Keeping
the Sabbath Holy or Babylonian
Sabbath
Babylonian Sabbath: Keeping the Sabbath
holy? My answer
is, "Yes, almost always." But I worship on Sunday--and monday
and...... Our church assembles on Sunday for study and the Lord's
Supper in keeping with the only Biblical and early historical
evidence. This continued the Qahal or synagogue or "church in the
wilderness." Mount Sinai was an assembly called by God. The people
rose up to PLAY in the musical idolatry of the Egyptian trinity. This
was a FATAL SIN and Stephen says that God turned them over to worship
the starry host.
http://cp26.myhostcenter.com:2082
The
SABBATH was a
day of REST: there were FIRST DAY sabbaths and SEVENTH DAY sabbaths. Both were to
REFRAIN from the WORK
demanded by modern "worship" where the Sabbath would OUTLAW even
"sending ministers." The Holy Convocation was to READ or REHEARSE the
Word of God. Jesus promised to build MY ekklesia or synagogue or
school of the Bible. To that, He added the Lord's Supper to show
forth or preach His Death.
The
seventh day sabbath was to
quarantine the Israelites FROM pagan religionism where worship was
devoted to the flesh. The people pretty much remained in doors or
gathered to read the Word and pray: they, therefore,waited for THIS
DAY TO PASSOVER.
The
first day was
ordained--even based on the Creation--because the pagan SUN god would
be WORSHIPPED in the Christian environment.
NEITHER
were days of WORSHIP in
the traditional sense.
No,
since there was no pope at
the time he did not change the "law" to Sunday worship. Constantine
gave everyone a day off but did not command that Christians worship
on Sunday. Sunday did, however, favor Christians whose essential
assembly was on the First Day of the week as recorded
in the Bible and the
earliest historical evidence.
See
the Divine Throne Chariot from the Dead Sea
Scrols
E-mail:
I don't get your point.
It is all very interesting information, but a bit disorganized. What
do you think is appropriate treatment of Saturday and Sunday?
No
organization at all: no
beginnings, middles or endings. Just collected research notes.
First,
the total evidence is
that Keeping the Sabbath holy was a day of WORSHIP for the Babylonians whose influence still
plagued Israel even in the
Egyptian and later Canaanite form.
This
meant that Keeping the
Sabbath holy was a day of rest for the GODS. Since the gods had
earthly agents, that meant that the political-religious leaders as agents of
the gods rested on the sabbath.
The
non-ruling
population WORKED on the Sabbath to feed, clothe, house, entertain
and become sexual partners of the god's agents.
This
really amounted to a seven-day
servitude of the people
who worked for the temple-state which, in turn, gave
the slaves a daily dole of
food: something like welfare. When Israel demanded a king LIKE THE
NATIONS it was so that they could WORSHIP LIKE THE NATIONS. God
warned that the kings would enslave the people just like the national
temple-states and lead them into destruction.
When
Israel was rescued from
Egypt they immediately returned to their old Egyptian form of musical
worship on the Sabbaths and therefore "polluted
the sabbaths."
The Sabbath or "day of rest" in most ancient countries was devoted to
secular frolicing with and for the gods.
Therefore,
what God
meant by Keeping the Sabbath holy was that the Israelites should have
kept the Sabbath holy by NOT performing religious rituals but rather
resting as a gift of freedom of God FROM rituals.
Therefore,
God set aside keeping the Sabbath
holy
(one out of seven)
for REST. The Sabbath was never a day of worship. By restricting the
practice of the arts and crafts of making a living or being
entertained and by restricting travel, God essentially quarantined
the pagan sabbaths so that the Jews could not participate. They were
left with easy fellowship with friends and family, with listening to
the Word and to prayer.
"Worship"
is never in doing
rituals but falling before God and recognizing that He is the Creator
worthy of being Worshiped and that we should not worship the
creature. Worship really means to "give heed to" or "to give
attendance to" the Word of God as His speaking to us and to prayer
and meditation as our speaking to Him. In the synagogue that meant
reading or hearing the Word and praying: the synagogue and therefore
the church is not a worship center but a school of the Bible. And
Jesus insisted that God only seeks those who worship IN SPIRIT or in
the mind and IN TRUTH as we are devoted to being a DISCIPLE (not a
ritualists) of Him. Paul complied by contrasting the Jews with those
Jews who had become Christians by saying WE WORSHIP GOD IN THE
SPIRIT. And in prayer, he insisted that WE PRAY IN THE SPIRIT ALL of
the time rather than at set times and places. That means, as someone
has said, "practicing the presence of God."
So,
to Sabbatarians I tell them
that they cannot DO worship in ways which makes the day of 'worship'
one of the hardest, most anxiety-producing days of the week and still
REMEMBER THE SABBATH AND KEEP IT HOLY. However, I can remember the
Sabbath and eleminate unnecessary work and just study and REST, but I
can attend church as school of the Bible on Sunday without violating
any laws. Unfortunately, most Christians have also made their holy
day into a works-intensive day of stressful rituals and therefore
there IS NO day of rest for most people.
The
clergy of Jesus' time laded
the people down like pack animals. The burden is defined as
"spiritual anxiety created by religious rituals." Therefore, Jesus
did not define anything which can be construed as a ritual meaning
that it produces a magical effect. Rather, He died to give us "rest"
which means: "Just cool it. Come aside with me before a babbling
brook and I will answer your questions."
Hope
this helps. I'll be happy
to answer any questions but I usually post collected data for those
who want to reach their own conclusions. As an engineer, I lack those
literary skills.
Ken
Sublett
The Apostolic Constitutions of the church of Christ shows that the Sabbath
is a day of rest but Sunday
is the day of INSTRUCTION as school.
UPON
WHICH
DAYS
SERVANTS
ARE NOT TO WORK.
XXXIII.
I Peter and Paul do
make the following constitutions. Let the slaves work five days;
but
on the Sabbath-day and the Lord's day let them have leisure
to go to church for instruction in piety.
We
have said that
the Sabbath
is on
account of the creation,
and the Lord's day of
the resurrection.
When
Constantine gave Sunday
off, the Christians now had TWO SABBATHS or rests. The religious
leaders taught them to work on the Sabbath to keep them away from the
common Sabbath day rituals of Rome.
All
of the arguments for the
Sabbath "worship" are related to "doing work" and not to worship. If
one wants to argue that one
should cease from work on the Sabbath then this is an argument from
the Law of Moses where the Sabbath was given to prohibit the "work" normally done in pagan
foms of Sabbath "worship." If you cannot work then assuredly you cannot
keep
the Sabbath and worship at the same time.
Worship
in the Old
Testament.
As
an example, the service
performed by the civil musicians is defined by the word:
Abodah
(h5656) ab-o-daw'; or abowdah ab-o-daw'; from 5647; work of any kind:
- act, bondage, / bondservant, effect, labour, ministering (-try),
office, service (-ile, -itude), tillage, use, work, * wrough
Abad
(h5647) ab-o-daw'; or åbowdah ab-o-daw'; from 5648; work of any
kind: - act, bondage, / bondservant, effect, labour, ministering
(-try), office, service (-ile, -itude), tillage, use, work, * wrough
The
service done in the
worship of the Jews is ABAD.
THEN
the Lord said
unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord God
of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Exod 9:1
The
work specificially
outlawed for the Sabbath is:
Melakkah (h4399) mel-aw-kaw';
from the same as 4397; prop.
deputyship, i. e. ministry; gen. employment (never
servile) or work (abstr. or
concr.); also property (as the result of labor): - business, * cattle, * industrious, occupation, (* -pied), * officer, thing (made), use,
(manner of) work ([man],
-manship).
The
"worship" connected with
the Sabbath (Isa 66:23; Eze 46:3) means to bow down or fall down: it
does not involve preaching, singing, taking up a colleciton playing
musical instruments, teaching the Bible, travelling many miles to get
to "church" and excludes going to the steak house after
"worship."
>
The
earliest Babylonian Sabbath worship
honored Marduk
with rest
while the lesser gods or slaves performed the worship which was always
defined as "work" for the gods: feeding,
wining, clothing, housing
and entertaining them. Yes, they had female musical worship teams
which were always know of as "the harem of the gods" in many
nations.
>
From
the beginning, Christians did not
assemble on "the day of
the sun" but on the Lord's
Day.
That means
"first day of the week" as
opposed to the last
day of the week.
The
first day of
the week was the first day of WORK and PAY from which the
Corinthians should set aside their
gifts from that day's pay. The Christians assembled after sunset on
"saturday" or early in the morning on sunday. They often ate
together, read the Word, took communion and probably WENT TO
WORK.
Assembly
on Sunday puts God
first: the Sabbath rest
puts us first because a typical "worship service" is a very
works-intensive activity which cannot be performed on the Sabbath
without violating laws against work. Even tuning harp strings was
prohibited on the Sabbath as a form of work.
All
of the
recorded days for Christian assembly were on the First day of the
week or the Lord's day.
Jews
attended Synagogue on
Saturday but synagogue was "school"
and not a temple worship center. Jesus and Paul could teach on the
Sabbath or seven days a week. However, their attending synagogue does
not change Christian practices. Keeping the Sabbath holy restricts it
as a day of worship.
>
Sunday
was not named after a pagan god:
the sun was the sun god. Saturn's
connection to the sun
(No, Saturn was not the sun God) was more known to the female,
non-military people than Mithra's connection with male, military people. We will see below how
Saturn was the
seventh level of authority under Mithraism which, like Sabbath
worship, must begin at sundown on friday and end on Saturady at
sunset. Click
for the hierachy below. The purple type shows how various religions
spanned parts of the week.
Saturn or Sabbath is more related to Mithra where "worship" was on
Saturday while Sunday was honored as a day of rest. Christians did
not have these two days until Constantine gave Sunday. The Catholid
authorities restricted the Sabbath AS A DAY OF REST because it was
not devoted to rest but Mithra worship or to the spectacles.
>
However,
Saturn
after which Saturday is named was identified
with Marduk. Therefore, Saturday worship is identified
with the original Babylonian Sabbath
system.
The
first Babylonian
Sabbath was a worship
system, stamped
on every part of the lives of the workers.
Under
any name his consort is Chiun in Amos is Lucifer
who is bisexual. She is the dominant female instructing principle or Zoe, or Sophia-Zoe.
>
For
this reason God, who does the work for His children, gave
the Sabbath as a day of
rest
and not a day of "worship." In
ancient or
modern Babylonian sabbath systems, "worship" meant working for the "gods" or more
specificially, the
king, priest and "staff" as the god's only agents.
>
The
Jews were not
commanded to worship on the Sabbath. You cannot keep the Sabbath day
holy and also a day of ceremonial Babylonian Sabbath worship. The
seventh was a day of dread and the way to remain safe was not to
participate in any of the "worship" systems but stay at home or
listen to the Word of God.
The
Sabbath was
Shÿbyy
(h7637) sheb-ee-ee'; or shÿbiy sheb-ee-ee'; ordinal from 7657; seventh: - seventh (time)
The
Sabbath as REST
is:
Shabbath (h7676) shab-bawth';
intens. from 7673;
intermission, i. e. (spec.) the Sabbath: - (/ every) sabbath.
Shabath (h7673) shaw-bath'; a
prim. root; to repose, i. e. desist from exertion; used in many impl.
relations (caus., fig. or
spec.): - (cause to, let, make to) cease, celebrate, cause (make) to
fail, keep (sabbath), suffer to be lacking, leave, put away (down),
(make to) rest, rid, still, take away.
The
First Day In the Old
Testament
God
"began" His ceative work on
the first
day:
the seventh day represented rest.
...........
The
earth began its completed journey on
the eighth
day
or the next first
day.
After
the seventh
the Workings of God continued on the eighth day which is the first
day of the week.
The
"first
day of the month" was the common time to begin most religious
affairs.
Justin Martyr dialog with Trypho, the
Jew
- b.
c. 100, Flavia Neapolis, Palestine [now
Nabulus]
- d.
c. 165, Rome [Italy]; feast day June 1
The
command of circumcision,
again, bidding [them] always circumcise the children on the eighth day,
was a type of the true
circumcision, by which
we are circumcised from deceit and iniquity
through
Him who rose from the
dead
on the first
day
after the Sabbath, [namely
through] our Lord
Jesus Christ.
For
the first
day after the Sabbath, remaining the first of all the
days,
is called,
however, the eighth,
according to the number of all the days of the cycle, and [yet] remains the first.
Chapter X.-Trypho Blames the Christians for
This
Alone: The Non-Observance of the Law.
And
when they ceased, I again
addressed them thus:-
"Is
there any other
matter, my friends, in which we are blamed, than this, that we live not after the
law,
and are not circumcised in the flesh as your
forefathers were, and do not observe
sabbaths as you do?
Chapter
XLIII.-He Concludes
that the Law Had an End in Christ, Who Was Born of the Virgin.
"As,
then, circumcision began with Abraham, and
the Sabbath
and sacrifices and offerings and feasts with Moses,
and
it has been
proved they were enjoined on account of the hardness of your people's heart,
so it was necessary, in
accordance with the Father's will,
that they should have an
end in Him who was born of a virgin
There
is no hint that
Christians ever "worshiped" on the Sabbath although they kept the
Sabbath holy by not participating in "worship" rituals which are
always work. Not even tuning a harp was allowed so that no theatrical
performace as worship took place.
The
sabbath was to be a day of
solemn rest. However, in the sense of a memorial of the original Passover (repeated in the final
Passover by Jesus) a convocation or public meeting begins on the first day:
For
seven
days
you are to eat bread
made without yeast.
On
the first
day remove the
yeast
from
your houses,
for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh
must be cut off from Israel.
Ex.12:15
This
typified removing the
yeast by a silent search. In the Lord's Supper with unleavened bread
and the FRUIT of the vine which is NOT fermented typified our
searching our heart.
God
ordained the TYPES to have
spiritual significance: a believer does not try to make it into a
legalistic charge against those who obey God.
And
in the first day there shall be an holy convocation,
and
in the seventh
day
there shall be an holy convocation to
you;
no manner of
work
shall be done in them, save that which every
man must eat,
that only may be done of
you.
Exodus 12: 16
Of
the Feast of
Tabernacles:
On
the
first
day
shall
be
an holy
convocation: ye shall
do no servile work therein. Lev 23:35
Seven
days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: on
the
eighth
day
shall
be
an holy
convocation unto you;
and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a
solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. Lev 23:36
Whenever
you begin counting,
that is the first
day. The eighth day is another first day. This is because when
God's "spirit" began the beginning. He
rested on the seventh
day but the eighth day was again the earth producing midst and
watered the earth.
Contrary
to Babylonian
sabbath
keepers, one cannot
determine that this coming saturday is the aniversary of the actual
day God rested down to the hour. The message is "ordinal" meaning "one of
the seven." One day out of seven is a day of rest. But it is not a
day of "worship."
>
Writing
of Hezekiah's reform you will
notice that the Levities who were also singers and musicians COULD
NOT enter into the Holy Place as a type of the church of Christ or
the Most Holy Place where God accepted worship:
And
the priests
went into the inner part of the house of the Lord, to cleanse it, and
brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the
Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took
it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron. 2 Chron 29:16
Now
they began on
the first
day
of the first month
to sanctify, and on the
eighth day of the month
came they to the porch of the Lord: so they sanctified the house of
the Lord in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they
made an end.
2
Chron 29:17
It
was on the 17th day that they offered
animal sacrifices with the loud
instruments of the Levites for the civil animal sacrifice and the
priests with the trumpets of God to make a great noise. Those who
"worshipped" on this day would be on their face OUTSIDE of the
gates.
And
he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto
the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
before the Lord. Le.14:23
Seven
days
ye shall offer an offering made by fire
unto the Lord: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall
offer an offering made by
fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. Le.23:36
The
solemn
assembly was:
Acarah (h6116) ats-aw-raw'; or
acereth ats-eh'-reth; from 6113; an assembly, espec. on a festival or
holiday: - (solemn) assembly (meeting)
Also
in the fifteenth day of
the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye
shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day
shall be a sabbath.
Le.23:39
On
the eighth
day
shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no servile
work therein: Nu.29:35
And
in
the eighth
day
they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the
dedication of the altar seven
days, and the feast seven days. 2Chr.7:9
Also
day by day, from the first
day
unto the last day,
he read
in the
book
of the law of God.
And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day
was a solemn assembly,
according unto the manner. Ne.8:18
The
word solemn
is MOWED in Neh 10:33. This word is translated
as SYNAGOGUE in Psalm 74:8. Speaking of Amos the solem assembly
(h6116) was not SOLEMN and they DID WORK:
Abodah
(h5656) ab-o-daw'; or abowdah ab-o-daw'; from 5647; work of any
kind: - act, bondage, / bondservant, effect, labour, ministering (-try), office, service
(-ile, -itude), tillage,
use, work, * wrought
Abad (h5647) aw-bad'; a
prim. root; to work
(in any sense); by impl. to serve, till, (caus.) enslave, etc.: - *
be, keep in bondage, be bondmen, bond-service, compel, do, dress,
ear, execute, / husbandman, keep, labour (-ing man), bring to pass,
(cause to, make to) serve (-ing, self), (be, become) servant (-s), do
(use) service, till (-er), transgress [from margin], (set a) work, be
wrought, worshipper.
This
speaks directly of the
Levitical Warrior musicians under the king and the commanders of the
army:
David,
together
with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph,
Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by
harps, lyres and cymbals. Here is the list of the men who performed
this service: 1Chr.25:1
This
OUTLAWED service for
these solemn assemblies or holy convocations were to READ or REHEARSE
which was Abodah (h5656). Therefore, God could
hate the feast days of Israel
who worshipped the golden calves:
I
hate, I despise
your feast
days,
and I will not
smell in your solemn assemblies. Amos 5:21
Though
ye offer me burnt
offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither
will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Amos 5:22
Take
thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. Amos 5:23
But let judgment run down
as waters, and
righteousness as a mighty stream. Amos 5:24
>
Nehemiah's
Reform of the
Sabbath
In those days saw I
in Judah
some treading
wine
presses on
the sabbath, and
bringing in sheaves, and lading
asses; as
also wine, grapes, and
figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on
the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. Neh 13:15
There dwelt men of Tyre also therein,
which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath
unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Neh 13:16
Tyre
used wine, women and
song to TRAFFICK in anything including SOULS OF MEN.
And it shall come
to pass in that day, that
Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one
king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an
harlot.
Isaiah 23:15
Take an harp, go about the
city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. Isaiah
23:16
And it shall
come to pass after
the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she
shall turn to
her
hire, and
shall commit
fornication
with all the kingdoms
of the
world upon
the face of the earth.
Isaiah 23:17
Then I contended
with the nobles of Judah,
and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath
day? Neh
13:17
Chalal (h2490) khaw-lal'; a prim. root [comp.
2470]; prop.
to bore, i. e. (by impl.) to wound, to dissolve; fig. to profane (a
person, place or thing), to break (one's word), to begin (as if by an
"opening wedge"); denom. (from 2485) to play (the flute):
- begin (* men began), defile, * break, defile, * eat (as common things), * first, * gather
the grape thereof,
* take
inheritance, pipe, player on instruments, pollute, (cast as)
profane (self), prostitute, slay
(slain), sorrow, stain, wound.
Jesus would later
compare the Jewish
religionists with children who PLAYED
THE FLUTE in
the hopes that Jesus
and others would be seduced into the Dionysus singing and dancing. This
involved sexual perversion and had the same meaning as the Zeus
and Dionysus worship as the Abomination of Desonation in the temple.
The PLACE they performed was the CHOROS or the AGORA which was the market place. The Jews were
continuing
to TRAFFICK in songs, sermons and sick animals PRETENDING some
superior spiritual connection which defines a Pharisee.
Gregory Nanzianzen in Oration XXXI
III. Is
there any such among the shadowy purifications of the Law, aiding as it did with temporary
sprinklings, and the ashes of an
heifer sprinkling
the unclean;
or
do the gentiles celebrate any such
thing in their mysteries, every
ceremony and mystery of which to me is nonsense, and a dark invention
of demons,
and a figment of an unhappy mind, aided by time, and
hidden by fable?
For
what they worship as true,
they veil
as
mythical. But if these
things are true, they ought not to be called myths, but to be proved
not to be shameful; and if they are
false, they ought not to be objects of wonder; nor ought people so
inconsiderately to hold the most contrary opinions about the same
thing,
as
if they were playing in the market-place with boys or really
ill-disposed men, not engaged in
discussion with men of sense,
and worshippers
of the
Word,
though despisers
of this artificial plausibility.
They
are like unto children
sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying,
We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to
you, and ye have not wept. Lu.7:32
IV.
We are not concerned in
these mysteries with birth of Zeus and thefts of the
Cretan Tyrant
(though the Greeks
may be displeased at such a title for him),
nor
with the name of Curetes, and the
armed dances, which
were to hide the
wailings of a weeping god, that he might escape
from his father's
hate.
The
"musical ministers" were
emasculated and perverted PRIESTS. Indeed MUSIC in RELIGION has no
other meaning.
Jesus
would not weep which was
often the result of being sodomized as the initiation. The Jerusalem
temple had been taken over by the Greeks and had become a haunt of
Zeus and Dionysus "worship." The details of the associated gymnasium
is defined in Second Maccabees. By the
wailing (clanging) song and dance Jesus, in all of the background
material, could have escaped the wrath of God on the cross.
For
indeed it would be a
strange thing that he who was swallowed as a stone should be made to weep
as a
child. Nor are we concerned
with Phrygian mutilations and flutes
and Corybantes, and all the ravings of men concerning Rhea (Inanna, Eve etc.), consecrating people to
the mother
of
the
gods, and being initiated into such ceremonies as
befit the mother of such
gods as these.
Did not your
fathers thus, and did not our
God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring
more wrath upon Israel by profaning the
sabbath. Neh 13:18
PROFANE
is highly dedicated
to MAKING MUSIC or PREACHING sermons in order to TRAFFICK by "selling
SICK lambs" to starving widows:
"You
might hear many poor wretches of
sophists, shouting and
abusing each other, and their disciples, as they call them, squabbling; and many
writers of books reading their stupid
compositions, and many poets singing
their
poems,
and many jugglers (buffoons) exhibiting
their marvels,
and many soothsayers giving the meaning of
prodigies, and then a thousand
rhetoricians twisting
lawsuits, and no small number of traders driving their several
trades. (William Barclay)
"The
Greeks were intoxicated
with fine words; and to
them the Christian preacher
with his blunt message seemed a crude and uncultured figure, to be
laughed at and ridiculed rather than to be listened to and respected.
(Barclay, William, First Corinthians, p. 19-20)
And it came to
pass, that when the gates of
Jerusalem began to be dark
before the
sabbath, I
commanded that the gates
should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the
sabbath: and
some of my servants set
I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the
sabbath day. Neh 13:19
So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without
Jerusalem once or
twice. Neh 13:20
"Perhaps
professor would be a rough modern
equivalent to Sophist. It has a
similar range from
Professors of Greek to Professors of Phrenology and
although
some
Professors research, all teach, and all
are paid which was a great
reproach to the
Sophists.
Some
of them were serious
philosophers, educators or scholars; others only cheap-jacks, who professed to teach
only the sublime art of getting
on.
Did you want
to improve your memory: Did you want to be a £1,000-a-year
man? Some Sophist would teach you--for a fee.
Sophists
went from city to city, lecturing on their particular subject,
some
indeed
undertaking to lecture on any
subject, but always for
a fee.
(Kitto, The
Greeks, p. 168).
Then I testified
against them, and said unto
them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on
the
sabbath. Neh 13:21
And I commanded the
Levites, that they
should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the
sabbath day.
Remember me, O my God,
concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy
mercy. Neh 13:22
>
The
Book of Jubilees Chapter 2:
29
blessed throughout all days
like unto us. Declare and say to the children of Israel the law of
this day both that they should keep Sabbath thereon, and that they
should not forsake it in the error of their hearts; (and)
that
it is not lawful to do any
work
thereon which is unseemly,
to do thereon their own
pleasure, and that they
should not prepare thereon anything to be eaten or drunk,
and
(that it is not lawful) to draw water, or bring in or take out thereon through their gates any burden,
You
cannot do the normal
SUNDAY WORSHIP on the SABBATH without violating the law of the
Sabbath.
If
thou turn away
thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and
call the sabbath a
delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not
doing thine own
ways,
nor finding thine own
pleasure, nor
speaking
thine own words: Isa
58:13
How
is the preacher going to
preach on the Sabbath? How is the liturgical prayer leader going to
lead his prayer on the Sabbath. How is the wife going to prepare
lunch on the Sabbath. How can you drive or walk to "church" without
violating the Sabbath.
30
which they had not prepared
for themselves on the sixth
day in
their
dwellings.
And
they shall not bring in nor take
out
from house to house
on that day;
for that day is more holy and blessed than any jubilee
day of the
jubilees;
on this we kept Sabbath in the heavens before it was made
31
known to any flesh to keep
Sabbath thereon on the earth. And the Creator of all things blessed
it,
...........
but
he did
not
sanctify all
peoples and nations to keep Sabbath thereon,
...........
but
Israel
alone:
them
32
alone
he permitted to eat and drink and to
keep
Sabbath thereon on the earth. And the Creator of all
things blessed
this day which He had created for blessing and holiness and glory
above all
33
days. This law and testimony
was given to the children of Israel as a law for ever unto their
generations.
>
The Jews
did not optionally keep the Sabbath. Therefore,
to insist on Sabbath "worship" demands Sabbath Police to compel
people to visit and shut off TVs, close down the ball fields,
confiscate the lawn mowers and cars used for extensive travel.
>
A child
was born on the First day of its week. However,
it began its "citizenship" on the eighth day:
And
Abraham
circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded
him. Ge.21:4
And
when
eight days were accomplished for
the circumcising
of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the
angel before he was conceived in the womb. Lu.2:21
>
In
the teaching of the people and
DEFINING whom we must HEAR to glorify God.
And
it came to pass
about an eight
days
after these
sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a
mountain to pray. Luke 9:28
Or:
Eight days later he took Peter, James, and John with him into the
hills to pray. Luke 9:28LIV
And
as he prayed, the fashion of his
countenance was altered, and his
raiment was white and glistering. Luke 9:29
And,
behold, there talked with
him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Luke 9:30
Who
appeared in glory, and spake of his
decease which he should
accomplish at Jerusalem. Luke 9:31
But
Peter and they that were
with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his
glory,
and the two men
that stood with him. Luke 9:32
And
it came to pass, as they
departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us
to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one
for Moses, and one for Elias:
not knowing what he said. Luke 9:33
While
he thus spake, there came
a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered
into
the cloud. Luke 9:34
And
there came a voice out of
the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. Luke 9:35
If
the preacher is as great
as Moses or Elijah God says HEAR MY SON.
When
we tabernacle
with God in Christ it is to HEAR Him. If we HEAR some human then we
glorify that human as superior to Christ.
For
whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written
for our learning, that we through
patience and comfort of the
scriptures might have hope. Rom 15:4
Now
the God of patience and
consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according
to Christ Jesus: Rom 15:5
That
ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify
God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Rom 15:6
Wherefore
receive ye one
another, as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. Ro.15:7
There
is NO EXCEPTION to the
fact that this was ALWAYS on the first day of the week.
>
In
the New Covenant with a new beginning
First day:
Jews
might continue to keep the
Sabbath but this was for study and prayer but not for a "worship
ritual." The church assembles on the First Day of the week because
the assembly is not for REST but for educating and caring for the
people who assemble together. That might demand travel, helping the
poor or some other WORKS-RELATED task:
And
very early in
the morning, the first day of the
week,
they
came unto the sepulchre at
the
rising
of the sun. Mk.16:2
The
first day could be either
beginning at sun set before the resurrection or at sun rise. However,
Jesus was already gone at the rising of the sun. This could man that
Sunday began at sunset before. Again God in Christ "rested" or ceased
one form of His work on the sabbath and His NEW work began on
Sunday.
The
Greek ekklesia is the church. However,
when people assembly they do
a form of synagoge. The synagogue was a school of the Bible. It is
significant that the resurrected Jesus came when "two or three were
gathered in His name" on the first day of the week.
Then
the same day
at evening
[late
afternoon],
being
the
first day of the week, when the doors were
shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in
the
midst,
and saith unto
them, Peace be unto you. John 20:19
Consistent
with the "ekklesia"
which Jesus was establishing He confirmed His resurrection and
instructed them. Thomas was not there and when told what happened
"doubted." After eight days they would again be meeting in the end
of the day:
And
after eight days again his disciples
were within, and
Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the
midst, and said, Peace be unto
you. John 20:26
Again,
Jesus confirmed His
Deity:
Then
saith he to
Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach
hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless,
but believing. John 20:27
And
Thomas answered
and said unto him, My Lord
and my God.
John 20:28
No,
the evening was not late
enough to make this Monday. The Word says that it was the first
day
of the week, not
the second.
And
we sailed away
from Philippi after
the days of unleavened
bread (Passover week),
and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. Ac.20:6
Because
they left on the
seventh day or the day after the "first day" they would have arrived
there too late for the first day of the week meeting. However, when the first day
arrived. This passages
makes the TIME for the Lord's Supper very important
And
upon the first day of the
week,
when the
disciples came together to break bread, Paul
preached unto them,
ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until
midnight. Ac.20:7
People
did not need to
assemble to break bread. Where the Agape was practiced it was early in
the
morning to FEED the poor and destitute as they went out seeking a
job.
Now
in this that I
declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together (sunerchomai or
synagogue) not for the
better, but for the worse. 1 Cor 11:17
And
When
ye come together therefore
into one place, this is not to eat the Lords supper. 1 Cor 11:20
This
is why Paul directly
commanded that eating to satisfy hunger be done AT HOME so that they
could remember Christ.
However,
in the sense of the Lord's Supper an
assembly is implied for a specific purpose. You will note that
they are not said
to have RESTED. Therefore, there was no thought of replacing the
church assembly with the Sabbath rest.
And
he took bread,
and gave thanks, and brake
it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you:
this do in remembrance of
me. Lu.22:19
The
cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread
which we
break,
is it not the
communion of the body of Christ? 1Co.10:16
We
cannot know of course
whether this was the sabbath after sundown which would be a common
time to assemble. Because Sunday was not a "holy day" Paul could
travel on that day.
From
the Corinthian practice we
know that the first day was the day to dedicate money for the
poor.
Upon
the first
day of the
week
let every one of
you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no
gatherings when I come. 1Co.16:2
While
this is probably a
private savings, it is significant that the dedication of the Lord's
money is done on the first day of the week and not on the
Sabbath.
>
There are no examples
of the people meeting as Christians on the Sabbath although many
would have attended synagogue which was a school.
>
There are no commands, examples or
inferences that Christians ever met on the Sabbath or
"kept
the Sabbath
holy"
as a day of
worship as opposed to a day of rest.
>
Therefore, the "law of inference" or the "law of silence" ignores these actual examples and infers from the
Jewish Sabbath that the examples
can be ignored and the "seventh day of the week" imposed.
The
First
Day
of the week is for "getting rid of the leaven." The ancient Jews
searched their homes
in absolute silence with a candle to make sure that all of the leaven
or yeast was removed. You simply cannot have a Babylonian-type praise
team
"conditioning"
your silence--praise teams belonged to Nimrod for the worship of
Marduk; David's Levitical Military team was to help "do the work"
after Israel had lost God's Theocratic leadership.
The
Sabbath is
too late. Therefore,
the first
day
was always observed for the Lord's
Supper as a memorial but not
a "works" or sacrament.
Paul
went into the synagogue
and "sat
down."
Jesus read the
Word and sat
down.
The Sabbath in
the synagogue was the place of rest and hearing the Word of God. It
was never called "worship in the synagogue on the Sabbath."
The
early church ate the Lord's
Supper as a memorial but it did not worship in the "work"
sense of keeping
rituals but they
studied the Word and prayed. This would be after sundown Saturday
night or early Sunday
morning depending on
how the week was reckoned. They did not get Sunday off to watch
football.
Probably
rarely possible
because the Christians were the poorer classes, they could still
"take Saturday off" from work to rest.
In
the Passover and the First Day of
the week for
observing the Lord's Supper, the spiritual message is:
...........
Get
rid of the old yeast that you may be a new
batch without
yeast; as you really are.
...........
For
Christ, our Passover lamb, has been
sacrificed. 1 Cor
5:7
[Once for all
times]
Therefore
let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice
and wickedness,
but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth 1 Cor
5:8
The
Sabbath was not a day of
worship but a rest:
Shabath
(h7673) shaw-bath'; a
prim. root; to
repose, i. e. desist from
exertion.
Sabbath
is not something you do but
something you don't do.
Then
Pharaoh said,
"Look, the people of the land are now numerous,
and you are stopping
them from working."
Exod 5:5
Sunday
is not a day of
worship but of rest. Jesus said:
Come
unto me all ye
that labor and are heavy
laden,
and I will give you
rest.
Matthew
11:28
On
the other hand, what is
termed "worship" on either Saturday or Sunday reimposes the burden of
spiritual anxiety.
You
are not obligated to
"appease" Christ by
singing, playing instruments or trying to feed, clothe, house and
entertain Him. This was the Babylonian burden of the gods, and his
"agent" the priests demanded sexual favors from the musical
team.
To
try to "rouse" the god or
move the worshiper into their presence with music was spiritual
adultery:
"Women
and girls
from the different ranks of society were proud to enter the service of the
gods as singers and musicians. The understanding of
this service was universal:
these singers constituted the 'harem of the gods'." Music
and Worship in Pagan and Christian Antiquity, beginning on page 4
The
burden Jesus removed was:
Phortizo (g5412) for-tid'-zo;
from 5414; to load up (prop. as
aa vessel or animal), i.e. (fig.) to overburden with ceremony
(or spiritual
anxiety): - lade, be
heavy laden.
The
"rest" God-Incarnate
died to give to both Jew and Gentile:
Anapauo
(g373) an-up-ow'-o; from 303 and 3973; (reflex.) to repose (lit. or
fig. [be exempt], remain); by impl. to refresh: - take
ease,
refresh,
(give,
take)
rest.
This
turns the Babylonian
Sabbath upside down.
The
secular or pagan "singing" in the Ancient Near
East was the
magical incantations of the "old women" whose tales were put
into the "song book" after
their death and thereafter used to worship the composer: call her
Fanny Crosby, call her Twila Paris.
This
Greek-recognized "singing"
was replaced with a like-the-synagogue teaching of the revealed Word
one to another.
Let
the word
of
Christ dwell in you
richly in all wisdom; teaching (preaching) and
admonishing (warning/comforting) one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace
in your hearts to the Lord. Col 3:16
Not
even in the wilderness
was the Sabbath given for a day of worship.
This
article is related to the
charge that the Popes or Constantine or someone changed worship from
the "always Sabbath" to make only Sunday worship legal. And this was to
promote the worship of
the sun god. We might agree
that Catholicism
has much of sun worship in it but the rest of us can go back to the
beginning and understand that the first day of the week was
recognized as the day for assembly and the Lord's Supper.
The
Israelites "polluted" the Sabbaths by trying
to perform the ritual, musical idolatry of Egypt.
>
Did
the Pope or Constantine make
Christians Worship on the Sabbath?
As
a first example of what we
believe to be unfactual, a Sabbath "worshiper" but not a keeper notes
that:
"In
321 CE, while a
Pagan sun-worshiper, the Emperor Constantine declared that Sunday
was to be a day of rest:
"On
the
venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and
people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be
closed. In the country however persons engaged
in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits
because it often happens that another day is not suitable for
gain-sowing or vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment
for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost."
"The
Church
Council of
Laodicea circa 364 CE
ordered that religious
observances were to be conducted on
Sunday, not Saturday. Sunday became
the new
Sabbath.
Well,
that is not a fact: after giving credit to
Christ for his victory
Constantine permitted everyone to take a seventh-day rest on Sunday.
This
would permit
Christians to also
observe their assembly practices but it would have no
effect on the secret, male, daily honoring of the sun
by Mithra cultists.
The
council of Laodicea made a
rule against a second day off on Saturday specifically because
many of the activities of the
church were conducted on Saturday and were to continue to take place.
Rather than attend the circuses, Christians were diverted
into study.
While
the Jewish Sabbath under
the Law freed them from
duties to the religious community, the Christians who
always mlet on Sunday and also
got a day of rest were not to judaize and take Saturday off because this would
involve them in honoring Saturn. Furthermore, it would
free them up for
the "bread and circus" routine of most of the pagans on the
Sabbath.
As
most Christian churches now
meet on Wednesday, these early churches often met on Saturday to
promote the community of believers. Therefore, this was not to change
the day of worship from Saturday to sunday. Nevertheless, it is not
correct to use this to demand Sabbath "worship" rather than Sabbath rest. A
seventh-day source states that:
"They
ruled: "Christians shall not
Judaize and be
idle on Saturday, but shall work on that
day."
There are many indicators in the
historical record that some Christians ignored the Church's ruling. Sabbath observance was noted in Wales in
1115 CE. Francis Xavier was
concerned about Sabbath worship in Goa India in 1560 CE; he called
for the Inquisition to set up an office there to stamp out what he
called "Jewish
wickedness". A Catholic
Provincial Council suppressed the practice in Norway in 1435
CE.
"During
the period 30 CE to 313
CE, Christians lived in a predominately Pagan world: The long established,
official
religion of the Roman Empire was Pagan. A strong competitor to Christianity in
those days was a third religion: Mithraism. This faith involved
the worship of a Persian God
Mithra, and was popular among the Roman civil service and military. From
Source
Sunday was the
holy day or rest for
Mithra and "light" rather than "sun" was the focus:
"The light usually fell through
openings in the top as the caves were near the surface of the ground.
A hideous
monstrosity
representing Kronos (SATURN) was also shown. A fire
was
kept perpetually burning in the sanctuary. Three times a day prayer was offered the
sun toward the east, south, or west according to the hour.
"Sunday was
kept
holy in honour
of Mithra, and the
sixteenth of each month was sacred to him as mediator."
They did not
keep Sunday as a day of worship
but as a holy day.
There is little
doubt that the Roman church
borrowed from Mithra as they admit to have borrowed things such as
lights, candles and music from the surrounding pagan world. However,
Mithra was not the sun god but:
"Mithra was regarded
as created by, yet co-equal with, the Supreme
Deity. Mithraists were Trinitarian, kept
Sunday as their day of worship (or holy day), and their chief
festivals were what we know of as Christmas and Easter (Passover). Long before the advent of Jesus, Mithra was
said to
have been born of a virgin mother, in a cave, at the time of Christmas, and
died on a cross at Easter. Baptism was practised, and
the sign of the cross was made on the foreheads of all newly-baptised
converts. Mithra was considered to be the saviour of the world,
conferring on his followers."
Other's adoption of the
"traditions of the
elders" about the First
Day was so
profound that one preacher
warned those who wanted to "get the oxen out of the ditch on
Sunday"--
"Come,
let us help the
poor
in their work
today," that they should reflect on the fact that their will to do
good is rather committing a sin. " Would you help the poor?" the
preacher asks. "Do not steal from God this day." (Sermon by unknown
preacher).
Did Constantine
make Sunday free to promote
the worship of Mithra?
Mithraism was the cult
of the king and military males and not of
the people. Therefore, it is much more like Judaism under the Monarchy
than either true Judaism or Christianity. The civil-state conducted
the animal sacrifices at the temple but the common people were
excluded when the instruments gave the signal. Their worship was
outside the camp and the synagogue was always their place of Sabbath
instruction although the word is not often translated as
synagogue.
While Mithra was
"equal to the sun or more properly light" the primary
sacrifice was that of a bull. This would not
seem
to have been practiced by Christians who had always assembled for
instruction and the Lord's Supper on Sunday.
The adoption of
Mithraism would seem to have
been appropriated
more by sabbath
keepers than by
Christians.
The sun was
always the sun god:
"After the sacrifice, Mithra and the
sun
god banqueted together, ate
meat and bread, and drank wine.
Then Mithra mounted the chariot of the sun god and drove with him
across the ocean,
through the air to the end of the world."
But the
Peak of Mithra Power was the SABBATH and not sunday.
From Mithra's "home" the
Chhath was
the festival of Sun worship
but this happened on Friday.
PATNA: The two-day Chhath
festival, or worship of the Sun God, ends on Friday when villagers will
again stand in
bodies of water, to make themselves clean, and make offerings to the rising
sun.
Chhath, a festival
of survival, is celebrated by a farmer community found in Bihar and some
parts of
neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. The worshippers first express gratitude
to the setting Sun
for
its work in growing
their crops during the preceding year. The morning worship, on
Friday, is a request
for a bountiful
crop,
peace and
prosperity in the year to come. From
And
Saturn? "The Roman god of agriculture concerned with the
sowing of the
seeds."
And
Jewish Sabbath worshipers
begin their ceremonies on Friday evening!
While
ceremonies happend on Saturday, sun
worship tended more toward Friday or Saturday and not on
Sunday.
"Mithra (a
minor deity) is the god of the airy light
between heaven and earth, but he is also associated with the light of
the sun, and with
contracts and mediation.
Neither in Hinduism nor in Zoroastrianism did Mitra/Mithra have his
own cult. However,
"The
Roman cult
of Mithras is known as a "mystery" cult, which is to say that
its members kept the liturgy
and activities of the cult secret, and more importantly,
that they had to participate
in an initiation
ceremony to become
members of the cult. As a result, there is no surviving central text
of Mithraism analogous to the Christian Bible, and there is no
intelligible text which describes the liturgy.
"Mithraism
had a wide following
from the middle of the second century to the late fourth century CE, but the common belief that
Mithraism was
the prime
competitor of
Christianity, promulgated by Ernst Renan (Renan 1882
579),
is blatantly
false.
Mithraism was at
a serious
disadvantage right from
the start because it allowed only male initiates. What is more, Mithraism
was, as mentioned above,
only one of several cults imported from the eastern empire that
enjoyed a large membership in Rome and elsewhere. The major
competitor to Christianity was thus not Mithraism but the combined
group of imported cults and official Roman cults subsumed under the
rubric "paganism."
"The
structure of the cult was
hierarchical. Members went through a series of seven grades, each of which had a
special symbol and
a tutelary planet (wandering star). From lowest to highest these grades were
Corax (raven, under Mercury), Nymphus (a made-up word meaning male bride, under Venus), Miles
(the soldier,
under Mars), Leo (the lion, under Jupiter), Perses (the Persian,
under Luna,
the moon),
Heliodromus (the
Sun's courier,
under Sol, the
sun),
and
finally Pater (father, under Saturn). Those who reached the
highest grade, Pater,
could become the head
of a congregation.
Because mithraea were so small, new
congregations were probably founded on a regular basis when one or
more members reached the highest grade. From.
"The Roman Saturnalia was the feast of Saturn, who
was a god of agriculture, ruler of the Golden Age and Seventh Heaven, before he became associated with the winter
solstice
and, therefore, with dying, a symbolism which later
developed into his portrayal as an old man with a sickle or scythe, the
Reaper, Death, the Destroyer.
Ascension was
symbolized by seven
grades of initiation, each stage governed by a 'planet': Raven
(Mercury); Bride (Venus); Soldier (Mars); Lion (Jupiter); Persian
(the moon); Courier of the Sun (the sun); and Father (Saturn). The
ultimate goal was to transcend all levels of the cosmos and to attain the
level of the fixed stars, or aeternitas.'
This may explain why
the Roman Saturn (Sabbath)
worship may have ended as early as sunrise on Friday or lateras the day of the sun.
Saturn
(Saturday) was One of
the Satans. The actual Mithra cult, therefore, was a Saturn
(Saturday) cult and not a Sunday Cult: Sunday was the holy day which
would, like the Sabbath, eleminate rituals in favor of rest or
"ceasing" from otherwise unceasing rituals.
Saturn was one
of the "wandering
stars" or
planets defined by Jude and the Book of Enoch
because they did not obey set rules but wandered and were not stars
but planets.
"Saturn (Cronos) was his
father, and Rhea (Ops)
his mother. Saturn and Rhea were of the race of Titans (Satans), who were the children
of Earth and
Heaven, which sprang from Chaos.
Rhea,
daughter of Gaea, a Titan in Greek mythology is Mother of the
Olympian Gods including DEMETER/Chloe (Blooming) (Roman CERES, whence
cereal, her festival in April was Cerealia), Alma Mater, goddess of
the earth/grain, married to her brother Cronos - Demeter was
worshipped by women only in the THESMORPHORIA orgies. Like Fauna,
Rhea/Rea is identified in Roman mythology with Kybele/Cybele (Roman
Ops) Great Mother of the Gods, goddess of nature and fertility,
presiding over mountains and fortresses and known as Mater Turrita, her avatar is the
lion. Corybantes - eunuch
priests, led orgiastic
rites in Cybele's honour. Rhea, wife of Saturn/Kronos, was also known as
Dindumene and Berekuntia.
Bullfinch
notes that he was:
"The Roman god of
agriculture concerned
with the sowing of the seeds. He is regarded as the father of
Jupiter, Ceres, Juno and many others. His wife is the goddess Ops.
Jupiter supposedly chased him away and he was taken in by the god
Janus
in Latium where
he introduced agriculture and viniculture. This event heralded a
period of peace, happiness and prosperity, the Golden Age.
[Janus
was the
two-headed god who held the keys. Therefore, again, Saturn is more closely related
to Catholicism than
Christianity; more related to Saturday than Sunday]
Janus
was invested with high
powers, made the keeper
of the gates of heaven,
and arbiter of men's eternal destinies. Of this Janus, this Babylonian
"man,"
the Pope, as we
have seen, is the legitimate representative;
his
key, therefore,
he bears, with that of Cybele, his mother-wife; and to all his
blasphemous pretensions he at this hour lays claim. See
Hislop and the identity of
Saturn with the
Babylonian gods. And for another view of Janus]
The
Saturnalia was a Sabbath
of Worship rather than a Sabbath of rest:
"In memory of this
Golden Age, each
year the Saturnalia was observed on December 17 at his temple on
the Forum
Romanum. This temple, below the Capitoline Hill, contained the Royal
Treasury and is one of the oldest in Rome. The Saturnalia was one of
the major events of the year. Originally
only one day, it
was later extended
to seven days.
During this festival, business was
suspended, the roles
of master and
slaves were reversed, moral
restrictions were
loosened and gifts were exchanged. Offerings
made in his honor were done with uncovered heads, contrary to the
Roman tradition.
"Saturnalia in Rome was
celebrated from December 17-24, covering the solstice. December 25 was
Natalis Solis Invicti, the Birth of the Unconquered
Sun. Since no one
knew anything about Christ's birth, it wasn't celebrated in the early
church. Superimposing Christmas on existing festivals on December 25
only became official in the fourth century.
So,
again, Saturn, answers to the Babylon system which could only be
corrected by the true Sabbath during which one was
careful not to
"worship" which then, and now, is the "work of the gods."
Saturday was not a day off from work.
Therefore,
when Constantine gave everyone a holiday from work he was
defending the Christian's right to have free time to
worship.
But
in
312,
Constantine won
the battle at the Milvian Bridge under the sign of the cross.
Instantaneously, the dedications to Mithra ceased, even though there was no immediate public
interdiction of
Mithraic ceremonies.
The worship seems to have collapsed quite suddenly when imperial favour ceased to be with the
Mithraists. Britannica Members
Why Sunday?
Because Sunday was the regular
day for the assembly of the Christians from the very beginning: the
beginning of spiritual work.
The emperor
Constantine (d. 337), a convert to
Christianity, introduced the
first civil
legislation concerning Sunday in 321, when he decreed that all work should cease on Sunday, except that farmers
could work if necessary.
This
law, aimed
at providing time
for worship, was
followed later in the same century and in subsequent centuries by
further restrictions on Sunday activities.
Mithraism held Sunday
holy but we don't know
that they got a free day. Therefore, it would seem that a free Sunday
for Christians would create competition. And it did. Neither
Constantine nor the Pope demanded that everyone worship on Sunday.
And Mithraism decreased.
Doesn't Sunday
honor the Sun God?
Christians met
on the Lord's Day or First
Day of the Week before it was called Sunday. Here are some
examples:
- 90
AD DIDACHE:
- 100
AD
EPISTLE
OF BARNABAS chapter 15:
- died
c. 110, , Rome Ignatius, To the Magnesians
- 250
AD The Apostolic
Constitution Books I-VI mentions the Lord's day 18 times.
- 250
AD The Apostolic Constitution Book VII Didache
mentions the Lord's day 10 times.
- 250
AD The Apostolic Constitution Books VIII mentions the
Lord's day 10 times.
- 300
AD Victorinus: On the Creation of the World
- 300AD
EUSEBIUS: History Book I
Helios in his chariot,
relief sculpture, excavated at Troy, 1872; in the State Museums of
Berlin
The
sun was the sun god.
The moon was the
goddess. Among the Greeks Helios was the actual sun
and therefore the sun god. Apollo was also considered
the sun god.
"During the Roman Empire
the sun itself came to be worshiped as the Unconquered
Sun."
>
However, we have
seen no evidence that Sunday was a
particular day of worship of the Sun.
"There
is no
question that the existence of the planetary week with its Sun-day
("dies solis") is crucial for determining any influence of
Sun-worship on the [professing] Christian adoption of Sunday
observance, inasmuch as the Sun before the existence of a weekly
"Sun-day" was venerated every morning" (From Sabbath to Sunday, Samuele Bacchiocchi,
1977. p. 237).
Then Constantine
didn't make up a Sunday Law,
did he?
This
leaves Saturday named after a pagan god.
>
THE SABBATH WAS THE
MOST ANCIENT DAY OF PAGAN
WORSHIP
THE
SABBATH WAS
OFTEN HELD IN FEAR AS AN EVIL DAY
Saturday is
named after Saturn or
Kronos or the Babylonian Marduk.
Nimrod was the
human king of this system.
Joseph Lewis is
perhaps a Deist but he
observes that the Bible shielded Israel from Babylonian
superstition.
Joseph Lewis Wrote:
The
"sabbaths
and the full
moon"
are mentioned
together in numerous passages of the Old Testament. The derivation of
the word "sabbath" is from the Babylonian "Shabattum," meaning the day of the full moon, and the designation of
the seventh
day
by the Hebrews is attributed to the Babylonian "U-hul-gallum," which means the "evil day" and "a day of rest for the heart."
By adopting
the Sabbath, the
wandering Jews were forced to abandon any connection with the
Babylonian Shabattum.
ANUNNAKI
(Anukki,
Enunaki)
The
Akkadian name for a group
of gods of the underworld - chthonic and fertility. They are judges
in the realm of the dead. Their counterparts are the Igigi or good gods (although
in some texts the positions
are reversed). The Anunnaku are the children of Anu and Ki and are
like the Apkallu
and they are paired with an igigi.
Below the anunnaki were several classes of genii -- sadu, vadukku,
ekimu, gallu -- some of which were
represented as being good,
some evil.
Groups
of demons
are:
Asakku (Sumerian Asag), seven created by Anu and
defeated by Ninurta, a victory
also attributed to Nergal. Gallu, a term which
originally referred to
police officers (!) Sebitti,
"The
Seven" Individuals with
Akkadian names are: Bel Uri "Lord of the Roof" Bennu "Fits" Idiptu
"Wind" Libu
"Scab" Lamashtu, a female demon, a
disease Mimma lemnu "Something evil" Miqut
"stroke" Muttabriqu "Flashes of lightning" Pasittu
"She who erases" (an epithet of Lamashtu) Ugallu (Lion demon) Rabishu "The Croucher" Sarabda
"Bailiff" Sidana "Staggers" Suruppu, a disease brought on
by flood waters Tirid
"Expulsion" Umma
"Feverhot" Umu, a
storm demon.
Individuals
with Sumerian names
are: Saghulhaza, "Upholder of evil" And
the doorkeepers
of the
Underworld: Engidudu (also an epithet of
Erra), Endushuba, Endukuga, Endashurimma, Ennugigi, Enuralla/Nerulla, Nerubanda.
Eriskegal,
Ereshkigal
(Allatu). Queen of the
underworld (Kur),
of death, and enemy of Inanna. All underwold deities are called
Chthonic Deities. She is said to be the sister of Inanna, making her the
daughter of Nanna. She is defineitly not
one of the Seven Chthonic Anunnaki, yet she is still an
Anunnaki. Most
likely she is the Destructive Forces of Saturn as Inanna is Venus.
...........
She
was sister of Ishtar, spouse of Nergal
In
1869, George Smith, well
known as a pioneer student of Assyriology, discovered among the
cuneiform tablets in the British Museum "curious religious calendars
of the Assyrians, in which every month is divided into four weeks,
and
the seventh
days,
or 'Sabbaths,' are marked out as
days on which no work should be undertaken."
Authorities
contend that this
reckoning of the days of the week and the taboo prescribed for the
seventh day
probably belonged to
the age
of
Hammurabi. (Hutton
Webster, Rest Days: A Study in Early Law and Morality, p. 223.)
Therefore,
because the
"sabbath" was a day of fear and superstition, the observance of the
Sabbath by total cesation
from any rituals would guarantee that Israel would not fall into evil
as they already had in the worship of Apis.
Lewis continues:
"It
is the contention of Tacitus that the satellite Saturn was responsible for the
observance of the Sabbath by the
Hebrews because "of the
seven stars which rule
human affairs, Saturn has the highest sphere
and the chief
power."
Tibullus,
writing before 18 B.C., describes his reluctance to undertake a
journey which turned out unluckily on the seventh day of the week: "I often
allege auguries
and evil omens, or that I held the day of Saturn sacred." Even the color
associated with Saturn
was significant
of
evil.
While gold and
silver were the colors applied to the sun and the moon,
black
-- the color nearly always associated with misfortune symbolized
Saturn. The Seven Ages
of man are based upon the influence of the seven planets, and the last stage, dealing with old age, infirmity and death, is under Saturn, the
"evil"
planet.
Lewis also
observes that Sabbath taboos were
transferred to Sunday.
When Israel
rose up to "play" at Mount Sinai
they polluted the Sabbath rest by performing the musical worship of
Saturn:
And
they made
a calf in
those
days, and offered
sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Acts 7:41
Then
God turned,
and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in
the book of the prophets, O ye
house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by
the space of forty years in the wilderness? Acts 7:42
Saturn or
Kronos worship goes back to the
very beginning in Babylonia.
"As the name Pluto (Greek:
Hades) has the very
same meaning
as Saturn,
"The hidden one," so, whatever other aspect this name had, as applied
to the father of
the
gods, it is to Satan, the Hidden Lord of hell,
ultimately that all came at last to be traced back; for the different
myths about Saturn, when carefully examined,
show that he was at once the Devil, the father
of all sin
and idolatry, who hid
himself under the disguise of the serpent,--and Adam, who hid
himself among the trees of the garden,--and Noah, who lay hid
for a
whole year in the ark,-
and Nimrod, who was hid
in the secrecy of the Babylonian
Mysteries. It
was to glorify Nimrod
that the whole Chaldean system of iniquity was formed. Hislop
This
is why God immunized the Jews against Babylonian
worship by making the Sabbath a day of rest. Rest as we noted above is
the opposite of worship or work.
The latter-day popularity of Sabbath meetings even among nominal
Christians seems intimately connected to the revival of the ancient
"worship
teams"
and the ZOE
concept of worship of
the femininst goddess:
'This
Goddess, when considered as united to Saturn by the most exalted part of her essence, is
called Rhea; but considered as
producing Jupiter, and together
with Jupiter unfolding the total and partial orders of the Gods [i.e., the powers of
the Sensible
World],
she is called Ceres.' This is a very
important distinction to bear in mind.
Now
Rhea, as Ceres,
in Homers Hymn XIV, is called 'brass-sounding' and 'drum-beating'. This has reference to
the mystical results of certain
sounds and rhythm, part and
parcel of what the Hindus call Mantravidyâ. I remember reading a
curious old French book in the
Bibliothèque de la Ville of Clermont-Ferrand, one of the books
confiscated from the Minime Monastery of the same town, at the time
of the Revolution. This work dealt with
the
magical properties of
music,
and described for what especial
purposes the various
instruments of music
were used in the Temple-service of the Jews The Orphic Pantheon by
G. R. S.
Meade
[You
must remember that Israel lost the Covenant
at Mount Sinai because
of the musical worship of the golden calf representing Osiris. When
the elders "fired" God it was to demand a human king like the nations
so that they could
worship like the
nations. The Temle, therefore, was rapidly adopted to Babylonian
(Egyptian, Canaanite) worship.]
The
polluted the Sabbath by
attempting to worship on the Sabbath.
"It
is well known that Kronos, or Saturn, was
Rhea's husband; but it
is not so well known who was Kronos himself.
...........
Traced
back to his original, that
divinity is proved to have been the first king of
Babylon.
Theophilus
of
Antioch shows that Kronos
in the east was worshipped under the names of Bel and Bal;
and
from Eusebius
we learn that the first of the Assyrian kings, whose name was Belus, was also by the
Assyrians called
Kronos. Hislop
Based
upon many ancient
writings:
"Two worlds had existed
in the
beginning then,
...........
the
upper world of light in which God's
throne was set,
...........
and
the lower world that was filled with
darkness, perhaps inhabited by the first of the rebels.
Next
God had decreed that there
should be a permanent
barrier of separation
between these two worlds so that light might be eternally separated from the
darkness.
For
this reason the
water was created and spread out as a blanket to divide the one world
from the other.
Within
these waters God created seven
circles and showed
their paths to the seven stars. These seven stars are later
referred to by their names: Kruno (Saturn), Aphrodite (Venus),
Ares (Mars), Sun, Zeus (Jupiter), Hermes (Mercury), and the Moon (2
Enoch 30 f).
"This
Assyrian-Babylonian god Chiun
without doubt represented Saturn. HeÇyleÇl represents the god once
associated with the planet Venus. In our English
translation the name is
translated as "Lucifer" in Isaiah 14:12 T (Charles, R. H.
The Book of the Secrets Of
Enoch. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1896.)
Therefore,
Saturn and
Lucifer (bi-sexual) were the eternal enemies of God's
people:
"Charles
points out
that the five
stars
were known to
Israel in Old Testament times and are recorded in the ancient
prophetical writings. kÓyyuÇwn represents the god
associated with the planet
Saturn and is
translated in our English translation as "Chiun" in Amos 5:26.
The
Israelites
"rose up to play" in the musical idolatry which
doomed them at Mount Sinai.
Saying,
When will the new moon be gone, that we may
sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth
wheat, making
the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by
deceit? Am.8:5
What
they did on the Sabbath
and most other days is defined as removing the Word from the people
by what amounted to Saturn worship :
Take
thou away from
me the noise of thy
songs;
for I will not
hear the melody of thy viols. Amos 5:23
But
let judgment
run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Amos 5:24
But
ye have borne the
tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun
your images, the star of
your god, which ye made to yourselves. Amos 5:26
Therefore
will I
cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose
name is The God of hosts. Amos 5:27
The
Israelites worshiped the
literal starry host while God is the Creator of the
hosts.
Therefore,
Sabbath
worshipers honor Saturn when they perform MUSIC which is the work of
human hands. The Jews were not even permitted to tune an instrument
on the Sabbath because it would defile the law against
WORK.
Rhea, the musical consort is
defined
as
ZOE or
Sophia-Zoe as the lucifer light bearer, female
instructing principle called
the "Beast."
In
Amos, they are called the
Cows of Bashan.
Saturn
or Saturday or Cronus
is the fallen offspring fighting against the supreme
Deity.
"Cronus also spelled CRONOS, OR
KRONOS, in ancient
Greek religion, male deity who was worshiped by the pre-Hellenic
population of Greece but probably was not widely worshiped by the
Greeks themselves; he was later identified with the Roman god Saturn. Cronus' functions were
connected with agriculture; in Attica his
festival, the Kronia, celebrated the harvest
and resembled
the Saturnalia.
In
art he was depicted as an
old man holding an implement,
probably originally a sickle
but interpreted as a harpe,
or curved sword.
"In
Greek mythology Cronus was the son of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea
(Earth), being the youngest of the 12 Titans (Satans). On the advice of his
mother he castrated his father with a harpe,
thus separating Heaven from Earth.
He
now became the
king of the Titans,
and took
for his consort
his sister Rhea; she
bore by him Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades,
and Poseidon, all of whom he swallowed
...........
because
his own parents had warned that
he would be overthrown by his own child.
When
Zeus was born, however,
Rhea hid him in Crete and tricked Cronus into swallowing a stone
instead. Zeus grew up, forced Cronus to disgorge his brothers and
sisters, waged war on Cronus, and was victorious. After his defeat by
Zeus, Cronus became, according to different versions of his story,
either a prisoner in
Tartarus or king of the
Golden Age."
2
Enuch 18:3
And
they said to me: These are the Grigori, who with their prince Satanail rejected the Lord of
light, and after
them are those who are held in great darkness on the second heaven, and
three
of them went
down on to earth
from the Lord's
throne, to the place Ermon,
and
broke through their vows on
the shoulder of the hill
Ermon
and saw the
daughters of men how good they are, and took to themselves wives, and
befouled the earth with their deeds,
who
in all times of their age
made lawlessness and mixing, and giants are born and marvellous big
men and great enmity.
Satan and his agents
taught Genun (Jubal) how
to handle (without authority) mixed-sex choirs and instrumental music to seduce the
Sethites. For
this, God will come with
ten thousand of His saints to execute judgment.
THE
SECOND THOUSAND YEARS:
YâReD TO THE FLOOD.
Of
the Transmission of the Art
of Playing
the
Harp,
that is to say of Music and Singing
and Dancing.
Yôbâl
(Jubal) and
Tôbalkin (Tubal-Cain), the two brethren, the sons of Lamech,
the blind man, who killed Cain, invented and made all kinds of
instruments of music.
Jôbâl
made reed instruments, and harps, and flutes, and whistles,
and
the devils went and dwelt inside them.
- When
men blew into the pipes,
...........
the
devils sang inside them,
...........
and
sent out sounds from inside them.
"Uranus
(heaven) hated his offspring and hid them in Gaea's
(the earth) body. She
appealed to them for vengeance, but Cronus
(a Titan) alone responded. With
the harpe (a scimitar) he removed Uranus'
testicles as he
approached Gaea. From the drops of Uranus' blood that fell on her
were born the Furies, the Giants, and the Meliai (ash-tree nymphs).
"At
the instigation
of Gaea the Titans
rebelled against their father, who had shut them up in the underworld
(Tartarus).
Under
the
leadership of Cronus
they deposed Uranus and set up Cronus as their ruler. But one
of Cronus' sons, Zeus,
rebelled against his father, and a struggle then ensued between them
in which most of the Titans sided with Cronus.
"Zeus and his brothers and sisters finally
defeated the Titans after 10
years of fierce battles (the Titanomachia). The What were then hurled down by Zeus and imprisoned
in a cavity beneath Tartarus.
"In
pagan
traditions, musical instruments are invented by gods or demi-gods, such as titans (seitans). In the Bible, credit
is assigned to antediluvian
patriarchs, for example, the descendants of Cain in Genesis 4:21. There is no other
biblical tradition
about the invention of musical instruments." (Freedman, David Noel,
Bible Review, Summer 1985, p. 5
To
see that the Titans stand for Satan See
Hislop.
It
was believed that the Cainites were influenced by the giants or titans
who were the result of intermarriage between humans and the elders of
Lucifer who seduced the
children of God through music.
"We
see, therefore,
that the arts
also are consecrated to the services of the beings who dwell in the
names of their founders; taints of idolatry whose inventors have got
a place among the gods for their discoveries. Nay, as regards the
arts, we ought to have gone further back,
and
barred all
further argument by the position that the demons, predetermining in
their own interests from the
first, among other evils of idolatry, the pollutions of the public shows,
with
the object
of drawing man
away
from his Lord and
binding him to their own service, carried out their purpose by
bestowing on him the artistic gifts which the shows
require'." (Tertullian, de
Spectaculis, Ante-Nicene, III, p. 84).
We
know that the church leaders
(not Roman Catholic) warned the Christians against observing the
Sabbath which was a legal holiday because the shows and spectacles
were practiced in Rome even as they had in Babylon.
There
is no other
tradition but that Satan taught mankind how to take away the key to
knowledge of God by music:
"Slightly
less
familiar are the Devil's
musical exploits. He
not only loves singing but is master of the violin, of which
instrument of evil he is reputedly the inventor. By the same token he
can give mastery of the violin, bartering infernal skill for the pupil's soul.
These
legends are related to
the larger
belief in the supernatural origin of musical skill
and individual songs." (Botkin, B. A., A Treasury of American
Folklore, Crown Publishers, p. 718; Cf. The Devil and the Fiddle,
Herbert Halpert, Hoosier Folklore Bulletin, Vol II (Dec.,
1943).
As
Saturn was the chief
Satan it is interesting that: "In pagan traditions, musical instruments are invented by gods or
demi-gods, such as titans (seitans). In the Bible, credit
is assigned to antediluvian
patriarchs, for example, the descendants of Cain in Genesis 4:21. There is no other
biblical tradition
about the invention of musical instruments." (Freedman, David Noel,
Bible Review Summer 1985, p. 51).
>
They
Manichaeans are said to have
worshiped the sun
They
also understood that Sabbath
worship was to bind
themselves to the fetters of the Jews to whom the Sabbath was given
as a day of rest:
"Shall
we by
circumcision add shame
to shame, and believe
that God is pleased with such sacraments?
...........
Shall
we observe
the rest of the Sabbath, and bind ourselves in the
fetters of
Saturn?
Shall
we glut the demon of the
Jews,
for he is not
God, with the slaughter of bulls,
rams, and goats, not to say of men; and adopt, only with greater
cruelty, in obedience to the law and the prophets, the practices on
account of which we abandoned idolatry?
Shall
we, in fine,
call the flesh of some animals clean, and that of others unclean,
among which, according to the law and the prophets, swine's flesh has
a particular defilement?
Of
course you will allow that
as Christians we must not do any of these things, for you remember
that Christ says that a man when circumcised becomes twofold a child
of hell.1
It
is plain also that
...........
Christ neither observed the Sabbath
himself,
...........
nor commanded it to be
observed.
The
Book of Enoch and Paul to the Corinthians show
that when Israel fell it was because they worshiped
demons.
However,
Augustine responded that:
5.
We are not
afraid to meet your scoff at the Sabbath, when you call it the fetters of Saturn.
It is a silly and unmeaning expression, which occurred to you only
because you are in the habit of worshipping the sun on
what you call
Sunday.
What
you call Sunday we call the Lord's day, and on it we do not worship the sun, but the Lord's
resurrection.
Augustine thereby shows how ridiculous it
is to define people as "the
antichrist" because they worship on the Lord's Day which much later
was termed Sunday.
Thus
we have shown regarding circumcision, and the Sabbath, and the distinction of
food, and the sacrifice of
animals,
...........
that
all these things were our examples, and our prophecies,
which Christ came not to
destroy,
but
to
fulfill, by fulfilling
what was thus foretold. Your opponent is the apostle, whose opinion I
give in his own words: "All these things were our examples
>
Jesus
is the True LIGHT and is honored
on Sun-Day. This prevents the worship of the S.U.N. rather than
worship of the S.O.N. The SUN is the creature but Jesus is the
Creator.
Jesus, the SON
of God is the
brightness of His invisible Glory. As the sun is
the source of power, the Son is its rays extending into the visible
world.
Shamash was
the Babylonian god of gods who "rested" on the sabbath while the
creatures served them in the work of worship: feeding, clothing,
housing, entertaining and even providing sexual partners: the god was
worshiped but the priests got the girls.
However, Jesus is never
defined as Saturn but
the true Sun, giver of all life:
But
for you
who
revere my name, the sun of
righteousness will rise
with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves
released from the stall. Mal 4:2
Shemesh
(h8121) sheh'-mesh; from an unused root mean. to be brilliant; the
sun; by impl. the east; fig. a ray, i. e. (arch.) a notched
battlement: - / east side (-ward), sun ([rising]), / west (-ward),
window. See also 1053.
The
SON is the spiritual SUN
who rose on the first day of the week but not the literal
S.U.N.
Then
spake Jesus again unto
them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me
shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life. Jn.8:12
And
was transfigured before
them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was
white as the light.
Mt.17:2
And
very early in the morning,
the first
day of the
week,
they came unto
the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. Mk.16:2
About
noon as I came near
Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. Acts
22:6
At
midday, O king, I saw in the
way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me
and them which journeyed
with me. Ac.26:13
And
he had in his right hand
seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and
his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
Re.1:16
And the city had no
need of the sun,
neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did
lighten it,
and the Lamb is
the light
thereof. Rev
21:23
And rather than Venus,
a wandering star
representing Lucifer, Jesus said:
I, Jesus, have sent
my angel to
give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the
Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." Rev
22:16
Orthrinos (g3720) or-thrin-os'; from 3722; relating to
the dawn,
i.e. matutinal (as an epithet of Venus, espec. brilliant in
the early day): - morning.
Orthros (g3722) or'-thros; from the same as 3735; dawn
(as
sun- rise, rising of light); by extens. morn: - early in the morning.
Oros (g3735)
or'-os; (to rise or "rear"; perh. akin to 142; comp. 3733); a
mountain
(as lifting itself above the plain): - hill, mount (-ain
If Jesus was resurrected
after sunset the
previous day, He was resurrected on Sunday. Not at the "first second
of the first day" but He met the women "early."
NOW
upon the first day of the
week,
very
early in the
morning, they came unto
the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and
certain others with them. Luke 24:1
...........
JESUS
went unto the mount of Olives.
John 8:1
...........
........... And
early
in the morning he came again into the
temple,
...........
........... and
all the people came
unto him;
...........
........... and
he
sat down, and taught them. John
8:2
>
ERROR:
Sabbath worship replacing Sabbath Rest is the battle of the Seitans over
Sunday, the day of the SON.
The
Sabbath was the day of
worship for
Marduk (Saturn) Saturn's great festival was the Saturnalia
related
to "the feast of fools" and Marde Gras:
"One
of the
best-known festivals of ancient Rome was the
Saturnalia, a winter festival
celebrated on December 17-24.
Because it was a time of wild merrymaking and domestic celebrations,
businesses, schools, and law courts were closed so that the public
could feast, dance, gamble, and generally enjoy
itself to the
fullest.
December
25--the
birthday of
Mithra, the Iranian god
of light, and a day devoted to
the invincible
sun, as well as the day
after the Saturnalia--was adopted by the church as Christmas, the nativity of
Christ, to counteract the effects
of these festivals.
In
time this festival became
a mockery of Christianity and Christians:
"These
plays often employed musical forces comparable to those of
the religious plays and used them for
similar purposes. Choirboys from the church
sometimes took part, but surviving
texts suggest that there was little choral music as such.
The
individual actors incorporated parts of songs chanted monophonically
to embellish or heighten the dramatic
effect, and dancing to specific instrumental music also had a regular
place in the
entertainment.
Professional
musicians might be
hired and might also be required to act; the constituent parts of the
entertainment varied widely from place to place.
The
Sabbath or Rest of God
was a condemnation of Saturday "worship" rituals:
God
had Moses write a rebuttal
of the Babylonian (Egyptian, Canaanite) worship. The sabbath in Babylonia was reserved for the rest of the chief god, Marduk or Saturn. The
common people
were the slaves of the gods and got no time off.
Therefore,
God did
not
ordain the Sabbath as a
day of worship but of rest for everyone. The image of the creation
story is that "God got a day off." Therefore, if the true God serves
mankind then even the poorest slave gets a day of rest.
Freedom
from religious rituals was
the best possible rest. Click
for the beginning of the Sabbath for the
gods.
Never in the
History of God's people has the
Sabbath been devoted to performing religious rituals. However, many
people have observed the Sabbath as a day of rest or prayer and study
of the Word.
Therefore,
to
make worship rituals a Sabbath duty is to restore the ancient
Babylonian form of servitude. At the same time, Sunday worship falls
into the same error.
Here is another
claim for the Sabbath
restoration:
"Thus
we learn from Socrates (H.E., vi.c.8) that in
his time public
worship was held in the churches of Constantinople on both days. The
view that the Christian's Lord's day or Sunday is but the Christian
Sabbath deliberately transferred from the seventh to the first day of
the week does not indeed find categorical expresssion till a much
later period.... The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday
as a legal duty is a constitution of Constantine in A.D. 321,
enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and
workshops were to be at rest on Sunday (venerabili die Solis), with
an exception in favour of those engaged in agricultural labour....
The Council of Laodicea (363) ... forbids Christians from Judaizing
and resting on the Sabbath day, preferring the Lord's day, and so far
as possible resting as Christians."--Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1899
Edition, Vol. XXIII, page 654. From
Source
Resting meant
free from responsibility. As
history notes, if Christians observed Saturday as a day or rest they
would fall into the feasts of the pagans which were always religious
in nature.