666 – Revelation (part1)
By Roy Allen Anderson D.D.
In the last book of the Bible, Jesus Christ gives His Last warning before He returns the second time. This Last Day warning is found in chapters 13, 14, 16, 17 & 18 of the Book of Revelation. Jesus warns His people about how the whole world will be deceived into worshipping Satan, symbolized as the Seven Headed Dragon attacking a woman, a symbol of the True Faith.
In Revelation 13:4, 8, 9 Jesus' prediction about the worship of Satan throughout this world may be read: "And they WORSHIPPED THE DRAGON which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? ... And all that dwell upon the earth SHALL WORSHIP HIM, WHOSE NAMES ARE NOT WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE OF THE LAMB SLAIN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD. If any man have an ear, let him hear."
The Apostle John wrote: "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." 1.John 2:18.
The Apostle Paul warned: "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped: so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." 2.Thessalonians 2:3,4. There are various ways our Lord has made known to His followers how to detect Satan who is the invisible head of a partly religious and partly political movement. Revelation 13:18 warns it would be branded with the number 666. In Revelation 17:5 our Lord describes this satanic movement that is antichrist in a symbol of a lewd beautiful woman. And upon her forehead was a name written, "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
The very last warning our Lord is now giving the deceived world is found in Revelation 18:4. "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE, THAT YE BE NOT PARTAKERS OF HER SINS, AND THAT YE RECEIVE NOT OF HER PLAGUES."
There are three distinct messages symbolized as three angels in Revelation 14. Revelation 14:6, 7 is calling the world away from the worship of the Dragon, to worship God who created the heaven, earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. In Revelation 14:8 it tells how Babylon the Great is fallen and how she has made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. However, in Revelation 14:9,10 we read the most solemn warning ever given to the world, of which most are completely ignorant. Satan is hardly ever mentioned in many Christian circles, much less how he is predicted in Scripture to lead most to lose their salvation.
"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his MARK in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb." Revelation 14:9,10.
God reveals that all nations have already been deceived by "Babylon the Great, The Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth." And our Lord is calling His people out of Babylon. But, the question to most is, what is Babylon? This is the whole purpose of this book. It is to lay wide open for all to see what the sins of Babylon the Great are, and who she is, and who this mysterious scarlet colored beast is that she is riding on, as described in Revelation 17:1-8.
While we study the history and the nature of "Babylon the Great (and of the Beast that is carrying her)," we will learn that there was, is, and always shall be in this world, avowed worshippers of Lucifer. Some will be shocked to learn that Luciferians have lived and died in promoting the worship of Lucifer through Babylonian, Egyptian and Druid Witchcraft, and are determined to overthrow all religions and governments. Their goal is to unite the world into a One World Government, and exalt Lucifer as the only god of this world!
As we continue to study the nature of "Babylon the Great," we will study the philosophies of "Wicca" Wicca is the modern version of Babylonian, Egyptian, and Druid Witchcraft with millions of both male and female members. We will learn how apostles of Lucifer in the past and present are using Secret Societies, Communism, International Banking, Christian fronts, social issues to further their plans. We will learn how these modern day witches are ever determined to overthrow the worship of Jesus Christ and Christianity by using subliminal warfare (Mind Sciences), and physical force. This Luciferian plot to destroy all religions and all governments, so that a One World Luciferian Government may be established, is coming today, in what is known as "The Aquarian Age," or "The New Age Movement." In Latin it is called Novus Ordo Seclorum (New Order for the Ages). But its real, concealed name is The Illuminati. And, it will be shown that it was from the Secret Order of The Illuminati, that Communism was derived!
We will study the origin of the number 666, and who today is branded with it. We will study the Mark of the Beast with whom no true follower of Jesus will identify. We will take a journey through documentive history starting with Lucifer's rebellion in Heaven, and continue to expose through history how Lucifer was worshipped, both ignorantly and openly, through the astrological systems of Sun worship. After the camouflages have been removed from paganism that reveal it was in reality Satan who was worshipped as the Sun-god, then we shall remove all the camouflages Lucifer is hiding behind today, through false systems of Christianity, and through an international political movement for a One World Government.
These two symbols, "Babylon the Great" and the Beast that ascendeth out of the Bottomless Pit, will be carefully studied and understood later on in the book. However, before the ordinary reader can comprehend any of these things, we must go back into history to the time of Adam and Eve, and to the time of Noah and Nimrod.
The origin of lies traces to Lucifer (Genesis 3:4). And the origin of false religion also began with Lucifer. In Isaiah 14:12-15 we read:
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit."
It has been Lucifer's plan from ancient times to gradually unite this entire world into a One World Government that would reject its Creator and worship Lucifer instead.
Lucifer before his fall was the most exalted angel next to Christ. The "son of the morning" stood in the presence of God with Christ. He was the covering Cherub, the lightbearer for God. However, Lucifer began to think of himself as equal in splendor and wisdom to God. He began to think he also deserved worship from the Lord's servants, and began to plot against the Lord of Heaven. Lucifer, the covering Cherub, did set his face to overthrow the worship of God. Lucifer did not at once reveal his covetousness. If he had exposed all of his plans to the Universe, where sin and rebellion at that time were not known, he would not have gained much following. Lucifer's plot to overthrow the government of Heaven would take long and careful planning. Little by little, Lucifer began to find others whose sympathy he could gain by criticizing how the Lord managed the affairs of the Universe. Lucifer tried to make the God of Love, the Lord of the Sabbath, appear to be a selfish tyrant. Lucifer, assuming the guise of godliness, led many Heavenly Beings to come over to his side by misrepresenting God's character, as if God Himself were the Evil One.
Lucifer sowed seeds of murmuring, complaining and strife which germinated into rebellion, and caused divisions among the angels of Heaven. Lucifer tried to weaken the unity of Heaven, thinking this would weaken the power of the Almighty. However, only one third of the Heavenly host chose the side of the god of confusion. The whole Universe chose only two sides; there was no middle ground. There was war in Heaven between Christ and Lucifer. "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Revelation 12:9.
The very plans Lucifer tried to execute in Heaven, he is now conditioning the people of the world to accept. Just as Satan, or Lucifer, concealed his real plans from the angels in Heaven in the beginning to overthrow the worship of God, so is Lucifer trying today to overthrow the True worship of God among the inhabitants of this world. Just as Satan did not suddenly expose his real plans that would have demanded the worship of him by Heavenly Beings, so has Satan camouflaged the worship of himself among earthly beings, through a world-wide network of gods and goddesses, and later through false systems of Christianity.
Sun worship was the greatest rival religion of the worship of Jehovah in the Old Testament. It was through Sun worship that the worship of Lucifer was camouflaged throughout this world. Those who obeyed the pagan precepts were actually bowing their knee before the Devil, not gods as they thought. "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Romans 6:16.
As the angels of Heaven chose sides before Lucifer was cast out of heaven, so will the people of this world join into two distinct groups before the end of this age. The line of distinction, which will be studied in detail in the closing chapter, will be drawn by the Mark of the Beast foretold in Revelation 13: 11-18 and 14:6-13.
The Luciferian plot to overthrow the worship of Jesus has always worked in secret, using camouflages to remain hidden. It has not come upon the world suddenly, but little by little. Likewise, we must also trace this history of the great Luciferian Conspiracy little by little. We will expose how primitive man was deceived into worshipping Lucifer, then bring the reader down through the centuries and show how Lucifer is being worshipped in these modern 1990's.
To begin this study, let's take a closer look at the name "Lucifer" itself. The name "Lucifer" in Latin means "Light-Bearer" and may also mean the planet Venus, which is the "morning star at dawn"[2]. In Greek mythology, Lucifer was personified as a male figure bearing a torch[3]. Hence, we have the origin of the Light-Bearer of the Olympic Games. The Greek transliteration of the name of this incarnation of Lucifer in the myth was Teitan. In middle English his name was Titan, which also meant "Sungod"[4]. .A distorted record of the rebellion of Lucifer and that of the rebel giant Nimrod has been preserved in Greek mythology. Titan (Teitan), the personification of Lucifer, was the ancestor of a race of giant humans here on earth who were overthrown by the Olympian gods[6]. Hence, the word titan today means "one gigantic in size or power." And, the word titanism today in our language means "spirit of rebellion; or a defiance of and revolt against the established order or authority"[6].
As Lucifer was the chief leader that led the angelic host to rebel against God, so did Nimrod cause the early descendants of Noah to rebel against God. Flavius Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian, wrote about Nimrod and how he seduced the people of his day to rebel against God, and was first to teach the arts of masonry, while building the "Tower of Babel." From the book "The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus", we read the following:
" ... Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah, a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it was through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which produced that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny, seeing no other way of turning men from fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence on his own power. He also said he would be revenged on God, if he would have a mind to drown the world again, for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach! And that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers!
"Now the multitude were very ready to follow the determination of Nimrod, and to esteem it a piece of cowardice to submit to God; and they built a tower, neither sparing any pains, nor being in any degree negligent about the work. And by reason of the multitude of hands employed in it, it grew very high, sooner than any one could expect; but the thickness of it was so great, and it was so strongly built, that thereby its great height seemed, upon the view, to be less than it really was." (The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus, Whiston, Kregel Publications, 1960, 1978, p.30.)
Nimrod tried to unite the whole known world of his day into a One World Government that would be anti-God or Antichrist. But God wanted the sons of Noah to eventually replenish the earth by traveling abroad the earth and settling in colonies. This would have kept in check the wickedness that has always derived out of the cities. In the beginning, it was not intended that man be crowded together in large cities. This tower of Babel, the building of which Nimrod supervised, was to have two great significances. The city of Babel would become the metropolis of the world and unite its inhabitants under the dictatorial rule of Nimrod. And its tower was to be a monument to man to stand as a symbol of the wisdom of its builders. By building the city of Babel, Nimrod hoped to prevent the people from scattering abroad into colonies as the Lord intended. While in the midst of this building, when the tower reached an height that it could today be called "skyscraper," our Lord came against it. In Genesis 11:3-9 we read: "And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have one language; and this they began to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it Babel (confusion); because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."
Nimrod, who also built Nineveh, was worshipped by its early inhabitants under his deified name "Ninus." He was first to incite people to war with their neighbors after the confusion of tongues had scattered the early descendants of Noah over the earth. Trogus Pompeius, who wrote of Ninus, states that the first King of Nineveh caused the people to war against themselves. Alexander Hislop compiled this statement written by Trogus Pompeius, the ancient historian, in his book The Two Babylons, p. 23:
" 'Ninus, king of Assyrians,' says Trogus Pompeius epitomized by Justin, 'first of all changed the contented moderation of the ancient manners, incited by a new passion, the desire of conquest. He was the first who carried on war against his neighbours and he conquered all nations from Assyria to Lybia, as they were yet unacquainted with the arts of war.'"
Hislop goes on to quote another ancient historian named Diodorus Siculus and shows how Trogus Pompeius and Siculus both agree with each other.
" 'Ninus, the most ancient of the Assyrian kings mentioned in history, performed great actions. Being naturally of a warlike disposition, and ambitious of glory that results from valeur, he armed a considerable number of young men that were brave and vigorous like himself, trained them up a long time in laborious exercises and hardships, and by that means accustomed them to bear the fatigues of war, and to face dangers with intrepidity.' " Loizeaux Brothers, Neptune, NJ, 1916.
Hence, Nimrod (Ninus) was celebrated at Nineveh, which he built, as a War-god, and his epics as a hunter, a warrior, and his death were later imitated in the Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and American Indian Mysteries. His Egyptian name was Osiris[7]. To the Romans, he was also worshipped as Mars (which means "The Rebel"), from which our name March was derived. He was Zernebogus to the Anglo-Saxon, which means: "The Seed of the Prophet Cush"[8]. But, Nimrod's ancient Babel name was Merodach, which means "To Be Bold, or Rebel"[9]. So here we find the real meaning of these two gods found in Scripture: "Bel (The Confounder) is confounded, Merodach (The Rebel) is broken in pieces Jeremiah 50:2)." We will study more of the origin of the name "Bel" later.
In the Babylonian myth of Tammuz, or Thammuz (the equivalent to the Egyptian god Osiris, who actually was Nimrod, the ringleader in the great apostasy against our Lord, was ordered to be killed by a certain king. The reason given for his death was that Tammuz, the incarnation of the Sun-god, tried to promote the worship of Astrology to this certain king. However, this king ordered him to be put to death. Maimonides, another ancient historian, had read deeply into the learning of the Chaldeans. He describes this myth, quoted by Hislop in The Two Babylons, p. 62:
"When the false prophet named Thammuz preached to a certain king that he should worship the seven stars and the twelve signs of the Zodiac, that king ordered him to be put to a terrible death. On the night of his death all the images assembled from the ends of the earth into the temple of Babylon, to the great golden image of the Sun, which was suspended between heaven and earth. That image prostrated itself in the midst of the temple, and so did all the images around it, while it related to them all that had happened to Thammuz. The images wept and lamented all the night long, and then in the morning they flew away, each to his own temple again, to the ends of the earth. And hence arose the custom every year on the first day of the month of Thammuz to mourn and to weep for Thammuz."
Now, in the worship of the Sun-god among the Mexicans, they believed that for the Sun-god to bestow life on the world, he needed also to receive life from it [10]. To show the reader the murderous character of Satan displayed in people, and what human beings can be led to do by his false religious spirit, we will explore some of the reasons behind the rites of human sacrifices.
To the ancient Mexicans, the heart was the seat and symbol of life, and bleeding hearts of men and animals were presented to the Sun-god to maintain him in vigor and enable him to run his course across the sky [11].
Now, when the Israelites turned their backs from worshipping the Lord, they adopted the worship of the pagan gods from their neighbors. And they too were led by pagan high priests to sacrifice human beings. "They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor and ate the sacrifices of the dead. Thus they provoked the Lord to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them. And they served their idols which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto DEVILS and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood." Psalms 106:28, 29, 36-38.
The ignorant Israelites were not sacrificing their children to gods, as they thought, but unto devils. Paul, over 1000 years later, said the sacrifices of the Gentiles which the Israelites adopted were actually "Sacrifices to Devils." "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." 1.Corinthians 10:20.
As history has documented, that greatest object in pagan worship was the sun, who was symbolized all over the world as a heavenly bull [12]. The pagans displayed the cosmic god in their arts as a bull standing on its hind legs with a tail, hoofs and horns, with a man's head and arms, with a threeprong pitchfork in his hand. So the ancient cosmic symbol of the Sun-god, with hoofs, a tail, horns and a pitchfork, is where we today get our symbol for Satan as having hoofs, a tail, and horns, with a pitchfork in his hand.
In pagan philosophy, lightning was the manifestation of their god's wrath and an agent of his punishment. The thunder was the voice of his warnings [13]. In ancient Greece, thunder and lightning were believed by the worshippers of Zeus to be manifestations of his presence. Any spot struck by lightning became sacred. The very name "Zeus" (skt. dyaus, "The Bright Sky") identifies him as the god of the sky and its phenomena [14]. In Rome he was worshipped as Jupiter, in Scandinavia, Thor, and in Canaan, Baal, the Storm god.
Lightning from the sky separates into branches; hence, the lightning bolt found in the hand of the supreme god of the sky was stylized into a pitchfork. This was a symbol for his power, as he who controls the lightning bolt.
Besides Satan's personation of Christ just before Jesus' Second Coming, what other power of God is the second beast of Revelation 13:11-17 going to counterfeit through lying wonders? "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men." And this is still future.
The prince of the power of the air is also the prince of darkness. Just as the pagan was deceived by Satan in ancient times, so is the Christian in modern times. And, if man can learn how to bring electricity down from the sky and harness its energy, how much more could Satan, a supernatural being, who is even called in the Bible "The Prince of the Power of the Air" (Ephesians 2:2), able to cause destructive storms! And not only this, but also give his followers secret knowledge how to do the same to their enemies.
Because the Sun-god was believed to have this power and would also give it to his followers, if they were obedient, or would zap his enemies with his bolt, the pagans worshipped their gods through fear. In Bible Truth, it is the goodness of God that turns an evil person to worship Him (Romans 2:4). But in pagan belief, it was the anger of the Storm god, his hatred for man, his unmerciful attributes, that made the pagans bow before him. Not through love, but through fear. Their whole worship revolved around winning the evil one's favor by pacifying him through sacrifice and appeasement.
The main features behind the pure demon worship of ancient Babylon can be seen today by the open worship of the Yezidis of Kurdistan, Armenia, and the Caucasus. In their pagan worship they believe it is "Melek Taus," who is the Devil, that was the co-creator of the world [15]. Their religion today is the worship of both Good and Evil, or Christ and Satan. They have adopted some heretical elements of Christianity, and some precepts of Islam. They regard Jesus as an angel in human form and recognize Muhammad as a Prophet with Abraham. They practice circumcision and baptism. Instead of Christ as the creative agent of the Godhead (Ephesians 3:10), they regard the Devil as the creative agent of the Supreme God, and seek even today to (appease) him as the author of evil. They also avoid mentioning the name of the Devil in fear of offending him [16]. We will study another religious movement that has the dualism of good and evil to be worshipped from today's Rock Era a little later. This study should be particularly interesting for people who called themselves Christians during the epidemic of the Beatle hysteria.
The Yezedis, like most pagans, believe their destinies are not determined by a good, loving, kind and gentle God, but by the Evil One, who has no mercy, who delights in destroying mankind. They believe that the good God will forgive no matter how they regard him. But, it is the Evil One whose favor they must secure. He, as the destructive deity, must be pacified by offering him sacrifice, penance, and worship.
Is this not similar to how multitudes who call themselves Christians are led to worship the Lord of the Scriptures? Is it not pictured by erring priests and pastors that God is a vengeful God, who is ever waiting to cast the unrepentant into a burning place of torment, or sent the repentant to purgatory, so they may be tortured by fire until they suffer enough to be purified for Heaven? Is it not screamed, dramatized and shouted to congregations about how gruesome are the tortures of them who are now, so they say, in Hell, the burning place of torment?
There is hardly a Christian denomination that doesn't teach the doctrine of Life After Death or Immortality of the Soul. But the Bible clearly states that no one lives on after death. "For the living know that they shall die: But THE DEAD KNOW NOT ANYTHING, neither have they any more a reward: for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished: neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:5,6.
If the wicked are tormented in Hell Fire as taught by most Christian priests and pastors, when the wicked die, would they not have some knowledge of the torment they are supposed to be experiencing? "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might: For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grove, whither thou goest." Ecclesiastes 9:10.
If the righteous go to Heaven after death as taught in most Christian churches, would they not be praising the Lord? The Bible says: "The Dead Praise Not The Lord, Neither Any That Go Down In Silence." Psalms 115:17.
If man goes to Heaven at death like most Christian churches tell their members, wouldn't these righteous people have some thoughts or ideas where they are? The Bible says: "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that VERY DAY HIS THOUGHTS PERISH." Psalm 146:4.
Some go to the gravesites to talk to their dead friends or relatives, but the Bible says: "His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low but he perceiveth it not of them." Job 14:21. "For in death there is NO REMEMBRANCE OF THEE, IN THE GRAVE WHO SHALL GIVE THEE THANKS?" Psalms 6:5.
Jesus plainly stated that the dead are still in the graves at His Second Coming, not in Heaven: "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, WHEN THE DEAD SHALL HEAR THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD: AND THEY THAT HEAR SHALL LIVE." ... "MARVEL NOT AT THIS: FOR THE HOUR IS COMING, IN WHICH ALL THAT ARE IN THE GRAVES SHALL HEAR HIS VOICE, AND SHALL COME FORTH; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." John 5:25,28,29.
Both the wicked and the righteous are still in their graves. However, there is a Hell Fire where the wicked will surely be destroyed. But this is still future. This hell fire comes from Heaven, not from some secret place where the dead are now receiving their punishment. The Devil is not in charge of some secret place called Hell that is under the earth where all the wicked have been thrown. Nor does the Devil run around with his pitchfork, sticking and burning the wicked both day and night. The fire will be from Heaven and will destroy the wicked and also the Devil himself. Revelation 20.
Peter foretold Christ's Second Coming would be in fire: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness: but is longsuffering to us-word, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall MELT WITH FERVENT HEAT, THE EARTH ALSO AND THE WORKS THAT ARE THEREIN SHALL BE BURNED UP." 2.Peter 3:9, 10.
David foretold Christ's Second Coming 1,000 years before Jesus was born. In Psalm 50:3-5, we read: "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may Judge His people. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
Paul also foretold that Jesus would be a consuming fire to those who have rejected the Gospel. 2.Thessalonians 1:7-9, "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power." In Isaiah 29:6 we read: "Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with THUNDER, AND WITH EARTHQUAKE, AND GREAT NOISE, WITH STORM AND TEMPEST AND THE FLAME OF DEVOURING FIRE."
The doctrine of the wicked being thrown into ever burning fire cannot be found in either the Old or New Testaments, but it is found on the pages of Sun worship. The Hell Fire Jesus plainly described in Scripture has two time periods. There are two different times fire and brimstone shall rain from Heaven. The first shall be at Christ's Second Coming. But the consuming fire that finally destroys the Devil, his angels, and the wicked will not be until after the 1,000 years described in Revelation 20:1-6, 9, 10. This is when the wicked will be raised from the dead, and Satan will make a last effort to destroy the New Jerusalem: "And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire CAME DOWN FROM GOD OUT OF HEAVEN, AND DEVOURED THEM. AND THE DEVIL THAT DECEIVED THEM WAS CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONE, WHERE THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET ARE, AND SHALL BE TORMENTED DAY AND NIGHT FOR EVER AND EVER." Revelation 20:9, 10.
This whole earth is going to be covered with fire. Fire is a purifying agent. And it will be fire that our Lord will use to purify the earth of its pollutions caused by Satan and man for 6,000 years.
In the book of Malachi we read the following: "For behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven: and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." Malachi 4:1.
The Lord destroyed everything in Noah's day by water; that was just a shadow of the earth when it shall be covered by fire. Peter saw this was to come and said in 2.Peter 3:5,6, "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto FIRE against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."
As stated before, there are two periods of this Hell Fire predicted by both the Old Testament Prophets and by the New Testament Apostles. And, there are also to be two resurrections. In Revelation 20:1-9, it plainly states the resurrection of the wicked and their destruction will not happen until the 1,000-year millenium is over. "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." We will study more of this very important doctrine later.
Now, among the first inhabitants of the earth, Lucifer's first lie was "YE SHALL NOT SURELY DIE (Genesis 3:4)." And, this same LIE of the Devil has been used from Adam and Eve's day to our present time today. Here lies the origin of the foundation of the falsehood of immortal soul, reincarnation, all forms of Spiritualism, Astrology, Black Magic, Necromancy, Purgatory and Hell, the burning place of torment. The whole system of the Mystery of Iniquity is based on this lie of the Devil, "Life after Death." But the Bible is very clear: "THOU SHALT SURELY DIE." Genesis 2:16, 17.
Man does not continue to live after death as most have been deceived into believing. "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything." Ecclesiastes 9:5.
As stated before, the myths about "Life After Death" can be traced in the legends of Nimrod who became the great god of the Assyrians and Babylonians [17]. At Nineveh, Austen H. Layard, from the British Museum, uncovered the ancient city and discovered over 25,000 tablets describing the ancient history of the Assyrian Empire [18]. Layard found inscriptions at Nineveh that said it was Ninus who built the city [10]. The word "Nineveh" itself means "The Habitation of Ninus"[20]. But it has been discovered that the name Ninus was just a deified name the early Assyrians called Nimrod, because the Bible itself says it was Nimrod who built Nineveh (Genesis 10:11). Nimrod (Ninus) was said to have been killed, according to the inscriptions, but his "spirit" became immortal and flew up to the Sun and he became "Beelsamon," "Lord of Heaven"[21].
In all forms of witchcraft, as in all modern forms today, the doctrine of "Immortality of the Soul" was the center of their whole pagan belief and worship. Pagans believed that when they died they took possession of one of the stars in Heaven. The ignorant pagans, like multitudes of Christians today, believe that the spirits of the dead are "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." Hebrews 1:14.
If the reader has ever read into the history of any nation, the history of the people shows that their whole culture was surrounded by the belief in "Life After Death," "Reincarnation," and communicating with the dead. Multitudes of pagan traditions, worldwide, have their origin in the Legends of Nimrod.
The Babylonians taught that the fate of everything was dependent on the sky. The Babylonians, as most ancient people, believed that each mortal, like the gods, had his own star in the Sky [22]. Here we can begin to see why primitive men believed their chief gods inhabited the planets and named the planets as the homes of their gods. Saturn (the Roman god of crops) is believed to be the star-god Stephen said the ancient Israelites worshipped in their apostasy under the name of Remphan [23]. "Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the Star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon." Acts 7:43, see also Amos 5:26.
This will also help us to understand the cosmic religion of Astrology, and how Astrology ties in with Sun worship. Astrology was actually the origin of the pagan sciences and pagan symbols. John, in the book of Revelation, was given this sacred number 666 of Astrology to identify who this beast is (see Revelation 13:1-11, and 18) that Jesus warns not to be identified with (Revelation 14:9,10).
In the ancient Babylonian astrological system, it is the Sun-god who is the ruler and main god of the zodiac. And all the gods of heaven (the stars) were considered offspring of the sun. According to pagan philosophy, all the star gods you have heard about in school were actually manifestations of the heat, fire and light which flowed from the sun. It was believed that it was the Sun-god who was the source of all things, and all the other gods were but emanations of the sun, "flesh of his flesh." Therefore, all the manifestations of the gods of nature were just manifestations of the one god, the Sun, whose worship by primitive man was in reality to Satan. Even Lucifer's name means "Day Star," the "Illuminated One," or "Shining One"[24].
The Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Hindus and American Indians, like the Babylonians, all believed that their gods were just representations of the one god. The ancient people, shortly after the flood, had a knowledge of the True God of Noah, Shem, and Abraham. But the worship of the True God of Noah, Shem, and Abraham soon became perverted into idolatry by the larger population when Nimrod tried to unite the whole world into a One World Government. And this anti-God movement shall be attempted by some modern Nimrods in our time!
Both history and the Bible reveal that the greatest mystery to mankind has always been the Universe. And Satan, the Prince of the Power of the Air, used man's curiosity about the heavenly host to cause man to worship them instead of their Creator. "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baalim (the Sun-god)." Judges 2:11.
The word Baalim is a term to describe the whole system of Sun worship. Augustine said in his book, The City of God, that all the learned pagan doctors declared that all the chief gods of the Greek-Roman world were 'one and the same love,' and that all the stars were part of love and had rational souls [25]. All the chief gods of Greece and Rome were the same gods worshipped in Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, Persia, and North and South America [26]. Only the names were different, like their languages and cultures were. It was from Babylon (Babel) that Sun worship started. And, it is also where all ancient and modern nations today receive their system of Astrology [27].
In pagan philosophy, the stars controlled the affairs of the human race. Hence, the science of Astrology claims to interpret the will of the star gods. The chief star gods of the pagans were the gods of Astrology, which were believed to be just emanations of the one god, the Sun-God [28], the ruler of the Zodiac. Astrology is the foundation of all the pagan sciences of the occult, whose author is Lucifer, and his spirit guides are his angels. Spiritualism, which is just another name for Witchcraft, is today, among the young, the biggest rival of Jesus Christ. It will be through Spiritualism that men and women will come with all manner of lying wonders that will gather the whole world under Satan's banner. "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Matthew 24:23,24.
Spiritualism (Witchcraft) will deceive the whole world into accepting a strong delusion that will bring Satan to finally use his crowning deception that will cause most to lose their salvation. Lucifer, this Old Serpent, called the Devil, will personate Jesus Christ just before the real Christ comes the Second Time. This will be Satan's last effort to destroy mankind. However, students of the Bible, who have made Scripture their only standard to judge between truth and error, will not be fooled into worshipping Satan as Christ. For the satanic movement to unite the world under one banner and Christ walking upon this earth again is a complete contradiction of Scripture. But to actually understand any of this, the reader must not be ignorant of Satan's devices; so we need to examine what the Bible says Spiritualism or, what Witchcraft is. This we will study in Part II of this Chapter.
