REV 1-5-6; Queen of Heaven Hocus Pocus & Lent
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BEWARE: What are some of the pagan rites that have crept into the Church? To name a few would be: The incense burning before images, the orders of priests and monks that are so contradictory to Christ-like humility, the calendar of observances that each originate with pagan events that have only been renamed with Christian events, the titles of pagan priests like Pontifex Maximus, pontiff, vicar, and most excellent.
Christ’s ADMONITION v. 14-15
Pagan Origins of Romanism: By the time of Christ, this cult had so influenced Roman life that the Caesars were not only crowned as emperors of Rome but also bore the title Pontifex Maximus, meaning, “high priest.” They were high priests of the Babylonian idol worship.
Babylon to Pergamos: When Medes and Persians moved in and took the city and temples of Babylon in 539 BC, the high-priest fled with a company of initiates and their sacred vessels and images to Pergamos, where the Symbol of the serpent was set up as the emblem of the hidden wisdom. The chief priests wore miters shaped like the head of a fish, in honor of Dagon, the fish god, the Lord of the life-another form of the Tammuz mystery, as developed among Israel’s old enemies, the Philistines. The chief priest took the title Pontifex Maximus, and this was imprinted on his miter.
Beware of Idols: Always remember that the very last warning the Apostle John gave to the Church was in v. 21: Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
Abraham was Saved from Idolatry: About 2000 B.C. God called Abraham away from all the idolatry of Babylon. Abram lived in Ur of the Chaldees. Babylon was also known as the realm of the Chaldeans. Abram was an idolator, he worshipped the images of the gods of his land. God saved him out of that idol worship. Listen to Joshua: Joshua 24:2-3
Jeremiah 44: The words “Queen of Heaven” are found in five verses in the Bible (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19, 25).
“The Two Babylons” by Alexander Hislop. The worship of Semiramis throughout history has often had these elements:
Semiramis was called the Queen of Heaven;
Semiramis was worshipped by the offering of a wafer, or cake;
Semiramis began the practice of 40 days of weeping over Tammuz before the feast of celebrating his resurrection.
These mystery cults around Semiramis also had purgatory, which they taught and believed and adhered to.