Theos-Talk Archives (April 2006 Message tt00338)

Vincent <vblaz2004@sbcglobal.net> wrote: Numbers 21=20
 6 The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the=20
people, so that many people of Israel died.=20
 7 So the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, because we=20
have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that=20
He may remove the serpents from us." And Moses interceded for the=20
people.=20
 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on=20
a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten,=20
when he looks at it, he will live."=20
 9 And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and=20
it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the=20
bronze serpent, he lived.=20
 (NAS95)

2 Kings 18=20
 1 Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah=20
king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became=20
king.=20
 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned=20
twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Abi the=20
daughter of Zechariah.=20
 3 He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his=20
father David had done.=20
 4 He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and=20
cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent=20
that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned=20
incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan.=20
 (NAS95)

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Kathy"  wrote:
>
> http://www.plim.org/2Luciferian.htm
>=20=20
> Luciferian Worship: It's beginning in Serpent, Dragon, and Sun=20
Worship
> By Dr. Lee Warren, B.A., D.D. & Edited by Dr. DeVita Brown, B.A.,=20
D.D.
> (c) 2000 PLIM REPORT, Vol. 9 #3
> Feel free to copy and circulate this article for non-commercial
> purposes provided the Web site and author are mentioned.=20
> See Related Articles in Esoteric Mysteries Revealed=20
>=20
> Introduction
> When one speaks of Luciferian worship, the very idea comes as both=20
a
> shock and an enigma for most people. Many people, especially
> Christians, find it very hard to believe that someone would worship
> Lucifer, the fallen angel, or Satan. Even non-religious people in=20
our
> culture find Luciferian worship hard to swallow. Their attitude is
> primarily shaped by the fact that we live in a largely Judeo-
Christian
> culture where Lucifer is anathema or an abomination being directly
> opposed to God.
> Most students of the Bible and Christian ministers do not=20
understand
> the philosophy or the rationale for the worship of Lucifer because
> they have a superficial understanding of ancient religious history=20
and
> a total lack of understanding of the purpose of Elohim.
> What is the intent of this article?
> To understand the worship of Lucifer today and the rationale behind
> it, an investigation of the ancient pagan religions' worship of
> serpents and dragons must be undertaken. This worship existed=20
before
> the formation of Israel. Obtaining knowledge of the pagan beliefs
> gives an understanding of the Luciferian argument that Lucifer is=20
not
> evil and points out their lack of understanding of the purpose of
> Elohim. From this investigation it will be shown that Elohim=20
created
> Israel to be the light for the Gentile nations because they were
> walking in darkness spiritually.
> Israel's purpose at first was to bring light to the pagans=20
concerning
> the one Elohim (or true God) and then finally, the Messiah would=20
come
> to bring light unto the world (Jn. 8:12). Thus, there are two
> mysteries in operation, namely, the Mystery of Iniquity and the
> Mystery of Righteousness both functioning through time, which=20
began in
> the realm of eternity (Rom. 16:25; 2 Thess. 2:7).
> These are some of the questions that this article will address.
> Did pagans have a notion of Lucifer?=20
> How did the pagans perceive evil?=20
> How was the pagan perception of evil different from that of the
> Israelites, the Messiah, and the Apostles?=20
> What meaning did the serpent, the dragon, and the sun have in pagan
> culture?=20
> This article will not look at the aspect of Lucifer being=20
the "light
> bearer" and/or "energy", due to space and the desire to remain=20
focused
> on the topic. However, this article will center on the ancient
> culture's worship of the serpent, the dragon, and the sun and will
> show that they were worshipped in ignorance. In fact, the spirits
> deceived the pagans into this false worship. Those that worship
> Lucifer today use the historical worship of Lucifer as a
> rationalization for their worship, which shows their gross
> misunderstanding of the matter.
>=20
> Was Lucifer always personified?
> Today worshippers of Lucifer feel that he has received a "bum rap"
> from Christians and Jews who personify him as evil. One of the most
> quoted authorities on the subject is H. P. Blavatsky, who was the
> founder of the Theosophical Society. Quoting from her book Secret
> Doctrine (Theosophical Press), she explains the various ancient
> culture views and philosophy of evil. She writes: "Antiquity knew=20
of
> no isolated, thoroughly and absolute bad "god of evil." Pagan=20
thought
> represented good and evil as twin brothers born of the same
> mother=EF=BF=BDNature=EF=BF=BDIn the beginning the symbols of Good and Ev=
il were=20
mere
> abstraction Light and Darkness. This led to the primal [original]
> twins, Osiris-Typhon, Ormazd-Ahriman, and finally Cain-Abel=EF=BF=BD(Vol.=
=20
1,
> p. 412); =EF=BF=BD."
> From this statement Good and Evil are believed to be co-equal and
> consider twins. She further states that ancient philosophy
> "=EF=BF=BDrecognizing neither Good or Evil as a fundamental or independen=
t
> power, but starting from the Absolute All (universal Perfection
> eternally), =EF=BF=BD(Vol. 1; p.73)."
> She goes on to say that to "=EF=BF=BDevery people except the Christian
> nations, the Devil is to this day no worse an entity than the
> opposites aspect in the dual nature of the so-called Creator. One
> cannot claim God as the synthesis of the whole universe, as
> Omnipresent and Omniscient and Infinite, and then divorce him from
> evil. As there is far more evil than good in the world, it follows=20
on
> logical grounds that either God must include evil, or stand as the
> direct cause of it, or else surrender his claims to absoluteness.=20
=EF=BF=BD=EF=BF=BD
> Indeed evil is but the antagonizing blind force in nature; it is
> reaction, oppositions and contrast =EF=BF=BDevil for some, good for other=
s
> (Vol. 1; p. 413)."
> H. P. Blavatsky states the following about the Christian
> interpretation of evil. "It was left with the early and ignorant
> Christian fathers to degrade the philosophical and highly=20
scientific
> idea of this emblem (the Dragon) into absurd superstition called=20
the
> "Devil." They took if from the Zoroastrian [Persian], who saw the
> devils or the Evil in the Hindu Devas, and the word Evil thus=20
became
> by double transmutation D'Evil in every tongue (Diabolos, Diable,
> Diavolo, Teufeel)." From the above quotes one can began to=20
understand
> the basis of evil in the ancient cultures.
> Have many cultures worshipped serpents and dragons?
> Historically, Luciferians point to the fact that the great ancient
> civilizations worshipped serpents and dragons for thousand of=20
years,
> along with the sun, before Moses and the prophets wrote the Old=20
Testament.
> Quoting the book Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky, it states that
> worship of the dragon and the sun were universal on the earthplane.
> "The tradition of the Dragon and the Sun is echoed in every part of
> the world.=EF=BF=BDThere was a time when the four parts of the world were
> covered with the temples sacred to the Sun and the Dragon: but the
> cult is now preserved mostly in China and the Buddhist countries=20
(p.
> 378-9, V. II)." The dragon, however, is not the middle age concept=20
of
> a beast with wings breathing fire, but is, in reality, a snake.
>=20
> The Gentiles at that time did not consider the beasts that they
> worshipped evil, but were the symbols of wisdom, salvation and=20
eternal
> life. In essence, the worshipers of Lucifer feel that Christendom=20
has
> gotten the story backwards. The fallacy of this argument is that=20
the
> Gentile nations attributed all the qualities of Elohim to beasts.
> Hence, to the ancient peoples the serpent became the embodiment of
> wisdom and life, and through their cultural view was not=20
inherently evil.
> Do people worship Lucifer today?
> Primarily many powerful secret societies, such as the Freemasons=20
and
> other organizations, continue the worship of Lucifer today in the
> western Christian culture . In most cases Lucifer worship is hidden
> from the public to avoid their adverse reaction. Here are a few=20
quotes
> from the writings of the Freemasons that illustrate their belief=20
in a
> "Light" or "Light-bearer", and that "Light" is Lucifer. However,=20
this
> mystery is revealed only to the masons of the 30th degree and=20
above.
> Albert Pike wrote in his classic book Morals and Dogma (The Supreme
> Council of the Southern Jurisdictions, A. A. S. R., USA), which is
> mandatory reading for all masons of certain degrees, the=20
following.:
> `LUCIFER, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to=20
the
> spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the morning! Is It he who
> bears the Light. ... ? Doubt it not (p. 321)!"
> It should be noted that many of the world elitists that believe in=20
the
> New World Order are Luciferian. In fact most of the world leaders=20
for
> the last two thousand years believed in various forms of magic and=20
the
> occult. Christianity was just a front for these people, but you=20
will
> not find this fact in your history books or lessons taught in=20
school.
> The book The Occult Conspiracy by Michael Howard (Destiny Books=20
=EF=BF=BD1989)
> said that "=EF=BF=BDmany of the famous historical personalities of the la=
st
> 2,000 years, including statesmen, politicians, religious leaders=20
and
> royalty, were actively involved in the occult, mysticism and=20
magical
> practices. In addition it will show that many of the major=20
historical
> events of the period have a hidden significance which can only be
> explained in terms of an occult conspiracy. The revealing of this
> conspiracy is integral to any true understanding of world history=20
and
> the development of Western civilization because of its wide-ranging
> and far-reaching influence."
> Did the devil trick the Gentiles?
> The great Mystery is that the Gentile nations were seduced into
> believing that they were intercoursing with Gods or righteous=20
angels
> (Spirits) of Elohim, but in reality they were communing with fallen
> angels (or evil spirits). This occurred according to the purpose of
> Elohim. Darkness was allowed to reign first, then afterward the=20
light
> was manifest to over throw it. This pattern ties in beautifully=20
with
> the account in Genesis that states there was darkness that covered=20
the
> face of the earth first, before Elohim brought about the light (Gn.
> 1:1-2).
> The worship of the Dragon, Serpents, and the Sun are as old as time
> and can be traced throughout pagan history. It began at Babylon,
> continued in Egypt, and was a part of many great nations, i.e.-
> Persia, Egypt, Greece, and the Incas in the Americas, to name a=20
few.
> What is the Biblical perspective of Lucifer as the serpent and=20
dragon?
> One of the most important points that must be understood in the
> beginning of this investigation is that there are events in history
> that forever change the way one perceives and performs things. For
> example, inventions such as the airplane, automobile, radio, TV,
> printing press, and computer, forever changed travel and=20
communication.
> Likewise, the Law of Yahweh given to Moses, the Israelites led by
> Yahweh, and the coming of Yahshua the Messiah and His Apostles led=20
by
> the Holy Spirit, forever changed the way mankind viewed their=20
Heavenly
> Father. These Elohim initiated changes brought an increase in
> mankind's understanding of their creator.
> Under the pagan system all types of idols were worshipped. The
> predominant form of worship was toward the Sun, the serpent, and=20
the
> Dragon. All the attributes of Yahweh were attributed to these=20
idols.
> Elohim revealed to Israel that He was the only Creator and there=20
was
> no other God (Deu. 6:4; Isa 42:8). This revelation established
> monotheism among mankind by demonstrating Elohim's power through=20
His
> people Israel, via the miraculous overthrowing of Egypt.
> The death of Pharaoh, his son, and his city changed the dominant=20
pagan
> mindset of the period.
> Did the pagans think serpents and dragons symbolized evil?
> The pagans in the most advanced nations, like Egypt and Babylon,=20
did
> not perceive serpents and dragons as evil, especially as they were
> portrayed in the Torah (First five books of the Old Testament by
> Moses) and later in the prophets. Moses was the first person to
> describe the Archangel Lucifer as the "serpent."
> He wrote the book of Genesis as the result of a vision he had atop=20
Mt.
> Sinai, "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the=20
field,
> which the LORD God had made. =EF=BF=BD (Gen. 3:1)" Clearly, Moses=20
associated
> the serpent with Lucifer or the Devil (a fallen angel), created by
> Elohim ( the Word or Son), as was the rest of the angelic creation.
> Isaiah, the prophet, first used the word "Lucifer" in describing=20
the
> King of Babylon. He wrote, "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 (Isa. 14:12)!" [It should be noted=20
that
> the word "Lucifer" does not appear in most versions of the Bible,=20
only
> in the King James Version and the Living Bible. Other versions=20
called
> him Light bearer, morning star, etc.]
> Now the word "dragon" was also associated with a man, for Ezekiel=20
the
> prophet wrote that Yahweh described the king of Egypt as=20
a "dragon."
> He wrote: "Speak, and say, Thus saith Yahweh Elohim; Behold, I am
> against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in
> the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own,=20
and I
> have made it for myself (Ezek 29:3)." [ Note: The "dragon" of the
> ancient world was a "serpent" as the book Secret Doctrine point=20
out.]
> Now in the book of Revelation from the King James Version of the
> Bible, the Apostle John confirmed Moses' vision, for he associated=20
an
> angel with the dragon and the serpent, which was the result of the
> vision he received on the Isle of Patmos in AD 96. He wrote: "And=20
the
> great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and
> Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: =EF=BF=BD(Rev 12:9)."
> The point being made here is that in the Hebrew scriptures Lucifer=20
was
> identified as the cause of the rebellion in heaven and the evil in=20
the
> earth plane. He is symbolically described as the dragon, the=20
serpent,
> and the Son of the Morning. This was contrary to the belief system=20
of
> this pagan era, because for them the Dragon and Serpent were
> universally worshiped as signs of wisdom. This will be further=20
drawn
> out later in this article.
> Did the Gentiles worship serpents and dragons?
> Ancient idols throughout the world and the ancient writings of=20
these
> civilizations furnish irrefutable proof that they worshipped the
> dragon, serpents, and the sun. These idols were universally=20
worshipped
> as symbols of wisdom.
> In her book H. P. Blavatsky Isis Unveiled (Theosophical Press) she
> writes the following concerning serpent worship of antiquity. "From
> the remotest antiquity the serpent was held by every people in the
> greatest veneration, as the embodiment of Divine wisdom and the=20
symbol
> of spirit, =EF=BF=BD" She goes on to say that the Egyptian god Thoth or=20
Hermes
> were the first to attribute a spiritual quality to serpents. "=EF=BF=BD
Hermes
> or Thoth who was the first to regard the serpent as "the most
> spirit-like of all the reptiles"; =EF=BF=BD (Vol. II, p. 489)."
> She goes on to say that in her research in antiquity it is unclear=20
as
> to why man worshiped the serpent. "The student of mythology knows=20
that
> certain ideas were associated by the peoples of antiquity with the
> serpent, and that it was the favorite symbol of particular deities;
> but why that animal rather than any other was chosen for the=20
purpose
> is yet uncertain (Vol. II, p. 489)."
> The book The Two Babylons (Loizeaux Brothers) by Rev. Alexander=20
Hislop
> confirmed that the Egyptian deity Thoth was the source of serpent
> worship and it was used in various sacred rites. He quotes an=20
ancient
> Phoenician writer who was alive during the time of Joshua. "Thoth
> first attributed something of the divine nature to the serpent and=20
the
> serpent tribe, in which he was followed by the Phoenicians and
> Egyptians. For this animal was esteemed by him to be the most
> spiritual of all the reptiles, and of a FIERY nature, inasmuch as=20
it
> exhibits an incredible celerity, moving by its spirit, without=20
either
> hands or feet. Moreover, it is long-lived, and has the quality of
> RENEWING ITS YOUTH as. Thoth has laid down in the sacred books;=20
upon
> which accounts this animal was introduced in the sacred rites and
> Mysteries (p. 227)."
> Did the symbol of the serpent represent the sun in paganism?
> The book The Two Babylons stated that the worship of the serpent=20
was
> always universally associated with the sun. Quoting Rev. A. Hislop:
> "Along with the sun, as the great fire-god, and, in due time,
> identified with him, was the serpent worshipped. =EF=BF=BD In the=20
mythology of
> the primitive world=EF=BF=BD the serpent is universally the symbol of the=
=20
sun.
> "In Egypt, one of the commonest symbols of the sun, or sun-god, is=20
a
> disc with a serpent around it (p. 227)."
> Rev. A. Hislop goes on to show how the ancients associated the=20
snake
> with the sun. "The original reason of that identification seems=20
just
> to have been that, as the sun was the great enlightener of the
> physical world, so the serpent was held to have been the great
> enlightener of the spiritual, by giving mankind the "knowledge of=20
good
> and evil." (p. 227)"
> Were the original inhabitants of the Americas serpent worshippers?
> The earth is full of monuments built to serpents. For example, most
> Americans are startled to discover that the indigenous inhabitants=20
of
> the New World, the American Indians, were serpent worshippers.=20
There
> are numerous serpent mounds and carved stones of snakes throughout=20
the
> Americas.
> Bill Still in his book New World Order: The Ancient Plan of Secret
> Societies shows that America was called initially "The Land of the
> Plumed Serpents" by the Indians of Peru. James Pyrse researched an
> article written in the Theosophical Society magazine entitled=20
Lucifer,
> which gave insight into the word "America."
> James Pyrse says that the chief god of the Mayan Indians in Central
> America was Quettzalcoatl. In Peru this god was called Amaru and=20
the
> territory known as Amaruca. Now he states: "Amaruca is literally
> translated "Land of the Plumed Serpents (p. 45)." He claims that=20
the
> name of America was derived from Amaruca, instead of after the
> explorer Amerigo Vespucci. This further proves that serpent worship
> was common throughout all cultures.
> Other famous worshippers of sacred snakes were the Druids, and in
> India, the hooded cobra snake was worshipped.
> Are there other meanings and usage for the serpent?
> In the Gentile cultures there were many other symbolic meanings and
> purposes for the serpent. Here are some examples:
>  In Egypt both the priests and the Pharaoh wore the Uraeus, which=20
were
> coiled serpents upon their forehead (See Diagram). Also sacred
> serpents were preserved in the temples of Egypt.=20
>  The serpent was used to describe creation. In Isis Unveiled, H.P.
> Blavatsky makes this significant statement concerning the origin of
> serpent worship: Before our globe [earth] became egg-shaped or=20
round
> it was a long tail of cosmic dusts or fire-mist, moving and=20
writhing
> like a serpent. This, say the explanation, was the Spirit of God
> moving on the chaos until its breath had incubated cosmic matter=20
and
> make it assume the annular [forming a ring or circle] shape of a
> serpent with its tail in its mouth-emblem of eternity in its=20

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