Babylon The Great Mother of Harlots And The Sabbath Mystery
THE MYSTERY OF THE SABBATH CHANGE FROM SATURDAY TO SUNDAY
Often readers of the Bible wonder since the original church, often called the primitive church by scholars, was so very Jewish even keeping the 7th day Sabbath, how did the Sabbath change to Sunday come about? We can ask also why did the change come to a core Law of God, The 10 Commandments. Were the changes the will of God? The church even in the days of Paul's ministry to gentiles, was considered Jewish. Note what the Apostle Paul says are hallmarks of a true believer.
Romans 2:27-29 NKJV 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
A true believer is a Jew inwardly. The early church kept Holy Days, like the Sabbath and Unleavened Bread see I Cor. 5:6-8. The true church was considered a sect within Judaism but was disliked by the leadership of Judea. How and why did the Sunday change happen? One of the conclusions of modern historical scholarship is that Jesus was thoroughly Jewish and had no idea or intention of being anything else. Since the Jews had preserved the words of God, the Messiah would naturally come as a Jewish teacher.
Romans 3:1-2 NKJV 1 What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? 2 Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.
Jesus explained that a gentile salvation came through Judaism when properly applied.
John 4:22 NKJV 22 "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
Who made the change from the seventh day Sabbath to Sunday? The Roman Catholic ( Universal) Church claims that it made the change. Cardinal Gibbons in Faith of Our Fathers 92 ed. Pg 92 asserts that one can search the Bible from end to end and not find a line to authorize the change. He believes the Catholic Church made the change based on their divine authority.
WHO IS FOLLOWING BABYLON THE GREAT MOTHER OF HARLOTS?
Protestants do not realize that by observing Sunday they are accepting the authority of the Catholic Church says Cardinal Gibbons. The change from Saturday to Sunday was a mark of the ecclesiastical authority and power of the Catholic Church. Protestants by following the Sunday doctrine are considered the daughters of the universal church. Most Protestants would refuse to accept such a label. No one wants to be affiliated with the religious villain of Bible prophecy as a daughter.
Revelation 17:4-5 NKJV 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
The fourth world ruling empire of Bible prophecy is the Holy Roman Empire. Note carefully how this beastly empire is different than the others.
Daniel 7:25 NKJV 25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law...
Clearly the acceptance of the Catholic church as the official religion of the Holy Roman Empire by Constantine was a significant power move by the leaders of this religious organization. Protestants are aware of these accusations so they looked into the Bible to find other justifications for Sunday worship beside the leadership and traditions of the universal church. They would claim that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was on Sunday morning. This justified changing such a core law. But was Jesus resurrected on Sunday morning at sunrise? What does the Bible actually say?
THE SURPRISING TIMING OF THE RESURRECTION
Jesus was not raised from the dead on Sunday morning. The Bible reveals that he was already risen from the grave on Sunday morning.
John 20:1-2 NKJV 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him."
It was still dark when the first set of women arrived at the tomb of Jesus. Christ had already risen prior to that time. The only ones who saw the actual resurrection were frightened Roman soldiers who were bribed to lie about it. Christ said he would be in the tomb for three full days and then be raised again.
Matthew 27:62-63 NKJV 62 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.'
What was the start of this three day countdown? It was the burial, of course, and then that he be buried before the sunset that starts the high day that follows the Passover, the First Day of Unleavened Bread.
John 19:30-31 NKJV 30 So when Jesus had received sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. 31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
They removed the bodies before the sun set which is the beginning of the High Holy Day. Sunset is approximately 6 pm. Therefore the bodies were removed, and Jesus buried before 6 pm Wednesday night, probably around 5pm. Seventy two hours later would bring us to Saturday at 5 pm. An hour or so before the end of the Sabbath. This timing fits other predictions Jesus made as well.
Matthew 12:39-40 NKJV 39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Then three days and nights will have Jesus being resurrected at the end of the Sabbath not on Sunday. Three full days from Wednesday, right before sunset is Saturday, right before sunset on Saturday.
THE SABBATH IS A SIGN OR MARK OF A WORSHIPER OF THE TRUE GOD
The reverse of that statement about the Sabbath being a sign of worshiping the God of Israel and the Bible is Sunday being a sign of Babylon the Great, a very worldly religious system.
Luke 4:16 NKJV 16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. Exodus 31:13 NKJV 13 "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
Therefore early Christians kept the Sabbath like Jesus. It is the sign of the true God. If Paul or others had taught a change from Saturday to Sunday an absolute fire storm would have occurred among conservative Jewish believers. They had a tremendous storm over simply allowing an exception to the circumcision law for gentiles who would not have been circumcised as infants. The Sabbath is a much more central issue than circumcision. Note that Paul in his missionary journeys into gentile areas, still kept the Sabbath. See Acts 13:14,27,42-44;15:21;16:13; 17:2 and Acts 18:4. In Acts 13:42-44 Paul could have said to gentiles let us meet tomorrow on Sunday not wait until next Sabbath. But he did not because no such change was ever authorized in the Bible just as the Catholic church states. Growing oppression of the Jews and their rebellion against the Roman Empire made it harder on believers who kept the Sabbath. False leaders came into the church in the latter parts of the Apostolic era and began to develop a counterfeit church. Many of the New Testament writers warned of this danger. Satan's strategies include undermining the true church from within by creating counterfeit groups. These groups are really against the true Christ and are also anti-Semitic. Antisemitism is growing strongly in our present society also.
1 John 2:18-19 NKJV 18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.
These anti-Jewish groups would be turned against the true church. They would desert the sign of God, the Sabbath. The change relieved them of pressure from an anti-Semitic and violent society. All this was no doubt orchestrated by Satan. God warns through Paul not to get involved with paganism or pagan religions.
1 Corinthians 10:20 NKJV 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.
We are not condemning people of this world, saying only that they are deceived. The further one gets away from the Bible including the Sabbath the further one gets away from God's goodness. The closer one gets to pagan Babylon, the further from God and the closer to bad evil influences we get. Eventually the deceived world will be intoxicated with false worship and evil influences; note the Biblical warnings.
Revelation 17:1-2 NKJV 1 Then one of the seven angels ...talked with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 "with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication."
Stay spiritually pure and sober, keep God's Sabbath.
