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Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Sep. 22, 2002
Update	: Apr. 19, 2025
Parts	: 04

Synopsis:



Continuing our discussion from part two, quite 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 head 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 series, 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."


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."


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."


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:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."


"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."


"So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."


"As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things."


"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."


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."


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.

Please go to part four for the conclusion of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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