Tuesday: Babylon – The Center of Sun Worship
Sun worship was prominent in Egypt, Assyria, Persia, and certainly Babylon. In his book The Worship of Nature, James G. Frazer makes this observation, “In ancient Babylonia the sun was worshipped from immemorial antiquity.” — (London: Macmillan and Co., 1926), vol. 1, p. 529. It may seem surprising, but at times Babylonian sun worship influenced the worship of God’s people in the Old Testament.
Read Ezekiel 8:16 and 2 Kings 23:5, 2 Kings 23:11. What did the prophets write about the influence of sun worship in Israel and Judah? (See also Romans 1:25.)
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The prophet Ezekiel, a contemporary of Daniel, pictured some of God’s people with their backs toward the temple of God worshiping the sun toward the east. Instead of worshiping the Creator of the sun, they worshiped the sun instead.
In Revelation 17:1-18, John describes a time when the principles of Babylon, including sun worship, would enter the Christian church during an age of compromise. The casual conversion of Constantine, in the early part of the fourth century, caused great joy in the Roman Empire. Constantine had a strong affinity for sun worship. Edward Gibbon, the renowned historian, writes, “The Sun was universally celebrated as the invincible guide and protector of Constantine.” — The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (London: J. O. Robinson & Co, Ltd., 1830), p. 12. In A.D. 321, Constantine also passed the first “Sunday law.” This edict stated, “On the venerable day of the Sun let the Magistrates and the people residing in the cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.” — Edict of Constantine, A.D. 321. This was not a law enforcing Sunday observance for all of Constantine’s subjects, but it did strengthen the observance of Sunday in the minds of the Roman population.
It was in succeeding decades that emperors and popes continued through state decrees and church councils to establish Sunday as the singular day of worship, which it remains today, as well, for the majority of Christians. What a powerful example of the hard truth that just because the majority of people believe in something, or practice it, doesn’t make it right.
| Look around at how prevalent Sunday worship is in Christian churches. What should this fact teach us about how pervasive Satan’s deceptions are? Again, as with the state of the dead, what is our only safeguard? |
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Perhaps one of the issues about church-going on Sunday is not which day it occurs on but the limited view that church-goers have. Many of them fit it in before or after they go shopping for groceries and attend their local sport. Given a clash between a home game of Aussie-rules football and going to church, game attendance may just have an edge. In fact, I know of Catholic congregations that hold Mass on Saturday night so that it does not compete with Sunday activities.
The really big difference should be the significance of the day to us. This is one reason that I often suggest that we need to ensure that our Sabbath-keeping is not just a day-shifted liturgy, but a day of rest and worship.
The very best argument that we have for Sabbath-keeping (and against Sunday-keeping if you want to be negative about it) is to ensure that our Sabbaths are both restful and worshipful and not just a church going, day-shifted liturgy.
After-all, if we are eating beautiful ripe strawberries, who is going to be attracted to sour lemons?
Yes, the day does need to be holy and set apart from the rest of the week so that it maintains its significance to the watching world, but also to us. Although the majority of SDAers (I think) are doing just that, I also see plenty of SDAers fitting the worship service in between other everyday secular activities including shopping, eating in restaurants, going to the hair salon, and attending whatever else falls on Sabbath hours. Just like the Sunday worshippers you observed. It’s restful and enjoyable for them; but if we consider that the Sabbath is made for all mankind, it is ultimately suggesting that Sabbath-keeping is instead not for everyone.
Maurice:
Wow-it sure is good to be back here on Sabbath School. Sure missed you all. So let me first reiterate-I am not here to put down-be disagreeable or plain argumentative. By no means... No! I sure love the Seventh-day Adventist Church-though studying with the Presbyterian Church in America, I love it as well. However-something as I mentioned before keeps tugging at me about this Church (Seventh-day Adventist). So much I see in the teaching-to be just...well...Scriptural. Anyway with that being said I am somewhat confused. Yes-I understand Sabbath is Sabbath. I honestly believe that to be a truth indeed. Jesus himself attended "Synagogue as was the custom" (Sabbath). Yes the other point I fully agree with is that Sabbath was created within the 10 Commandments... prior (that's the important part) prior to any Jewish religion on earth -- or before ANY religion for that matter. To say 9 Commandments are ok, but 1 is not, I find to be...well...ludicrous. Also, our Savior didn't die in order for us to eat Pork Chops-or just to have "Church" whenever. To say the 10 Commandments were in need of repair (Jesus never said that!) would be like saying Jesus was never in perfect harmony with His Father...he never came to "Change the Law-but to fulfill it." Another pointer to Seventh-day Adventist truths. What really is mind-boggling to me is many people today think Jesus came to change the O.T. and that it was somehow... wrong?? People today do not seem to understand the difference between-"He came to change the writ of ordinances against us." Colossians 2:14 and Ephesians 2:15. This is so, so much different than the 10 Commandments!! Those ordinances which Jesus argued over were not a "request" to change the 10 Commandments! It was an argument against the ruling religious leaders of the day concerning "laws" for cleanliness, etc. They had chosen to try to put this in place so intently they couldn't see "The Son Of G-D" standing before them. I also feel to call HIM the Messiah -- strangely enough from a Jewish context in which the Jewish thought of Messiah was different than who Jesus actually was, a total misunderstanding of who Jesus was as well. He was so much greater and so much more than the thinking of that during the day of the 1st Century. This discussion can be saved for another day, however... which leads me to my question...
If the Seventh-day Adventist Church chooses to follow Sabbath Day of worship as a Scriptural and written rule, why do they NOT celebrate "G-D chosen days" as opposed to the days established by Constantine... (i.e. Easter/St. Valentines/and dare I say Christmas?) Can someone please explain to me why The Seventh-day Adventist Church chooses to follow Sabbath but NOT days G-D had chosen as HIS days/festivals)? Thanks for any insight!
Hi, John. I appreciate your good question. Others may have much to add, but I'd like to share just a couple of thoughts on this.
One is Colossians 2:16-17 (NKJV), which reads:
It appears to me that this is a fairly comprehensive description of the ceremonial system of law, connected with the earthly sanctuary and its services, including the annual sabbaths. It suggests to my mind that these observances were symbolic in nature, and foreshadowed what, for want of a better term, might be called the Christian dispensation. That the death of Christ on the cross made these observances obsolete seems to be rather strongly supported by the fact that it was marked by (among other things) the curtain of the temple being torn in two, from top to bottom. (See Matthew 27:51 and Mark 15:38) If the Most Holy Place of the earthly temple was no longer sacred, then neither are its yearly sabbaths, as I see it. Nor do we sacrifice animals any longer.
Hebrews 7 talks about how Jesus is our Priest, even though He was from the tribe of Judah, not Levi as required by the Old Testament law. In verse 12 (NKJV), it comes right out and declares that there has been a change in the law.
As Seventh-day Adventists, we like to point out that God doesn't change (Malachi 3:6), and that therefore the principles of His Ten Commandment law do not change. And this is correct, as God's moral law is a transcript of His character. But it's clear to me that other laws can and do change with the circumstances that have brought about their enactment in the first place. The law of circumcision is a clear example of this.
Seventh-day Adventists are also very much taught by Ellen White, and in her book The Desire of Ages, page 36, she talks about how the Jews "had sought to make a monopoly of the truth which is eternal life. They had hoarded the living manna, and it had turned to corruption." According to her, this corruption included their treatment of the ceremonial law.
I might also point out that Seventh-day Adventists do not observe Easter, Valentine's Day, Christmas, or the like as religious festivals required of the Christian.
I hope this helps.
Today I want to pray for everyone here to be sure. Sure that we do have a God, and this God is the only One to receive our worship! May we put Him first, and all we are and have will follow. May the Lord give us this consciousness, state of mind, that we are in His presence, and because of Him, we are alive!
Revelation 17 is like the latter part of the book of Daniel. God tells us and then does not leave us hanging. That is why we have the Bible as a book of information of what is good for us, what the Lord requires of us, and of His character (love, truth, and freedom to choose), of which we should imitate as Christians 1 Corinthians 11:1.
Just like the Greek mythology describes the gods and their power and place within the pantheon, the Babylonian religious mythology describes the powers and the place of their gods in the ancient Babylonian and Assyrian pantheon. People of both nations exported their gods and their religious observations into all the lands they conquered.
The sun, moon and many other stars in our solar system as well as our galaxy were given personal representatives to be worshipped as gods. “They also had a supreme trinity, which comprised Anu, the god of heaven, Bel, the god of earth and mankind, and Ea, the god of the abyss of water under the earth.” (The Gifford Lectures – Over 100 years of lectures on natural theology)
Sunday, the first day of the week, was dedicated to the worship of the sun-god. The names of our week are still reflective of the star-gods of the firmament. After learning that this ancient practice of sun-worship had been taken into our modern times, I decided to worship on the day of our Creator's Sabbath.
Studying about God’s Truth and learning about the deceptions offered by false teachers shows me that we need to be vigilant to make sure not to let one’s guard down. Our God's straight-forward Gospel Truth focuses on worshipping the only true Creator God in His Spirit and according to His Truth. We have come from the darkness into His Light!