Scripture reading: Deuteronomy 4:14-19
In the old Babylonish system, Sunday was the sun god’s day, and Monday was the moon god’s day. Sunday was a worship day for the Saturnalians who worshipped the sun. They would have a day for the sun, a day for the moon, a day for the stars, and a day for Thor, the god of thunder. They really worshipped the heavenly bodies, which God spoke very strongly against. In Deuteronomy 4:14, “And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statues and judgments, that ye might do them in the land wither ye go over to possess it.” Verses 18 and 19, “The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.”
God gave instructions to the Israelites under the law that they should not do the things that were being done in Babylon. They should not have the similitude of anything that is in heaven. They should not make a picture of God. Verse 15, “Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire.”
Why did God call all the children of Israel and spoke to them in Mount Horeb when the mountain blazed with fire? They were so frightened that they asked God not to do that again, but to tell Moses and they would listen. There was, however, a purpose in it. The purpose was that they should not make any effigy of any god or anything concerning heavenly things to worship, for God knew that artistry would be a snare for His people.
He told them that they must not worship the moon or the sun or the stars or any of the heavenly bodies, because these are only His servants that He has put there. They were only to worship God. This was the commandment given to the children of Israel in the ancient world as a buffer against what had been coming to them from Egypt and Babylon. In ancient Babylon, they worshipped all the different gods, kept all the birthdays of the kings, and everything like that.
Let us look in the New Testament and see if there is any license for us who are free in Jesus Christ to do anything like this. Paul speaking to the Galatians in chapter 4:8-11, “Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.”
These are strong words. These words are saying that if you serve God with a seasonal worship or even with a day worship, then you have returned unto the “beggarly elements,” whereunto you have been redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. In chapter 3 Paul said, “O FOOLISH Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you.” He is saying that they have crucified Jesus Christ again by turning back to legalism and to doing things pertaining to religion, rather than true Christianity.
Why would “the merchants of the earth…weep and mourn over” a religious system that has fallen? The ancient worship in Babylon included times when they would pay particular attention to certain days and certain times in their calendar to worship certain gods. For instance, January was dedicated to the god Janus, the god of beginnings. They would look forward to January as a holiday. On the first of January, which is part of the Christmas (Saturnalia) season, they would worship Janus.
The peculiar part about the situation is that the names given to the months were given BY THE CHURCH. The church took all the Roman gods that used to be worshipped and put them in as days of the months and months of the year. Therefore, the god of beginnings, Janus, became the beginning of the year. Beltane was worshipped on the 1st of May, a day when all the spirits would be worshipped by the people. To this day, Beltane is one of the highest Sabbaths of devil worshippers, when they offer up human sacrifices. This practice came from the ancient world.
The Zodiac came from the ancient world. Semiramis and her son Nimrod gave all the signs of the Zodiac. Satan laid claim to every human being that was born. No matter what month you were born in, you would be under one of the signs of the Zodiac. As a child of that sign, there was certain prognostication given as a prophecy for your life. Anyone who delves into or believes in horoscopes is worshipping the heavenly body. If you read your horoscope every morning, whether you believe it or not, you must have some kind of belief or faith in it to be reading it. Once you are involved in horoscopes, you are indeed worshipping the heavenly bodies.
Brethren, let us make sure that we are free from all that pertains to Babylon and its worship. Let us worship God in Spirit and in truth.
(Excerpt from The Book of Revelation, Volume 2, pages 177-179)
Thought for today: If you serve God with a seasonal worship or even with a day worship, then you have returned unto the “beggarly elements.”
Sonlight Devotional 