4.Paganism in a Christian Disguise Part 2.

25th of December

Today, it is Christ’s birth that is celebrated on December 25th, established by the Roman Catholic Church. But was Jesus really born on the 25th of December, or does this public holiday also belong to the sun god? In Babylon, the god Tammuz was worshipped in the form of a child,

“Born on December 25th, he represented the rebirth of the sun. As the pagan god-child, he was called “Baal-berith,” or lord of the fir-tree. The word “yule” is a Babylonian word for infant. The pagan Anglo-Saxons called December 25th, Yule day. Both the Egyptians and Persians celebrated the birthday of their god on December 25th. Other names applied to the sun-god as a child are: 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 day was celebrated as the birth of the sun god accross the entire world, in Babylon (Tammuz), Persia (Mithra), Egypt (Horus), Greece (Dionysus), Scandinavia (Balder) etc. In sun worship, (which in the Roman Empire was declared the state 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 honour the sun on the day which it had “it’s full maturity”. The dead were honoured, and by sunset they built large fires. Apart from “walking through fire” over red hot ashes, every contestant was forgiven for their sins committed against the highest deity. After the midsum-mer festival the days grew gradually shorter, and the sun was looked upon as dying. But by the winter solstice 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 Christianity, but are a tradition deeply rooted in heathenism. It is not the birthday of Jesus that is celebrated, but Tammuz, the pagan, false messiah. This idolatrous tradition has 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 tradi-tions can never make up for disregarding or replacing the commandments God has given. God said through the prophet Isaiah, “This people 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).

“Just like all sun gods at that time Mithra also had his birthday on the 25th of December. The 25th of December was the day of the old Roman festival for the sun’s birth. The Arabic Sabaenerne celebrated the moon god’s birthday on the 24th of December. In the church in Rome, the 25th of December was celebrated from the year 274 as, “Deis Natalis Solis Invicti”, the unconquered
sun’s birthday. Around the year 336 the Christian church decided to confirm the 25th of December as Jesus’ birthday… The Christmas tree was common in both heathen Rome and Egypt. In Egypt it was a palm tree, and in Rome it was a fir tree. The sun god’s mother was said to have been transformed into a tree when she was going to give birth to her child. The son was therefore counted as the root sprout. The Scandinavian god Odin was thought to have given special gifts around Christmas time to those who went to his holy fir tree.”

(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 celebration, so that the most beautiful ceremony has been transformed into a grotesque and idolatrous ceremony. The Catholic Church builds much of its cen-tral 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 liter-ally. The Catholic Church claims that the wine and the bread, by some mystical process of transubstanciation, is transformed into Christ’s actual and literal flesh and blood. The explanation the Church gives is that this transformation is liter-ally and completely real and that the bread even contains Christ’s bones, nerves, spirit and soul… By their mass, the Catholic Church adds insult to Christ’s death on the cross. 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 princi-ples 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 me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, 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.

During the mass, when the Catholic priest blesses the bread and wine, he says in Latin the words, “HOC EST CORPUS MEUS”. What happens in that moment, according to the Papacy, is the transformation of bread and wine to the literal flesh and blood of Christ. It is easy to understand how the magic words, “HOCUS POCUS” originate from this phrase. Furthermore, the Catholic Church teaches that participation in the mass is necessary for one’s deliverance. The church also has a commandment concerning one’s duty toward attending mass 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 Scriptures the Lord’s supper is carried out as an act of rememberance, 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 from those ancient, primitive religions. In the highly acclaimed book, “The Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics”, Hastings writes extensively in the arti-cle, “Eating God”. In this article, and several other sources, we find confirma-tion that transubstanciation has a background deeply rooted in paganism.The Catholic Encyclopaedia openly admits that the Eucharist finds it’s origins in the Babylonian “god-meal” practised in Baal worship. From this religion, the tradition of the “god-meal” was spread around the world. In Egypt, a round cake was consecrated (made holy) by a priest, thus being transformed into the body of Osiris. In Mexico and Central America, among those tribes that had never heard of Christ, there were ceremonies where the eating of their god was prac-ticed. 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.But 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 co-ordinate 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 cir-cular 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.Around 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 christ”, 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 sacri-fice. 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 image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 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 me, and keep my commandments.”

(Exodus 20:4-6).

Jesus regards 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 of statues 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.”The soon coming fall of “last day” Babylon is described as,

“Alas, alas that great 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, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.”

(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 honour He requested exclusively for

Himself, to some other “queen of heaven”.The apostasy that Israel once wandered into, continues today in the Christian church. Like in Babylon, Mary and the saints have been exalted to receive prayers 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.But these traditions do not originate from the Bible; they originate from Baby-lon. In Babylon they might have a supreme god, but they also added a pantheon of “holy people” or saints that people could pray to, and who were regarded protectors of the people.Among such traditions was “goddess-worship”; the worship of the woman with stars around her head, her being Ishtar or Inana. 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 Revelation, the Son is mentioned, but no “Queen of Heaven” and no Mary. When the Bible talks about Jesus as media-tor and high priest in the heavenly sanctuary, Mary is never mentioned, nor is a single word mentioned about her in prophecy. The idea of making the mother of Jesus queen and mediator in heaven is as much of a myth as the worship of Ishtar in Babylon. Like her, Mary is depicted with a crown upon her head, and stars around it. Faithful worshippers bow their knees before her, pray to her, light candles for her, in fact everything that was included in ancient pagan worship is still practiced today. As it was in Israel, this mixture of truth and error is sure apostasy. As it was in Israel, they do not reject God’s name, or service, but add to it their own myths and traditions.Those 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.If 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 blessing for those who pray before a particular picture of the Virgin Mary. He claims to have been particularly blessed by praying before it, and openly declares 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 human world of ours, which we entrust and consecrate to you… In entrusting to you O Mother, the world, all individuals and peoples, we also entrust to you the consecration itself, for the world’s sake, placing it in your motherly heart. Oh, Immaculate Heart! Help us to conquer the menace of evil… Accept, O Mother of Christ, this cry… Let there be revealed, once more, in the history of the world your infinite power of merciful Love”

(Pope John Paul II, Lòsserva-tore Romano, May 24, 1982, pp.5,12)

From the second 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 honoured in place of Christ and is credited for the work He did, and still does to this day. The apostles never mentioned Mary as being without sin, as divine, or as specially honoured. The worship of a “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. Jesus must have been aware of this deception that would creep into the faith of 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 seek 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. Many claim that she reveals herself to them in person to tell them of things about to happen. 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 Satan himself. The more people who stop praying to God in the name of Jesus, and start sending their prayers to Mary to ask forgiveness, the more people will be lost. Thousands of people have already fallen 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 wor-ship of gods ruling over various aspects of one’s life is not new in theological concept. In Egypt 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 main-tained the exact same practise, 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. Accord-ing to Catholic belief, they are ordinary people that have excelled due to a spe-cial 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 it’s roots in the congregation of the apostles, but this allegation proves to be untrue. If we go back to the mother-system for all false religions again, Ancient Babylon, we find that people during that time worshipped and honoured many gods. The Babylonians had a system with no less than 5000 gods and god-desses! They also believed that these gods had once been religious patriarchs that 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, spread around the world (in much the same way as “mother and child” wor-ship) when people emigrated from Babylon. Even the earlier Buddhists in China worshipped several lesser gods. They had gods for sailors, gods of war, gods 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 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 a limited
jurisdiction 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 was the goddess of corn and wheat. Hercules was the god of joy and wine. Mercury gave abilities to speakers and those who debated. (It was no coinci-dence 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 money, houses, gardens, food, dolls, health and illness etc. etc. When Christianity became a popular state-religion in Rome, former “pagans” came to the church by the thousand. With them they brought a myriad of different gods. The church, who was now more of a politi-cal power than a spiritual power, found it easy to accommodate all these lesser gods in the Roman Church. They were well accepted, but were gradually allo-cated new names; “saints”. The fact that ancient pagan idolatry from Babylon lives on in Catholic saint-worship can in no way be denied. The Papacy them-selves admit this in several books, writings and in their conference resolutions. Here is a list of some of the Catholic Church’s saints, or rather, Babylonian, pagan idols.

The Roman Catholic Church also has a saint for sterile women (St. Anthony), beer drinkers (St. Nicholas), children (St. Dominic), lovers (St. Raphael), vir-gins (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 heal-ing. 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”, (Nor-wegian 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 sto-ries. The legends are not Christian, only made Christian. On several occasions 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 Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried 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, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me 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
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 obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst 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.” .

(1 Samuel 28:3-21)

“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 posi-tion 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 power to call the holy prophet of God from heaven to honour 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 own
appointed 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; and 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 destruc-tion: “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 famil-iar spirit, not of the Lord. He did not communicate with Samuel, the prophet of God; but through the sorceress 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 hea-then idolatry. The gods of the heathen were believed to be the deified spirits of departed heroes. Thus the religion of the heathen was a worship of the dead. This is evident from the Scriptures. In the account of the sin of Israel at Beth-peor, it is stated: “Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices 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 to what kind of gods these sacrifices were offered. Speaking of the same apos-tasy 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 believed to communicate their will to men, and also, when consulted, to give them 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 spiritualism the practice of communicating with beings claiming to be the spirits of the departed has become widespread. It is
calculated to take hold of the sympathies of those who have laid their loved ones in the grave. Spiritual beings sometimes appear to persons in the form of their deceased friends, and relate incidents connected with their lives and per-form acts that they performed while living. In this way they lead men to believe that their dead friends are angels, hovering over them and communicating with them. Those who thus assume to be the spirits of the departed are regarded with a certain idolatry, and with many their word has greater weight than the word of God. There are many, however, who regard spiritualism as a mere imposture. The manifestations by which it supports its claims to a supernatural character are attributed to fraud on the part of the medium. But while it is true that the results of trickery have often been palmed off as genuine manifestations, there have also been marked evidences of supernatural power. And many who reject spiritualism as the result of human skill or cunning will, when confronted with manifestations which they cannot account for upon this ground, be led to acknowledge its claims. Modern spiritualism and the forms of ancient witchcraft and idol worship—all having communion with the dead as their vital principle—are founded upon that first lie by which Satan beguiled Eve in Eden: “Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof. . . ye shall be as gods.” Genesis 3:4, 5. Alike based upon falsehood and perpetuating the same, they are alike from the father of lies. The Hebrews were expressly forbidden to engage in any manner in pretended communion with the dead. God closed this door effectually when He said: “The dead know not anything. . . Neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Psalm 146:4. And the Lord declared to Israel: “The soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set My face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.” Leviticus 20:6. The “familiar spirits” were not the spirits of the dead, but evil angels, the mes-sengers of Satan. Ancient idolatry, which, as we have seen, comprises both wor-ship of the dead and pretended communion with them, is declared by the Bible to have been demon worship. The apostle Paul, in warning his brethren against
page 420participating, in any manner, in the idolatry of their heathen neighbors, says, “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God, and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.” 1 Corinthians 10:20. The psalmist, speaking of Israel, says that “they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,” and in the next verse he explains that they sacri-ficed them “unto the idols of Canaan.” Psalm 106:37, 38. In their supposed wor-ship of dead men they were in reality worshiping demons. Modern spiritualism, resting upon the same foundation, is but a revival in a new form of the witchcraft and demon worship that God condemned and prohibited of old. It is foretold in the Scriptures, which declare that “in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” 1 Timothy 4:1. Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, points to the special working of Satan in spiritualism as an event to take place imme-diately before the second advent of Christ. Speaking of Christ’s second coming, he declares that it is “after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9.” (Patriarchs and Prophets, Ellen G. White, page 683-686).There is one common feature with the Catholic worship of Mary and of the saints; they are all dead. Any form of prayer to the dead is idolatry, and is flirting with the occult, “…a charmer or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD” (Deuteronomy 18:11-12).

“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 and 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 Bible teaches that

“the dead know not any thing”, 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 sentanced 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. For 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 was correct. The word Christ used which is translated to “hell”, is “gehenna”, 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 burning over and over again, or to make him inconsumable, but this is not in harmony with the word of God.The word “forever” is used in the Bible, but the Hebrew expression that it is translated from does not necessarily mean ‘a never ending period of time’. It can also mean ‘a limited period of time’. It depends in what context the word is used. In the story of the prophet Jonah who was swallowed by a great fish, it
says that “her bars was about me for ever” (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 faith, 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 been speculated that the gospels and the New Testament writings were originally 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 not 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 eternal and that the dead will be burnt up. The doctrine of hell as we know it among Christians today is a myth that originates in Babylon. A myth that the Greeks and the Romans subsequently adopted into their own beliefs. Even though myths often changed or developed, the Babylonians believed in a under-world that was populated by demons. (Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia, Jeremy Black and Anthony Green, The British Museum Press, 1992, p.63). They believed that the demons were placed there by the gods to punish the sinners. The Bible on the other hand says the Devil is in opposition to God, and not someone who works with Him. Of the Babylonian teaching 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 (gidim), the underworld is also the home of the dead gods, of some demons (who are described as the ‘offspring of arali’ and who issue from the underworld to bring tribulation to mankind…”

(Ibid. p.108).

In the Sumerian poem “Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Underworld” a conversation is described;

“between Gilgames and the ghost of his dead servant Enkidu which makes it clear that while life 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 drink, 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 gidim 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 way 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. It supposed that the families of the deceased could reduce their time in purgatory by their own good deeds, and by paying indulgences to the Church, but if they did not have Catholic family members,

“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)

“Another way in which the living can help the dead is by acquiring special credits, called indulgences, that cancel out temporal punishment [1032, 1479]. Roman Catholicism teaches that the church has the power to dispense indulgences 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 charac-ter, because He knew those things claimed by the heathen were not true. There was no reason to worry for the dead. He said, “Let the dead bury the dead” (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 the tomb of Moses was hidden from them so they would not think that, even though Moses had been a godly man, they could pray to him or make his grave a place of worship. In Babylon 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. A teaching 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 unbe-lievers: 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.Hierarchy, Clergy, Pope, Pontiff, Pontifex Maximus, Vicar of God and Christ, Vicegerant 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, Apos-tolic Camera, Cameralengo, 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, Fiar, Prior, Religious, Quasi-religious, Euharistic Christ, Acolyte, Catechumen, Sodality. Monarchical Bishops, Pontificate, Curia, Congregation of Holy Office (Inquisi-tion), Constetutions of the Chatolic Church, Congregation of the Discipline of the Sacrements, Congregation of the Council, Congregation of the Affairs of Religious, Congregation of the Propoganda, Congregation of the Index, Congre-gation of rites, Cermonial Congregation, Congregation of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, Congregation of Studies, Sacred Penitentiary, Sacred Roman Rota, Apostolic Segnatura, 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 law 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, but laws that have the same binding force as the divine laws 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 rule preferred; and that though Catholic families generally have a Bible, it is more venerated than read”

(Plain Facts, Geo. M. Searle, Paulist Press, N.Y., 1915, p.154).

Regarding the Reformation, it is written

“The Reformation produced indeed an exaggerated individualism, which by declaring every man equally competent to find out doctrine 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 fabri-cated 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.