Mexico

From Acapulco we had earlier planned to take the Pacific coast up into Arizona, but the coastal roads are very windy and hilly and slow going, and Lori, Natara and Jessica were getting quite car sick, so we decided to head inland to Teotihuacan. We took the toll road which cost us about $40.00 Canadian, but we sure saved some time.

We had to go through the center of Mexico city, which we had planned to stay out of, but it was not bad at all. It was much like one of our cities, only about 40 times bigger. There are apparently 25,000,000 people living here. It is one of the worlds largest cities (I think NYC and Tokyo are bigger) and one of the highest in altitude (over 7300 feet). There were not that many skyscrapers and when you moved to the rural areas, every hill unless it was too steep had houses such as this on it. To get here we had to go over the Sierra Madre Occidental which peaked out at about 3300 meters. I should have bought the premium gasoline before crossing this mountain range for the van was gutless and sputtering all the way. When we got to Teotihuacan we could not find any campgrounds so we had to hotel it, and it was fortunate that we found a site situated right at the Teotihuacan ruins site.

Altar in front of the Temple of the Moon. Sacrifice is a common theme found among the ruins of Mexico with altars erected for that purpose. Sacrifice is also a common theme in the Bible. From the very beginning of the creation, man was given one command by God which he broke. The penalty for the transgression was death, but God in His mercy shed the blood of an animal (likely a lamb) instead of man to cover their sin.

However, this could never take away man's sin for the blood of animals flows not in the veins of men. This of course was a forshadow of the spotless Lamb of God who would one day come with salvation to take away the sins of the world. He was God manifest in the flesh who would die for the sins of the world in substitution for mankind.

We can follow this pattern all the way through the Old Testament. " Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them" (Genesis 3:21). "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect" (Genesis 4:3-4). "And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour..." (Genesis 8:20-22). We will find that all the Old Testament saints built altars to make offerings unto the Lord, even Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Joshua etc...

If we would follow history aright, we would expect to find the theme of sacrifice around the globe, for from the beginning of the creation, and from the new world after the Flood starting with Noah, it was taught to all of mankind, and eventually brought throughout the whole world (however now perverted) when God scattered the rebels at Babel 101 years after the Flood.

The Gentiles of the America's never knew that God had finally sent his only begotten Son in fulfillment of His promise in Genesis 3:15 to pay the penalty for sin, and so Jesus Christ commanded his disciples to go into the uttermost parts of the world and preach the gospel (good news).

Altar in front of the Temple of the Sun. The Lord taught man the only way to atone for their sins from the very beginning was through the blood of a spotless substitute, in faith looking ahead to the Messiah of whom these were but a type and a shadow. But Satan, as subtle as he is, contrived to pervert the way that God had set forth for man to come to Him. Satan was the master behind the fasle religion at Babel and here false gods were introduced and the people began to sacrifice to them, even the host of heaven and the images of the zodiac that were eventually translated into idols and temples made for them. This wicked religion was then brought into the whole world when the Lord confused the tongues of the rebellious families at Babel. "Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth" (Genesis 11:9).

Pyramid of the Sun. This pyramid is quite large measuring about 200 meters at the base and 60 meters high not taking into account "the small temple which used to stand on top and housed a stone idol" (Teotihuacan, Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, 1995), which was torn down in Colonial times. Again, this and all other pyramids with their temples on top is what we believe to be replicas of that original tower at Babel. "Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses (temples) of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt" (2 Kings 17:29).

The immensity of the Pyramid of the Sun is hard to fathom from these pictures. You have to stand quite far back to get the whole pyramid in the picture. This picture is taken from the top of the Pyramid of the Moon.

Israel had adopted the wicked religion of the Cannanites (a post Babel culture) and began to worship the host of heaven. "Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them" (Ezekiel 8:15-18). In essence they "worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator" (Romans 1:23).

A large portion of Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic religion has become guilty of integrating and incorporating this same wicked practice of idolatry in their worship. In many of the cathedrals I have observed these same abominations being practiced. In several places I have witnessed the worship of a disk of bread called the "host" which they literally believe is made into a god by their priest and placed in what they call a "monstrace" (an ornament fashioned in the shape of the sun), and the masses bowing down and worshipping it.

In Prescott's "Mexico", he recorded, as an eyewitness, the accounts of the early history of Mexico during the Spanish conquest. He said "they witnessed a religious rite which reminded them of Christian communion. On these occasions, an image of the tutelary diety of the Aztecs was made of the flour of maize, mixed with blood, and after consecration by the priests, was distributed among the people, who, as they ate it, "showed signs of humiliation and sorrow, declaring it was the flesh of the diety!" How could the Roman Catholic fail to recognize the awful ceremony of the Eucharist?"

The Bible tells us "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light ... And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" ( Ephesians 5:11). The Bible clearly instructs us not only to shun this sort of pagan practice, but also to reprove them.

Their cathedrals are also full of idols of men and women (they call saints), and I have observed them loudly beckoning these stone idols to hear their prayers and intercede for them. I have talked to several of the Mexicans about this and they do not really differenciate between the worship of their pagan deities, and the idols of Catholicism. They observe them essentially as a greater host of "gods" within their pantheon, and they can both be called upon. It made it very easy for the Gentiles of Mexico to accept Catholicism because of the similar aspects of idolatry practiced. For the most part, they just changed the names of their idols to the names of "saints".

"What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it" (Habakkuk 2:18). In the New Testament Paul told the descendants of Babel, "Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led" (1 Corinthians 12:2).

The greatest "god" in their worship is the goddess they renamed "Mary", testified to by the tens of thousands of shrines along their hyways and in their city centers and in every shop and building and around every corner and in their cathedrals. This is the path that Israel has traveled, falling from the grace of God, and so too has the "church", adopting heathonism, idolatry and all sorts of superstition which is an abomination to God.

In Prescott's "Mexico" he records what commonly took place as the Conquisitors sought to purge the land of their idols, but sadly, he reports that it was only replaced with another evil. After conquering the people they would tumble their gods down the steps of the pyramids and burn them. "A procession was next formed, in which some of the principle Tononac priests, exchanging their dark mantles for robes of white, carried lighted candles in their hands; while an image of the Virgin, half smothered under the weight of flowers, was borne aloft, and, as the procession climbed the steps of the temple, was depositied above the altar."

I do not point out these observations to "bash" Catholics as many Catholics would claim (for I am a former Catholic), but that they may awake from their deathly slumber, and repent of their false religion and believe the gospel and worship the one true God, the Creator, in sincerety and in TRUTH.

In times past I have also observed their priests blessing idols, but listen to what the Lord says about them "that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not" (Isaiah 66:3-4).

Israel of old was caught up in this wicked practice also. “As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil” (Jeremiah 44:16-17).

The "queen of heaven" is what the Roman Catholic religion calls this idol. Pope John Paul II's Last will and Testament was "I am completely in your hands", even his coffin was inscribed with the letter "M for Mary" (U.S. News and World Report).

The Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacan is most certainly adopted from Babel. A temple to the moon god "Sin" still remains very much intact in the city of Ur (in modern day Iraq) which was the city that Abraham fled when he was called of God to go to the land of Canaan that He would give to him and his descendants for an everlasting possession.

Tower of the moon god Sin, located in Ur, Iraq.

These were apparently sacrificial victims found at Teotihuacan with their hands tied behind their backs. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:24-29).

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Our Mexican Field Trip 2005

Day 24: Teotihuacan