Restoration
|
|
|
|
Chapter VI Medical Practice Vital To
Founders Of That a competent medical
faculty, employing modern techniques to treat present-day diseases,
was developed over forty centuries ago by the founders of Historical Background at The Bible and secular records
make it clear that the earliest post-flood movement of the human family was
down from the mountains of Notice Josephus’ recount! “Now the sons of Noah . . .
Shem, Japheth, and Ham . . . first of all descended from the mountains [ With this archaeological
background in mind, we may now proceed to the story of the famous leaders who
misguided these ancient peoples.
Remember, three individuals are indispensable to the origin of
medicine in this period: Nimrod,
Semiramis (Isis) and Gilgamesh (Horus) — and principally NIMROD! Nimrod’s father was Cush, the
oldest son of Ham (Genesis 10:6). Cush, a black man, felt
discriminated against in a society of predominantly white leadership. The bitter feelings of
inferiority which motivated These rebels planned a SEPARATE
SOCIETY — in opposition to God’s way of life.
Disguised as benefactors of mankind, their announced intention was to make
a better world — according to their philosophy, not God’s. Their ideas are summed up in the words, “one
race, one world.” Thus the
pattern for this world’s civilizations was set! As noted before, Nimrod is
the great patron deity of ancient medicine.
Let’s notice why! NIMROD Leads The Rebellion! The For a rebellion to be executed
to this degree, with such organization and the resources to build a city — it
required a master engineer. Nimrod
was the mastermind! He fomented
the excitement, the contempt for God. God names things precisely what
they are. He called him Nimrod — derived
from the Hebrew word marad meaning “to rebel.” In other words, he was The Rebel in
history! Read Genesis 10:8, “he began to be a mighty one in the
earth.” The words “mighty one” come
from the Hebrew gibber meaning, not only a warrior, but a tyrant. Moffatt translates this verse: “ Nimrod’s character is further
expressed in verse 9. We have still to discuss what is
probably the most significant phrase of all, a phrase used twice: Nimrod was a mighty hunter “before the
Eternal.” This expression, when
properly translated, means “in place of the Eternal,” or “against the
Eternal,” or “OPPOSED to the Eternal”
(Exploring Ancient History — The First 2500 Years, pp.
11-67). Apparently, Nimrod understood
the psychology of human nature. He
knew how to appeal to the people. He
convinced them that happiness and Nimrod gradually put himself in
place of the true God and led his people to believe that under his guidance, they
would be out of reach of God’s punishment. A rude awakening lay ahead! Rebellion Brought a Penalty! Many historians admit that the
practice of medicine is one of the oldest professions on earth — if not the
oldest. Few know WHY! There is a reason, which also lies
at the bottom of the world’s ills today.
Medicine was born of necessity! Long ago, the Creator God
revealed a principle which governs the health of all mankind — now, and in
Nimrod’s age! And it shall come to pass, IF
thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to
observe and to do ALL HIS COMMANDMENTS . . . . And all these
blessings [including robust physical health] shall come on thee . .
. (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). However, the promise did not end
there. It also included a clause
for disobedience and rebellion!
Mankind was enjoying good health.
Nimrod and his followers had not fully counted the cost of SIN
— PART OF WHICH IS PHYSICAL SUFFERING THROUGH DISEASE! Sickness is the natural consequence
of living contrary to God’s way of life.
Notice! But it shall come to pass, IF
thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to
observe to do ALL HIS COMMANDMENTS . . . all these curses shall come
upon thee and overtake thee. . . . The Lord shall make the PESTILENCE
cleave unto thee until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou
goest to possess it [virtually no one today lives in the cities Nimrod
established]. The Lord shall smite
thee with a CONSUMPTION, [tubererculosis], and with a FEVER, and
with an INFLAMMATION [rapidly
consuming cancer], and with an extreme BURNING [mental anguish] . . . . The Lord will smite thee with the BOTCH
OF EGYPT [Elephantiasis, a
horrible skin disorder], and with EMERODS and with the SCAB [odd skin diseases], and with the ITCH,
whereof thou canst not be healed. The Lord shall smite thee with MADNESS
[insanity], and BLINDNESS, and ASTONISHMENT OF HEART [heart attack] . . . . Because
thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep His
commandments and His statutes which He commanded thee . . .
(Deuteronomy 28:15, 21-22, 27-28, 45.) God knew what would happen when
they rebelled. He warned them through Noah
and Shem! Nimrod and his rebellious followers KNEW of
the prophesied punishment. Sure they
did! One reason they built the
tower was to protect themselves against another flood! All medical historians note the belief that
disease resulted from “an offence to the gods” — SIN — was universal! In WHY Medicine Was Developed Suddenly sickness occurred. Epidemics struck — whole cities were
immobilized! Epidemic and plague — in
every nation — is the medical
history of the years after As previously quoted, Nimrod
“was noted for his expertness in public health work and EPIDEMICS [his
kingdom and rulership depended on it].
When the plague visited Keos [ As new sickness occurred, new
drugs had to be found to fight them.
This became a frantic, frustrating attempt to thwart the natural
penalty of breaking God’s law. The
race against disease became such a hectic affair that Nimrod-the-physician
was renowned for his “admirable ingenuity and quick invention.” As Shun, the Chinese physician-god, he
is reputed to have discovered as many as seventy drugs in one day! Whether this actually occurred is not
important. The point is, it vividly
shows the impression left on that ancient time of Nimrod’s desperate
effort to avert God’s penalty through MEDICINE! Supernatural Intervention Nimrod’s medical efforts met a
certain “In the letters like those
quoted earlier in the thesis the writers expressed perfect confidence in
the professional skill and ability of the doctors. . . .” Even today, historians do not hesitate to
say “the proportion of cures to deaths of patients appears HIGHER than
it is today” (Selwyn-Brown, The
Physician Throughout The Ages, p. 197). The question which must be
raised, after such a statement, is how did Nimrod develop a system which
produced such a high rate of The answer to this question is
vital to learning the lesson of medical history! Nimrod faced a losing battle against
disease. This consequence of their sin
had not been foreseen — surely they would be forced back into at least
nominal obedience of God’s laws. The rebellion was not yet lost! Babel was Satan’s master
project in leading the human race away from God in the years immediately
after the Flood. He did all in his
power to keep it from failing! Satan
knew that it is impossible to avoid paying the penalty of transgression. Once man has sinned, there is sure retribution. He also knew certain of the physical
penalties can be modified or delayed! Delaying the penalty would
establish the rebellion. Relieving man
from the immediate penalty would deceive him into believing his History reveals SATAN led
Nimrod to establish the Art of Medicine!
The “god of this world” understood the principle of antibiotics! He well knew which substances would have a
devastating effect on bacteria. It
required no effort on Satan’s part to determine the substances which were
available for man to use as drugs — it simply had to be revealed! All available records, secular
and Biblical, maintain that the origin of medicine was supernatural. And it was! It is this facet of the early beginnings of
medicine, which encrusted with fabulous tradition, have left it open to the
charges of mythology! All modern
criticism to the contrary, history remains adamant — the origin of medicine was “of the gods.” “Almost every nation of
antiquity came to refer the origin of Medicine to the IMMEDIATE INSTRUCTION
of the gods” (Hamilton, The
History of Medicine, Surgery and Anatomy, p. 9). Another historian adds, “. . . but even the
gods themselves condescended to import their therapeutic secrets to mankind” (McKenzie, The Infancy of Medicine, p. 12).
Yes, the art of medicine was revealed to man! In spite of such an amazing
revelation, historians generally conclude that HOW ancient physicians learned
the specific effectiveness of their remedies is of no importance! When in fact, THIS IS
VITAL! The ancients communicated daily
with the spirit world. The
priest-physicians even contacted “their spirits” for advice in individual
cases! As we shall see, it was through
this intimate association with the spirit world that ancient physicians could
maintain their rate of Diagnosis, in difficult cases, was based on astrology, dreams,
auguries, and visions. Basically,
there were three divisions in the medical priesthood (using the Mesopotamian
names) the ashipu or exorcist, the asu or physician in the
modern sense of the word, and the azu or diviner. The latter’s chief responsibility was divination.
He was a medium for visions and
knew how to interpret them! The relationship between doctor
and patient went as follows. The
patient sought out a physician, as is done today. In difficult cases, all of which were
catalogued for future reference, the priest-physician would resort to a
guiding spirit! As all hospitals
were originally temples, this was a simple procedure. The physician then made the prognosis. As both the patient’s future and his own
fate (per Hammurabi’s Code) depended on his findings, ancient doctors were
brutally frank! Terse examples of ancient
prognosis have been found. “The favourable
prognosis was expressed with the words:
‘I [the physician] will cure this disease’; if the prognosis
was doubtful: ‘Nothing can be done in
this case’; or if UNfavourable: ‘The patient will die’,” (Castiglioni, A History of Medicine,
p. 55). As previously noted, Satan knew
that the course of certain diseases could be altered AND he knew which
specific substances would have a moderating effect on each ailment. There were some illnesses which could not
be halted at all by medication — even as today, physicians freely admit: “There is no cure for the common
cold.” Many The Bible records an example of
just such doctor-patient reliance on the supernatural as late as 892 B.C. And Ahaziah fell down through a
lattice in his upper chamber . . . and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them,
Go, enquire of BAALZEBUB the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this
disease. (II Kings 1:2). Ahaziah’s servants were sent to
the priest-physician of the temple in Ekron.
In such matters, a priest was always the mediator between Satan and
man. The priest was to then inquire
as to WHETHER Ahaziah could be healed with their medications or was
doomed to die. In this case, the God
of the Bible intervened to foretell the outcome: “Thou shalt not come down from that bed on
which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die” (verse 4). All diagnosis and treatment in
ancient history, to the age of Hippocrates, was based on supernatural
revelation! Nimrod — Spirit Possessed! Keep in mind — Babel was Satan’s
master plot to lead man astray. The
direction that civilization was to go was revealed through its leaders. SATAN first revealed the knowledge of
medicine after the Flood through Nimrod, the great physician! “It is no exaggeration to say that science
[medicine] owes most to the shining individualism of a few chosen spirits”
(Garrison, History of Medicine,
p. 45). There is more truth to
this statement than meets the eye! Greek history records of Dionysus or Nimrod: “His medical practices were derived from
his powers of PROPHECY AND INSPIRATION . . .”
(Selwyn-Brown, The Physician Throughout The Ages, p. 67). This phenomenon is also preserved in Indian
history where it is believed that Brahma, the creator god and
personification of the world spirit (Satan), transmitted medical knowledge
in the earliest The Chinese History Of Nimrod (Shun) adds more understanding to how medical knowledge
became available to mankind. The
Chinese Classics by James Legge, volume III, part 1, page 115, reveals
China’s first physician was a black man — Nimrod. Furthermore, he is depicted as having eyes
that shone with “double brightness!” In modern terminology, Chinese history has
retained a unique description of the facial appearance of a demon
possessed person! His condition, recognized
worldwide, is further substantiated by the Egyptian name for Nimrod — Osiris.
Osiris has the meaning of many
eyed or overseer. Today,
we would call such a person clairvoyant. “This term or title ‘Osiris’
implies one having unusual powers of perception. The traditional sense of this word is that
it refers to a person who has many eyes to see that things are done right”
(Exploring Ancient History —
The First 2500 Years, p. 11-91). Based on the Biblical
description, it could have been assumed Nimrod was in this spiritual
condition. These accounts, however,
provide concrete, historical proof!
The POINT IS, Satan used Nimrod to insure the effective
commencement of a medical practice at Babel — 4000 years ago! Medical Practice Universal! The occurrence of a competent
medical practice in ancient societies is universal. “Hence, they [prescriptions] were recorded
in writing at an early date, and in ALL ancient civilizations medical texts are
found among the oldest literary documents preserved” (Sigerist, A
History of Medicine, p. 21). HOW did a similar system of
medicine, one based on drug therapy and surgery as directed by the spirit
world, become common to all nations? As previously quoted, “Isis,
Osiris, and Horus were UNIVERSALLY worshipped even beyond the
boundaries of Egypt.” The early
inhabitants of the Indus Valley, principally Mohenjo Daro and Harappa,
possessed “a large number of statuettes of a woman alone or with a child.
. . . Serpent and dove are her attributes. . . . This is the GREAT
MOTHER, the goddess worshipped all over the Near and Middle East. . . . In
the Indus Valley she was apparently worshipped in every home” (ibid., p. 141)! The culture of Mohenjo Daro and
Harappa flourished in the second to third millennium B.C. — thus were contemporary
with The Old Kingdom of Egypt. The
great Mother Goddess of India was none other than Isis or SEMIRAMIS! This trinity of healing gods was
known intimately throughout Europe and the Middle East — and generally around
the world. “Historical researches have
shown that there is an identity of all forms of ancient social and
MEDICAL CUSTOMS, and a unity of all folk ways. Man’s instinctive actions, in all countries
. . . tend to converge to a common point” (Selwyn-Brown, The Physician Throughout
The Ages, p. 25). That common point is the Middle
East and the building of the Tower of Babel, 2256-2254 B.C. NIMROD was its principal purveyor! Apollo was the Homeric god of medicine; but it was Askelpios
who was the As the threat of disease
expanded, the demand for new, more powerful drugs increased. Egyptian doctors were eager to obtain new
plants with healing properties. The need for additional medication forced the
importation of drugs from foreign countries. Drug traffic had begun! In the Ebers Papyrus we find
prescriptions calling for cinnamon, pepper, and ginger. Seemingly common agents, these spices grew
thousands of miles distant from the Nile — in China, India, and Ceylon.
These are but a few examples of
the valuable drugs and minerals, which were imported from afar. However, they represent telling evidence
of the intense interest in procuring medicines from every possible
source! Nimrod, himself, began this
practice! This is precisely the reason
Chinese annals record him being in their country to thoroughly analyze
indigenous plants and herbs. The
result was he may have discovered some seventy drugs in one day. Obviously, his search for new medicine was
frantic! Apparently, Nimrod traveled to
the far reaches of the earth to locate sources for new drugs and to
instruct local leaders in the art of medicine. History specifies that he not only attended
to the medical needs of Mesopotamia and Egypt, but he also TAUGHT HIS ART to adjacent
peoples! Again notice the Greek record: Medicine and surgery . . . came
to Greece through a long line of other civilized peoples from a remote
antiquity. Dionysus [Nimrod] was the
god of . . . health and healing. Born
in Thebes and bringing to Greece the customs, lore, and science of his
native Egypt, he settled on the slopes of Mount Nysa . . . Later
on, he set out on a TRIP AROUND THE WORLD TO TEACH . . . (ibid., p. 208). Sometime after the erection of
the Tower of Babel, while the building of the city was still in progress, God
scattered the rebellious people abroad. And the Lord came down to see
the city and the tower, which the children of men builded . . . this they
begin to do: and now nothing will be
restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound
their language . . . . So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence
upon the face of all the earth . . . (Genesis 11:5-8). Nimrod’s worldwide excursion, taken
some time after the dispersion of the nations, was significant to the old
world! It revived the breath of
rebellion and renewed his dominion.
Arriving in person among the scattered peoples, his trip helped
to further establish the way of life initiated at Babel — also helping to set
the uniform pattern in medical practice evidenced worldwide! Notice a partial record of this
trip: OSIRIS moreover built Thebes in
Egypt . . . . They say that Osiris was much given to husbandry
[including the medical properties of plants and herbs] . . . called by the
Greek Dionysus . . . . He was honored under the name
Hermes as: One of an admirable ingenuity
and quick invention in finding out what might be useful to mankind. It is reported that Osiris, being a
prince of a publick spirit and very ambitious of glory, raised a great army
with which he resolved to go through all parts of the world that were
inhabited and to TEACH MEN . . . . For he hoped that if he
could civilize men . . . by such a public good and advantage, he
should raise a Foundation among all mankind for his immortal praise and
honor. Having settled his affairs in
Egypt and committed the government of his kingdom to his wife Isis. . . .
Then marching out of Egypt, he began his expedition. He marched away through ETHIOPIA . . .
every country received him for his merits and virtues as a god [his prowess was remembered from
Babel]. Thence he passed through
ARABIA . . . to INDIA and the UTMOST COASTS [records indicate this included
CHINA] that were inhabited. He built
many cities in India. . . . He left likewise many other marks of his
being in those parts [including a medical practice as the histories of those
nations record] . . . . Thence passing to the rest of ASIA, he transported
his army . . . into EUROPE. To conclude, Osiris having
traveled through THE WHOLE WORLD, by finding out . . . what was fit and
convenient for man’s body, was a benefactor to all mankind. He brought back with him into Egypt the
most precious and richest things that every place did afford [of course the
knowledge of new drugs] (Williams, The
Historians’ History of The World, pp. 281-283). Medical knowledge was essential
to the founders of Babel. Without
it, their rebellion was doomed to failure! Mankind would have been forced back to
obedience to God. SATAN’S intervention
through Nimrod preserved the rebellion. Nimrod’s historic, worldwide
trip served to perpetuate the confusion and provide a semblance of unity to
“all forms of ancient social and MEDICAL CUSTOMS!” |
