Why do Europe’s ancient religions look like idolatry if God sent prophets to all nations?

Because the same thing happened everywhere. Prophets were first rejected and later raised to the status of gods by their own followers, so what looks like idolatry today may originally go back to the teaching of a true prophet.

It is true that the ancient religions of Europe before Christianity look more like idolatry than prophethood. But that is true of almost every religion in the world. Clearly recognisable prophets are found above all in the Holy Qur’an and in the line of Judaism. Everywhere else we see a different picture. Over time, messengers of God were turned into gods.

With Jesus (as) we can observe this closely. He never claimed to be the Son of God. Yet his followers raised him higher and higher until he was worshipped as God. It is similar with Krishna (as), who was a historical figure in India and is regarded as a god today. Wherever we can examine history, we reach the same result. For ancient Europe we lack the original scriptures, so we only see the later picture.

The reason lies in human nature. At first a people rejects its prophet. They tell him he is less than a man, so how could he be God’s messenger? Later, once they believe in him, the pendulum swings the other way. Now they say he was more than a man.

Both attitudes lead to the same result. Man does not want to submit to God’s guidance through another human being. First the prophet is too lowly to follow. Later he is held to be so exalted that any new prophet who is only a man can be rejected. Then everything begins again.

So the picture of Europe’s ancient religions does not contradict the verses above. It only shows how people, over time, change what was originally brought to them.