1 CORINTHIANS 10:20 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.”
No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to become partners with demons. — The inversion: idol sacrifice, though addressed to a fake god, is truly offered to daimonia (demons). The principalities behind idolatry are real; what is false is the god-label. Participation in idol meals creates koinōnia (partnership) with demons. This reframes the issue: not whether idols exist but whether one allies with demonic forces.
Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 10:20
“For that which the Gentiles sacrifice,” says he, “they sacrifice to demons, and not to God.” Do not then run to the contrary things. For neither if you were a king's son, and having the privilege of your father's table, should leave it and choose to partake of the table of the condemned and the prisoners in the dungeon, would your father permit it, but with great vehemence he would withdraw you; not as though the table could harm you, but because it disgraces your nobility…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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