"And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even TEN commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone...Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similtude of any figure, the likeness of male or female...And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them and serve them..."Deut 4:12-20.
And, yet, that is what the children of Israel did, over and over again - even, the priests (2 Ki 23:4-11). Matthew Henry makes a connection between this worship and the worship of Lucifer (Isa 14:12), who said, "I will ascend unto heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God...I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High."
God showed Ezekiel, twenty-five women weeping for Tammuz (sun-god), and men in the inner court of the Lord's house, between the porch and the altar, worshipping the sun, towards the east. Ezek 8:13-18.
"Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore, I will also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them."
The Lord had told them to destroy the graven images (Deut 7:25), and all of their pictures (Num 33:52).
At Babel, the people said, that they would build a tower, whose top would reach unto heaven. "Unto heaven" is a figure of speech, used, also in Deut 1:28. There is enough evidence to show that the tower ("ziggurat") was connected with sun-worship.
The Romans, when conquering, would take the people's gods, thinking to undermine their power. Many graven images were brought back to Rome, and, later, into the church. For example, the statue of St. Peter in St. Peter's Basilica, was once, Jupiter (sun-god).
The golden child in the Vatican treasury, is reminiscent of the ancient worship of Tammuz. Born on December 25th, he represents the rebirth of the sun. He was called, "Baal-berith," or lord of the fir-tree. The word "yule" was a Babylonian word for infant. Both Egyptians and Persians celebrated the birthday of their god on December 25th. Other names applied to the sun-god are Mithras, Horus, Isvara, Deoius, Jupiter, Plutus, Ninus, Osiris, Dionysus, Bacchus, Iacchus, Adonis, Attis, etc.
The placing of Mary in a crescent is a remnant of the fertility cults of the ancient mother-goddess, traceable to the Babylonian queen, Semiramis, titled, "Mother of God," and "Queen of Heaven."
The pagans placed a circle or aureole around the heads of their gods, which continued in the art of the church. (Even, Buddha, has this circular symbol around his head.) The disk was used to represent any being as a god or goddess. Thousands of pictures of Mary and the saints, have this same symbolism.
As paganism and Christianity blended, sometimes, a saint was given a similar-sounding name to that of a god or goddess. The goddess Victoria, was renamed, St. Victoire, Cheron as St. Ceranos, Artemis as St. Astemidos, Dionysus as St. Dionysus, etc. The goddess Brighit (daughter of the sun-god with a child in her arms) was renamed, St. Bridget. In pagan days, her chief temple was at Kildare and was served by Vestal Virgins, who tended the sacred fires. Later, her temple became a convent, her Vestal Virgins, nuns. Now, it is called, "St. Bridget's fire." - Babylon Mystery Religion, by Ralph Woodrow.
Originally, the obelisk was associated with sun-worship, a symbol of "Baal," (which was a title of Nimrod), because it pointed toward heaven. It, also, had a sexual significance - the phallus, as with the sun, is a symbol of life. The same obelisk (the ancient symbol of Osiris, the solar phallic god) that stood in Egypt, is now, in the entrance to St. Peter's.
The largest occult solar wheel on earth, is the court of St. Peter at the Vatican in Rome - a wheel within a wheel, with eight spokes, a common symbol of cosmic energy in paganism.
The Pope's mitre (hat) comes from sun-worship, as seen in pictures of Dagon and Oannes, the Babylonian fish-god, and Vishnu, Hindu fish-god.
There is so much more...Constantine had a vision of the cross of Mithra and heard a voice, saying, "In this sign, conquer..." Though pagan Rome was corrupt and oppressive, Jesus never rallied an army to overthrow the Empire. He taught us to wage a different kind of warfare - spiritual warfare for the souls of men. Constantine, a christian? He had his wife and eldest son murdered. He was a sun-worshipper. He established the first Sunday law in 321 A.D., in order to unite the pagans and the Christians in his empire. In 364 A.D., at the Council of Laodicea, the Sabbath was, officially, "changed" to Sunday (called, "The Lord's Day," in sun-worship). The "Little Horn," (Antichrist), which was to arise out of the Roman Empire, would "think to change times and law." - Dan 7:25.
Jesus, referred to Himself, as "Lord of the Sabbath," the day He sanctified at Creation, and the day He told us to "remember" in the fourth commandment.
By honoring the day that He chose, we demonstrate our allegiance to and honor Him, as Lord and Creator of the heavens, the earth, and most of all, of us.
"But unto you that fear my name, shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings..." Mal 4:2.
Worship the Sun of righteousness - Worship the Son of God!