The Dictionary defines Paganism as “a religion other than one of the main world religions, specifically a non-Christian or pre-Christian religion”. Another definition is, “a modern religious movement incorporating beliefs or practices from outside the main world religions, especially nature worship”. Interesting. Isn’t that what’s going on today? Furthermore, it is my intent, with this series of articles, to show that all of the “main world religions” are pagan. Except, of course, for Biblical Christianity. Besides that, I’ll prove ALL paganism is DEMONIC and from Satan himself.
We’ll start with where and how paganism began and how it grew and spread all over the world. In future articles I’ll highlight the pagan — and demonic — practices of various world religions including, in no specific order.
- Roman gods, persecution and Constantine
- Shamanism, Voodoo, and Animism
- Hinduism
- Buddhism, Taoism, and Eastern Mysticism
- Native and Latin American: Aztecs and Incas
- Roman Catholicism, including Charismatic Catholics
- Druids, Wicca, and the Occult
- Christo-Paganism, Santeria
- Islam
- New Age, Humanism, and Neo-Paganism
Obviously, many there are many resources on world religions. Be assured that my research is mostly based on videos and sources from solid Christian pastors and biblical scholars. I will be including videos and book resources for you to be able to dig deeper.
The History of Paganism as Told in the Bible
I’ve covered many of these studies before, so there will be links so you can dig deeper.
First off, as we read in Genesis chapters 1 and 2, God created a perfect world. He called it all “good”. He created man and woman in His Own Image.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Genesis 1:26-28 NLT
God gave them the perfect vegan diet! They lived in paradise! What more could they possibly want? Nevertheless, God did give Adam and Eve ONE rule…
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Genesis 2:15-17 NIV
One simple rule. That’s all! And they blew it (Genesis 3). What’s more, we have the appearance of Satan in the form of the serpent. We’ll get into where he came from in a bit.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:1-5 NIV
Satan’s goal is to keep humans away from God. Here we witness some of his cunning tactics…
- Casting Doubt — “Did God really say…”
- Deception — “You will not certainly die…”
- Temptation — Lust of the eyes, power, knowledge — the pride of life
It all went downhill from there. You can read about it in the Genesis Bible Study.
How Bad did it Get?
God kicked Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden and cursed Satan…
13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” (The devil made me do it!)
14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, you are cursed
Genesis 3:13-15 NLT
more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
groveling in the dust as long as you live.
15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Remember Genesis 3:15. “Her offspring”, or “seed” as other translations state, is Jesus. However, others will come saying that they are fulfilling this. Additionally, the Roman Catholic church falsely claims that Mary is the one that stomps on the serpent. If you read the genealogy of Jesus in Luke, it takes the lineage all the way to Adam and Adam’s wife was Eve. NOT Mary! That is a Catholic lie!
As in the Days of Noah
Eventually, the world got so bad that God actually said that He was sorry He even made humans…
Then the people began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them. 2 The sons of God saw the beautiful women and took any they wanted as their wives. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.”
4 In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times.
5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. 7 And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” 8 But Noah found favor with the Lord.
Genesis 6:1-8. NLT
So, God told Noah that He was going to do away with all of humankind except for him, his wife, his 3 sons and their wives. He told Noah to build a big boat to fit 2 of each kind of animal. You can study the details of the Ark and the Great Flood in Genesis 6-10.
Genesis 10 lists Noah’s descendants. Ham was the bad son and from his lineage we get Nimrod and the Tower of Babel.
As the story goes, Ham had a son, Cush, who married Semiramis and had a son, Nimrod. Here’s a video…
Paganism Created
- Cush and his son, Nimrod led the people to create the Tower of Babel to rebel against God.
- Cush wasn’t even dead, just lost his powerful position, when his wife, Semiramis married their son, Nimrod.
- After Nimrod died, she became pregnant. She then told everyone that it was the “spirit of Nimrod” that impregnated her! Of course, she claimed a virgin birth. Additionally, she convinced the world that she and her child were the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15!
- Supposedly, Nimrod didn’t die but was raised to the sun. It was the sun’s rays that impregnated her.
- Tamuz, her son, was born on the winter solstice. (Dec. 25?)
- She was now the moon goddess “Ishtar” or “Easter” and Tamuz was her “egg”. This should make you stop and think about celebrating “Easter”. It’s Resurrection Day!
- She created Baal, the sun god.
- So we have the sun god, the moon goddess and the son of god reborn. That same 3-person setup that is seen worshiped in many of the pagan religions — including Roman Catholicism. That is NOT the Holy Trinity!
Where did Satan Come From?
Satan’s name in Heaven was Lucifer — son of the morning. He was perfect, blameless until he wanted to be like God.
12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
Isaiah 14:12-14 NLT
O shining star, son of the morning!
You have been thrown down to the earth,
you who destroyed the nations of the world.
13 For you said to yourself,
‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars.
I will preside on the mountain of the gods
far away in the north.
14 I will climb to the highest heavens
and be like the Most High.’
Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness and that is recounted in 3 of the 4 Gospels…
Note that the devil tempted Jesus with the 3 main temptations that caused Adam and Eve to fall:
- The Lust of the Flesh – this include cravings and addictions which could be as innocent as a chocolate chip cookie or an adulterous affair and sexual immorality.
- Lust of the Eyes – the easy way out, coveting, jealousy.
- Lust for Power or the Pride of Life – success, riches, prosperity, triumph.
We are warned by Peter, Paul, and others as well…
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.
1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT
4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT
Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:14 NLT
That, friend, is where the problem is. As John warns us…
Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
1 John 4:1-3 NLT
How does God Feel About Paganism?
We start with the first 2 of the 10 Commandments…
Then God gave the people all these instructions:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
3 “You must not have any other god but me.
4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
Exodus 20-1:6 NLT
God could not have been any clearer!
Before the Israelites were to enter the Promised Land, Moses relayed to them what God had told him…
A Call to Holy Living
9 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. 10 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you. 13 But you must be blameless before the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 18:9-13 NLT
The word detestable is used THREE TIMES!
What about Demons?
Jesus had several encounters with demons — here are 3 of them. Interestingly enough, they all knew that He was the Son of God. They all KNEW WHO He was — were they saved? Absolutely NOT! If you are a born-again Christian with the Holy Spirit in your heart, you CANNOT be possessed by a demon! Don’t you want to be sure?
Some characteristics of demon possession include…
- great strength
- fits of rage
- split personality
- resistance to spiritual things, yet has spiritual insight
- altered voice
- foaming at the mouth
Demon possession means a demon residing in a person, exerting direct control and influence over that person, with certain derangement of mind and/or body. Demon possession is to be distinguished from demon influence or demon activity in relation to a person. The work of the demon in the latter is from the outside; in demon possession it is from within. By this definition a Christian cannot be possessed by a demon since he is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. However, a believer can be the target of demonic activity to such an extent that he may give the appearance of demon possession.
Ryrie Study Bible NASB
Paganism’s Growth
You’d think that the Israelites would obey God and his commandments, but no, because we live in a fallen world, and Satan is the tempter of all tempters, it wasn’t long before they turned to the false gods of the Gentiles. The Gentiles were all the peoples that weren’t from the 12 Tribes of Israel. Remember the three-way cult of god — moon goddess — son of god from the video? Well, that spread all over the region.
God warned the Israelites over and over again to stop worshiping the fake foreign gods and to come back to Him, but they didn’t listen. Here are some warning verses from prophets…
21 Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless!
1 Samuel 12:21 NLT
15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves. They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the Lord’s command not to imitate them.
2 Kings 17:15 NLT
Here are more…
God was so mad at the Israelites that He had the Assyrians attack and capture the North Kingdom of Israel and the Babylonians attack and capture kingdom of Judah. The Assyrians sent the Israelites back to the north area, but they mixed with them and created the Samaritans. The Jews were taken to Babylon for 70 years. Do you think they were influenced by their paganism? Not all of them! Read Daniel, Ezekiel, Ezra and Nehemiah.
Understand God’s point of view. God made several covenants — like a marriage — with Israel. In return, all He wanted was obedience. However, they prostituted themselves by worshiping the false and worthless pagan god idols of the Gentiles. Besides that, they intermarried with the Gentiles. Thus, allowing Satan a bigger foothold. The problem is, if you give Satan a foothold, he makes it into a stronghold which is more difficult to break.
Moreover, there was a time — around 400 years — when God was silent — between the last prophet of the Old Testament, Malachi and the first of the Gospels, Matthew. Here’s what happened when God left humans on their own. Read Between Malachi and Matthew.
Then Jesus Came!
When Jesus entered the world, it was encompassed by Roman Paganism, which we’ll explore in our next post.
My question to you is are you sure that you’re saved? Are you sure that you’re a born-again Christian? Moreover, are you protected from demon possession?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…
Billy Crone: Demon Worship Part 1
More on Billy Crone’s Website…