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.)

Image © Justinen Creative Collection at Goodsalt.com

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.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

Amen!(0)

The post Tuesday: Babylon – The Center of Sun Worship appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/tuesday-babylon-center-of-sun-worship/

Read Revelation 16:13-14,  and Revelation 18:2, Revelation 18:23. What allusions to spiritualism do you find in these verses?

Such expressions as the “dwelling place of demons” or the “spirits of demons” and “sorcery” all indicate demonic activity. No wonder we have been warned that of the two great deceptions in the last days, one will be “the immortality of the soul” (see Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 588).

Image © Steve Creitz at Goodsalt.com

Of course, that’s so easy to see today. Even in the Christian world, the idea of the soul being immortal is all but staple Christian doctrine. Many Christians believe that, at death, the saved go soaring off to heaven, and the lost descend into hell. How often, for instance, after the great evangelist Billy Graham died, did we hear that “Billy Graham is safe now in heaven, in the loving arms of Jesus,” or the like? This kind of thing is taught all the time from pulpits, in classrooms, and, especially, at funerals.

Read Ecclesiastes 9:5; Job 19:25-27; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; and Revelation 14:13. What clear instruction did God give His people about life after death, and where do we find our hope?

One of the pillars of Babylonian deception is a false understanding of death, which, centered on the idea of the immortality of the soul, prepares the way for the deceptive influence of spiritualism. If you believe that the dead, in some form, live on and might even be able to communicate with us, then what protection do you have from any of the myriad deceptions that Satan has? If someone whom you thought were your dead mother or child, or someone else beloved, were suddenly to appear and talk to you, how easy would it be to be fooled by your senses? This has happened in the past, happens now, and, certainly, as we near the very final days, will happen again. Our only protection is to stand firmly rooted in what the Bible teaches and to cling to the biblical teaching about death as a sleep until the second coming of Jesus.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

Amen!(0)

The post Monday: The Old Lie of Immortality appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/monday-old-lie-of-immortality/

In the context of the last days, Jesus uttered a powerful warning, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Mark 13:22, NKJV). Who are the “elect”? He later says, “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31, NKJV). A little scary, isn’t it, when the deception in the last days will be so great that even the faithful ones will be in danger of being deceived?

Read Revelation 12:9. Who is deceived by Satan? How do we understand these words?

Image © Darrel Tank from GoodSalt.com

Obviously, God is going to have some faithful people in the last days, as He has had all through the ages. However, the wording here shows just how widespread Satan’s deception really is.

Read Proverbs 14:12. What powerful warning is presented here?

People are often told to follow their own conscience in order to determine for themselves what is right or wrong, good or evil, and then live accordingly. But the Scripture says that we are all sinners, all corrupted (Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:9-18), and so to trust our own sentiments is almost a guaranteed way to, sooner or later, get it wrong and even to do wrong. A lot of evil has been perpetrated through the ages by people utterly convinced of the rightness of their cause. That is, they followed the “way that seems right” to them.

Instead, we must immerse ourselves in the Word of God, and from His Word, as we surrender to the Holy Spirit, learn truth from error, right from wrong, good from evil. Left to our own devices, or even to our own senses, we can become easy prey to Satan’s deceptions.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

Amen!(0)

The post Sunday: The Way That Seems Right in a Man’s Eyes appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/sunday-way-that-seems-right-in-mans-eyes/

Is this True, Somewhat True, or False? The message of leaving Babylon is a call to join a different church. Join us as we discuss Lesson 9, A City Called Confusion.

Amen!(0)

The post A City Called Confusion – Hit the Mark Sabbath School appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/a-city-called-confusion-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/

Image © Pacific Press

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Revelation 12:9; Revelation 16:13-14; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Ezekiel 8:16; Ezekiel 20:1-20; Rev.18:4, Revelation 18:5.

Memory Text: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17, NKJV).

It was one of those gorgeous September mornings in Chicago. As the sun rose over Lake Michigan and commuters battled traffic jams on the Kennedy and Eisenhower expressways, and children made their way to school, a chilling story began to emerge that struck fear into the hearts of Chicagoans. People were becoming tragically sick, and some were dying just a few hours after taking Tylenol capsules. On testing, each of the capsules proved to be laced with potassium cyanide, a deadly poison. A deranged individual had tampered with the medication. To this day, we don’t know who did this.

As we have seen, Revelation warns us that the “inhabitants of the earth” will drink a deadly potion called the “wine of Babylon.” There are false doctrines and teachings that, in the end, will lead only to death. However, the world is not left without the antidote, the protection, against this spiritual poison: the three angels’ messages.

In this week’s lesson, we will continue looking, not only at Babylon’s deceptions but at Jesus’ plan to save us from them and the death that they would otherwise bring.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 3.

Sunday–>

Amen!(0)

The post Sabbath: Satan’s Final Deceptions appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/sabbath-satans-final-deceptions/