Beginning of the End: The True Sign of Loyalty to God—The Sabbath

 God’s claim to reverence and worship above the gods of the heathen is based on the fact that He is the Creator. The prophet Jeremiah ways, “The living God ... has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens at His discretion. ... Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge; every metalsmith is put to shame by an image; for his molded image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are futile, a work of errors; in the time of their punishment they shall perish” (Jeremiah 10:10-12, 14, 15). The Sabbath, as a memorial of God’s creative power, points to Him as the maker of the heavens and the earth. It is a constant witness to His greatness, wisdom, and love. If the Sabbath had always been sacredly observed, there could never have been an atheist or an idolater.

The Sabbath originated in the Garden of Eden—it is as old as the world itself. It was observed by all the patriarchs, from creation onward. When the law was proclaimed at Sinai, the first words of the fourth commandment were, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it  holy,” showing that the Sabbath was not just then instituted. We are pointed back to creation for its origin. Satan aimed to tear down this great memorial. If people could be led to forget their Creator, they would make no effort to resist the power of evil, and Satan would take them captive.

Satan’s hatred against God’s law had driven him to war against every principle of the Ten Commandments. Disrespect for the authority of parents will soon lead to disrespect for the authority of God, so Satan has worked to lessen the responsibility of the fifth commandment. In many heathen nations parents were abandoned or put to death as soon as they were too old to provide for themselves. The mother was treated with little respect, and when her husband died, she was required to submit to the authority of her eldest son. Moses commanded that sons and daughters obey their parents, but as the Israelites strayed from the Lord, the fifth commandment, with others, came to be ignored.

Satan was “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44), and as soon as he got power over the human race, he not only prompted them to hate and kill one another, but made killing, a violation of the sixth commandment, a part of their religion.

Heathen nations were led to believe that human sacrifices were necessary in order to earn the favor of their gods, and the most horrible cruelties have been committed under various forms of idolatry. Among these was the practice of causing their children to pass through the fire before their idols. When one came through unharmed, the people believed their offerings were accepted. They regarded the child who survived as specially favored by the gods. They heaped benefits on that child and held it in high esteem from then on. However terrible the favored one’s crimes, no punishment ever followed. But if a child were burned in passing through the fire, his fate was sealed; the anger of the gods could only be satisfied by taking the life of the victim. In times of great apostasy these horrible practices existed to some extent among the Israelites.

The violation of the seventh commandment was also practiced early in history in the name of religion. Terrible sexual rites became a part of the heathen worship. The gods themselves were impure, and their worshipers unleashed their baser passions. Religious festivals were characterized by universal, open impurity.

Polygamy was one of the sins that brought the wrath of God upon the pre-Flood world, yet after the Flood it again became widespread. It was Satan’s studied effort to pervert marriage, to weaken its obligations and lessen its sacredness. This was the most certain way he could deface the image of God in humanity and open the door to misery and evil.