"Christian" Church Attitude

The churches today unwittingly, follow a great number of practices originating from ancient pagan Babylon -- practices which are entirely opposite to those which the Messiah and the apostles taught. It is important to notice the attitude toward Paganism of the churches which consider themselves completely Christian. The following excerpts from Edward Carpenter's Pagan and Christian Creeds, show this attitude: "The Christian Church has kept itself severely apart from discussions of heathenism, taking the stand that it, the church, represents a unique and divine revelation and has persuaded mankind of this to such a degree that few people nowadays realize that it has sprung from just the same root as paganism and that it shares by far the most part of its doctrines and rites with the latter" (pp. 11-12).

Notice today's churches have sprung from the same root as paganism!

"The common idea is that the pagan gods fled away at Christ's coming, yet it is well known to every student that this is contrary to fact. At the time of the recorded appearance of Jesus, and for some centuries before, there were temples without and dedicated to Apollo or Dionysius among the Greeks, or Hercules among the Romans, Mythra among the Persian, Baal and Astarte among the Babylonians, and temples dedicated to many other gods. An outstanding phenomenon is apparent: not withstanding great geographical distances, racial differences between cults and in detail of services, the general outline of creeds and ceremonials were -- if not identical -- markedly similar" (p. 19-21).

Pagan Similarities

Not only were these pagan creeds and ceremonies, which had existed centuries before the Messiah's birth markedly similar to each other, but they were also similar to true Christianity -- a fact that cannot be considered accidental. As an example of this, of eleven main deities from seven countries, it was believed of all or nearly all that, "these deities' births were on or near Christmas, of a virgin mother, in a cave underground, that they led a life of toil for man. They were called light bringers, healers, mediators, and saviors. They were thought to have been vanquished by the powers of darkness, descended into hell or the underworld, to have arisen and become pioneers of mankind to a heavenly world...Krishna, the god of India is an outstanding parallel with the life of Christ" (p. 21-23).

Mr. Carpenter, the author of Pagan and Christian Creeds, says: "The idea of God sacrificing His Son for the salvation of the world is so remote and remarkable -- yet it ranges through all ancient religion and back to the earliest times and is embodied in their rituals" (p. 133). These unusual customs were so similar to the truth that they strongly suggest there must have been some guiding force behind them.

It is evident that with such marked similarities to true Christianity, as are shown by the eleven deities from seven countries, that one should approach this subject with an open mind to see if a fusion of paganism and true Christianity is present today.

In I Thessalonians 5:21, the Apostle tells us to "Prove all things: hold fast to that which is good." Jude 3 to 4 tell us to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares...ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." We are warned of a turning away from the truth of YEHOVAH God which was starting to occur even in the time of the apostles.

Consider for a moment!

Is it probable that the pagans who had methods of worship, seemingly near in form and belief to that of the Messiah and the apostles, would come into Christianity and completely discard their pagan practices which often contained very pleasurable things, for teachings that did not appeal to them as much, even though YEHOVAH God has commanded them? Of course not. Paul warned in II Thessalonians 2:7 "The mystery of iniquity doth already work." A mysterious perversion of the gospel had already started to work even in Paul's time! The pagans didn't give up their ideas!

Satan Rules By Deceiving

Satan has been permitted to retain rule of the earth at this time. Yeshua did not deny this, for Matthew 4:3-10 says, "The devil taketh Him (the Messiah)...and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world...and saith unto Him, all these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me." They were the devil's kingdoms to give -- he ruled over them. He rules over this earth! See also John 14:30 and 16:11. He was trying to bring the Messiah under his rule -- "worship me."

But notice something else very carefully here. It is the key to the understanding of the method by which Satan, through the organized churches, is deceiving the world today -- a key to the Mystery of Iniquity which was already working in the Churches in Paul's time (II Thessalonians. 2:7). In Matthew 4:6 Satan says to the Messiah, "If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning thee." YEHOVAH promises to aid those who find themselves in hazardous circumstances not of their own making, but He does not say He will protect those who deliberately place themselves in such circumstances in order to convince others. But the Messiah replies in verse 7, "It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."

Notice, Satan suggested an improper action for the Messiah -- an act of disobedience to YEHOVAH God -- by twisting YEHOVAH's word to convince the Messiah it was the proper thing to do. Yeshua corrected him. Had the Messiah done as Satan suggested, he would have obeyed Satan -- been ruled by Satan. So also today, Satan retains rule over individuals by having his agents misinterpret the Bible and otherwise suggesting false methods of self-justification to the individual for his own evil acts.

Mankind Deceived

Eve was tempted by Satan in the same manner as the Messiah: Satan suggested an act contrary to YEHOVAH's command, then twisted YEHOVAH's word to make it appear the right thing to do. YEHOVAH said in Genesis 2:17, "But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." But the Devil twisted this. He said, "Ye shall not surely die...ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4-5).

Eve desired (lusted after) the fruit of this tree and obeyed Satan rather than YEHOVAH God -- he deceived her into doing it. Adam knowingly followed his wife's suggestion and obeyed her.

Thus mankind came under Satan's rule. "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness" (Romans 6:16). Had they obeyed YEHOVAH God they could of ruled the earth.

Adam and Eve, for their disobedience, were driven from the garden of Eden where the tree of life was located (Genesis 2:9). They could have eaten and obtained eternal life, but were prevented by cherubim from returning (Genesis 3:24). Their chance of obtaining eternal life at the time was gone -- they had sinned, disobeyed YEHOVAH God -- they would not come under His rule; therefore He would not give them the opportunity of obtaining it. They sinned by transgressing YEHOVAH's laws which were in the world from the beginning, for I John 3:4 says, "Sin is the transgression of the law," and Romans 3:23 says, "All" -- including Adam and Eve -- "have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

Opportunity of Salvation Revealed to Adam and Eve

A merciful God, He immediately revealed to Adam and Eve that one was to come who would again make it possible for those of Israel to have the opportunity of obtaining eternal life; for YEHOVAH God said to Satan (Genesis 3:15), "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel."

A male offspring of a man and a woman (the Messiah) was going to make it possible once again for those of Israel to come under YEHOVAH's rule and obtain eternal life. Proof of this is in verse 20 of the same chapter. Adam named his wife "Eve" which means, according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, "life giver." Both Adam and Eve shared equally in the giving of mortal life to their offspring. This is the first reference given by the Bible to the coming of the Messiah as Savior.

It was by faith and obedience that Enoch (Hebrews 11:5), David (Ezekiel 34:23), Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Matthew 8:11), all living in Old Testament times, understood the hope of salvation, and will rise to meet the Messiah at his coming (I Thessalonians 4:16). They obeyed YEHOVAH God -- came under His government -- (Enoch "walked with God" -- Genesis 5:24), and looked forward by faith to the Savior who should come -- just as we, today, should look backward and believe Him. YEHOVAH spoke to Abraham (Genesis 22:18) of the coming Seed (the Messiah). The few being called then obtained "a good report through faith" by the same method as we today: they repented of disobedience and believed that the blood of the Savior would pay the debt of their past sins!

This knowledge by which Israel could have faith in a Savior AND, like Enoch, be translated or transferred from Satan's rule (or "from the power of darkness") to YEHOVAH's rule (Colossians 1:13 and Hebrews 11:5) and ultimate eternal life, must be blotted out by all means if Satan was to retain rule of mankind on this earth.

Pagans Knew of Adam and Eve's Disobedience

There is evidence that the Pagans not only knew of the disobedience of Adam and Eve and that this disobedience was punishable by death, but also of the subsequent offering of Salvation again. Paul wrote in Romans 1:32 that the heathen sinned even though they knew "the judgment of God, that they which commit these things are worthy of death."

Hislop's The Two Babylons, pages 322, 323, says that one of the names of Eve, worshipped in ancient Babylon as a primeval goddess, was "Thalatth" which signifies "the rib" or "a side." It comes from the verb Thalaa which signifies "to turn aside." Adam turned aside from obeying YEHOVAH God because he took Eve who was made of a rib. It is in memory of Adam's turning aside from the right way that the pagan priests of Baal supplicated their god to hear them (I Kings 18:26) by limping (turning aside) at the altar, for "limping" is the exact meaning of the Hebrew word rendered "leaped." This, he states, is also the origin of Vulcan's lameness; for their pagan god Vulcan, as "Father of the gods," needed to be identified with Adam as well as Nimrod. The Pagans knew that this limping or turning aside implied death -- eternal death.

Pagans Knew of Promise of Eternal Life

But just as the pagans originally knew of the penalty of death for sin, so they also knew of the promise of life eternal. While at the spring festival of Cybele and Attes (other pagan gods which were the types of Adam and Eve in mythology) there was great lamentation for the death of Attes, so on the Hilaria or rejoicing festival of the 25th of March, in honor of Cybele the mother of the Babylonian Messiah, mourning was turned to joy, on the occasion of the dead god being restored to life again.

So we see how Satan was cast down to earth and became the adversary. Also we have seen how Satan twisted the word of YEHOVAH God by presenting to our first parents a counterfeit way which appeared as the TRUTH.

From this point on to the flood, the records prove that the Devil was very active in deceiving the Adamic line. The land became full of sin. "All flesh [of the Adamic line] had corrupted His way upon the earth [land]" (Genesis 6:12). This brought on the flood to show us the terrible results of disobedience.

Did Satan cease to deceive after the flood? No! Nimrod, under Satan's influence, founded the apostasy after the flood, and his wife Semiramis introduced the Mystery of Iniquity (II Thessalonians 2:7) which deceives the world today!

Nimrod Starts Apostasy After Flood

Noah and the seven people with him had survived the flood -- the great punishment on the inhabitants of the land for their disobedience to YEHOVAH's commands. Was there anyone who could keep the survivors in remembrance of obedience to YEHOVAH God? Yes, for II Peter 2:4-5 says, "God...saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness." Psalm 119:172 says, "All Thy commandments are righteousness." Righteousness is obedience. Noah preached obedience to YEHOVAH God. Noah was a preacher of obedience and through him the other seven were kept in remembrance of obedience to YEHOVAH God.

Everyone on earth after the flood knew of YEHOVAH God and why He had drowned the wicked. They feared to do evil -- at first. That they had lived under YEHOVAH's rule for some time is admitted by the ancients. "For many ages men lived under the government of Jove (YEHOVAH God) without cities and without laws, and all speaking one language...Then discord began" (Hyginnius, p. 114).

This group began migrating from the mountains of Ararat (Genesis 8:4) where the ark had landed: "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there" (Genesis 11:1-2). These people now known as Sumerians (Miller's Ancient History in Bible Light , p. 51), pushing through the mountains of the east, came upon a prodigiously fertile plain built up by the deposits of the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers. This land of Shinar is now known as ancient Babylonia (Breasted's Ancient Times, p. 107). Here was a land that would produce all they desired in abundance.

Did these people continue to live happily and peacefully under YEHOVAH's rule, or did they, like Adam and Eve, disobey YEHOVAH God and bring trouble upon themselves? The land was productive, but the wild animals were multiplying faster than the people, due to the destruction of the former civilization by the great flood. Because of their primitive weapons, there was a great danger to life and possessions (Exodus 23:28-29). What could be done about it?

Nimrod, the son of Cush, was a large, powerfully-built white man who developed into a great hunter. It was he who gathered the people together and organized them to fight the wild ferocious beasts: "He was a mighty hunter before the Eternal" (Genesis 10:8-9). In other words, the name of Nimrod was known everywhere for his might. He emancipated the people of the land after the flood from their fear of the wild animals. His prestige grew. He became the leader in worldly affairs. He was ambitious.

Cush and Nimrod Build First City -- Babylon

There was a better way to protect the people from the wild animals that roamed the land than by constantly fighting them. Nimrod built a city of houses and surrounded this city with a high wall and gathered the people within. Thus the people were protected and Nimrod was able to rule over them. This arrangement was agreeable to the people, for "They said...let us build us a city and make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad" (Genesis 11:4).

The people not only protected themselves from the wild animals by building a walled city but also established authority of their own -- "let us make us a name." This was to be a central place of Adamic man's authority -- the necessity of their obedience to YEHOVAH God was not going to be recognized! Nimrod was their leader. Also they built a tower whose top was to "reach unto heaven." With a tower this high they could do as they wished -- disobey YEHOVAH God and still be safe from His punishment which had drowned the inhabitants of the land before. This was the Adamic line's first act of open rebellion against YEHOVAH God after the flood -- they thought they had placed themselves out of YEHOVAH's reach if they wished to disobey Him. They, like Satan, thought that if they could "ascend above the heights of the clouds," they could "be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:14). Cush, Nimrod's father, also had much to do with the building of this tower and city (Hislop, p. 26).

Then it was that Nimrod "began to be a mighty one" and a "mighty hunter before the Eternal" in a ruling sense (the Hebrew word for "mighty" is "gibbor" which means "tyrant," Strong's Concordance). Nimrod became a tyrant over the people. He made the laws. Not only that but he was "mighty...before the Eternal" (The Hebrew word "paniym" translated "before" here, should be translated "against" -- Strong's Concordance. The Bible says Nimrod was against YEHOVAH God! Conspiracy and sedition were carried on by him (Epiphanius, Book i vol. i p. 7).

Nimrod kept growing in power, but the inborn desire of the people to worship him must be satisfied. Nimrod and his followers had turned against the true God. They wanted to glorify YEHOVAH God in their own way! They "changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like...creeping things" (Romans 1:23) -- the snake, and other things YEHOVAH had created. (They should have worshipped YEHOVAH God in spirit and in truth and not through idols, John 4:24, Exodus 20:4-5.) With the civil power he wielded, Nimrod set himself up as the priest of the things worshipped by the people, to obtain a still stronger hold on them, and gradually put himself in place of the true God.

Nimrod Becomes Priest of Serpent-Sun Worshippers

Adam's line, immediately after the flood, knew YEHOVAH God, but they did not like His laws -- they did not like to be obedient to Him. Their carnal minds rebelled.

To whom did they turn to worship in His place? They remembered the Serpent of the Garden of Eden (man's adversary) -- they would honor it, for had it not been through it that they had obtained the knowledge of good and evil? The Serpent had not commanded them to do anything. So it came about that the Serpent (Satan) was ultimately worshipped as the Enlightener of the Adamic line (they were deceived!).

The sun, too, became a favorite object of worship because of the light and heat that it gives.

This being the case, the two enlighteners became associated together, for just as the Serpent was considered to be the Enlightener of the spiritual world, so also was the Sun the Enlightener of the physical world. Thus it came about that one of the commonest symbols of the sun or sun-god is a disc with a serpent around it (Bunsen's Hieroglyphics, vol. i, p. 497). Moreover the Serpent is universally the symbol of the sun (Davies' Druids, p. 437).

Now we're beginning to understand why it is that sun-worship is Devil-worship! Satan, by deceptively inspiring the line of Adam, was associating himself with objects the Adamites tended to worship in such a way to receive the worship himself! The Adamic line, at this earliest date, knowing YEHOVAH God, did not like YEHOVAH's laws so they created gods of their own and ascribed to them laws which better suited their own desires.

This is the time referred to by Paul when, speaking to the Romans he said, "When they knew God, they...changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts and creeping things...and worshipped...the creature (thing created) more than the Creator" (Romans 1:21-25).

The people then were worshipping the creeping things -- the snake, and the created thing -- the sun! To prevent the worship of the sun, the Eternal's original name for it was "shemesh" which means servant , but Adamic man later changed this name to Baal which means "the Lord" (Johann Clericus, Book ii. p. 199 and Vaux, p. 8). Fire, giving off light, was regarded by those after the flood as the earthly representative of the sun. It is said that Nimrod himself commenced the worshipping of fire or fire-worship (Johann Clericus, Book ii, p. 199).

Do you remember the great red (fiery) "dragon" of Revelation 12:3? The dragon is identified as a serpent in verse 14 and is further identified as the Devil and Satan in verse 9. Here, symbolically, we see the Sun, the great Fire God, identified with the Serpent or Satan! The sun then, becomes the symbol of the Devil himself! The Bible says so!

These, then, were the false beliefs into which the people in Nimrod's time, who did not wish to worship the True God, were being led. They were Sun-Fire-Worshippers. These were the beliefs Nimrod championed and which made him more powerful than ever. He became the priest of the Sun-god or Bol-Kahn, which means Priest of Baal. He did not claim to be the Sun-god himself but did spread the worship of this Pagan deity. He, being thus the priest of the devouring fire to which human victims were offered, and especially children, was regarded as a great child devourer. He became therefore the priest of Devil worship!

(Only after his violent death was he set up as though he had been an immortal deity.)

World Cheated Out of Real Happiness

Just as Nimrod had emancipated the people from the fear of the wild beasts, so also, he emancipated them from the fear of the Eternal which is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10) and in whose laws alone can true happiness be found.

He was the "mighty one," the acknowledged leader of the "great ones" or "giants" who, in their great apostasy, rebelled against heaven. He led those on earth to believe a real spiritual change of heart was unnecessary. Drunken and sexual orgies went hand in hand with his expansion of power. It is evident that he led the Adamic line to seek their chief good in sensual enjoyment and showed them how they might enjoy the pleasures of sin without any fear of wrath of a Holy God. In his various expeditions he was always accompanied by troops of women, and by music and song, games and revelries, and everything that could please the natural heart and endear himself to the good graces of mankind (The Two Babylons, p. 55).

"There is ample reason to believe that in his own day he was the object of high popularity. Though by setting up as a king...he invaded the liberties of mankind, yet he was held to have conferred benefits...that amply indemnified them for the loss of their liberties, and covered him with glory and renown" (Hislop's The Two Babylons, p. 50).

In the carnal mind of man (Romans 7:14) the Babylonian system was not so bad -- it had brought a measure of happiness, they thought; but what did YEHOVAH God do -- YEHOVAH God who knew the full measure of happiness the Adamic man could have by obeying His laws? Was He going to allow the Adamic line to destroy itself with its own sins before it had enough time to learn its lesson that sin does not bring happiness? (Romans 6:23).

Confusion of Tongues

"The Eternal came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men builded. And the Eternal said, Behold, the people is one,...and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do...let us go down and confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Eternal scattered them...upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Eternal did there confound the language...and...did scatter them abroad" (Genesis 11:5-9).

The word "Babel" means "confusion." YEHOVAH confused the language of this place and the city was named for that event. He did not destroy it but He did slow down its growth so that the Adamic man would have time to learn the error of trying to rule himself. Thus by giving various groups of people various languages, He caused these groups to separate. This was the beginning of the nations as we know them today: the confusion of the tongues divided them "after their nations" (Genesis 10:5,20,31). The people of Babylon started to migrate outward from that point from that time. Each group took its idolatrous Sun-Fire-Serpent worship with them and its memory of Babylon and Nimrod.

Apostasy Spreads

Did this blow to Nimrod's plans stop him in his conquest for power? No, it made conditions more difficult and his rule less close-knit, but with increased zeal he extended his power: he did more construction work on the city of Babel. For the protection of three of the larger groups of people who had dispersed, he built the cities of Erech, Accad, and Calneh, and these thereby came under his rule. These cities (Genesis 10:10) comprised the beginning of his empire which was later to expand and cover the known world of that time. From thence he extended his control over much of the land that YEHOVAH God had designed for Shem (Exodus 23:31).

It was by such means as this, that Nimrod became, "a mighty one in the earth" (Genesis 10:8). He "set the world on fire," it was said.

Bryant, Vol. ii, p. 377, says that Nimrod conquered all nations as far as Lybia. This indicates that all the area from Babylon to Lybia was under his sway; thereby including Egypt also. This was a large part of the populated world at that time. Upon these his religion and government were imposed. Nimrod, then, was the first to form an army, civil, economic, political, and social systems. He set the pattern of laws to govern these, but in all this he did not include YEHOVAH God, for he turned the people to worship Satan.

Shem Slays Nimrod

But what of Noah, the preacher of righteousness? Did everyone join Cush and Nimrod in their apostasy against YEHOVAH God, or did Noah stand firm and gather some followers on his side?

Yes, Noah, the preacher of righteousness (II Peter 2:5) did stand fast and gained a staunch supporter in his son, Shem. While Nimrod was expanding his kingdom so rapidly there was opposition from Shem, the representative of Noah, the great enlightener of the world (Hislop's The Two Babylons p. 316-317). Nimrod became the representative for the forces of evil in opposing Shem who took over the position of Noah, the preacher of righteousness.

With the aggressive Nimrod expanding his government and religion to include all people in the small world of that time, the two groups were bound to come into conflict. How did the conflict resolve itself?

"Ancient traditions relate that the apostates who joined in the rebellion of Nimrod made war upon the faithful among the sons of Noah [Shem and his followers]. Power and numbers were on the side of the fire-worshippers. But on the side of the faithful was the power of God's spirit. Therefore many were convicted in their sin, and arrested in their evil career; and victory declared for the saints. The power of Nimrod came to an end, and with it, for a time, the worship of the sun, and the fiery serpent associated with it" (Hislop, p. 232).

Shem, a very eloquent person, is said to have obtained the aid of a group of Egyptians to overcome Nimrod. Nimrod fled to Rome where he was slain. Then Nimrod's dead body was cut into pieces, burnt, and the pieces sent as a warning to various areas against such evil apostatizing (Hislop, p. 63).

Was this terrible apostasy against YEHOVAH God stopped for all time with Nimrod's death? Who was there as capable as he to carry it on? The carnal nature of Adamic man was willing to continue the apostasy but they needed a leader! Certainly if a flood that drowned all but eight people in the land would not stop them, Shem and a few other men could not!

Would Satan allow this worldwide system, which he built up so he could secretly receive the worship of the earth, to crumble? We shall now find the answer!

Semiramis Expands Apostasy

The death of Nimrod seemingly halted the counterfeit pagan worship which he started. The Egyptians hold that Nimrod's dead body was cut into pieces. It was sent to many cities throughout the country as a stern warning as what would happen to others who might desire to apostatize (Wilkinson's Egyptians, Vol. V, p. 17).

A similar example of this practice is even recorded in the Bible. The dead body of the Levite's concubine was cut into pieces and a part was sent to each of the twelve tribes of Israel (Judges 19:29). Another example is recorded in I Samuel 11:7. It was not an unusual practice.

This warning against paganism had a marked effect on would-be apostates. If one as powerful as Nimrod could be slain and disposed of in such a terrible manner, the people rightly reasoned that the same fate would happen to them if it were known that they were adoring and serving forbidden objects -- idols. THE PEOPLE WERE AFRAID TO WORSHIP THESE OBJECTS ALTHOUGH THEY DESIRED TO DO SO! If they were to continue to worship these same forbidden pagan idols, there was only one way which it could be done. And that was for someone to initiate a system whereby the forbidden things of worship were represented by something else.

This system became known as the ancient "Mysteries."

Thus the ones initiated into the "Mysteries" would know that they in reality were worshipping the forbidden SUN or SERPENT when they worshipped these new symbols, but the outsider would not know. IT WOULD BE A "MYSTERY" TO HIM!

Hislop's The Two Babylons, p. 66, declares: "In these circumstances, then, began...that system of "Mystery" which, having Babylon for its centre, has spread over the world."

Let us now see how this MYSTERY system actually did come into being and who created it and for what purpose! THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS TODAY -- INCLUDING CHRISTIANITY -- ARE DECEIVED BY THIS VERY SAME SYSTEM! How did this come about?

HERE IS THE ANSWER. At first it was explained to the worshipper what he was actually worshipping when he worshipped various symbols, many of which are widely adored in the professing "Christian" world today! But as time went by this practice was dropped. The people continued to worship the same symbols because of custom. But they didn't know then, nor do people know now, just WHAT is actually being worshipped!

Semiramis Initiates the System

Nimrod had been a man of unbounded ambition, but the ambition of his wife, Semiramis -- the future "Queen of Heaven" (Jeremiah 7:18) -- exceeded even his. Nimrod, her husband, had become the greatest and most powerful figure in the world. He was dead. She clearly saw that if she were to continue to have the great position and power which she had exercised by being the ambitious wife of the most powerful man on the earth, something must be done to assure continuance of her power.

Nimrod's kingdom, which consisted of much of the ancient world of that time, had fallen to her. Much of Nimrod's power had come from his having set himself up as the human representation of the Sun-God. She must retain this world rule by any and all means. The religious control which had given so much power to her husband must be used by her also if she were to retain the maximum hold on her subjects. She, by way of Noah, the preacher of righteousness, had heard of the woman's prophesied seed who was to come and through whom those of the Adamic line might obtain eternal life. This gave her a daring idea.

"Though the death of her husband has given a rude shock to her power, yet her resolution and unbounded ambition were in no wise checked. On the contrary, her ambition took a higher flight. In life her husband had been honored as a hero; in death she will have him worshipped as a god, yea, as the woman's promised Seed...who was destined to bruise the serpent's head and who, in doing so, was to have His own heel bruised. The patriarchs, and ancient world in general, were perfectly acquainted with the grand primeval promise of Eden. They knew right well that the bruising of the heel of the promised seed implied His death and that the curse could be removed from the world only by the death of the grand Deliverer" (Hislop's The Two Babylons, pp. 58-60).

Nimrod and Semiramis Become Gods

Here, then, was a perfect circumstance which Semiramis could use to perpetuate and even greatly augment her power!

The world had been told of the arising of a Deliverer whose death would redeem them from eternal death. The world was awaiting such an event. They also believed that this deliverer would go about doing good deeds before his death. Nimrod, her husband, the most powerful man on the earth in his day, had been considered a benefactor, as we have seen.

She would combine or fuse the Sun-Serpent worship which her dead husband had furthered, with the teachings of the Eternal God concerning a coming Savior of mankind. She planned to make her dead husband, Nimrod, this Savior, and thus procure for herself power over her subjects by posing as the mother of a supernaturally conceived and reborn Nimrod. A factor of great aid to Semiramis was the popularity of Nimrod and the desire of the people to keep him in their memory.

When the news first spread abroad concerning the violent death of this mighty man, cut off in the midst of his career, it was a great shock and loud were the wails everywhere. Nimrod at the time of his death was well and favorably known by the little groups which had been formed after YEHOVAH God confused their various languages at the Tower of Babel. They later formed some of the large nations of the earth as we know them today by gradually migrating outward to far distant areas after Semiramis' time. Nimrod's popularity is shown by the fact that hundreds of years later these nations still lamented the violent death of their hero -- Nimrod or Tammuz.

Scandinavia and Iceland each have their own gods in whose life this event occurred, and each weeps for these at the proper time. In ancient Iceland and throughout Scandinavia, the idea of the weeping was that if everyone on earth would weep for their dead god Balder [Nimrod] he would be restored to life. This practice is still found today in the Lent season.

The central theme of the whole idolatry in Egypt was the violent death of Nimrod or Osiris (the Egyptian god representing Nimrod). As the women of Egypt wept for Osiris and the Phoenicians and Assyrians for Tammuz -- their name for Nimrod -- so in Greece and Rome the women wept for Bacchus, whose name means "The Bewailed," or "Lamented one." Scandinavia and Ireland each had their "Lamented One," for which they bewailed annually (Hislop, pp. 55-57).

In these Bacchanal lamentations, a spotted fawn was used to represent Bacchus (the Grecian name for Nimrod). At certain stages in the mystical celebrations, the fawn was torn in pieces, thus expressing what happened to Bacchus (Nimrod or Tammuz). Remember Nimrod was cut in pieces. THE WAY of disobedience to YEHOVAH God is very popular with those of the Adamic line! Even the Israelites in their time wept for the death of Tammuz: "There sat women weeping for Tammuz" (Ezekiel 8:14). So we see that in life the people of the Adamic line had looked upon Nimrod almost as though he were a god. In death Semiramis would make him the savior of Adamic man!

The False Messiah

Her plan was aided by her own great beauty. Her beauty is said to have once quelled a rising rebellion among her subjects on her sudden appearance among them (Valerius Maximus, lib. ix, chap. 3, p. 2). "The scheme, thus skillfully formed, took effect. Semiramis gained glory from her dead and deified husband; and in the course of time, both of them under the names of Rhea and Nin, or 'Goddess-mother and Son', were worshipped with an enthusiasm that was incredible and their images were everywhere set and adored.

Nimrod was said to have been the first that invented magic arts. He used tricks of magic to impress his converts (Justinius Historia, lib. i, Vol. ii, p. 615). After Nimrod's death, tricks of magic and deceptions were used by Semiramis to impress the converts to her system of Mystery with the power of these imaginary gods which she had concocted.

She first deified Nimrod, then herself, and their son and, due to opposition, gave them secret forms known only to the initiated, and these were worshipped. These, then, were the Mysteries. Those on the outside of these new religious practices could not see that these new practices of worshipping these symbols such as a calf or a tree, were actually the same as the worship of Nimrod or Semiramis who represented the Sun and Serpent (Satan) and were actually the worship of the same things which Shem had suppressed -- Sun-Serpent worship!

Those who wished to be initiated into these Mysteries in Semiramis' time had to have the meaning explained to them before they could understand them. The title of the priest who explained these Mysteries to the initiated was called "Peter" in primitive Chaldee, the real language of the Mysteries. This means "Interpreter" (Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon, p. 602). It was one of these interpreters or "Peters," who was in Pagan Rome long before the Messiah. He was confused with Peter the apostle of the Messiah in his time.

Kings of the Earth Spread Mystery System

Using every means within her power, ambitious Semiramis left no stone unturned to advance this Pagan religious system of mystery which she had formulated. By doing so, she, as the head of this system, strengthened her hold over her subjects. Petty kings had arisen over small groups of people having different languages -- the beginnings of the nations of the earth descended from Adam. These groups had resulted by YEHOVAH's giving to them different languages in order to confuse them and thereby stop their building of the city and tower of Babylon (Genesis 11:7-9).

When as one group with one language, they had established at Babel, or Babylon, a central place of authority of their own, so they could rule in YEHOVAH's stead. Then YEHOVAH God divided them "after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations" (Genesis 10:20). Never could they establish their own authority over the peoples of the earth so easily if they spoke different languages.

For many of these kings, Nimrod, when he had been alive, built cities or towns as we have seen (both he and Semiramis were given titles as builders after they were deified). These kings he controlled. The other kings of the earth were subservient to him because of his great conquests. How did Semiramis use these kings to further her own ambition when this great empire fell to her because of her husband's death?

The Bible tells us! Semiramis or Isis was the original fallen woman that the Bible describes in Revelation 17:1-2: "I will show thee...the great whore that sitteth upon many waters (nations): with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication" (her character in regard to fornication was well known). In return, the kings in Nimrod's days furthered her self-conceived system of religion -- the religious Mystery system spoken of in Revelation 17:5 -- the system formed by the fusion of the true teachings of the Eternal God with the teachings of Semiramis concerning her self-conceived religion. She, the head of this counterfeit of the true Church of YEHOVAH God, gave herself sexually to these kings or civil rulers of the earth of her time in order to saddle her own counterfeit system of Satan-inspired religion onto the nations of the earth.

No wonder Revelation 17 uses the symbol of that fallen woman to represent today's great unholy church! Revelation 17 is prophetic -- it is dual -- these same words tell of the arising in strength of this same system of Semiramis in our day, furthered by another woman (symbol of a church) which will unite with the civil kings or rulers of the earth to force her religion (including the "mark of the beast") upon the earth of our time!

No wonder this counterfeit religion of Semiramis, impressed upon the nations of the earth in their beginnings, was carried by them to the farthest places of this globe as they migrated outward from this central point!

So here we have a religion set up over 2000 years before the Messiah which was calculatedly patterned on the future coming of the Messiah! No wonder there were so many similarities to the real Messiah and his teachings when he came 2000 years later!

We read in Acts 4:11-12 that the only way to salvation is by the Messiah -- Yeshua, yet here we will find one who has recommended similar -- though counterfeit -- ways -- one who originally claimed falsely to be the Messiah -- whose teachings have deceived the whole world.

Here was a man who was killed for the supposed good he had accomplished, just as the Messiah would be later; this man was also declared to be "resurrected"; he was born of human parents and he became a son of YEHOVAH God through a resurrection. Did he also offer claim to eternal life to his followers? We will see that he did!

Nimrod-Worship Widespread Under Other Names

We have already seen how Nimrod, after his death, was said by Semiramis to have been reborn in the form of her illegitimate child Nin or Horus. That the child (Semiramis' counterfeit of the coming Savior) who was worshipped in the various countries was really one person -- Nimrod, there is much evidence. An examination of the legends and characteristics assigned to those gods by their worshippers show these coincide with the characteristics of Nimrod and the events of his life. (Now as we proceed, please recall that Nimrod was not only deified by Semiramis and worshipped after his death, but also, in her Mysteries, she said he was "reborn" as her fair-skinned child.)

While Egyptian tradition shows that their god Osiris (Nimrod) was black (Plutarch's De Isid, et. Os., vol. ii, p. 359.), this was not an indication of skin color! The color black represented death and the afterlife to the ancient Egyptians. Osiris was given the epithet "the black one" because he was the king of the netherworld and both he and Anubis (the god of embalming) were portrayed with black faces. The Egyptians also associated black with fertility and resurrection because much of their agriculture was dependant on the rich dark silt deposited on the river banks by the Nile during the inundation. When used to represent resurrection, black and green were interchangeable. As a result, the gods Osiris and Geb were depicted with black or green skin to emphasize their connection with fertility. Egypt was known as Kemet, "the black land" and this was a reference to the Nile -- not a description of ethnicity.

Osiris was clothed from head to foot in a spotted dress, the upper part being a leopard's skin (spotted) and the lower part a spotted dress (Bunsen, vol. i, p. 425). The name Nimrod means "subduer of the leopard" -- from Nimr, a "leopard," and rod "to subdue." This name seems to imply that as Nimrod had gained fame by subduing the horse, he had also subdued the leopard and used it in hunting (Hislop, p. 44). In India hunting with leopards has been a custom (Wilkinson, v. iii, p. 17). Persian legends show that Hosang (Cush) the father of Tahmurs (Nimrod) who built Babylon, was the "first who bred dogs and leopards for hunting." (Sir William Jones' Works, vol. iv, p. 341,353). The Egyptian high priest's robe of office was the leopard's skin. Here, then, the leopard skin, was the common covering for the main deity in these two countries!

Nimrod, by the same spotted covering, is identified as being the god Bacchus of the Greeks. Leopards were employed to draw Bacchus' chariot, he was represented as attired in leopard's skins, and his priests were attired in the same manner or with the spotted skin of a fawn. This latter seems to have come from Assyria (Vaux's Nineveh, chap. viii, p. 233) -- indications again of the principal gods being covered with leopard's skins in two countries. The similarity to one man -- Nimrod -- is marked!

Recall that in Babylon, after Nimrod was slain by Shem's followers, Semiramis used secret or mysterious symbols to represent him so that he could be worshipped through these symbols as a god. In Greece, to secretly or mysteriously show that Nimrod and their god Bacchus were the same, Bacchus was symbolized as a spotted fawn. The rites of the Egyptian Osiris and the Grecian Bacchus are the same, and those of the Egyptian Isis (Semiramis) and Ceres (the Grecian Semiramis) exactly resemble each other (Bibliotheca, lib. i, p. 9).

In Egypt, Osiris, as we recall, was mystically represented as a young bull or calf -- the calf Apis -- "Apis," being only another name for Saturn, "the Hidden one." The name Apis in Egyptian is Hopi, evidently from the Chaldee (Babylonian) word "Hop" -- "to cover" (Bunsen, vol. i, vocab., p. 462). Other evidence is overwhelming that Semiramis had made her dead husband the great god of the world of that day.

Adamic mankind was deifying himself by causing others to worship him. Here is a very important subject that should be studied.

"Ye Shall Be As Gods"

A factor that aided Semiramis in her deification of Nimrod after his death was the way in which statues were made of the mighty men of renown of that time. As the first of the "mighty ones" on the earth after the flood, Nimrod was symbolized as a bull. But there was yet another way by which his power was shown. Hislop, on pages 37, 38, and 39, says that a synonym for Gheber, which means "the mighty one," was Abir. But Aber signified a "wing."

Hislop continues, "Nimrod, as Head and Captain of those men of war...who were instruments of establishing his power, was Baal-aberin 'Lord of the mighty ones'. But 'Baal-abirin' signified 'The winged ones'. Therefore he was represented as a...winged bull -- showing not merely that he was mighty himself, but that he had...ones under his command who were ever ready to carry out his commands...this...alone explains the remarkable statement of Aristophanes, that at the beginning of the world 'the birds' were first created, and then, after their creation, came the 'race of the blessed immortal gods'...Let it be borne in mind that 'the birds', that is; the 'winged ones' -- symbolized 'the Lords of the mighty ones', and the meaning is clear...that men first began to be mighty on the earth, and then, that the 'Lords' or leaders of these 'mighty ones' were deified."

Nimrod was unquestionably the first of those deified after the flood. He became the "father of the gods" -- the first of any "mighty ones" who might be deified after him. The same general method applied to Semiramis -- she became the "mother of the gods."

Characteristics of the Babylonian System

Why has YEHOVAH God objected all through the Bible to the Adamic line following the Babylonish system? Let us examine closely Nimrod's way of rule and find why YEHOVAH God would object. The characteristics of the Babylonish system of rule as represented by Nimrod's world-empire are: "rejection of God, denial of His right to rule, refusal to acknowledge man's dependence upon God for power or happiness, determination to deprive...God of the gratitude and allegiance of men, thirst for domination apart from God over this world, the exaltation of man to the place of Deity."

"These are characteristics which belonged in supreme degree to Satan, the arch enemy and rebel against God. They are characteristic of the innate heart of...humanity; since all unregenerate men are children of disobedience, and their minds are 'not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be' (Rom. 8:7)" (from Miller's Ancient History In Bible Light, p. 55).

Now notice carefully, for this is very important!

"To the later Jews, Babylon was the complete embodiment of the enmity of the heathen world against the kingdom of God, and the idea they formed of Nimrod was influenced by this view. The arrogance of his character which seemed to be implied in his very name was conceived of as defiance to God, and he became a heaven-storming titan. As such he built the tower of Babel...Jewish legend made choice of Abraham to be his antithesis, the representative of God's kingdom over against the heathen autocrat" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. 17, p. 511).

These are all serious indictments against this system.

To summarize why YEHOVAH God is against the Babylonish system; YEHOVAH is the supreme ruler. This rebellion of the Adamic line against Him would, if universal, defeat His very purpose -- His purpose of giving to obedient Israelites eternal life by bringing them into His spiritual Kingdom of YEHOVAH God where He is acknowledged as the creator and ruler of all!

Revelation 14:8 speaks of a Babylon which will be destroyed in our day, and Revelation 18:4 tells us to come out of her lest we receive her plagues! This is really serious! No one will receive eternal life while they are in this system! "Babylon" is not as far away from us as we have always imagined. We shall presently see, as we continue our study.

Answer Found In Eden

Adamic man had brazenly dared to make himself a god, a god to be worshipped and obeyed by others! He left the True God out of his life. The Ten Commandments say, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." (Exodus 20:3). Many times in the Old Testament when people sinned, YEHOVAH God said words to the following effect: "I will punish them so they know that I am God." Who first wanted to be like YEHOVAH God? The Devil! "I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:14).

What did the Devil tell Eve would happen if she and Adam would follow his advice and eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil which YEHOVAH had forbidden? "Ye shall not surely die...ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4-5). Satan in effect said, "You will not die, you can be as gods, deciding for yourselves what is right and wrong -- you can attain eternal life this way." The churches of Satan have been teaching this philosophy ever since. The philosophy that Adam and Eve followed in Eden is the type of philosophy the world has followed from that day to this: it is basically a type of disobedience. The Devil's suggestion sounds good to the Adamic man.

YEHOVAH God had said they would die if they disobeyed His command and ate of this tree (Genesis 2:17).

They did not know YEHOVAH God yet -- they did not fear Him: "The fear of the Eternal is the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10). They did not know they must obey Him above all beings or suffer dire consequences -- so they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. THEY USURPED YEHOVAH'S PREROGATIVE -- THEY DECIDED FOR THEMSELVES WHAT WAS GOOD AND WHAT WAS EVIL! They made their own law by deciding that to eat of the forbidden tree was right and not a sin. They followed their law and broke YEHOVAH's. They became "as gods" to make their own law, but after they had sinned they were afraid (Genesis 3:10). They realized their folly, for then YEHOVAH God said, "Man is as one of us, to know good and evil" (Genesis 3:22).

They had learned by experience. They realized they needed a different kind of clothing than their carnal minds gave (Romans 8:7). Paul says the Adamic line has been made to desire vain things (Romans 8:20).

"I put on righteousness, and it clothed me" (Job 29:14). They tried to clothe themselves with their righteousness, "They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons" (Genesis 3:7) -- a symbol of their kind of righteousness, but Isaiah, inspired by YEHOVAH God, says, "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). The Bible says of YEHOVAH's commandments, "All Thy commandments are righteousness" (Psalm 119:172). If we obey YEHOVAH's commandments, as revealed then by YEHOVAH's spoken Word, but now by the Bible, we clothe ourselves with YEHOVAH's kind of righteousness and are acceptable to YEHOVAH God. We cannot make our own laws here on earth! YEHOVAH God said Adam and Eve must for their sin be separated from the tree of life at that time. They must die. They needed a Redeemer who could pay the penalty of death in their stead if they were to have eternal life. This was promised very soon afterward (Genesis 3:15).

Now we can see how the Devil rules this world today! Are we doing today as Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden?

Are Men "As Gods" Today?

It can now be easily seen that if we, today, are following the same deceptive suggestion that our human forebears did in Eden -- making their own laws -- then we are "as gods." If Satan has thus deceived us, then our punishment will be the same as that given to Adam and Eve -- denial of access to eternal life. "Remember, to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are...whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness" (Romans 6:16). The Devil, then, rules over us by suggestive deception!

Do the nations or individuals of Israel today consult what the Bible says about divorce, for example, before they make their decisions and their laws?

They do not! They have become "as gods" to make their own laws! The world, then, is Babylon. We are told to come out of her (Revelation 18:4). This we can do by giving YEHOVAH's laws precedent in our lives -- being ruled by Him! The proper form of government is Theocracy -- being ruled over by YEHOVAH God and His laws. This form will soon be set up on this earth.

Like Adam and Eve, when they became "as gods" and made their own laws, the people of Israel today, in these end times, are having their eyes opened (Genesis 3:5), because of the results of following their laws.

World Deifies "Self"

The tendency of Adamic mankind to elevate himself is constant. Adam and Eve tried it (Genesis 3:5-6) and were denied eternal life at that time. In Genesis 6:4-5, we see that the Adamic line had deified itself in the same way that we have shown Semiramis deified herself and Nimrod. These people became "Sons of gods." Wickedness increased. Verse 11 says the earth was corrupt and filled with violence -- the inevitable result when Adamic man makes his own laws! What happened? YEHOVAH God drowned all in the land except Noah and seven others!

After the flood, Nimrod and Semiramis set the pace for self-deification as we have seen. Israel was guilty of the same thing. In Ezekiel 20 there is a summary of why YEHOVAH God said He was going to punish the Israelites. He repeats six times His reason: "That they might know that I am the Eternal." Judges 21:25, a summary of Israel's actions, says, "Every man did that which was right in his own eyes." Like Adam and Eve, they decided what was right and wrong -- they were "as gods."

Today, we see the whole world deifying itself by making its own laws and leaving YEHOVAH God out of the picture. A great religious leader dares sit today, claiming he rules in place of YEHOVAH God! Very soon one of this group will show himself that he is God, "That day shall not come, except...that man of sin be revealed...who...exalteth himself above all that is called God...sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God" (II Thessalonians 2:3-4).

There is an outstanding example of man deifying himself today. While he was alive, "Joseph Stalin [had] long been eulogized by the Soviets...as the world's great...master. No words [were] considered too extravagant...East German children were asked to pray, not to God but to Stalin...his plans always come true" (Los Angeles Times, March 5, 1953, under heading "Stalin Cult Makes God of Dictator"). Only YEHOVAH God is worthy of the attributes this cult ascribed to Stalin!

YEHOVAH God knows the world will not voluntarily stop doing this. Soon both YEHOVAH God and the Messiah are coming to chain that deceiver, the Devil, and YEHOVAH God and the Messiah will rule with a rod of iron (Zechariah 14:3-4; Revelation 2:27). Then those of Israel will have to decide whether they will stop deifying self or follow the real deity -- YEHOVAH God.

Why Do We Want To Be "As Gods"?

Yes, why? You and I today wish that this war within ourselves would cease -- this inner desire which makes us, against our will, do things that we know the Bible says not to do. It makes us not want to do the things the Bible commands us to do. This is the internal battle that even Paul described as raging in himself. "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I find not...I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin" (Romans 7:18, 23).

The answer to this provides the explanation that reveals why the Devil can rule this earth by deceptive suggestion! Never once does the Bible show that the Devil has used physical force to rule mankind.

YEHOVAH God has made the Adamic line so we will desire (lust) to go contrary to His laws! Unbelievable, but true! "The law is spiritual: but I am carnal" (Romans 7:14). Carnal flesh does all sorts of evil things (Galatians 5:19-21). "The carnal mind is enmity against God" (Romans 8:7). The carnal mind today is making carnal laws to take the place of the higher spiritual laws which YEHOVAH God has set in motion to govern us. Our own laws seem right in our own eyes. The flesh we are born with desires to lust, "Ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16, see also II Peter 2:18; I Peter 4:2). "The creature (Adamic mankind -- the second creation by YEHOVAH God) was made subject to vanity" (Romans 8:20). The Adamic man was made to desire things of no value -- corruptible and sinful things, by YEHOVAH God himself!

YEHOVAH God has made Adamic man with the inherent capacity to be upright but has given them a carnal mind! (Ecclesiastes 7:29). We seem to be free agents to make our own laws to provide our own plan whereby we think (wrongly) that we will obtain happiness (The United Nations Assembly today is the big example of this).

Adamic man firmly believes that the capacity to do this lies within himself. We evidently believe YEHOVAH gave this capacity to us, or else how do we think we received it? This is the very condition which makes it easy for the Devil to deceive us.

Proving Selves Wrong Today

Today, YEHOVAH God is letting the world prove that He has not bestowed on Adamic minds the capacity of working out laws of happiness for themselves! He is letting them prove that happiness is beyond their reach as they are now constituted. It is no wonder then that YEHOVAH is perfectly willing that the Devil deceive the world now by encouraging the people in it to be "as gods." He turned even Job, the most perfect man on earth (Job 1:8), over to Satan to be strengthened (Job 1:12; 2:6, and 23:10).

YEHOVAH declared the end result from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9, 10). He planned it this way! After we learn the folly of our ways YEHOVAH says "the creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption" (Romans 8:21) and be "created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Ephesians 2:10). YEHOVAH God says He will then (and only then) go a step further in creating those of us of Israel. He will change our fleshly bodies into spiritual bodies fashioned to do good works.

YEHOVAH God has promised to do just this! We must desire this new eternal body; we must repent (Acts 2:38) -- show by actions that we realize that our usurping of our Creator's authority was wrong. Then He will beget us as His children and afterward give our bodies this new form. Satan, a spirit being, who became the Devil, never did learn his God-given capacity -- he fought against his Creator.

How Satan Rules

How does Satan rule? Paul said, "I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (II Corinthians 11:3, 13, 14). Satan may suggest evil courses of action to us through evil people over whom he has sway. The ministers of the false churches are here referred to. Notice that Satan is behind such people. Paul says these are "false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ." They corrupt our minds! Sometimes demons enter people and rule them by taking complete possession of their bodies. Luke tells of devils coming out of many people in the Messiah's time (Luke 4:41).

Satan lays traps for us. He brings about circumstances which tempt us to do evil things. Paul warns us lest we fall into the "snare of the devil" (I Timothy 3:7). Does our acting on Satan's evil suggestions bring us under Satan's rule? Yes. The Bible says so. "HIS SERVANTS YE ARE TO WHOM YE OBEY; WHETHER OF SIN UNTO DEATH, OR OF OBEDIENCE UNTO RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Romans 6:16). We are urged to recover ourselves "out of the snare of the Devil" if we are taken captive by him (II Timothy 2:26). Satan is called the prince of this world (John 14:30). He rules it.

The evil spirit-helpers of Satan can directly influence the human mind. A spirit in Old Testament times told how he would persuade an ancient king's prophets to lie to this king. He said, "I will persuade him (the king)...I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets" (I Kings 22:21, 22).

Satan "deceiveth the whole world" (Revelation 12:9). Notice that Satan deceives people everywhere. As a deceiver he makes things seem what they are not. A man because of his own lusts can deceive his own heart and this makes Satan's work easier (James 1:26).

Paul says, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against...rulers of the darkness of this world" (Ephesians 6:12). We wrestle against spiritual powers -- Satan and his helpers. But how does Satan rule over large groups of people on this earth? Let us see. Revelation 12:3 tells of a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns and Revelation 13:1 describes this same beast again. This is a CIVIL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM of four succeeding empires which are to rule this earth until the Messiah comes. One beast had four heads and each of the other three had one head which makes a total of seven heads. Daniel 7:6, 17, 18 describes this in greater detail. Notice that the dragon, identified as SATAN (Revelation 12:9), is HEAD OF THIS SYSTEM. THROUGH IT HE RULES THIS EARTH!

But now a second system through which Satan sways the millions: "I beheld another beast -- and he had two horns like a lamb and he spake as a dragon (Satan)...and HE CAUSETH THE EARTH AND THEM WHICH DWELL THEREIN TO WORSHIP THE FIRST BEAST" (Revelation 13:11-12). This is a great RELIGIOUS GOVERNMENT through which Satan deceives the earth as to the true way of becoming actual sons of YEHOVAH God! Revelation 17:3 gives a further description of the first system. Yes, through these two agencies Satan truly rules over all! -- for a time. But Satan knows his time is short! (Revelation 12:12).

We have seen how the Devil, through Semiramis, perpetuated the Sun-Serpent worship after her husband Nimrod's death, and why YEHOVAH God allows this deception to go on. How did Satan pattern these deceptions so they would be usable to smother out and replace the teachings of the Messiah when he came? We shall see.

Semiramis of Babylon Originated Counterfeits

As we have seen, Semiramis possessed the knowledge of true salvation. It was known because of Noah, the preacher of righteousness (II Peter 2:5).

Queen Semiramis of ancient Babylon deified herself, and her son and dead husband, Nimrod, by introducing various types of images, titles, and rituals (Romans 1:21-23). She circulated stories of actual or imagined events which had, or were supposed to have, occurred in their lives. The stories made them appear as liberators, heroes, emancipators, and saviors -- delivering men from the rule of YEHOVAH God.

These innovations MADE HER AND HER SON APPEAR AS THE WOMAN AND HER PROMISED "SEED" THROUGH WHICH SALVATION WAS TO COME. This promise was foretold by YEHOVAH God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15).

Holidays were set apart on which the new divinities were to be worshipped. Almost all the principal Bible teaching of salvation were counterfeited by this system -- an evil twist being given to them. These "Mysteries" or ceremonies appealed to the physical senses -- to the carnal nature with which man is born (Romans 7:14). They became very popular.

What better way could the Devil play upon human lusts and desires! Thus men accepted a false purpose and counterfeit way of salvation. Fables smothered YEHOVAH's true way to salvation by confusing the people.

Eternal life was promised through the false messiah. The people of the earth gladly gave the rule of their lives on this earth over to him. The mother and son promised security and guaranteed eternal life through rituals and penance. The extremely ambitious and unprincipled Semiramis saw her opportunity. Using all the might of her great empire to back her lie, she enforced her claim to be the mother of this great Savior.

Thus, SHE BECAME THE ORIGINAL RELIGIOUS RULER OVER THE KINGS OF THE EARTH (Revelation 17:1-2). Both her own and Satan's desires were fulfilled! She ruled the earth and Satan obscured the rule of YEHOVAH God which alone can bring life everlasting.

Idolatry Spreads Everywhere

BABYLON WAS THE PRIMEVAL SOURCE FROM WHICH ALL SYSTEMS OF IDOLATRY FLOWED (Herodotus' History, book ii, p. 109). Layard in his Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii, p. 440, speaks of this Babylonian system of worship. He writes that we have the united testimony of sacred and profane history that idolatry originated in the Assyrian (Babylonian) area and is believed to be the most ancient of religious systems!

This was the first Babylon. TODAY, THE WORLD IS STILL IN BABYLON THE GREAT! (Revelation 17:5). Isaiah 47:1 describes the system which rules the earth today as the DAUGHTER OF THE ORIGINAL BABYLON and Revelation 18:3 says ALL NATIONS have drunk of the wine of her spiritual fornication or false doctrine!

As the language in each country was different, naturally the names of Nimrod, Semiramis, and Semiramis' illegitimate son Horus -- the returned false Messiah whom she palmed off as the resurrected Nimrod -- were different.

The Devil continued to twist YEHOVAH's word and the truth which the early Adamic inhabitants of the earth had known. Semiramis, inspired by Satan, duplicated all things which were revealed by YEHOVAH God. She credited her family with divine attributes to enhance her earthly power and prestige. Among these were her counterfeit of the Father, Son, and holy spirit.

Truth About YEHOVAH God Changed

One of the pagan concepts originating with Semiramis is the false idea of a "Trinity." How does this compare with what the Bible reveals to us? Let us examine Genesis 1:1-2: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth...and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." The word "spirit" means the holy spirit of YEHOVAH God -- that divine force by which so much good is accomplished and which now resides in both Father and Son.

Genesis 1:1 says that during the creation period: "the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." It is this same spirit which YEHOVAH God says He will pour out on all flesh of Israel in the future: "It shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh [of Israel]; and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy" (Joel 2:28). The same Hebrew word ruwach is used in both cases for "spirit."

Actually, GOD IS A FAMILY, NOT A TRINITY OF PERSONS. GOD IS A FAMILY PRESENTLY COMPOSED OF TWO BEINGS WITH A COMMON SPIRIT OR LIFE FORCE. It is into this Family that we may be born (John 3). Note now that the pagans termed the holy spirit a "Being" such as the Father and Son. They wrongly made a Trinity. SATAN WAS CONFUSING MANKIND.

An examination of the triune emblem of the supreme Assyrian divinity clearly shows a knowledge of the original truth: The emblem had the head of the old man (the Father). Next there is the zero or circle, which stood in the Chaldean (Babylonian) language for "a circle" or "seed" (the Savior). Lastly, the wings and tail of the dove (the holy spirit, which Semiramis soon supplanted).

This concept of God preceded the counterfeit of Semiramis which was soon introduced.

At that very early period, an important change took place in regard to the divinity: the spirit of YEHOVAH God, according to the harlot-queen Semiramis, became incarnate in a human mother, and the Son became the fruit of that incarnation. (Hislop's Two Babylons, p. 18).

Semiramis, through her mysteries, hundreds of years before the Messiah's birth, twisted the truth about the Messiah's fully human birth! Her own illegitimate son was the returned "Savior"! HOW BAFFLING IT MUST HAVE BEEN FOR THE PAGANS, WHO ONCE HAD KNOWN YEHOVAH GOD, TO NOW PERCEIVE THE TRUTH!

Semiramis identified herself as this spirit and ascribed to herself the power of aiding in the creation of the world. Through her method of deification, she taught her followers that she, in one of her forms, had been the dove -- a symbol of the spirit that "moved upon the face of the waters" at creation. She moved or "fluttered"..."upon the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2) (Hislop, p. 303). She claimed to be one of the "Trinity." She had become "as the Gods."

Please recall that it was the dove that lighted on the Messiah's shoulder at his baptism. Far in the future, in the day of the Messiah, this identical symbol -- the dove -- pictured the descent of the holy spirit on the Messiah! (John 1:32). It is becoming clear, isn't it, that there was a plan behind these pagan similarities?!

Same Pagan Ideas in Today's World

To symbolize the "Trinity" doctrine, the equilateral triangle was used, just as the Church uses it today (Layard's Babylon and Nineveh, p. 605). Some churches in Madrid have an image of a Triune God with three heads on one body (Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon, p. 605). Thus we see the origin of the false doctrine of the "Trinity."

Here again is seen the influence of the Babylonian Mysteries on religion as it is being carried on today!

"The recognition of a Trinity was universal in all the ancient nations of the world, proving how deep-rooted in the human race was the primeval doctrine on this subject, which comes out so distinctly in Genesis" (Hislop, p. 18). In Japan, the great divinity Buddha has one body and three heads. Gillespie's Sinim, p. 60, and Japet, p. 184, show that the pagans of Siberia worshipped a god with a similar body.

Later the father was overlooked. As the Great Invisible, taking no immediate concern in human affairs, He was to be worshipped through silence alone (Jamblichus' on the Mysteries, sect. viii, chap. iii). Today, in some churches we hear much about the Mother and Child (the Messiah being depicted as being dependent on his mother), but little about the Messiah's physical father and YEHOVAH God his spiritual Father! A HUMAN woman is thus made supreme!!

Family of God Counterfeited

The true teaching of the Bible is that the Father and Son presently comprise the One Kingdom or Family of YEHOVAH God. The holy spirit is the common nature, mind, and force of YEHOVAH God (Genesis 1:2, John 1:1). Yeshua said, "God is Spirit" (John 4:24). "God" is a Family composed of spirit, not material flesh. As we have seen above, at present only two persons -- Father and Son, comprise this Family. But we of Israel, too, can become members of that Family!

Is there a mention of the pagan counterfeit of YEHOVAH God in the Bible? Yes. It is spoken of in Isaiah 66:17. In the King James Version you will find the ambiguous words, "behind one tree in the midst." The proper translation should be: "after the rites of the Only One." The ancient pagan deity "Only One" was the triune counterfeit of YEHOVAH God. The concept of the False Triune God!

The proper reading then is, "They that sanctify and purify themselves...after the rites of the Only One, eating swine's flesh...shall be consumed" (Hislop's The Two Babylons, p. 16).

Those who take part in the rites of this counterfeit god shall be destroyed!

The Devil's Part in the Counterfeits

We have found how Semiramis used the God-Kingdom, spoken of in Genesis 1:1-2, to fit into her mysteries. But how did she fit the Serpent or devil (Revelation 20:2) into these? We shall now see!

Plutarch, in De Iside, says of the serpent (Genesis 3:1): "First Tammuz (Nimrod as the 'Savior') was worshipped as the bruiser of the serpent's head, meaning thereby that he was the anointed destroyer of Satan's kingdom. Then the dragon himself, or Satan, came to receive a certain measure of worship, to 'console him', as the pagans said, 'for the loss of his power', and to prevent him from hurting them; and last of all the dragon, or Teitan or SATAN, BECAME THE SUPREME OBJECT OF WORSHIP, the Titania, or rites of Teitan, occupying a prominent place in the Egyptian Mysteries" (vol. ii, p. 362, 364). The same is true of the Mysteries of Greece (Porter's Antiquities, vol I, p. 400).

What is the real significance of all this? Remember that it was for supporting the rites of serpent worship and sun worship that Nimrod was killed by Shem. So, first, Semiramis cautiously introduced her illegitimate son as the bruiser of the serpent's head.

But as soon as the way was paved, she cautiously reintroduced a certain measure of the serpent worship which Nimrod had first introduced. The serpent (dragon), Teitan, or Satan, became the supreme object of ancient worship.

Semiramis now changed her position in her Mysteries. She claimed to be the wife of Pluto, the god of hell -- the serpent -- in order to fit her new position as sponsor of serpent or Devil worship. "Under the name of the 'Dove' she was worshipped as the Incarnation of the Spirit of God...and WAS KNOWN HERSELF AS THE 'VIRGIN' MOTHER...Under the name of Proserpine she was celebrated as the mother of the first Bacchus, and known as 'Pluto's honored wife'!" (Hislop, p. 126).

Pagan Hades A Myth

Where did the idea of hades or purgatory originate?

Bacchus, as we have seen, was the Grecian god who represented Tammuz. Pluto represented Satan. Now consider the following; "How vitally important was the place that Teitan or Satan occupied, may be judged from the fact that Pluto, the god of Hell, was looked up to as the great god on whom the destinies of mankind in the eternal world did mainly depend; for it is said that TO PLUTO IT BELONGED TO 'PURIFY THE SOUL AFTER DEATH' " (Taylor's Pausanias, vol. iii, p. 321). Pluto was the Greek name for the Babylonian god Kronos.

Here we see that Pluto (the Greek name for their god who represented Nimrod) -- merely different names for the devil or serpent -- instead of burning people up, was purifying them by fire after death!

Semiramis, as was her custom in forming her "Mysteries," linked her deified family with notable characters, whether they were good or bad. She used whichever one best fitted the times. She soon found it helpful to identify her deified husband as Kronos or Saturn -- the devil himself! Scattered notices of antiquity say that the name of the first deified king of Babylon was Kronos or Saturn (Hislop p. 31). She had been guided by the devil in order that the devil might be worshipped!

The Bible says that the wages of sin is death -- eternal death (Romans 6:23). And II Peter 3:10, 11, and Revelation 20:15 indicate that eternal death will be caused by the Lake of Fire burning up and causing the destruction of all who have not become spirit beings in the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. NOWHERE DOES THE BIBLE TEACH THERE IS A PLACE UNDER THE GROUND WHERE PEOPLE ARE TORMENTED BY FIRE. This is another of the false conceptions handed down by Semiramis.

Satan has people of the earth so confused today that they actually do not know whether they are coming into the true knowledge which will lead to eternal life or actually going the way which will lead to eternal death. Only the inspired Word of YEHOVAH God -- the Bible -- closely studied, shows us the right way and actual destinations of the sinner and the saved!

Devil Worship Reaches Rome

Purgatory in Paganism was the grand hinge of priestcraft and superstition. "The serpents were the supreme of all the gods and princes of the universe...." No wonder that it came at last to be firmly believed that the Messiah, on whom the hopes of the world depended, was Himself the "seed of the serpent"! (Eusebius Proeparatio Evang., vol. I, p. 50).

"This was manifestly the case in Greece; for the current story there came to be, that the first Bacchus (the Grecian name for Tammuz) was brought forth in consequence of a connection on the part of his mother with the father of the gods, in the form of a 'speckled snake'. Thus the (devil)...got himself almost everywhere recognized as in every deed 'the god of this world'" (Ibid). The devil, through one form or another, obtained the worship of this world!

Let us note the message of YEHOVAH God to His true Churches over 60 years after the Messiah's time. What did He reveal through the Messiah in Revelation regarding pagan worship of Satan? YEHOVAH addressed His message to the Church at Pergamos. It was the true seat of Babylonian devil worship after Belshazzar's time (Hislop p. 240).

In Revelation 2:13-14, the Messiah, speaking to the Church of Pergamos, says, "I thy works, even where Satan's seat is...thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam."

In Pergamos, which was outstandingly "Satan's seat," the SUN-DIVINITY BAAL -- Balaam's doctrine was idolatrous sun worship (Numbers 25:1-3; 31:16) -- WAS WORSHIPPED UNDER THE FORM OF A SERPENT and under the name of Aesculapius, "the man-instructing serpent" (Macrobius Saturnalia, book I, p. 650). In Satan's seat, over 60 years after the Messiah's time, the main worship was sun and serpent!

This sun and devil worship was TRANSFERRED to Rome when Pergamos became part of the Roman Empire. According to the fundamental doctrine of the Mysteries, as brought from Pergamos to Rome, THE SUN WAS THE ONLY GOD. In Pergamos the sun had been worshipped as a serpent!

Also, in Acts 8:9-25, we find recorded the attempt by one Simon the Sorcerer to buy YEHOVAH's power. After being rebuked by the apostle Peter, Simon eventually found his way to Rome where he preached his brand of the Mystery Religion and founded what came to be known as the Roman Catholic Church.

Counterfeit of Adam and Eve's Disobedience

In Genesis, chapters 2 and 3, YEHOVAH God has given us an account of the deception by Satan of Adam and Eve.

We have already seen the importance to the Adamic line of understanding this event. It furnishes a clue as to how the Adamic line has been misled by the devil and as to the ultimate result.

Also, we have seen that Adamic man at first did know the significance of this event in Eden. Would the devil let this warning to the people stand, or would he, through human means, counterfeit it and keep the Adamic line under his control? Would he let people remember how he deceived Eve? We shall see.

Let us remember the following: Eve sinned because she saw that the tree appeared to be good. She gazed. The pagans, knowing of this event, typified her in a gazing position by their idols. They remembered this event and Satan's deception!

Throughout the world there are, in Paganism, many goddesses known as "gazing mothers" or gazing women. The Chinese goddess-mother, or "Queen of Heaven," in the province of Fuhkien, is worshipped by seafaring people under the name of Ma Tsoopo which is believed to mean "gazing mother" (Gillespie's Land of Sinim, p. 64). The name of the great Egyptian mother, Mut, in one of its vocabulary forms signifies "to look" or "gaze" (Bunsen's Vocabulary, vol. i, p. 471).

The Egyptian goddess-mother Mu or Mut was symbolized by either a vulture, or an eye surrounded by vulture's wings (Wilkinson, vol. v, p. 203). The vulture is noted for its sharp sight, and the great mother of the gods (recall that Semiramis was the "mother of the gods") in Egypt had been known as "The Gazer." The Athenian Minerva wore a helmet with two eyes or eye holes in its front (Vuax's Antiquities, p. 186).

What have these similar Pagan deities to do with the lesson YEHOVAH God wanted Adamic man to learn at Eden? It was believed by the Babylonians that Rhea (Eve) conceived by Kronos (Satan), and brought forth a child named Muth or Death, declared Sanchuniathon.

Sanchuniathon shows that this is in accord with Genesis, for Eve's lust, inspired by Satan, "when it had conceived did bring forth Death." "When lust hath conceived...it bringeth forth death" (James 1:15).

How did the devil remove this lesson of his deception and even turn it to his advantage?

Again, we find the answer in the goddess queen of Babylon. The goddess queen of Babylon held a pomegranate in her hand. Astarte or Cybele (Syrian and Roman names, respectively, for their goddess corresponding to Semiramis) was also called "Inaia Mater" which signifies "the mother of knowledge" -- in other words our mother Eve, who first coveted the "knowledge of good and evil." The pomegranate was represented as the fruit of the forbidden tree (Hislop, pp. 110-113).

Notice the clever deception! Men were taught to look upon Semiramis as their grand benefactress, as gaining knowledge which they might otherwise have sought in vain! SATAN THUS TAUGHT THAT GOOD CAME TO ADAMIC MANKIND BY EVE'S DISOBEDIENCE TO THE ETERNAL AND OBEDIENCE TO HIM! According to the classic pagan story, it was YEHOVAH God who was the snake who would not let man eat of the desirable tree of knowledge of good and evil. The false Messiah, Tammuz (as Hercules), slew it (Hislop, p. 112).

This, then, is a classical example of how Satan twists the teachings that YEHOVAH God holds so dear! IT IS CERTAIN THAT AS HE WAS PERVERTING THE TRUTH SO MIGHTILY THEN, HE HAS NOT STOPPED NOW.

We have now seen why the gospel that the Messiah proclaimed, was counterfeited hundreds of years before the Messiah! From history it has been proven that these counterfeits do have an effect on religion today! WHY

Pagans Had Counterfeit Baptism

Through the Babylonian Mysteries, Satan distorted the Truth about the Godhead and the holy spirit as spoken of in the first chapter of Genesis. He distorted the facts concerning himself, and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Was he going to turn Noah and his experiences also to his benefit after the flood? We will see that he did just this, in making the forgiveness of past sins a mechanical process through a counterfeit baptism.

Some churches consider water baptism so important that unless an infant is baptized, it cannot "go to heaven" (Bishop Hay's Sincere Christian, vol. i, p. 363). Says Hislop in The Two Babylons: "The doctrine of Rome is that ALL WHO ARE CANONICALLY BAPTIZED, HOWEVER IGNORANT, HOWEVER IMMORAL, if they only give implicit faith to the church, and surrender their consciences to the priests, ARE AS MUCH REGENERATED AS EVER THEY CAN BE....This doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration also is essentially Babylonian....Hindoos who have never opened their ears to Christian instruction are as familiar with the term and idea as ourselves" (p. 132).

The BRAHMINS in India make it their distinguishing boast that they are "twice born" men, and that as such they are sure of eternal happiness. Among the ancestors of the people of Mexico, Scandinavia, and other countries the same practice was followed (Asiatic Researchers, vol. vii, p. 271). "In certain sacred rites of the heathen," referring to the worship of Isis (the Egyptian goddess corresponding to Semiramis), and Mithra (the Greek god corresponding to Nimrod as Mediator), "the mode of initiation is by baptism" (Tertullian's De Baptismo, vol. i, p. 1204). The term "initiation" clearly shows that it was the Mysteries of these divinities to which he referred.

How did it come about that the Babylonians themselves adopted such a doctrine of regeneration by baptism? The Babylonian Mysteries of Semiramis, as usual, give the answer. In these mysteries, the commemoration of the flood, the ark, and the grand events in the life of Noah, were mingled with the worship of the "Queen of Heaven" (Semiramis) and her son-husband Nimrod and her illegitimate son Horus (the "resurrected" Nimrod). Noah, having lived in two worlds -- both before and after the flood -- was called "Diphues" or "twice-born." He was represented as a god with two heads looking in opposite directions, the one old and the other young (Bryant's Mythology, vol. i, pp. 84, 319).

Semiramis saw it was necessary to identify her dead husband Nimrod with the great patriarch Noah who was the father of all. In this way he would thus become the Supreme One, the Father of all the deified "mighty ones." He would obtain the authority and respect essential to constitute him the head of the great system of idolatry that the apostates inaugurated.

The period in which Osiris (the Egyptian term for Nimrod) was in his coffin, was precisely the same as Noah was in the ark -- a whole year (Apollodorus, vol. i, pp. 356, 257). Osiris, at the great and solemn festival called "The Disappearance of Osiris," was looked upon as dead and buried when put into his ark or coffin. When he came out again, that new state was regarded as a state of "new life," or "regeneration" (Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride, vol. ii, pp. 356, 367).

"Whatever primitive truth the Chaldean (Babylonian) priests held, they utterly perverted and corrupted it. They willingly overlooked the fact, that it was the 'RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH' which Noah 'had before' the flood...that carried him safely through...THEY led their votaries to believe that IF THEY ONLY PASSED THROUGH THE BAPTISMAL WATERS and the penances therewith connected...it would entitle them...to a new birth...The WHOLE SPIRIT OF PAGANISM WAS OPPOSED TO THE SPIRITUALITY of the patriarchal religion and indeed intended to make it void, and DRAW MEN UTTERLY AWAY FROM IT, WHILE PRETENDING TO DO HOMAGE TO IT" (Hislop's The Two Babylons, pp. 137, 141).

THE ANCIENTS, KNOWING THE TRUTH CONCERNING BAPTISM, THAT IT SYMBOLIZED A RIGHTEOUS STATE OF MIND, MADE IT A MECHANICAL PROCESS!

Here again we see the Devil deceiving mankind. He says to man in effect: "Follow your own ideas and ways, not God's, and you can have your past sins forgiven." YEHOVAH says, "Repent, and be baptized" (Acts 2:38). Turn to the ways YEHOVAH God commands! "In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:9).

What does this mean?

Most churches today have been deceived into employing a counterfeit water baptism. True, some large denominations use the scriptural form -- immersion. But a counterfeit looks like the genuine. The deception lies in that which is associated with it -- the spirit in which it is done.

BAPTISM IS DONE TODAY IN THE SAME SPIRIT IN WHICH IT WAS DONE IN ANCIENT BABYLON -- many are baptized BUT their ACTIONS AFTERWARD DO NOT SHOW THEY HAVE figuratively BURIED THE OLD SELF IN BAPTISM. THEY CONTINUE IN THEIR OLD PRACTICES.

Pagan Doctrine of Penance

We have seen that the Devil's deceptive doctrine practiced by many churches to this day is that man does not have to change from his old evil ways and then be baptized to obtain forgiveness of past sins. The question now arises: What sort of perverted doctrine does he have regarding the forgiveness of sins we commit unwillingly after baptism?

THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT WE, THROUGH FAITH IN THE MESSIAH'S SHED BLOOD TO CANCEL OUR PAST SINS, MAY USE THIS TO COVER THEM (Romans 3:25, 28, 31). Now let us note the BONDAGE of the pagan counterfeit of forgiveness which many churches practice today.

"In regard to justification, the Chaldean doctrine was that it was by works and merits of men themselves that they must be justified...perfection depended on the exertions of the individual" (Hislop, pp. 144, 145). The doctrine of many churches is the same. From the days of Cain downward, the doctrine of human merit and self-justification has everywhere been indigenous to the heart of the depraved Adamic line.

In the Middle Ages, according to legend, Michael the archangel had committed to him the balance of YEHOVAH's justice and that in the opposite pans of the balance the merits and demerits of the deceased are placed (Review of Epistle of Dr. Gentianus Harvet, Book ii, chap. xiv).

This same system of human merits for justification is found in paganism over the world. Wilkinson's Egyptians, vol. v, p. 447, shows that in Egypt, the land of Ham, it was to Anubis that the SCALES OF JUSTICE were committed. If a person is found wanting, he is rejected and Osiris (Nimrod) pronounces judgment. The same system is found in Grecian and Chinese mythology. In China, lists and comparative tables of good and bad actions are recorded (Davis' China, vol. ii, chap. "Religion -- Buddhism").

"In spiritual despotism in every age, both pagan and Papal...ITS GRAND OBJECT HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO KEEP THE SOULS OF ITS VOTARIES AWAY FROM DIRECT AND IMMEDIATE INTERCOURSE WITH A...MERCIFUL SAVIOR" (Hislop's The Two Babylons, pp. 148-150). Continuing, Hislop quotes from a decree of the Council of Trent: "No man can know with infallible assurance...that he HAS OBTAINED the grace of God." It seeks "to keep its devotees in continual doubt." "In the confessional there was from time to time...a mimic rehearsal of the dread weighing...when they have a man of influence...or wealth...they will not give him the slightest bit of hope till round sums of money...be cast on the scale."

Notice how the pagans acquired merits for justification. Hislop continues, "Nimrod was the first after the flood that violated the patriarchal system, and set up (himself) as 'king' over his fellows...In almost every land bloody worship prevailed...human victims...were his most acceptable offerings. In pagan Rome the worshippers of Isis (Semiramis) observed the same practice in honor of Osiris (Nimrod). When it is remembered that Saturn (Nimrod) was cut in pieces, it is easy to see how the idea would arise of offering a welcome sacrifice by setting men to cut one another to pieces (in war)...TO LAY UP A STOCK OF MERIT...in their behalf."

In these "latter days" -- TODAY -- a turning away from true doctrines was foretold (I Timothy 4:1, Hebrews 13:8-9). YEHOVAH GOD HAS GIVEN ADAMIC MAN A SIMPLE WAY TO HAVE THEIR PAST SINS FORGIVEN, BUT THE COUNTERFEIT SYSTEM ENSLAVES ITS FOLLOWERS IN BONDAGE! ADAMIC MAN TODAY STILL FOLLOWS THE OLD BABYLONIAN SYSTEM IN SEEKING TO HAVE THEIR SINS FORGIVEN! IF THEY DO NOT PAY FOR FORGIVENESS, THEY abstain from some things which THEY HAVE DECIDED ARE EVIL: going to shows, dancing, card playing, to mention a few. They hope to BALANCE any evil they might do by abstinence from these.

BUT these same people go on divorcing and remarrying, and observing other practices which the Bible clearly condemns. THEY WILL NOT TURN FROM THEIR WAY (REPENT) SO THEY CAN HAVE THE MESSIAH'S BLOOD FORGIVE THEIR SINS -- the ONLY WAY by which sins may be forgiven (Acts 2:38)! Romans 5:9 says we are "JUSTIFIED by his BLOOD!" MANKIND CONTINUES TO DESIRE TO LIVE BY PRACTICES WHICH YIELD ONLY UNHAPPINESS, BONDAGE, AND DEATH. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12).

Forgiveness By Blood Unnecessary?

No! YEHOVAH God says that without the shedding of BLOOD there is NO remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22). Modernism stands condemned.

Where then does today's idea of a UNBLOODY sacrifice originate? Evidence shows that this is of BABYLONIAN origin.

NO blood was allowed to be offered on the altars of the Paphian Venus (A Grecian form of Semiramis). These rites came from Cicilia in Asia Minor. (Tacitus' Historia, vol. ii, p. 106). Cicilia, in turn, had acquired the rites from Babylon when Sennacherib, the Assyrian, built Cicilia in express IMITATION OF BABYLON. For this reason, the bloodless altars of the Paphian Venus are the same as the bloodless altars of the Babylonian goddess Semiramis from which she was derived (Bunsen, vol. i, p. 718). This false worship of Semiramis differed from the worship of her husband and son, Tammuz, whom she carried in her arms.

He, as we have seen, was represented as delighting in blood. She was the mother of grace and mercy, the celestial "Dove" -- the hope of the whole world (Bryant, vol. iii, p. 226). Whereas he desired bloody sacrifices, she desired only an "unbloody sacrifice" -- cakes. When her followers were initiated into the higher Mysteries, they could eat of these cakes or wafers.

"All this was done," says Hislop, p. 159, "TO EXALT THE MOTHER, AS MORE GRACIOUS AND MORE COMPASSIONATE THAN HER GLORIOUS SON." THEREFORE WE CAN FIND THE WOMEN OF JUDAH "OFFERING CAKES TO THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN" (Jeremiah 44:19). Today, many professing Christians, thinking they worship the Messiah, actually worship Semiramis through the eating of the cakes or wafers at communion.

Semiramis also bore the name of "Mylitta" -- that is Mediatrix. But Scripture says THERE IS ONLY ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN YEHOVAH GOD AND MAN -- THE MESSIAH (I Timothy 2:5). The idea of a Mediatrix as held in some churches today has its origin in paganism, not the Bible! It is THE MESSIAH WHO IS MEDIATOR FOR US -- he paid the penalty for our sins by the offering of his blood.

Communion With the Sun-God

The Messiah said, "I am the bread of life." This statement by Yeshua has been twisted to confuse the world for centuries.

Some religions today are very intent on the roundness of their unbloody sacrifice -- a round cake like that formerly used in the rites of Semiramis, queen of heaven. Why is this roundness so important? Hislop says that the ROUND DISK, so frequently used in the sacred emblems of Egypt, SYMBOLIZED THE SUN. Osiris (Nimrod) the sun-divinity, became incarnate and was reborn (p. 160). Recall that Semiramis in her mysteries represented Nimrod after his death as being reborn -- corresponding to the birth of the Messiah and the resurrection. The round wafer used in communion does not really represent the Messiah at all. It came from pagan sun-worship.

"When OSIRIS, THE SUN-DIVINITY...was born," declared Hislop, pp. 160-163, "it was not merely that he should give his life as a sacrifice for men...but also be the LIFE AND NOURISHMENT OF THE SOULS OF MEN...It is universally admitted that Isis (the Egyptian goddess representing Semiramis) was the original of the Greek and Roman Ceres...she was worshipped as the "mother of corn." The child she brought forth was symbolized by "the corn." Those who were uninitiated into the Mysteries worshipped "Ceres for the gift of material corn to nourish their bodies, but the initiated adored her for a higher gift -- FOR FOOD TO NOURISH THEIR SOULS."

Here then, long before the apostles' time, was the counterfeit of the Messiah as bread. He said, "My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven" (John 6:32). THE MESSIAH SAID, "I AM THAT BREAD OF LIFE" (verse 48).

"That the initiated pagans actually believed that the 'corn'...was not the 'corn' of this earth, but the 'Divine Son' through whom alone...eternal life could be enjoyed, we have decisive proof...The Druids were devoted worshippers of Ceres...the grain of corn is expressly identified with 'the lovely babe'."

"THIS SON WHO WAS SYMBOLIZED AS 'CORN' WAS THE SUN-DIVINITY incarnate according to the sacred oracle of the great goddess of Egypt...'The fruit which I have brought forth is the Sun'. What is more natural then, if this incarnate divinity is symbolized as the 'bread of God', that he should be represented as a 'round wafer' to identify him with the Sun?"

"In Egypt, the disk of the Sun was represented in the temples...In Babylon, the golden image of the Sun was exhibited...in Peru, the disk of the sun was...upon the wall...The Paeonians of Thrace were sun-worshippers. In the worship of Baal, as practiced by the idolatrous Israelites, the worship of the sun's image was equally observed...the image of the sun was erected above the altar...Even in comparatively modern times...among the Cushites of the East,...we find the image of the sun...If the sun-divinity were worshipped in Egypt as 'the seed', or in Babylon as the 'Corn' precisely so is the wafer adored in Rome. 'Bread-corn of the elect, have mercy upon us', is one of the appointed prayers of the Roman Litany, addressed to the wafer."

THE SON BECAME THE SUN! Here we see churches of today paying homage to the sun!

Now, I ask, is it possible that a world-wide worship of the sun as had persisted from the time of the Flood right up to the time of the Protestant "Reformation" should totally stop with this reformation?

WHY DO CHURCHES TODAY HAVE EASTER SUNRISE SERVICES? It is the SAME service the pagan Assyrians used to honor their goddess Ishtar! The pagans' celebration commemorated the birthday of Semiramis who was the mother of the Sun-god Tammuz. They faced the rising sun just as many sincere people do today. Why do today's churches speak of having pagan LENTEN SERVICES? Why do they OBSERVE THE BIRTH OF THE SUN-GOD NIMROD ON DECEMBER 25TH (CHRISTMAS) just when the sun is starting to wax strong again in the sky? And why do they have communion on SUN-DAY (day of the sun)? If they are not still worshipping the Sun-god, then why do they still observe the same customs the pagans used to honor him? THEY ARE WORSHIPPING THE SUN-GOD! PEOPLE TODAY, IN KEEPING THESE CUSTOMS, ARE STILL IN BABYLON AS MUCH AS OUR ANCESTORS. In ignorance people HONOR THE SUN AS THE ONE WHO WILL SPIRITUALLY NOURISH THEM!

BUT REMEMBER THE SUN AND SERPENT (THE DEVIL) WERE IDENTIFIED TOGETHER! Sun-worship, then, is devil-worship!

YEHOVAH GOD SHOWS WHO THE REAL SUN IS THAT WE SHOULD WORSHIP: "UNTO YOU THAT FEAR MY NAME SHALL THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ARISE" (Malachi 4:2). Who is this? YEHOVAH said, "' Behold, the days are coming' says the LORD, 'that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness'" (Jeremiah 23:5). But He is not to be worshipped by symbols of the sun -- that is IDOLATRY! Satan has a false sun -- the sun in the sky! When the pagans accepted Christianity they mingled their pagan sun-worshipping practices with the teachings of the Messiah. They believed they thus honored the True God. But what does YEHOVAH God say about doing this? YEHOVAH said, "How did these (pagan) nations serve their gods?...Thou shalt NOT do so unto the LORD thy God" (Deuteronomy 12:30-31). YOU CANNOT WORSHIP THE TRUE GOD BY CELEBRATING PAGAN CUSTOMS AND HOLIDAYS!

The CHURCHES OF TODAY ARE DECEIVED BY THE DEVIL JUST AS THE PEOPLE WERE IN THAT DAY WHEN, AFTER THE MYSTERIES HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED, THE MEANING OF THE DIABOLICAL SYMBOLS WAS NO LONGER EXPLAINED TO THE PEOPLE! PEOPLE TODAY are DECEIVED BY OUTWARD APPEARANCE. They will continue to be, unless they use what the Bible says as their standard with which to judge.

Yes, SATAN HAS SUBSTITUTED A FALSE MESSIAH AND DIABOLICAL CUSTOMS. THOSE WHO OBSERVE THESE PAGAN CUSTOMS AND REJECT THE TEACHING OF THE MESSIAH SHOW BY THEIR ACTION THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT SALVATION REALLY IS! Satan has substituted a false baptism -- a mechanical act which does not signify the burying of the old self. He has perverted the teaching of YEHOVAH God that Adamic man must repent. HE HAS THUS BLOCKED THE VAST MAJORITY OF THOSE OF ISRAEL WHO FOLLOW HIS TEACHINGS FROM BECOMING SONS OF YEHOVAH GOD NOW, UNLESS THEY CHANGE THEIR WAYS!