Saturnia & the First College of Pontiffs
Mystery Religions, by Charles J. Butler, Rector, American Presbyterian Church, 2007 (extracts )
If a man consider the origin of this great ecclesiastical dominion,
he will easily perceive that the Papacy is none other than the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire, sitting crowned on the grave thereof.
Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes, (1651), p. 457.
Ancient history has it that Romulus and his brother Remus founded Rome. Before the founding of the city of Rome, there stood on the Capitoline Hill (one of the Seven Hills of Rome) a place called “Saturnia” or the city of Saturn. It was here where the great Babylon god Saturn was worshiped. The Latin name “Saturn” = “Satur” in Chaldee (Satyr). It was by this name that Nimrod was known as the god of Chaldean Mysteries. Now, “Satur” means in English the “god of Mystery” or the “hidden god.” The word “Satur” is also very similar to the Hebrew word “Sethur,” which means “mystery.” Both words add up to the number 666, the fatal number of the Beast of the Apocolypse. [Hence Saturday]
In the early days of the city of Rome this Babylonian worship was suppressed until a colony of Etruscans, who seriously practiced Babylonian idolatry, later settled in the neighborhood of Rome. Even before they were incorporated in the growing Roman State, they exercised a powerful influence over the religious worship of the Romans. This led to the formation of a College of Pontiffs, with a presiding Sovereign Pontiff [Pontifex Maximus] – modeled on the Babylon pattern. The Capitoline Hill, the original site of Saturnia, became the great high place of the worship of ancient Rome. Even the name “Latin,” the name of the language of Rome, carries with it a secret meaning and confirms the Babylon origins of Rome. The name comes from the Latin word “lateo,” which means, “lie hid.”
“Lateo” in turn, comes from the Chaldee word “lat,” which also means, “lie hid.” In fact, the names “Lat” and “Saturn” are synonymous and both represent the great god of the Mysteries. In the Egyptian version of the Mysteries a fish god “Latus” was worshiped, that is clearly just another version of Dagon [the Merovingian-Apocolyptic Beast from the Sea (Merman) who fathered their “race”]. Although Chaldee was the language of the Mysteries of Babylon, the Latin language has a special connection with the Mysteries, since Latin is the “mystery” or “hidden” language. How remarkable is it then to find that Latin became central in the worship of the Church of Rome!
Editor’s Note: hence we have the Satanic ‘Latins’
Pergamos – Satan’s Seat
There is yet a further and more direct connection between the Mysteries of Babylon and ancient Rome. However, it is necessary first to explain what happened to the original Babylon position of Sovereign Pontiff of the Mysteries after the death of Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon.
The true legitimate representative of the god of the Mysteries, the deified Nimrod, was the king of Babylon as Sovereign Pontiff. The Bible shows how astrologers, soothsayers and magicians always surrounded the kings of Babylon. Following the overthrow and death of Belshazzar by the Medo-Persian Empire under Darius, Daniel was preserved by the grace of God.
The Chaldean sorcerers and priests, though, were expelled from Babylon and fled to Pergamos, in what is now in western Turkey, where they received asylum and established their central college. The kings of Pergamos, who were regarded as gods, were put in the vacant seat left by Belshazzar and his predecessors. They were hailed as the legitimate representatives of the Babylonian god of Mysteries.
It was at Pergamos where the god Aesculapius was worshiped in the form of a serpent. The name “Aesculapius” meant in Greek “instructing snake,” but the serpent also symbolized the enlightening of souls of men by the sun. Thus we see the sun god being worshiped in the form of a serpent, supposedly enlightening mankind as “Lucifer” the shining one [hence Illuminati]. However, the Bible shows the serpent to be the Devil, who first tempted man to sin against God. It is for this reason that the Lord refers to Pergamos as “Satan’s Seat” (Rev 2:13). Notice also the striking similarity between the name of the god of Mysteries, “Satur” or “Saturn” with that of the Hebrew name for the Devil, namely Satan.
As the power of Rome expanded into many parts of Greece, Attalus, the last king of Pergamos died in 133 BC and left in his will all the dominions of Pergamos to the Roman people. He further bequeathed the office of Pontifex Maximus to the Roman principate and sent priests to instruct Rome’s Senate in the Mysteries.
Thus the kingdom of Pergamos was merged into the dominions of Rome. For many years, though, no one openly lay claim to all the powers and dignity inherent in the title of the kings of Pergamos, namely that of Sovereign Pontiff. The powers of Roman Pontiffs were therefore somewhat restricted, but the situation changed dramatically with the arrival of Julius Caesar.
The Caesars Reign as Sovereign Pontiff
After invading France and Britain in 55 and 54 BC, Julius Caesar assumed the position of Life Dictator over the Roman Dominions in 44 BC. After his assassination in the Senate, a relative of his became Emperor in 27 BC after years of internal strife. His rule effectively ended the Roman Republic. It was from Julius Caesar’s name that the Roman Emperors took their title of “Caesar.” However, few are taught that the Caesars held the position of “Pontifex Maximus,” that is “Supreme” of “Sovereign Pontiff.” This is a very significant fact in history, but it is also very inconvenient to the Church of Rome, for it indicates the origin of the papacy.
Julius Caesar was elected to the position of Pontifex Maximus in 63 BC, following which he assumed the position of supreme ruler of the Roman State. Thus he vested in himself all the powers and functions of the Babylonian Pontiff so that he was the legitimate successor of Belshazzar. Not satisfied with this, he was declared to be Jupiter’s incarnation on 25th Dec. 48 BC in the temple of Jupiter in Alexandria. The Encyclopaedia Britannica also says: “There are signs that in the last six months of his life he aspired not only to a monarchy in name as well as in fact, but also a divinity which Romans should acknowledge as well as Greeks, Orientals, and barbarians.” By claiming divinity [Humanism], he followed the pattern of the kings of Pergamos. The Roman Emperors that followed Julius Caesar were commonly regarded as gods.
Destruction of the Second Temple
When Pontius Pilate brought Jesus before the Jews, he asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Note their awful declaration that Caesar is their only king – the head of the Babylonian Mysteries and the earthly head of the worship of Satan [this demonstrates that these Jews were Kabalists even then]. Just as God gave the Jews into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar after they corrupted themselves with the worship of Nimrod, so he poured forth terrible judgments on them at the hands of the Roman Emperors whom they professed to follow. It was the Roman army of Titus, the son of Emperor Vespasian, who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. Titus later became Emperor and held the title of Caesar. Thus Babylon and Rome have in common that they both destroyed the Temple. [Hence the forging of the second ring of power]
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