Atheism is another form of false worship, as are many varieties of traditional Christianity. Misguided teachers are among Satan’s most influential tools of deception, proclaiming popular and traditional ideas that are false.
Jesus prophesied, “There shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). While the Apostle Paul warns: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ…For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness….” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
An example of this misguided reasoning can be seen in what happened shortly after the reign of King David’s son Solomon when the Promised Land was divided in two—with the kingdom of Judah in the south under Solomon’s son Rehoboam and the northern tribes forming the kingdom of Israel in the north ruled by Jeroboam. God Himself appointed Jeroboam as king in the north, telling him: “If you heed all that I command you…and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments… then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house [or dynasty], as I built for David, and will give Israel to you” (1 Kings 11:38).
However Jeroboam lacked faith in God’s promises and became concerned the people’s loyalty would shift if they continued to attend God’s festivals in the south at Jerusalem, as God had commanded: “If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back…and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah” (1 Kings 12:27).
Instead of trusting God, Jeroboam came up with a counterfeit he thought would help him consolidate his power and position. He “made two calves of gold, and said to the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!’ And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan” (I Kings 12: 28-29). He also appointed “priests from every class of people who were not of the sons of Levi” (verse 31).
Most people realize God forbids the making of statues for idol worship, but many religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, still worship idols. Many Christian denominations also ignore this command, justifying it by saying the idols are just symbols, even though the second Commandment forbids making graven images representative of what we worship (Exodus 20:4). Then there is also the fact that idols aren’t just limited to graven objects, they can be anything that takes our focus and reliance off God and His Word. (See issue #308 of Bible Insights Weekly: Are Christians Guilty Of Idolatry?)
A major component of Jeroboam’s scheme involved changing the days designated for worship. He counterfeited the great fall Feast of God, moving it to the eighth month instead of the seventh as God had commanded, ignoring God’s clear instructions. He claimed to be making things easier for those in the northern kingdom, with worship more suited to personal wishes, and the people took the bait.
The Bible and history clearly reveal the weekly seventh-day Sabbath is to be observed from Friday sunset through Saturday sunset (Leviticus 23:3). But the world’s Christian churches have ignored God’s Holy Days and, like Jeroboam, created their own, such as Christmas, Easter and weekly Sunday observance. And so today, most people who would consider themselves religious are unfamiliar with God’s true festivals.
Leviticus chapter 23 describes God’s feast days, which He wants us to observe. Jeroboam changed these days, maintaining it was okay to worship God any way he wanted to, just as most of modern Christianity substitutes their own holidays that are not mentioned in God’s Holy word. It is well-documented how early religion dismissed the Bible, turned away from God’s word, and mixed in practices and rituals that were used to worship false gods.
