Babylon Part 2 - The Mother of Harlots

Introduction To The Mother Of Harlots There is light and there is darkness in the universe. God is good and Satan is evil. And to have eternal life you must be "born again" through faith in Jesus Christ. Satan will do anything to keep a person from coming to this knowledge. Satan is not a god. Satan is a fallen angel leading a revolt against God. He is a created being just like us but with one big difference. God in His mercy has provided mankind with a plan of redemption. There is no salvation for fallen angels. At the appropriate time Satan will be judged and thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where he will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Satan knows he is going down. And he is using the freedom he has left to bring down as many as he can with him. God's plan of redemption for mankind dealt a blow to Satan. All flesh dies but through Jesus Christ a door to eternity was opened up for our spirits. Therefore, the Devil's objective is to keep mankind from salvation through Christ. The Devil's strategy is to counter God's truth with Satanic lies, otherwise known as the "Luciferian Doctrine or Secret Doctrine," in an effort to deceive the unwary, steal souls from God, and disrupt God's universe. The Secret Doctrine is quite simple. Basically it says, "good is evil and evil is good." Satan, being evil, wants to be worshiped as God. Therefore this perversion of reality, "evil is good," is the underpinning of Satan's grand deception. For every "type" given us by God in scripture Satan invented an "anti-type." To spread the Secret Doctrine around the world and preserve it from one generation to another the Devil has packaged it in a plethora of fables, myths, ancient mysteries, and false religions. He has created a flavor to suite every human taste. The wrapper may look different, but the core doctrine is always the same. Satan is always the object of worship hiding in the shadows of false religious systems. Why All The Mystery? The Devil hides behind the cover of secrecy and darkness to gain the element of surprise over his victims. Most people will not drink from a cup that is clearly marked as poison. Satan does not want to alarm anyone. He knows the sinful human nature, the likes and dislikes of our diverse personalities and cultures. Satan uses different bait to try and snag each of us. Whatever human weakness he finds be it money, power, sex, curiosity, acceptance, peer pressure, the need to belong or whatever, it will be used to drive a wedge between God and us. This is where the False Religions come into the picture. They are the attractive wrappers that hide Satan's poison. The plethora of religious choices are intended to ensure that regardless of our differences everyone will be able to find something that appeals to their particular taste or weakness. The Ancient Mysteries are a System of Apostasy intended to bring people into the Luciferian Doctrine. They spread a Secret Doctrine stealthily in false religions. The various gods, myths, and religious ceremonies associated with the ancient mysteries all have a dual meaning. They contain a secret message hidden within the words of a story. These myths, fables, and religious rituals are carefully crafted to mask the secret doctrine. It is like hiding a story within a story. Those outside the false religion only see a carefully crafted explanation of the cult creed. This is intended to arouse interest and not suspicion. As new members are brought into the cult they are put through rites and initiations designed to entrap and scare them into keeping the cult secrets. In addition, these ceremonies help identify those ready to be entrusted with the darker secrets of the cult. The Secret Doctrine is the actual hidden meaning in the ancient mysteries. It has been passed down through the ages from one false religion to another. This information is highly guarded by the cult leaders. Some people have no problem openly worshiping Satan. Most people, however, need a little trickery and deception to turn them from God. Only when Satan feels he has gained enough power over the affairs of the earth will he bring the Secret Doctrine out into full view. False religions today use both overt and covert operations to spread the Secret Doctrine. Initiates refer to these organizations as being "Black Institutions" and "White Institutions." These Satanic institutions are sometimes mentioned with deceptive characterization such as, "a thousand of points of light." The "white" organizations purposely look very harmless on the outside to serve as the recruiting ground for the "black" organizations. Some even try to give off the impression of being a Christian organization or social club. Many of the initiates in a "white" organization have no idea that they are participating in the ancient mysteries. There are no excuses for these people however. The work of Satan is easy to see even in these "white" institutions. For example, initiates in Masonic rituals drink wine from a carved out human skull, pray to "Ala" and "Lucifer the light," swear a blood oath, and pronounce the secret word for Baal. You would think that this would cause most people to run out of the Masonic Temple. Sadly, few people leave this religion after they get initiated. The "black" organizations are for initiates that are more receptive to Satan's iniquity. These cults and false religions come right out and deny the God of the Bible. The sad thing is that Satan does not have to work too hard to deceive people into accepting false religions. The truth of Jesus Christ falls on deaf ears while paganism is embraced with passion. Mystery Religions have come down to our generation in the form of innocuous appearing organizations like the Masons, Mormonism, and Papal Catholicism, and the not so innocuous pagan religions such as Wicca and the Occult. So why all the mystery? The primary function of the Ancient Mysteries is to deceive mankind into willingly or unknowingly joining Satan's rebellion against God. If you won't side openly with the Devil then Satan is just as content deceiving people into worshiping him in proxy. Therefore the "mysteries" act as camouflage to allow the Secret Doctrine to move freely through society without drawing unwanted attention. In essence, Mystery Religions do in secrecy what would not be safe to do openly.

Primeval World Gone Astray We don't know much about the mysteries in the primeval world because knowledge of that time was lost in the Great Flood.
	In antediluvian times (before the Flood) great megalithic structures such as Stonehenge spread throughout Europe and the Maltese islands. These stone monuments functioned as astronomical observatories, tombs, and temples for fertility, solar and lunar cults. Evidence shows that many of these stone structures passed through the flood to be restored, expanded, and reused by a new generation of megalith-builders.
But I can say with certainty is that modern day archeologist and anthropologist have got it all wrong. When the raw data is properly interpreted without evolutionary and atheistic bias it supports the Biblical view of the ancient world. There was a time when dinosaurs, humans, and prehistoric mammals all lived at the same time. Proof of this comes from footprints of humans and dinosaurs preserved side-by-side in stone in the U.S., and from other evidence such as Mammoth-Bone houses found in Europe.
	A reconstruction of a mammoth-bone house at Mezhirich in the Ukraine. Houses constructed from the bones and tusks of the woolly mammoth represent some of the most ancient human architecture known on earth.
Humans did not evolve out of Africa. The human race started about six thousand years ago with two people, Adam and Eve, somewhere in the Middle East, probably near modern day Israel. That left over 99% of the earth's landmass uninhabited and free for the dinosaurs to roam without interfering with the development of the human race. As mankind's population grew and spread across the land God diminished the dinosaur population. The Great Flood wiped out the last of the great prehistoric creatures along with the wicked pre-flood civilizations. How do we reconcile the Bible with the fossil record of human origins and the various models of human evolution? In the ancient world there were several species of apes and hominoids that died out with the flood.
	These three to four foot high creatures anthropologists call Australopithecus were nothing more than crouching chin-less tiny brained ape-like animals that died out before the flood. Homo erectus was another ape species that did not make it through the deluge.
Neanderthal on the other hand was probably the most human like animal ever to walk the earth. Nevertheless DNA analysis of Neanderthal bones prove that this was nothing more than a non-human upright walking species of ape. Neanderthal fossils often show the signs of having been cracked open to allow access to the marrow. Neanderthal bones are typically found discarded with the remains of other animals in prehistoric garbage pits. Pictures of elaborate "flower burials" of Neanderthal dead is pure fantasy. The only clothing, jewelry, fire pits, and tools found near any of these animals belonged to the humans that ate these apes for dinner. Modern Homo sapiens are all descendants from Adam and Eve and the eight humans preserved in the Ark. God created the diversity found in modern day people from the genetic makeup of Noah and his sons and their wives. These few human survivors of the deluge repopulated the earth along with the creatures preserved in the Ark. Once again the human race started over from somewhere in the Middle East. Why did God destroy the primeval world in the first place? The earth became full of violence and wickedness. Archaeological evidence now points to wide spread cannibalism and human sacrifice in ancient cultures. Once a society stoops to acts of depravity of this kind one might wonder what other abominations were they engaged in? It is hard to say but things must have been very bad in antediluvian times for God to send the Great Flood. Just look at all the violence and false religions in the world today yet God patiently withholds His judgement. Much of the ancient world was populated with small clans of hunter gatherers. But some remains of pre-flood civilizations have been uncovered. And they show that centers of pagan worship were widespread in ancient times.
	Hear we see a stone idol of the Earth Mother or Great Goddess the ancient people of Malta worshiped. This image was found in the temple at Hagar Qim and it displays the typical characteristics of Mother Goddess idols: wide hips, bulbous legs, and a folded arm.
	It is highly possible that megalithic temples such as Tarxien were constructed in the ancient world sometime before the Great Flood.
	This representation of the temple at Tarxien on the island of Malta shows the first signs of organized pagan religion in "megalithic temples."
Some believe that Atlantis was the first world power in ancient times. That may be true. And it may be that the ancient mysteries were conceived in Atlantis. Occultists certainly claim hidden knowledge of the lost continent of Atlantis. The Egyptians also told stories of an ancient empire that once upon a time invaded the Mediterranean. All we know for sure is that the people became evil. God looked at the ancient world and "the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart."
	In southern-central Turkey on the Konya Plain, 200 miles from Ankara, archeologists found the temple of Catal Huyuk. This bull cult dates back well before the Great Flood. The bull idols were created by inserting real bull's horns into plaster heads.
So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."
	A reconstruction in a painting by A. Forester (1928), of the scene of sacrifice in the death pit of the King's Grave at Ur based on archaeological excavations. Everything the king might need in the afterlife was buried with the king. Here we see soldiers, charioteers, and servants preparing to follow their king. These human sacrifices ceremoniously drank poison to start their journey.
Something happens when people come together in large communities that tends to bring out the worse in human nature. We see this in the ancient world and once again shortly after the Flood. It didn't take long for man to return to his evil ways. Babylonian The Great, Mother Of Harlots We may not know much about the mysteries in antediluvian times but much has been written about the reappearance of the ancient mysteries after the Flood. However, only eight humans survived the Great Flood. It is from these eight souls that all knowledge of the ancient world passed through the Flood. It stands to reason that most pre-flood knowledge and history was lost, forgotten, or distorted over time. Much of what we know comes from recent archaeological evidence and the works of classical historians. But modern archeologists generally misinterpret data to support their pagan humanist religious views. And Greek and Roman historians mixed fiction with historic facts to weave interesting stories. Therefore, any reconstruction of ancient history from either of these sources is extremely unreliable. Scripture is the only completely accurate account of history and source of Divine knowledge. Scripture is inspired by God and therefore a reliable baseline to judge all other works. If scientists, scholars, historians, or archaeologists say anything that contradicts what we have in scripture then they are wrong. But you can count on scripture. Unfortunately there are many topics of interest where scripture gives us what we need but not enough to satisfy our desire for more information. And the history of the world before and just after the Great Flood falls into this area. So much of what has been written on this topic comes from unverifiable sources and should not be taken as gospel. With that in mind we will now piece together the reappearance of the Mysteries after the Flood. Five figures play prominent roles in the mythology of the Babylonian Mysteries. They are Cush, Nimrod, Semiramis, Shem, and Tammuz. Cush was the son of Ham and the grandson of Noah. After the flood men began to migrate from the east to a plain in the land of Shinar. This land became know as the fertile crescent, Mesopotamia, and Babylonia. This is where the Mysteries say Cush instigated the building of the Tower of Babel.
	We do not know what the Tower of Babel looked like. It may have been a ziggurat like that at Ur or a tall round tower like that depicted above.
	Interestingly enough the foundation of the Tower of Babel can still be recognized in Babylon today.
Some pagans credit Cush with founding Babylon because he built the Tower. Nevertheless, Cush is a central figure in Mystery mythology and pagans credit Cush as the father of their religion. Nimrod was the son of Cush and the great grandson of Noah. The Bible says, "he began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD." And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city)." The name Nimrod means, "he rebelled." The word "before" is sometimes used to mean "against." Many believe Nimrod was a mighty hunter "against" the LORD. Nimrod created the first major cities after the flood. And it was Nimrod that first organized people under a government in rebellion against God. Like Cain, Nimrod thought too highly of the work of his own hands.
	According to the Mysteries Nimrod built the remains of Babel into the city of Babylon and then founded the great city of Nineveh and many others cities. Pagans say, "Cush may have founded Babylon, but Nimrod built the great city."
Clearly Nimrod was a driven man with ambition. Is there anyone today that can lay claim to founding nearly a dozen great cities? Ambition brings desire for big conquests. Nimrod set his sights on Semiramis, the most beautiful woman around. Some think that she was already married to another man at the time Nimrod took her. Others say she was Nimrod's mother. Regardless, Nimrod took Semiramis as his wife. Semiramis was the first queen of Babylon. After Nimrod's death she continued to rule for over 42 years. Semiramis is credited with finishing the great walls started by Nimrod that encompassed the whole city. Babylon was the first city after the flood to be surrounded with brick walls and towers.
	Excavations at the royal cemetery at Ur give us some idea of female fashions around the time of Queen Semiramis.
More than brick walls rose up in Babylon. Semiramis became the grand architect of the Babylonian Mysteries. And it is interesting to note that this grand apostasy came so quickly on the heels of the Great Flood and judgement of God at the Tower of Babel. Even before Babylon rose to a position of a true world power this wicked city became the center of every abomination that mankind could imagine.
	Babylon, whose Semitic name, Bab-ilu, means "Gate of the Gods," was beautiful on the outside and full of wickedness on the inside. The Istar gate was 88 feet high and decorated with glazed bricks on a blue background. This gate stood between the outer and inner walls of the city; from it the Processional Way ran to the sacred area.
Semiramis instituted the practice of prostitution as a form of pagan worship. From the queen to the lowest member of society all Babylonian women went to a pagan temple to worship their pagan goddess by selling themselves. This was called the "Sacred Marriage" ceremony. It made no difference if you were married or not. It was the custom that all Babylonian women perform this pagan ritual at least once in their life. The women would sit in the temple and wait for a man to through a single coin in their lap. Following this the two strangers would go off to a dark corner and "worship their deity."
	This molded relief in baked clay depicts the "sacred marriage" ceremony.
Chapter seventeen of the book of Revelation says, "And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." When God calls Babylon the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth He means it. Semiramis, the first queen of Babylon, was literally a harlot and the mother of harlots. She set up prostitution as a form of religious worship. This abomination and all the others that arose in Babylon soon spread around the globe. We know from the New Testament that the Apostles had to deal with this issue. Some in the early Church were still going into pagan temples to engage in this immorality in Paul's day. Despite all her power Semiramis had to be careful not to be too open with her newly founded satanic religion. There were still many in the world that had not turned their back on God. Shem was one of three sons born to Noah. Shem lived 502 years after the flood, buried seven generations, saw the apostasy before and after the Flood, and fought evil all of his days. In occult literature Shem is identified as a great adversary of Satan and his pagan followers. It is said in Mystery mythology that Nimrod went to a king, identified as Shem, and told him to worship the seven stars and the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Shem then persuaded a tribunal to convict Nimrod. Shem cut Nimrod into pieces and sent them to the people as a sign of judgement and as a warning. Pagans call Shem the "evil one." They give him the symbol of bull's horns, a sign of his physical power, and boars tusks, the sign of his persuasive power in the trial of Nimrod. The Babylonian Mystery evolved from blasphemous mythology invented by Semiramis after Nimrod's death. In order to solidify her power Semiramis now claimed that Nimrod had risen in the afterlife to become the sun god. Now she was the wife of a god and that would bring her power and allow her to hold on to her claim to the throne of Babylon. Next, Semiramis gave birth to a son and proclaimed the child was Nimrod reborn. The child is referred to under the name of Tammuz in scripture. This made her the mother of a god, and the mother of her husband. Semiramis then claimed she was a Babylonian goddess, the Queen of Heaven. Surely only a goddess could be married to a god and give birth to a god.
	The Mother of Harlots holds in her hand "a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication ... and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication."
Tammuz is commonly known among classical writers under the name of Bacchus. Bacchus means, "The Lamented one." In Ezekiel 8:14-15 we read, "So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the LORD'S house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz." Then He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these." Tammuz, although worshiped as a baby in his mother's arms, was actually a strong hunter. And like Nimrod he came to a sudden and violent death. Tammuz is worshiped as Nimrod reborn, so here we have lamenting not just for Tammuz but also Nimrod. The ritual of weeping for Tammuz is common to many pagan religions. This is the secret behind the Babylonian Mystery. Semiramis, Nimrod and Tammuz form a false trinity and the primary objects of worship in the Mystery. However, this unholy trinity is worshiped by many names. As fables of their divinity spread around the globe each culture added their own twist to the Babylonian Mystery. A highly organized System was developed to guard the cult secrets while bringing in new initiates into the Mystery. The System gave a select few absolute power and control over every aspect of people's lives. The system was comprised of new objects of worship, idols, doctrine and discipline, rites and ceremonies, festivals, and new orders. A key component of the new mystery system was the creation of a new social class, the Priesthood. Priests would become the gatekeepers of all knowledge and interpretation. No longer could people be allowed to have direct access to God and His Word. To get any information people first needed to be initiated into the mysteries. In this way Priests replaced guidance by the Holy Spirit as the interpreters of scripture and placed themselves between man and God, or in this case man and his pagan gods. Want To Know A Secret? For millennia cults and mystery religions have protected their Secret Doctrine from the uninitiated and outsiders. And even those initiated into mysteries are brought along carefully through the system. Cult priests only deal out secrets bit by bit as members rise through the hierarchy of the cult. So it is important to understand that there are layers of secrets in the mystery system. Outsiders are given a positive image intended to lure new initiates into the mystery. New initiates receive the first layer of secrets only after they have been drawn too far in to the mystery to get out completely. Blood oaths and death threats for anyone who reveals secrets usually buys silence, even from those who leave the cult. Rituals, ceremonies and symbols with double meanings are used to avoid alarming outsiders while communicating hidden messages to the cult faithful. The biggest secret kept by all mystery religions is called the Luciferian Doctrine or simply called the Secret Doctrine. It deals with events that go all the way back to the Garden. Only a select few at the top of the Mystery hierarchy are initiated into this secret. In Christian nations it has not always been safe for mystery initiates to openly speak such blasphemy. But during the past two hundred years cults have been provided with special protection in society. That has led some to publicly reveal their big secret. Freemasonry is a good example of a mystery religion that finally came out of the shadows with this satanic gospel. Albert Pike, Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry said: "We worship a god, but it is the god that one adores without superstition. To you Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, we say this, that you may repeat it to the Brethren of the 32nd, 31st, and 30th degrees - The Masonic Religion should be by all of us initiates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian Doctrine. If Lucifer were not god, would Adonay (Jesus ... God of the Christians) ... bother to spread false and harmful statements about him? YES, LUCIFER IS GOD ..." There is no denying this statement from the former head of Freemasonry. The Luciferian Doctrine says that Lucifer is a god. And Freemasonry is a religion that embraces this satanic doctrine. Freemasonry is a good example of how secret organizations operate. They fly low under the radar of public scrutiny by creating an appearance of being a "good work" social club. Outsiders seldom learn what goes on behind their doors. New initiates are slowly brought into the organization through a series of bizarre rituals, secret handshakes, and secret codes. Initiates think this is just some odd rite of passage to a higher rank in the organization. But all this is part of an elaborate system to bring new initiates into the darkest secret of the mystery. The Luciferian Doctrine has its own mythology that directly contradicts the Word of God and portrays Satan as the one that brings enlightenment to mankind. This mythology is built upon the lie that Satan told Eve in the Garden, "Go ahead and sin, you will not die, you will be like God." The message in the Secret Doctrine is, "sin and personal exploration into whatever your heart desires is good not bad. There are no consequences for your actions, only enlightenment." Modern day liberalism is based upon this principle. Out of the lie Satan told Eve comes several key planks of the Luciferian Doctrine: According to the Doctrine "There is no original sin because Adam and Eve did not do anything wrong." This is a full frontal attack upon the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Saying there was no original sin is also implying there was no need for salvation through faith in Jesus. To transfer the attention from Jesus to Satan the Mysteries go on to say that Adam and Eve did not sin or fall but they were enlightened or fell upwards. This is tantamount to saying that good is evil and evil is good. They plant the seed that Satan set Adam and Eve on the path to godhood by introducing them to evil. Twisting and perverting God's commandments is a key component of Satan's strategy. Eve is worshiped as the queen of heaven, mother goddess, and mother of the gods because she physically gave birth to mankind. Remember, if you believe that anyone can become a god then Eve would be the mother of the gods. She is also said to have been the first to recognize that experimentation and pursuing your desires, as illustrated by eating the fruit, gave her knowledge of good and evil. This is said to have made her like god. Genesis 3:22 is often misquoted by pagans to prove their point.
	This prehistoric Venus carved in limestone was found in Western Europe. It is very typical of the type of idol worshiped in mother goddess cults.
Adam is worshiped as the husband and son god. Husband god because he fathered mankind. Son or Sun god because the mystery says he was reborn after death as a god. Pagans also make the false claim that he willingly accepted the punishment of eating the fruit, the humiliation of his nakedness, in order to allow others to be born and become gods, and to make a mother of the gods out of Eve. Satan is worshiped in the mystery as the hidden liberator, father god, and savior of mankind from Gods oppression and restrictions on human behavior. Pagans give Satan credit for opening up Eve's eyes to experimentation, which pagans say does not lead to death, but is pleasing to the senses and makes you equal with god. These blasphemous doctrines are the foundation of all the world's idolatry. Virtually all pagan myths, legends, false religions, cults, and ritual ceremonies from every country on earth from ancient times till the present carried some form of the Secret Doctrine. Behind Closed Doors When the Babylonian Mystery is brought up today it is frequently met with rolling eyes and skepticism. It sounds a bit like some grossly exaggerated conspiracy theory. But once people get a closer look into how the Mystery System works their eyes are opened up and they tend to get a bit uneasy. Some people can't deal with the truth so they tend to deny or ignore it. Understanding how the System works is like putting on spiritual x-ray glasses. It peals away the layers of secrecy and makes it easy to recognize satanic influences around us. And it is amazing to see just how much Satan has intruded into every aspect of our lives. The System The System is a network of interacting processes and items that work together to spread the Luciferian Doctrine. The basic design principle employed by the Mystery architects was to provide a satanic anti-type for everything that is of God. For example: God has provided guidelines for righteously judging good from sinful human conduct. The satanic system says experimentation is enlightening. The only wrong behavior is to obey God. God says mankind sinned. The system says Eve did not sin, she fell upwards. God has declared that He is the One and Only God. The system says that there are many gods. And it also says we can become gods and goddess ourselves by obtaining the secret esoteric knowledge of the mystery. God says we must confess our sins to Him. The system developed the one-way confessional to get power of those confessing. God forbids idols. The system encourages idol worship. God says to spread the gospel. The system works to keep God's gospel out of the hands of people. Jesus was a Jew. The system seeks to destroy all Jews. Christians have the true knowledge of salvation. The system seeks to pervert and destroy Christianity. Once again, the System is a satanic religion of perversion and apostasy. It attacks everything of God and calls it bad, and it calls every abomination good. Pieces of this system were already in place before Babylon. The Chaldeans were among the first to develop their own mystery system. It was with the help of Chaldean Priests that Semiramis built the Babylonian Mystery. Idols carved from wood and stone became the new objects of worship. Faith in an invisible God is not a part of the System. The idols were a way of portraying the new pagan gods as something tangible. They were not meant to be just representations of the gods. These carved images were actually passed off as living gods. They were clothed and decorated with jewels and precious stones. Food was set out as an offering for the idol. And through magical tricks the priests would make the idols appear to speak. Temples and Shrines were built to house the gods. This provided a controlled environment in which to perform initiation rites and worship services. Gazing upon and passing through these impressive edifices had an enormous affect upon simple-minded people living in an agrarian society. Even today some people are overcome with emotion upon entering religious buildings. Temples were designed to make people feel small and the pagan gods impressive and large. This was part of the conditioning process that removed inhibitions and opened people up to a new pagan belief system. The Priesthood was created to be the intermediaries between the Mystery System hierarchy and the masses. They were elevated to an elite class of society and entrusted with running the daily operations of the pagan religion. Temples and shrines became their place of business. They were the keepers of the idols. The priests encouraged worshipers to bring offerings to the gods. After all the gods needed to be clothed, fed, and adorned with precious jewels. Of course this is pure nonsense. Wood and stone do not eat. The priests lived well by diverting the offerings into their own pockets.
	Reconstruction of the internal court of the Temple of Ishtar, which lies on the east side of the Processional Way, not far from the Temple of Marduk in Babylon.
The Inner Sanctuary Pagan temples and shrines usually had a special chamber in the center of the temple where the temple idol was kept. This provided a controlled environment in which the priests and priestesses could go about their business. Openly implementing a system that turns society from worshiping God to worshiping Satan can be a dangerous thing. God always leaves a remnant that will stand up for what is right. Therefore Mystery Religions are very careful not to be too open about their real intentions. They work hard to cultivate a positive public image. But within the privacy of the inner sanctuary priests were free to engage in secret rituals that might be viewed as offensive by outsiders. The practice of using temples and inner sanctuaries to perform secret rituals is still with us today. Mormon and Masonic initiates swear upon their lives not to reveal the pagan rituals performed within their temples. Clothing The gods Pagan idols were not treated like ordinary statues. They were lavishly dressed with splendid robes, jewels and crowns. Throughout the history of Pagan worship, from Babylon to Egypt, and from ancient Greece to the Church of Rome, "clothing the gods" was considered a sacred ceremony and an important function. It was considered a great honor to have access to the innermost sanctum to dress the idol. People believed that honoring the deity with expensive gifts would gain the favor of the god. Of course the priests were the real beneficiaries of these gifts. Here is a closely guarded secret to the "clothing" the gods ritual. Pagans believe the gods and goddesses are pleased with clothing because there had once been a time in their history when they stood greatly in need of clothing. In the mysteries the gods and goddesses of paganism are also worshiped as incarnations of Adam and Eve. This is another example of how paganism distorts a truth from God. There was a time when Adam and Eve were "spiritually" naked. Their fall in the garden made it necessary for the Divine hand of God to cover their nakedness with clothing specially prepared for them. This was a pointer to the death and blood of Christ that would be the only covering for our sins. But paganism is a system based on works that rejects the work of Christ. That is why most cults credit Satan with clothing Adam and Eve. Does this sound like a silly practice that would never happen in a modern society? Mormons believe Satan is the one who helped Eve understand the gospel plan. He is the one who instructs temple patrons in wearing of the fig leaf apron, which is a symbol of his power and priesthood. Every practicing Mormon receives a fig leaf apron during one of their rituals from someone representing Satan in the Garden. They wear it for the rest of their lives while in their temple. Mormons are actually buried with their apron. But this covering was unacceptable to God because it was based on human works. Some form of the "clothing the gods" ritual can be found in all cults. In Egypt they copied this event by slaying a ram and clothing the father of the gods with its skin. Cult Hierarchy Mystery Cults have an organizational structure much like other institutions. The higher up one goes in the cult the more one's status, privileges, and authority grows as well. And with each step the initiate is given access to more rituals and even darker cult secrets. New initiates were at the bottom of the cult hierarchy. The priesthood was up a notch from the cult membership. And the priesthood was often divided into separate orders for performing specific functions. Some acted as scribes recording the cult doctrine. Some performed guard duty. Some had the responsibility of performing rituals and sacrifices. Others practiced divination. And still others burned incense, recited prayers, or led members in worship. At the top of the cult structure was Mr. or Mrs. Big, the High Priest or High Priestess. The High Priest or Priestess was the caretaker of the cult. It was their job to empower their priesthood, grow the cult, and line their own pockets with gold along the way. So how did the Priesthood pull off this ambitious takeover of power from the rest of society? Education Today education is largely accessible and free. But in ancient times the average person was not very educated. Few could read or write. Kids did not go to school because there were no schools. There were no universities, no public libraries, and few scrolls. Semiramis and the priesthood took advantage of this situation by trying to control all ecclesiastical and secular knowledge. They set up the first centers for learning. And the priests gathered together scrolls and tablets, the books of that day, and stored them in the temples. Since the priests were the gatekeepers of the temples they also became the keepers of knowledge. All information concerning science, history, engineering, medicine, astronomy, and religious matters soon came under the control of the priesthood and mystery cults. A huge gap in knowledge developed between the priesthood and the common man. When people wanted to know when to plant a crop, how to build a bridge, or how to practice their religion they had to go through the priesthood. This made the priesthood highly valuable to ancient cultures. But there was a hidden objective to all this. Pagans seek to suppress the knowledge of God and create educational institutions void of God. In this way they hope to turn the hearts and minds of people from God and righteousness to the doctrines of Mystery Babylon. Liberals are the modern day equivalent of pagan priests. And they are continuing the attack upon God in our educational systems that started in ancient Babylon. There once was a time when the Holy Bible was used to educate students. But today liberals have removed the Bible. Today we find a public school curriculum full of false teachings such as evolution and alternative lifestyles. Liberal lawyers have even taken away the right of Christians to pray at school. The Ten Commandments can not even be posted in public places. In short, pagans have infiltrated our institutions of learning and school boards and turned our public education resources into mystery system indoctrination camps. Unless you can afford to home school or send your kids to a private school these pagans will have your kids from the ages of 5 to 18 years old. This is the age when children are the most impressionable, when they will establish a code of conduct and beliefs that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. And while you are hard at work to provide for your family these liberal snakes will be brainwashing your kids with liberalism and trying to turn them away from God. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 1:7 Divination Ancient societies were very superstitious. People understood little about the world around them. Natural events like earthquakes, floods, and volcanic eruptions were beyond explanation. So the priesthood invented the practice of divination to provide people with answers. Divination was the ritual of "reading" the entrails of a sacrificed animal, typically a pig. Priests claimed they could foretell the future, answer any question, or discern the will of the pagan gods by looking at pig guts. Sounds silly but because of their superstitious nature people accepted this practice.
	The image of the face of the demon Huwama or Humbaba formed from the pattern of animal entrails as used in divination. Baked clay model is inscribed on the reverse with "If the entrails look like the face of Humawa."
Soon nothing was done in the ancient world without first taking it to the priests to put before the gods. Kings would not even go to war or give battle without first asking the priests to seek the favor of the gods. In this way the priests became the interpreter and the voice of the gods.
	Bronze and clay models of a liver divided into areas for divination. These were used to teach student priests how to read omens from the real liver of a sacrifice. Each section of the bronze liver is engraved with the name of a pagan deity.
Pagan priests and their divination became the satanic anti-type for God's prophets and prophecy. Priests served false gods therefore their divination had no creditability. However, the prophets of old spoke on behalf of God. All prophecy inspired by God is certain to is fulfilled at its appointed time. Magic The Chaldean priests were very skilled magicians. Magic in ancient times was a combination of illusion, misdirection, slight-of-hand and entertainment. When everything else failed a little smoke and mirrors was enough to impress the masses. Magic was a major element of temple ceremonies. Priestly tricks made stone idols appear to talk. Of course it was the priest projecting their voice from behind a wall. And the priesthood made it appear that the idols consume food offerings. But from the book of Daniel we learn that priests and their families accomplished this trick by sneaking into the temples at night and consuming the food themselves. Pagan temples were a maze of these secret passageways and tunnels. This allowed priests to move throughout the temples without notice. During rituals they would disappear in a puff of smoke by dropping through a trap door. After moving quickly through secret passages and stairways they would reappear somewhere else. To a crowd typically high on dope or intoxicated by wine this must have seemed like quite a feat of magic. I find it interesting that the Egyptian magicians were able to imitate the first few plagues brought by Moses. But their magic tricks could not keep up with the power of God. Astronomy The priesthood established the first observatories. And over time they gained extensive knowledge and understanding of the movements of the heavenly bodies. This allowed them to predict the arrival of comets, the timing of an eclipse, and the alignment of planets. And this must have made a big impression upon uneducated superstitious minds. God created the lights in the firmament of the heaven to serve as a sign. This is a great mystery. The twelve constellations actually reveal God's plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. In ancient times people only needed to look up into the night sky to see the prophecy and promise of His coming to save the world. But pagan astronomers created astrology as a way to subvert God's message in the stars. Today people by the millions read their daily horoscope yet they are completely ignorant as to the true message of Christ in the stars. "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" Genesis 1:14 Holidays and Festivals The priesthood invented holidays and festivals for important events such as planting and harvesting crops. This served a two-fold purpose. First it got everyone together, unknowing or knowingly, to participate in the Mysteries. Secondly, the commemoration of feast days was a way to preserve the mysteries over time. The Olympics are a good example of a pagan festival that has been resurrected in modern times. Few people understand that the passing of the Olympic Torch from one runner to another is actually an ancient pagan ceremony that symbolizes the passing of the Luciferian Doctrine from one generation to another. The Olympic Flame is first lit by a High Priestess in Greece before being transferred to unsuspecting participants to relay to the site of the games. In fact the High Priestess, currently Thaleia Prokopiou, officially titled the "Witch of Hera," and her entourage of 20 some odd other "witches" send the Olympic Torch on its way with dancing and prayers to both Apollo and Zeus. Yet it is against the Olympic Committee code of conduct for anyone associated with the Olympics to publicly mention the words "Jesus Christ." And you probably thought the Olympics were nothing more than some harmless fun and games for the world's premier athletes! The Confessional The Confessional was instituted in the mystery system as another means of getting power over the masses. We are to confess our sins to each other and to God. But the priesthood twisted this into a one-sided affair. Priests do not confess to the laity. A priest is looking for information to hold over your head. That is why confession to a priest was a prerequisite for one to be admitted into the Mystery. The confessional became a great cause of fear for many people. Mystery Initiation Initiation into a mystery system was a well-choreographed process. Care and precautions were taken by the priest to properly prepare the initiate for hearing and accepting the mystery. 1. The process of initiation started with a confession to a priest. 2. Next there might be some study and memorization of vows and proceedings. 3. On the day of initiation candidates were led into special areas of the temple prepared specifically for the initiation rite. Temple facades were intended to stimulate curiosity and inspiration. The inside walls were decorated with symbols and pictures depicting mystery mythology to stimulate the eyes. Incense was burned to stimulate the nose. And some believe the air was full of "mind expanding substances" intended to loosen inhibitions. 4. Initiates were then stripped of all "profane" clothing. This is simply another control tactic, which by the way is still in use in Mormon temples today. 5. There is some sort of ceremonial washing and anointing of the initiates. A priest would typically anoint the initiate's private parts. This is about power. The fact that anyone would allow a complete stranger to do such a thing, and in full view of friends and family, shows how the System reprograms initiates to accept the unacceptable. 6. The initiate gets a new name to be known only within the ritual chamber. This practice is very common today within a wide variety of cults, clubs and associations. 7. The initiate is given special, magical garments, underwear, or aprons. This will later be tied to some profane creation story or Mystery mythology. 8. Special handshakes and secret words are used to identify levels of initiation. Masons and Mormons still use these relics of the Babylonian Mystery initiation ritual in their ceremonies. 9. The initiate must then partake of a mysterious beverage from a golden cup or skull. These drinks were comprised of wine, honey, water, flour, and other ingredients of an intoxicating nature. This was a symbolic action representing a literal partaking of the "cup of iniquity," the initiation into the Luciferian Doctrine. 10. The initiate was then given admittance to a sacred place representing the dwelling place of the gods. 11. The climax of the initiation ritual was the all import voice of the oracle. An "oracle" was a priestess, priest, shrine, pool of water, idol, or basically anything through whom a deity was believed to speak. Usually a mysterious sounding voice was projected from behind a curtain. At that point in the process the initiates were not in their normal state of mind and it was easy for the priest to work their deception.
	Petitioners seeking advice from "Cumaean Sibyl" (the Oracle at Cumae, the oldest Greek colony in mainland Italy) would be ushered along the gallery of alternating light and dark to the vestibule outside the Oracle's inner room. The disturbing sight of a dim priestly figure intermittently vanishing as he approaches would have been very unsettling. But this was all part of the show.
The powerful and privileged were usually given their own personal message delivered by the oracle. Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar were both declared gods at their initiation into the Egyptian Mystery. "You can be a god or goddess" is still the big hook used to get many people into cults. The average initiate would now be eligible to receive a few cult secrets at this time. This might include the keys to understand certain cult symbols or doctrine. The method of revealing secrets to initiates varied. An oracle might be used. Or cult elders or priest might pass on the information. But the preferred method of imparting "enlightenment" was to have initiates participate in pagan rituals. Each ritual had a hidden message or secret and was associated with a particular pagan deity. The priesthood carefully orchestrated the religious ceremonies which included human sacrifice (typically burning their own children or enemies captured in battle), cannibalism, and every form of immorality imaginable. Priests evolved fables and strange doctrines to justify these unspeakable acts of abomination. Participation was considered an act of worship from which the worshiper received enlightenment. Enlightenment according to the Secret Doctrine is the path to godhood. And of course the false doctrine of Lucifer as man's god and savior is part of that satanic enlightenment. The system to bring people enlightenment can be boiled down to something like this: get loaded, free your inhibitions, find yourself through experimentation, taste the forbidden fruit, and you will reach a higher level of consciousness. Sound familiar? Satan does not care if initiates buy into the Secret Doctrine. Participation is all that is needed. And it doesn't matter if people do it knowingly or unknowingly. The Devil revels in the fact that people are disobeying God and profaning their bodies, the Temple of God. 12. Every initiate was sworn to silence though blood oaths and the penalty of death. Under no circumstances were initiates allowed to reveal the secrets of the cult. Sounds silly but how many organization do you know that continue this practice today? They are too numerous to count. And don't forget there was added incentive for initiates to keep silent. There was the confession, peer pressure, perhaps the threat of being divorced, losing your kids, being disowned by friends, or the loss of needed business contacts and support. For some this may be hard to believe. But it is a historical fact that in ancient times people worshiped or honored their pagan deities by participating in secret and public ceremonial rites typically involving human sacrifice and drunken orgies. Those who refused to participate in these rituals would have stood out from the norm. But the big prized waved in front of all initiates was the potential for godhood. And initiates were told they would become little gods and goddesses through temple works and rituals. It was believed that acquiring the secret esoteric cult knowledge after each ritual elevated an initiate to the level of a god or goddess. What am I talking about here? Temples were set up all over Babylon. And every temple honored and housed a different god. They had their own independent High Priestess or High Priest, and clergy. Each temple set up their own oracle, initiation rituals, and created their own Mystery. Those initiates that progressed high enough in the religion were eventually given the Luciferian Doctrine and told that Lucifer was the hidden god they were worshiping. This might be conveyed as some profane creation fable portraying Lucifer as a powerful god, the founder of the priesthood, and a good helper of mankind. Summary In the second part of this study we examined the "MYSTERY" attached to "BABYLON THE GREAT" and learned why God identified this city with the distinctive title of "THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." Babylon was a great city. But Babylon is also the city where the abominations of the antediluvian world first reappeared after the Great Flood. Babylon is where mankind rebelled against God and built the Tower of Babel. It was from Babylon that God divided mankind by tongues and spread them across the continents. And Babylon is where wicked Queen Semiramis turned the hearts of men and women away from God. It became the custom for Babylonians to play the harlot in perverted worship rituals. They sold their bodies to strangers in pagan temples for a piece of silver. Babylonians committed spiritual adultery by worshiping idols made from "stones and trees." Babylonians did not fear God. Every sin known to man was practiced in the pagan temples that occupied the high places in the city. Following Nimrod's death his wife Queen Semiramis got pregnant out of wedlock. She found a way out of this precarious predicament by claiming her illegitimate child Tammuz was actually her dead husband Nimrod reborn. In this outrageous public relations ploy Semiramis the harlot managed to transform herself from a situation of shame into an object of worship. Semiramis sold herself as a goddess, the "Queen of Heaven," because she was now believed to be the mother of the deity Tammuz and the wife of the deity Nimrod reborn as her child. Semiramis, Nimrod and Tammuz formed a false trinity and the primary objects of worship in the new pagan religion known as the Babylonian Mystery. To this apostasy Semiramis added another mystery, the Luciferian Doctrine or Secret Doctrine. This painted everything righteous and good as evil and everything evil as good. The original sin was denied. Adam, Eve, and the Serpent were turned into objects of worship. Lucifer was hailed as the hidden liberator and savior of mankind from Gods oppression and restrictions on human behavior. Lucifer was worshiped for opening up Eve's eyes to experimentation, which pagans say does not lead to death, but is pleasing to the senses and makes you equal with god. Eve was worshiped as the mother of the gods because she physically gave birth to mankind. She was honored for her experimentation as illustrated by eating the forbidden fruit. Adam was worshiped as the husband and son god. Husband god because he fathered mankind. Son or Sun god because the mystery says he was reborn after death as a god. These blasphemous doctrines became the foundation for all the world's idolatry. Virtually every pagan myth, legend, false religion, cult, and pagan ritual can trace its roots back to Babylon. That is why God calls Babylon "THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." Behind all this you will find the hand of Satan. He is the true architecture of mankind's fall. Satan created mystery religions as a diversion to keep mankind from the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. In Part Three of this study, "Seven Mountains," we will examine the seven kings and kingdoms upon which the Mother of Harlots sits and reveal the identity of the last days Mystery Babylon. Fortunately for us scripture sheds light into this mystery. God made sure an angel told Apostle John in no uncertain terms how to interpret this revelation. The angel said, "I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns." That means this mystery is not up for subjective criticism, speculation or private interpretation. "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." The identity of the city that ruled over the kings of the earth in John's day is obvious and certain. There is only one city known since early antiquity as "the city on seven hills." In Part Three of this study we will also show how this city continues to reign over the kings of the earth in these last days.