How many gods are there in the world? This a very reasonable question considering how many religions and beliefs there are in the world, all of them purporting to be good for mankind in some way.
The total counts of gods in the world is innumerable based on the fact that men can literally make gods out of anything. Their favourite singer, sports person or intellect, and whatever else a person may decide is worthy of worship.
We find scripture that tells us that our God the god of Israel tells us that there are other gods and that he has allowed it.
First we see this in the 10 commandments:
Exodus 20:3
3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
So God begins with telling us that he should be the only god we have.
Deuteronomy 32:8-10
8 When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
9 For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
Here we see that God divided all the nations of the earth, giving them their own inheritance, but he made Israel his portion. This tells us that the God of Israel gave other nations their own Gods to worship, but he created Israel specifically to have him as their God.
This point is further proved in the book of Jubilees
Jubilees 15:31-32
31 And He sanctified it, and gathered it from amongst all the children of men; for there are many nations and many peoples, and all are His, and over all hath He placed spirits in authority to lead them astray from Him.
32 But over Israel He did not appoint any angel or spirit, for He alone is their ruler, and He will preserve them and require them at the hand of His angels and His spirits, and at the hand of all His powers in order that He may preserve them and bless them, and that they may be His and He may be theirs from henceforth for ever.
Nothing can be clearer than you see it here in the book of Jubilees, that the God of Israel appointed spirits to them away from him. If you’re an informed believer you can see clearly why the book of Jubilees is not considered canon within Christianity, because it clearly speaks against Gentiles, of which we no the Romans are.
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I say this because the church that is the spearhead for all churches we see today is the Roman Catholic Church, all the other denominations are a spin off from this.
Is there only one God in the world?
As you have read, we know that there is more than one God in the world, more specifically these gods have spirits behind them. We can see the the modern definition of God here:
God Definition:
"(in certain other religions) a superhuman being or spirit worshipped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity."
This definition speaks to the actual spirits that we now know God assigned to the nations outside of Israel to lead them astray. Because we see that God assigned different spirits to the nations outside of Israel that he created.
If we look at the definition of God from the Hebrew we see that the word being translated is Elohim, which means rulers, judges, divine ones, angels. This is meaning clearly shows that the term god doesn’t denote a single god, but that a god is also considered a a spirit or someone in authority.
Does the Bible say there are many gods?
The God of Israel has shown us that he assigned spirits to the other nations that he created to lead them astray, as mentioned above (Jubilees 15:31-32) and he made himself the God of the nation of Israel.
We see scripture that clearly tells us that the gods of the other nations outside of Israel are idols and the God of Israel tells us quite clearly that he is to be feared above all other gods:
Psalm 96:4-5
4 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 nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.
It is also interesting to see that the God of Israel is called the Lord, which is actually the word Yahuwah, which means “He is”.
Which God is the only true god?
The God of Israel clearly tells us that he is the supreme god, and there is no other besides him.
Isaiah 45:5
5 I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
So from this again the word “Lord” is a cover for Yahuwah, which is the name of the God of Israel the Father. He is telling Israel through the prophet that he is the only God that matters. This also amounts to him being the only true God.
God tells us to have no other God before me:
Exodus 20:3
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
This again is Yahuwah telling us to have him at the forefront of our worship and not second to any other God.
Is there more than one God in the Bible?
When we read the bible we see the God of Israel making us aware of the other gods in the bible. The sole purpose is to let Israel know that they were not to worship them, establishing himself as the supreme God.
On numerous occasions God names other gods that Israel were sinfully worshiping, because they were taking him for granted.
Ezekiel 8:12-14
12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, the Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth.
13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.
14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
Here we see the god Tammuz mentioned by name, research tells us that this was a Mesopotamian fertility Goddess.
We also see the god Baal being mentioned:
Jeremiah 23:13
13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
Here we see false prophets being called out who were prophesying using the power of the god baal. Get mpre information about Baal here: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Baal-ancient-deity
This is another god of antiquity, commonly worshiped by the Canaanites.
Finally we see scriptures telling us that all the gods of the nations are idols, which is all in keeping with Jubilees 15:31-32.
Psalm 96:4-5
4 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 nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.
The scripture also states the authority of Yahuwah the God of Israel, telling us that he should be worshipped above all other gods. Reading this we see God vs gods in the bible and we are told constantly that Yahuwah is above all of them.
God acknowledges other gods to tell us to acknowledge him (Psalm 96:4-5), this is the only reason that God mentions other gods, to make it known he knows that Israel were surviving other gods in secret and that he is very aware of it (Ezekiel 8:12-14)
Conclusion
So when we read the bible and find scriptures relating to gods, it is clear that there are gods. Their names can be seen in the religions of the world such as Buddhism (Buddha), Islam (Allah), Christianity (Jesus Christ), Judaism (Ha Shem). Sikhism (Waheguru).
And there are many more gods. The scriptures reveal to us that these gods have a spirit or angel behind them (Jubilees 15:31-32), which has been appointed to all the nations outside of Israel. If you were once a part of any of these religions we now have the revelation of the son of God who created the world, so if you accept the truth about the God of Israel you can repent and serve him.