Two Simons
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It is the confusion of two different “Simons” that has given rise to one of the very greatest frauds of all history. Catholics have always claimed the apostle Peter (Simon Peter) was the first Roman bishop, and was martyred and buried in Rome. But Peter’s commission was to serve those called to God’s Church among the tribes of Israel that had been scattered after being taken into captivity—those of the “circumcision” (Gal. 2:7-8). In neither his nor Paul’s letters is there any indication that Peter was ever in Rome. Even if he were brought there for execution, the fact remains that he never served there. (There are at least 10 solid biblical proofs of this, and they are carefully listed in my bookWhere Is the True Church? – and Its Incredible History!) Halley’s Bible Handbook labels the claim that Simon Peter was the first pope “Fiction pure and simple” (p. 768).
Now notice these facts from history in Alexander Hislop’s The Two Babylons (emphasis mine): “The keys that the Pope bore were the keys of a ‘Peter’ well known to the Pagans initiated in the Chaldean Mysteries. That Peter the apostle was ever Bishop of Rome has been proved again and again to be an arrant fable. That he ever even set foot in Rome is at the best highly doubtful. His visit to that city rests on no better authority than that of a writer at the end of the second century or beginning of the third…it can be shown to be by no means doubtful that before the Christian era, and downwards, there was a ‘Peter’ at Rome, who occupied the highest place in the Pagan priesthood. The priest who explained the Mysteries to the initiated was sometimes called by a Greek term, the Hierophant; but in primitive Chaldee, the real language of the Mysteries, his title, as pronounced without the points, was ‘Peter’—i.e., ‘the interpreter’” (p. 208).
One such person of great “distinction” who bore the title of “Peter” at Rome was, in fact, Simon Magus! The title of “Peter” or “Pater” or “Patre” was one of religious primacy. Thus, Simon Magus carried the title Simon “Peter.” “Papa,” “Father” and “Pope” are derived from the word Pater, from which come our words paternal and patriarch. (Notice Jesus’ command in Matthew 23:9 pertaining to such titles: “And call no man your father upon the earth: for One is your Father, which is in heaven.” This verse forbids “Father” as a religious title, as was practiced in the Babylonian Mystery religion. We might add, never mind the blasphemous “Holy Father,” which is solely the role of God the Father.)
It should be said that crediting Simon Magus as the founder of today’s universal church system would not be fully accurate. He died around AD 68. It took nearly three centuries for that system to amass power and evolve, through all the stages of modifying and counterfeiting doctrine, into the form recognized today. Simon Magus’ successors were equally zealous in sowing the seeds of heresy to counter the true apostles’ work. His followers included Menander, Nicholas, Cerinthus and Marcion. (To learn much more, again, I urge you to read Where Is the True Church? – and Its Incredible History!)
By the beginning of the second century, churches advocating a hybrid Christianity—mixing the name and some few teachings of Christ with rank Babylonish paganism—were gaining strength. Although it would take another two centuries before they would be given substantial authority, their mission accelerated during the 100s AD.
The emerging counterfeit church substituted the true doctrines taught by Jesus and the apostles with false teachings from the Babylon Mystery religion. Alexander Hislop also wrote that there are very few of the current practices of this counterfeit church system that cannot be directly traced to the pagan mystery rituals of Babylon. The doctrines of God’s Sabbath and Holy Days were dismissed as “Judaizing.” The popular pagan ideas of the immortal soul, “going to heaven,” and “burning in hell” were adopted. The doctrine of the millennial rule of the kingdom of God was gradually phased out. The unbiblical trinity concept was gradually accepted. Idolatry (including image and Mary worship) became acceptable, and the Second Commandment was effectively rejected.
Notice again in Matthew 24:1-51 that the many are deceived, not the few: “For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Mt 24:5). Both the “manys” here—ministers and lay members—represent the overwhelming majority, as demonstrated by history. By the middle of the second century, the true followers of Christ were a small minority! The counterfeit movement openly denounced those who remained loyal to the teachings of the original apostles. Leaders such as John’s successor, Polycarp, and Polycarp’s disciple, Polycrates, were among the very few holding to the full truth in the Greco-Roman world.