The Two Babylons
Alexander Hislop
Chapter IV
Doctrine and Discipline
When Linacer, a distinguished physician, but
bigoted Romanist, in the reign of Henry VIII first fell in with the New Testament, after
reading it for a while, he tossed it from him with impatience and a great oath,
exclaiming, "Either this book is not true, or we are not Christians." He saw at
once that the system of Rome and the system of the New Testament were directly opposed to
one another; and no one who impartially compares the two systems can come to any other
conclusion. In passing from the Bible to the Breviary, it is like passing from light to
darkness. While the one breathes glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good
will to men, the other inculcates all that is dishonouring to the Most High, and ruinous
to the moral and spiritual welfare of mankind. How came it that such pernicious doctrines
and practices were embraced by the Papacy? Was the Bible so obscure or ambiguous that men
naturally fell into the mistake of supposing that it required them to believe and practise
the very opposite of what it did? No; the doctrine and discipline of the Papacy were never
derived from the Bible. The fact that wherever it has the power, it lays the reading of
the Bible under its ban, and either consigns that choicest gift of heavenly love to the
flames, or shuts it up under lock and key, proves this of itself. But it can be still more
conclusively established. A glance at the main pillars of the Papal system will
sufficiently prove that its doctrine and discipline, in all essential respects, have been
derived from Babylon. Let the reader now scan the evidence.
Section I
Baptismal Regeneration
It is well known that regeneration by baptism is
a fundamental article of Rome, yea, that it stands at the very threshold of the Roman
system. So important, according to Rome, is baptism for this purpose, that, on the one
hand, it is pronounced of "absolute necessity for salvation," * insomuch that
infants dying without it cannot be admitted to glory; and on the other, its virtues are so
great, that it is declared in all cases infallibly to "regenerate us by a new
spiritual birth, making us children of God":--it is pronounced to be "the first
door by which we enter into the fold of Jesus Christ, the first means by which we
receive the grace of reconciliation with God; therefore the merits of His death are by
baptism applied to our souls in so superabundant a manner, as fully to satisfy Divine
justice for all demands against us, whether for original or actual sin."
* Bishop HAY'S Sincere Christian. There
are two exceptions to this statement; the case of an infidel converted in a heathen land,
where it is impossible to get baptism, and the case of a martyr "baptised," as
it is called, "in his own blood"; but in all other cases, whether of young or
old, the necessity is "absolute."
Now, in both respects this doctrine is absolutely
anti-Scriptural; in both it is purely Pagan. It is anti-Scriptural, for the Lord Jesus
Christ has expressly declared that infants, without the slightest respect to baptism or
any external ordinance whatever, are capable of admission into all the glory of the
heavenly world: "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for
of such is the kingdom of heaven." John the Baptist, while yet in his mother's
womb was so filled with joy at the advent of the Saviour, that, as soon as Mary's
salutation sounded in the ears of his own mother, the unborn babe "leaped in the womb
for joy." Had that child died at the birth, what could have excluded it from
"the inheritance of the saints in light" for which it was so certainly
"made meet"? Yet the Roman Catholic Bishop Hay, in defiance of very principle of
God's Word, does not hesitate to pen the following: "Question: What becomes of young
children who die without baptism? Answer: If a young child were put to death for the sake
of Christ, this would be to it the baptism of blood, and carry it to heaven; but
except in this case, as such infants are incapable of having the desire of baptism, with
the other necessary dispositions, if they are not actually baptised with water, THEY
CANNOT GO TO HEAVEN." As this doctrine never came from the Bible, whence came it? It
came from heathenism. The classic reader cannot fail to remember where, and in what
melancholy plight, Aeneas, when he visited the infernal regions, found the souls of
unhappy infants who had died before receiving, so to speak, "the rites of the
Church":
"Before the gates the
cries of babes new-born,
Whom fate had from their tender mothers torn,
Assault his ears."
These wretched babes, to glorify the virtue and
efficacy of the mystic rites of Paganism, are excluded from the Elysian Fields, the
paradise of the heathen, and have among their nearest associates no better company than
that of guilty suicides:
"The next in place and
punishment are they
Who prodigally threw their souls away,
Fools, who, repining at their wretched state,
And loathing anxious life, suborned their fate." *
* Virgil, DRYDEN'S translation. Between
the infants and the suicides one other class is interposed, that is, those who on earth
have been unjustly condemned to die. Hope is held out for these, but no hope is held out
for the babes.
So much for the lack of baptism. Then as
to its positive efficacy when obtained, the Papal doctrine is equally
anti-Scriptural. There are professed Protestants who hold the doctrine of Baptismal
Regeneration; but the Word of God knows nothing of it. The Scriptural account of baptism
is, not that it communicates the new birth, but that it is the appointed
means of signifying and sealing that new birth where it already exists. In this
respect baptism stands on the very same ground as circumcision. Now, what says God's Word
of the efficacy of circumcision? This it says, speaking of Abraham: "He received the
sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had, yet being
uncircumcised" (Rom 4:11). Circumcision was not intended to make Abraham
righteous; he was righteous already before he was circumcised. But it was intended to declare
him righteous, to give him the more abundant evidence in his own consciousness of his
being so. Had Abraham not been righteous before his circumcision, his circumcision
could not have been a seal, could not have given confirmation to that which did not
exist. So with baptism, it is "a seal of the righteousness of the faith" which
the man "has before he is baptised"; for it is said, "He that believeth,
and is baptised, shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). Where faith exists, if it be genuine,
it is the evidence of a new heart, of a regenerated nature; and it is only on the
profession of that faith and regeneration in the case of an adult, that he is admitted to
baptism. Even in the case of infants, who can make no profession of faith or holiness, the
administration of baptism is not for the purpose of regenerating them, or making
them holy, but of declaring them "holy," in the sense of being fit for
being consecrated, even in infancy, to the service of Christ, just as the whole nation of
Israel, in consequence of their relation to Abraham, according to the flesh, were
"holy unto the Lord." If they were not, in that figurative sense,
"holy," they would not be fit subjects for baptism, which is the "seal"
of a holy state. But the Bible pronounces them, in consequence of their descent from
believing parents, to be "holy," and that even where only one of the parents is
a believer: "The unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving
wife is sanctified by the husband; else were your children unclean, but now they are
HOLY" (1 Cor 7:14). It is in consequence of, and solemnly to declare, that
"holiness," with all the responsibilities attaching to it, that they are
baptised. That "holiness," however, is very different from the
"holiness" of the new nature; and although the very fact of baptism, if
Scripturally viewed and duly improved, is, in the hand of the good Spirit of God, an
important means of making that "holiness" a glorious reality, in the
highest sense of the term, yet it does not in all cases necessarily secure their spiritual
regeneration. God may, or may not, as He sees fit, give the new heart, before, or at, or
after baptism; but manifest it is, that thousands who have been duly baptised are still
unregenerate, are still in precisely the same position as Simon Magus, who, after being
canonically baptised by Philip, was declared to be "in the gall of bitterness and the
bond of iniquity" (Acts 7:23). The doctrine of Rome, however, is, that all who are
canonically baptised, however ignorant, however immoral, if they only give implicit faith
to the Church, and surrender their consciences to the priests, are as much regenerated as
ever they can be, and that children coming from the waters of baptism are entirely purged
from the stain of original sin. Hence we find the Jesuit missionaries in India boasting of
making converts by thousands, by the mere fact of baptising them, without the least
previous instruction, in the most complete ignorance of the truths of Christianity, on
their mere profession of submission to Rome. This doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration also
is essentially Babylonian. Some may perhaps stumble at the idea of regeneration at all
having been known in the Pagan world; but if they only go to India, they will find at this
day, the bigoted Hindoos, who have never opened their ears to Christian instruction, as
familiar with the term and the idea as ourselves. The Brahmins make it their
distinguishing boast that they are "twice-born" men, and that, as such, they are
sure of eternal happiness. Now, the same was the case in Babylon, and there the new birth
was conferred by baptism. In the Chaldean mysteries, before any instruction could
be received, it was required first of all, that the person to be initiated submit to
baptism in token of blind and implicit obedience. We find different ancient authors
bearing direct testimony both to the fact of this baptism and the intention of it.
"In certain sacred rites of the heathen," says Tertullian, especially referring
to the worship of Isis and Mithra, "the mode of initiation is by baptism." The
term "initiation" clearly shows that it was to the Mysteries of these divinities
he referred. This baptism was by immersion, and seems to have been rather a rough and
formidable process; for we find that he who passed through the purifying waters, and other
necessary penances, "if he survived, was then admitted to the knowledge of the
Mysteries." (Elliae Comment. in S. GREG. NAZ.) To face this ordeal required no
little courage on the part of those who were initiated. There was this grand inducement,
however, to submit, that they who were thus baptised were, as Tertullian assures us,
promised, as the consequence, "REGENERATION, and the pardon of all their
perjuries." Our own Pagan ancestors, the worshippers of Odin, are known to have
practised baptismal rites, which, taken in connection with their avowed object in
practising them, show that, originally, at least, they must have believed that the natural
guilt and corruption of their new-born children could be washed away by sprinkling them
with water, or by plunging them, as soon as born, into lakes or rivers. Yea, on the other
side of the Atlantic, in Mexico, the same doctrine of baptismal regeneration was found in
full vigour among the natives, when Cortez and his warriors landed on their shores. The
ceremony of Mexican baptism, which was beheld with astonishment by the Spanish Roman
Catholic missionaries, is thus strikingly described in Prescott's Conquest of Mexico:
"When everything necessary for the baptism had been made ready, all the relations of
the child were assembled, and the midwife, who was the person that performed the rite of
baptism, * was summoned. At early dawn, they met together in the courtyard of the house.
When the sun had risen, the midwife, taking the child in her arms, called for a little
earthen vessel of water, while those about her placed the ornaments, which had been
prepared for baptism, in the midst of the court. To perform the rite of baptism, she
placed herself with her face toward the west, and immediately began to go through certain
ceremonies...After this she sprinkled water on the head of the infant, saying, 'O my
child, take and receive the water of the Lord of the world, which is our life, which is
given for the increasing and renewing of our body. It is to wash and to purify. I
pray that these heavenly drops may enter into your body, and dwell there; that they may
destroy and remove from you all the evil and sin which was given you before the beginning
of the world, since all of us are under its power'...She then washed the body of the child
with water, and spoke in this manner: 'Whencesoever thou comest, thou that art hurtful to
this child, leave him and depart from him, for he now liveth anew, and is BORN ANEW; now
he is purified and cleansed afresh, and our mother Chalchivitylcue [the goddess of water]
bringeth him into the world.' Having thus prayed, the midwife took the child in both
hands, and, lifting him towards heaven, said, 'O Lord, thou seest here thy creature, whom
thou hast sent into the world, this place of sorrow, suffering, and penitence. Grant him,
O Lord, thy gifts and inspiration, for thou art the Great God, and with thee is the great
goddess.'"
* As baptism is absolutely necessary to
salvation, Rome also authorises midwives to administer baptism. In Mexico the midwife
seems to have been a "priestess."
Here is the opus operatum without mistake.
Here is baptismal regeneration and exorcism too, * as thorough and complete as any Romish
priest or lover of Tractarianism could desire.
* In the Romish ceremony of baptism, the first
thing the priest does is to exorcise the devil out of the child to be baptised in these
words, "Depart from him, thou unclean spirit, and give place to the Holy Ghost the
Comforter." (Sincere Christian) In the New Testament there is not the
slightest hint of any such exorcism accompanying Christian Baptism. It is purely Pagan.
Does the reader ask what evidence is there that
Mexico had derived this doctrine from Chaldea? The evidence is decisive. From the
researches of Humboldt we find that the Mexicans celebrated Wodan as the founder of their
race, just as our own ancestors did. The Wodan or Odin of Scandinavia can be proved to be
the Adon of Babylon. (see note below)
The Wodan of Mexico, from the following quotation, will be seen to be the very same:
"According to the ancient traditions collected by the Bishop Francis Nunez de la
Vega," says Humboldt, "the Wodan of the Chiapanese [of Mexico] was grandson of
that illustrious old man, who at the time of the great deluge, in which the greater part
of the human race perished, was saved on a raft, together with his family. Wodan
co-operated in the construction of the great edifice which had been undertaken by men to
reach the skies; the execution of this rash project was interrupted; each family received
from that time a different language; and the great spirit Teotl ordered Wodan to go and
people the country of Anahuac." This surely proves to demonstration whence originally
came the Mexican mythology and whence also that doctrine of baptismal regeneration which
the Mexicans held in common with Egyptian and Persian worshippers of the Chaldean Queen of
Heaven. Prestcott, indeed, has cast doubts on the genuiness of this tradition, as being
too exactly coincident with the Scriptural history to be easily believed. But the
distinguished Humboldt, who had carefully examined the matter, and who had no prejudice to
warp him, expresses his full belief in its correctness; and even from Prestcott's own
interesting pages, it may be proved in every essential particular, with the single
exception of the name of Wodan, to which he makes no reference. But, happily, the fact
that that name had been borne by some illustrious hero among the supposed ancestors of the
Mexican race, is put beyond all doubt by the singular circumstance that the Mexicans had
one of their days called Wodansday, exactly as we ourselves have. This, taken in
connection with all the circumstances, is a very striking proof, at once of the unity of
the human race, and of the wide-spread diffusion of the system that began at Babel.
If the question arise, How came it that the
Bayblonians themselves adopted such a doctrine as regeneration by baptism, we have light
also on that. In the Babylonian Mysteries, the commemoration of the flood, of the ark, and
the grand events in the life of Noah, was mingled with the worship of the Queen of Heaven
and her son. Noah, as having lived in two worlds, both before the flood and after it, was
called "Dipheus," or "twice-born," and was represented as a god with
two heads looking in opposite directions, the one old, and the other young (Fig. 34). Though we have seen that the two-headed
Janus in one aspect had reference to Cush and his son, Nimrod, viewed as one god, in a
two-fold capacity, as the Supreme, and Father of all the deified "mighty ones,"
yet, in order to gain for him the very authority and respect essential to constitute him
properly the head of the great system of idolatry that the apostates inaugurated, it was
necessary to represent him as in some way or other identified with the great patriarch,
who was the Father of all, and who had so miraculous a history. Therefore in the legends
of Janus, we find mixed up with other things derived from an entirely different source,
statements not only in regard to his being the "Father of the world," but also
his being "the inventor of ships," which plainly have been borrowed from the
history of Noah; and therefore, the remarkable way in which he is represented in the
figure here presented to the reader may confidently be concluded to have been primarily
suggested by the history of the great Diluvian patriarch, whose integrity in his two-fold
life is so particularly referred to in the Scripture, where it is said (Gen 6:9),
"Noah was just a man, and perfect in his generations," that is, in his
life before the flood, and in his life after it. The whole mythology of Greece and Rome,
as well as Asia, is full of the history and deeds of Noah, which it is impossible to
misunderstand. In India, the god Vishnu, "the Preserver," who is celebrated as
having miraculously preserved one righteous family at the time when the world was drowned,
not only has the story of Noah wrought up with his legend, but is called by his very name.
Vishnu is just the Sanscrit form of the Chaldee "Ish-nuh," "the man
Noah," or the "Man of rest." In the case of Indra, the "king of
the gods," and god of rain, which is evidently only another form of the same
god, the name is found in the precise form of Ishnu. Now, the very legend of Vishnu, that
pretends to make him no mere creature, but the supreme and "eternal god," shows
that this interpretation of the name is no mere unfounded imagination. Thus is he
celebrated in the "Matsya Puran": "The sun, the wind, the ether, all things
incorporeal, were absorbed into his Divine essence; and the universe being consumed, the
eternal and omnipotent god, having assumed an ancient form, REPOSED mysteriously upon the
surface of that (universal) ocean. But no one is capable of knowing whether that
being was then visible or invisible, or what the holy name of that person was, or what the
cause of his mysterious SLUMBER. Nor can any one tell how long he thus REPOSED until he
conceived the thought of acting; for no one saw him, no one approached him, and none can
penetrate the mystery of his real essence." (Col. KENNEDY'S Hindoo Mythology)
In conformity with this ancient legend, Vishnu is still represented as sleeping
four months every year. Now, connect this story with the name of Noah, the man of
"Rest," and with his personal history during the period of the flood, when the
world was destroyed, when for forty days and forty nights all was chaos, when neither sun
nor moon nor twinkling star appeared, when sea and sky were mingled, and all was one wide
universal "ocean," on the bosom of which the patriarch floated, when there was
no human being to "approach" him but those who were with him in the ark, and
"the mystery of his real essence is penetrated" at once, "the holy name of
that person" is ascertained, and his "mysterious slumber" fully accounted
for. Now, wherever Noah is celebrated, whether by the name of Saturn, "the hidden
one,"--for that name was applied to him as well as to Nimrod, on account of his
having been "hidden" in the ark, in the "day of the Lord's fierce
anger,"--or, "Oannes," or "Janus," the "Man of the
Sea," he is generally described in such a way as shows that he was looked upon as
Diphues, "twice-born," or "regenerate." The "twice-born"
Brahmins, who are all so many gods upon earth, by the very title they take to themselves,
show that the god whom they represent, and to whose prerogatives they lay claim,
had been known as the "twice-born" god. The connection of
"regeneration" with the history of Noah, comes out with special evidence in the
accounts handed down to us of the Mysteries as celebrated in Egypt. The most learned
explorers of Egyptian antiquities, including Sir Gardiner Wilkinson, admit that the story
of Noah was mixed up with the story of Osiris. The ship of Isis, and the coffin of
Osiris, floating on the waters, point distinctly to that remarkable event. There were
different periods, in different places in Egypt, when the fate of Osiris was lamented; and
at one time there was more special reference to the personal history of "the mighty
hunter before the Lord," and at another to the awful catastrophe through which Noah
passed. In the great and solemn festival called "The Disappearance of Osiris,"
it is evident that it is Noah himself who was then supposed to have been lost. The time
when Osiris was "shut up in his coffin," and when that coffin was set afloat on
the waters, as stated by Plutarch, agrees exactly with the period when Noah entered the
ark. That time was "the 17th day of the month Athyr, when the overflowing of the Nile
had ceased, when the nights were growing long and the days decreasing." The month
Athyr was the second month after the autumnal equinox, at which time the civil year of the
Jews and the patriarchs began. According to this statement, then, Osiris was "shut up
in his coffin" on the 17th day of the second month of the patriarchal year. Compare
this with the Scriptural account of Noah's entering into the ark, and it will be seen how
remarkably they agree (Gen 7:11), "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the
SECOND MONTH, in the SEVENTEENTH DAY of the month, were all the fountains of the great
deep broken up; in the self-same day entered Noah into the ark." The period, too,
that Osiris (otherwise Adonis) was believed to have been shut up in his coffin, was
precisely the same as Noah was confined in the ark, a whole year. *
* APOLLODORUS. THEOCRITUS, Idyll.
Theocritus is speaking of Adonis as delivered by Venus from Acheron, or the infernal
regions, after being there for a year; but as the scene is laid in Egypt, it is evident
that it is Osiris he refers to, as he was the Adonis of the Egyptians.
Now, the statements of Plutarch demonstrate that,
as Osiris at this festival was looked upon as dead and buried when put into
his ark or coffin, and committed to the deep, so, when at length he came out of it again,
that new state was regarded as a state of "new life," or
"REGENERATION." *
* PLUTARCH, De Iside et Osiride. It was in
the character of Pthah-Sokari-Osiris that he was represented as having been thus "buried"
in the waters. In his own character, simply as Osiris, he had another burial altogether.
There seems every reason to believe that by the
ark and the flood God actually gave to the patriarchal saints, and especially to righteous
Noah, a vivid typical representation of the power of the blood and Spirit of Christ, at
once in saving from wrath, and cleansing from all sin--a representation which was a most
cheering "seal" and confirmation to the faith of those who really
believed. To this Peter seems distinctly to allude, when he says, speaking of this very
event, "The like figure whereunto baptism doth also now save us." Whatever
primitive truth the Chaldean priests held, they utterly perverted and corrupted it. They
willingly overlooked the fact, that it was "the righteousness of the faith"
which Noah "had before" the flood, that carried him safely through the
avenging waters of that dread catastrophe, and ushered him, as it were, from the womb of
the ark, by a new birth, into a new world, when on the ark resting on Mount Ararat, he was
released from his long confinement. They led their votaries to believe that, if they only
passed through the baptismal waters, and the penances therewith connected, that of itself
would make them like the second father of mankind, "Diphueis,"
"twice-born," or "regenerate," would entitle them to all the
privileges of "righteous" Noah, and give them that "new birth"
(palingenesia) which their consciences told them they so much needed. The Papacy acts on
precisely the same principle; and from this very source has its doctrine of baptismal
regeneration been derived, about which so much has been written and so many controversies
been waged. Let men contend as they may, this, and this only, will be found to be the real
origin of the anti-Scriptural dogma. *
* There have been considerable speculations about
the meaning of the name Shinar, as applied to the region of which Babylon was the capital.
Do not the facts above stated cast light on it? What so likely a derivation of this name
as to derive it from "shene," "to repeat," and "naar,"
"childhood." The land of "Shinar," then, according to this view, is
just the land of the "Regenerator."
The reader has seen already how faithfully Rome
has copied the Pagan exorcism in connection with baptism. All the other peculiarities
attending the Romish baptism, such as the use of salt, spittle, chrism, or anointing with
oil, and marking the forehead with the sign of the cross, are equally Pagan. Some of the
continental advocates of Rome have admitted that some of these at least have not
been derived from Scripture. Thus Jodocus Tiletanus of Louvaine, defending the
doctrine of "Unwritten Tradition," does not hesitate to say, "We are not
satisfied with that which the apostles or the Gospel do declare, but we say that, as well
before as after, there are divers matters of importance and weight accepted and received
out of a doctrine which is nowhere set forth in writing. For we do blesse the water
wherewith we baptize, and the oyle wherewith we annoynt; yea, and besides that, him that
is christened. And (I pray you) out of what Scripture have we learned the same? Have we it
not of a secret and unwritten ordinance? And further, what Scripture hath taught us to
grease with oyle? Yea, I pray you, whence cometh it, that we do dype the childe three
times in the water? Doth it not come out of this hidden and undisclosed doctrine, which
our forefathers have received closely without any curiosity, and do observe it
still." This learned divine of Louvaine, of course, maintains that "the hidden
and undisclosed doctrine" of which he speaks, was the "unwritten word"
handed down through the channel of infallibility, from the Apostles of Christ to his own
time. But, after what we have already seen, the reader will probably entertain a different
opinion of the source from which the hidden and undisclosed doctrine must have come. And,
indeed, Father Newman himself admits, in regard to "holy water" (that is, water
impregnated with "salt," and consecrated), and many other things that were, as
he says, "the very instruments and appendages of demon-worship"--that they were
all of "Pagan" origin, and "sanctified by adoption into the Church."
What plea, then, what palliation can he offer, for so extraordinary an adoption? Why,
this: that the Church had "confidence in the power of Christianity to resist the
infection of evil," and to transmute them to "an evangelical use." What
right had the Church to entertain any such "confidence"? What fellowship could
light have with darkness? what concord between Christ and Belial? Let the history of the
Church bear testimony to the vanity, yea, impiety of such a hope. Let the progress of our
inquiries shed light upon the same. At the present stage, there is only one of the
concomitant rites of baptism to which I will refer--viz., the use of "spittle"
in that ordinance; and an examination of the very words of the Roman ritual, in applying
it, will prove that its use in baptism must have come from the Mysteries. The
following is the account of its application, as given by Bishop Hay: "The priest
recites another exorcism, and at the end of it touches the ear and nostrils of the person
to be baptised with a little spittle, saying, 'Ephpheta, that is, Be thou opened
into an odour of sweetness; but be thou put to flight, O Devil, for the judgment of
God will be at hand.'" Now, surely the reader will at once ask, what possible, what
conceivable connection can there be between spittle, and an "odour of
sweetness"? If the secret doctrine of the Chaldean mysteries be set side by side
with this statement, it will be seen that, absurd and nonsensical as this collocation of
terms may appear, it was not at random that "spittle" and an "odour
of sweetness" were brought together. We have seen already how thoroughly Paganism
was acquainted with the attributes and work of the promised Messiah, though all that
acquaintance with these grand themes was used for the purpose of corrupting the minds of
mankind, and keeping them in spiritual bondage. We have now to see that, as they were well
aware of the existence of the Holy Spirit, so, intellectually, they were just as
well acquainted with His work, though their knowledge on that subject was equally
debased and degraded. Servius, in his comments upon Virgil's First Georgic, after
quoting the well known expression, "Mystica vannus Iacchi," "the mystic fan
of Bacchus," says that that "mystic fan" symbolised the "purifying of
souls." Now, how could the fan be a symbol of the purification of souls? The answer
is, The fan is an instrument for producing "wind"; * and in Chaldee, as has been
already observed, it is one and the same word which signifies "wind" and the
"Holy Spirit."
* There is an evident allusion to the
"mystic fan" of the Babylonian god, in the doom of Babylon, as pronounced by
Jeremiah 51:1, 2: "Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and
against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;
and will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her
land."
There can be no doubt, that, from the very
beginning, the "wind" was one of the Divine patriarchal emblems by which the
power of the Holy Ghost was shadowed forth, even as our Lord Jesus Christ said to
Nicodemus, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth: so is every one that is
born of the Spirit." Hence, when Bacchus was represented with "the mystic
fan," that was to declare him to be the mighty One with whom was "the residue of
the Spirit." Hence came the idea of purifying the soul by means of the wind,
according to the description of Virgil, who represents the stain and pollution of sin as
being removed in this very way:
"For this are various
penances enjoined,
And some are hung to bleach upon the WIND."
Hence the priests of Jupiter (who was originally
just another form of Bacchus), (see Fig. 35),
were called Flamens, * -- that is Breathers, or bestowers of the Holy Ghost, by breathing
upon their votaries.
* From "Flo," "I breathe."
Now, in the Mysteries, the "spittle"
was just another symbol for the same thing. In Egypt, through which the Babylonian system
passed to Western Europe, the name of the "Pure or Purifying Spirit" was
"Rekh" (BUNSEN). But "Rekh" also signified "spittle"
(PARKHURST'S Lexicon); so that to anoint the nose and ears of the initiated with
"spittle," according to the mystic system, was held to be anointing them with
the "Purifying Spirit." That Rome in adopting the "spittle" actually
copied from some Chaldean ritual in which "spittle" was the appointed emblem of
the "Spirit," is plain from the account which she gives in her own recognised
formularies of the reason for anointing the ears with it. The reason for anointing
the ears with "spittle" says Bishop Hay, is because "by the
grace of baptism, the ears of our soul are opened to hear the Word of God, and the inspirations
of His Holy Spirit." But what, it may be asked, has the "spittle" to do
with the "odour of sweetness"? I answer, The very word "Rekh," which
signified the "Holy Spirit," and was visibly represented by the
"spittle," was intimately connected with "Rikh," which signifies a
"fragrant smell," or "odour of sweetness." Thus, a knowledge of the
Mysteries gives sense and a consistent meaning to the cabalistic saying addressed by the
Papal baptiser to the person about to be baptised, when the "spittle" is daubed
on his nose and ears, which otherwise would have no meaning at all--"Ephpheta, Be
thou opened into an odour of sweetness." While this was the primitive truth
concealed under the "spittle," yet the whole spirit of Paganism was so opposed
to the spirituality of the patriarchal religion, and indeed intended to make it void, and
to draw men utterly away from it, while pretending to do homage to it, that among the
multitude in general the magic use of "spittle" became the symbol of the
grossest superstition. Theocritus shows with what debasing rites it was mixed up in Sicily
and Greece; and Persius thus holds up to scorn the people of Rome in his day for their
reliance on it to avert the influence of the "evil eye":
"Our superstitions with our
life begin;
The obscene old grandam, or the next of kin,
The new-born infant from the cradle takes,
And first of spittle a lustration makes;
Then in the spawl her middle finger dips,
Anoints the temples, forehead, and the lips,
Pretending force of magic to prevent
By virtue of her nasty excrement."--DRYDEN
While thus far we have seen how the Papal baptism
is just a reproduction of the Chaldean, there is still one other point to be noticed,
which makes the demonstration complete. That point is contained in the following
tremendous curse fulminated against a man who committed the unpardonable offence of
leaving the Church of Rome, and published grave and weighty reasons for so doing:
"May the Father, who creates man, curse him! May the Son, who suffered for us, curse
him! May the Holy Ghost who suffered for us in baptism, curse him!" I do not
stop to show how absolutely and utterly opposed such a curse as this is to the whole
spirit of the Gospel. But what I call the reader's attention to is the astounding
statement that "the Holy Ghost suffered for us in baptism." Where in the whole
compass of Scripture could warrant be found for such an assertion as this, or anything
that could even suggest it? But let the reader revert to the Babylonian account of the
personality of the Holy Ghost, and the amount of blasphemy contained in this language will
be apparent. According to the Chaldean doctrine, Semiramis, the wife of Ninus or Nimrod,
when exalted to divinity under the name of the Queen of Heaven, came, as we have seen, to
be worshipped as Juno, the "Dove"--in other words, the Holy Spirit incarnate.
Now, when her husband, for his blasphemous rebellion against the majesty of heaven, was
cut off, for a season it was a time of tribulation also for her. The fragments of ancient
history that have come down to us give an account of her trepidation and flight, to save
herself from her adversaries. In the fables of the mythology, this flight was mystically
represented in accordance with what was attributed to her husband. The bards of Greece
represented Bacchus, when overcome by his enemies, as taking refuge in the depths of the
ocean (see Fig. 36). Thus, Homer:
"In a mad mood, while Bacchus
blindly raged,
Lycurgus drove his trembling bands, confused,
O'er the vast plains of Nusa. They in haste
Threw down their sacred implements, and fled
In fearful dissipation. Bacchus saw
Rout upon rout, and, lost in wild dismay,
Plunged in the deep. Here Thetis in her arms
Received him shuddering at the dire event."
In Egypt, as we have seen, Osiris, as identified
with Noah, was represented, when overcome by his grand enemy Typhon, or the "Evil
One," as passing through the waters. The poets represented Semiramis as sharing in
his distress, and likewise seeking safety in the same way. We have seen already, that,
under the name of Astarte, she was said to have come forth from the wondrous egg that was
found floating on the waters of the Euphrates. Now Manilius tells, in his Astronomical
Poetics, what induced her to take refuge in these waters. "Venus plunged into the
Babylonia waters," says he, "to shun the fury of the snake-footed Typhon."
When Venus Urania, or Dione, the "Heavenly Dove," plunged in deep distress into
these waters of Babylon, be it observed what, according to the Chaldean doctrine, this
amounted to. It was neither more nor less than saying that the Holy Ghost incarnate in
deep tribulation entered these waters, and that on purpose that these waters might be fit,
not only by the temporary abode of the Messiah in the midst of them, but by the Spirit's
efficacy thus imparted to them, for giving new life and regeneration, by baptism,
to the worshippers of the Chaldean Madonna. We have evidence that the purifying virtue of
the waters, which in Pagan esteem had such efficacy in cleansing from guilt and
regenerating the soul, was derived in part from the passing of the Mediatorial god, the
sun-god and god of fire, through these waters during his humiliation and sojourn in the
midst of them; and that the Papacy at this day retains the very custom which had sprung up
from that persuasion. So far as heathenism is concerned, the following extracts from
Potter and Athenaeus speak distinctly enough: "Every person," says the former,
"who came to the solemn sacrifices [of the Greeks] was purified by water. To which
end, at the entrance of the temples there was commonly placed a vessel full of holy
water." How did this water get its holiness? This water "was consecrated,"
says Athenaeus, "by putting into it a BURNING TORCH taken from the altar." The burning
torch was the express symbol of the god of fire; and by the light of this torch, so
indispensable for consecrating "the holy water," we may easily see whence came
one great part of the purifying virtue of "the water of the loud resounding
sea," which was held to be so efficacious in purging away the guilt and stain of sin,
*--even from the sun-god having taken refuge in its waters.
* "All human ills," says Euripides, in
a well known passage, "are washed away by the sea."
Now this very same method is used in the Romish
Church for consecrating the water for baptism. The unsuspicious testimony of Bishop Hay
leaves no doubt on this point: "It" [the water kept in the baptismal font], says
he, "is blessed on the eve of Pentecost, because it is the Holy Ghost who gives to
the waters of baptism the power and efficacy of sanctifying our souls, and because the
baptism of Christ is 'with the Holy Ghost, and with fire' (Matt 3:11). In blessing the
waters a LIGHTED TORCH is put into the font." Here, then, it is manifest that the
baptismal regenerating water of Rome is consecrated just as the regenerating
and purifying water of the Pagans was. Of what avail is it for Bishop Hay to say,
with the view of sanctifying superstition and "making apostacy plausible," that
this is done "to represent the fire of Divine love, which is communicated to the soul
by baptism, and the light of good example, which all who are baptised ought to give."
This is the fair face put on the matter; but the fact still remains that while the Romish
doctrine in regard to baptism is purely Pagan, in the ceremonies connected with the Papal
baptism one of the essential rites of the ancient fire-worship is still practised at this
day, just as it was practised by the worshippers of Bacchus, the Babylonian Messiah. As
Rome keeps up the remembrance of the fire-god passing through the waters and giving virtue
to them, so when it speaks of the "Holy Ghost suffering for us in
baptism," it in like manner commemorates the part which Paganism assigned to the
Babylonian goddess when she plunged into the waters. The sorrows of Nimrod, or Bacchus,
when in the waters were meritorious sorrows. The sorrows of his wife, in whom the Holy
Ghost miraculously dwelt, were the same. The sorrows of the Madonna, then, when in these
waters, fleeing from Typhon's rage, were the birth-throes by which children were born to
God. And thus, even in the Far West, Chalchivitlycue, the Mexican "goddess of the
waters," and "mother" of all the regenerate, was represented as purging the
new-born infant from original sin, and "bringing it anew into the world." Now,
the Holy Ghost was idolatrously worshipped in Babylon under the form of a
"Dove." Under the same form, and with equal idolatry, the Holy Ghost is
worshipped in Rome. When, therefore, we read, in opposition to every Scripture principle,
that "the Holy Ghost suffered for us in baptism," surely it must now be
manifest who is that Holy Ghost that is really intended. It is no other than Semiramis,
the very incarnation of lust and all uncleanness.
Note
[Back] The Identity of the Scandinavian Odin and Adon of Babylon
1. Nimrod, or Adon, or Adonis, of Babylon, was
the great war-god. Odin, as is well known, was the same. 2 Nimrod, in the character of
Bacchus, was regarded as the god of wine; Odin is represented as taking no food but wine.
For thus we read in the Edda: "As to himself he [Odin] stands in no need of
food; wine is to him instead of every other aliment, according to what is said in these
verses: The illustrious father of armies, with his own hand, fattens his two wolves; but
the victorious Odin takes no other nourishment to himself than what arises from the
unintermitted quaffing of wine" (MALLET, 20th Fable). 3. The name of one of
Odin's sons indicates the meaning of Odin's own name. Balder, for whose death such
lamentations were made, seems evidently just the Chaldee form of Baal-zer, "The seed
of Baal"; for the Hebrew z, as is well known, frequently, in the later
Chaldee, becomes d. Now, Baal and Adon both alike signify "Lord"; and,
therefore, if Balder be admitted to be the seed or son of Baal, that is as much as to say
that he is the son of Adon; and, consequently, Adon and Odin must be the same. This, of
course, puts Odin a step back; makes his son to be the object of lamentation and not
himself; but the same was the case also in Egypt; for there Horus the child was
sometimes represented as torn in pieces, as Osiris had been. Clemens Alexandrinus says (Cohortatio),
"they lament an infant torn in pieces by the Titans." The lamentations for
Balder are very plainly the counterpart of the lamentations for Adonis; and, of course, if
Balder was, as the lamentations prove him to have been, the favourite form of the
Scandinavian Messiah, he was Adon, or "Lord," as well as his father. 4. Then,
lastly, the name of the other son of Odin, the mighty and warlike Thor, strengthens all
the foregoing conclusions. Ninyas, the son of Ninus or Nimrod, on his father's death, when
idolatry rose again, was, of course, from the nature of the mystic system, set up as Adon,
"the Lord." Now, as Odin had a son called Thor, so the second Assyrian Adon had
a son called Thouros. The name Thouros seems just to be another form of Zoro, or Doro,
"the seed"; for Photius tells us that among the Greeks Thoros signified
"Seed." The D is often pronounced as Th,--Adon, in the pointed Hebrew, being
pronounced Athon.
