25th of December
Today, December 25th, Roman Catholic Church. But was Jesus really born on the 25th of December, ? In Babylon, Tammuz was worshipped in the form of a child,
“Born on December 25th, . , “Baal-,” or lord of the fir-tree. The word “yule” is a Babylonian word . December 25th, . December 25th. Other names applied to the sun-god as a child Mithra, Horus, Isvara, Deoius, Jupiter, Plutus, Ninus, Osiris, Dionysus, Bacchus, Iacchus, Adonis, Attis, etc. All mythology involving child worship is a reflection of ancient Babylonian customs”.
(The Great Controversy, Ellen White, from the new illustrated section by Jim Arrabito, Laymen For Religious Liberty, 1990, Florida, USA).
“There is no logical reason to giving the name, “Yule-day” (Christmas) to a holiday commemorating Jesus’ birthday, as this word is the Chaldean or Babylonian word for “infant” or “little child”. It is referring to Tammuz, the incarnation of the sun god, who was born on the winter solstice. The 25th of December was Tammuz’s birthday. We call this day, “Yule-day” (Christmas day) after inheriting it from the Anglo-Saxons. Several centuries before Jesus was born, this celebrated as the birth of the sun god the entire world, in Babylon (Tammuz), Persia (Mithra), Egypt (Horus), Greece (Dionysus), Scandinavia (Balder) . , ( Roman religion around the year 270), the 25th of December was celebrated as the birthday of the sun with grand celebrations and games. The first Christians kept away from this pagan feast day. It was not until the middle of the fourth century, that the day was first celebrated in Rome as the birthday of Jesus. (Just as with the adoption of pagan idol worship into the Christian church, these holidays maintained their practice and meaning, but merely underwent a name change). Two great festivals were of particular importance within sun worship. That was the summer and winter solstice, both times of the year when the sun is farthest from the equator. The midsummer festival, that was celebrated on the 24th of June (the longest day of the year), was kept to the sun on the day which it had “it’s full maturity”. The dead were , and by they built large fires. Apart from “walking through ” over red hot ashes, every contestant was forgiven for their sins committed against the highest deity. After the the days grew gradually shorter, and the sun was looked upon as dying. But by the winter this changed, and the 25th of December was therefore reckoned to be the birthday of the sun, and the day the sun god was reborn. Henceforth the sun began to grow again. Sun worshippers thought they could help the sun in this process. They lit lights and fires so that the sun could regain light… Christmas celebrations have nothing to do with but are a tradition deeply rooted in heathenism. It is not the birthday of Jesus that , but Tammuz, , . sneaked its way into Christianity, under the label of “tradition” today. But this trademark is not good enough in God’s eyes. Human commands and can never make up for disregarding or replacing the commandments God has given. God said through the prophet Isaiah, “ honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” (Mark 7:6-7)”
(Obadiah, (Norwegin magazine) no. 6, August 2000).
“
(The Power of Music, Tore Sognefest, 2000).
To eat god
“The communion, or mass of the Catholic Church does not accurately represent the biblical ceremony which the Protestants call, “The Lord’s Supper”. A series of pagan elements from primitive idolatry have been adopted into the Catholic grotesque and idolatrous ceremony. The Catholic Church builds much of its philosophy concerning the mass, on the thought that Christ’s death on the cross was an offering to appease God. This is a terrible deception. It was in the pagan religions that man attempted to appease their gods with sacrifices. The New Testament tells us that Christ’s sacrifice was a gift to man from God… When Jesus told the disciples, “this is my body and this is my blood”, we are to interpret His statement in line with the rest of the Bible. The Catholic Church does not do this, making these clearly symbolic words rigid, applying them . The Catholic Church claims that the wine and the bread, by some mystical process of , is transformed into Christ’s actual and literal flesh and blood. The explanation the Church gives is that this transformation is and completely real and that the bread even contains Christ’s bones, nerves, spirit soul… , the Catholic . The symbolism that Jesus offered is transformed into an idolatrous ceremony in harmony with the Ancient Babylonian religion. But some may sincerely enquire, Doesn’t Jesus say, “This is my flesh”? But when a Scripture text is taken out of context, and the interpretation has no natural relation to the text, then the for true Bible exegesis are broken. Imagine what would happen if religious communities interpreted all of Christ’s expressions as the Catholic Church has done with the bread and wine; “I am the door: by if any man in, he shall be and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (John 10:9). “I am the vine, ye are the branches…” (John 15:5) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman” (John 15:1), ”…that Rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10: 4). Is Jesus a door? A tree? A rock? Of course not, the symbolism is clear.
, , in Latin the words, “HOC EST CORPUS MEUS”. What happens that moment, Papacy, literal flesh and blood of Christ. It is easy to understand how the magic words, “HOCUS POCUS” from this phrase. Furthermore, the Catholic Church teaches that participation in the mass is necessary for . on Sundays and holidays. This is totally non-biblical. Salvation does not come through participation in a ritual, whether it be The Lord’s Supper or even baptism. Salvation is a gift received by grace by the belief that Jesus died for us. In the the Lord’s supper is carried out as an act of , and the believers’ baptism, in response to a good conscience toward God (1 Peter 3:21). The historian Durant tells us how this service is one of the ceremonies that came , . , “The Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics”, Hastings writes extensively in the , “Eating God”. In this and several other sources, we find that has a background deeply rooted in paganism Catholic Encyclopaedia openly admits that the Eucharist finds it’s origins in the Babylonian “god-meal” in Baal worship. From this religion, the tradition of the “god-meal” was spread around the world. In Egypt, cake was consecrated (made holy) by a priest, thus being transformed into the body of Osiris. In Central America, of Christ, there were ceremonies where the eating of their god was . Several historians have shown how the custom of eating the “god-meal” in those primitive tribes had a cannibalistic frame. The pagan priests ate parts of all the sacrifices why does the Catholic Church use a circular wafer? Simply because of the same need to transform the bread and wine into literal “god-flesh”, in order to their rituals with the Babylonian, pagan customs. The circular wafer is a perfect copy of the circular sun-cake which was supposedly transformed into Baal’s flesh in the Babylonian religion. The sun god Baal demanded a cake, symbolic of the sun. The Catholic mass is nothing more than this Babylonian, idolatrous ceremony revived. The sacrifice is not Christ’s sacrifice, and the god that is worshipped is not the God of heaven the year 1200, a festival for the glory of Christ’s flesh (Corpus Christi) was established. This mass of honour was composed by Thomas Aquinas, and as a part of the celebration, the round host (sun-wafer) was carried in procession through the city. This is a detailed copy of the procession in Ancient Babylon, where the sun-cake was carried through the streets. People fell down to worship the “literal ”, the sun-cake. It was Baal they worshipped in those days, and it is still the same idol that is worshipped in this pagan custom today, under the guise of Christianity.It is paganism at its most blasphemous to assert that Christ is sacrificed again, every time there is a mass. The Lord’s Supper is not a revival of Christ’s . On the cross Jesus said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30). In the Old Testament the sacrifice had to be repeated on a daily basis because these animal sacrifices were imperfect sacrifices. In Hebrews we read, “Nor yet that he should offer himself often” (Hebrews 9:25). “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9: 28). “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10). (“While We Wait”, (Norwegian magazine) no. 2, 1992).
The use of statues in worship
It was so important to God to warn us against this form of worship, that He made it the second longest law in the Ten Commandments.
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or , . Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love and keep my commandments.”
(Exodus 20:4-6).
this practice as so serious that He refers to those who break this commandment as them that “hate” Him. No wonder Satan, who so hates Jesus, has completely removed this commandment from his “version” of so-called “Christianity”. The Roman Catholic Church has totally removed this commandment from their version of the law. They accumulate large incomes from the sales of statues and images of Mary and Jesus, and Catholics pray before these statues daily. No wonder God calls this power “Babylon the great”. The Bible is clear that one of Babylon’s worst sins was the use in their worship. God warned them about this over and over again. In Isaiah 21:9 we read, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.” “” ,
“Alas, city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble.”
(Revelation 18:10-12).
The warning sounds,
“Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins,
(Revelation 18:4, 5)
Worship of the Virgin Mary
No statue or picture should be used as a link between God and His true worshippers, and He has not given away the He requested exclusively for
Himself, to some other “queen of heaven”. , . Babylon, from the people. Candles are lit before their graves, people bend their knees before their icons, and prayers are offered up to them, so they can present the people’s causes before God these traditions do not originate from the Bible; they originate from . In they might have a supreme god, but they also added a pantheon of “” , of the people such traditions was “goddess-worship”; the worship of the woman with stars around her head, her being Ishtar or . Worshipping her was apostasy, and this was the reason God called Abraham (and his kinsmen who participated in this worship) to leave Mesopotamia. Because of this, God wanted to bless Abraham and chose him to present a contrast to this forgery. The Catholic glorification of the Virgin Mary has no support in Scripture. The Bible only glorifies God and His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself gave glory only to God. No ascension is described regarding Mary. When the new heaven and the new earth are described in , the Son is mentioned, but no “Queen of Heaven” and no Mary. When the Bible talks about Jesus as and high priest in the heavenly sanctuary, Mary is never mentioned, nor is a single word mentioned about her in prophecy. of a myth as the worship of Ishtar in Babylon. Like her, Mary is depicted with a crown upon her and stars around it. Faithful worshippers bow their knees before her, pray to her, light candles for her, in everything that was included in ancient pagan worship is still practiced today. As it was in Israel, this mixture of truth and error is apostasy. As it was in Israel, they do not reject God’s or service, but add to it their own myths and traditions who create their own mythological faith aside from the worship of God cannot meet the standard of the first four of the commandments in the Decalogue, which separate true worship from false. Thus the Catholic Church was compelled to alter two of the first four commandments you walk into any Christian bookstore today, you very rarely find the original 10 commandments even on a postcard, while the commandments that have been changed, will most likely cover the bookshelves. The late pope expressed a Virgin Mary. that it was Mary herself that saved his life.
“To place in the heart of the heavenly Mother my thanks for having saved me from danger. I saw in everything that was happening (I never tire of repeating it) a special motherly protection of our Lady”
(John Paul II, Portugal: Message of Fatima (Bosten: St.Paul’s Editions, 1983) pp.49-50)
Furthermore the late pope has stated,
“We have recourse to your protection, holy Mother of God… Embrace, with the love of the Mother, and Handmaid, this
(Pope John Paul II, Lòsserva-tore Romano, May 24, 1982, pp.5,12)
From the Vatican Council,
“For, as St. Irenaeus says, she “being obedient, became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race”. Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert with him in their teaching: “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was united by Mary’s obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief Mary loosened by her faith.” Comparing Mary with Eve, they call her “Mother of the living,” and frequently claim: “death through Eve, life through Mary”.”
(Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Chuch, no.56).
The adoration of Mary is not only rebellion against God’s commandments but against Christ Himself, as Mary is in place of Christ and is credited , . Mary as being without sin, as divine, or as specially . The worship “Queen of Heaven” is only found in the Bible as apostasy against God. The apostles make it utterly clear that there is no other Saviour than Christ and that no one else is exalted except the Father and His Son. The exaltation of Mary is literally a mythological concept fabricated in harmony with pagan philosophy, totally alien to the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and even the apostle Peter. The fact that Mary, a very ordinary (albeit faithful) human being, gave birth to Christ, the Son of God, did not suddenly make her divine, it simply made Jesus human. the true Christians, and made Mary’s less than elevated position quite clear,
“Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come”
(John 2:4)
and,
“There came his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without for thee. And he answered them, saying, who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”
(Mark 3:31-35)
In modern times there have been many appearances of Mary around the globe. . Furthermore one hears of statues of Mary that cry tears of blood, and other signs and wonders, but let us not forget
“him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.” (2 Thess 2:9)
Despite the worship of Mary being carried out in the name of Christianity, these revelations are not actually from Mary, but from the one that is behind all spiritualistic apparitions, namely . to God in the name of Jesus, and start sending their prayers to Mary to ask forgiveness, . for this idolatry simply because it is covered in a Christian-like guise. The deceit is grand, but we have been warned,
“And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” and, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” (2 Cor 11:14 & Gal 1:8)
Saints and gods
In ancient Babylon, the people thought the stars were their dead patriarchs, and this false belief was the basis for the worship of the celestial bodies. The of gods ruling over various aspects of one’s life is not new in theological concept. In they also had this form of religion. The people prayed to the god that was responsible for whatever aspect of life was pertinent at the time. Worshipers could change which of the various gods to pray to. When we study the heroic Babylonian gods and the Egyptian gods of various themes, we find an exact likeness to the Catholic ordained, worship of the saints. They have the exact same , but simply changed the names of the heroic gods to so-called Christian saints. To carry out a pagan practice abominable to God, but simply change its name, renders it no less of an abomination to God. It still revolves around worshipping dead people. No place in the entire Bible is there anything that encourages prayer to the dead, nor indeed prayer to anyone but God.“In addition to Mary worship, Catholics also pray to a number of saints. to Catholic belief, they are ordinary people that have excelled due to holiness or because of special deeds done for the church. After their death, and after an official investigation, they were declared, “saints” and thus it was declared that they had been taken to heaven. This doctrine is easily traced back to the Babylonian religion. The Catholic Church believes and practices spirit-ism through prayers to the dead, whether it is Mary or the saints. The Catholic Encyclopaedia explains that Catholic doctrine regarding prayers to the dead has , . If we go back to the mother-system for all false religions again, Ancient Babylon, we find that people during that time worshipped and many gods. The 5000 ! had once excelled here on earth, but that they were now “rewarded” with a higher spiritual existence. Every month, indeed, nearly every day of the year was under the protection of one of these lesser gods. The belief in several gods, ( “” ) when people emigrated from Babylon. Even the earlier Buddhists in China . , , the various different communities, indeed, gods for a whole variety of dif-for the various different communities, indeed, gods for a whole variety of dif-for the various different communities, indeed, gods for a whole variety of different aspects of life. The Syrians believed that some of these gods had
and could not exercise their power outside a particular geographic region. 1 Kings 20:23 is an example of that. When the Romans conquered the world, the belief in the Babylonian spirit world and order was still very much in place. Bright was the goddess of the poets, Juno Regina was the goddess of feminism and marriage. Minerva was the goddess of wisdom and music. Venus was the goddess of sex and love. Vesta protected all the bakers of bread. Ceres . . . ( that the people in Lystra thought the eloquent Paul was the god Mercury see Acts 14:11, 12.) This is just a small selection. There was actually a god or goddess for everything and everyone. For , houses, gardens, food, dolls, health illness . etc. When Christianity became a popular state-religion in Rome, former “pagans” .
The Roman Catholic Church also has a saint for sterile women (St. Anthony), beer drinkers (St. Nicholas), children (St. Dominic), lovers (St. Raphael), (St. Andrew), the poor (St. Lawrence) and so on and so forth. Furthermore, the Papacy has produced saints for about every disease that exists. The church recommends that sick people pray to these saints to better their chances of . It is historically documented and confirmed by the Catholic Church, that saint-worship of the Catholic Church is a direct inheritance from the pagan Babylonian religion, where gods or goddesses protect certain days, occupations or human needs.” (The Great Apostasy; Saint Worship. “While We Wait”, ( magazine) no. 2, 1992).In the Catholic Encyclopaedia on pages 130-131 in the article, “Legends” we read, “These legends (saints) repeat the ideas that we find in pre-Christian . The legends are not Christian, only made Christian. On several the legends regarding our saints, are built on the same pre-Christian myths. It was simple to transfer the stories that antiquity connected to their heroes, to our Christian martyrs. This explains the great likeness between gods and saints.”
Saints – Spiritism and the state of the dead
The Bible tells us about a man who decided to petition a dead prophet for help. This story is a serious warning to us even in our time. We find the event recorded in 1 Samuel.
“Now , , him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land… And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, Urim, . , a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there
(1 Samuel 28:3-21)
shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: Because thou not the voice of the LORD, nor his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night. And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me.” .
“The Scripture account of Saul’s visit to the woman of Endor has been a source of perplexity to many students of the Bible. There are some who take the that Samuel was actually present at the interview with Saul, but the Bible itself furnishes sufficient ground for a contrary conclusion. If, as claimed by some, Samuel was in heaven, he must have been summoned thence, either by the power of God or by that of Satan. None can believe for a moment that Satan had to call the holy prophet of God from heaven to the incantations of an abandoned woman. Nor can we conclude that God summoned him to the witch’s cave; for the Lord had already refused to communicate with Saul, by dreams, by Urim, or by prophets. 1 Samuel 28:6. These were God’s
mediums of communication, and He did not pass them by to deliver the message through the agent of Satan. The message itself is sufficient evidence of its origin. Its object was not to lead Saul to repentance, but to urge him on to ruin this is not the work of God, but of Satan. Furthermore, the act of Saul in consulting a sorceress is cited in Scripture as one reason why he was rejected by God and abandoned to : “Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; and inquired not of the Lord: therefore He slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.” (1 Chronicles 10:13, 14). Here it is distinctly stated that Saul inquired of the spirit, not of the Lord. He did not communicate with Samuel, the prophet of God; but through the he held intercourse with Satan. Satan could not present the real Samuel, but he did present a counterfeit, that served his purpose of deception…This same belief in communion with the dead formed the cornerstone of idolatry. The gods of the heathen were believed to be the deified spirits of . . This is evident from the Scriptures. In the account of the sin of Israel at Beth-, : “ Shittim, Moab. of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor.” Numbers 25:1-3. The psalmist tells us what kind of gods these sacrifices were offered. Speaking of the same of the Israelites, he says, “They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead” (Psalm 106:28); that is, sacrifices that had been offered to the dead. The deification of the dead has held a prominent place in nearly every system of heathenism, as has also the supposed communion with the dead. The gods were , , , counsel. Of this character were the famous oracles of Greece and Rome. The belief in communion with the dead is still held, even in professedly Chris-tian lands. Under the name of the practice of communicating with beings claiming to be the spirits of the departed has become widespread. It
“Come out of her My people”!
Jesus said that those doing the works of Abraham were the children of Abraham, and so it is easy to understand why He calls the Catholic Church Babylon. For indeed, they do the works of Babylon do they not?
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
(Matthew 6:24).
Therefore God gives the following calling to all those sincere souls caught up in all false religions,
“Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”.
(Revelation 18:4)
Hell.
The word hell is often used by Catholics, Protestants Pentecostals to scare their congregations. When we open our Bibles we do find the word “hell” and therefore it is easy to assume that this concept of “hell” is biblically correct, but the common interpretation of this word is from Babylon, and not from the truth that Abraham’s children were given. The
“”, and “they shall be as ashes under their feet” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, Malachi 4:3
There is a penalty for sin which is death. The Bible compares the death of the ungodly with the death of Sodom and Gomorrah (Jude 1:7). These cities were burnt by fire and brimstone from heaven. Today only the ash and the brimstone remain, but nothing is burning now. The fire has stopped. Eternal life was to be given to the faithful, but those that would not follow Christ would be to death, meaning they would not receive “eternal life” in hell, but that they would become as if they never had been. When we find the word “hell” among the words of Christ, it is worth noting that He spoke within the Jewish mindset and not the pagan. He said,
“all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me” .
(Luke 24:44)
Christ came to confirm that what they had been taught through the law and the prophets correct. The word Christ used which is translated to “hell”, is “”, which is an area outside Jerusalem’s city wall where they burnt garbage. Sometimes the fire burnt for days until there was nothing left to burn. The use of the word is often misunderstood today. A fire that cannot be extinguished until everything is burnt up, is incorrectly interpreted as a fire that will never stop burning. To be able to burn man for eternity, God has to recreate the man that is over and over or to make him inconsumable, but this is not in harmony with the word of God “forever” Bible, ‘a ’. also mean ‘a limited period of time’. It depends what context the word is used. In the story of the prophet Jonah who was swallowed by a great fish,
that “her bars was about me ” (Jonah 2:6), but Jonah was only there 3 days and 3 nights. The last argument used to maintain the pagan interpretation of hell in the Christian is that the apostles have used the Greek word, “hades”. Hades was the Greek word for the kingdom of death, where there was said to be fire and misery. After an ancient copy of the gospel of Matthew was discovered, it has New written in Hebrew. The most important thing is not what word was used in the Greek, but what Christ and His apostles really believed. They were Jews Greeks. They had a Jewish understanding of death, and not Greek. The Old Testament is clear that the loss of eternal life is final, the decision is . Babylon. A Greeks and the Romans subsequently adopted into their own beliefs. Even though myths often changed or developed, the Babylonians believed in that was populated by demons. (Gods, Demons Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia, Jeremy Black and Anthony Green, The British Museum Press, 1992, p.63). the sinners. The Bible says the Devil is in opposition to God, and not someone who works with Him. Of the Babylonian it is written,
“The underworld is always described as in complete darkness, dusty and unpleasant. All the dead, without exception, wander there, thirsting for water and having only dust to eat… Apart from these spirits of the dead (), the underworld is also the home of the dead gods, of some demons (who are described as the ‘offspring of ’ and who issue …”
(Ibid. p.108).
In the Sumerian poem “Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Underworld” a conversation is described;
“between and the ghost of his dead servant Enkidu which makes it clear that while in the underworld is most unattractive, it can be made slightly more tolerable if surviving relatives make regular offerings to the dead of food and so that it is desirable to leave as many descendants as possible. Those who have no children have a hard time indeed after death, while those who do not even receive proper burial are worst off: the person who died in a fire or whose body lies in the desert does not even have a in the under-world.” .
(Ibid. p.181)
This Babylonian myth must have created a lot of sorrow among the poorer families and those who were dying and did not have a family. In the same this Babylonian myth was passed down and made to fit with Christian doctrine by the Catholic Church. The doctrine of purgatory has created problems for millions of poor people and for those without families during the Middle Ages. , Church, ,
“Roman Catholic theologians are not in agreement as to the nature of the suffering in purgatory. Some teach that the pain of purgatory is chiefly a sense of loss in being separated from God. Others, following Thomas Aquinas, teach that souls in purgatory suffer intense and excruciating physical pain from fire” .
(The Gospel According to Rome, James G. McCarthy, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon, 1995)
“, called indulgences, that cancel out temporal punishment [1032, 1479]. Roman from a vast reservoir of merit called the treasury of the Church [1476, 1477]” .
(Ibid p.94)
It was a tough time for those who did not get enough attention after their death or for those who did not receive a proper burial in the time of Babylon and in the Catholic Church during the Dark Ages. Christ knew of these pagan doctrines that flourished when He walked the earth. His attitude was of a different because He knew those things claimed by the heathen were not true. There . , “” (Luke 9:60). God hid the burial place of Moses from the children of Israel in a time when they had been guilty of worshiping Baal and Peor (worshiping the dead). Therefore , Moses had been a godly man, they could pray to him or make his grave a place of worship. In there was a belief which had influenced everyone except the Jews. The Babylonian hell was an underworld with god’s or demons ruling in it. which today has become Christian.
“The notion of an underworld peopled by terrifying demonic beings, which foreshadowed the medieval hell, seems to have been a theological invention of the first millennium B.C.” .
(Gods, Demons and Symbols of ancient Mesopotamia, An Illustrated Dictionary by Jeremy Black and Anthony Green, The British Museum Press, 1992, p.28)
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with : for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.” (Rev 18:4)
The following traditions are not from the Bible but have been added to Christian teachings by, among others, the Catholic Church:Canon Law, Bullarium, Encyclical, Canon, Breviary, Litany, Sacerdotale, Rubric, Collect, Offertory, Introit, Ritual, Prebend, Supererogation, Absolution, Confessional, Indult, Limbo, Transubstantiation, Mass (6 forskjellige), Req-uiem Mass, Low Mass, High Mass, Nuptial Mass, Votive Mass, Mass Bell, Sprinkling, Infant Baptism, God Mother, Pater Noster, Decree, Dogma, Missal, Liturgy, Litany of the Saints, Catechism, Sacramentary, Preface, Gradual, Anti-phon, Stipend, Novena, Treasury of Merit, Dispensation, Pennance, Purgatory, Indulgence, Communion under one kind, Instrumental Music, Pouring, Ave Maria, Te Deum, Lent, Christmas, Good Friday, Easter Duties, Corporal, Sac-rementals, Extreme Unction, Candles, Incense, Crucifix, Agnus Dei, Scapulars, Ashes, Relics, Blessing Cars, Blessing Cemeteries, Blessing Distilleries, Bless-ing weapons, Epiphany, Mortal sin, Latria, Diptychs, Praying for the Dead, Sta-tions of the Cross, Infallibility of the Pope, Celibacy, Easter, All Saints Day, Fish on Friday, Canonical Hours, Sacraments, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Holy Water, Rosary, Sign of the Cross, Way of the Cross, Miraculous Medals, Palm Leaves, Shrines, Cosecrated Cemeteries, Canonising, Canonised Saints, Original Sin, Venial Sin, Dulia, Praying to Mary, Saints, Images, Immaculate Conception, Sunday sabbath, “Catholic Church” Organisational structure within the church which is not Scriptural, Clergy, Pope, Pontiff, Pontifex Maximus, Vicar of God and Christ, of God, Cardinal, Archbishop, Metropolitan, Bishop, Prelate, Prelate Nullius, Abbot, Abbot Nullius, Abbis, Vicar, Vicar General, Superior, Mother Superior, Nuncio, Chancellor, Prefects Apostolic, Legate, Dean, Canon, Camera, , Cleric, Clerk, Licentiate, Laity, Laic, Ordinary, Regular, Rector, Interstice, sacred Penitentiary, Orders, Holy Orders, Mendi-cant Orders, Cura, Curator, Archdeacons, Subdeacon, Archpriests, Confessor, Lector, Ostiary, Doorkeeper, Porter, Monk, Nun, , Prior, Religious, Quasi-religious, Christ, Acolyte, Catechumen, Sodality. Monarchical Bishops, Pontificate, Curia, Congregation of Holy Office (), of the Church, Congregation of the Discipline of the , Congregation of the Council, Congregation of the Affairs of Religious, Congregation of the , Congregation of the Index, of rites, Congregation, Congregation of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, Congregation of Studies, Sacred Penitentiary, Sacred Roman Rota, Apostolic , Apostolic Chancery, Apostolic Datary, Apostolic Camera, Papal Secretary of State, College of Cardinals, Secretary of Brief to Princes, Secretary of Latin Letters, Councils, Synods, Nuncios, Diocese, Parish, Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, Carmelites, Hospitallers, Templars etc.
Some quotations from the Catholic Church:
“Akin to these divine laws is the purely ecclesiastical law or of the Church. Christ sent forth His Church clothed with His own and His Father’s authority… To enable her to carry out this divine plan she makes laws, laws purely ecclesiastical, themselves… For Catholics, therefore, as far as obligations are concerned there is no practical difference between God’s law and the law of the Church”
(Explanation of Catholic Morals, John H. Stapleton, Benziger Bros., New York, Cincinnati, Chicago, 1904, p.26)
“In other spiritual books the truths of the Bible are presented more fully, and in a more modern and familiar style, so that we can hardly wonder that they are, as a preferred; and that though Catholic families generally have a Bible, it is more venerated than ”
(Plain Facts, Geo. M. Searle, Paulist Press, N.Y., 1915, p.154).
Regarding the Reformation, it is
“The Reformation produced indeed an exaggerated individualism, which by declaring every man equally competent to find out of the Saviour from his own private reading of the Scriptures, has led millions to the utter denial of Christ.”
(The Question Box, p. 131, Bertrand L. Conway, The Columbus press, N.Y., 1913).
To an extent Bertrand is correct. A study of the Bible has led many Christians out of the Catholic Church and away from the type of Messiah represented by them. The Catholic Christ and the Christ of the Bible are very different in teaching and character. The more you learn of Christ in Scripture, the easier it is to distance yourself from the Catholic Jesus. Many of the Christian traditions are inspired by Scripture, but many of the traditions do away with God’s commandments or are placed in their stead. Just as the sacredness of Sunday has replaced God’s holy Sabbath. Other traditions like the veneration of Mary, saints and graven images, have made void the law of God, and these are traditions that are practiced despite the fact that the Bible clearly forbids them.