Now people going ga-ga over Temple of Mithras

First Baal was "resurrected" from the pages of history books.

Then came Athena, via a United Nations program.

And even a statue of the Lion of al-Lat, a "pre-Islamic goddess."

Now the ancient cult of Mithras is being represented. In fact, there are some 600 people a day visiting a restored temple underneath the London headquarters of the business news outlet Bloomberg.

CNN describes the scene at the site of the restored ancient Roman temple to "a mysterious god called Mithras."

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"The temple slowly comes to life as torch light flickers and a recording of a low chanting fills the room," CNN reports. "Channels of light and haze extend from the rocky ruins, recreating shadowy columns to give the impression of the temple's superstructure. A light display in the recess of the temple depicts the cult statue of Mithras slaying a bull, an image that was the central icon of the cult."

Sophie Jackson of the Museum of London Archaeology explains Mithras was a "mystery cult" that apparently had members keep its secrets.

"So we really don't know a lot about what went on in the Mithraeum [temple], apart from the archaeological artifacts," she told CNN.

There are some 400 temples to Mithras across North Africa, the Middle East and Europe centering on images of Mithras slaying a sacred bull with a dagger.

Experts believe the site in London dates from about A.D. 250. It was discovered in 1954 during cleanup from World War II.

CNN reported that finding "the entire ground floor of a Roman building on a bomb site captured the public imagination, and thousands of people queued for hours to catch a glimpse of the statues of Roman gods emerging from the ruins" at the time.

Some of the artifacts were lost, some stored nearby, and when Bloomberg bought the site in 2010, "it took responsibility for the dismantling and faithful reconstruction of the temple, returning it to its original location," the report said.

WND reported just days ago when religious leaders in Israel expressed concern that the United Nations was promoting idolatry after word was released that the organization is helping fund a reproduction the Lion of al-Lat, the companion of the pagan goddess of "extra-marital relations."

Earlier, the global body was part of the funding of the re-creation of the Roman triumphal arch that once welcomed travelers to the Temple of Baal.

Then there was the re-creation of a statue of the goddess Athena that once stood in Palmyra.

It was Breaking Israel News that reported on the Lion of al-Lat.

BIN said a UNESCO-funded project "reproduced a statue of a lion, the third project of its kind the organization has supported."

Joe Kovacs, author of "Shocked By The Bible 2," says the sad spectacle is part of an old story.

"The promotion of pagan gods is certainly nothing new, and it again shows we're all living in what I call 'Opposite World,'" he explained. "It's a world where most people do the very opposite action of what God has instructed. Our Creator tells us to have no other gods but Him, but folks do the opposite, honoring false gods.

"The Bible says Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, built shrines to pagan gods such as Molech, a pagan god to whom people would burn their children alive in fires. It's just sickening. Even God-fearing Christians today don't realize they're doing the very opposite of God's instructions when they decorate trees with silver and gold and stand them up in their homes and churches every December. God personally says in the tenth chapter of Jeremiah not to do that precise heathen custom, and yet people have been tricked into decorating trees with all sorts of silver tinsel, gold garland and hanging ornaments, and they have no scriptural basis for it. For those interested in eternal life, we need to wake up and start obeying the instructions of our Maker, and stop all this pagan worthlessness."

Temple of Baal, Palmyra, Syria, prior to its destruction by ISIS

One rabbi told BIN that the U.N.'s real objective appears to be "to promote an agenda that has always stood as Israel’s nemesis: idolatry."

The Lion of al-Lat is an 11-foot-tall statue that was in the temple of "pre-Islamic goddess al-Lat in Palmyra, Syria," which was damaged by ISIS.

The 15-ton statue later was moved to the National Museum of Damascus for reconstruction.

The report explains: "Part of the reconstruction of the lion statue was performed using high-intensity laser projection equipment adapted for large-scale 3-D printing in stone by the Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) in Oxford. Much of the Lion project was underwritten by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through its Heritage Emergency Fund and by the European Union."

There are several trains of thought regarding al-Lat.

"It has been conjectured that al-Lat was the pre-Islamic consort of the Arabian god Allah. Another theory is that al-Lat was used as a title for the goddesses Asherah and Athirat. It is believed al-Lat was the continuation of the earlier Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar Inanna; the goddess of sex and, in particular, extra-marital relations," BIN said.

Rabbi Daniel Assur of the Sanhedrin, which recently was reassembled in Israel, told BIN of the alarming sequence of events.

"The entire mission of the organization is to blur the differences between the nations in order to bring them all under one roof and one authority in a New World Order," he said. "The truth is, as the Bible says, there are 70 distinct nations. The U.N. believes they can create nations out of thin air. Once they do that, they can say that there are many gods, even ones you can create by 3-D printing."

He pointed out the U.N.'s long-standing and dominant anti-Israel bias. After all, it has voted to condemn the state of Israel more than all of the human rights offenders around the globe combined.

"Because Israel stands as proof of what a nation is and the concept of one God, the U.N. has a vendetta against Israel and is irrationally biased against us," Rabbi Assur explained to BIN.

In December, it was reported the United Arab Emirates, the Italian mission to the United Nations and the Institute for Digital Archeology re-created a statue of Athena.

A statue of Athena at the Louvre (public domain)

She was also known as "Athena Promachos," a war goddess, and the re-created statue features her holding a spear. The exhibit, titled "The Spirit In the Stone," was being hosted at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

The globalist organizations earlier honored the reconstructed "Arch of Baal," which was taken on a world tour, including being placed outside the G7 meeting of the world's industrialized nations.

"Most people today don't realize how much of a hold ancient pagan beliefs, practices and images still have on their lives," said Joseph Farah, author of "The Restitution of All Things: Israel, Christians and the End of the Age." "In fact, pagan values and traditions have never left us. Even Jews and Christians are impacted by them. And they are not innocent because the gods of paganism are actually demons, according to the Bible. It's not something to be played with.

"The question confronting us right now is: Why would the United Nations be involved in resurrecting these occult images and icons of the past? Do they not understand what this represents – the false gods of child sacrifice and all kinds of abominations and perversions?"

Messianic rabbi Jonathan Cahn, best known for his New York Times bestseller "The Harbinger," has warned about the revival of pagan gods and idols.

"The reappearance of the gods is an amazing phenomenon," he said. "Not long ago, the image of the Hindu god of destruction, Kali, appeared on the Empire State building. Then the Arch of the Temple of the god Baal was built in New York City. Recently, a massive idol of the god Shiva was displayed on the Washington Mall along with that of a seven-headed dragon. And now the idol of Athena appears in the United Nations.

"The mystery of 'The Paradigm' and 'The Harbinger' is that what transpired in the last days of ancient Israel before its judgment is now manifesting before our eyes. We are replaying an ancient judgment cycle. One of the manifestations that took place in ancient Israel before its destruction was the appearance throughout the land of the gods, their idols, their altars, their images. That the images of the gods are now manifesting throughout America is an ominous sign. We are replaying the judgment drama.

"When Israel turned away from God, it turned to false gods and idols. So when a nation that has once known God turns away from Him, it always turns to other gods. It may not call them gods or idols, but the reality is the same. America was founded on the word of God. And inasmuch as it followed the ways of God, it has been blessed above any other nation in the modern world. But inasmuch as it has turned from its God and His ways, it has turned to other gods and idols. And unless it turns back, unless it sees revival, it will progress to judgment."

WND also recently reported that an event called the Catharsis on the Mall featured elements of devil worship on the National Mall in Washington.