Rules of Men Astray Us From God

The rules of men or human rules in the Bible often refer to regulations, traditions or laws created by people as opposed to God’s commands. The rules of men are made by the evil ones instigated by Satan who is a liar. Although these rules may seem logical and reasonable, they are not based on the Bible but are lies. Moreover, they are terrible weapons that Satan has made to prevent us from keeping the commands of God.

To Observe the Rules of Men Is to Worship God in Vain.

In the Old Testament, Isaiah prophesied that those who follow the rules of men worship God in vain. In other words, man-made rules do not lead to salvation or secure eternal life. Moreover, those who keep such rules will see their wisdom perish and their intelligence vanish.

Isaiah 29:13-14 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”

In the New Testament, Jesus also emphasizes that to keep the rules of men is to worship God in vain

Mark 7:6-9 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!

God Will Judge the Devil’s Prophets Who Teach Lies

One of Satan’s deadliest weapons is lies—that is, false teachings. He has set all sorts of traps and snares through his false prophets to hinder us from obeying God’s commands. The Bible says that not only will the prophets who mislead people with lies and false teachings be destroyed, but also those who are misled by them.

Isaiah 9:13-16 But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the Lord Almighty. So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day; the elders and dignitaries are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail. Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.

Examples of the Rules of Men

1. Sunday worship is the sabbath
2. Christmas on December 25 is the Birthday of Jesus
3. Veneration of the cross
4. Thanksgiving Day

These are lies taught by false prophets. They violate God’s commands and profane God. Through biblical teachings, we must distinguish between what belongs to God and what comes from Satan. By keeping God’s commands, we can remain faithful to Him and receive His blessings.

Let us now see the origins of these human rules examples and get to have a deeper insight on why they cannot lead us to eternal life thus the need and urge to reject them.

Sunday Worship

Sunday worship did not originate from the teachings of Jesus or His apostles. It is merely a rule of men, which Satan established by deceiving the Church in Rome and mobilizing the Roman emperor.

Around the 2nd century A.D., the Church in Rome (Roman Catholic Church) accepted Sunday, the sacred day of the sun-god Mithra as a worship day, and also because Roman Emperor Constantine decreed Sunday to be a legal holiday in A.D 321.

Sunday Law, which forced all people in the empire to rest on Sunday with the emperor’s authority, resulted in the elimination of Sabbath worship. Before 321 A.D., only the Church in Rome and some other churches under its influence kept Sunday worship, but after 321 A.D., even the eastern churches which held fast to the sabbath surrendered to the Roman sun god religion.

This is why many churches today observe Sunday, which was the holy day of the sun-god, as the ‘’Lord’s Day,’’ not observing the sabbath which is in the Bible.

Christmas on 25th December

Christmas is not the birthday of Jesus. It has a deceitful trick of Satan hidden in it. Christmas is a festival of the sun god, Baal but Satan a liar has deceived people through his false prophets around the world into believing that Christmas is the birthday of Jesus, so they have come to serve Satan unknowingly.

Christian history testifies that Christmas is a Christianized pagan festival, and that its customs originated with pagans who worshiped idols. It was celebrated for the first time in Rome in 354 A.D, and in Constantinople in 379 A.D. Its origin is in relation to three Roman festivals celebrated in December. These festivals were:

1. Saturnalia (December 17-24) An ancient Roman festival dedicated to Saturn the god of agriculture.
2. Sigillaria (at the end of December) children were given dolls to play with.
3. Brumalia (at the winter solstice December 20-23) celebrating the rising of the sun.

Since Christians could not join these festivals, they sought to establish their own festival to celebrate the birth of Jesus. They thought that it was reasonable to celebrate the birth of Jesus just after the rising of the sun.

Considering the facts above, we can easily conclude that Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus’ birth. It is a rule introduced by men with adaptation from ancient Roman pagan festivals celebrated in honor of sun-god being deceived by Satan.

Veneration of the Cross

Many people nowadays mistakenly believe that the cross has been used in the church since the time of the early Christians. However, there is no record of the cross being erected on the church or of its pattern being made into an ornament.

When we check into the origins of the cross, we can find it was a religious symbol used by pagans way before Christ’s crucifixion. Its use dates back to ancient Babylon and the worship of the sun-god Tammuz. As the Babylonian culture spread to Egypt, the cross as symbol of the Babylonian god was also introduced into the Egyptian religion.

In ancient pre-civilized Italy, they believed in the cross as a religious symbol and after the establishment of the Roman empire they continued to revere the cross. It was regarded as a protector and was placed upon tombs. Similarly, in Thessaly, Greece, we can also see the inscription of the cross on tombstones. It was referred to as the ‘Calvary Cross’

Nowadays most churches use the cross. This reveals how much Christianity has been corrupted by adopting pagan customs. In reality, venerating the cross is an abominable act that aligns with the devil’s scheme—the very one who orchestrated Jesus’ crucifixion.

Thanksgiving Day

Just like Christmas, Thanksgiving Day has no connection to the Bible at all. It is a traditional holiday having its origins traced back in America in 1621. Many people nowadays think that it is about giving thanks to God by offering gifts or goods, and that it is connected to the feasts of God in the Bible.

However, that is not the case; Thanksgiving Day has no connection with the feasts of God written in the Bible. The feasts they misquote and link with Thanksgiving Day have different meanings and dates according to Jesus’ teachings and examples. It is one of the manmade traditions kept by Churches nowadays and Jesus strictly warned us of these rules made by men, since they do not lead to salvation.

Thanksgiving Day, like Christmas has accumulated many traditions in different countries such as the United States where it originated, it is observed as a federal Holiday. Also, in other countries like Canada, Netherlands, Germany and even Liberia.

This holiday associated with Turkey dinners and parades does not appear anywhere in the Bible. However, many people nowadays diligently keep it but neglect God’s festivals of the New Covenant, which are related to our salvation.

Conclusion

Those who teach these rules of men, which lies to make people violate God’s commands are the false prophets. God has commanded us to purge the evil from among us by destroying the false prophets. Through all biblical teachings, we must distinguish the things of God from those of Satan and observe the commands of God as an expression of our love for Him, so that we may come to God’s faithful love and blessings.