Study 3:
Types and Shadows: Part II

Her symbol was the moon, just as it was for the false goddesses like Isis and Diana. Semiramis’ wicked practices promoted “baby sacrifices,” a thing we do today through “abortion.” She instituted the practice of “celibacy” for her priests, foreshadowing the same practice of future Catholicism. She invented death by “crucifixion” and establishing the “crucifix” as an occult symbol which was used in Babylon and Egypt, and later the modern Roman Church. And Alexander Hislop tells us the regular priests wore “black robes,” which was the color of Satanism and the occult. And the list goes on as we, just briefly, discuss only a few of such topics; for we shall not take neither the time nor space to discuss other Pagan worship practices, such as the lighting of candles, which represent the flames of the sun gods; baptismal sprinkling, as practiced in the Babylon religion; the “Rosary” and its Pagan origin; and other such things. So to begin, let’s start out with the number one man of Roman Catholicism today, the Pope.

The Roman Pontiff

Nimrod, who claimed to be a High Priest, was supposedly the “Bridge” between this life and the life to come. One of his many titles by which he was known was “Pontiff,” or “Pontifex Maximus,” meaning, “one who rules over other gods.” Later on, other Pagan religions adopted the title. Another of Nimrod’s titles was that of “Pater Patrum” (as rendered in Latin), or “Papa,” one of the meanings being, “Father.” This just may be what Jesus was referring to when He said, “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven” (Matt. 23:9), addressing the custom of some who called various Pagan high priests, father.

The Mithraic high priest’s also took the title of Pater Patrum, which was later adopted by early Catholic Bishops in Rome, and which became simply, Papa, or Pope (father). Although Constantine was awarded the title of Pontifex Maximus, it was Siricius (AD 384-399) who first called himself Pontifex Maximus in the modern church. Yet, some historians trace the titles back to Gregory the First, in the sixth-century, as being the first Christian bishop on record who used the titles for himself. Whatever the case, by these times, the Roman Catholic Church – the new Pagan Roman Empire with a new Christian face – had started to take shape.

Augustine (AD 354-430), whose father was a pagan and who, himself, was converted from the eastern religion of Manichaeanism, wrote a work called The City of God. In this book Augustine made it clear that the Pope is intended to be the ruler of the world. But newer versions of Augustine’s work have removed this information. Could it be to keep it from the rest of the world?

The Pope and His Keys
The ancient god, Janus, was depicted with a double-faced head; one looks forward, the other behind, symbolizing the transition from past to future. His two faces originally represented, among other things, the sun and the moon. (Shown Left.)

Being the god of gates, doors and hinges, Janus was usually shown with a KEY. He was the Roman god of doorways and archways. He was also called Pastulcius, and Clusius, “the opener and the shutter.” Ceremonial gateways were called jani, which gateways were used for auspicious entrances or exits. And holding the “key,” Janus was also the keeper of the king’s treasury.

Janus was a deity of all beginnings, after whom the month of January is named; January coming from janua, meaning “gate,” with the Festival of Janus, called the Agonium, taking place on January 9. Because of this, he was also known as the figure representing time because he could see into the past with one face and into the future with the other. Hence, Janus was worshiped not only at the New Year but at the beginnings of the harvest and planting times, as well as marriages, births and other occasions that introduced change. The worship of Janus dates back to the earliest years of Rome, and the two-faced image of Janus was often depicted on coins of the Roman Republic. (Shown Right.)

Now Cybele was the Latin name of an ancient goddess. She was known to the Greeks as Rhea, the mother of the Olympian gods. Cybele was the goddess of nature, fertility, and of fortifications. She was worshiped in Rome as the Great Mother of the Gods. She bore a “key” like Janus, which was the key to the earth and opened the gates of the invisible world. Similarly, Janus opens the door of the sky and releases the dawn. It was these two gods, Janus and Cybele, that had the power of heaven and earth. The pagan Roman priesthood (before the birth of Jesus Christ) had a sovereign “pontiff” who held the “keys.”

Janus bore a key, and Cybele bore a key; and these are the two keys that the modern Pope “emblazons” on his arms as the ensigns (at right) of his so-called spiritual authority. The Pope pretends to be the successor of Peter, that great disciple of Christ; the same Peter to whom the Lord exclusively committed the keys of the Heavenly Kingdom. However, the “keys” that the Pope claims were once only the keys of “a” Peter, and not Peter the fisherman of Galilee. This other “Peter” with the keys was well known to the Pagans of the Chaldean Mysteries. The “title” of the priest who explained the Mysteries was known as “Peter,” meaning, “the interpreter.” So, the term “Peter” is not only known as the name of an individual, but it is also a “title” given to a Pagan priest who “interprets mysteries.”

A prime example of this can be found in one, Simon Magus, who occupied the highest place in the Pagan priesthood of Rome; he too, was known as “Simon Peter,” or just “Peter.” This same Simon is referred to in Acts 8. There we read: “But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.” (Acts 8:9-10.)

But after seeing the miracles that Philip performed, Simon feigned belief and was baptized. And when he witnessed what miracles Peter and John performed, Simon wanted to purchase this power with money; whereupon Peter said to Simon, “Thy money perish with theee, because thou has thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money ... thy heart is not right in the sight of God ... I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.” (See vv. 18-23.) Profane history tells us that it was this same Simon Peter who, after being rejected by the Apostle Peter, traveled to Rome and became the same Simon Magus spoken of earlier. It is interesting to note that the word, “magus,” means, “magician.”

Therefore, the term, “Peter,” being a Pagan title for those who interpret mysteries, should not be confused with the Apostle Peter, although this is exactly what the Roman church wants everyone to believe. Thus, we may see how the keys of Janus and Cybele would come to be known as the “keys of Peter,” the “interpreter of Mysteries,” such as in, “Mystery Babylon.”

The Pope and His Mitre Hat
What of that strange looking hat atop the head of the Pope? From the side it looks like a fish with its mouth open. This is reminiscent of the fish god, “Dagon,” which was — you guessed it — another name for Nimrod. Now some of these ancient gods get a little confusing as various nations picked up on them and incorporated some into their own worship.

Janus, for example, the two-headed god who had lived in two worlds, and whose key the pope usurped, was the Babylonian divinity, Dagon, as well as a god of the Philistines and the Phoenicians. Dagon, the fish god, represented that deity who had lived in the waters of the great flood. The idols of Dagon shows him in part human form, and part fish (see ancient picture at RIGHT).

As the Pope bears the key of Janus, so the two-horned mitre, which the Pope wears when he sits on the high altar at Rome and receives the Cardinals, is the mitre worn by Dagon, the fish-god of the Philistines and Babylonians. The excavations of Nineveh have fairly proved that Dagon was represented with such a hat. Alexander Hislop stated that,

“There were two ways in which Dagon was anciently represented. The one was when he was depicted as half-man half-fish; the upper part being entirely human, the under part ending in the tail of a fish. The other was, when, to use the words of Layard, ‘the head of the fish formed a mitre above that of the man, while its scaly, fan-like tail fell as a cloak behind, leaving the human limbs and feet exposed,’ ... and no one who examines his mitre, and compares it with the Pope’s ... can doubt for a moment that from that, and no other source, has the pontifical mitre been derived. The gaping jaws of the fish surmounting the head of the man at Nineveh are the unmistakable counterpart of the horns of the Pope’s mitre at Rome.” (TTB, pp. 214-215.)

We find recorded in 1 Samuel, Chapter 5, that the Philistines captured the Ark of God, and brought it to their city and placed it in the temple of Dagon. The motive which caused the Philistines to set up the ark in the temple was because it was customary to dedicate the spoils taken from an enemy to their own gods. It was, no doubt, to insult the God of Israel and His people that they placed His ark in the temple of Dagon. From Chapter 5 we read: “When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.” Of course this did not set well with the Lord, so He smote the image of Dagon, the people, the city and the coasts thereof. (See 1 Sam. 5:1-9.)

It is claimed that Semarimus, like the fishes, somehow survived the great flood, and that her name is a Hellenized form of the Sumerian name “Sammur-amat,” meaning, “gift of the sea.” Her Babylonian High Priest wore a fish-mitre hat. As stated, we still see this fish-looking hat worn by the Pope today. It’s in the shape of the open mouth of a fish. Notice any similarities between the picture at UPPER-RIGHT of the old Babylonian fish god, Dagon, and the picture AT LEFT of Pope John Paul II?

Other Pagan and Popeish Ornamentations
The stone carving, or stele, of King Ashur-nasir-pal II, shows various articles of clothing and ornamentation. At RIGHT, first, notice what is called a “Pallium,” which is a white sash or mantle worn over the shoulders. The Pope wears a similar Pallium worn over the shoulders, as can be seen in the picture of Popes John XXIII (below left) and Pope Benedict XVI (below right). Benedict wears a different style of Pallium that hangs from his shoulders and has red crosses and several sun symbols around the edge.

Note also, that beneath the collars around the necks on both the figure in the stele and Benedict XVI, there hangs an amulet in the shape of an “X”, or cross; and on the lower hand of King Ashur-nasir-pal II, in the stele, can be seen the pagan sunburst symbol, which can also be seen on the glove of Pope John XXIII.

In the carved stele of the King is depicted strips of cloth called lappets, hanging from the rear of the headgear. These lappets are also present on the Papal Mitre (discussed above), and the three-tiered Tiara worn by Pope John XXIII; the lappets are partially visible hanging AT LEFT from his Tiara as shown. Also notice the similarity of both the headgear and lappets on King Ashur-nasir-pal II and that of Pope John XXIII.
Are all of these things really a coincidence?

Popeish Contrasts
A contrast was compiled, by a Professor Arthur Noble, between Jesus Christ and the Pope.
(http://www.ianpaisley.org/article.asp?ArtKey=pope)
He said that, “Affixed to a column at the corner of the Orsini Palace in Rome at the beginning of the sixteenth century was the following comparison between Christ and the Pope:

1. Christ said: “My kingdom is not of this world.” The Pope conquers cities by force.
2. Christ had a crown of thorns. The Pope wears a triple diadem.
3. Christ washed the feet of his disciples. The Pope has his kissed by kings.
4. Christ paid tribute. The Pope takes it.
5. Christ fed the sheep. The Pope shears them for his own profit.
6. Christ was poor. The Pope wishes to be master of the world.
7. Christ carried on His shoulders the cross. The Pope is carried on the shoulders of his servants in liveries of gold.
8. Christ despised riches. The Pope has no other passion than for gold.
9. Christ drove out the merchants from the temple. The Pope welcomes them.
10. Christ preached peace. The Pope is the torch of war.
11. Christ was meekness. The Pope is pride personified.
12. Christ promulgated laws that the Pope tramples underfoot.

The following is a quote from page 205 of Jeremiah J. Crowley’s work, Romanism. A Menace to the Nation: “Christ knew no sin. Scores of the self-styled ‘Vicars of Christ’ –– the professing ‘Holy Fathers’ –– were so depraved and base that they left a history of adultery, bribery, debauchery, drunkenness, fornication, incest, murder, perversion, rape, seduction, simony, sodomy, treachery and whoredom. After a visit to Rome, the great Italian poet Dante described the Vatican as a “sewer of corruption.” And quoted from Ralph Woodrow: Babylon. Mystery Religion, p. 94f, one can read:

“Christ told his followers to keep the commandments. The Popes have methodically broken them all. Instead of practising ‘Thou shall not kill,’ Innocent III (1198-1216) not only surpassed all his predecessors in killing, but founded the most devilish institution in history –– the Inquisition, which for over five hundred years was used by his successors to maintain their power against those who did not agree with the teachings of the Romish Church. It is estimated that that Church, throughout history, has been responsible for the wilful slaughter of over 100 million people.

“Christ preached: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’ Pope Julius II (1503-13) had a passion for war bordering on frenzy. His pontificate was a perpetual war, and Europe knew no peace during the period of his life. One may easily imagine the state of the Church under a Vicar of Christ who spent his time in a camp, amidst the clash of arms, and who knew no other glory than that procured in war or the pillage of a town. His successors have faithfully carried on the belligerent tradition, supporting dictators and stirring up strife to achieve their corrupt aims.

“Non-Roman-Catholic countries are being brainwashed today into believing that the nature and aims of the Roman Pontiff and his Church are not what they used to be; but Rome is ever and everywhere semper eadem, always the same. As she was throughout past centuries, so she remains today, except that she is now playing politics more astutely than she was previously.

“So it is that Mangasarian, warning of Rome’s thirst for American blood, states the following as ‘the verdict of history’”:

1. Where the priests are free, the people are slaves!
2. Where the priests are rich, the people are poor!
3. Where the priests teach, the people are ignorant!
4. Where the priests prosper, progress is paralysed!
5. Where the priests lead, they lead into misery, bondage, poverty, superstition, persecution – ruin!

Today, as ever before, the same so-called “Vicar of Christ,” “King of Heaven, Earth, and Hell,” while claiming to represent the lowly and humble Nazarene, still wears a Triple Crown and robes, both bedecked with resplendent gold and priceless jewels! As one author well said, “Christ had not whereon to lay His head. The Pope dwells in a Palace of four thousand rooms! What a mockery! What a delusion! What a snare is Popery!”

College of Cardinals

The goddess Cybele was also worshiped as “Cardea,” or “Cardo,” from which the name “Cardinal” is derived, being named for her. The term Cardo means a hinge. Remember, Janus, was the god of doors and hinges, and both he and she held keys. Nimrod had a council of 12 priests to assist him in the temporal and political affairs of running his empire; these, too, were called “Cardinals,” who wore scarlet and purple robes, as the modern Cardinals do today, as can be seen by Cardinal Edward Cassiday shown at right. Of the Cardinals today, Hislip wrote:

“To enable the pope ... to rise to the full plenitude of power which he now asserts, the co-operation of others was needed. When his power increased, when his dominion extended, and expecially after he became a temporal sovereign, the key of Janus became too heavy for his single hand — he needed some to share with him the power of the ‘hinge.’ Hence his privy councillors, his high functionaries of state, who were associated with him in the government of the Church and world, got the now well-known title of ‘Cardinals’ — the priests of the ‘hinge.’” (TTB, p. 211.)

Hislop points out that, “From the Pope downwards, all can be shown to be now radically Babylonian. The College of Cardinals, with the Pope at its head, is just the counterpart of the Pagan College of Pontiffs, with its “Pontifex Maximus,” or “Sovereign Pontiff,” which had existed in Rome from the earliest times, and which is known to have been framed on the model of the grand original Council of Pontiffs at Babylon.” (TTB, p. 206.)

Priests of Catholicism

Alexander Hislop stated, “If the head be corrupt, so also must be the members. If the Pope be essentially Pagan, what else can be the character of his clergy? If they derive their orders from a radically corrupted source, these orders must partake of the corruption of the source from which they flow.” (TTB, p. 219.) With this said, I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not trying to denigrate or demean each and every Priest of the Roman Catholic faith. There are many fine and good Priests who do a very righteous work and whose hearts and motives, I am sure, are honorable before God and man, but who are ignorant of past history. And although there are, among these good Priests, those who are not so honorable, I do not condemn the whole of them, for that is God’s judgment. Accordingly, what is mentioned here is designed only for information and historical perspective, not to degrade those of pure hearts.

So getting on with our discussion, it should be obvious from the forgoing presentations that the term “Priest” extends clear back to the old Babylonian religion of Nimrod and Semiramis; the title being actually usurped from the true Priesthood of the one true God. Whereas the priest appointed of God, those who officiated in that office among the House of Israel and who wore “white” robes, the priest of old Babylon wore “black” robes — the color of Satanism and the Luciferin occult. This office is so well known that we will not discuss any more of it, other than that which has already been stated and that which will shortly be covered.

Celibacy of the Priesthood
It was Semiramis who first developed a system of an unmarried “celibate Priesthood” which would be devoted to her and her religion. Later, Mithraism and early Catholicism both considered abstinence, celibacy, and self-control to be among their highest virtues. However, one of the evils inherent in celibacy is that of homosexual behavior. Much of this behavior did occur, but the public allowed this immorality to continue to keep the priests away from their wives and daughters. To this day, history attests to the fact that a celibate priesthood has proven to be a drawing net to homosexuals, as the news reports much mischief among modern Catholic Priests today.

Hislop wrote, concerning celibacy: “The effects of its introduction were most disastrous. The records of all nations where priestly celibacy has been introduced have proved that, instead of ministering to the purity of those condemned to it, it has only plunged them in the deepest pollution.” (TTB, p. 220.) Like many other practices and dogmas within Roman Catholicism, the practice of celibacy receives no authority from Holy Writ.

The Confessional
The popular custom of “confession,” among practicing Catholics, is known as “auricular” confession, meaning oral confession. The Priests, of the old Babylon religion, had control over the worshipers because Semiramis compelled the people to confess to a Babylonian Priest at least once a year and to do penance according to the degree of the sins committed. Sins were categorized by their seriousness as either “mortal” (unforgivable or nearly so) or “venial” (forgivable). Of course, none of this was in the Bible, either.

The original purpose of the confessional was to keep tabs on any rebellion or uprising in the empire. This was effective because people were compelled to confess every sin to the priest, whether they be moral, ethical, or whatever, and omission of any sin could forfeit salvation. The problem of a celibate priesthood hearing the intimate private sexual confessions of married and single women would eventually lead to trouble as one would imagine; and it often did.

A former Priest, the late Father Charles Chiniquy, tells in his book, The Priest, the Woman, and the Confessional, that if married men and fathers knew the intimate questions that were asked of the wives and their daughters in the confessional booths, they would run the priests and their confessional booths out of town. So, as stated above, homosexual behavior was tolerated to keep the priests away from wives and daughters. Chiniquy said in his book that, “the confessors are more free with their penitents, even nuns, than husbands are with their wives.” He went on to say, “the confessional-box is the daily witness of abominations which would hardly have been tolerated in the lands of Sodom and Gomorrah. ... the confessional-box is for the greatest part of the confessors and female penitents, a real pit of perdition, into which they promiscuously fall and perish.” (p. 86.)

Brother Chiniquy stated that, “Yes! Auricular confession is a public act of idolatry. It is asking from a man what God alone, through His Son Jesus, can grant: forgiveness of sins. Has the Saviour of the world ever said to sinners, ‘Go to this or that man for repentance, pardon and peace?’ NO: but he has said to all sinners, “Come unto me.” (TPTWATC, p. 81.)

There was another vice the confession-box produced, specially during WWII in Europe. Unethical priests, were used to extract confessions from those loyal to other than Hitler’s Nazi regime. This vital information, which should have remained confidential between priest and patron, was funneled back to the German High Command. Consequently, not only were many secrets revealed, but a great number of such confessing patrons became imprisoned, put to death, or had to run for their lives.

So, from the forgoing diversion from our subject, the reader can see how sinister the confessional could, and did, become during those terrible days of WWII.

Nuns of Catholicism

To begin, I must say the same for the Nuns of Catholicism as I said for the Priests, that I am not trying to stain or cheapen each and every one of them, there being many good Nuns whose hearts are pure and motives clean, and who are sincerely trying to perform a righteous service to their Savior, but who, also, are oblivious of their connections to past history. And although there are many good ones, there are also the dishonorable — God, alone, being the judge. As with the Priests, what is stated here is for historical perspective, and not to degrade those of pure intent.

Vestal Virgins

Besides a celibate priesthood, Semiramis developed a system of female devotees known as vestal virgins, later to be known by the Chaldean word as “Nun,” which stand for the “Daughters of Nimrod.” “In the religion of the Babylonian, the institution of the Nun was from the earliest times. As the practice spread, we can find that in Athens there were virgins maintained at public expense who were strictly coerced to single life; and in Scandinavia there were the priestesses of Frey, which was nothing more than an order of Nuns bound to virginity. In actuality, Nuns have no validity or authority from Scripture, and are a modern imitation of the “Vestal Virgins” of Pagan Rome; a throwback to the Babylonian religion who kept watch over the “sacred fires.”

Originally, though, their duty was to serve their god in the Babylonian priesthood, and part of that service was to “sexually” serve the unmarried priests and monks, since these men were not allowed to marry and have wives. This service was seen as a form of worship. Such service was said to keep the priests satisfied and happy in the priesthood. Also, history attests to the horror of countless abortions which arose from this immoral system. Even in modern times, countless bodies of babies have been found, and many such gravesites for the aborted babies of these Nun/priest relationships were found in the underground tunnels between convents and monasteries.

In 1932, a ghastly discovery was made in Madrid, Spain. Workmen digging on Catholic property uncovered hidden underground burial sites which were offshoots of a tunnel stretching from a monastery for Priests to a convent for Nuns. In these graves they found baby skeletons, supposedly from Nuns who had become pregnant.

Another discovery of the same sort was also found in Seville in 1934, and also in the Basque region of Northern Spain. Many more such grave sites were found, not only in Spain, but also in Rome. Doctors discovered that most of the babies died of suffocation. Needless to say, the people became outraged and exhibited contempt for papal power; an incident which set the groundwork for the Spanish Civil War which followed during the 1930's.

Tonsures & Halos

Another distinguishing mark of the priests of Babylon, later known in the Old Testament as Priests of Baal, was the clerical “tonsure.” The word, “tonsure,” means to cut or shave the head (pictured at right). This is an initiation rite in which the priest of Nimrod has the top of his head sheared bald, while the edges of the hair is allowed to remain as a ring around the head. This was done in honor to Nimrod who was also worshiped as the sun god. For this reason God forbade Israel to receive such a hair-trim. “Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. ... They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.” (Lev. 19:27 & 21:5 respectfully.)

Upon ordination to the priesthood, the celibate priest goes through a ceremony of ordination, the first part of which is the “clerical tonsure.” Anciently it was the tonsure that was the visible inauguration of those who submitted as the priest of Bacchus. Concerning the tonsure, Hislop states, that, “It was indeed the “tonsure of Peter,” but not of the Peter of Galilee, but of the Chaldean “Peter” of the Mysteries. He was a tonsured priest, for so was the god whose Mysteries he revealed. ... Over all the world, where the traces of the Chaldean system are found, this tonsure or shaving of the head is always found along with it.” (TTB, p. 221.)

The Halo
The circling of the head with a tonsure represents the round circle of the sun, in honor of the sun god, Baal; and another sign of sun worship we need to look at is the halo. Halos are pictured as a luminous ring or a disk of light that surrounds an object. Webster's Dictionary describes a halo as the aura of glory, veneration, or sentiment surrounding an idealized person or thing. The golden and jeweled crowns worn by royalty is meant to signify their “divine right” to rule, but originally they were modeled after the halo; and it was the ancient pagans that originated this practice of using halos or “sun-disks” to signify the divinity of their sun god, be it the god, Ray, Mithra, or Baal, etc. Some people who worshiped the sun emulated its rays by wearing rings of feathers or leaves on their heads, and as we have discussed, many of the customs and icons of our world’s religions were adapted from earlier paganism.

From Wikipedia.org we get the following concerning halos: “Round “solar discs” above the head are seen in depictions of many deities of Ancient Egypt, including Ra and Hathor, and symbols resembling later halos, such as the sun cross, are found in many ancient religions, especially in connection with sun worship.” The PICTURE AT RIGHT is of Ra, with solar disk halo, dated before 1235 BC, and TO THE LEFT we have Leonardo da Vinci’s Benois Madonna, shown with a halo over both the madonna and the child.

Sun worship is what spawned the use of these sun disks in pictures and graven images. Halos commonly appear in so-called “Christian” religious art as a symbol of saintliness or divinity. The truth is that the halo did not come into Christian art until the third century at a time when pagan religions were suppressed and the halo fell into disuse among them, but the Catholic Church picked up on it. In the beginning, the Catholics only had the halo around their baby Jesus god, but by the fifth century, halos were used for the goddess Mary, Madonna and Child, angels and their saint gods. Renaissance artists loved to depict those that were “holy” with a halo, but I’m sure that most of them didn’t even know that the halo was originally a representation of the sun worship of Ray and Mithra, as is the round wafer-cake.

Anytime rays jut out from about the head of a person, whether it be in real life or in art form, it really represents either the gods, Ray or Mithra, even though some may try to call it the glory of Jesus. To THE LEFT is mosaic of Apollo with a radiant halo about the 2nd century AD. These figures of art were usually rendered in a pious way, with a halo, nevertheless, they were inspired by the tonsure rendered upon the heads of the Babylonian priests. So let's call it what it is: the halo represents the Sun gods, Ray or Mithra, both being foreshadowed by the very first sun god, Baal.

Image Worship

Both the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox church have icons and idols that are part of their worship. From the Roman church we hear: “From the very earliest days of the church there has been a tradition whereby images of our Lord, His holy mother, and of the saints are displayed in churches for the veneration of the faithful ... this practice of placing sacred images in churches so that they can be venerated by the faithful is to be maintained” (Vatican II). And from the 1563 Council of Trent we get: “The images of Christ and the Virgin Mother of God, and of the other saints, are to be had and to be kept, especially in Churches, and due honor and veneration are to be given them.” (Council of Trent, 25th sess.)

One convert to the Catholic faith justified the veneration of images in these words: “We can honor saints, but not worship them. Catholics do not worship anyone but God. Statues and icons are simply just that. Statues and icons. They are earthly visuals or reminders. Like the cross is for non-Catholics and Catholics alike. It's a reminder of Christ's sacrifice on the cross for us. Statues and icons are the same.”

This may sound okay on the surface, but let’s think about it for a moment. Doesn’t one realize that when they kneel down before a statue of Mary or some “saint,” their veneration is transferred to the one of which that statue is an image? How can one pray to a statue of a “saint” and truly believe the prayer is going to Christ? Realistically, it cannot be done, no matter how one tries to justify its practice. A prayer, or any sort of reverence or adoration, placed before Mary is, automatically, transferred to Mary, and to no other individual, not even God. Indeed, the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype, and whoever venerates an image venerates the person from whom that image is a representation.

How does the Roman Catholic Church scripturally justify such a practice? Well, first, they delete the second commandment (Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image) altogether to justify their idolatrous worship practices; second, they break the 10th commandment (Thou shalt not covet) into two, making it the 9th and 10th commandments (9th: You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and 10th: you shall not covet your neighbor’s house) to still show they have Ten Commandments. Just get a copy of both Bibles and check it out for yourself. The commandment against idols and images is totally ignored and even protested.

They say, “The Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols.”(Catechism of the Catholic church.) In response to Ex.20:4-5 the church says “…to make honor the images of Christ our Lord, of His holy and virginal mother, and of the saints, all of whom were clothed with human nature and appeared in human form is not only NOT FORBIDDEN by this commandment, but has always been deemed a holy practice and a most sure indication of gratitude. This position is confirmed by the monuments of the Apostolic age, the general council of church, and the writings of so many among the fathers, eminent alike for sanctity and learning, all of whom are of one accord upon the subject.” (Catechism of the Council of Trent, p. 375-376)

The Apostles referred to are the same Apostles who wrote the scripture against such image worship, and yet the church ignores this fact and appeals to their council. Not only the Apostles spoke against idol worship, but the entire Holy Bible, from beginning to end, makes prohibition against having images for religious purposes, and bowing down before them is clearly banned as set forth in the Second of the Ten Commandments, and in numerous other passages of Scripture. (There are so many scriptures prohibiting the veneration of images, which should be well understood by the reader, that I will not take time to insult the reader’s intelligence by quoting them all, save maybe one or two as we proceed.)

Catholics justify themselves saying that they are praying to the spirit behind the statue, not to the statue itself. These statues or icons are of Jesus, Mary, or saints and angels, so that makes it okay. Right? Wrong ! There is more to this practice than meets the eye. I Cor. 10:19-20 says: “What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that 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.” Paul states that the idol is nothing, just as Psalms 135 said. “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them.”

The picture at right is the statue that the Catholic Church refers to as the statue of Peter, but is actually the pagan statue of Jupiter that was removed from the pagan temple called Pantheon in Rome and renamed Peter. It has eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear, and a mouth that does not speak. Also, a halo representing the sun god can be seen hovering over his head.

The true spirit behind every idol is a devil. Those who worship them will become like them, they become blind, dumb and deaf, just as the idol; meaning blind, dumb and deaf to truth, for God has given them the spirit of deep sleep to that which is spiritual. “For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes...” (Isa. 29:10.) People involved in Idolatry cannot hear the word of God, they become like the idol that can’t see or hear. So the Catholic unknowingly is praying to devils as he prays before an image made by men’s hands.

Nowhere do we see this practice in the New Testament, but we do have many warnings about it. Nowhere does God approve of any type of worship toward objects that are even of Himself, neither the tabernacle which housed His presence, nor the ark which had the tablets, were to be worshiped. Yet these were some of the most sacred objects used. And what of the ark of the covenant, or the bronzed serpent? Neither one of these were objects to worship. The bronzed serpent was used once, and when Israel later used it a number of times, they were punished. 2 Kings relates the following: “And he [Hezekiah] did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.” (2 Kings 18:3-4.) The very thing God had Moses make for the people to look upon to be healed, in time, became an idol that was kept venerated. God used it for a single event but the people kept it as a souvenir and as an icon of worship.

In Deut.12:3-4 Israel was told to break down their carved images and not to worship them. They were to be different from the nations around them. The reason is because God is Spirit and there is no image that can help lead one into His presence or help one in a worshipful activity. It actually leads them to the opposite. God knew the heart of man and that we are weak, always looking to the outward which destroys faith; true faith is not what one sees but comes from within.

Today we see from the Pope the promotion of a pagan religion, claiming that from these practices we can even learn from them. They do not understand that the ones who promote the anti-christ practice of image worship, finds unity with idolatry.

Closing Thought
As stated above, we were only going to briefly discuss just a few topics relating to this subject of modern Roman Catholicism’s connection to the old Babylonian religion. Pertaining to these items discussed, entire books have been written about some of them. My purpose in presenting those that I did is just for an introduction to the relationships mentioned between the Roman Catholic Church and early Pagan and Babylonian practices. As with the previous chapter, that which has been presented only echos back as a type and a foreshadowing of things that were to come. Hopefully, the reader will extract from this information the seriousness of the premises at hand; and if interested, or in doubt of the theses presented, perform a little duo-diligence and some Google-search on their own.