Semiramis also declared that her son, Tammuz, was in actuality the return or rebirth of her husband, Nimrod. Hence through this teaching the doctrine of reincarnation was born. And since Tammuz was born on the day corresponding to December 25, this day was highly honored and recognized by Nimrod's supporters. Note, therefore, that this date (December 25) was observed in honor of the birth of Tammuz long before Christianity existed, and that it was not until many centuries later this pagan custom was "Christianized" as being the birthday of Christ (or Christmas day).
The similarity between some of the ancient pagan beliefs and the truth is notable. Those who existed after the Flood knew the true prophecies of God very well because the Creator had made His plans known unto all the descendants of Adam and Eve. Therefore, it was not difficult for Satan to counterfeit the truth with erroneous applications. The notable writer Alexander Hislop tells us:
"If there was one who was more deeply concerned in the tragic death of Nimrod than another, it was his wife Semiramis, who, from an originally humble position, had been raised to share with him the throne of Babylon. . . In life her husband had been honored as a hero; in death she will have him worshipped as a god, yea, as the woman's promised seed, 'Zero-ashta,' who was destined to bruise the serpent's head, and who, in doing so, was to have his own heel bruised." The Two Babylons, Sub-Section V., The Deification of the Child, p. 58-59.
Of course, because of the deifying of her husband, it was not long before Nimrod's followers began to also worship Semiramis. And her son Tammuz (Zero-ashta) was worshipped as well. More and more Semiramis was revered by the people and was viewed by many as a priestess and goddess. Later on she also became known as "the queen of heaven." Thus began the awful practice of exalting human deities. These false beliefs have led up to the many different forms of idolatry that are still practiced by different people today. Yes, it was through the introduction of these satanic evils and the many sacrilegious practices of ancient Babylon that witchcraft, priestcraft, spiritualism, and other forms of paganism were born. Says the well-known author Ellen G. White:
"The doctrine of man's consciousness in death, especially the
belief that spirits of the dead return to minister to the living, has prepared the way for modern spiritualism." The Great Controversy, p. 551.
Question:
Do the dead ever return to their homes after death to either haunt or bring comfort?
Answer:
“The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more:... As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.” (Job 7:8,9,10)
The above scripture is crystal clear on the subject. The spirits of the deceased do not “hang around” or return to give us messages from the “other side”! Jesus said, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets [meaning God's word, the Holy Bible], neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” (Luke 16:19-31). God does not send back a good friend or relative from the grave to lead his/her loved ones to everlasting life (II Cor. 11:3,4; Gal. 1:6-8; Heb. 13:9-15). Neither does God send back a bad friend or relative to warn his/her loved ones of the everlasting flames of hell (Isaiah 8:19-22; Luke 16:19-31). The rich man who died begged Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his “five brethren;.. lest they also come into this place of torment.” (Luke 16:28). The voices heard by mediums, spiritualists and the like are not the voices of our departed friends and loved ones. They are the voices of devils (I Tim. 4:1). Satan himself (“the god of this world” “which deceiveth the whole world” II Cor. 4:4; Rev. 12:9) is transformed into an angel of light, as are his angels (“devils” Deut. 32:17; Rev. 9:20), to deceive, Jesus warned, “if it were possible, even the elect” (Mark 13:22; II Cor. 11:14). And God gave us His Word, including the following Scriptures, for good reason:
Deuteronomy 18:9-11 "When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer."
A necromancer is a person who supposedly communicates with the “spirits of the dead for purposes of... revealing the future or influencing the course of events”. God warned us not to go there because these so called departed spirits are not what they appear; and because they will not tell you what you need to hear (the Holy Bible), but what you want to hear (“good words”, “fair speeches”, i.e., counterfeit scriptures – “doctrines of devils” Rom. 16:17,18; II Cor. 11:3,4; Gal. 1:6-9; I Tim. 4:1). The Bible reveals to us that “Lucifer” “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world”, is “the god of this world”, “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Isa. 14:12-14; II Cor. 4:1-7; Eph. 2:2; I Tim. 1:3-7; 2 Tim. 4:2-4; Tit. 1:7-14; II Pet. 1:16-21; Rev. 12:9).
Some people might be wondering how it is that these spirits seem to know things that only we or our dearly departed loved ones could know. Some people might be wondering how it is that some prophets or soothsayers seem to know things that only we and God could know. What some people fail to realize is that the devil and his angels were cast out of heaven to the earth, and these deceiving spirits have been in this world long before you and I were here (Rev. 12:9). Some devils know certain things that we know, such as secrets that we may not have verbally uttered to anyone; some devils know things that we don't know, such as other people's secrets. The Christian King James I of England warned us about “that old and crafty Serpent, being a spirit, he easily spies our affections, and so conforms himself thereto, to deceive us to our wreck.” (Daemonologie 1597). The Bible tells us that the “devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about” the earth on a daily basis (I Pet. 5:8). “And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” (Job 2:2). Devils come in many disguises, and even Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light, to deceive (II Cor. 11:14). In the fifth chapter of the book of Mark there was a man possessed with approximately two thousand devils (Mark 5:13). A good part of Jesus' ministry and his disciples' ministries was casting devils out of people.
“And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.” (Luke 8:27-33)
What some people refer to as ‘spirit guides’ or ‘angel guides’ are in reality “seducing spirits” (Satan and his angels I Tim. 4:1; Rev. 12:9), devils that roam the earth in search of hosts (preferably man), seeking to influence any receptive mind and will take up residency in whoever they can. Just as God seeks to dwell in man whom he created, the devil and his angels prefer to dwell in living hosts (man) to carry out their agenda of deceiving man and ultimately destroying man's soul. We are instructed to “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” because “even now are there many antichrists”, “seducing spirits” – counterfeit Christs (I Tim. 4:1; I John 2:18; 4:1). This is why it is so important to “be not slothful [inactive, sluggish, idle]” in our walk with the Lord (Heb. 6:12). Jesus said, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things” (Luke 21:36). “Pray without ceasing” and “walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” “building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 8:1; I Thess. 5:17; Jude 1:20). “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” (Eph. 2:2). This is why it is so important to be filled with the true Holy Ghost when we repent and turn from our sins, when God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness” (Col. 1:13), “from the power of Satan unto God” (Acts 26:18). This is why it is so important to know the scriptures (Mark 12:24), to study the word of truth by reading the Holy Bible (II Tim. 2:15): “If ye continue in my word,” said Jesus, “then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth [“thy word is truth”(17:17], and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31). Jesus said:
“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.” (Matthew 12:43-45)
Some people talk about “seeing the light” and conversing with spirits while visiting “heaven” or the “other side” after having a near-death or out-of-body experience. “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures” (Matt. 22:29). Jesus Christ experienced supernatural and paranormal occurrences and was taken places and shown things beyond our natural realm. But even Jesus himself experienced certain phenomena, while being tempted of the devil, that were not holy or benevolent, as the following scriptures reveal: “Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple.... Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world” “in a moment of time” (Matt. 4:5,8; Luke 4:5). We should not be seeking spiritual experiences from God, or revelations from “an angel from heaven” (Gal. 1:8). We should be seeking the word of the Lord from the scriptures that were given to us by the Lord who preserved them in the Holy Bible (Psa. 12:6,7). The dangers in seeking spiritual visitations from heaven are all too real because more often than not these subjective experiences are from another source (II Cor. 11:14; Gal. 1:8; Matt. 4:5,8; Luke 4:5). (See Are Feelings a Good Source for Truth?, Demonic Apparitions, Beware Of False Prophets,)
We know by the scriptures that “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” (II Cor. 11:14). The “light” at the end of the tunnel is not God or Jesus Christ “the light of the world”, as many people mistakenly believe (John 8:12). The “light” at the end of the tunnel is “Satan himself... an angel of light.”. The Bible talks about two “lights”: “God is light” (I John 1:5); and, “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (II Cor. 11:14). Jesus warns us: “Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness” (Luke 11:35); and, “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matt. 6:23). God does not give one person a certain message and then give another person a contradictory message. If one has a genuine holy spiritual experience, such as that experienced by the apostle Paul, then he or she will speak according to the scriptures: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word [the Holy Bible], it is because there is no light in them.” (Is. 8:20).
Again, some people might be wondering how it is that some psychics, mediums, astrologers, false prophets, etc., seem to be able to predict certain future events that come to pass. “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods [another Jesus... another spirit... another gospel – Which is not another; but there be some that... pervert the gospel of Christ (II Cor. 11:3-15; Gal. 1:6-9)]... Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deut. 13:1-5) God said that the psychic, medium or false prophet “hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God,... to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.” (Deut. 13:5).
Who was the first spirit medium?
"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Genesis 3:1)
For what purpose was the first medium used?
"The serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty" (2 Corinthians 11:3)
Note: From that day the result of every medium's spirit contacts has been to deceive. Satan gained control of the serpent. He made it appear the serpent was speaking. Eve thought she was talking with the serpent when in reality she was talking with the devil himself. He is referred to as "that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world" (Revelation 12:9)
What basic lie did the serpent tell Eve?
"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:" (Genesis 3:4)
Note: When the devil was able to get Adam and Eve to act upon his lie, the opposite to God's truth, "He was," as Jesus states, "a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth...for he is a liar, and the father of it." (John 8:44)
When King Saul went to the witch of Endor did he see and talk with Samuel the prophet?
The Lord had already refused to communicate with King Saul for not obeying the voice of the LORD (I Sam. 15:9; 28:6). Notice that Saul asked “counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; And enquired not of the LORD:” (1 Chron. 10:13,14). There are two possible takes on this: 1: The fact that the Lord had already refused to communicate with Saul suggests that the “familiar spirit” who communicated with Saul through the spirit medium (witch) was in fact a deceiving spirit (devil) -- Remember, Jesus said that “If they hear not Moses and the prophets [the scriptures], neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” (Luke 16:19-31) -- Remember also that devils (seducing spirits) walk the earth on a daily basis (Job 2:2; Luke 8:27-33; I Pet. 5:8; I Tim. 4:1; Rev. 12:9): 2: Samuel, or a semblance of him, did appear, as the woman that had the familiar spirit “cried with a loud voice” when she saw the image, and a conversation between Saul and the personification is recorded. Irregardless, the fact that Saul even attempted this séance was an abomination (Deut. 18:9-11), rebellion against God, and Saul paid for his rebellion with his life. “So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; And inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.” (I Chron. 10:13,14)
Benign fortune telling? Or devil possession?
"And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying....But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour." (Acts 16:16-18). “These signs shall follow them that believe;” said Jesus, “In my name shall they cast out devils” (Mark 16:17).
The damsel in Acts 16 was cunningly used by a devil to patronize the disciples and seemingly promote the gospel of Christ ("The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation." verse 17 ). However, Paul being full of the Holy Ghost, which is the true Spirit of God, was not at all impressed by the devil's flattery. We are exhorted to "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets [or messengers] are gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1) . It takes the Holy Ghost in us to give us the mind of Christ and open our understanding of the scriptures which enables us to "discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not" (Malachi 3:18). This damsel could have very easily been mistaken for a messenger of light or a "minister of righteousness" if Paul had not had an intimate knowledge of the Scriptures. Sadly, many well intentioned people today "do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God", and as a result they will believe and accept things said by someone possessed with a spirit of divination (Matthew 22:29).
"And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding," (Hosea 13:2)"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)
"And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils" (Revelation 9:20,21)
See also WORLD RELIGIONS
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If you have heard of the Illuminati Order and you thought it was some kind of mythological conspiracy theory, here are the archives from George Washington himself, which prove not only their existence, but that they were intensively active in the United States of America. George Washington was also certain that some of the illuminati had infiltrated some of the American Lodges of Freemasonry.“TO G. W. SNYDER.It is an undeniable fact that conspiracies exist. It is also an under appreciated fact that most people have been conditioned to pay little or no attention to conspiracies. Misinformation is often circulated in the media and elsewhere for the purpose of leading people away from the truth. This was in the past and still is today one of the main functions of the Catholic Jesuit organization. It is no coincident that high level Jesuits are also high ranking Freemasons. The following information reveals some of the methods employed to deceive. “Morals and Dogma” is an official Masonic book written by occultist Albert Pike. Pages 104 and 105 of this Satanic occult book states:
Mount Vernon, 24 October, 1798.
REVEREND SIR,
I have your favor of the 17th instant before me, and my only motive for troubling you with the receipt of this letter is, to explain and correct a mistake, which I perceive the hurry in which I am obliged often to write letters has led you into.
It was not my intention to doubt, that the doctrines of the Illuminati and the principles of Jacobinism had not spread in the United States, On the contrary, no one is more fully satisfied of this fact than I am.
The idea that I meant to convey was, that I did not believe that the lodges of freemasons in this country had, as societies, endeavoured to propagate the diabolical tenets of the former, or pernicious principles of the latter, if they are susceptible of separation. That individuals of them may have done it, or that the founder, or instrument employed to found the Democratic Societies in the United States, may have had these objects, and actually had a separation of the people from their government in view, is too evident to be questioned.” (The Writings Of George Washington, Vol. XI., 1855, p. 337)“Masonry, like all the religions, all Mysteries, Hermetiscism, and Alchemy, conceals its secrets from all except the Adepts and Sages, or the Elect, and uses false explanations and misinterpretations of its symbols to mislead those who deserve to be mislead;”
“So Masonry jealously conceals its secrets, and intentionally leads conceited interpreters astray. (Morals and Dogma, pp. 104, 105)Only the “illuminated ones” at the highest levels of Freemasonry and other secretive societies are privy to the Luciferian agenda of the New World Order.
(See THE BILDERBERGS AND OTHER SECRET SOCIETIES, and THE OCCULT: CATHOLIC & ISLAMIC CONNECTION, and THE GEORGIA GUIDE STONES)