This little gem is from Paul A. Drocton's site:
http://www.moneyteachers.org
As millions of Americans tune in and watch the "Superbowl" today, the MSM will chime in on how important this annual event is to the people of the United States. Football, like the gladiatorial games fought in ancient Rome, is played in Coliseums to thousands of urban dwellers. Caesar, in this case Obama, will be on hand to give his approval and a hearty thumbs-up sign.
Undoubtedly, a lewd spectacle awaits at this year's half-time show or during the numerous "edgy commercials" that play during the intermissions. History does indeed repeat itself:
"Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started in 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign (81–96). The name "Amphitheatrum Flavium" derives from both Vespasian's and Titus's family name (Flavius, from the gens Flavia).
Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology." (Source)
Interestingly enough, the Roman Colosseum was built during the initial beginning of the Empire's decline. For the Emperor, the diversions employed there could be used to display the glory that once was Rome. It was a diversion, a distraction, that served to persuade the Roman citizen that things could never be better.
"The name Colosseum has long been believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby. (the statue of Nero itself being named after one of the original ancient wonders, the Colossus of Rhodes). This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios (Sol) or Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.
In the 8th century, a famous epigram attributed to the Venerable Bede celebrated the symbolic significance of the statue in a prophecy that is variously quoted: "Quamdiu stat Colisæus, stat et Roma; quando cadet colisæus, cadet et Roma; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus ("as long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world")." (Ibid)
Today, we have mammoth corporations that pay for the naming rights on our various coliseums. As one company falls and another takes its place, we simply replace the head on the statue of Colossus. The Emperor was the god of Rome. The dollar is the god of America.
"The Colosseum was used to host gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events. The shows, called munera, were always given by private individuals rather than the state. They had a strong religious element but were also demonstrations of power and family prestige, and were immensely popular with the population." (Ibid)
Nothing is more prestigious in America than owning a football team, coaching a football team or playing on a Professional Football Team. Rome had its idols and now we have ours. Interestingly enough, the Roman Forum was also an integral part of Rome.
"The Roman Forum (Latin: Forum Romanum, Italian: Foro Romano) is a small open rectangle surrounded by the ruins of ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this marketplace as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum. It was for centuries the center of Roman public life: the site of triumphal processions and elections, venue for public speeches and gladiatorial matches, and nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, it has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history. Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archaeological excavations attracting numerous sightseers."
The marketplace and the Colosseum were necessary for each other's survival. One promoted the other, and both filled the pockets of the city's merchants with gold and silver. Today, the same relationship exists between our modern Coliseums and the marketplace.
Interestingly enough, this Babylonian system serves another important purpose. The statue of Colossus was built as a tribute to Apollo, the Roman "Sun god". "Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy; medicine, healing, and plague; music, poetry, and the arts; and more."
Apollo is the Greco-Roman version of the Egyptian Horus, whose symbol was the "All-Seeing Eye". The global elite refer to him as Lucifer, the fallen angel of light, cast out of heaven for rebellion against God and Jesus Christ. They worship Lucifer as the Prometheus of mankind. The giver of science, philosophy and reasoning and the master of the elements of fire, water, air and earth (as they falsely believe).
The Colosseum and the Roman Forum could be considered shrines to Apollo. Today's marketplace and entertainment glorify Lucifer, and seek to seduce mankind through exploiting the various passions that reside within the mortal elements that make up our physical bodies. First seduce, and then enslave.
The end game is that we, like Lucifer, will rebel against God in the pursuit of our own selfish lusts and pleasures. Slavery to an evil master can be the only outcome. In the words of the Apostle James:
1) From whence come wars and fighting among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2) Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3) Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
4) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
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