Stephen Terry, Director

 

Still Waters Ministry

 

Qr code

Description automatically generated

 

 

 

 

Earth's Closing Events

Commentary for the June 22, 2024, Sabbath School Lesson

 

An artistic interpretation of Nimrod."Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, 'Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.' The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar." Genesis 10:8-10

The story of the Bible may be summed up from early post-flood accounts in Genesis to the last chapters in Revelation as the opposition of two cities, Babylon and Jerusalem. We know from the Bible that Babel, later Babylon, was the site where mankind challenged God and the languages were confused, thwarting humanity's purpose. Nimrod was the man directing that enterprise and despite a common language deconstructing into a babble hindering further progress on an immense building project, he was still able to develop a powerful empire, first in Babylon and then in Nineveh. Without his continued existence, those city states warred against one another with Nineveh plundering Babylon and later Babylon in alliance with the Medes returning the favor against Nineveh, bringing an end to the Assyrian Empire. Eventually Babylon also fell before the same Medes who had been their allies who were now allies of the first Persian empire, the Achaemenids.

Midrash sources add insights to Nimrod's relationship to God's chosen people, the Jews. Midrash may be understood in some ways as being like our own Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary which seeks to deepen understanding of the Bible as informed by traditional Adventist understandings. While the oldest existing Midrash is only as old as the second century, the oral traditions included in Midrash are much more ancient. Those traditions[i] tell us that Terah, Abraham's father was a general in Nimrod's army, but when an astrologer told Nimrod that a son born to Terah would be the forerunner of a great nation, Nimrod ordered Terah to have the child put to death. Terah offered up the child of a slave instead, placating Nimrod. But eventually the ruse was discovered. The Midrash then says that Nimrod, like Nebuchadnezzar later would do to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, had Abraham cast into a fiery furnace from which he was miraculously delivered.

In the fall out from this event, Terah's family split. Haran, Abraham's brother, after witnessing the miraculous deliverance proclaimed for Abraham and was murdered by Nimrod. Nahor, Abraham's other brother declared for Nimrod and remained in Ur. Nimrod, unable to slay Abraham, sent him into exile with Terah and his nephew Lot, son of the martyred Haran. Terah, Abraham, and Lot found shelter until Terah's death in Haran, which was a city in the Mitanni Empire and later absorbed into the Hittite Empire. This began a long association between Abraham and his descendants with the Hittites. Abraham purchased a burial plot for his wife Sarah from the Hittites, and as late as the reign of King David, we find Uriah the Hittite as a mighty warrior in the king's army.

It was not until King David's reign that Jerusalem became representative of God's kingdom, although there may be an earlier reference to the city in the identification of Melchizedek as King of Salem. It stood as a city of peace in opposition to the Babylonian city of chaos and confusion. Perhaps the most dramatic portrayal of this conflict in the Old Testament is found in the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jews in Babylon for three quarters of a century, a relationship that gave us the dramatic prophetic book of Daniel that attempts to outline world history in advance from Daniel's day to the time of the end. The thesis of that book being the necessity to choose wisely lest one be on the wrong side of history. Daniel's prayer of repentance on behalf of God's people leaves no misunderstanding about his identification of the right course being to return and rebuild Jerusalem even though he himself did not return.

Given this historical conflict between Jerusalem and Babylon, we see it figuring prominently in other apocalyptic literature, especially in Revelation. Interestingly a common thread runs through from the miraculous deliverance of Abraham from fiery death in Ur, to Daniel's three friends being delivered from a similar fate in Babylon, and then the author of Revelation, John, was delivered from being thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil and subsequently exiled to Patmos, exile seeming to be the consistent fate for those who cannot be killed. John makes plain his disdain for Babylon, although the application seems much more global than simply a city state in Mesopotamia. Perhaps living during the time of the Roman Empire helped him see how much bigger the conflict between Babylon and God's people was. Rome existed as a Republic and an Empire for a millennium and half, stretching from Parthia in the east to Iberia in the west and from the Northern Marches of Britain to the defeat of the Carthaginian and Egyptian Empires in Africa. The Romans conquered far more than Nimrod ever hoped to, first from Rome on the Italian peninsula, then from Constantinople on the Bosphorus after the fourth century.

Sadly, it is also from the fourth century that God's people willingly became subject to Babylon once again. They had descended to theological infighting and asked the emperor, Constantine, to arbitrate the disputes. He willingly stepped in, seeing an opportunity to use the church as a tool for imperial power. God's people sold themselves into captivity to the Babylonish state for pottage. Constantine sided with Athanasius against Arius in the controversy over the nature of Christ and seized lands and properties belonging to Arius. However, once the principle was established that the state could direct the church, Constantine relented and restored all to Arius. To this day, some, like the Jehovah's Witnesses hold to an Arian view of the nature of Christ, so Athanasius was not as successful as he hoped in quashing Arianism, and the church has paid a tremendous price ever since. This is why John in Revelation issues an end-time call for God's people to come out of Babylon for that captivity for many continues until the end of time.

There is a means to tell if we are in Babylon or not. Those who are not "keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus." (Revelation 12:17) The church in captivity to Babylon teaches that because of God's grace the commandments of God are null and void. But let us look at some of those commandments. Jesus, quoting from the Old Testament, said that the two greatest commandments were to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:34-40) Have these then been done away with because of grace? Do New Testament Christians no longer need to love? That does not seem likely since John told us that he who does not love does not know God. (1 John 4:8)

The church in Babylonish captivity tells us that the law they were referring to was the Ten Commandments that were done away with, "nailed to the cross." Really? The first four commandments are derived from our love for God. The last six from our love for our neighbor. Even in their captivity to Babylon, many would agree that we should still have no other gods before God, should not make idols, and should not take the name of God in vain. They also would agree that murder, adultery, stealing, lying, coveting the things others own and even honoring one's parents are still applicable for the Christian. When the captive church says that the commandments have been done away with, they only mean one, the fourth commandment, the Sabbath commandment. Why would that be? Revelation tells us that the final call for God's people to come out of Babylon urges them to worship him as Creator. The Sabbath, as the commandment text reminds us, was established at Creation and so is a memorial of that Creation. (Exodus 20:8-11) Just as the Jews memorialize their deliverance from Egypt with the annual Passover celebration. Each week we remember God as Creator when we observe the Sabbath. Since both are so closely tied to each other, it follows that rejection of one is a rejection of the other.

Sunday began to be substituted as an ersatz Sabbath by some Christians as early as the second century for antisemitic reasons. Christians did not want people to think they were Judaizers. It is not surprising therefore that not long after the modern captivity of the church to Babylon at the Council of Nicaea that soon after, at the Council of Laodicea, Judaizing was outlawed, including the keeping of the Sabbath, justifying the change as being in honor of the resurrection. Much of the Christian world joined in this rejection of the Sabbath, and even when breaking from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation continued to remain captive to Babylon on this point. Daniel foretold that a power would arise that would think to change times and laws. (Daniel 7:25) Since the only one of the Ten Commandment statutes dealing with time is the fourth regarding the Sabbath, it follows that the change respecting the Sabbath was foretold.

One interesting aspect of this change is related to the Mark of the Beast in Revelation, chapter 13, versus the Seal of God in Revelation, chapter 7. The Seal of God is in the forehead, meaning it is only received if one is fully convinced. But the Mark of the Beast can be either in the forehead or the hand, indicating that while some are fully convinced of Babylon's correctness, those who only receive the mark on the hand are simply going along to avoid the hassle of commitment to something that might create a hardship for themselves. This is the case with the Sabbath. It requires commitment. But support of Sunday observance requires little in the way of commitment. One can go along with Sunday observance without believing it has any religious significance. Going along with the status quo is nothing new. When the Jews returned from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem in the sixth century BCE, most remained in Babylon, finding it inconvenient to abandon their lives there to return to Israel. Based on this failing of human nature, it is reasonable to expect that most will choose to remain in Babylon now when God is calling them to come out and worship him as Creator, honoring the commandment that recognizes him as such. Though God's patience, compassion and grace are abundant, the call will not go out forever. "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near." (Isaiah 55:6)

 



[i] Who Was Terah?

 

 

You may also listen to this commentary as a podcast by clicking on this link.

 

 

 

If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy these interesting books written by the author.

To learn more click on this link.
Books by Stephen Terry

 

 

 

This Commentary is a Service of Still Waters Ministry

www.visitstillwaters.com

 

Follow us on Twitter: @digitalpreacher

 

Follow us on Instagram: @stygyz

 

If you wish to receive these weekly commentaries direct to your e-mail inbox for free, simply send an e-mail to:

commentaries-subscribe@visitstillwaters.com

 

 

Scripture not otherwise identified is taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION and NIV are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.