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DAGON – THE FORERUNNER OF A GREATER FALSE RELIGION

BY: JASON HUNT

For those of you not familiar with Dagon, let’s first look to scripture: (1 Samuel 5: 1-4) Then the Philistines took the Ark of YHVH and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. When the Philistines took the Ark of YHVH, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the Ark of Elohiym. So, they took Dagon and set it in its place again. And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the Ark of Elohiym. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon’s body was left of it.

Additionally, we know the story of Samson and Delilah (a Philistine) and how she seduced him into being taken by the Philistines: (Judges 16:23-30)

Now the leaders of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their YHVH, and to rejoice. And they said: “Our god has delivered into our hands Samson our enemy!” When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said: “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, The destroyer of our land, And the one who multiplied our dead.” So it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So, they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars. Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them.” Now the temple was full of men and women. All the leaders of the Philistines were there -- about three thousand men and women on the roof watching while Samson performed. Then Samson called to YHVH Elohiym, saying, “O my YHVH Elohiym, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O YHVH, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!” And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the leaders and all the people who were in it. So, the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.

WHO IS DAGON

In the Old Testament, Dagon is particularly the god of the Philistines with temples at Beth-dagon in the tribe of Asher (Joshua 19:27), in Gaza (Judges 16:23) and another temple was in Ashdod (1 Samuel 5:2–7). According to Rabbi Shlomo Yarchi, author of the first comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Old Testament the word Dagon comes from the Hebrew root word “dag” which means fish; however, there is contention among modern scholars as it is their belief that this word may actually mean ‘corn’ deriving from greater Mesopotamia as an agricultural deity. In either event, it’s obvious that Dagon, from his navel down, had the form of a fish and from his navel up, the form of a man. This deity is known by other names throughout the world such as Oannes, Poseidon, and Neptune to name only a few. This is also the same deity that was worshipped in Nineveh at the time of Jonah. Dagon is the supposed father of Baal. Dagon is also associated with a female half-fish deity, Derceto or Atargatis, often identified with Astarte (Ishtar, Isis, etc) a fertility deity. In Greece the Greek word "delphos" meant both fish and womb. The word is derived from the location of the ancient Oracle at Delphi who worshiped the original fish goddess, Themis. The later fish goddess, Aphrodite, was worshiped by her followers on her sacred day, Friday. They ate fish and engaged in orgies. From her name comes the English word "salacious" which means lustful or obscene. Also, from her name (Aphrodite) comes the name of the Gregorian calendar’s fourth month, April.

THE PRIESTS OF DAGON

The priests of Dagon wore fish head mitres with long tails and scales running down their backs to give the illusion that they too were appointed by the great fish god. In the picture at let you’ll see a replica of a carving found in Mesopotamia, with the priest holding a pail of ‘holy water’ for the blessing of the great fish. The followers of Dagon were grotesque and organized in their worship according to Ugarit (Canaanite) texts. It is here we find evidence of offerings such as tools and weapons to the priests for blessings and rituals. In Ugarit there’s ample evidence that worship centred on the theme of fertility as excavators found carvings of bare breasted goddesses holding ears of corn and nursing children. The most important article to the Dagonic priest was his fish head mitre as it was this image that gave him his identity as a priest of Dagon and his power to bless others. You can google the mitre on the head of the drawing of the goddess Cybele and the striking similarity to the fish head of Dagon. Cybele was worshipped in Rome and was also called the "Magna Mater", or the great queen mother goddess, which evolved into Catholic Mariology. The priesthood of Cybele was composed of castrated males, which parallels the celibate priesthood of Catholicism. The basilica of Saint Peter’s according to some, stands upon the former site of Cybele's main temple in Rome. The ruins of another temple to Cybele / Magna Mater can still be seen today in Rome on Palatine hill. Now google the mitre of the Popes and Benedict XXVI, is this not the same mitre as that worn by both Cybele and Dagon? It is indeed the same for the pagan customs and mystery religions of old where integrated into the Roman Catholic Church from the beginning due to the forming of the first universal church by edict of the Roman emperor Constantine I. The Council of Nicaea, the founding council of the supposed Church was comprised of all gentile priests, none of whom had a working faith in Moshiach, only knowledge of Moshiach. It was the bishops of this council that designed the Roman believer’s religion based on Pagan religious ceremonies and Greek Philosophical thought rather that honest Hebraic scriptural interpretation. What was spawned through this movement? A false religion called “Christianity”. Don’t misunderstand me, Christianity in itself is not false so long as it is based and developed solely on the Holy Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments and interpreted through their original historical context which is Hebraic. Additionally, do not think that all associated with Roman Christianity is suffering in hell, for Elohiym used many people over the centuries to make progressive reforms within this institutional church. People such as John Hus, who vowed to destroy the church from the inside with truth, and Wycliffe, Calvin, Knox, Luther, etc. All of whom were completely Catholic, yet used in part by Elohiym to release much needed truth to those of the true Church of our Moshiach. His sheep hear His voice (John 10:3). This institutional priesthood based on Dagon progressed and gave birth to what’s known today as the Clergy and Laity Distinction. Essentially, there’s a difference between Clergy (Ministers) and Laity (Non-Ministers). It is taught that the Clergy take up the priesthood of old through “Ordination” thus having Apostolic Succession a line traced back to the original apostles. This ordination into the priestly office attributes the power upon the individual to offer sacraments (baptism, communion, etc) to the laity in the stead of our Moshiach. Thus, the priest is looked upon as the mediator between YHVH and man and it is taught that one cannot reach YHVH unless they go through this man to receive instruction, absolution (forgiveness of sin), and communion (Eucharist). The laity is looked upon as the lost mass of people that must come unto the man of YHVH to enter into the heavenly court, awaiting a time of suffering in purgatory to pay for their sin. This of course is so far from the truth it is ridiculous. Yet, over 2 billion people today claim to believe in this priestly system and more so if you count the protestants. The Protestants are the group that Martin Luther excited to protest against 95 issues within the Catholic Church. This group grew and appointed their own leadership structures which gave birth to more divisions (known as denominations) which each grew to encompass their own set of beliefs and practice. When examined, you will find that the only difference between the Catholic Priest and the Protestant Pastor is the title and dress code (in some groups). The distinction between the clergy and laity remains. Those with nominal attendance in the church group will be bestowed various titles such as deacon, worker, etc. to aid them in being promoted to a place of authority, while all are subservient to “The Pastor”. The pastor is the equivalent of the pope in a local Protestant church and some denominations actually have Bishops and Apostles which are mirror reflections of the Roman College of Bishops, Cardinals and Pope. These progressions have given birth more recently in the Charismatic or Spirit-Filled churches to the concept of Covering, Spiritual Authority, or Spiritual Parenting. These concepts are nothing more than the next phase of control over the people instituted by the false church system. Everything about these concepts again are exact mirrors of the old Romish system; none of which have any foundation in the scriptures, but in the mysteries of Dagon. The simple truth is that real believers have only one initiation to the faith of Moshiach and that is full immersion baptism. The word Baptism means to submerge or dip under, so any other method is false. This initiation is only entered into after a confession of faith to believing in Yeshua as the Moshiach. Faith and believing are action words meaning “understanding”. Yeshua said that there would only be one sign to prove that He is the Moshiach and that would be the sign of Jonah (Matthew 16:4). As Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and 3 nights so shall the Son of Man be. That’s 72 hours. Yet, the institutional church teaches 36 hours (Friday Night Burial and Sunday Morning Resurrection), obviously they do not believe in the correct Yeshua. They believe in the one given to them by the Roman church. So, after one comes to the understanding that Yeshua (the real one) is the Messiah. They are baptized in His name to break the power of sin in their life (Romans 6). From then on, they are a new person in Moshiach, a priest and king! They are now adopted as YHVH’s children and grafted into the Tribes of Israel and they shall remain that way so long as they fear YHVH and obey His Commandments! There’s no special ordination, confession, prayer or body position needed to serve Elohiym – if you are truly His, you will serve Him in all you do -- you will not need a special job duty (pastor, apostle, etc). If we were all pastors, etc. no one would have food, water, electricity, clothing, etc because everyone would be involved in “institutional ministry” -- but YHVH desire diversity. He wants us to serve Him where we are at now. If you are a professor, glorify Elohiym to your students. If you are a Plumber, do it for the glory of Elohiym. Let all you do, testify to His greatness.

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