Biblical Church History

1. Biblical Church History Following the Hand of God and the Hand of Satan

2. Pergamos Revelation 2:8-11 c.325-500 A.D. “Much Marriage”

3. Pergamos I. The Commission Rev. 2: 12

4. (Rev 2:12) And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

5. Smyrna A. The marriage of the Church “Much Marriage ”

6. Smyrna C. The effects ofConstantine “Much Marriage ”

7. Smyrna D. The Christianized Pagan events “Much Marriage ”

8. Smyrna E. The Family tree of this marriage “Much Marriage ”

9. Smyrna F. The Christianizing of Pagan Idols “Much Marriage ”

10. Smyrna G. The Christianizing of Pagan Hierarchy “Much Marriage ”

11. THE ORIGIN OF THE POPE

12. THE ORIGIN OF THE POPE’S CLOTHING

14. CARDINALS

15. BISHOPS

16. PRIEST

17. NUNS

18. Smyrna H. The origin of so called Christian symbols “Much Marriage ”

19. THE SYMBOL OF THE CROSS

20. Revelation 1. What does the Bible say about the cross?

21. Pergamos • The cross is reprehensive of the sacrificial death of Christ for our sins… • But only in verbal terms not something visual… H (1Co 1:18) For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (Gal 6:14) But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

22. Pergamos • In the first 300 years of Christianity, Christians did not view the cross as a visual Christian symbol..to them, it was a cruel form of Roman capital punishment. • They would have associated it… • Gal 3:13 a “cured” thing. • Heb. 12:2 a “shameful” thing. • Image what John would have thought as he would have walk by a crucifixion around 60 Ad H

23. Pergamos • A look at the cross historically. • The cross did not become a “Christian” symbol until after Constantine. • The cross and Constantine • The use of the cross before Constantine • In one form or another, the cross was a sacred symbol long before Christ ever died on one! H

24. Pergamos • It originated with the Babylonians of ancient Chaldea. The ecclesiastical form of a two beamed cross..had it’s origin in ancient Chaldea, and was used as a symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the Mystic Tau, the initial of his name) in that country and in adjacent lands, including Egypt..In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system, pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross-piece lowered, was adopted to stand for the cross of Christ. • W.E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, 258 H

25. TAU CROSS

26. Pergamos • The use of the cross in Egypt, • Here unchanged for 1000’s of years, we find among her most sacred hieroglyphics the cross in various forms..but the one know specially as the “cross of Egypt”, or the Tau cross, is shaped like the letter T, often with a circle or ovoid above it. Yet this mystical symbol was not peculiar to this country, but was reverenced..among the Chaldeans, Phoenicians, Mexicans, and every ancient people in both hemispheres. William Wood Seymour, The Cross in Tradition, History and Art 22, 26 H

27. CROSS OF EGYPT

28. Pergamos • The cross in China. • Among the Chinese… “the cross is acknowledged to be on of the most ancient devices..it is portrayed upon the walls of their pagodas, it is painted upon the lanterns used to illuminate the most sacred recesses of their temples.” • Seymour, The Cross in Tradition, History and Art, 13 H

29. Pergamos • The cross in India • Jars of “holy water” taken from the Ganges were marked with cross. • In Central India, two crosses of stone have been discovered that date back centuries before the time of Christ..one is over 10 feet tall, and the other is over 8 feet! • Seymour, The Cross in Tradition, History and Art, 14 H

30. Pergamos • The cross in Africa • Native throw crosses into the River Gitche as part of a religious ceremony. • The Kabyle women tattoo a cross between their eyes…they are Mohammedan • In Wanyamwizi, walls are decorates with crosses. The Yaricks had crosses painted on their shields. • Seymour, The Cross in Tradition, History and Art, 9 H

31. Pergamos • The cross in Mexico. • When the Spaniards first landed in Mexico…”they could not suppress their wonder as they beheld the cross, the sacred emblem of their own faith, raised as an object of worship in the temples of Anahuac. The Spaniards were not aware that the cross was the symbol of worship of the highest antiquity..by pagan nations on whom the light of Christianity has never shone. • William H. Prescott, History of the Conquest of Mexico, Vol. 1, 242 H

32. Pergamos • In Palenque, Mexico, founded by Votan in the 9th century B.C., is a heathen temple known as “The Temple of the Cross.” • On the altar in the temple is a cross measuring 11 feet high, and 6 ½ feet wide! H

33. Pergamos • The cross in Italy • In 46 B.C., Roman coins show Jupiter (Tammuz) holding a long scepter terminating a cross. • Seymour, The Cross in Tradition, History and Art, 22, 26 • The Vestal Virgins of pagan Rome wore crosses hanging from their necklaces, just as the Nuns of the Roman Catholic church do today. • Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylon's, 198 H

34. Pergamos • The cross in Greece • The Greeks corresponding god to Tammuz is depicted with a head band with crosses all around it. • Isis, the mother goddess corresponding to Semiramis is shown with a cross on her forehead. • Her priests carried processional crosses in their worship to her. • Ralph Woodrow, Babylon Mystery Religion, 43 H

35. HEAD BAND WITH CROSSES

36. Pergamos • The cross in Assyria • Monuments show that Assyrian kings wore crosses on their necklaces. • Encyclopedia of Religions, Vol. 1, 386 • The Cross in South America • In ancient times, their newborn children were placed under its protection against evil spirits. • Woodrow, Babylon Mystery Religion, 43 H

37. Pergamos • Hislop notes that the…”mystic Tau was marked in baptism on the forehead of those initiated in the Mysteries.” • Hislop, The Two Babylon's, 198 • When the pagans flooded the church in the 4th century, they brought their pagan rituals with them. H

38. Pergamos • Pagan rituals concerning the cross adopted by papal church. • When a baby is sprinkled in the Roman Catholic Church, the priest makes the sign of the cross upon it’s forehead, and says “Receive the sign of the cross upon thy forehead.” • (Similar practices are done at confirmation, and on Ash Wednesday) • When Catholics enter their church, they dip the forefinger of their right hand in “holy water” and make the “sign of the cross.” (Touch the forehead, chest, left shoulder and right shoulder.) H

40. Pergamos • During Mass, the priest makes the sign of the cross 16 times, and “blesses” the altar with the cross sign 30 times. • Does the Roman Church know the origin of these practices? • “…the sign of the cross, represented in its simplest form by the crossing of the two lines at right angles, greatly antedates, in both the East and the West, the introduction of Christianity. It goes back to the very remote period of human civilization.” • The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 517 H

41. Pergamos • Why does the Roman Catholic Church use so many different types of crosses? • A page in The Catholic Encyclopedia shows 40 different kinds of crosses. • Where do they come from: • “Of the several varieties of the cross still in vogue, as national and ecclesiastical emblems, distinguished by the familiar appellations of St. George, St. Andrew, the Maltese, the Greek, the Latin, etc., there is not one amongst them the existence of which may not be traced to the remotest antiquity.” • The Pentateuch Examined, Vol. 6, 113 H

42. Well I just wear my cross to let people know I am a Christian!

44. Revelation What doe the bible say about how to let people know you are a Christian?

45. (1Co 8:3) But if any man love God, the same is known of him. (Joh 13:35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (Mat 5:16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

46. THE SYMBOL OF THE FISH

47. Pergamos • Where Christian History says it comes from… • When threatened by Romans in the first centuries after Christ, Christians used the fish mark meeting places and tombs, or to distinguish friends from foes. According to one ancient story, when a Christian met a stranger in the road, the Christian sometimes drew one arc of the simple fish outline in the dirt. If the stranger drew the other arc, both believers knew they were in good company. H

48. Pergamos • Some Christians believe that the fish symbol is seen in the Greek word for fish (ichthus, spelled: Iota Chi Theta Upsilon Sigma). That is an acrostic which has many translations in English. The most popular appears to be "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior" 16 [Iesous (Jesus) CHristos (Christ) THeou (God) Uiou (Son) Soter (Savior)]. H

50. Pergamos • However the mystery form of the false savior god from the Babyloian’s system of Religion in the land of the Philistines was “Dagon” the Fish God H