PAGE 1
“THE COMING ONE WORLD RELIGION - PART
2”
...Ancient Babylon
to Modern Babylon
The ancient Babylonian “mystery
religions” never really died. They had their beginnings in the
Book of Genesis, which gives the account of the building of the Tower
of Babel under the leadership of Nimrod. It reaches both its zenith and
its destruction in the Book of Revelation.
The False Prophet,
referred to as another beast, “… exercises all the
authority of the first beast [Antichrist] in his presence, and he makes
the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast
…” (Revelation 13:11-15 brackets added). The False Prophet
will head the coming One World Religion under the authority of the
Antichrist. The Babylonian “mystery religions,” in a
disguised form, will comprise this false religious system. These
mystery religions are the alpha and omega of paganism and idolatry.
Babylon of the Old Testament and Babylon of the New Testament are
related and can be linked and traced.
The following historical information includes
elements of mythology in some of the accounts. It is important to
remember that mythology is usually a distortion of actual facts or
events.
Origin of Mystery Religions of Babylon
The following information is drawn from both the
Bible and accounts outside of biblical sources. As a brief overview,
the key characters will be listed with a short explanation showing
their connections to certain pagan deities, along with some common
denominators that run through the different cultures.
The three original key characters are: Nimrod,
Semiramis, and Tammuz. The chart below indicates the spread of the
Mother-Child Babylonian cult throughout other locales with the names of
the gods and goddesses that originate from these three characters.
These were the original names of the Mother-Child
cult. Semiramis was Nimrod’s wife, and Tammuz was their son.
We know that Nimrod was the founder of Babylon
(Genesis 10:9-10). It was Nimrod’s wife, Semiramis, who founded
the secret religious rites of the Babylonian mystery religions.
Semiramis claimed that she conceived, through an alleged miraculous
conception, a virgin-born son who would be the salvation of mankind.
She named him Tammuz [see Ezekiel 8:14]. In effect, this was a false
fulfillment of the promise of the Seed that was given to Eve in Genesis
3:15.
The Two Babylons,
authored by Alexander Hislop, chronicles the spread of the ancient
Babylonian cult of the “queen of heaven.” Jeremiah warned
the Israelites against offering sacrifices to the queen of heaven
(Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19, 25).
According to Hislop’s research, the
Babylonian worship of the queen of heaven found its origin in Semiramis
following the death of Nimrod. [For details of this story, see pages
148-149 of The Last Generation: Prophecy,
Current World Events, and the End Times.]
The "Mother and Child" as God Cult
As strange as this seems to the Western mind, the
son of the mother oftentimes plays a dual role. He is son of the
mother, and he can also be husband of the mother.
The Babylonians worshiped Semiramis, the wife, as
Rhea, “The Mother Goddess.” Her connections with her
husband, under the name of Ninus, or “The Son,” originated
the peculiar worship of the “Mother and Son.” Ninus is
sometimes called the husband and sometimes the son of Semiramis. The
same confusion can be seen between Isis and Osiris, the mother and
child of the EGYPTIANS. One of Osiris’ titles of honor and
dignity was the name, “Husband of the Mother.” This leads
to the question, “What does this have to do with early
Christianity or the One World Religion?”
The Paganization of Christianity
After the Persians took over Babylonia in 539
B.C., they discouraged the continuation of the mystery religions of
Babylon. As a result, the Babylonian cultists moved to Pergamum (or
Pergamos) where one of the seven churches of Asia Minor was later
located.
The chief priests of the Babylonian cult honored
the fish god by wearing crowns in the shape of a fish head. The crowns
bore the words, “Keeper of the Bridge.” This was symbolic
of the “bridge” between man and Satan.
The Roman Emperors adopted the Latin title
Pontifex Maximus, which means “Major Keeper of the Bridge.”
The bishop of Rome later used the same title. The pope today is called
“pontiff,” which means pontifex. Even today the term
Pontifex Maximus can be found throughout the Vatican and numerous
cathedrals in Rome.
Paganized Christianity Takes Root in Rome
When the teachers of the Babylonian mystery
religions later moved to Rome, they were influential in paganizing
Christianity. The Roman Empire included the geographical area known
today as the European Union.
In the early Christian Church there was no
confusion between Christians and Pagans. Christians were burned at the
stake for entertainment. The problem came when there was a joining of
Church and State.
Constantine legalized the practice of
Christianity. Emperor Theodosius went on to make it the state religion
in the year A.D. 381. Constantine converted to Christianity, which also
included a loyalty to paganism. He had granted the “Freedom of
Worship” for citizens of the Roman Empire.
The clear dividing line between Christianity and
paganism became blurred [this dividing line is becoming more blurred in
our day, but it will be clear again in the tribulation period]. The
glorification of Mary as “Queen of Heaven” and the worship
of the Mother/Child religion had entered the Christian Church from the
mystery religions of Babylon.
The evangelistic zeal to spread Catholicism to the
heathen lands resulted in a compromise with paganism. Christianity
became interwoven with the Babylonian mystery religions. This new form
of paganized Christianity was now endorsed as the official state
religion.
Catholics Evangelize Pagan World
The Roman Catholic Church declared Mary the
“queen of heaven” as a result of the miraculous birth of
Christ. The Old Testament clearly condemns the worship of the queen of
heaven (Jeremiah 7:18).
Statues of Mary with the baby Jesus became very
popular within Roman Catholicism. More emphasis was put on these
statues than statues of Jesus or the cross. The mother-child cult
preceded the birth of Jesus by centuries. It did not originate with
Roman Catholicism.
The Catholic evangelists began evangelizing the
pagan world. In the process, they kept encountering statues of pagan
deities and Madonna figures. The Catholic evangelists let them keep
their pagan figures of goddess and child, but merely renamed the
mother/child statues “Mary and Jesus.” Instead of pagans
they were renamed Catholics.
The Roman Catholic Church is moving toward an
ecumenical world religion. This one-world religion will be based on
compromise and experiences, such as the Marian apparitions.
Popes in the Final Countdown
As discussed in the previous article, there are
two key figures that will come to power in the end times. The Bible
refers to these key figures as two beasts (Revelation 13:11-15). The
first one is the Antichrist who will be the political and economic
messiah. The second one will be the False Prophet who will be a
religious leader and miracle worker. For many years prophecy scholars
have taught that the False Prophet would be a final apostate pope.
The pope, also considered the “bishop of
Rome,” is the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Only the pope
would have the power and influence necessary to bring all the religions
together. No other major world religion (or any religion) has a
religious leader with the authority, influence, and power combined with
a worldwide influence that even comes close to the pope. He has the
authority to make doctrinal changes in the Catholic Church even if it
is contrary to the Bible. His authority is placed above biblical
revelation. It would make sense for the False Prophet, the global
religious leader, to have this authority and power.
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II was briefly reviewed in part one
of The Coming One World Religion. We saw his connection to Mary,
Fatima, Our Lady of Fatima, and the dedication entrusting the world and
millennium to Mary [see part 1 for more details]. Two central themes
characterize his time in office:
1. His role in elevating Mary to a much higher
position than previously recognized. Pope John Paul II, without a
doubt, was the most Marianistic pope of all time. His devotion to Mary
is made evident by his motto, Totus Tuus. In Latin this means,
“totally yours.” This is not a reference to Christ but to
Mary. His consecration to Mary was an established fact. He had the
letter “M” embroidered on all his garments, showing his
devotion to Mary.
2. His role as the great unifier. He attempted to
bring all religions and faiths together [see part 1]. He was also known
as the “great unifier.” As mentioned previously, Pope John
Paul II took a compromising approach to other religions, which included
Shamans, witch doctors, Hindu gurus, Buddhist monks, and voodoo. This
sounds very similar to the approach of the Catholic evangelists in the
early days of Christianity. The pagans were allowed to keep their
statues of Isis and Horus, or other Mary/Child statues, and simply
rename them Mary and Jesus. History is repeating itself in the end
times of the last generation.
