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NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



A few years ago, another caped superhero earned the movie
industry a huge profit. His name is Batman; a caped, (it was
wings in the original Bob Kane drawings), superhero with a
face covering like a bat. Batman's place of residence is
Gotham City, a large metropolis filled with corruption and
Gothic architecture. His self-appointed job is to protect
the citizens of Gotham City from evil villains. His motive
is revenge for the death of his parents when he was a child.
He performs his good deeds during the night hours while most
citizens of Gotham City are asleep. He performs his amazing
feats by suddenly swooping down from the high places in
Gotham City and catching the villains off guard. During the
daylight hours, Batman's amazing costume rests in a special
enclosure while he assumes another identity, that of Bruce
Wayne. Now, you tell me; is all of that coincidental, or is
there something more at work here than what meets the eye? I
find the similarities between Batman and the gargoyle legend
to be rather discomforting.

Consider also that Gotham City was not just the invention of
New Yorkers Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the creators of the
Batman character. It is in fact New York City, which, as I
stated earlier in this article, is literally filled with
Gothic architecture and gargoyles, including the famous St.
Patrick's Cathedral. The Museum of the City of New York
website explains that the word 'gotham' is of Anglo-Saxon
origin and means 'goat town'. The Time Magazine website adds
that there is a village in England named Gotham. This name
came to refer to New York City when writer Washington Irving
used it in a satirical sense in his 1807 series 'Salmagundi:
or, the Whim-whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff and
Others', and it has stuck with the city ever since. Thus,
there have been a number of books and exhibitions about the
history of New York City, such as 'Gotham: A History Of New
York City to 1898', 'Gotham Comes Of Age', 'Gaelic Gotham: A
History of the Irish in New York' and 'Unearthing Gotham',
to name a few.

You will also find the Gotham Center for New York History in
NYC, as well as quite a few businesses which incorporate the
word 'Gotham' in their names, such as the Gotham Limousine
service, the Gotham City Online retailer and others. I also
discovered an online news site called Gotham Gazette, which
is operated by the Citizens Union Foundation of the City of
New York. In a number of news articles I read about New York
City, the writers also refer to the city as Gotham, and a
CNN profile of the city also refers to it as Gotham.

So while the original Batman was based upon several borrowed
ideas, such as a 1926 movie which highlighted a villain
known as The Bat, as well as another caped hero of the night
known as The Phantom, is it possible that in a strange way,
Batman may also be symbolic of the demonic forces which
control and protect that evil city which is the commercial
center of the world? And speaking of gargoyles and demons,
many people are convinced that the mysterious city, Babylon
the Great Whore, which controls the trade and finances of
the world, finds its fulfillment in New York City. Like New
York City, which is filled with demonic gargoyles, the Book
of Revelation tells us that Babylon is 'the habitation of
devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of
every unclean and hateful bird':

"And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon
the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation
of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of
every unclean and hateful bird." Revelation 18:2, KJV

As a final thought on the topic of Gotham and New York City,
while I don't know exactly why Washington Irving referred to
New York City as Gotham, or 'Goat Town', (I haven't read his
work), I do find it ironic that this city is filled with, as
well as controlled by, spiritual goats who for the most part
reject the Divinity and Savior role of Jesus Christ. I am of
course referring to the money-minded, and power-hungry Jews.
What did Jesus say in His Parable at the end of Matthew
chapter twenty-five?:

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the
holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of
his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and
he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the
sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left...Then
shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels:...And these shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
Matthew 25:25:31-33, 41, 46, KJV

So reiterating what I have already stated in this series,
what we have seen, is that Satan is the false god of this
current world. As the ruler of this world, he controls its
finances, politics, and its false religions, such as Roman
Catholicism. Manifestations of his evil presence are found
in many major cities across the globe, through the demonic
gargoyles which adorn countless of man's buildings, which
sadly includes many churches and cathedrals. It makes me
wonder how many of them may truly have bats, (demons), in
their belfries.

In answer to the question regarding when church buildings
became an established part of the Christian faith, I would
have to concur with the person who asked me this question.
It would seem that once the Catholic hierarchy had begun to
amass its wealth through its compromise and affiliation with
the pagan Roman Empire, then it had the means to begin the
widespread construction of its edifices. As I noted earlier,
this would have been around the time of Emperor Constantine.
It does not make sense that it would have been possible for
Christians of any kind to have built church buildings before
that time for several reasons; the main one being that early
Christianity was still a persecuted and illegal faith in the
countries controlled by the Roman Empire, prior to the time
of Constantine.

Many of you are aware of the great persecution which was
instigated by mad Emperor Nero during his brief, bloody
reign. Several decades later, around the year 90 or 100, we
also read in the Book of Revelation how the Apostle John was
exiled to the Aegean isle of Patmos because of his faith:

"I John, who also am your brother, and companion in
tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus
Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word
of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."
Revelation 1:9, KJV

So, considering that the Romans, (instigated by the Jewish
elders), took upon themselves the job of crucifying Jesus,
and continued to persecute the Christians for many years
after that, in my mind, it just doesn't seem possible that
the Christians could have built church buildings, even if
they had wanted to, which I don't believe they did. In my
view, anyone who says otherwise doesn't know the Scriptures
very well, and may be listening to a distorted version of
history propagated by the Roman Catholic Church; and that
includes the unsubstantiated claim that Peter went to Rome
and become the first Bishop, later to be called the Pope.

While I honestly do not know which was the very first church
building ever built, the following information suggests that
it may have been the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built by
Constantine's mother, Queen Helena:

----- Begin Quotes -----

From the israel-mfa.gov.il website:

Jerusalem - The Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Constantine the Great was the first Roman emperor to adopt
Christianity; he made it the official religion of the Roman
Empire. Constantine started his career as ruler of the
western region of the Roman empire (306); after defeating
his three co-regents, he emerged in 324 as sole emperor,
retaining unrivalled power until his death in 337. He made
Byzantium his capital, rebuilt it and renamed it
Constantinople.

In 326, involved with Christianity and ecclesiastical
controversy, he called a meeting of bishops of all the parts
of the empire, including Macarius, Bishop of Aelia
Capitolina, as Jerusalem was still called. The emperor's
mother, Queen Helena, who had converted to Christianity, was
much impressed with the bishop's tale of the sad neglect of
the sites hallowed by the life and death of Jesus and, with
her son's blessings, authority and funds, left to visit the
Holy Land.

In Jerusalem she identified the place of crucifixion (the
rock held to be Golgotha) and the nearby tomb known as
Anastasis (Greek for resurrection). The emperor decided to
build an appropriate shrine on the site -- the magnificent
Church of the Holy Sepulcher, described in detail by
Eusebius, a contemporary historian and biographer.

..........

From the Jerusalem Hebrew University website:

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

After these things the beloved of God carried out another
work in the province of Palestine. He thought it his duty to
establish a structure that would serve as a subject of
universal admiration at the place of the Savior's
resurrection in Jerusalem. Therefore, he ordered a house of
worship to be built, all this with God's help and with the
inspiration of the Savior himself... Layer after layer of
earth was uncovered and thus, contrary to our fears, the
place of our Lord's resurrection was revealed. Afterward he
informed all the rulers of the East that the building would
be larger, more beautiful, and more precious than any other
similar building. - Eusebius, Life of Constantine, 340 CE

The building of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - known to
the Byzantines as the Church of the Resurrection (Anastasis)
at the order of the Emperor Constantine probably took ten
years (326-335). It was a complex of monumental structures,
including a rotunda built over the tomb, a great basilica,
and columned courtyards. According to a fourth-century
Christian tradition, it was Constantine's mother Helena who
found the true cross at this site.

..........

From the bibleplaces.com website:

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Originally built by the mother of Emperor Constantine in 330
A.D., the Church of the Holy Sepulcher commemorates the hill
of crucifixion and the tomb of Christ's burial.

On grounds of tradition alone, this church is the best
candidate for the location of these events. The Garden Tomb
was not identified as such until the 19th century.

Crusader Facade

The original Byzantine church was destroyed by the Persians
in 614 A.D. Rebuilt shortly thereafter, the Egyptian caliph
al-Hakim destroyed the church in 1009 and had the tomb
hacked down to bedrock.

The Crusaders rebuilt the church and much of what is
standing today is from that time period. The ladder in the
upper right window has been there since at least 1860, a
testimony to rivalries between the church's factions.
Place of Crucifixion

Inside the church is a rocky outcropping which is the
traditional place where the cross was placed.
Archaeological excavations have demonstrated that this site
was outside the city but close to one of its gates and thus
would have been a good location for a crucifixion. Today
this chapel is controlled by the Greek Orthodox Church.

The Edicule

This structure preserves the location of Christ's tomb.
Though the cave here was carved away by a Muslim ruler 1000
years ago, a clear history remains that this has been the
revered location of the tomb. Al-Hakim's efforts to destroy
the tomb (and Christianity) in 1009 were not the first.

Earlier the Roman emperor Hadrian erected a large platform
of earth over the whole area for the construction of a
temple to Venus. Jerome adds to Eusebius' statement that a
statue of Jupiter was on the site for 180 years (140-320
A.D.). When Constantine converted the empire to
Christianity, he had the pagan temples dismantled, the earth
removed and a church built over the spot. First-Century Tomb

The best piece of evidence that the tomb of Jesus was in
this area is the fact that other first-century tombs are
still preserved inside the church. Called the "Tomb of
Joseph of Arimathea," these burial shafts (kokhim) are
clearly from the time of Christ's death and thus attest to
some kind of burial ground in the area. Combined with the
evidence from tradition, this church is most likely the true
location of the Christ's death and burial.

----- End Of Quotes -----

To add to the information concerning Emperor Constantine, it
might interest you to know that I have read certain material
which states that a core belief of Roman Catholicism of that
time, and perhaps even today, is that the Millennial Rule of
Jesus Christ upon Earth was not, and is not, going to occur
in a literal sense with the physical Return of Jesus Christ,
but rather that His Return has already manifested itself in
a more subtle way. That way was through the Byzantine Empire,
and its many richly and beautifully decorated cathedrals and
churches, which it built across Europe and the Middle East
during roughly a thousand year period. That period came to
an end with the rise of the Muslim nations; particularly the
Ottoman Turk Empire, which, as I point out in my series 'The
Seven Heads', took upon itself to rename Constantinople, the
capital of the Byzantine Empire, as Istanbul. In contrast to
the wealth and glory of the so-called Christian Byzantine
Empire, consider what the Bible really teaches us about true
Christianity:

"And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the
birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not
where to lay his head." Matthew 8:20, KJV

"Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither
shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his
meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter,
enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go
thence." Matthew 10:9-11, KJV

"So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all
that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:33, KJV

"As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many
rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things."
2 Corinthians 6:10, KJV

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that,
though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that
ye through his poverty might be rich."
2 Corinthians 8:9, KJV

Is it possible that in its quest to spread and strengthen
its worldwide empire through church and cathedral (basilica)
construction projects, the Roman Catholic Church has fallen
into a similar trap as the ancient Israelites?:

"For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples;
and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a
fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces
thereof." Hosea 8:14, KJV

As we have already seen, the sedentary Roman Catholic empire
was not, and is not, the blue print which was established by
Jesus Christ and His first followers. Their calling was to
remain as free as possible from Earthly trappings, so that
the truth of the Christian Gospel could be more effectively
spread throughout the known world of their time, through
love and self sacrifice, and not by adopting pagan beliefs,
or by constructing luxurious palaces from the money gathered
from the poor, or by the edge of a Crusader sword. The first
Christians could not possibly have won the world of their
day for Christ, if they had settled down in one place, had
become comfortable and self-satisfied, and had enriched
themselves at the expense of, and due to the ignorance of,
the poor, as the Roman Catholic Church has done, and still
does to this very day.

Let there be no mistake. The true Gospel of Jesus Christ has
not been spread around the world by large, weighty, rich,
lethargic, self-satisfied, organized religion. That honor
belongs to the hard-working, self-sacrificing individuals,
who have been willing to heed the call of Jesus Christ, and
who have been willing to forsake personal comforts, and even
their own families when it has become necessary, in order to
go to foreign, and sometimes hostile lands, where they have
faced dangers, and possibly even sacrificed their lives, for
the sake of preaching the Gospel to the lost; even to people
who do not appreciate them being there. These are the ones
who I believe will receive the greater reward; the frontline
soldiers in God's Army. They are there to win souls to Jesus
Christ, and not to push a new brand of organized religion on
the native population, so that the church back home can
boast of how big and wonderful they are becoming.

Before concluding this series, there is one final important
point which I need to make. While we have discussed how the
Devil is currently the false god of this world, we have not
discussed his future plans, and that is this: While he is
currently the ruler of this world, he has not yet set up his
visible throne upon the Earth as he would like to do; but I
believe that that will soon change. As we have already seen,
Satan loves high places, such as mountaintops, churches and
cathedrals and other tall buildings, etc., but he has not
actually moved into his very own temple yet, where he will
be adored by many people as the god of this Earth.

I was wondering why the Lord had decided to show me these
things at this particular time, and the answer came to me
like a flash. The Lord just connected the rest of the dots
so that I could see how I was supposed to conclude this new
series. As I point out in other articles, such as in 'Who
Hindered the Antichrist?', we will soon, (and I cannot
quantify 'soon' just yet), behold the greatest deception of
our modern time, when Satan incarnate, in the form of the
Son of Perdition, the long-awaited false messiah, known to
Jews as Moshiach ben David, sits in the soon-to-be-built
temple on Mount Moriah in East Jerusalem. That's why! God
took that temple away from him almost 2,000 years ago, but
Satan wants it back, and if my understanding of the Holy
Scriptures is correct, he is going to get it back, and I
believe that it may very well be during our lifetimes! The
epitome of false temple worship will soon be realized upon
this Earth when the false god of this world finally seats
himself upon his throne in that temple, and declares himself
'God', as was prophesied so long ago by the Apostle Paul in
the following verses:

"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That
ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by
spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the
day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any
means: for that day shall not come, except there come a
falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son
of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all
that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God
sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is
God." 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, KJV

Exactly why will this happen? Quite simply, because as the
Apostle Paul also tells us in that very same chapter, people
will have rejected the truth of God's Word, and they will
have accepted a cheap demonic counterfeit in the form of a
man endowed with supernatural powers from Satan himself, as
we see by the following verses:

"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that
perish; because they received not the love of the truth,
that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send
them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:"
2 Thessalonians 2:10-11, KJV

That, dear brethren, is what all of these events are leading
up to -- the final enthronement of Satan upon Earth! That is
what the current unrest and political negotiating in the
Middle East is all about. Peace will come for a brief time,
possibly for three and a half years, so that the final evil
can manifest itself upon the Earth; and then Jesus Christ
will return in His Father's time to destroy it, and all
those who are foolish enough to support it, as we see here:

"And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall
consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with
the brightness of his coming:" 2 Thessalonians 2:8, KJV

God must allow these things to happen, so that His Judgments
will be viewed as righteous by all creatures which inhabit
this universe. In His Divine Wisdom, God is going to allow
evil, rebellious men to exercise their free will, by filling
their cup of iniquity, so that there is no doubt by anyone,
that they are getting exactly what they deserve, when the
Lord begins to rain down His plagues from Heaven, during His
final judgments of the Endtime. That will be the end of our
current story, and the beginning of a brand new one, a much
better one; and we, if we are faithful now, will be active
participants in the Lord's New Beginning. As it is written:

"And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all
things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are
true and faithful." Revelation 21:5, KJV

So Genesis starts out with a New Beginning, and the Book of
Revelation ends with a New Beginning! Hallelujah! If you are
interested in knowing more about these coming events, please
read some of my prophecy related articles, such as "From
Armageddon To The New Earth". I hope that it thrills your
heart.

Please go to part four for some related images.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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