Revelation 14:8 announces the fall of spiritual Babylon. As we saw last week, Babylon was an oppressor of God’s people in the Old Testament. Thus, Babylon is a fitting symbol of the citadel of error, of the center of apostasy, and of the archenemy of truth. Last week, we also studied the contrast between the woman in white, Christ’s true church, and the harlot, Babylon. We noted that the false system of religion termed as Babylon looks to human religious leaders for authority rather than to the Word of God. Babylon derives its power from the state rather than from Christ. In keeping with the custom of many false religions, Babylon uses idols as representations of the deity.
This week, we will study the two major falsehoods of Babylon: the concept of the immortal soul and sun worship. Throughout the centuries, heathen religions have believed that the soul was immortal. This belief is true of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome. This idea of the immortality of the soul entered the Christian church in the early centuries, along with the worship of pagan idols that were repackaged under a veneer of Christianity and venerated as saints. The second error, sun worship, also entered the Christian church relatively early when Christian leaders attempted to appease the pagans and make Christianity more palatable to them. The purported sacredness of Sunday and the immortality of the spirit are two of Satan’s greatest deceptions for the last days. This week, we will study these deceptions in the light of God’s Word.
Part II: Commentary
When the apostle John wrote the book of Revelation, the ancient city of Babylon had long since been destroyed. John wrote Revelation toward the end of the first century a.d. Babylon had been overthrown by the Medes and Persians in 539 b.c., more than 600 years before. The prophet Isaiah foretold Babylon’s fate: “It will never be inhabited, nor will it be settled from generation to generation; nor will the Arabian pitch tents there, nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there” (Isa. 13:20, NKJV). Throughout the centuries, this prophecy has been proven true. Alexander the Great of Greece brought 10,000 men to Babylon to clear the ruins and rebuild the city. He died in Babylon before the project could be accomplished. Subsequent to his death, the mission was abandoned. The city has lain in ruins for more than 2,500 years.
Revelation’s mystical Babylon then is certainly not the ancient city of Babylon. The SDA Bible Commentary forcibly reveals the identity of spiritual Babylon: “Babylon, both literal and mystical, has thus long been recognized as the traditional enemy of God’s truth and people. As used in the Revelation the name is symbolic of all apostate religious organizations and their leadership, from antiquity down to the close of time. . . .
“This prophecy of the fall of Babylon finds its last-day fulfillment in the departure of Protestantism at large from the purity and simplicity of the gospel.”—Volume 7, p. 830.
This assertion leads us to a couple of significant questions. What were the major characteristics of Old Testament Babylon? Were some of its practices adopted by the Catholic Church in the early centuries after Christ’s ascension? We already have noted in last week’s study that idols were brought into the church and incorporated into Christian worship. This week, as we stated in our overview, we will focus on two other errors that corrupted the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages: the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness. Ellen G. White makes this remarkable statement, linking these twin errors together: “Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.”—The Great Controversy, p. 588.
Spiritualism
Throughout the book of Revelation, spiritualism is one of Satan’s final deceptions to unite the world and lead it to earth’s final conflict between the people of God and the forces of evil. Revelation 16:14 states, “For they are the spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (NKJV). Revelation 19:20 adds that those who received the mark of the beast were deceived by these false spectacular wonders or signs, and Revelation 13 confirms that the devil “deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast” (Rev. 13:14, NKJV). According to Revelation 18:2, Babylon “has become the dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit” (NKJV). Under the guise of spiritualism, Satan will work with “lying wonders” and “all deceivableness” (2 Thess. 2:9, 10). One of his final deceptions will be the impersonation of the dead by his evil angels and a distortion of Bible truth, including the Sabbath.
Ellen G. White gives us this chilling picture of what is coming upon those who have accepted the error of the immortality of the soul: “The doctrine of man’s consciousness in death, especially the belief that spirits of the dead return to minister to the living, has prepared the way for modern spiritualism. If the dead are admitted to the presence of God and holy angels, and privileged with knowledge far exceeding what they before possessed, why should they not return to the earth to enlighten and instruct the living? . . . He [Satan] has power to bring before men the appearance of their departed friends. The counterfeit is perfect; the familiar look, the words, the tone, are reproduced with marvelous distinctness. Many are comforted with the assurance that their loved ones are enjoying the bliss of heaven, and without suspicion of danger, they give ear ‘to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.’ ”—The Great Controversy, pp. 551, 552.
Lest we pride ourselves on our knowledge of Bible truth and believe we are in no immediate danger from such blatant deceptions, think again. Modern spiritualism extends far beyond the impersonation of our loved ones by evil angels. (Bible-believing Adventists are, for the most part, not going to be tricked by Beelzebub appearing at the foot of their bed at night as dear old Uncle Barney back from the grave with “new light” on the Sabbath.) Spiritualism, in its modern incarnation, finds its expression in a more subtle, though devastating, attack on Bible truth.
One of its tenets, reaching all the way back to the Garden of Eden itself, is the serpent’s fatal lie that humans shall be as gods when they transgress God’s law. We see this pernicious tenet repackaged by postmodernism and marketed with seductive appeal in the teaching “Do as you will,” a refutation of, and attack on, the law of God itself. This dangerous sophistry subordinates the changeless and absolute sovereignty of God’s law to the caprice of human authority and the whims of culture. Subject to human authority, the law of God is thus made to have no force, nor be binding upon humanity. The devastating result is that God’s authority and Word are undermined and disregarded, to a large extent, in our modern cultures.
The bottom line? Satan doesn’t really care how he deceives us with the lying wonders of spiritualism. Whether by a blatant attack through “new light” from “dead” relatives or through a more subtle assault on the inspiration and the authority of God’s Word, it’s all the same to him. So, we must put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:10–18), praying for discernment to detect the most subtle deceptions of our unsleeping foe.
Attack on the Sabbath Truth
And that point neatly leads us to the second great error that Satan will use to deceive the people of God in the last days. It is the false teaching that the Sabbath is no longer valid because God’s law is no longer binding. This last error has its roots in antiquity. Sun worship has long been practiced by ancient cultures. The chief god of the Babylonians was Bel-Marduk. He was depicted as sitting on a golden throne in a golden temple before a golden table. He was the sun god of justice, light, truth, and kingly authority. Encyclopedia Britannica has an insightful article describing the influence of the sun god on past civilizations. According to the editors of Britannica, the ancients believed, “The sun is the bestower of light and life to the totality of the cosmos; with his unblinking, all-seeing eye, he is the stern guarantor of justice; with the almost universal connection of light with enlightenment or illumination, the sun is the source of wisdom. . . . These qualities—sovereignty, power of beneficence, justice, and wisdom—are central to any elite religious group, and it is within these contexts that a highly developed solar ideology is found. Kings ruled by the power of the sun and claimed descent from the sun. Solar deities, gods personifying the sun, are sovereign and all-seeing. The sun is often a prime attribute of or is identified with the Supreme Deity.”—‘‘Sun Worship: Religion,” Encyclopedia Britannica.
The Babylonians, along with their pagan counterparts, gave great reverence to the sun god, Bel-Marduk. The false religious system of end-time Babylon disregards the law of God as did its ancient counterpart. In the early centuries, a compromise occurred in the Roman Church to accommodate the surrounding pagan culture. To disassociate from the Jews and to evangelize the heathen, church and state leaders united to honor Sunday, first as a civil rest day and then as the official day of worship. Through the centuries of the Middle Ages under the auspices of Babylon, this church-state, religiopolitical alliance substituted human traditions for the Word of God. The worship of idols replaced worshiping Jesus directly. The Bible truth about the state of the dead was supplanted by the error of the immortality of the soul. The Sabbath was changed from the seventh day, Saturday, to the first day, Sunday. It appeared that error and falsehood would triumph. But the Bible’s last book, Revelation, prophesied that God would raise up a last-day remnant who, saved by grace and through the power of the living Christ, would live in godly obedience and proclaim His last-day message to the world.
Part III: Life Application
Reflect: This week’s study ought to lead us to do some serious thinking about our own spiritual experience. If the devil is going to use spiritualism to deceive millions because they long for signs and wonders more than the truth of God’s Word, is it possible that we, too, could be deceived if the basis of our spiritual experience is feeling and emotion? Do we want signs and wonders more than the truth of God’s Word? Here are some questions for your class members to ponder this week in the classroom and beyond:
1. What role does emotion play in our religious experience? What if our emotions point one way and the Word of God points another? What then do we do? Are our feelings ever a safe guide? Explain. What if you were confronted with the appearance of a dead loved one? What would you do? More important, what is your only safeguard against the deceptions of spiritualism in your culture that undermine the supremacy of God’s Word?
2. The change of the Sabbath is reflective of a departure from the Word of God. This change took place gradually over the centuries. Satan’s deceptions are often subtle. He is a cunning strategist. Is it possible that we could be on the slippery slope of compromise in our own lives? If so, what might these compromises be? Further, what do you see as the greatest challenges the church is facing today in the area of compromise?
3. Discuss the following statement: “Satan will work his miracles to deceive; he will set up his power as supreme. The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out—the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true.”—Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 911. What element, or elements, stand out to you in this statement? Why?
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Revelation 14:8 announces the fall of spiritual Babylon. As we saw last week, Babylon was an oppressor of God’s people in the Old Testament. Thus, Babylon is a fitting symbol of the citadel of error, of the center of apostasy, and of the archenemy of truth. Last week, we also studied the contrast between the woman in white, Christ’s true church, and the harlot, Babylon. We noted that the false system of religion termed as Babylon looks to human religious leaders for authority rather than to the Word of God. Babylon derives its power from the state rather than from Christ. In keeping with the custom of many false religions, Babylon uses idols as representations of the deity.
This week, we will study the two major falsehoods of Babylon: the concept of the immortal soul and sun worship. Throughout the centuries, heathen religions have believed that the soul was immortal. This belief is true of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome. This idea of the immortality of the soul entered the Christian church in the early centuries, along with the worship of pagan idols that were repackaged under a veneer of Christianity and venerated as saints. The second error, sun worship, also entered the Christian church relatively early when Christian leaders attempted to appease the pagans and make Christianity more palatable to them. The purported sacredness of Sunday and the immortality of the spirit are two of Satan’s greatest deceptions for the last days. This week, we will study these deceptions in the light of God’s Word.
Part II: Commentary
When the apostle John wrote the book of Revelation, the ancient city of Babylon had long since been destroyed. John wrote Revelation toward the end of the first century a.d. Babylon had been overthrown by the Medes and Persians in 539 b.c., more than 600 years before. The prophet Isaiah foretold Babylon’s fate: “It will never be inhabited, nor will it be settled from generation to generation; nor will the Arabian pitch tents there, nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there” (Isa. 13:20, NKJV). Throughout the centuries, this prophecy has been proven true. Alexander the Great of Greece brought 10,000 men to Babylon to clear the ruins and rebuild the city. He died in Babylon before the project could be accomplished. Subsequent to his death, the mission was abandoned. The city has lain in ruins for more than 2,500 years.
Revelation’s mystical Babylon then is certainly not the ancient city of Babylon. The SDA Bible Commentary forcibly reveals the identity of spiritual Babylon: “Babylon, both literal and mystical, has thus long been recognized as the traditional enemy of God’s truth and people. As used in the Revelation the name is symbolic of all apostate religious organizations and their leadership, from antiquity down to the close of time. . . .
“This prophecy of the fall of Babylon finds its last-day fulfillment in the departure of Protestantism at large from the purity and simplicity of the gospel.”—Volume 7, p. 830.
This assertion leads us to a couple of significant questions. What were the major characteristics of Old Testament Babylon? Were some of its practices adopted by the Catholic Church in the early centuries after Christ’s ascension? We already have noted in last week’s study that idols were brought into the church and incorporated into Christian worship. This week, as we stated in our overview, we will focus on two other errors that corrupted the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages: the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness. Ellen G. White makes this remarkable statement, linking these twin errors together: “Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.”—The Great Controversy, p. 588.
Spiritualism
Throughout the book of Revelation, spiritualism is one of Satan’s final deceptions to unite the world and lead it to earth’s final conflict between the people of God and the forces of evil. Revelation 16:14 states, “For they are the spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (NKJV). Revelation 19:20 adds that those who received the mark of the beast were deceived by these false spectacular wonders or signs, and Revelation 13 confirms that the devil “deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast” (Rev. 13:14, NKJV). According to Revelation 18:2, Babylon “has become the dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit” (NKJV). Under the guise of spiritualism, Satan will work with “lying wonders” and “all deceivableness” (2 Thess. 2:9, 10). One of his final deceptions will be the impersonation of the dead by his evil angels and a distortion of Bible truth, including the Sabbath.
Ellen G. White gives us this chilling picture of what is coming upon those who have accepted the error of the immortality of the soul: “The doctrine of man’s consciousness in death, especially the belief that spirits of the dead return to minister to the living, has prepared the way for modern spiritualism. If the dead are admitted to the presence of God and holy angels, and privileged with knowledge far exceeding what they before possessed, why should they not return to the earth to enlighten and instruct the living? . . . He [Satan] has power to bring before men the appearance of their departed friends. The counterfeit is perfect; the familiar look, the words, the tone, are reproduced with marvelous distinctness. Many are comforted with the assurance that their loved ones are enjoying the bliss of heaven, and without suspicion of danger, they give ear ‘to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.’ ”—The Great Controversy, pp. 551, 552.
Lest we pride ourselves on our knowledge of Bible truth and believe we are in no immediate danger from such blatant deceptions, think again. Modern spiritualism extends far beyond the impersonation of our loved ones by evil angels. (Bible-believing Adventists are, for the most part, not going to be tricked by Beelzebub appearing at the foot of their bed at night as dear old Uncle Barney back from the grave with “new light” on the Sabbath.) Spiritualism, in its modern incarnation, finds its expression in a more subtle, though devastating, attack on Bible truth.
One of its tenets, reaching all the way back to the Garden of Eden itself, is the serpent’s fatal lie that humans shall be as gods when they transgress God’s law. We see this pernicious tenet repackaged by postmodernism and marketed with seductive appeal in the teaching “Do as you will,” a refutation of, and attack on, the law of God itself. This dangerous sophistry subordinates the changeless and absolute sovereignty of God’s law to the caprice of human authority and the whims of culture. Subject to human authority, the law of God is thus made to have no force, nor be binding upon humanity. The devastating result is that God’s authority and Word are undermined and disregarded, to a large extent, in our modern cultures.
The bottom line? Satan doesn’t really care how he deceives us with the lying wonders of spiritualism. Whether by a blatant attack through “new light” from “dead” relatives or through a more subtle assault on the inspiration and the authority of God’s Word, it’s all the same to him. So, we must put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:10–18), praying for discernment to detect the most subtle deceptions of our unsleeping foe.
Attack on the Sabbath Truth
And that point neatly leads us to the second great error that Satan will use to deceive the people of God in the last days. It is the false teaching that the Sabbath is no longer valid because God’s law is no longer binding. This last error has its roots in antiquity. Sun worship has long been practiced by ancient cultures. The chief god of the Babylonians was Bel-Marduk. He was depicted as sitting on a golden throne in a golden temple before a golden table. He was the sun god of justice, light, truth, and kingly authority. Encyclopedia Britannica has an insightful article describing the influence of the sun god on past civilizations. According to the editors of Britannica, the ancients believed, “The sun is the bestower of light and life to the totality of the cosmos; with his unblinking, all-seeing eye, he is the stern guarantor of justice; with the almost universal connection of light with enlightenment or illumination, the sun is the source of wisdom. . . . These qualities—sovereignty, power of beneficence, justice, and wisdom—are central to any elite religious group, and it is within these contexts that a highly developed solar ideology is found. Kings ruled by the power of the sun and claimed descent from the sun. Solar deities, gods personifying the sun, are sovereign and all-seeing. The sun is often a prime attribute of or is identified with the Supreme Deity.”—‘‘Sun Worship: Religion,” Encyclopedia Britannica.
The Babylonians, along with their pagan counterparts, gave great reverence to the sun god, Bel-Marduk. The false religious system of end-time Babylon disregards the law of God as did its ancient counterpart. In the early centuries, a compromise occurred in the Roman Church to accommodate the surrounding pagan culture. To disassociate from the Jews and to evangelize the heathen, church and state leaders united to honor Sunday, first as a civil rest day and then as the official day of worship. Through the centuries of the Middle Ages under the auspices of Babylon, this church-state, religiopolitical alliance substituted human traditions for the Word of God. The worship of idols replaced worshiping Jesus directly. The Bible truth about the state of the dead was supplanted by the error of the immortality of the soul. The Sabbath was changed from the seventh day, Saturday, to the first day, Sunday. It appeared that error and falsehood would triumph. But the Bible’s last book, Revelation, prophesied that God would raise up a last-day remnant who, saved by grace and through the power of the living Christ, would live in godly obedience and proclaim His last-day message to the world.
Part III: Life Application
Reflect: This week’s study ought to lead us to do some serious thinking about our own spiritual experience. If the devil is going to use spiritualism to deceive millions because they long for signs and wonders more than the truth of God’s Word, is it possible that we, too, could be deceived if the basis of our spiritual experience is feeling and emotion? Do we want signs and wonders more than the truth of God’s Word? Here are some questions for your class members to ponder this week in the classroom and beyond:
1. What role does emotion play in our religious experience? What if our emotions point one way and the Word of God points another? What then do we do? Are our feelings ever a safe guide? Explain. What if you were confronted with the appearance of a dead loved one? What would you do? More important, what is your only safeguard against the deceptions of spiritualism in your culture that undermine the supremacy of God’s Word?
2. The change of the Sabbath is reflective of a departure from the Word of God. This change took place gradually over the centuries. Satan’s deceptions are often subtle. He is a cunning strategist. Is it possible that we could be on the slippery slope of compromise in our own lives? If so, what might these compromises be? Further, what do you see as the greatest challenges the church is facing today in the area of compromise?
3. Discuss the following statement: “Satan will work his miracles to deceive; he will set up his power as supreme. The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out—the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true.”—Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 911. What element, or elements, stand out to you in this statement? Why?