Ecological Dimension of Sunday?!

The following was taken from a post made at Advent Talk an online Adventist discussion forum. I thought it was relevant simply because it illustrates very well what the lack of any adherence to the moral laws of God will eventually bring. Already we can see great strides being taken to legislate Sunday observance in contrast to Sabbath solemnity.

This actually quite relevant to the topic of dispensationalism because the ship of the dispensational mindset is generally without course nor rudder in the sea of sound doctrine and scripture. All the while, as dispensationalist's consistently and blindly gaze at the wrong horizon of the secular, modernistic State of Israel (built on the image of neo-pagan Roman civil law), the ecumenical world movement is quickly creeping up behind them. The minions don't see Rome because they aren't looking at Rome and their pastors, who very much teach solid Jesuit eschatology, happily lead their flock astray.

It will only be a matter of time before some catastrophic event such as an economic meltdown, a massive terrorist attack or environmental disaster will cause the supposed necessity of a legislated worldwide day of rest.


Ecological Dimension of Sunday?!

In a homily in Vienna, Austria, recently, Pope Benedict XVI highlighted the threat that hovers upon the environment and Creation in general, stressing the necessity to pay greater attention to, what he called, “the ecological dimension of Sunday”, the day when the Church thanks God for the Creation. He said: “At a time when creation seems to be endangered in so many ways through human activity, we should consciously advert to this dimension of Sunday too”.

This “ecological dimension” of Sunday is a new language by which the Pope tries to show the Vatican’s leadership in a global campaign to “save the planet” (see http://zenit.org/article-20450?l=english). Wouldn’t that be what some are calling “ECOmenism”?

But in a theological perspective, we see in the papal discourse a clear distortion of the real meaning of the Sabbath institution: he points to Sunday as a day to celebrate creation, which doesn’t match the biblical teaching, for that role is assigned to the seventh-day Sabbath as being the “memorial of creation”.

According to the Genesis creation record, on the first day God was acting in His work, as Creator, and only on the seventh-day He rested, blessed and sanctified the day (Gen. 2:2, 3). So, this twisting of meanings is certainly a subtle change of the Bible’s teaching and symbolism on the subject of what constitutes the institution to remember the Creator and His creation.

In the USA, on the other hand, campaigns stressing greater respect for Sunday and the 10 Commandments are under way. A “10 Commandments Commission” was formed to promote a “10 Commandments Day” (which is being set for the 1st Sunday of May) under the command of influential Evangelical leaders, such as James Dobson, Benny Hynn, Charles Colson, Pat Robertson, Don Wildmon and a good number of others (see: http://www.ldausa.org/index.cfm and http://www.tencommandmentsday.com/).

The promoters of these significant campaigns understand that the moral and spiritual decline of the great North-American nation (and all over the world) is due to the failure of society to consider seriously these divine principles, which seems a good thing, but that implies serious dangers for religious freedom. Such initiatives could lead to having religio-political systems influencing the government to dictate norms according to the expectations and interpretations of these leaders. History teaches us a sober lesson that when there is a mix of religion and politics, minorities are always hurt. . .

In an interview on May 18, 2005 to the program “Fresh Air”, of the NPR network (National Public Radio), that covers practically the entire country, Dr. James D. Kennedy, influential minister and evangelist who had an intense radio and TV activity before passing away in September, 2007, said openly that the principle of separation of Church and State in the USA is an error that goes against the ideals of the Christian founders of the nation, and should be simply discarded. This is a very worrisome notion. His interview can be heard through the following link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4656600).

We understand through the study of Bible prophetic statements that the final events on this planet will have much to do with the Sabbath/Sunday question. It will be the definition of who will bear the seal of God, and who will receive the “mark of the beast”. And that the obligatory character of total suspension of activities on Sundays is not a new idea we can see just recalling the “rehearsal” of that during a very serious crisis in recent decades--the oil embargo of the 70’s. What day in the week was affected by those politico-economical developments of the time? The older ones remember the gas stations closing on Sundays in many countries throughout the world.