CELIBACY OF PRIESTS: Inscriptions on tombs found in Rome reveal that many early priests were married, as was the Apostle Peter, the supposed founder of the order whose mother-in-law Jesus healed. The celibacy of priests is a practice borrowed from Babylonian customs. One will notice that many of the Counterfeit Church’s heathen practices were borrowed from Babylonian religions. One will also notice that the so-called “protestants” took many of Catholicism’s heathenistic beliefs and practices with them when they left.

THE SIGN OF THE FISH: The fish was the symbol of Dagon, the Philistine fish god who was also called “Ichthys.” His priests wove the form of a fish into their garments as a sign that they served him as his ministers. In the fourth century Catholics began calling Jesus “Ichthys”–the fish. Institutional Christianity continues to acknowledge its ties to paganism by displaying the sign of the fish on various objects as well as the human body. The sign seen on cars, hanging from ears, etc. is the exact replica of the fish woven into Dagon’s priests’ robes.

THE CONFESSIONAL: The confessional is a practice borrowed from the Babylonians who afforded their priests, called Koes, the power to forgive sins. In keeping with their pagan progenitors’ theology, Catholics believe that priests have the power to remove sins. Without certain rituals such as confession to a priest, one is not allowed to participate in the sacraments, some of which were borrowed from various Babylonian religions where they were referred to as “mysteries.” Note that the woman (church) riding the beast (government) in Revelation 17 who has shed the blood of God’s martyrs is called “Mystery, Babylon.”

PURGATORY: That the dead go to a place to await the end is a doctrinal belief found in almost all pagan religions. From this belief came the practice of praying for, paying for and lighting candles for the dead in order for them to escape purgatory and join their loved ones in heaven. Some time ago an acquaintance of my mother told her that he had paid his priest to light a candle and say a prayer for his dead wife who was in purgatory waiting for the priest to pray her out. The man was very angry at the priest because he had not done so. On top of that, he had sweetened the deal by giving the priest a bottle of wine.

INDULGENCIES: This practice involves the removal of a penalty brought on by the sin of the petitioner. The sinner is cleansed of his sin following sacramental absolution in which a priest prescribes a solution which will remove the penalty earned by the sin, as well as the sin itself. The ritual usually involves participating in the Eucharist–the taking of bread and wine as a sign of God’s grace in absolving the sinner of the sin and the penalty. This, along with a specified number of “Hail Mary’s” and, in some cases the exchange of money, is normally sufficient for the task.

LIGHT AROUND THE HEAD IN PAINTINGS AND CARVINGS: Babylonian gods were so depicted in wood and rock carvings as well as parchment renderings. The circle symbolized the god’s connection to the sun, the object of worship. A circle around the head of a non-god signified that the person was a sun worshiper.

LENT: The sun god Tammuz was supposedly killed at age 40 by a wild boar. His patrons developed the practice of weeping for 40 days–a day for a year–in honor of him. This practice has been traced back to 525 A.D. when an abbot named Dionysius instituted the practice. Today, the Lenten Season is celebrated by giving up something that one enjoys for the 40 days leading up to Easter–the celebration in honor of Tammuz’s mother. The pagan practice was found among the fallen Israelites as mentioned in Ezekiel 8 where God showed the prophet Israelite worshipers in His Temple, the women crying for Tammuz while the men bowed toward the east. Today this is called a “sun rise service.” In my inexcusable ignorance I have in times past participated in such heathenism.

FIRST DAY SABBATH: In order to counteract God’s command to hold a weekly church service (a Sabbath-rest day) on the seventh day (Saturday), the Catholic Church in the fourth century dictated that the Sabbath would henceforth be held on the first day of the week (Sunday) in order to pacify many of their “converts” who continued to worship Tammuz–the sun god. That a law had to be passed to force observance of the Sabbath on Sunday is proof that God’s people were still obeying Him some 300 years after the founding of the New Covenant Church. His people still do. To be continued. L.J.