Noah was a preacher of righteousness, and as his name means ‘rest’, he rested on God his saviour.  He and his three sons, Shem, Japeth and Ham, with their wives were saved from the terrible flood, which destroyed the earth on account of the wickedness of men.  However Noah had a profane son in Ham (Gen 9:20-27).  Ham had several sons, one of which was Cush who in turn begat Nimrod, a name which means ‘rebellion’ in English.  Scripture says: “And Cush begat Nimrod, he began to be a mighty one in the earth”.

Nimrod founded the city of Babylon – the Greek version of the original Hebrew name Babel – and was its first king.  Ancient history records how Nimrod was the first to learn the arts of war and was a mighty warrior and hunter.  However he was also noted for the use of sorcery and fire in gaining his victories.  Nimrod is also attributed with introducing the worship of the sun.  This included in its rites the worship of fire, since fire was considered to be the early representation of the sun. The sun god was worshipped from the earliest times under the name of “Baal”.  Thus, Nimrod led a great rebellion against God.

All the religions derived from Babylon have common themes.  One of the central features is the death of the mighty warrior god.  This gives a clue that Nimrod fell to a violent and most untimely death.  The legends all involve the body being divided into pieces and dispersed.

The violent death of Nimrod lead to a suppression of the false religion.  However, it was revived in secret by his wife Semiramis.  She claimed that Nimrod was not a god in the form of the sun, of which his earthly representation was fire.  She later gave birth to a child, who was supposedly the reincarnation of the hero Nimrod, now the sun god.  The child is known under various names, of one of the important names is “Tammuz”.  The false claim was made that this was the promised seed of the woman.  However, in reality it was an imposture of the Devil, as Semiramis was effectively an harlot and a most evil woman.

Even Nimrod’s father, Cush, was worshipped under various names and became a model for Babylonish gods.  An example is the god called “Hermes” whose name, when deciphered from the ancient languages of the Mysteries, signifies in English “son of Ham”.

It may appear very strange how anyone can believe that the sun can also be a child.  However millions are deceived into believing this sort of absurdity.  One only has to consider how many professed Christians believe that a piece of bread becomes Jesus Christ in the Mass.

The secret about Nimrod as the sun god and saviour of man was only revealed at first to a selected few, to those who had been initiated.  These religious rites became known as “The Mysteries” in which the secrets of the sun god Nimrod were revealed, and in which he was worshipped.  However, the Mysteries spread rapidly through the ancient world and formed the basis for the heathen religions of Rome, Greece, Egypt, Assyria, India and many other nations.  They are also the basis for most religions today, even for that which is called Christian.

The Mysteries involved deep symbolism; they also appear to have involved acting out some form of play to re-enact the death, resurrection and deification of Nimrod, under the guise of various names.  The worship of the devotees involved weeping for Nimrod following his violent death, followed by rejoicing at his resurrection.  The worship also involved fire, which represented the sun, the giver of light.  Therefore the deified Nimrod was worshipped as the giver of light to mankind (aka Prometheus) – he enlightened them so as to show them good and evil.  Hence, came the name Lucifer, the light giver or enlightener.  Even the serpent was worshipped as a sacred symbol in the Mysteries.

However, the book of Genesis clearly shows that the claim that Nimrod is the seed, the saviour of mankind, the light-giver Lucifer, is none other than the doctrine of the Devil.  Thus the Apostle Paul says: “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light”.  In reality, the worship of Nimrod is the worship of the Devil.

Semiramis Deified as the Queen of Heaven

The religion developed such that Semiramis was also deified as the Queen of Heaven, gradually taking on the honour bestowed on Nimrod.  The general form of worship showed Nimrod as the sun and his wife as the moon, with stars surrounding her head.  Thus we see the origin of the worship of the sun, moon and stars.

As with Nimrod, there were many pagan representations of Semiramis as the Queen of Heaven or the mother goddess.  She was usually depicted with the child (i.e. Nimrod) who was the incarnate sun god.  This has been copied by the Church of Rome,  who worship Mary with the child Jesus.  However in reality it is the worship of Semiramis and her child born of fornication hiding under a façade of Christianity.

Just as the lives of Nimrod and Semiramis were abominable, so their worship in the Mysteries also involved vile and unmentionable forms of immorality.  These activities were hidden behind a façade of outward holiness.  Therefore it Is most fitting that the Bible likens idol worship to fornication and spiritual adultery.

Initiation Ceremonies of the Mysteries

The Mysteries, as we have mentioned, were celebrated in secret.  The open religious ceremonies involved symbolism, so as to ensure that the full meaning of the worship was only revealed to those who had been initiated into the Mysteries.  The precise details of these initiation rites are not known, but from snippets of information historians have been able to piece together some of the main features.  Further clues are provided by the secret rites of religious groups today, such as the Freemasons and other occult societies, who claim to be descended from the Mysteries.  It is interesting to note that the word ‘occult’ comes from the Latin ‘occultus’ which means ‘hidden’ or ‘concealed’ in English.  Any candidate for initiation had to swear terrible oaths not to reveal the secrets of the Mysteries, which if broken meant that the candidate would be killed.  Similar oaths are sworn today by Freemasons.

Freemasonic and occultic writers have also provided some spine-chilling insight into what feats a candidate for initiation had to perform.  In some rites it was required that “he cross an unbridged chasm in the temple floor.  In other words, if unable by magic to sustain himself in the air without visible support, he fell headlong into a volcanic crevice, there to die of heat and suffocation.”  In other rites “the candidate seeking admission to the inner sanctuary was required to pass through a closed door by dematerialisation.”  Although it is recognised that there was much trickery involved in the Mysteries, let no one doubt that there was also a real and demonic force at work.

The Roman Emperors

Ancient history records that the city of Rome was founded by Romulus and his brother Remus.  However, Hislop shows in his classic book “The Two Babylons” that before the founding of the city of Rome, there stood on the Capitoline hill (one of the seven hills of Rome) a place called “Saturnia” or the “City of Saturn”.  This was a place where the great Babylonian god Saturn was worshipped.  The Latin name “Saturn” is rendered in the Chaldee “Satur”.  It was by this name that Nimrod was known as the god of the Chaldean Mysteries.   Now “Satur” means in English the “god of Mystery” or the “hidden god”.  The word “Satur” is also very similar to the Hebrew word “Sethur” which means “mystery”.  As we shall see later in the book, both the Chaldee word “Satur” and the Hebrew word “Sethur” also mean in English the number “666” which is the fatal number of the Beast in the Book of Revelation.

In the early days  of the city of Rome this Babylonian worship was suppressed.  However, a colony of Etruscans later settled in the neighbourhood of Rome; these Etruscans were earnestly attached to Babylonian idolatry.  Even before the Etruscans were incorporated into the growing Roman state, they exercised a powerful influence over the religious worship of the Romans.  This led to the formation of a college of Pontiffs, with a Sovereign Pontiff presiding over the college; this was modelled on the Babylonian pattern.  The Capitoline hill, the original site of Saturnia, became the great high place of the worship of ancient Rome.

Even the name “Latin” which was the language of Rome, carried with it a special meaning and confirms the Babylonian origins of Rome.  The word comes from the Latin word “lateo” which means “lie hid”.  “Lateo” in turn comes from the Chaldee word “lat”, which also means “lie hid”.  In fact the names “Lat” and “Saturn” are synonymous and both represent the great god of the Mysteries.

Although Chaldee was the language of the Mysteries of Babylon, the Latin language has a special connection with the Mysteries.  For Latin is the “mystery” or “hidden” language.  How remarkable it is then to find that the Latin language became central to the worship of the Church of Rome.

Pergamos – Satan’s Seat

There is yet a further and more direct connection between the Mysteries of Babylon and ancient Rome.  However, it is necessary first to explain what happened to the original Babylonian position of Sovereign Pontiff of the Mysteries after the death of Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon.

The true legitimate representative of the god of the Mysteries, the deified Nimrod, was the King of Babylon as Sovereign Pontiff. The Bible records in the Book of Daniel how the kings of Babylon had around them astrologers, soothsayers and magicians.  Following the death and overthrow of Belshazzar by the Medo-Persian empire under Darius (Daniel 5:30-31).  Daniel was preserved by the grace of God.  However, history records that the Chaldean sorcerers and priests were expelled from Babylon and fled to Pergamos, in what is now part of Western Turkey.

It was at Pergamos that the Chaldean priests found asylum after the fall of Babylon, and there fixed their central college.  The kings of Pergamos, who were regarded as gods, were put into the vacant seat left by Belshazzar and his predecessors.  They were hailed as the legitimate representatives of the Babylonian god of the Mysteries.  It was at Pergamos where the god Aesculapius was worshipped under the form of a serpent.

The name “Aesculapius” meant in Greek “instructing snake,” but the serpent also symbolised the enlightening of the souls of men by the sun.  Thus we see the sun god being worshipped in the form of a serpent, supposedly enlightening mankind as “Lucifer” the shining one.  However, the Bible shows the serpent to be the Devil or Satan, who first tempted man to sin against God.  It is therefore not surprising for the Lord to refer to Pergamos as “Satan’s seat”.  Let us also notice the striking similarity between the name of the god of the Mysteries “Satur” or “Saturn” with that of the Hebrew name for the Devil, which is “Satan.”

As the power or Rome expanded into many parts of Greece, Attalus the last king of Pergamos died in 133 BC and left in his will all the dominions of Pergamos to the Roman people.  Thus the kingdom of Pergamos was merged into the dominions of Rome.  However, for some years there was no one who could openly lay claim to all the dignity and powers inherent in the title of the kings of Pergamos, namely that of Sovereign Pontiff.  The powers of the Roman Pontiffs were therefore somewhat restricted, but this situation changed dramatically with the arrival of Julius Caesar.

The Caesars Reign as Sovereign Pontiff

Almost all history books record the great conquests of Julius Caesar in France, his two invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, his assumption of the position of Life Dictator over the Roman dominions in 44 BC and his assassinations in the Roman Senate.  After a period of strife, Augustus, who was a relative of Julius Caesar, became Emperor in 27 BC.  His rule effectively ended the Roman Republic.  It was from Julius Caesar’s name that the Roman Emperors took their title of “Caesar”.  However, few are taught that the Caesars held the position of “Pontifex Maximus,” that is “Supreme” or “Sovereign Pontiff.”.  This is a very significant fact of history, but it is also very inconvenient to the Church of Rome, for it indicates the origin of the papacy.

Julius Caesar was elected to the position of Pontifex Maximus in 63 BC.  He subsequently assumed the position of supreme ruler of the Roman state.  Thus he had vested in him all the powers and functions of the Babylonian Pontiff, and he was the true legitimate successor to Belshazzar.  Not satisfied with this, he was declared to be Jupiter’s incarnation on 25^th December 48 BC in the temple of Jupiter in Alexandria.  The Encyclopaedia Britannica also says about Julius Caesar: “There are signs that in the last six months of his life he aspired not only to a monarchy in name as well as in fact, but also to a divinity which Romans should acknowledge as well as Greeks, Orientals, and barbarians.”  Julius Caesar, by laying claim to be divine, followed the pattern of the kings of Pergamos.  The Roman Emperors that followed Julius Caesar were commonly regarded as gods.

Tupper Saussy explains that following the assassination of Julius Caesar and the ensuing period of civil war, many looked for and prophesied a new golden age.  The Latin poet Virgil wrote of an imminent “Novus Ordo Seclorum,” which in English means “New World Order.”  It was predicted that a pagan “son of god” would rule as the “prince of peace”.  We can see in this Satan’s pagan imitation of the true Messiah, Jesus Christ.  These predictions were viewed as being fulfilled by the emperor Augustus Caesar, the adopted son of Julius Caesar. However the momentous phrase “New World Order” is one which we shall come back to in later chapters.

Woodrow gives us an illustration of a coin showing the head of Augustus Caesar, who reigned from 27 BC to 14 AD, with the inscription “Caesar Pont Max,” which of course was short for “Caesar Pontifex Maximus.”  Coins like this would have been used in the days of the Lord Jesus.  We read that when the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus regarding the payment of taxes or tribute to the Romans, Jesus said them, “Shew me the tribute money.  And they brought unto him a penny.  And he saith unto them, whose is this image and superscription?  They said unto him, Caesar’s.” (Matthew 22:19-21)

The Keys

Janus was worshipped in Rome as the god of doors and hinges, and was called “the opener and shutter”.  Hislop (The Two Babylons) explains what appears at first sight to be a rather strange belief about Janus.  This had a blasphemous meaning for he was worshipped at Rome as the grand mediator.  Whatever important business was in hand, whatever deity was to be invoked, an invocation first of all must be addressed to Janus, who was recognised as the “god of gods,” in which mysterious divinity the characters of father and son were combined, and without that no prayer could be heard – the “door of heaven” could not be opened.”  Therefore Janus was represented with a head with two faces, one old and one young, and holding a key in his hand.  In like fashion the goddess Cybele also carried a key.

Hislop points that the worship of Janus prevailed in Asia Minor at the same time as the Lord commanded the apostle John to write to the seven churches.  Thus we read in the book of Revelation, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth, and, shutteth, and no man openeth.” (Revelations 3:7).  Here the Lord confirms that he is the one true God, who alone opens and shuts the door of heaven.

As the great head of the Mysteries in Rome, the Sovereign Pontiff or “Pontifex Maximus” held the key of Janus and the key of Cybele, which were tokens of his position as their earthly representative.  The keys became the symbols of the authority of the Pontifex Maximus.  He was known by the Latin title “Pater Patrum” which means in English “father of fathers”.  He was also addressed by the title “Your Holiness.”

The Interpreter of the Mysteries

The Pontifex Maximus had one more title that we must consider here.  This is a mysterious one, variations of which were used by heads of the Mysteries in other parts of the ancient world.  The priest or Pontiff who explained the Mysteries to the initiated was known as the “Interpreter”, which is in Chaldee (the real language of the Mysteries) “Peter”.  Hislop explains about the Peter the Interpreter as follows: “As the revealer of that which was hidden, nothing was more natural than that, while opening up the esoteric (i.e. intended only for the initiated) doctrine of the Mysteries, he should be decorated with the keys of the two divinities whose mysteries he unfolded.  Thus we may see how the keys of Janus and Cybele would come to be known as the keys of Peter, the “interpreter” of the Mysteries.

The god of the Mysteries was also known by the title “Peter-Roma” which is Chaldee for the “Grand Interpreter” In the next chapter we will see how “Peter-Roma” the Grand Interpreter of the Mysteries, was transformed by the papacy into the Apostle “Peter of Rome.” Behold, the mystery of iniquity!

Martin Luther made a very perceptive statement when he wrote, “I know that the papacy is none other than the kingdom of Babylon, and the violence of Nimrod the mighty hunter.  The papacy is a vigorous chase led by the Roman bishop, to catch and destroy souls.”

The Last Pope – Petrus Romanus – Peter of Rome

The Prophecy of the Popes, attributed to Saint Malachy, is a list of 112 short phrases in Latin. They purport to describe each of the Roman Catholic popes (along with a few anti-popes), beginning with Pope Celestine II (elected in 1143) and concluding with the successor of the current pope Benedict XVI, a pope described in the prophecy as “Peter the Roman”, or “Petrus Romanus” whose pontificate will end in the destruction of the city of Rome.  The prophecy was first published in 1595 by Arnold de Wyon, a Benedictine historian, as part of his book Lignum Vitæ. Wyon attributed the list to Saint Malachy, the 12th-century bishop of Armagh in Ireland. According to the traditional account, in 1139, Malachy was summoned to Rome by Pope Innocent II. While in Rome, Malachy purportedly experienced a vision of future popes, which he recorded as a sequence of cryptic phrases. This manuscript was then deposited in the Roman Archive, and thereafter forgotten about until its rediscovery in 1590. [Wikipedia]

Excerpts from Blog “A Reluctant Sinner”

Whether we should take such things as the Prophecy of the Popes seriously or not, here is what “Malachy” wrote concerning the last Roman Pontiff, the man who, according to him, will reign after the current Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI:

Peter the Roman,
who will nourish the sheep in many tribulations;
when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed,
and the dreadful judge will judge his people.
The end.

In the vast majority of cases, the Latin titles used in the Prophecy of the Popes link the one who is predicted pontiff to his own birthplace or to his personal name before election to the Papacy. An example of this being Innocent XII, whom Malachy called “Rastrum in porta” (Rake in the door), and whose family surname was Rastrello (“rake” in Italian).

What of “Petrus Romanus” (Peter the Roman)?

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone is currently ’s second name is Pietro (Peter), and he was born in Romano (the Roman) Canavese in Piedmont. If we are to take the Prophecy of the Popes seriously, then – which I don’t think we should – could it be that Bertone is Peter the Roman, the man who will reign over the Church’s most terrifying persecution and whose pontificate will herald the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ?

The document also suggests that Romeo believes Pope Benedict XVI is well aware of Cardinal Bertone’s apparent thirst for power, as well as his alleged unsuitability to sit on the Throne of St Peter. In fact, according to this leaked file, which is meant to be an eye-witness account of Cardinal Romeo’s words to the Italian and Chinese businessmen in Beijing, it is the Archbishop of Palermo’s impression that the Pope would prefer to remove Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone from his post as de facto prime minister of the Holy See.

The Persecution of The Early Church

As the Roman Emperors held the office of head of the Mysteries, Satan’s system of worship, it should come as no surprise that the early Christians were bitterly persecuted by the Romans.  All manner of religions were tolerated within the Roman Empire, but these pagan religions were tolerated within the Roman Empire, but these pagan religions were all branches from the same evil tree, the Mysteries of Babylon.  Therefore, the pagans respected and tolerated each other, being spiritual brethren of Satan.  However, they hated the true Messiah Jesus Christ and the Christian Church.

What was particularly galling to the Roman Emperors, was that Jesus taught, “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14.6)  Christians utterly denied all the pagan gods of the ancient world, believing them to be false and devilish delusions.

As we showed in the previous chapter, the Roman Emperors claimed to hold the keys to the door of heaven, to be the interpreters of the Mysteries and to be regarded as gods themselves in their position as Pontifex Maximus.  However, the Gospel of Jesus Christ showed them to be imposters, who took the place of Jesus Christ as the mediator between God and man.  Their pride was sorely hurt by the Christians, because they would not worship them as gods nor recognise their own pagan religion.

Nero

The first Emperor to lead the great persecution of the Church was Nero, before whom the Apostle Paul was called to give testimony and to die (2 Tim 4).  Nero was a most evil and cruel man.  His persecution was noted for its terrible cruelty to men, women and children.

Alberto Rivera [more details about Alberto Rivera will follow in a later section] who testifies to have been trained as a Jesuit, writes of the methods Nero employed to uncover and capture Christians,.  Rivera claims that when infiltrating Protestant churches in the 1960s, he was instructed by the Jesuits to study the methods of penetration, infiltration and extermination employed against the church by the Emperor Nero and others.  This information was to be a model for destruction of Protestants.  Rivera claims to have had access to the secret files in the Vatican; and after his conversion he spoke about what he found.

Nero’s methods were very sophisticated and involved the formation of imitation Christian churches.  These were organised to trap true believers.  Rivera also makes startling claims about the origin of so-called Christian symbols, such as the fish.  Originally, Christians identified themselves by a mutual knowledge of the scriptures.  However this made it difficult for Nero’s spies to infiltrate the Church.  Therefore, spies deeply planted within the Church introduced the pattern of using “Christian” symbols as an alternative means of identification.  These symbols, such as the fish or dove, were also pagan symbols.  Thus, Nero started to introduce paganism into the early church, via a system of counterfeit churches.

The account by Rivera is consistent with the reference made by the Apostle Paul to the danger from false brethren.  “In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren.” (2 Cor 11:26)

Further corroboration is given by the 18^th century historian Gibbon, who observes about the early Christians; “By imitating the awful secrecy which reigned in the Eleusinian mysteries, the Christians had flattered themselves that they should render their sacred institutions more respectable in the eyes of the Pagan world.  But the event, as it often happens to the operations of subtile policy, deceived their wishes and their expectations.”

Gnostic Heresy

In the early church one of the most notable errors was the Gnostic heresy.  The term Gnostic covered a range of doctrines, but there were certain features in common.  Robertson states, “Gnosticism is in truth not to be regarded as a corruption of Christianity, but as an adoption of some Christian elements into a system of different origin.”  It was a mixture of various elements of the Babylonish religions of the East with that of Christian teaching.  The city of Alexandria in Egypt became the centre of Gnostic teaching.

The Gnostics believed that all religions had in them something divine, with no single religion possessing a full and complete revelation.  Thus they took elements from all manner of religions.  Since all the major religions, except Christianity and Judaism, were derived from Babylon, there was some basis for the Gnostic belief.  However, we should note that this error, namely that all religions have an element of truth in them, is fundamental to the modern Ecumenical movement, as well as Freemasonry and the New Age movement.  Truly, “there is no new thing under the sun.” (Ecc 1:9)

The connection between the Gnostic heresy and the Babylonian Mysteries also emerge, when we consider the origin of the word “Gnostic.”  It comes from the Greek word “gnosis” which means “knowledge”.  However, this was a special knowledge held only by a few and denied to the common believers.  The Concise Oxford Dictionary states that it was a “knowledge of spiritual mysteries” and that it was for the initiated.

The Mysteries taught in various ways that the sun god Nimrod was born as a child. However, the child Nimrod never had a fleshly body or humanity like other men. Thus, copying the Babylonish religions, the Gnostics generally believed that Jesus Christ was only a spirit and not a real man.  The Apostle John spoke against this: “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.  This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”  The false messiah Nimrod was being dressed up by these deceivers under the name of the true Messiah Jesus.  Gill, commenting on 2 John 7 says, “antichrist does not design any one particular individual person, but a set of men, that are contrary to Christ, and opposers of him.”  Furthermore, Gills states that the antichrist spoken of by John (2 John 7 and 1 John 2:18) were the forerunners of the Popes.  We shall shortly see how the papacy became the heir to the Mysteries, whilst at the same time purporting to be the head of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Constantine

Despite the heresies that assailed the early church, outward purity of doctrine was for the most part preserved in the first 200 years of its history.  It was in the latter part of the 3^rd century that the first signs of apostasy, led by the Bishop of Rome, became manifest.  This coincided with the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire.

All through the first centuries of the Church, the Roman Emperor often persecuted Christians.  Then an apparent change in this situation occurred with the granting of toleration.  However, appearances can be deceptive we will uncover the awful significance of the events of the 4^th century AD.

The coming to power of Constantine the Great as Emperor in 312 AD was an event of great significance.  Popular belief would ascribe to Constantine not only the honour of granting toleration to Christians, but also of establishing Christianity as the dominant religion of the Empire.  However, closer examination reveals that Constantine’s Christianity was at best nominal.

Constantine’s favourable stance towards Christians was balanced with an observance of pagan rites.  Woodrow states, “The Christianity of Constantine was a mixture.  Though he had his statue removed from pagan temples and renounced the offering of sacrifices to himself, yet people continued to speak of the divinity of the emperor,  As Pontifex Maximum he continued to watch over the heathen worship and protect its rights.  In dedicated Constantinople in 330 a ceremonial that was half pagan and half Christian was used.  This religious mixture is also referred to by Robertson.  The Christianity of Constantine was but of a very doubtful kind, the Pagans seeing nothing in it to hinder but that when he died, he should be enrolled among their gods.”

The policy of Constantine is considered by many to have been one of expediency.  Persecution of Christians had only served to strengthen their faith and resolve.  Persecution also served as a major cause of division in the Empire.  Therefore, by mixing paganism and Christianity, Constantine sought to unite his dominions.  He bestowed a number of favours on the church, treating bishops as his political aides.  However his policy towards the Church was the means of introducing error and corruption.  It was from this period that the wrath and worldliness of the churches increased.  They forgot the words of Jesus, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)

It was during the reign of Constantine that a godly man named Leo, who was a companion of Sylvester Bishop of Rome, separated from the Church of Rome.  This was on account of the greed of Sylvester and “the excessive enrichment of the Church by the donations of the Emperor.”  Leo drew to him those who desired to follow Jesus Christ in truth, these true Christians were later persecuted by the Church of Rome.  It is from them that the Waldensian Church in the Alps was descended, which bore a faithful witness to the truth right up to the Reformation.

Rivera, who claimed to have had access to secret Vatican files, goes beyond what historians have generally recorded.  He states that Constantine really worshipped the sun god “Sol”.  This is independently confirmed by Gillis, who says “Constantine probably brought this cult [the worship of Sol] into the emerging state church.  Coins show him as Soli Invicto Comiti, the “Colleague of the Invincible Sun.”  Rivera further claims that Constantine’s professed Christianity was in fact a lie, which was used to further the counterfeit churches with their twisted concept of Christianity, that had originated from Nero. It was these false churches that Constantine gave toleration to and showered favours upon.  The true Christians knew that he was an enemy of Christ.  This is consistent with what is known of Constantine’s personal life, which was one of atrocity and cruelty towards members of his own family.  Gibbon also says of Constantine, “we may contemplate a hero, who had so long inspired his subjects with love and his enemies with terror, degenerating into a cruel and dissolute monarch, corrupted by his fortune.

In previous generations, bishops had been called to suffer for the name of Jesus Christ.  However, from the era of Constantine the Great, the Bishops of Rome were no longer called to the martyr’s stake, or the confessor’s dungeon, but raised to high rank, and possessing great opulence, in the imperial city, and very naturally beginning to show some tokens of that worldliness, luxury and ambition, which would be the natural temptations of their position.”

The Supposed Disappearance of Paganism

Despite the strength of Paganism at Rome in 378 AD, less than fifty years later Paganism was, to all outward appearances, no longer professed.  However, the Roman church was very different in the early 5^th century to that at the beginning of the 4^th century.  It now had all manner of superstitious rites and ceremonies, new and strange doctrines were introduced.  In fact, as we shall show in the following chapters, the Church of Rome adopted the pagan rites, symbols and doctrines, covering them with a façade of Christianity.  It was this, and not an outpouring of the Spirit, that brought multitudes of pagan worshippers into the Church of Rome.  These errors also spread to other parts of the professed Christian world.

It was immediately after the time of Damasus that the words of warning given by the Apostle Paul to Timothy were fulfilled.  “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.” (1 Tim 4:1-3)  Celibacy, compulsory fasting, idolatry and baptismal regeneration became the accepted doctrines of the Church.

The Pope

In keeping with the pagan titles given to the Roman Emperors, the Bishop of Rome as Pontifex Maximus, became known by the title “Father” and “Your Holiness”.  The word “Pope” is simply an English version of “Papa” which means “Father”.  This title given to the Bishop of Rome is in total contradiction of the commandment of Jesus Christ, when speaking of religious leaders: “And call no man your father upon the earth, for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9)

Not only did the Bishop of Rome take the pagan titles, but he also took the pagan symbols and insignia of the Pontifex Maximus.  By wresting a few scriptures out of their context, they were dressed up as Christian symbols.  “Peter-Roma”, the Grand Interpreter of the Mysteries, became “Saint Peter of Rome”, the Apostle of Our Lord.  The keys of Janus and Cybele, which were held by the Pontifex Maximus, were proclaimed in 431 AD to be the keys of Peter entrusted to his successor the Pope.  In fact the accounts of Peter even visiting Rome are of a very dubious nature.  The Bible speaks of Paul preaching the Gospel in Rome as the Apostle of the Gentiles, but it is silent about Peter going to Rome.  There is archaeological evidence that Peter was buried in Jerusalem.

Another extraordinary fact is that the mitre worn by the Pope and other bishops is copied from the pagan mitre of the Pontifex Maximus, which represents the fish head of Dagon.  Similar mitres to that worn by the Pontifex Maximums were also worn by other leaders of eastern religions derived from Babylon.  The mitre and cloak made the wearer appear in the form of Dagon.  Woodrow gives startling illustrations of Dagon (of whom Janus was a version) depicted in Mesopotamian sculptures looking just like a present day bishop with his cloak and mitre!  Just as the Pope has taken the key of Janus, he has also taken the fish-head mitre of Dagon.

Woodrow shows another most striking pair of illustrations.  One is a photograph of Pope Paul VI being carried in procession, the other is a picture from ancient Egypt of a priest-king being carried in procession.  One is clearly a copy of the other!

The Jesuits

According to Alberto Rivera, he was brought into a seminary in 1942 when he was 7. Two years later, as his mother was dying, she saw “ugly creatures” coming at her deathbed, and faced a “Christless eternity” because of her faith. When visiting his mother’s grave, Rivera vowed to find answers to “the truth”. After education at a Catholic seminary, he was sent to destroy various Protestant organizations and discredit Protestant leaders, but became disillusioned upon finding that the Vatican was behind “Freemasonry” and that its reverence of the “Mary, the mother of Jesus” the Virgin Mary was contradicted by the Bible. In 1965, at an Ecumenical Conference in a Guatemalan stadium, he denounced the Catholic Church to an audience of 50,000 people. The Jesuits then sent him to a top-secret “Psychiatric hospital” or sanatorium in Spain to make him recant his faith. Here he was tortured and given poison until he nearly died, eventually being put into an “Iron lung” because his lungs had broken down from the abuse. Nearly at death, he asked Jesus to forgive him and was miraculously healed. A senior Jesuit attempted to persuade Rivera to return to Catholicism, but instead was himself persuaded to give Rivera the passport and papers he needed to escape Spain. Afterwards he flew to London and saved his sister María, a nun, after she nearly died in a convent. [Wikipedia]

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The authenticity of the testimony of the late Alberto Rivera has been questioned.  However, charges that Rivera was never a Jesuit are also vigorously denied .  Since Rivera’s death, his ministry has been continued by his widow. The controversy about Rivera is often a bitter and spiritually unprofitable one.  Some professed Christians have even attempted to discredit anyone who so much as quotes from the Alberto Series.  However the present author has persistently found most of the claims in the Alberto Series about Rome and the Jesuits to be independently supported.  Therefore, it is concluded that his testimony is genuine and substantially accurate.

It should be noted that many of the references made in this book to the Alberto Series are to referenced historical information or photographs about the Papacy, which in no way depend upon the truth or otherwise of Rivera’s personal testimony.  Nevertheless, it is recognised that there is a division amongst the Lord’s people over Rivera.  Therefore any references to Rivera are clearly indicated, and in this edition further independent supporting references have been added.  It is noteworthy that one of the sober criticisms of Rivera states “most of what he said about Rome was true.”

Symbolism of the Church of Rome

After the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, the apostles openly preached salvation through the one sacrifice made by Christ upon the cross.  It was to be received by faith, wrought to the believer by the Holy Spirit.  However, the New Testament speaks of little outward symbolism in the Church, other than the two ordinances of the Lord’s Supper and Baptism.  Therefore, the symbolism that abounds in the Church of Rome, and currently in many Protestant churches, is not based upon any scriptural commandments.  Although it is claimed that these so-called Christian symbols have been handed down by tradition from the early church, this symbolism is from a more ancient source, namely the Babylonian Mysteries.

The Deceptive Symbolism of the Mysteries

The Mysteries of Babylon were not only copied (with variations) by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, but they have found their way into 20^th century culture and religion, including what is called Christianity.  As we continue in later chapters, further examination of the worship of Babylon will show much that passes for respectable religion today is none other than the worship of the Devil in the form of the false messiah Nimrod and his goddess wife Semiramis.  The deep symbolism deceives the unsuspecting minority of people today.  Most members of the Church of Rome or Freemasons would be horrified if they knew the truth about their religious systems.  It is the cunning of the Devil which keeps these things hidden from their eyes.

The key to understanding much of the symbolism and the varied names of the many gods and goddesses is the original language of the Mysteries, which is the Babylonian language Chaldee.  This language is closely related to Hebrew.  The names of the false gods and goddesses can then be deciphered and their origin shown.

However this presents us with a feature of the Babylonian religions which people initially find hard to grasp.  This is the enormous number of names under which Nimrod and his wife have been known and worshipped around the world.  R. Woodrow in his book “Babylon Mystery Religion” estimates that the total number is about 5000.  Some of these names would have been titles claimed by Nimrod and his wife during their lifetime.  One example is “Nimrod He-Roe” which is Chaldee for “Nimrod the Shepherd”.  It is from this that we get the word “hero’, the profane world is always indulging in so-called hero worship, in which a man is idolised.  The word “Pharoah” is simply a variation on the Chaldee “He-Roe” meaning “The Shepherd”.  Other names were given after their death, when they were worshipped in various forms as gods and goddesses.  Variations in names naturally arose, because many nations with different languages and cultures adapted and modified the original Babylonian pattern of worship.

A further reason for the large number of names and symbols is a much more sinister one, which we have already touched upon, namely the secret worship and doctrines of the Mysteries were only to be revealed to the initiated.  Therefore a cunning system of names and symbols with double meanings has arisen.  To the uninitiated, these are confusing, it is not obvious to us today that there are hidden meanings.  In this book we uncover some of those secrets, starting with the forms of Babylonish worship that are spoken of and condemned in the Bible.

The Fish

In the Egyptian version of the Mysteries a fish god called “Latus” was worshipped, which is clearly just another version of Dagon.  In the early Church, the symbol of the fish was commonly used to identify Christians during times of persecution.  However, as mentioned previously in the section about Nero, this was not built upon any commandment of the Lord or the apostles recorded in the scriptures.  As we noted in Chapter 5, there is testimony from Rivera that the sign of the fish (as well as other symbols) was introduced by infiltrators in the Church, so that it would be easier for the Emperor’s spies to enter the Church without suspicion, and with less likelihood that they would be converted to Christianity.  Gibbon also observed that symbols from the Mysteries were used in the early Church.  As we shall now see, the fish is a symbol from the Babylonish religions.

Nevertheless, in the early church many true believers took the symbol of the fish to mean “Jesus Christ God’s Son Saviour” for in Greek the first letters of these five words spelt “Ichthys” which means “fish” in English.  However, the name of the Babylonish god Dagon also means “fish”, and was represented by an image that was half fish and half man.  The God Janus, on whom the Papacy was modelled, was also a version of Dagon; the ceremonial robes and mitre made the wearer appear in the form of the fish god.  Therefore it is hardly surprising to read the following statement from Hislop: “about the very time when the Bishop of Rome was invested with the Pagan title of Pontifex, the Saviour began to be called “Ichthys,” or “The Fish” thereby identifying him with Dagon, or the Fish-god; and that, ever since, advancing step by step, as circumstances would permit, what has gone under the name of the worship of Christ, has just been the worship of that same Babylonian divinity, with all its rites and pomps and ceremonies, precisely as in ancient Babylon.”

Therefore we see that a seemingly innocent symbol of the fish to identify Christians is then used blasphemously to represent Christ himself.  How careful Christians must be use only those forms and symbols set forth in the word of God!

Further evidence of the link between Nimrod, Satan and the fish symbol is provided by Bacchus, who was the abominable god of wine and all manner of uncleanness that was widely worshipped in Rome.  Hislop states that the name “Bacchus” comes from the Chaldee word “bakhah,” which means in English “to weep or lament.”  Thus Bacchus was “The Lamented One,” identifying him with Tammuz, for whom the women wept in Jerusalem.  Both Cooper and Gill identify the name Bacchus with the Chaldee “Bar-Cush,” which means “Son of Cush,” or in other words Nimrod.  Bacchus also had the title “Eleleus,” which comes from “Helel,” the Hebrew word translated “Lucifer” in Isaiah 14:12.  Finally let us note that another title of Bacchus was “Ichthys,” or “The Fish”!

Candles

In an earlier chapter it was noted that fire was an earthly representation of the sun god Nimrod, as we have seen, the name Tammuz, under which Nimrod was worshipped, means “the perfecting fire”.  Consequently fire has always played an important part in the worship of the Mysteries.  One of the most common manifestations of this was the abundant use of wax candles, which is a feature of many religions from around the world.

In a similar manner, services in the Church of Rome (and sadly in most of the Church of England today) require the lighting of candles on the table or altar before worship commences.  Where the consecrated “host” is reserved by the altar for later administration, a light or candle is kept burning beside it.  The practice of burning candles by day was copied from the pagan mystery religions; it became part of Church practice at the same time Paganism and the Church of Rome merged in the 4^th century.

In the worship of the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple the use of lamps and candlewicks is described.  However, these did not burn wax, as in the Mysteries or in the Church of Rome, but they were supplied with sacred olive oil.  This is seen in Zechariah’s version of the candlestick with seven lamps, which were continuously supplied with olive oil carried through seven pipes (Zechariah 4:2-3).  Therefore it is clear that the Romish practice did not come from the Temple worship or the Bible.

The burning of wax candles has a secret and mysterious meaning.  The Babylonish religions had a corrupted concept of the “Word of God”, the second person in the Trinity.  This secret is revealed by observing that “word” in Chaldee is “dabar” but “dabar” has a second meaning in English, which is “bee”.  Thus, Nimrod, supposedly the messiah and the word of God, was represented in the Mysteries as a bee.  Since wax came from the bee, the burning of wax symbolised the light from the “Word” that enlightened mankind.  Thus we find in the Mysteries that Jesus Christ was supplanted as the “Light of the world” by Nimrod!  Hence, the significance of John at the start of his Gospel.  Speaking of the Word, “Jesus Christ”, he says: “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (John 1:9)

Not only do candles tend to superstition but they symbolise the light from Nimrod, the false messiah.  Therefore, let us flee from all such things and maintain a pure worship of Jesus Christ according to the Bible, the written word of God.

Cakes Offered to the Queen of Heaven

                                 

Various versions of the Mysteries tell how Semiramis (the goddess wife and mother of Nimrod) was offered an “unbloody sacrifice”.  On the contrary, Nimrod was worshipped as a god that delighted in blood.  The deified Semiramis was represented as possessing a benign and gentle character, she was seen as the mediator between man and Nimrod, who was frequently depicted as a child in her arms.  This doctrine is seen in some of the very many names given to Semiramis. Tradition ascribes the invention of crucifixion to Semiramis.  Crucifixion was not only a punishment for crimes committed, but was also regarded as a human sacrifice to pagan gods.  Yet we read of the Blessed Lord Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)  By his death and resurrection, Jesus overcame “the power of darkness” (Luke 23:53) and “having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it,.” (Colossians 2:15)

The significance of the letters “HIS” graved on the Romish wafer, according to the Church of Rome, are that the letters stand for “Iesus Hominum Salvator”, which is Latin for “Jesus the Saviour of Man”.  However, at the time of the Roman Empire there were innumerable worshippers of the Egyptian goddess Isis in Rome.  Isis was one person in a perverted trinity, the other two were Horus, who was “the Son”, and Seb, who was “the Father of the gods”.  Thus, “HIS” stands for “Isis, Horus and Seb”, the Egyptian trinity of “the Mother, the Son and the Father of the gods”.  The 31^st Article of the 39 Articles of Faith of the Church of England appropriately sums up the Mass by saying that it consists of “blasphemous fables and dangerous deceits”.  However, even before the Reformation, John Wicliffe likened the Mass to the rites of the priests of Baal.

A form of the Mass in the final days of the kingdom of Judah is spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah.  “The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.” (Jeremiah 7:18)  The ‘queen of heaven’ was the title given to the deified Semiramis.  It is therefore no surprise to find that the Church of Rome has bestowed this title upon the “Virgin Mary”.

Easter

Although there was no apostolic commandment as such, many professing Christians in the early Church observed a festival called “Pasch.”  This was based on the Jewish Passover and commemorated the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Somewhat later in the Spring, Pagans celebrated a festival dedicated to the queen of heaven – the deified Semiramis, queen of Babylon – the dates of which varied between different nations.  However, this position changed during the course of the 4^th century at the time of Constantine, as Hislop explains: “To conciliate the pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and pagan festivals amalgamated.”  This was facilitated by a complicated, but skilful, adjustment of the calendar.  There was also the familiar incorporation of Babylonish rite into what was a supposedly Christian festival, which is now known in English as Easter.

This amalgamation was completed in 519 AD, when it was decreed by the Bishop of Rome that the forty day fast known as Lent was to be kept before Easter.  Of course, no such period of fasting is to be found in the Jewish Passover.  However, the forty day fast was an essential part of the Babylonish spring festivals.

Although the English name “Easter” appears once in the Bible (Acts 12:4), the original Greek word “Pascha” strictly means “Passover”.  It would appear that the translators of the Authorised Version were unaware that the word “Easter” is of pagan origin.  Although it is widely assumed that “Passover” and “Easter” are synonymous, this is in fact a misconception.

The English word “Easter” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “Eostre,” which was the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring.  However “Eostre” was in turn derived from one of the ancient titles of the Babylonian queen of heaven.  In ancient Assyria this was “Ishtar,” and in other parts of the ancient world it was “Astarte.”  In the Bible, this goddess was also known as “Ashtareth”.  There are very many variations of this name, all derived from the Chaldee for “the woman that made the encompassing wall;” for it was Semiramis who first built the walls of Babylon.

Just as eggs are associated with Easter today, so were eggs regarded as sacred symbols in Babylon, Egypt and many other parts of the world.  Hislop relates the class account of the mystic egg of the Babylonians, quoting from the ancient writer Hyginus. “An egg of wondrous size is said to have fallen from heaven into the river Euphrates.  The fishes rolled it to the bank, where the doves having settled upon it, and hatched it, out came Venus, who afterwards was called the Syrian Goddess” – that is, Astarte.  Hence the egg became one of the symbols of Astarte or Easter, and accordingly, in Cyprus, one of the chosen seats of the worship of Venus, or Astarte, the egg of wondrous size was represented on a grand scale.

The eating of hot-cross buns on Good Friday is also of pagan origin.  It is derived from the cakes offered to the queen of heaven.  The original Hebrew word translated “cakes” actually signifies “cakes with marks on them.” As we have seen in a previous chapter, the cross is also the sign of the false messiah Tammuz, in this respect the hot-cross bun is similar to the Romish “Host”.  Further potent symbolism of Tammuz is also displayed by the use of the fire-cross; Hislop gives a detailed account of the worship of the cross of fire in the Vatican on Good Friday, in which a blazing cross of fire was suspended above the tomb of St. Peter’s.

The worship of fire does not end on Good Friday, for the following “Holy Saturday” is that in which the “New Fire” of Easter is lit and blessed.  The Missal states, “The lighted Paschal Candle symbolises the Risen Christ Himself who is “the light of the world.”  So the priest cuts in the wax a cross, to show that it represents Christ.  Not only is this rite derived from the Babylonish worship of fire, but the Church of Rome is implicitly celebrating here the risen Christ on Saturday, rather than on Sunday!  Furthermore, on Maunday Thursday the “Host” (supposedly the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ) is placed in a sepulchre or “Altar of Repose”.  Thus the Romish “Christ” is apparently buried on a Thursday and rises on Saturday!  The god of Rome, though taking the name of Jesus Christ, is in fact Saturn the “Hidden god” of the Mysteries, whose original Chaldee name “Satur” also translates into English as the number “666”.  Saturn was the god of fire, therefore, it is fitting that the rites of Easter fire should take place on the Day of Saturn, or Saturday.

The Halo and Sun Image

In idolatrous pictures of Jesus, Mary or other “Saints”, it is usual to see a bright circle (known as a “halo”) around their head.  Alternatively, a golden coloured disc surrounds the head.  This symbolism is not restricted to professed Christian churches.  It was used in pagan Rome and ancient Babylon.  Pictures of Jesus Christ were unknown in the early Church, and one will search the Bible in vain for such things.

Hislop states that the disc or circle of light surrounding the head “is found in the artistic representations of the gods and goddesses of Babylon.  The disc, and particularly the circle, were the well known symbols of the sun divinity, and figured largely in the symbolism of the East.  With the circle or the disc the head of the Sun-Divinity was encompassed.  The same was the case in Pagan Rome.  Apollo, as the child of the Sun, was often thus represented.  The Missal of the Church of Rome contains a number of pictures of Jesus and Mary.  These show clearly a bright disc encompassing the head, shining as the brightness of the sun.  The Solar disc or halo is exactly the same form of symbolism as that of the round cake or wafer, which we considered in the previous chapter.  Therefore, it comes as no surprise to find the Church of Rome representing the consecrated “Host” in the form of the sun.  These pictures in the Missal also include images of corn, just as “the Son,” the child Nimrod, was represented in the Mysteries.

However there is a deeper significance in the circle around the head.  The word “zero” in Chaldee means both “a circle” and “the seed” in English.  The former meaning of the word “zero” has of course been carried into the English language.  The latter meaning is seen in another name given to Nimrod, which was “Zoroaster,” the head of the fire worshippers.  The name “Zoroaster” is simply a version of the Chaldee “Zero-ashta” which means in English “the seed of the woman”.  Thus, we see how Nimrod was worshipped as a false messiah, being given the titles and dignities by his worshippers that are due to Jesus Christ alone.  Therefore, when we consider that the sun god Tammuz was symbolised by a circle, how blasphemous do the Romish pictures of Jesus Christ appear.  The shining sun behind the head or the circle of light shows that, what is claimed to be Jesus Christ, is in the fact the false messiah Nimrod.

Sun images appear widely in church buildings; these images may take on various forms.  Above the ‘high altar’ in St. Peter’s in the Vatican is a huge golden sun-burst image.  In other parts of St. Peter’s there are sun images at the top of pillars.  This is remarkably similar to the forms under which the sun was worshipped in Babylonish temples.  In the time of Josiah, the gold king of Judah, we read: “And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down.”  (2 Chron 34:4).  The expanded rendering given for “images” by the translators in the margin is “sun images”, this is confirmed by Young’s Concordance.

Another form of sun image that originates from Babylon is the solar wheel, which is in the form of a chariot wheel, and is linked with astrology and the Occult.  Again, this is referred to in the Bible during the reformation of King Josiah.  “And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.” (2 Kings 23:11)  It is quite remarkable then to find that the circular courtyard in front of St. Peter’s marks out the pattern of a solar wheel.  Another very common form of solar wheel found in all manner of church buildings is the rose window.  This is often placed above the entrance of the church.  Although it was probably not the intention of the church architects, it is remarkably similar to the sun images placed over the entrances to Babylonian and Egyptian temples.  This shows how the customs of Babylonish sun worship have become a traditional part of professed Christian churches.

Saints Days and Patron Saints

The calendar of the Church of Rome over the years has become full to overflowing with the feast days of various “Saints” to whom the Church of Rome gives honour.  Many of these were clearly true Christians, such as the apostles and many martyrs of the early Church.  However, others are of a most dubious nature.  “Saints” are often specially associated with certain types of work or of particular events in life; these are known as “Patron Saints.”  This practice is one which has been taken from Babylonish religions, in the Church of Rome the position of the “Patron Saint” is directly analogous with that of the pagan patron gods and goddesses.

It is recorded that when pagan temple were reconsecrated as churches during the period when the church of Rome absorbed paganism, statues to various gods were renames as statues of “Saints”.  The Romish pictures and images of the Madonna and child, which supposedly represented Mary and the child Jesus, were modelled on the ancient portraits of Isis and the child Horus; as we saw in a previous chapter, Isis and Horus are versions of the deified Semiramis and Nimrod.  The statue of St. Peter in the Vatican is widely believed to have been originally a statue of the god Jupiter.  The halo above “St. Peter’s” head is just like the Babylonian solar wheel.

One practice that the Church of Rome indulges in is the kissing of images; these images may also be dressed in clothes.  Woodrow shows a photograph of the Pope kissing the toe of the statue of St. Peter in the Vatican; the statue is dressed up in pontifical robes.  Both of these practices are borrowed from Babylonish rituals.  Likewise, the processing of idols, that is often performed on feast days by the Church of Rome, had its counterpart in paganism.

The Bible also speaks of this type of idolatrous worship prior to the destruction of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  The Lord said unto Jerusalem, “Thou has also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou has set mine oil and mine incense before them.” (Ezekiel 16:17-18).  Concerning the worship of Baal by Ephraim, the prophet Hosea said, “and now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen; they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.” (Hosea 13:2)  Furthermore, the Lord spoke to Elijah, “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:18)  It is shocking to compare this with the superstitions in the Church of Rome (and elsewhere) in which people bow before images and in private devotion kiss an image of Christ represented in the crucifix.

The name of some of the “Saints” are direct copies of the names of Babylonish gods.  On 7^th October we find St. Bacchus” honoured in the Romish missal.  This date coincides with the end of the grape harvest.  At this time the pagan Romans used to celebrate the “Rustic Festival” of Bacchus, who was the god of wine, drunkenness and debauchery.  The name “Bacchus” means “The Lamented One” and was one of the titles given to Nimrod, who died a violent death and was wept over by his followers.  Likewise, the Church of Rome honours “St. Bacchus” as a martyr.

Rightly did Farel, the 16^th century French reformer, regard the worship of “saints” and images to be a revival of pagan idolatry.

Let us then in conclusion remember the words of the Lord Jesus, “God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”  (John 4:24)  In our present day, there is much talk in the professed churches of the work of the Spirit and spiritual experiences.  However, at the same time we see vital godliness and the word of God trampled under foot.  This is because the words “in truth” have been neglected.  Let those who profess the name of Jesus Christ seek prayerfully to worship Him who said “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

May we forsake all pagan and Babylonish rites, for to say that such things are acceptable to God, if done with a ‘right motive’ is to adopt the doctrine and morality of the Jesuits.  The Bible knows of no such teaching.

Excerpts from “Mystery, Babylon The Great” by I.A. Sadler (OOP)

Further information:

The Truth about Roman Catholicism

The Secret Truth of Roman Catholicism

Dirty Secrets of the Roman Catholic Church

Mission to Catholics

Prayer for Renunciation of Catholicism I

Prayer for Renunciation of Catholicism II for Release from the Strongholds of Jezebel

Prayer for Renunciation of the Jezebel Spirit and to Break Jezebelic Curses