The Pagan Origins of the Catholic Church!

It is by identifying the real beginning of the great false church system with this Simon that opens up a whole new vista of understanding in regard to the counterfeit Christianity which began even in the infancy of the Church.

One of the most scholarly of early church historians was Harnack who wrote an extensive seven-volume work titled The History of Dogma. This man is recognized as one of the top authorities in the world on this subject.

He states: “Long before the appearance of Christianity, combinations of religion had taken place in Syria and Palestine, ESPECIALLY IN SAMARIA, in so far as the ASSYRIAN and BABYLONIAN religious philosophy...with its manifold interpretations, had penetrated as far as the eastern shore of the Mediterranean” (Vol. 1, pp. 243, 244).

And why not. The Samaritans were largely Babylonian by race. The Bible tells us in II Kings 17:24 that most of the Samaritans had been taken to Samaria from Babylon and adjacent areas. Later on, Ezra informs us that others who were mainly of Babylonian stock came to Samaria (Ezra 4:9-10). These people amalgamated their Babylonian religious beliefs with some of the teachings from the Old Testament. But they NEVER DEPARTED basically from their own Babylonian-Chaldean religious teachings.

If anyone doubts that these Samaritans practiced outright paganism under the guise of YHVH worship, let him read the extraordinarily clear indictments recorded in the inspired Word of YEHOVAH God (II Kings 17:24-41).

There were originally five Babylonian tribes who had been transported to the area where Northern Israel once lived before Israel’s inglorious defeat and captivity by the Assyrians. When these five tribes moved INTO the vacant land of Samaria, they brought their Babylonian and Assyrian gods with them.

After a short while in their new country, they were ravaged by lions. They interpreted this punishment as coming upon them because they failed to honor the god of the new land -- not realizing that there is only One Great GOD, who is not confined to any one land. These Samaritans didn’t have sense enough to realize that the True God of the land had sent Israel into captivity because of their calf-worship and their introduction of Phoenician religion.

They asked the Assyrian king to send back one of the priests of Israel to teach them the former religion in order that the plague of lions would be stayed.

The Israelitish priest who was sent to them taught the religion of Northern Israel. Remember that the priests of Northern Israel were NOT Levites. At the time of Jeroboam, the true priests of YEHOVAH God were forced to flee to Jerusalem and Judea (II Chron. 11:14). Jeroboam set up his own form of religion with the calves at Dan and Bethel (I Kings 12:28-30). He moved the Holy Days from the seventh to the eighth month. He made priests of the lowest of the people, those who were NOT of Levi (I Kings 12:31).

All of these acts of Jeroboam were outright violations of YEHOVAH’s law. It was from the time of Jerohoam down to the time of Israel’s captivity that the majority of Israel were NOT worshipping the True God at all! Jerusalem and YEHOVAH God’s Temple had been repudiated and paganism had been introduced on a grand scale. When these transplanted Babylonians who were being afflicted by lions in Samaria asked for a priest of the former people -- THEY GOT ONE! But that priest was one of the former calf-worshipping priests of the rebel Israelites. He was almost as pagan as the Babylonians themselves!

This priest of Israel taught the Babylonians (now called Samaritans) to adopt the former worship of the Northern Israelites. The priest taught them to revere YHVH as the ”God of the Land.” Thus, these Samaritans finally took upon themselves the NAME: The People of YHVH; but their religion was outright paganism -- a mixture of Israelitish calf-worship and Babylonianism -- just as Simon Magus later was eager to appropriate the Messiah’s NAME, but continue his pagan abominations!

These people called themselves the worshippers of the True God, but were actually Babylonian idolaters.

It will pay us to notice the gods and goddesses that these forefathers of Simon Magus brought with them to Samaria. The people from the City of Babylon adored SUCCOTH-BENOTH; the Cuthites: NERGAL; the Hamathites: ASHIMA; the Avites: NIBHAZ and TARTAK; the Sepharvites: ADRAM-MELECH and ANAM-MELECH.

The first deity is SUCCOTH-BENOTH, a goddess. It was Semiramis in the form of Venus. Listen to Jones in his Proper Names of the 0.T., p. 348. He says the name signifies “Tabernacles of daughters.” It means:

What about the god NERGAL of Cuth? We are informed by McClintock and Strong’s Encyclopedia that the name signifies “the great man,” “the great hero” or “the god of the chase,” i.e. the Hunter. In other words, as the Encyclopedia further points out, he was a form of NIMROD. This Hunter-god was honored by the people of CUTH for Arabian tradition tells us that CUTH was the special city of NIMROD (vol. VI, p. 950).

The next god was that of Hamath: ASHIMA. Jones shows us that he was the great pagan god of propitiation, i.e. the god who bore the guilt of his worshippers (p. 42). This god was the pagan REDEEMER -- the OSIRIS of Egyptian fame or the dying NIMROD.

The Avites worshipped NIBHAZ (masc. -- the god of HADES) and TARTAK (“the mother of the gods”). This last mentioned goddess was supposedly the mother of the Assyrian race, or, as Jones says, she was SEMIRAMIS (see p. 354).

The fifth Babylonian tribe worshiped pre-eminently two gods -- ADRAM-MELECH and ANAM-MELECH. The first was the “god of fire,” the Sun or the Phoenician Baal (Jones, p. 14) ; the second was “the god of the flocks” or the Greek HERMES, the Good Shepherd (p. 32).

(It is self-evident that these gods and goddesses were the major Babylonian deities, and at the same time, the very gods and goddesses which the Roman Catholic Church deifies today as the Messiah, Mary, etc.).

Simon Magus grew up in this mixed-up society. The Samaritans called themselves the people of the True God but religiously were practicing Babylonians. Simon himself was a priest of these people (the word “Magus” is the Chaldean/Persian word for “priest”). Thus, in the encounter of Peter with Simon Magus, we find the first real connection of true Christianity with the Chaldean priest who was prophesied to bring in its false counterpart.

Simon Magus was a Babylonian priest. He was a part of the Babylonian community that had been living in the land of Northern Israel ever since the Northern Ten Tribes were carried away captive by the Assyrians. YEHOVAH God tells us that these Samaritans, as they were called, were claiming to be the true people of YEHOVAH God while at the same time practicing many heathen rites which came directly from Babylon (II Kings 17:41).

This was the type of religious environment in which Simon Magus was born. This was the environment in which he commenced his own ministry and was finally proclaimed the “great one...the great power of God” -- that is, YEHOVAH God Himself (Acts 8:9-10).

He so swayed the whole of the Samaritan nation that all gave heed to him -- they did for a very long time (Verses 7-11). But when he saw the potential of Christianity, he endeavored to buy an apostleship in the Church. Peter rebuked him sternly.

Simon Magus, after his rejection by Peter, began to fashion his own “Christian” church -- a church of which HE was head -- a church designed to completely overthrow the True Church of YEHOVAH God. His idea was to blend together Babylonian teaching with some of the teachings of the Messiah -- especially to take the name of the Messiah -- and thus create ONE UNIVERSAL CHURCH! But a church with Babylonianism as its basis.

Harnack, a church historian, states that Simon Magus “proclaimed a doctrine in which the Jewish faith was strangely and grotesquely mixed with BABYLONIAN myths, together with some Greek additions. The mysterious worship...in consequence of the widened horizon and the deepening religious feeling, finally the wild SYNCRETISM [that is, blending together of religious beliefs], whose aim WAS A UNIVERSAL RELIGION, all contributed to gain adherents for Simon” (Vol. 1, p. 244).

Simon can be classified among the major group of so-called Christians (and Simon called himself such), called by Harnack the: “decidedly anti-Jewish groups....They advanced much further in the criticism of the Old Testament and perceived the impossibility of saving it [that is, the Old Testament] for the Christian UNIVERSAL RELIGION. They rather connected this [universal] religion with the cultus-wisdom of BABYLON and SYRIA” (Vol. I, p. 246).

With this background, we can understand why Peter so strongly rebuked Simon for his Babylonian ideas. Peter prophesied that this was the man who was to be the “gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity” to the True Church. Simon’s attitude was corrupt in the extreme!

The Bible shows he had been working through demons. And yet, he finally called himself a “Christian.” Dr. McGiffert speaking of Simon Magus says: “His effort to rival and surpass Jesus very likely began after his contact with the Christians that Luke records. His religious system was apparently a SYNCRETISM of Jewish and Oriental elements” (Hasting’s Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, Vol. 2, p. 477).

To read all the material that the writers of the 2nd to the 4th centuries wrote about this man and his followers, would literally take days. He has been called by many of them “the father of HERESY,” and, apart from the Bible, the amount of literature devoted to him and his activities, shows he lived up to that title.

Some of the following authorities to be brought forth were eye-witnesses of many of the things mentioned, and they were writing to others who were likewise eye-witnesses. Much of the testimony to be mentioned is conclusive and cannot be set aside.

With this evidence of Simon’s activities after his rejection by Peter, we will clearly be able to see why Luke thought it most important to tell the real condition of this man, proving that he was in actuality NEVER an Apostle of the Messiah. In this regard, notice the comment of Hasting’s Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, Vol. 2, p. 496:

What Simon did was to bring in the Babylonian and Greek religious beliefs into a form of Christianity in order to bring about, as Harnack says, a UNIVERSAL [Catholic] religion.

We further find in Schaff's History of the Church a reference to this Simon Magus. He says:

Simon only used the name of Christianity to bring about his own desired ends. The Dictionary of Religion and Ethics says that Simon was “a false Messiah, who practiced magical arts and subsequently attempted, by the aid and with the sanction of Christianity, to set up a rival UNIVERSAL [Catholic] RELIGION” (Vol. 11, p. 514).

Again, what do the histories tell us Simon’s doctrines consisted of primarily?

It is no wonder that Luke hits hard at the infamy of Simon -- for Simon claimed to be a Christian -- even an Apostle -- and yet was preaching Babylonian paganism. HE WAS CALLING PAGANISM BY THE NAME OF CHRISTIANITY!

The reason Luke recorded this encounter with Simon was its far-reaching effects. As Hasting’s explains, the important reason was that of “Luke’s well-known plan of describing THE FIRST MEETING between Christianity and rival systems” (Ibid., p. 478).

Luke gives in detail the principal character who established the so-called Christian counterpart of the Truth in the Apostles’ days. This is the reason the Apostles in their church letters many times mention the false system as ALREADY IN EXISTENCE, but fail to describe its origin. They didn’t have to. That was already done RIGHT AT THE FIRST by Luke!

That these things actually happened CANNOT BE DOUBTED! Justin was writing to the Roman people at the time and they could certainly have exposed Justin’s credulity if what he said was not so. And, that a statue of Simon was actually erected is definite, for Justin asks the authorities in Rome to destroy it!

There are many writers, who lived in Rome itself, who afterwards repeated Justin’s account. Those who want to reject these clear statements have nothing in their favor. Justin is clearly giving us fact!

Hasting’s Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, Vol 2, p. 496, states that there is “very slight evidence on which to reject so precise a statement as Justin makes; a statement he would scarcely have hazarded in an apology addressed to Rome, where every person had the means of ascertaining its accuracy. If he made a mistake, it must have been at once exposed, and other writers would not have frequently repeated the story as they have done.”

At the time of Claudius, it was illegal to erect a statue to any man as a god or greatly honored person unless the permission of the Emperor and the Senate had been secured. The statue was still standing in Justin’s day (152 A.D.), people were still giving regard to it!

There are many other accounts of Simon’s traveling to Rome and becoming one of the great gods to the city and to the people of Rome. There are records which show that Simon “prophesies that Rome will be the scene of his crowning glory, when he will be adored as a god” (Dictionary of Religion and Ethics, Vol. 11, p. 522).

The Bible records that in the earliest ages, right after the Flood of Noah, men began to rebel against the teachings of YEHOVAH God. They began to build cities, found religions, bring in idolatries. Pagan temples were erected -- the Tower of Babel came on the scene. All of these things started within the first two hundred years after the Flood.

Surprising as it may sound, it is a well-known fact among students of ancient religion that the chief pagan gods worshipped in the early civilizations were generally known by the name PETER. It is also known that the priests of those heathen gods were also called PETERS. That same name in one form or another, was even applied to the pagan TEMPLES consecrated to those gods.

Notice what Bryant, in his work Ancient Mythology says: “Not only the gods, but the Hierophantae [special priests], in most temples; and those priests in particular, who were occupied in the celebration of mysteries, were styled PATRES” (vol. 1, p. 354).

This is significant! The word PATRE is the same as PATOR or PETER in meaning and pronunciation.

Bryant continues: “PATRE was undoubtedly a religious term....the same as PATOR and PATORA.”

The ancient pagan gods, the priests who were their ministers, and their sacred sanctuaries -- their temples -- were ALL called PETORS or PETERS (either spelling is acceptable since vowels are fluid in all languages especially the Semitic).

What did the word PATOR or PETER really mean to the ancients? Surprisingly enough the word is in the Bible. When Moses wrote about the Egyptian priests, he shows they were called PETERS or “interpreters” -- interpreters of the ancient Egyptian mysteries.

Notice Genesis 41:8. Davidson shows in his Hebrew Lexicon that the consonantal word P-T-R (PETER) signifies “to interpret” or “interpretation” (p. 638; of Brown, Driver, Briggs, p. 837; and Gesenius, p. 877 and p. 843). Bryant points out that “the term always related to oracle interpretation” (p. 308).

The pagan priests of the mystery religions were called PATORS or PETERS. They had the power to interpret the heathen mysteries. This is further brought out by Bunson in his Hieroglyph, page 545, where he shows that the Egyptians -- as the Bible also indicates -- called their “interpreters” or priests: PETR, that is, PETER.

The term PETER was one of the earliest names for the pagan gods. It lasted as late as Greek and Roman times. But by that time the term also took on a wide-spread secular meaning. It came generally to mean “father” or “parent.” But this was not its primary meaning at all. Bryant continues: “The word PATER, when used in the religious addresses of the Greeks and Romans, meant NOT, as is supposed, a father or parent; but related to the divine influence of the Deity, called by the people of the East, PATOR” (Ibid., p. 353).

In many ancient religions the father was the chief priest of the family. That is the reason the head of the family became known as PATOR or “father.”

The father, because of his priestly position, became known as the ARCH-PATOR, or, as it is commonly rendered, PATRI-ARCHT. This is how the term PATOR came to signify, in a secular sense, “a father.” But originally, it always meant, “interpreter” -- especially one of the mystery religions.

We have clear evidence showing that the ancient Romans called their chief gods PETERS -- the divine interpreters. The early Roman writer Lucilius, mentions Neptune, Liber, Saturn, Mars, Janus and Quirnus -- all were PATERS. (See the Lucilii Fragments.) He did not mean they were “father-gods.” He meant they were gods of PETER-rank -- the chief gods.

Lucilius doesn’t exhaust the list. In fact, he leaves out JUPITER, the “Father” of the Roman gods. But it was unnecessary to mention him as a “PETER-god.” Due to his high rank, the title PETER was actually incorporated as a part of his name. He was called Ju-PETER.

Gladstone in his work on the antiquities of Greece, shows that Jupiter and the Greek god ZEUS were one and the same. JU-PETER was the Roman way of saying ZEUS-PITER, the chief god of the Greeks (Homer and the Homeric Age, vol. 1 , p. 287). PETER was the name that came to signify high rank among the gods -- and among their priests.

The Romans were not the only ones who called their gods PETERS. The Classical Manual reveals that the Greeks used the term PETER (or its variants) as often as did the Romans. For example, Apollo was called PATRIUS and his followers APOLLO PATRIUS (p. 23). Pausanius tells us that Artemis and Bacchus were called PATORA, that is PETER-gods (Books 1, 2). Pindar speaks of Poseidon Petraios. He says the Thessalians worshipped Neptune under this title (Pyth. Ode 4).

In Egypt, the Ammonian priests -- who headed one of the chief pagan oracles of ancient Egypt -- were called Petors, as Bryant also says: “The chief instrument (idol) in their hands was styled PETAURUM" (Ibid., p. 356).

This idol on many occasions took the form of a pole or upright stake (Ibid., p. 358). The pagan god Artemis is often pictured standing by a stone pillar which is called PATROA or PETER (Pausanius, Bk. 1). These pillars, and all the phallic symbols like them, came to be known as PETRAS -- the sacred PETERS. (It is still common among the vulgar to refer to the male member by its original religious name -- PETER.) These phallic Peter-stones can be found all over the ancient world. In fact, there is not a mention of an ancient pagan oracle temple without some notice being given to a PETER emblem -- the sacred stone.

Like the word PATOR -- which came to indicate simply a “father” or “parent” -- the word PETRA came to mean any large stone. But in the earliest times, it conveyed only the original religious meaning.

“The term PETRA came at length to signify any rock or stone and to be in a manner confined to that meaning. But in the first ages it was ALWAYS TAKEN IN A RELIGIOUS SENSE; and related to the shrines of Osiris, or the Sun (Baal), and to other oracles which were supposed to be exhibited” (Bryant, p. 359). In other words, the term PETRA meant the sacred PETER-stone -- a stone usually phallic in design.

At the temple of Delphi in Greece, the chief object in the ritual was the PETRA (Pausanius, Bk. 10). At the Acropolis in Athens, Euripides tells us, the niches which held the idols were called the PETRAE (verse 935). It is well-known that even the sacred book which was used in the celebration of the Eleusinian mysteries, was entitled “Book PETROMA,” PETER-ROMA -- PETER’S BOOK (see Potter’s Antiquities, vol. 1, p. 356).

Remember that the pagan temples were also called after the PETERS. The temple at Elis in Greece was called PETRON (Lycophron, verse 159). Pytho at Delphi was called PETRAESSA (Olymp. Ode 6). The oracle temple dedicated to Apollo in Asia Minor was called the PATARA and the oracle there was called PATAREUS (“Eus” means “person who, one”) -- (Lempriere’s Classical Dictionary, p. 438).

Also PATRAE -- an ancient town where DIANA had a temple (p. 438), and the oracle in Achaia was called PATRA (Jones, Proper Names of the Old Testament, p. 296).

Examples are too numerous to mention, but this should be enough to show that the name PETER, or its variants, figured very high in every phase of pagan worship. These PETER stones and temples were found all over the ancient world.

PETER-worship can be traced directly back to MESOPOTAMIA. It was there that idolatry had its beginning. There is where the Tower of Babel was erected. It is no wonder that in Mesopotamia we find the first mention of a PETER-temple. In Numbers 23; 22:4-5 we read that the false prophet Balaam was called to prophesy against Israel. Further, in Deuteronomy 23:4, we read that this Balaam had been called from “Pethor of Mesopotamia” -- that is, from the PETER of MESOPOTAMIA.

This Pethor or Peter (either spelling is correct) was the place of an oracle temple. In the dictionary Proper Names of the Old Testament, edited by A. Jones, we find that Balaam’s PETHOR was the sacred high place “where there was an oracular temple, and hence called PETHOR, and PETHORA, which meant, place of interpretation, or oracular temple. Here was, no doubt, a college of priests of whom Balaam had been appointed chief PATORA” (p. 296).

Yes, Balaam was the chief PATORA (Peter) of the PETHOR (Peter-temple) of Mesopotamia.

It was customary for each pagan country to have a chief oracle or temple. The PETHOR or PETER in Greece was Delphi. In Egypt it was Ammon. In Asia Minor it was Lycia -- and later Pergamos. Professor Jones tells about the other PETHORS throughout the world. Notice: “These ‘high places’ were scattered about in many parts. There was a city of ‘interpretation’ in Acaia, called PATRAE, and another in Lycia, called PATARA, where Apollo had an oracle. PETHOR was in after times celebrated for the worship of Ailat” (Ibid., p. 296).

But Balaam came from PETHOR on the Euphrates -- the oracle of Mesopotamia. He was no less than the CHIEF PATORA (as Jones mentions) of the VERY HOME of idolatry and false religion.

The very meaning of the name “Balaam” shows he considered himself as sitting in the very chair of Nimrod, the beginner of the mystery religions. The name “Balaam” means in Semitic tongues “Conqueror of the People.” This was the exact proper name the Greeks used to designate NIMROD. They called him NICOLAUS, which also meant “Conqueror of the People.”

In the New Testament we read of people following the doctrines of NICOLAUS (Nimrod). They were called Nicolaitanes. McClintock and Strong's Encyclopaedia speaking of them says: “The sect of the Nicolaitanes is described as following the doctrine or teaching of Balaam -- and it appears not improbable that this name is employed symbolically, as NICOLAUS is equivalent in meaning to BALAAM” (vol. 1, p. 621).

Yes, the two names NICOLAUS and BALAAM are exactly the same in meaning -- they both point to NIMROD, the originator of paganism. We also find that when Simon Magus (alias Simon Peter) “Christianized” the religion of NIMROD, John the Apostle plainly labels his followers NICOLAITANES and followers of BALAAM. All of the heresies mentioned in the Seven Churches are of only ONE system -- the system of NIMROD, under the leadership of Simon Magus.

The name of Balaam is another name for NIMROD. But, understand this clearly -- the “Balaam” who met Israel on their way out of Egypt was NOT the original Nimrod. He had been killed several hundred years before. This Balaam merely represented Nimrod as his successor. We are all aware that Joshua, being a successor of Moses, was looked on as sitting in Moses seat. Even in the Messiah’s time the scribes and Pharisees sat in Moses’ seat of authority (Matt. 23:1-4).

So it was with Balaam. He maintained one of the proper names of Nimrod to signify that he was the legitimate successor of the Arch-Rebel. And to emphasize his authority, Balaam could point to his headquarters as the PETHOR or PETER of Mesopotamia. Therefore, the Moabites in their hatred for Israel called for the chief priest of the pagan world. They ignored the priesthood of their own national gods -- going to the highest authority they knew! Josephus represents this false prophet as “Balaam, who lived by the Euphrates, and was the greatest of the prophets of that time” (Ant. IV, 6,2). Balaam was the successor of Nimrod -- the PONTIFEX MAXIMUS of the pagan world. His headquarters was the “PETER on the Euphrates” -- the SAINT PETER’S OF MESOPOTAMIA, the chief oracle of paganism. This is a shocking revelation -- but one which stands the test of the Bible and ancient religious history.

It is well-known history that in the earliest ages, the center of civilization was in Asia and Mesopotamia. In later times, political power passed to the Greeks and then to the Romans. It is also well-recognized that the religions of Asia, by Greek and Roman times, had also passed to the West. By the First Century, the mystery religions of the Babylonians were centered primarily in Rome! By that time, Rome had become the chief city of the world.

Early records mention this transference of pagan religion from Asia right to the city of Rome. The First Century book by Virgil, The Aenid, in Imperial times became a type of Roman “Bible.” It gives the story of one Aeneas who wandered away from Asia right after the Trojan War and settled in Italy.

The main theme of the book concerns the so-called “sacred task” of Aeneas: bringing the pagan gods of Asia to ltaly! Virgil spares no words in glorifying Aeneas’ journey. He shows how Aeneas brought the Romans ORGANIZED RELIGION -- with all the pagan gods and goddesses necessary for performing it. And most important: Virgil constantly says that these deities were the PATRII of Asia. (See the Classical Manual, page 592, for full information confirming this.) These gods and goddesses were the PETER-deities -- the chief deities which were destined to favor Rome and Italy above all other countries.

Asia had been the original home of the PETER-gods. Through Virgil we find them being transported to the doorstep of Rome. And why not? By the First Century, Rome was considered “the home of the gods.” Prudentius, an ancient Roman himself, says that there wasn't a single pagan deity that did not in the end find its headquarters at Rome.

Notice what he says: “These came to be one single home for all earth-born gods, and you may count as many temples of gods AT ROME as tombs of heroes in all the world” (Symmachus, 187 to 197).

It could hardly be clearer! By Imperial times, Rome became the headquarters of pagan religion. It was the chief oracle of the world, the PETER for the earth.

There were two gods of ancient Rome which were pre-eminently worshipped as PETER-gods. One was Ju-PETER (Zeus-Peter). The other, says the Classical Manual, was JANUS, called PATER or PETER (see page 389). Sometimes these two gods are confused. But they are to be reckoned as distinct -- relative to Roman paganism of the First Century. The latter god, JANUS-PETER, had some interesting roles to play in the pagan religion at Rome. These roles answer the question: Who was the original Peter of Rome? Notice a brief history and some of the activities of this god.

Plutarch in his Life of Numa, gives us the identity of JANUS. Originally, according to Plutarch, Janus was an ancient prince who reigned in the infancy of the world. He brought men from a rude and savage life to a mild and rational system. HE was the first to build cities and the first to establish government over men. After his death he was deified.

There can be no mistaking who this JANUS was! This title was just another of the many names of Nimrod. This ancient prince who was violently killed was later deified by the pagan religions. Because of his high authority, he was called a PATOR or PETER.

It was JANUS-PETER who was preeminent in interpreting the times -- especially prophecy. “The past and the future was always present in his mind” (Classical Manual, pages 388 and 389). He was pictured as being double-faced. Plutarch said this was a symbol of his endeavor to change men from barbarism to civilization -- that is, bring them to the civilization of NIMROD. One of JANUS’ roles, after his deification as a god, was the continuation of his sacred task of “civilizing” men.

The PETER-god JANUS was to the ancient Romans the “KEEPER OF THE GATES OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.” “HE IS REPRESENTED WITH A KEY IN ONE HAND...as emblematic of his presiding over GATES and highways.”

How shocking! The pagan Romans were calling their JANUS a PETER hundreds of years before the birth of the Apostle Peter. It was this JANUS who was in charge of the “pearly gates”! The very word JANUS means “gates,” that is, the one in charge of the GATES.

The Classical Manual continues: “Ovid speaks of him [Janus] in the first book of his Fasti; his face is double to denote his equal empire over the heavens and the earth -- [does not the Pope claim the same power today?] -- and that all things are open and shut to him AT HIS WILL -- [he was infallible and answered to no one for his actions, so too the Pope] -- that he governs the universe [Catholicum), and alone possesses the power of making the world revolve on its axis; THAT HE PRESIDES OVER THE GATES OF HEAVEN.”

The Catholic Church claims Peter gave to it the keys of the gates of heaven and that no one will enter into YEHOVAH’s presence unless that church opens the gates. The very word “Cardinal" means “hinge.” The Cardinals of the Roman Church are the HINGES upon which the GATE -- the Pope -- is able to turn.

The Classical Manual continues: “the successions of day and night are regulated by his influence; and that the east and the west is at one moment open to his view.”

It was JANUS-PETER who also controlled the calendar by his priests. The first month of the year was named after him to show his control over the years. So, today, we still have JANU-ary as the first month. The Catholic Church, like the priests of Janus, feels it has this same authority over the calendar today.

Finally, it is necessary to notice at least one more name under which Nimrod masqueraded -- the name MITHRAS, the Persian name for Baal, the sun god. This Mithras-worship of Nimrod was popular and was one of the last to plant itself in Rome, but it had a very old theme -- outright PETER-worship. “Mithras was styled by the nations of the East PATOR; his temples were PATRA and PETRA and his festivals PATRICA” (Bryant, vol. 1, p. 370).

Sir James Frazer tells us of this religion of Mithra -- the religion of the pagan PETER -- coming to Rome. Notice it. “Among the gods of eastern origin who in the decline of the ancient world competed against each other for the allegiance of the West was the old Persian deity of MITHRA. The immense popularity of his worship is attested by the monuments illustrative of it which have been found scattered in profusion ALL OVER THE ROMAN EMPIRE. In respect both of doctrines and of rites the cult of MITHRA appears to have presented many points of resemblance not only to the religion of the Mother of the Gods but also to Christianity” (Golden Bough, St. Martin’s ed., vol. 1, p. 471).

What he means is that the Christianity of the third and fourth centuries had already by that time inherited so much from pagan beliefs, that this PETER-religion coming from the East found many similarities with Roman Christianity. The Catholics had already, by this late date, accepted the pagan festivals of Christmas, Easter and a host of other rituals and beliefs. Frazer continues: “Taken altogether, the coincidences of the Christian with the heathen festivals are too close and too numerous to be accidental” (Ibid., p. 475).

Bryant shows that the chief name of MITHRA in the East was PATOR or PETER -- “his temples were PATRA and PETRA and his festivals PATRICIA.” Everything connected with this ancient pagan religion can be traced right back to the original PETER -- the original “interpreter of the mysteries” who was none other than NIMROD. This is the same mystery system which the Roman Catholics have absorbed.

No wonder the Roman Catholic Church claims to sit in PETER‘S CHAIR and that the chief temple of the world is today called SAINT PETER’S. That Church has accepted the practices and symbols of the oldest pagan religion on earth: PETER-worship -- the religion of Nimrod.

This pagan religion was believed and practiced before the Messiah ever told the Apostle Peter and the other Apostles that they were to have the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 16:19). Satan counterfeited YEHOVAH’s true religion centuries before the Messiah came on the scene!

This was Satan’s attempt to smother YEHOVAH’s true religion with a counterfeit that to the untrained eye looks genuine. He did this principally through Simon Magus (Pater) who amalgamated all the pagan religions into one UNIVERSAL religion and called the system “Christianity.”

The Bible tells us to come completely out of this false religious system masquerading under the name of Christianity. We are to get back to the faith once delivered to the saints. We can thank YEHOVAH God for His goodness in giving to His Church the TRUTH.

Simon Magus, just like his Samaritan forefathers, deliberately blended together the teachings of Babylon with Biblical phrases.

One of his main intentions was to appropriate a Christian vocabulary to the Babylonian ceremonial system. In other words, he kept on with his heathenism, but now called his system “Christian” in origin.

To legitimately introduce paganism into the church he had to explain away many passages in the Old Testament which forbade idolatry and contact with the abominations of the heathen. This he quite cleverly did. His primary method of explaining the Old Testament was to allegorize its teachings.

If this wasn’t sufficient to explain it away, he would repudiate it as being of less value than the present will of YEHOVAH God which was supposedly being revealed to him. In fact, he got to the place of doing away altogether with the Old Testament by teaching that its doctrines were meant to enslave people and that its commandments were too grievous to bear. “Irenaeus states that Simon taught, that the Jewish prophecies [the Old Testament] were inspired by the creator angels; therefore, those who had hope in him and Helen NEED NOT ATTEND TO THEM, BUT FREELY DO AS THEY WOULD; for that men should be saved according to his grace, and not by any intrinsic quality of their own, but by the accident of these being ordered by these creator angels WHO HAD MERELY WISHED TO ENSLAVE THOSE WHO HEARD THEM” (Dict. of Christian Biography, vol. 4, p. 683).

The Dict. of Religion and Ethics had this to say about this cardinal doctrine of SIMON PATER. “Simon taught that the precepts of the law and the prophets were inspired by angels [lesser beings] in the desire to reduce men to slavery, but those who believed in him and Helen, since they were delivered from the sinister tyranny of the law, were free to act as they would. For men are saved by grace and not by good works. The antinomianism of the Simonians issued in LIBERTINE conduct and A COMPROMISE WITH HEATHENISM” (vol. 11, p. 518).

Let’s go on. “But he [Simon] promised that the world should be dissolved, and that those who were his own should be redeemed. And accordingly, HIS PRIESTS, Irenaeus tells us [yes, Simon established a priesthood], led lascivious lives, used magic and incantations, made philtres, HAD FAMILIAR SPIRITS by whose aid they were able to trouble with dreams those whom they would. They had IMAGES of Simon and Helen, in the forms respectively of JUPITER and MINERVA” (Dict. of Christian Biography, vol. 4, p. 683).

People who had demonistic powers as Simon were honoured as gods in the first century -- even sacrifices were offered to them. Does this seem unlikely? Then read Acts 14:11-13. After seeing the great miracles that Paul and Barnabas had done through the holy spirit, Luke says: “When the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercury.” Then the priest of Jupiter came out to offer them sacrifice.

Paul and Barnabas “rent their clothes” at such action. What would SIMON MAGUS have done? Or rather, what did Simon Magus do? He let the Roman Senate with the approval of the Emperor Claudius deify him as a god and erect a statue to him. And, the people who followed SIMON called him JUPITER -- at the same time calling themselves Christians. The statue that must have been dedicated to Simon was in the likeness of the chief god of the pagan world -- the god that desolated the Holy Place in YEHOVAH’s temple -- Jupiter Capitolinus.

The Hebrews honoured and regarded the number seven as recorded in YEHOVAH’s law -- that is, kept the seventh day, the seven holy days, etc. -- but Simon and his followers made a distinct change and honoured the number eight instead (i.e. the eighth day -- which becomes the first day of the week). See Ante-Nicean Fathers, vol. 7, p. 379.

The records regarding Simon’s death vary widely. Many of the stories try to incorporate some fiction from the Greek and Egyptian myths to enhance the reader’s interest in this fascinating character. But the earliest records say that he was buried in Rome after a long period of great honour and deification.

The place of burial for ALL prophets and holy men of the Romans was in the sacred cemetery on Vatican Hill. Notice what Werner Keller in his The Bible as History says about the so-called burial of the Catholics’ Peter. “On the night of his death on the cross Peter’s followers BURIED his body. As in the case of Jesus on the hill of Calvary it was wrapped in linen and secretly taken to a PAGAN BURIAL-GROUND on the Via Cornelia, behind the stone structure of the arena. This PAGAN CEMETERY lay on a knoll called VATICANUS: the Latin word ‘vatis’ means a ‘prophet’ or ‘SOOTHSAYER’. In days gone by there had been an Etruscan oracle on this spot” (p. 368).

While it is true that the Apostle Peter died and was buried in Rome, Keller ought to have better sense to know that this Peter buried in this cemetery, of all places, could NOT be the Apostle Peter. In the first place, Peter was a Judahite, and they had to be buried in their own cemeteries. And even if by a happen-chance a Judahite could be buried in a Roman cemetery, it is most unlikely that a Judahite -- especially one who attacked the Roman religion as the Apostle Peter did -- would ever have been allowed into the most holy of pagan cemeteries! This cemetery was reserved for prophets, soothsayers and the great ones of pagan Rome. It would be as sensible to say that Hitler could find a place of burial in Westminster Abbey. And too, can you imagine TRUE Christians searching out a PAGAN CEMETERY -- the chief one -- in which to bury the chief Christian Apostle, the inveterate enemy of PAGANISM?

This place, of all places, could not be the place of the Apostle Peter’s burial. But, there is really no better place for the burial of SIMON MAGUS. He had been, and was being, honoured as a god -- not only by the people of Rome, but even by the Emperor and the Senate.

Yes, Keller and his Catholic friends have undoubtedly found a SIMON, but not the Apostle Peter.

We have the record of history which tells us that Simon’s teaching spread like wildfire -- especially in Rome where he was honoured as a god. In fact, after going there he made that city his headquarters. But let us recall that the followers of Simon called themselves TRUE Christians.

Simon steadfastly adhered to this. In fact, it finally became the desired name for his followers to use. The names Simonians and Samaritans began to die out in the 2nd century A.D. Justin tells us that some were still going by the parent name in his day (152 A.D.). But by the time of Origen (220 A.D.), he states that there were hardly 30 people in the world which went by the parent name. Yet Eusebius, who lived about 100 years later, said they were indeed still numerous all over the world.

The fact is, they were divorcing themselves from the use of the name SIMON or Samaritans because by the 4th century their names were beginning to have an odious connotation to them. Nonetheless the Simonians were very much around -- this time with the name of “Christian.” And we have the exact testimony of Eusebius himself (325 A.D.) that these people were flocking into the Catholic Church.

Notice what Eusebius says, after stating that Simon Magus in the days of the Apostles received baptism and feigned Christian belief: “And what is more surprising, the same thing IS DONE EVEN TO THIS DAY by those who follow HIS most impure heresy. For they, after the manner of their forefather, SLIPPING INTO THE CHURCH, like a pestilential and leprous disease GREATLY AFFLICT THOSE [a great number of people] into whom they are able to infuse the deadly and terrible poison concealed in themselves” (Eccl. Hist., II, ch. I, sect. 12).

This is amazing testimony, for Eusebius is telling us that these people were now “Christians” and that they were corrupting the entire church as a pestilential disease which hits the whole body. Eusebius later maintains that the chief troublemakers were being expelled from the Catholic Church. But how could they expel all of them? Almost the whole church by this time was affected.

It is not to be supposed that all of the early heretical sects were direct branches of the Simon Magus religion. By the end of the first century there were at least 50 minor sects. The Simon Magus group represented several of these sects, but not all of them. The truth is, the Simonians, whose headquarters were at Rome, finally absorbed ALL these minor sects by the fifth century.

It is also true that even some of the Catholics (in Eusebius’ time) were unwilling to go all the way and accept the SIMON MAGUS doctrines of IMAGES, PICTURES, INCANTATIONS, etc., but within another hundred years, history shows the bars were let down completely.

But in Eusebius’ day, he even balked at their bringing outright images into the churches and worshiping them. Notice what he finally says of these “Christians” of SIMON: “Simon was the author of all heresy. From his time down to the present those who have followed his heresy have FEIGNED the sober philosophy of the Christians, which is celebrated among all on account of its purity of life. But they nevertheless have embraced again the superstitions of idols, which they seemed [ostentatiously] to have renounced; and they fall down before pictures and images of Simon himself and of the above-mentioned Helena who was with him [that is, the images of JUPITER and MINERVA -- the Catholics do exactly this today]; and they venture to worship them with incense and sacrifices and libations” (Eccl. Hist., II, 13, 6).

Eusebius is not talking about what he considers distinct heretics outside the Catholic Church. He is talking about the MAJOR group IN THAT CHURCH which was continually adding more and more on a large scale. He attributes these evils to the “Christians” who followed SIMON MAGUS. They were so active in his day INSIDE THE CHURCH as to give him grave concern.

Did the few Catholic leaders of the 4th century who abhorred outright IDOLATRY manage to persuade the masses to give it up and turn away from the SIMONIANS (now called Christians) who were the cause of it all?

The Simonian “Christians” won out. Imagery, idolatry and paganism became the Universal Church just as planned in the very beginning by SIMON MAGUS -- or by the Devil who possessed him.

Can we now understand why YEHOVAH God, through Luke, devotes a whole section of Acts to warn us of this man’s origin. He was NEVER a part of the Church of YEHOVAH God -- NEVER!! But he, and his followers -- from clear history -- have succeeded in bringing in their UNIVERSAL religion -- a pagan blend, called “Christian”!

While the book of Acts gives us the KEY which shows the beginnings of the false religious system under Simon Magus, it does not describe its activities in any great detail. The Acts, however, performs its purpose in exposing who started the whole mess. YEHOVAH God leaves it to the epistles, Revelation and also the Gospel of John to describe the heresy IN DETAIL. We are certainly NOT left in doubt concerning its abominable teachings.

There is hardly an epistle that does not mention the religion of Simon Magus. Even the scholars who have studied Church History have clearly seen that almost ALL of the references in the New Testament epistles exposing the errors in the first age of the Church are directed exclusively to Simon Magus, or his immediate followers.

Schaff‘s History of the Church says the following about Simon Magus and his doctrines: “Plain traces of this error appear in the later epistles of Paul (to the Colossians, to Timothy, and to Titus), the second epistle of Peter, the first two epistles of John, the epistle of Jude, and the messages of the Apocalypse to the seven churches."

But to single out the one Apostle who seems to have made the most deliberate and planned attack on the false Christianity of Simon Magus -- we must look to John.

Take his Gospel for instance. While he records a history of the Messiah’s ministry, he has an entirely different approach to the subject than the other three.

John wrote late. Times had changed. John knew that the teachings of the Messiah were being corrupted by a well-known plot to destroy the TRUTH. To understand John’s approach to his Gospel we must be aware of his endeavour to expose this false system which had arisen and was gaining momentum.

Notice how John constantly hits at the necessity of keeping the commandments of YEHOVAH God. Why? Because the false system was preaching LIBERTINE doctrines. Notice also John’s particular geographical settings for his Gospel. He was the one who mentions the Messiah’s meeting with the woman of Samaria. John is clearly striking home at something in this Samaritan incident that the Church of his time NEEDED to know.

All the other Gospels mention SAMARIA about five times, and even then only casually or in order to give a simple geographical indication. But, when we get to John, writing years after the others, he devotes more space to matters in SAMARIA than is done in all the rest of the New Testament put together. He had a definite and precise REASON for doing so.

John is noted for his plan of “tying up” or “capping off” the Gospel accounts of the Messiah so as to give the Church a well-rounded Gospel -- bringing in the extra points which were necessary for our knowing.

Also, John’s epistles are jam-packed with specific information regarding the conspiracy to overthrow the Truth. But yet, none of these works of John mentioned above represent his LAST efforts to warn the Church of that conspiracy which was very much present. John’s last witness to YEHOVAH‘s Church before his death was the book of Revelation.

The Messiah gave his last written message of WARNING of this system through John in Revelation! He tells us specifically the VERY NAMES OF THE SYSTEM TO WATCH in a remarkable and hidden way. Hidden, and yet SO PLAIN once the KEYS are understood. YEHOVAH God certainly does NOT leave His Church in the dark.

This book is perhaps the most important towards our study of SIMON MAGUS’ Christianity. Why? Three clear-cut reasons.

(1) The book of Acts gives us the PAST history of the Church. It tells us about Simon Magus who started the false system. Without the book of Acts identifying the MAN behind it all, the activities of that false system as recorded in the epistles becomes obscured and in some cases unintelligible. So, the book of Acts is vitally important!!

(2) The epistles then come on the scene, describing the false system. With the epistles, the incident of SIMON MAGUS in Acts represents dynamite!! Each section of Scripture is designed to fulfill specific duties. It is when we understand those duties that the Bible really makes sense.

(3) Now to the all-important book of Revelation. While Acts describes the beginning of the false system; the epistles nail down its doctrines and describe its activities; the Book of Revelation next comes to the foreground showing the false system’s PROPHETIC HISTORY THROUGH ALL ERAS OF THE CHURCH. We must remember that Revelation intends to show us “things which shall be hereafter.’’ This is its duty -- and it marvelously performs what it was intended to do.

This section of Revelation gives a big KEY. It describes a brief prophetic history of the Church until the coming of the Messiah. But also -- and this is important -- it continually shows the false system with which the TRUE Church would come in contact. Though different names are used to describe the corrupters of the Truth, careful study shows the Messiah is referring to ONE general false system -- perhaps with ramifications, but nevertheless ONE system which will counter the True Church in its entire history.

And in regard to this, the Messiah tells us in the plainest of words what people it will be who represent this false system. He tells us it will be SAMARITANS! That is, it will be Samaritans alias Christians or, plainly, the followers of SIMON MAGUS!

The Messiah gives us double witness of this identification in a most remarkable way. What He tells us in Acts of SIMON MAGUS being the beginning of the diabolical scheme, he reinforces by telling us in Revelation that Simon’s followers will make up the false system until the Messiah returns to this earth. Remember that Dr. Schaff, speaking of Simon Magus, says that “plain traces of this error appear in...the messages of the Apocalypse to the seven Churches.”

But before seeing these clear references, I must say that the material to follow would have been in the past classified as ABSURD in the extreme, but recent discoveries put a whole new complexion on the matter. Let us see.

The Messiah identifies the people behind the false system with several names, but these are simply different names of the same system. Notice this. In two distinct AGES of the Church we read of these people with a distinct description.

This is a promise for us today in YEHOVAH's Church. We also read of these false people called by this same name afflicting the Christians of the Smyrna church era (Rev. 2:9). The identification is repeated TWICE and both are describing conditions hundreds of years apart. Now the question remains: WHO ARE INTENDED? The answer is so clear. They are Samaritan-Christians, that is, the followers of SIMON MAGUS the Samaritan!

Look again at this verse “....which say they are Jews, and are not, but do LIE...”

If we would take that expression out of its Biblical context and, for example, place it into an ordinary secular work written in the first century, that expression could IDENTIFY only one people -- and especially if a Judahite were doing the writing: THE SAMARITANS.

The Samaritans were the only distinct people in the world in the first and second centuries who said they were Judahites, and yet were NOT Judahites and they knew it. The Samaritans were LIARS!!

Notice what Josephus said at the end of the first century -- just about the time John wrote Revelation. He is speaking of the Samaritan nation: “When the Jews are in adversity they [the Samaritans] deny that they are kin to them, and THEN THEY CONFESS THE TRUTH; but when they perceive that some good fortune hath befallen them, they immediately PRETEND to have commune with them, saying, that they belong to them, and desire their genealogy from the posterity of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh” (Antiquities, XI, 8, 6).

This is plain history! The Samaritans, if to their advantage, called themselves Judahites. But they were LIARS! They knew better. Their own records showed they came from Babylon and adjacent areas. This is exactly what the Old Testament says. They were clearly Gentiles.

Josephus continues about these Samaritans: “And when they see the Jews in prosperity, they PRETEND they are changed and allied to them, and call them kinsmen, as though they were derived from Joseph, and had by that means an original alliance with them; but when they see them falling into a low condition, they say that they are no way related to them, and that the Jews have no right to expect any kindness or marks of KINDRED from them, but they declare that they are sojourners, that come from OTHER countries” (Antiquities, IX, 14, 3).

Now this should begin to make sense. At the time of Simon Magus it was clearly an advantage to the Samaritan followers of Simon (and Simon himself) to call themselves JUDAHITES. Why? ALL the prophecies stated that the Messiah and Christianity would come from the Judahites. There was no way around this. So Simon went over to the time-honored custom of his Babylonian ancestors and contemporaries of calling themselves Judahites WHEN IT WAS TO THEIR ADVANTAGE.

The Judahites, however, never had any real association with these Babylonian imposters. Even when the Messiah discussed matters with the Samaritan woman at the well, she acknowledged -- with amazement because the Messiah, a Judahite, talked with her -- that “the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans” (John 4:9). But even though the Samaritans were Gentiles, they consistently lied about their origin when it was profitable to them.

This is made plain by the Messiah himself when he first sent forth the twelve. He charged them: “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 10:5, 6).

Pretty plain, isn’t it? The Apostles were to go to the Judahites and Israel -- but not to the Gentiles or Samaritans. The Samaritans were plainly Gentiles -- NOT Judahites!

With the foregoing in mind, let us now go back to the two identifying scriptures in Revelation. The whole matter becomes so plain when the KEY about Simon Magus and the Samaritan-Christian heresy is realized.

The synagogue of Satan are those “Samaritan-Christians” -- the followers of Simon Magus.

The phrase “which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie” could easily be set off by brackets for that is the way John intended it. He meant only one people -- the “Christian” Samaritans.

When we now look at the other indications about this heretical system, the Simon Magus (and followers) identification becomes exact. Look, for example, at the Ephesus Church era. Notice the group they had to counter.

Now, if we let the Bible be our guide in understanding this matter, it shows only one man who heretically sought an APOSTLESHIP and never repented of his desire to have that office -- it was Simon Magus. History shows us that Simon established his own “Christianity” with his own apostles.

And also, notice this important point. Compare the statements about the Samaritans -- “Which say they are JEWS, and are NOT, but do LIE" (Rev. 3:9) -- with our present scripture under discussion “which say they are APOSTLES, and are NOT, and hast found them LIARS” (Rev. 2:2).

The only differences are the words “JEWS” and “APOSTLES.” But -- if we get the point John is driving at -- he is saying that these people were calling themselves JEWISH APOSTLES, but that they were all LIARS.

It is well-known that the history of Simon and his religion is connected with the old Babylonian idea of the male and female religious principles. Simon’s Helen (alias Semiramis) figured high in his system.

It would seem odd if the book of Revelation didn’t mention something of the female side of the false system. However, the Messiah seems to emphasize the male portion of the system in six of the Church eras -- the genders are all masculine. But, when he comes to the Thyatira era, the Messiah switches remarkably to the female part. Yet, there are not different false systems being discussed, but only the various divisions of the ONE system.

It is when we come to Thyatira that we find the system described under the symbol of a woman -- the woman Jezebel. This analogy was deliberately chosen for many obvious reasons. Reasons so plain that John’s first century readers could not help but comprehend what he was talking about.

We must remember that John was writing to seven literal churches all contemporaneous with one another, and he was using language or symbols that they were acquainted with. We, of course, realize the prophetic meaning of the seven churches, but we know that John also had distinct and pertinent messages to the seven congregations which existed in his day. By keeping this obvious fact in mind, the real truth of what John was talking about is made clear to us today.

First, we notice that John says this "Jezebel” called “herself a prophetess” (Rev. 2:20). There must have been a particular false prophetess which had caused YEHOVAH’s servants to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed to idols. By looking on this “Jezebel” as having been contemporaneous with all the heresies of the other churches and that these heresies were in reality only ONE false system which originated with Simon Magus -- we can then easily see that this “Jezebel” can be equated with the “Female Principle” which Simon introduced into his “Christianity.” None other than Simon’s Helen -- the reclaimed temple prostitute from Tyre. Helen WAS a prostitute -- what better type of person is there who could so expertly “teach" and “seduce my servants to commit fornication,” literally as well as spiritually?

Simon Magus came in contact with a priestess of Tyre who had been a temple prostitute. The Samaritans worshiped SUCCOTH-BENOTH who was the goddess VENUS. Her devotees continually prostituted themselves. It was their religious duty to do so.

This woman was overawed by Simon’s demonistic power and was persuaded to follow him -- to live with him -- to become the female principle, the necessary counterpart to his claim as being a type of male deity. Relative to this, the Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 25, p. 126, quoting from Justin states: “And almost all the Samaritans and a few among the other nations, acknowledge and adore him as the first god. And one Helen, who went about with him at the time, who before had had her stand in a brothel, they say was the First Thought that was brought into being by him.”

This is interesting because Justin was himself a Samaritan -- born and reared in the country. He certainly knew his people’s native traditions and teachings. What he says agrees exactly with the New Testament revelation of how the Samaritans regarded Simon. They actually called him the “great power of God” (Acts 8:10). It is because of this that they believed him to have creative powers. He himself said he created Helen, his female companion whom he later elevated to a goddess.

What blasphemy!! But this is what he taught everywhere he went -- and under the guise of Christianity.

There always had to be the Man and Woman divinities in paganism. Or, to make it plain, Nimrod and Semiramis.

Now notice what the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics says about this teaching of Simon which he took to Rome and they accepted: “The original of Simon’s Helen is the moon-goddess of Syria and Babylonia. In the Clementine Recognitions Helena is always translated ‘Luna.’ The theory that Simon was accustomed to borrow from paganism IS CORROBORATED by the assertion of the Fathers that he and Helena were worshipped by their sect with the attributes of ZEUS and ATHENE and received the cult-title ‘Lord’ and ‘Lady’ (i.e. our Lord and our Lady)” (ibid. p. 518).

As stated before, it was Simon’s plan to bring about a UNIVERSAL religion under the powerful name of Christianity. Remember that Simon NEVER gave up the Christian name.

His followers were called Christians. In amalgamating the pagan Babylonian religious beliefs with Christianity, he placed himself at the head -- the personification of the chief pagan gods of old, and Helen as his companion in creation, the personification of the female deities. The name Helena for his consort fit his plan exceptionally well.

How important these observations are, for Osiris was clearly Nimrod and Isis was Semiramis. Thus, Simon Magus said that he had been the power that motivated Nimrod and that Helen was Semiramis -- the Queen of Heaven.

Now let us carefully note that Simon brought his “Female Principle” from the City of TYRE. And who was the original Jezebel -- the woman who seduced Israel to worship BAAL? She was the daughter of the king of the Sidonians whose capital city was TYRE. (I Kings 16:31). The original Jezebel was also from TYRE.

And not only that, Helen claimed herself to be the creation of Simon -- that it was Simon who brought her into existence (Ency. Britannica, vol. 25, p. 126). She was, in a sense, the daughter of Simon. But, the original Jezebel WAS THE LITERAL DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF TYRE (I Kings 16:31).

With all of these things in mind, we can see why John hits hard at the Samaritans in his Gospel as well as the book of Revelation. He was the only Gospel writer who mentions the incident of the Samaritan woman at the well. He saw it absolutely necessary by his time, for doing so.

Actually, the whole incident at the well is of relative unimportance if it were simply put there to show us that the Messiah could perceive that the woman had had five husbands. But there was MUCH more to it than that. If we will carefully notice what the conversation between this Samaritan woman and the Messiah was, we will see that John is giving the DEATH BLOW to the claims of the “Christian” -- Samaritans of his day -- the anti-Christ system.

Since these false Christians DID NOMINALLY REGARD the Messiah as the (or perhaps better) A founder of the “Christian Church,” John tells them what Yeshua informed the Samaritan woman.

The Messiah meant by those words that the Samaritans were NOT worshiping the True God at all. They were worshiping something foreign to the God of the Bible. It was the Devil.

We can see why John saw the necessity of explaining what the Messiah really said on this matter. Yeshua said the JEWS (Judahites) would give forth salvation, NOT the Samaritans -- and he was even talking to a Samaritan at the time. John put this here primarily to show that Simon Magus, the Samaritans and his followers, were in COMPLETE error in their grandiose claims.

And to further emphasize the true Messiahship of Yeshua -- who was a Judahite -- John records that one whole city even of the Samaritans recognized Yeshua as the Messiah (vs. 39-42). He was showing that some of the people in Simon’s own home-ground knew that the Messiah and the Judahites were responsible for salvation.

John tells us that the woman at the well had FIVE husbands. This is to be taken literally, but isn’t it remarkable that the original Babylonian tribes which became the Samaritans were FIVE in number -- and they each brought their false deities with them. Thus, according to the figurative language of the Old Testament, these Samaritans -- who claimed to be worshippers of YHVH -- were in reality, like the woman at the well, committing adultery with FIVE spiritual “husbands.”

NOTE: For a more detailed expose write for or download the article, SIMON MAGUS and the Origins of the Catholic Church!

Also, be sure to write for or download our companion articles, Did the Apostle Peter EVER Visit Rome? and When Did the Apostle Peter Meet His Death?

Hope of Israel Ministries -- Proclaiming the Good News of the Soon-Coming Kingdom of YEHOVAH God!

Hope of Israel Ministries
P.O. Box 853
Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A.
www.hope-of-israel.org

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