by
R.Woodrow
CHAPTER ELEVEN
PAGAN ORIGIN OF PAPAL OFFICE
NIMROD, THE KING and founder of Babylon, was not only its
political leader, he was its religious leader also. He was a
priest-king. From Nimrod descended a line of priest-kings - each
standing at the head of the occult Babylonian mystery religion.
This line continued on down to the days of Belshazzar of whom we
read in the Bible. Many are familiar with the feast he held in
Babylon when the mysterious handwriting appeared on the wall.
Some have failed to recognize, however, that this gathering was
more than a mere social party! It was a religious gathering, a
celebration of the Babylonian mysteries of which Belshazzar was
the head at that time. "They drank wine, and praised the gods of
gold, and of silver, and of brass, of iron, of wood, and of
stone" (Dan.5:4). Adding to the blasphemy of the occasion, they
drank their wine from the holy vessels of the Lord which had been
taken from the Jerusalem temple. This attempt to mix that which
was holy with that which was heathenism brought about Divine
judgment. Babylon was marked for doom...
But though the city was destroyed, concepts that were a
part of the old Babylon religion survived!
When Rome conquered the world, the paganism that had spread
from Babylon and developed in various nations, was merged into
the religious system of Rome. This included the idea of a Supreme
Pontiff (Pontifex Maximus). Thus Babylonian paganism, which had
originally been carried out under the rulership of Nimrod, was
united under the rulership of one man at Rome:
Julius Caesar. It was the year 63 B.C. that Julius Caesar
was officially recognized as the "Pontifex Maximus" of the
mystery religion - now established at Rome.
Woodrow further expounds how paganism was mixed with Christianity.
NOTES:
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1. Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon, p.602 (quoted by Hislop, p.208).
2. Hislop, 'The Two Babylons,' p.210.
3. Ibid.,
4. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, no.6363.
5. The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol.7. p.699, art. "Impostors."
6. Hislop, 'The Two Babylons,' p.207.
7. Smith, 'Man and His Gods,' p.129.
8. Encyclopedia of Religions, vol.2, p.311, art. "Janus."
9. Ibid., p.545.
10. The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol.10, p.403, art. "Mithraism."
11. Durant, 'The Story of Civilization' The Age of Faith, p.745.
12. Inman, 'Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism,' pp.
63,64.
13. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, no.1709 and
1712.
14. Encyclopedia of Religions, vol.1, p.502, art. "Dagon."
15. Inman, 'Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism,' p. 21.
166
16. Layard, 'Babylon and Nineveh,' p. 343.
17. Hislop, 'The Two Babylons,' p.216.
18. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol.3, p.554, art. "Chair of
Peter."
19. Ibid., vol.2, p.185, art. "Babylonia."
20. Hasting's Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, art, "Images
and Idols."
21. Hislop, 'The Two Babylons,' p.214.
22. Encyclopedia Britannica, vol.22, p.81, art. "Pope."
23. Aradi, 'The Popes - The History of How They are Chosen,
Elected, and Crowned,' p.108.
...............
TO BE CONTINUED
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