(NOTE: Some of the themes of these articles may not be appropriate for young readers. Please keep that in mind when sharing this information).
It is written:
“And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?” (Isaiah 8:19)
And:
“Hell from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations.” (Isaiah 14:9)
And:
“The strong among the mighty Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell With those who help him: ‘They have gone down, They lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’ ”. (Ezekiel 32:21)
We have shown in previous studies that the fallen angels pretend to be gods and goddesses to the people of the world.
Now, we will notice that the demons (the spirits of the wicked dead, especially the souls of the Nephilim giants destroyed in the Genesis Flood) also pretend to be gods and goddesses to the pagans of the world.
The ancient peoples often venerated their honored dead to such a degree that they received god-like status. No doubt, some of these demons intentionally encouraged such devotion among mankind.
Yet how do we know this is true?
Consider, as an example, the Norse god known as Oden (also spelled Odin). In researching the various histories of the world (and how they point powerfully to the story of Noah and the Table of Nations in the Bible), Ken Johnson has documented:
“Six ancient manuscripts still preserve the linage of the Scandinavian people of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and the Anglo-Saxons….These six histories show a combined list of twenty generations from Noah to Odin. Scholars have long noted that the Scandinavians refer to Japheth, Noah’s son, as Sceaf….The twentieth generation is Oden or Woden. Oden was the principle ancestor worshiped as a god by the pagan Scandinavians.”. (Ken Johnson, Th.D., Ancient Post-Flood History: Historical Documents That Point To Biblical Creation, 2378-2435 (Kindle Edition))
Later, in explaining the research of the church fathers into these matters, Johnson noted:
“In order to spread the gospel, the early church fathers (Lactantius and several others) started researching history books that were already very ancient in t heir time. These included the history books of Herodotus, Strabo, Sanchoniathon, Ennius and others . The church fathers discovered the “gods” were simply deified men. The fathers identified where the “gods” actually ruled, died, and where they were buried….What we should take from this history is that, as Christians, we need to find the truth behind the myths and legends of false religions and cults. The church fathers dug up all this history from books already ancient in their time. They wanted to show from the sacred texts of the Greeks and Romans that their gods are simply deified men. Why worship what you know are not gods but just dead men? This information helped Christians take over the pagan Roman Empire. We can use the same method today. If we expose the real history behind the false religions and cults from their own “sacred” texts, we will have a stronger chance to convert unbelievers.” (Ken Johnson, Th.D., Ancient Post-Flood History: Historical Documents That Point To Biblical Creation, 2846-2995 (Kindle Edition)
Johnson is correct.
The early church fathers carefully studied history books of the different nations which were readily available in their day and age. What they discovered was that the gods and goddesses of the various pagans were venerated human beings. The accuracy of their reports is shown in that they readily referenced the sources which they quoted, inviting their adversaries to go back and check out the facts for themselves.
Note some examples:
“I will further write and show, as far as my ability goes, how and for what causes images were made to kings and tyrants, and how they came to be regarded as gods. The people of Argos made images to Hercules, because he belonged to their city. Furthermore, he was strong, and by his valor, he slew noxious beasts. Besides that, they were afraid of him. For he was subject to no control, and he carried off the wives of many. His lust was great, like that of Zuradi the Persian, his friend. Again, the people of Acte worshipped Dionysius, a king, because he had recently planted the vine in their country. The Egyptians worshipped Joseph the Hebrew, who was called Serapis, because he supplied them with corn during the years of famine. (Melito (c. 170, E), 8.752)
“I maintain, then, that it was Orpheus, Homer, and Hesiod who gave both genealogies and names to those whom they call gods. Such, too, is the testimony of Herodotus. “My opinion,” he says, “is that Hesiod and Homer preceded me by four hundred years, and no more. And it was they who framed a theogony for the Greeks, and gave the gods their names. It was they who assigned them their various honors and functions, and described their forms.” (Athenagoras (c. 175, E), 2.136.)
“The gods, as they affirm, were not from the beginning. Rather, every one of them has come into existence just like ourselves.” (Athenagoras (c. 175, E), 2.137.)
“Not one of your gods is earlier than Saturn. From him, you trace all your deities, even those of higher rank and greater fame. . . . Yet, none of the writers about sacred antiquities have ventured to say that Saturn was anything but a man.” (Tertullian (c. 197, W), 3.26)
“As you cannot deny that these deities of yours once were men, you have taken it on yourselves to assert that they were made gods after their deaths.” (Tertullian (c. 197, W), 3.27)
“As we have already shown, every god depended on the decision of the senate for his deity.” (Tertullian (c. 197, W), 3.29)
“That those are no gods whom the common people worship, is known from this: They were formerly kings. On account of their royal memory, they subsequently began to be adored by their people even in death. Later, temples were founded to them. Next, images were sculptured to retain the faces of the deceased by such likenesses. Later, men sacrificed victims and celebrated festal days to give them honor. Finally, those rites became sacred to posterity—although at first they had been adopted as a consolation.” (Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.465.)
“Since it is evident from these things that they were men, it is not difficult to see how they began to be called gods. For apparently there were no kings before Saturn or Uranus. Rather, men existed in small numbers, and they lived a rural life without any ruler. Undoubtedly, then, in those days, men began to exalt the king himself and his whole family with the highest praises and with new honors—so that they even called them gods.” (Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.26.)
“Different people privately honored the founders of their nation or city with the highest veneration—whether they were men distinguished for bravery, or women admirable for chastity. So the Egyptians honored Isis; the Moors, Juba; . . . the Romans, Quirinus. In the same exact manner, Athens worshipped Minerva; Samos, Juno; Paphos, Venus; . . . and Delos, Apollo. And thus various sacred rites were undertaken among different peoples and countries. For men desire to show gratitude to their rulers. . . . Moreover, the piety of their successors contributed largely to this error. For, in order that they might appear to be born from a divine origin, men paid divine honors to their parents.” (Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.27.)
“[Others, however,] not only admit that gods have been made from men, but even boast of it as a subject of praise. [Such humans have been deified] either because of their valor (as in the case of Hercules), or because of their gifts (as Ceres and Liber), or because of the arts that they discovered (as Aesculapius or Minerva). But how foolish these things are! How unworthy of being the causes of why men should contaminate themselves with inexpiable guilt, and become enemies of God. For it is in contempt of Him that they make offerings to the dead.” (Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.30)
“We can show that all those whom you represent to us as gods, and whom you call gods, were actually men. We can do this by quoting either Euhererus of Acragas . . . or Nicanor the Cyprian.” (Arnobius (c. 305, E), 6.486)
Now, several of our pagan friends worship the various gods and goddesses. Just recently, I studied with a young man who worships and serves the Viking gods. My friends, the facts are in: the gods and goddesses worshiped by the pagans are fallen angels and demonic spirits which are pretending to be Divine in order to lead people away from the one true God.
Thus far, we have learned:
1. Some of the reasons why we know that there is only one true God, and why polytheism cannot be true;
2. Several which document that the Bible is truly the inspired Word of God;
3. The forces which are arrayed against us, including Satan; 1/3 of angels who rebelled against God; the 200 some fallen angels who committed sexual sin with the women of Genesis 6:1-4; the Nephilim spirits which were destroyed in the Genesis Flood and are in the world today as demons;
4. The Biblical connections between the fallen angels and the pagan gods and goddesses;
5. Finally, the connections between demonic spirits and the pagan gods and goddesses.
Now, we will turn our attention to other questions relating to paganism.
What do pagans actually do?
What exactly is witchcraft?
What are the connections between paganism and witchcraft?
What is Satanism?
What are the connections between paganism and Satanism?
Most importantly: Who is Jesus Christ, and what does He have to do with pagans?
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