Sarapis was considered to be a syncretic god worshipped as the supreme deity in Egypt to the end of the 4th century A.D. The highly popular cult Serapis used many trappings that were later adopted by Christians: chants, lights, bells, vestments, processions, and music. Serapis represented a final transformation of the savior Osiris into a monotheistic figure, virtually identical to the Christian god... This Ptolemaic god was a combination of Osiris and Apis... As Christ was a sacrificial lamb, so Serapis was a sacrificial bull as well as god in human form. He was annually sacrificed in atonement for the sins of Egypt. 

Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, his successors (the Diadochoi) succeeded to the various parts of the empire, with the satrapy of Egypt being allotted to one of his generals. Ptolemy I Soter, the first of the Macedonian kings to rule Egypt (323-283 BC), introduced a new syncretistic god to provide Alexandria with a patron deity and unite the Greek and Egyptian population of the city. Derived from Osiris and Apis, who had a cult at Memphis (where, in an underground chamber, the sacred bulls of Apis were ritualistically buried in massive stone sarcophagi), Serapis (Sarapis) also came to be identified with Asclepius, the god of healing, as well as with Dionysus and Pluto. At his feet sat the three-headed dog Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld. Serapis was thought to appear to mortals in dreams, as did Isis, his Hellenized bride.

"The catacombs of Rome are crowded with illustrations that were reproduced as Egypto-gnostic tenets, doctrines, and dogmas which served to Persian, Greek, Roman, and Jew as evidence of the non-historic origins of Christianity. In the transition from the old Egyptian religion to the new Cult of Christianity there was no factor of more profound importance than the worship of Serapis. As the Emperor Hadrian relates, in his letter to Servianus, "Those who worship Serapis are likewise Christians: even those who style themselves the Bishops of Christ are devoted to Serapis". "  - Albert Churchward

But where did Sarapis really come from? A Roman historian insisted that the god was originally from Asia Minor. This can eaisly be understood based on the following.

The earliest mention of Sarapis is in the authentic death scene of Alexander, from the royal diaries (Arrian, Anabasis, VII. 26). Here Sarapis has a temple at Babylon and is of such importance that he alone is named as being consulted on behalf of the dying king. It would considerably alter our conception of the dead Apis if we were to find that a travelling shrine of his divinity accompanied Alexander on his expedition or was set up for him in Babylon. On the other hand, the principal god of Babylon was Zeus Belus (Baal Marduk), and it is difficult to see why he should have been called Sarapis on this occasion. Evidence has, however, been found to prove that Ea, entitled Sarapsi, king of the deep (sea), who was also great in learning and magic, had a temple in the city. It seems unwarranted to make this Sarapsi-Sarapis travel to Sinope and thence to Alexandria as the type of the Egyptian god; but whether or not the Egyptian appellation Sarapis was applied to express the Babylonian Sarapsi, the part it played in the last days of Alexander may have determined the choice by which the Egyptian Osiris-Apis supplied the name and some leading characteristics to the god of Alexandria.

Serapis was especially worshipped as a god of healing, and his temples were connected with dream-oracles that were much resorted to.

According to Plutarch, Ptolemy Soter stole the iconic statue from Sinope, having been bidden by the unknown god in a dream to bring him to Alexandria. The supernatural origins of the new cult is likely to have been well published from official centers in Alexandria. On its arrival the statue was pronounced to be Serapis by two experts in religious matters. Ptolemy's advisors made natural choices. One was the one the Eumolpid Timotheus, who was one of the Eumolpidae, the ancient family from whose members the hierophant of the Eleusinian Mysteries had been chosen since before history; no Hellene could have offered a more resounding authentication. The other was the scholarly Egyptian priest Manetho. This story may not be true (some contend that Sinope as the provenance of the statue originated in the hill of Sinopeion, i.e. "place of Apis"?, a name given to the site of the Serapeum at Memphis), but there is little doubt that Ptolemy Soter fixed the iconic type to serve for the god of the new capital of Egypt, where it was soon associated with Isis and Harpocrates in a triad.

Other information that influences our view of Serapis today is that we also have modern prophetic information concerning Serapis Bey, as the Ascended Master who Built the Temple of Man at Luxor. This is seen as the Etheric Temple for initiation into the ascension mastery; the resurrection of the soul out of the mortal cycle and into the immortal planes of existence. 

Sarapis was considered to be a syncretic god worshipped as the supreme deity in Egypt to the end of the 4th century A.D. The highly popular cult Serapis used many trappings that were later adopted by Christians: chants, lights, bells, vestments, processions, and music. Serapis represented a final transformation of the savior Osiris into a monotheistic figure, virtually identical to the Christian god... This Ptolemaic god was a combination of Osiris and Apis... As Christ was a sacrificial lamb, so Serapis was a sacrificial bull as well as god in human form. He was annually sacrificed in atonement for the sins of Egypt. 

Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, his successors (the Diadochoi) succeeded to the various parts of the empire, with the satrapy of Egypt being allotted to one of his generals. Ptolemy I Soter, the first of the Macedonian kings to rule Egypt (323-283 BC), introduced a new syncretistic god to provide Alexandria with a patron deity and unite the Greek and Egyptian population of the city. Derived from Osiris and Apis, who had a cult at Memphis (where, in an underground chamber, the sacred bulls of Apis were ritualistically buried in massive stone sarcophagi), Serapis (Sarapis) also came to be identified with Asclepius, the god of healing, as well as with Dionysus and Pluto. At his feet sat the three-headed dog Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld. Serapis was thought to appear to mortals in dreams, as did Isis, his Hellenized bride.

"The catacombs of Rome are crowded with illustrations that were reproduced as Egypto-gnostic tenets, doctrines, and dogmas which served to Persian, Greek, Roman, and Jew as evidence of the non-historic origins of Christianity. In the transition from the old Egyptian religion to the new Cult of Christianity there was no factor of more profound importance than the worship of Serapis. As the Emperor Hadrian relates, in his letter to Servianus, "Those who worship Serapis are likewise Christians: even those who style themselves the Bishops of Christ are devoted to Serapis". "  - Albert Churchward

But where did Sarapis really come from? A Roman historian insisted that the god was originally from Asia Minor. This can eaisly be understood based on the following.

The earliest mention of Sarapis is in the authentic death scene of Alexander, from the royal diaries (Arrian, Anabasis, VII. 26). Here Sarapis has a temple at Babylon and is of such importance that he alone is named as being consulted on behalf of the dying king. It would considerably alter our conception of the dead Apis if we were to find that a travelling shrine of his divinity accompanied Alexander on his expedition or was set up for him in Babylon. On the other hand, the principal god of Babylon was Zeus Belus (Baal Marduk), and it is difficult to see why he should have been called Sarapis on this occasion. Evidence has, however, been found to prove that Ea, entitled Sarapsi, king of the deep (sea), who was also great in learning and magic, had a temple in the city. It seems unwarranted to make this Sarapsi-Sarapis travel to Sinope and thence to Alexandria as the type of the Egyptian god; but whether or not the Egyptian appellation Sarapis was applied to express the Babylonian Sarapsi, the part it played in the last days of Alexander may have determined the choice by which the Egyptian Osiris-Apis supplied the name and some leading characteristics to the god of Alexandria.

Serapis was especially worshipped as a god of healing, and his temples were connected with dream-oracles that were much resorted to.

According to Plutarch, Ptolemy Soter stole the iconic statue from Sinope, having been bidden by the unknown god in a dream to bring him to Alexandria. The supernatural origins of the new cult is likely to have been well published from official centers in Alexandria. On its arrival the statue was pronounced to be Serapis by two experts in religious matters. Ptolemy's advisors made natural choices. One was the one the Eumolpid Timotheus, who was one of the Eumolpidae, the ancient family from whose members the hierophant of the Eleusinian Mysteries had been chosen since before history; no Hellene could have offered a more resounding authentication. The other was the scholarly Egyptian priest Manetho. This story may not be true (some contend that Sinope as the provenance of the statue originated in the hill of Sinopeion, i.e. "place of Apis"?, a name given to the site of the Serapeum at Memphis), but there is little doubt that Ptolemy Soter fixed the iconic type to serve for the god of the new capital of Egypt, where it was soon associated with Isis and Harpocrates in a triad.

Other information that influences our view of Serapis today is that we also have modern prophetic information concerning Serapis Bey, as the Ascended Master who Built the Temple of Man at Luxor. This is seen as the Etheric Temple for initiation into the ascension mastery; the resurrection of the soul out of the mortal cycle and into the immortal planes of existence.