When Paganism Got Baptized

Chapter 1 – How It Began

2002 Pastor Tony Cirigliano 

       Have you ever heard of the disease called amnesia? If you had this rare disease, you would not know where to go from here. You wouldn't know where you lived. It is only because we understand and remember the past that we know what we are to do in the present. This is especially true in the area of religion. Today we see so many different denominations, with different beliefs, and with different days of worship. Some people go to church on Saturday, some on Sunday. In fact, there are over 275 different Christian denominations! Some teach one thing, some other things. In this chapter, I would like to take you back into the past to find out what has been going on in the area of religion on planet earth. Now I warn you, it might be surprising to find out that what is commonly taught and believed among Christians today may not be from the Bible or from God!

       In Revelation chapter 12, verses 7 through 9 it is written: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and His angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Verse 7 says that war began "in heaven." Satan and his host were defeated and cast to the earth. And verse 9 says that Satan, while on earth, deceives the whole world!

       Now when the devil was cast to the earth, he led Adam and Eve into sin, this we know from the Word of God. And after man sinned, the Lord gave a promise of a Redeemer to come. In Genesis 3:15, it says: “And 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” Now the devil listened to these words also about a Redeemer to come. He heard that salvation would come to the human race through a Child that would be born of a woman. Right there he knew what he would do to deceive the whole world! He would counterfeit this great event! And dear reader, you will learn that in so doing, he has deceived the whole world!

       Let's allow the Word of God to uncover this fiendish plot. In Genesis 10:1, it is written:  “Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah; Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. Now let’s go to verses 6 - 9. “And the sons of Ham (were); Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan and the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Ramaah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Ramaah; Sheba and Dedan. And Cush begot Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 9 he was a mighty hunter before Yahweh: wherefore it is said, ‘even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before Yahweh.’” Verse 10 tells us that the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom was the city of Babel or Babylon. Babylon was built by Nimrod, the great grandson of Noah. Verse 9 tells us that Nimrod was a mighty hunter “before Yahweh.” But the word that is translated "before" in the King James Version is the Hebrew word "pawneh," and it literally means "against!" Nimrod was against Yahweh, the God of heaven!

       Nimrod's escapades as a hunter became legend. He was looked upon as a super hero, a super man – the first celebrity! But he was against the Lord! In fact, in chapter 11 of Genesis, we see how this Nimrod ordered a giant tower to be built, the Tower of Babel! The reason may have been to escape another flood if God should send one! Rather than obey God, they wanted to go on sinning but protect themselves in case another flood should be sent from the Lord! Or possibly Nimrod thought he could reach to heaven itself, save himself by his own works, or maybe to worship the sun, moon and stars with his tower! Whatever the reason for building this tower, it was an evil one for the Lord stopped the work by confusing the languages of the people of Babylon, and they were scattered all over the earth. This was where the many different languages came from!

       Now it was at Babylon that Satan began to work out his devilish plan to counterfeit the true worship of the Godhead, and the true plan of salvation. Books on ancient history tell us exactly what happened. For proof of much of what I am saying today I recommend the book The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop who spent his entire life studying and documenting these things! It's an out of print book, but you can still obtain copies of it if you look around a little, or order it from your Christian bookstore.  

     Nimrod married a very beautiful, but also a very evil woman named Semiramus. This mighty hunter and his beautiful wife were the first royal couple. He was the king of Babylon, and she was his queen. The people began to worship Nimrod and Semiramus as if they were gods. It was like what some people do today with celebrities or princes and princesses – some who are called screen goddesses, or rock idols, etc. Nimrod was so evil, that legend has it that his great uncle Shem ordered his execution.

       When Nimrod was murdered, his wife Semiramus was left with a large kingdom, and also a large dilemma. How could she maintain her hold over this Babylonian kingdom with Nimrod gone? No doubt inspired by the devil, one day Semiramus called all the people of Babylon together for what we might call today a press conference! She told them that Nimrod, after his death had come back to life and had gone to live in the sun. They could still worship him by worshipping the sun. She told them how his new role would be benefactor of the human race. Each evening when the sun set, Nimrod would go under the earth to battle the subterranean creatures and evil spirits that otherwise would overrun the earth. Each day when they saw a red Sunrise, it would be an indication of the bloody battle Nimrod had fought to protect them. Each morning they were to make their offerings and prayers to the sun. Dear reader, as incredible as this sounds, this is how sun worship began! We will see that the Bible is literally filled with condemnations against this very sun worship!

       You might say, "How could people be so gullible to believe that story about Nimrod?" Well, how can people be so gullible today to believe in the power of crystal glass, and astrology columns, or the power of pyramids? And they do this today, in 2002! Friends, when people depart from god's word, they will believe anything! Sun worship is still very much alive, and the mother earth worship of the new age is the same old devilish religion started in ancient Babylon!

       One Spring, not many years after Nimrod's death, the beautiful Semiramus was found to be with child. She then called the people together and told them an amazing story. Nimrod, the sun god had impregnated her through the rays of the sun. The child that she was carrying was half human, and half divine! This child was born in late December, some say on December 25th, but we don't know that for sure. In fact, many of the non-Christian customs like the drunken revelry we see during the Christmas season originated back there in the celebration of the birth of Semiramus' child. The devil always has a counterfeit for the real thing, and I do believe that Jesus was born in late December! You’ll have to read my little booklet on Christmas Revisited to find out why!

       Semiramus' child was named Tammuz, and he was looked upon as deity become flesh! Here was the beginning of the counterfeit of the incarnation of Christ! Remember that Satan was listening to God's word in the Garden of Eden when the Lord said that salvation would come through a child, so he counterfeited this great event, and in so doing, he deceived the whole world, as we will see!

  Chapter 2 – The Plot Thickens

      Because of her story, and the birth of her child Tammuz, they began to call Semiramus, the “mother of god,” and the "Queen of Heaven." Tammuz was greatly loved by the people. Tammuz had a strange death. Legend has it that he was killed by a wild boar while trying to save a friend. Because he was worshipped by the people, his death caused great sorrow in the land. The people viewed his death as a sacrificial one. So here was the son of the sun god dying to save others. Do you see how the devil was counterfeiting the plan of salvation – centuries before Jesus was born? Satan was working out his plan to counterfeit the great plan of salvation, and he was creating a false savior as we shall see!

     It was believed that when Tammuz died, he went to live among the stars. Later, when Semiramus herself died, she had told the people she would go and live in the moon. From this counterfeit and unholy trinity of Nimrod, Semiramus and Tammuz, came the idea that the sun, the moon, and the stars and planets control our lives and destinies! Modern astrology is just old sun worship disguised! I hope no one reading these words believes in astrology or reads the astrology columns in the newspapers! The Bible says in Isaiah 47:13-14 that astrologers will burn "like stubble"! Brothers and sisters, this system of false worship grew into the devil's masterpiece of deception that has literally deceived the whole world!

       In different parts of the world, this unholy trinity took on different names. The Egyptians called the sun god Nimrod "Ra." The Assyrians called him "Baal," and the Bible is full of references to Baal worship!  The Canaanites called him "Moloch," and the Bible speaks about the children of Israel offering their children to Moloch.  In Leviticus 20, verse 2, it is written: “Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, 'whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Moloch; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones."' Yahweh, the God of heaven, did not want any of His people's children to die needlessly in this pagan worship! The Persian name for Nimrod was "Mithras." The Greeks called him "Helios," and the Romans called him "Sol Invictus,- the unconquerable sun."

       Another ancient Sumerian name for Nimrod was Anu. The Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th Edition, Volume 1, p. 432 states this: "Anu was associated with the city of Erech in southern Babylonia. . Anu was regarded as the god of the heavens." Notice that the encyclopedia mentioned the city of Erech. This was a city mentioned in Genesis 10:10 along with Babel as cities built by Nimrod. These cities were the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom! This is clear evidence that Nimrod was ca1led by other names in different parts of the world as this masterpiece of deception spread all over the world!

Chapter 3 – Sun Worship – What Was It Like?

       Now what was the worship of the sun god like? Suppose a person was a sun worshipper in those days, how would he or she worship? Well friends, we don't need to guess about this! Archaeology has given us sufficient information to accurate reconstruct a reliable account of what ancient Babylonian sun worship was like. If you want reference for this, I point you to pages 160 through 207 in the book Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop.

       If you were a sun worshipper living in ancient Babylon, many centuries before Christ was born, you would go to the pagan temple on the holy day of the sun god, a day called "Sunday." In fact, the names of the week come from planetary worship. Monday was originally called "moon-day." Mars or “Tiu's Day” became Tuesday. “Woden's Day” became Wednesday. Jupiter, also called "Thor" had a day called “Thor's Day” which became Thursday. “Frida's Day” became Friday and “Saturn's Day” became Saturday. In fact, if you look up the word "Sunday" in Unger's Bible Dictionary, it plainly states that the name of the day comes from ancient sun worship! Here is a quote from this book under the subject "Sunday." "Sunday is the first day of the week, adopted from the Roman calendar because it was dedicated to the worship of the sun."

       How would you worship if you were part of Nimrod's church? As I said, you would go on a Sunday to a large hill or "high place" as the Bible calls it, where there was an elaborate temple. At the door of that temple, you would meet a priest of the sun god.  He would be dressed in a long black robe that almost touched the floor. around his neck would be a string with a huge "T" for Tammuz. you would bow before him to show your respect, and even though he was a bachelor, you would call him "father". He would bless you by tracing the letter 'T'  in the air - again for Tammuz. On page 197 of the book The Two Babylons,  we find this written: "The same sign of the cross that Rome now worships was used in the Babylonian mysteries, and was applied by paganism...(and) was the mystic Tau of the Chaldeans and Egyptians--the true original form of the letter "T''- the initial of the name of  Tammuz."

     Inside the temple as you entered, you would dip your hand in "holy water" and again trace a "T" on your forehead or chest. Then, to prepare for the “mis,” the sacred mysteries, from which the word "mass" is derived, you would go into a box, or "confessional." They have actually found these ancient confessionals. The people would go inside them to confess their sins to the priest of the sun god! From the book The Two Babylons,  page.9, "In the Babylonian system, secret confession to the priest, according to a prescribed form, was required of all who were admitted into the 'mysteries', and until such confession was made, no complete initiation could take place." After you did that, the priest of the sun would trace another "T" in the air and say that you were absolved or purified from your sins and that you were ready to take part in the mass!  Archaeologists have found t shaped crosses all over the temples and in the homes of the people of ancient Babylon. This was many centuries before Jesus Christ was born!

       While sitting in the pew waiting for the "miss" or "mass" to begin, you would count your prayers on a string of beads! In the book The Two Babylons, on page 187, we find this written: "The rosary, however, is no invention of the papacy. It is of the oldest antiquity, and almost universally found among pagan nations." As the service began, the priest would enter from the back with the Sodomites  on each side (young boys sexually used by the ancient priests!) We have heard a lot in recent years about former altar boys suing the priest who molested them!) Well, this happened long ago in ancient Babylon. This was where the practice of altar boys originated! In 2 Kings chapter 23, in verse 7, it tells how Hilkiah the high priest broke down the houses of the Sodomites!

       The ancient Babylonian priests would carry a golden box full of round wafers shaped like the sun. This is documented in The Two Babylons, on page121. The altar boys would ring a bell, and each time a bell was rung, the participants in the miss would strike their breast. At the front of the temple, on the altar would be a huge sunburst. The priest of the sun-god would place one of the  wafers in the middle of this sunburst, then hold it up before the people. St. Peter's cathedral in Rome has these sunbursts above the altar. In the mass, the sun priest would say a few magic words that were supposed to transform the sun shaped wafer into the actual body of the sun god! Then as the high point of the miss or mass, these wafers were given to each participant to eat. By so doing, the participants believed they were receiving power from the sun god. Dear reader, what I am telling you is fact, not fiction! You can look up these things for yourself!

     Does this form of worship remind you of any that exists today? It reminds me of a system of Christian religion that still exists today, and I can speak about it because I was in that system of false worship for 26 years of my life! Dear reader, the religion of every nation on earth has been affected by this false sun worship! Remember that in the Bible Book of Revelation, we were told that the devil would "deceive the whole world, and indeed he has!

      The American Indians were sun worshippers, so were the South American Indians. It was the religion of the ancient Incas, and of the ancient Druids of England. It was the religion of the islands of the Pacific, and in India, Japan, and China. If you are familiar, or study into, the present forms of Buddhism or Hinduism, you will find  the resemblance to ancient sun worship strong and unmistakable! Hislop in the book The Two Babylons  proves that both Hinduism and Buddhism both originated in ancient sun worship! Many do not realize that a great majority of the peoples of ancient Europe were sun worshippers. Hislop hoped that his painstaking life work of documenting this thing would warn Christians of the danger of a compromised Christianity. He prayed and hoped that the results of his study would be preached and taught by Christian pastors and teachers. I thank him for his research, and he, though dead, yet speaketh to us! His works followed after him. The Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy bear out these truths that we need to know about for the crisis of the ages will soon break upon the world like an overwhelming surprise!

Chapter 4 – God’s Warfare Against This False Worship

       I want you to take note the Lord waged a fierce warfare against this false religion all through the history of the Bible. Over and over the Lord’s people were poisoned by this false system of  worship, and Yahweh, the God of heaven waged a battle against it!

       Because this false worship involved human sacrifices, and also because it taught that salvation could be had by doing things to appease God's wrath, the Lord considered this false worship especially odious!  Every pagan religion had at its core the idea that works plus faith secures salvation! The fallen church even today teaches this mixture of faith and works to gain salvation. The devil has been trying to slip this idea into Christianity for centuries - since the time of the apostle Paul! Those who feel that they must earn God's love by being perfect, or by perfectly obeying all God's requirements on their own have also been deceived by Babylon the Great's wine! Dear reader, salvation cannot be gained by merit, or by works of the law! Salvation is by faith in the already completed atonement made by Jesus Christ! The Holy Bible says He has already reconciled the world unto Himself. (See 2 Corinthians 5:16.) Those only who by faith accept this atonement will be saved! Then, the fruit of the truly converted heart will be a love relationship with God that is revealed by loving obedience to His Word and His law! Jesus said, "If you love me, then keep My commandments!"  John 14:15. It also tells us in 1 John chapter 5, verse 3 what love for God is. It says, "For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome."

       Remember when the Israelites caused Aaron to make them the golden calf, and how all the people partied around it? The calf was a symbol of fertility, and it was used in pagan sun worship as a representation of the sun's reproductive power. The people of God had been in Egypt for 400 years, and there they learned sun worship from the Egyptians. Even today, in India, cows are still considered sacred as they were in ancient sun worship!

       A few years after the golden calf incident, a similar thing happened. In the book of Numbers, in chapter 25, verses 3-5, it is written: “And then Israel joined themselves unto Baalpeor: And the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel. 4 And Yahweh the Lord said unto Moses, take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before Yahweh against the sun, that the fierce anger of Yahweh the Lord may be turned away from Israel. And Moses said unto  the judges of Israel, "Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal, and those that died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.” The Lord said, "If they want to worship the sun, then hang them in front of the sun!” The God of heaven hated this evil worship that was filled with sodomites, temple prostitutes, child sacrifices, and other evil perversions!

       Elijah the prophet had to deal with this false religion. In 1 Kings, chapter 18, in verses 19-21, it is written: “Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table, 20 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel 21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, 'How long halt ye between two opinions? If Yahwah be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word". Then the Lord miraculously showed that He was the true God by sending fire to burn up Elijah's sacrifice. And look at what happened as recorded in verse 40 of 1 Kings 18: "And Elijah said unto them, 'Take the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape.' And they took them and Elijah brought them to the brook Kishon, and slew them there."  

       Dear reader, over and over the Lord had to deal with this sun worship that threatened to poison the true worship of the Godhead. Josiah also had to deal with this false worship. In 2 Kings, chapter 23, verses 5-7, it is written: "And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the hosts of heaven. 6 And he brought out the grove from the house of Yahweh, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.   7 And he brake down the houses of the Sodomites   that were by the house of Yahweh, where the women wove hangings for the grove.” Notice in verse 5, that they worshipped the sun, the moon, and the planets! They also had sodomites as we mentioned earlier!

       Jeremiah the prophet had to deal with this same false and insidious worship. In Jeremiah chapter 7, verses 16-20, the Word of God says: "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to Me: for I will not hear thee. 17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger. 19 Do they provoke me to anger? Saith Yahweh: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; ‘Behold, Mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.” Notice that they made cakes to the queen of heaven! This was Semiramus - not Mary Jesus’ mother!

       Perhaps one of the most startling passages of Scripture regarding sun worship is found in the eighth chapter of Ezekiel. In chapter 8, and verse 5 it says: “Then said He unto me, "Son of man, lift up thine eyes toward the north." So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the North, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry." Notice that the lord mentions an "image of jealousy." This image was an obelisk. It was a symbol of the male reproductive organ, and was used in pagan sun worship! In ancient sun worship temples, this image was always placed in the courtyard of the temple directly opposite the altar at the entrance way the temple. Dear reader, did you know that the very same obelisk mentioned in Ezekiel was transported to Rome and is now in Saint Peter's square today with a cross on top of it? In the book Babylon, Mystery religion, on pages 32 & 33, the author Ralph Woodward writes this: “Caligula, in 37 A.D. had the obelisk now at the Vatican brought from Heliopolis, Egypt, to the Circus at Vatican Hill, where now stands Saint Peters. In 1586, in order to center it in front of the church in St. Peter's Square, it was moved to its present location by order of Pope Sixtus V. The very same obelisk that once stood at the ancient temple which was the center of paganism, now stands before the mother church of Romanism! This seems more than a mere  coincidence.”

        Now let’s take a look at Ezekiel 8 again. It might be good for you to pause and get your Bible so that the full impact of these verses might be understood! In verses 13 & 14, it is written: “He said also unto me, ‘Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.’ 14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Yahweh's house which was toward the north;  and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz..” Who were these women weeping for? They were weeping for Tammuz - Semiramus' son! The false savior we talked about!! This is where the 40 days of lent came from! Now look at verses 15 & 16. "Then said he unto me, 'Hast thou seen this, O son of man?’ Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.'  16 And he brought me into the inner court of Yahweh's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of Yahweh, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward the temple of Yahweh, and their faces towards the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east." Here they were worshipping the sun in the temple of Yahweh! Just like today, false religion had crept into the church and corrupted the true worship of the Godhead!  The devil hadn’t changed his tactics much!

        In verse 18, the Lord says: “Therefore will I also deal in fury: Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in Mine ears in a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.” The people had been deceived just like many are deceived today! Only God’s Word can teach us the truth!

Chapter 5 – The Devil’s Masterpiece of Deception!

       Over and over again, the devil tried to infiltrate the true worship of God. He tried to mingle pagan worship with the true worship! Again and again, the God of heaven had to sweep this evil from his people by bloody purges. But the devil never stopped trying to do this. It happened again, the worst and most far reaching time of all in the days of ancient Rome. Rome became the center of sun worship. Centuries after Christ, misguided men thought it  would be a good thing to bring some of the pagan practices into the Christian church. They thought it would help convert the pagans. And the same thing that happened in Moses day, in  Josiah's day, in Elijah's day, and in Jeremiah's and Ezekiel's time happened again! The church at Rome brought pagan practices into its worship, and a new kind of religion was  formed, half pagan, and half Christian! It was as if paganism got baptized!

       Because Rome was the greatest city of the world at that time, Rome's bishop was looked upon as the head of all bishops, and Rome forced its authority on the other churches, and paganism spread throughout all of Christendom! Dear reader, this same strange, half pagan, and half Christian religion exists today in the Church of Rome. Now I want to say something here. Most of my family are Roman Catholics. I myself was a Roman Catholic. There are wonderful people in the Catholic Church, and indeed in all churches. The lord will judge each person by their heart and what they know! I am not condemning people, but rather, a system, a system of false worship that the Lord hates!

       Friends, am I being unfair when I say that the Roman Catholic Church has brought pagan practices into Christianity? No! Because the Roman Catholic Church says the same thing herself! Here is a quote from Cardinal Newman's book The Development of Christian Doctrine,  found on pages 371-373: “Confiding then in the power of Christianity to resist the infection of evil, and to transmute the very instruments and appendages of demon worship to an evangelical use... The rules of the church from early times were prepared, should the occasion arise, to adopt, or imitate, or sanction the existing rites and customs of the populace, as well as the philosophy of the educated class... We are told in various ways by Eusebius, that Constantine, in order to recommend the new religion to the heathen, transferred into it the outward adornments to which they had been accustomed in their own pagan  religion...incense, lambs and candles, holy water...holydays and seasons,.. are all of pagan origin, and sanctified by their adoption into the church."

       Dear reader, the Church of Rome admits that they have baptized paganism! The Roman Catholic periodical Catholic World,  of March, 1894 had a very interesting quote. Here it is: "The church took the pagan philosophy and made it the buckler of faith against the Heathen...She took the pagan Sunday and made it the Christian Sunday...There is, in truth, something royal, kingly about the sun, making it a fit emblem for Jesus, the Sun of Justice hence the church, in these countries, would seem to have said, 'keep that old pagan name. It shall remain consecrated, sanctified.' and thus, the pagan Sunday, dedicated to Baal, became the Christian Sunday, sacred to Jesus." P.809. This is how Sunday sacredness began! There is not a verse in the bible that tells you or me to go to church on Sunday! Rome admits that she took the pagan Sunday and baptized it into Christianity making it the day of worship! This is done without Scriptural authority!

       It is interesting that in the book of Revelation, this great system of apostate Christianity is called "Babylon The Great, the mother of harlots"!  This is because the customs and practices of  ancient Babylonian sun worship came into the Christian church through this system of false worship! So you see, this great counterfeit religion that began with Nimrod has infiltrated every religion on earth!  

       Another name for Tammuz was "Zoraster" from "zero" which means "seed" and "astar" which means "woman". Thus, he was called the "seed of the woman"- the same name the Lord called His Son as recorded in Genesis 3:15!  Semiramus and Tammuz were worshipped as  mother and child, and statues of them were set up everywhere. In Egypt they were called Isis and Osiris. In India they were known as Isa and Iswara. In Rome they were called Fortuna and Jupiter. In Asia, they were called Cybele and Decius. In the book The Two Babylons, on page 220, we find  this written: “Every scholar knows that when the worship of Cybele the Babylonian goddess was introduced into pagan Rome, it was introduced in its primitlve form, with its celebate clergy.” So you see, celibacy, the forbidding of marriage by priests, came from ancient Babylon! Celibacy is still practiced in China, Tibet, Japan, and other oriental religions besides the Roman Catholic Church! The apostle Peter himself had a wife! Yet Rome claims that Peter was the first pope! It is interesting that Roman Catholic missionaries were surprised when they entered pagan lands to find statues of mother and child worshipped and set up! They renamed these statues Mary and baby Jesus!

       Mary, no doubt was a holy woman, but she was never worshipped by the early church. But Semiramus was worshipped in ancient Babylon. Rome calls Mary a "Mediatrix". But the Bible says that there is only one mediator between God and man, and that is Jesus Christ! Mary worship did not become a doctrine of Rome's until 431 A.D. at the council of Ephesus. It was at Ephesus that Paul had to deal with  the worship of Semiramus under another name – there  she was known as "Diana of the Ephesians"! In Acts 19:27-28, it is written "So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth." And when they heard these sayings, they were all full of wrath, and cried out saying, "great is Diana of the Ephesians!"  They were angry because Paul preached against this goddess worship! Ministers today ought to preach against it too! Today Mary worship has replaced the worship of Diana of the Ephesians! The Roman Church teaches that Mary must intercede for us to soften Jesus' heart. In the Catholic Digest of October, 1991, on page 35, states: "We go to Christ through Mary."  Whary, in his book Church History wrote: "Christianity became the established religion in the Roman Empire and took the place of paganism. Christianity as it existed in the dark ages might be termed baptized paganism."

       Many men of God tried to fight against this system with its false doctrines. Men like Huss and Jerome were burned at the stake because they preached against these errors! 50 million people were put to death at the hand of the fallen church! They were called heretics because they refused to obey Rome’s decrees and adhere to her errors!  They would rather believe the Word of God! The important question for us today is not, "What is politically correct?", or  "What is popular and safe to teach and preach?” The question is "What does our heavenly Father think about this mixture of paganism with His true worship?" Dear reader, how did He feel about it in Moses time, and in Elijah’s time, in Jeremiah's time, and in Ezekiel's time, and in Paul's time? He hated it with a perfect hatred! And the Bible says that the Lord does not change! He still hates false worship! Do you see why friends, I wrote at the beginning that "If we understand the past, then we will know the present, and what we must do in the future!”

       A worldwide colossal hoax has been perpetrated upon the entire world just like the Bible book of Revelation said! The devil has deceived “the whole world.” The devil is behind this great counterfeit system of religion with its false formula for salvation by faith plus works, its false sabbath, its false baptism of infants, and its other false doctrines! God has given the Seventh-day Adventist Church a message to warn the world about the beast and his mark!  In Revelation, chapter 18, verse 4 it is written: "And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.’" You see dear readers, Yahweh – the God of heaven is calling people out of Babylon - out of religious confusion and false doctrine! He has people in all faiths, and He wants them to come out and to be separate from false religion. “Come out of her my people" is the cry from God!

       Did you know that legend has it that Semiramus invented death by crucifixion! Jesus died on a cross to save us from sin and death! Dear reader, no other Savior will do! Lies won't do! A false gospel won't do! Only Jesus and his truth saves! The Lord says, "I hate every false way!"

For more copies of this book. Write to Gospel Worker Fellowship, 887 Seven Oaks Road, Boone, NC 28607. or call 877-82807432. You can also e-mail and order by sending it to pastortony@msn.com  The books cost $3 each. For free Bible studies call 877-828-7432 or visit online at http://mountainchurches.com