts. Besides that, they were afraid of him. For he was subject to no control, and he carried off the wives of many. His lust was great, like that of Zuradi the Persian, his friend. Again, the people of Acte worshipped Dionysius, a king, because he had recently planted the vine in their country. The Egyptians worshipped Joseph the Hebrew, who was called Serapis, because he supplied them with corn during the years of famine. (Melito (c. 170, E), 8.752)

“I maintain, then, that it was Orpheus, Homer, and Hesiod who gave both genealogies and names to those whom they call gods. Such, too, is the testimony of Herodotus. “My opinion,” he says, “is that Hesiod and Homer preceded me by four hundred years, and no more. And it was they who framed a theogony for the Greeks, and gave the gods their names. It was they who assigned them their various honors and functions, and described their forms.” (Athenagoras (c. 175, E), 2.136.)

“The gods, as they affirm, were not from the beginning. Rather, every one of them has come into existence just like ourselves.” (Athenagoras (c. 175, E), 2.137.)

“Not one of your gods is earlier than Saturn. From him, you trace all your deities, even those of higher rank and greater fame. . . . Yet, none of the writers about sacred antiquities have ventured to say that Saturn was anything but a man.” (Tertullian (c. 197, W), 3.26)

“As you cannot deny that these deities of yours once were men, you have taken it on yourselves to assert that they were made gods after their deaths.” (Tertullian (c. 197, W), 3.27)

“As we have already shown, every god depended on the decision of the senate for his deity.” (Tertullian (c. 197, W), 3.29)

“That those are no gods whom the common people worship, is known from this: They were formerly kings. On account of their royal memory, they subsequently began to be adored by their people even in death. Later, temples were founded to them. Next, images were sculptured to retain the faces of the deceased by such likenesses. Later, men sacrificed victims and celebrated festal days to give them honor. Finally, those rites became sacred to posterity—although at first they had been adopted as a consolation.” (Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.465.)

“Since it is evident from these things that they were men, it is not difficult to see how they began to be called gods. For apparently there were no kings before Saturn or Uranus. Rather, men existed in small numbers, and they lived a rural life without any ruler. Undoubtedly, then, in those days, men began to exalt the king himself and his whole family with the highest praises and with new honors—so that they even called them gods.” (Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.26.)

“Different people privately honored the founders of their nation or city with the highest veneration—whether they were men distinguished for bravery, or women admirable for chastity. So the Egyptians honored Isis; the Moors, Juba; . . . the Romans, Quirinus. In the same exact manner, Athens worshipped Minerva; Samos, Juno; Paphos, Venus; . . . and Delos, Apollo. And thus various sacred rites were undertaken among different peoples and countries. For men desire to show gratitude to their rulers. . . . Moreover, the piety of their successors contributed largely to this error. For, in order that they might appear to be born from a divine origin, men paid divine honors to their parents.” (Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.27.)

“[Others, however,] not only admit that gods have been made from men, but even boast of it as a subject of praise. [Such humans have been deified] either because of their valor (as in the case of Hercules), or because of their gifts (as Ceres and Liber), or because of the arts that they discovered (as Aesculapius or Minerva). But how foolish these things are! How unworthy of being the causes of why men should contaminate themselves with inexpiable guilt, and become enemies of God. For it is in contempt of Him that they make offerings to the dead.” (Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.30)

“We can show that all those whom you represent to us as gods, and whom you call gods, were actually men. We can do this by quoting either Euhererus of Acragas . . . or Nicanor the Cyprian.” (Arnobius (c. 305, E), 6.486)

What do we take from all of this?

First, the Bible is correct! The gods of the pagans are demons, and the testimony of the pagans themselves document this.

Second, demons are real, and they are masquerading as “gods.” This is taught not only throughout the Old Testament, but also the New Testament.

Third, we can use the same approach in reaching out to our pagan friends that the early Christians did.

“What we should take from this history is that, as Christians, we need to find the truth behind the myths and legends of false religions and cults. The church fathers dug up all this history from books already ancient in their time. They wanted to show from the sacred texts of the Greeks and Romans that their gods are simply deified men. Why worship what you know are not gods but just dead men? This information helped Christians take over the pagan Roman Empire. We can use the same method today. If we expose the real history behind the false religions and cults from their own “sacred” texts, we will have a stronger chance to convert unbelievers.” (Ken Johnson, Th.D., Ancient Post-Flood History: Historical Documents That Point To Biblical Creation, 2846-2995 (Kindle Edition); Xulon Press)

Odin may be a “god,” but He is not the true and eternal God. Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings. All glory, honor, and praise belong to Him, and to Him alone!

Lord, we praise You and exalt You. Help us to reach out to our friends who do not know You. Open their eyes and free them with Your Good News. Amen.