As I was out praying recently I started to reflect on the current world situation and terrorism. Thinking about the recent proposal to erect the tallest tower in the world upon the demolished World Trade Centre site, I suddenly sensed this enormous or huge spiritual reality in front of me. This was a very provocative experience and quite scary. In this context I believe that God started to speak to me about the Babylonian spirit in our times. I believe, reluctantly, that this spirit is at work in our churches today.
(Whilst I am convinced that the truths below are clear in scripture they have a particular relevance in the immediate present in the conflict between the greatest military power of all history, the United Sates, and the home ofBabylon,Iraq. This ancient city has in fact been reconstructed by Saddam Hussein, who has likened himself and his nation to Nebuchadnezzar and theBabylonof old. Readers of my previous article “Good Men and Bad Choices: King Josiah ,War on Terrorism and the Wisdom of the Cross” will be able to make more of this comment.)
Truly, we live in days when we are told “bigger is better”. We all know, for example, things like: who is the biggest income earner in the world, what nation has the largest economy, who is at the top of the World Series, what film has the biggest budget etc. More to the point, it seems important that we are told, repeatedly the size of churches inKorea,AmericaandAustraliain a way that implicitly equates size with spirituality. In many Christian circles today, sadly, the mega-church is held up as the only viable model for the future. Sociologically and statistically all of this could be challenged e.g. has the crime rate around the plant of the largest churches inAustralianoticeably lowered? This however is not my point. I believe the real issue is a hidden spiritual one; the drive to prioritise size has a deep demonic root.
It is often overlooked that the originaltowerofBabelaspired to reach “the heavens” (Gen 11:4). Similar language is found in Isaiah’s taunt against the king ofBabyloncenturies later “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God….I will make myself like the Most High.’” (Isa 14:12 -14). The “prince ofTyre” shares these sorts of properties: “your heart is proud and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of the gods….you compare your mind with the mind of a god,” (Ezek 28:2,6). Whilst I do no believe, as many do, that these are direct references to Satan, nevertheless, the principles involved are Satanic.
“Now war broke out in heaven, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon… and the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world-he was thrown down to the earth,…” (Rev 12:7- 9). The allusion to “the ancient serpent” trying to rule in heaven takes us right back to the beginning, to the role of the serpent inEden. His word to the woman was: “you will not die; …you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:5). Whether or not the Hebrew word Elohim should be translated “God” or “gods”, the point is clear, the taking of the fruit is a lunge for god -like status. Apparently, Adam and Eve were not satisfied with their humble creaturely status and rebelled against the divine decree: “The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings.” (Ps 115:16).
In creating humanity, God had said: “Let us make humankind in our own image…” (Gen 1:26). Through their rebellion, a few years later this same humanity said “Let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens…” (Gen 11:3). All of the above examples are spiritual acts designed to break out of created human dimensions, to be “huge” and so invert the truth that we are, apart from God, are just insignificant specks in the universe (Ps 8:3 -4). This drive for unlimited growth is a disposition that has been constantly worked out in human ambition, megalomania, imperialism, empire-building, control, dominance, oppression, corporate expansion, ecological exploitation and so on throughout the ages.
What makes the “Babylonian spirit” so enticing to humanity and so often overlooked by Christians is that it seeks to fulfil a genuine human longing to be great on the earth. We see this not only in the original commandment to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen1:28) but in the promise at the end of the story that true followers of Jesus will reign on the earth forever (Rev 5:10; 22:5). What makes this really interesting in the light of the thrust of rebellious people and demons to storm heaven is that in the world to come heaven and earth are united as one (Rev 21:1- 3). Greatness with a heavenly dimension is the true destiny of humanity.
To understand where we have gone wrong and how we may be guarded against the “Babylonian spirit” in our day it is necessary to examine the biblical teaching on the mystery or secret of thekingdomofGod. A good place to start is in Daniel.
There are twenty eight references in Daniel (NIV) to “heaven/s”. This is not surprising given that the location of the book is Babylon itself. One of the themes of the book is the superiority of the God of the Hebrews over the gods and magic arts of the Babylonians. This comes out very clearly in Daniel 2.
The king ofBabylon, the greatest military and economic power of the day, Nebuchadnezzar, has dreams that magicians, enchanters, astrologers of the empire are discern. There remark is “There is not a man on earth who is able to do what he king demands!…No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men.” (Dan 2:10-11). Daniel however does not rely upon the means familiar to the wise men ofBabylon. He and his Jewish companions “plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery.” (Dan 2:18). The one true God reveals to him the mystery or secret of the visions of the king ofBabylonwhich he subsequently relates. The substance of the dreams is that thekingdomof God ultimately destroys all the kingdoms of the world, however impressive they may be and whatever their make up-gold, silver, bronze, iron, clay (Dan 2:31-45). In the end, nothing is left but the kingdom God sets up “that will fill the whole earth” (Dan2:35,44). Nebuchadnezzar recognises the truth of the message and accepts that the God of Daniel is “the God of gods and the Lord of kings” (Dan 2:47).
The message for the faithful remnant oppressed by the Babylonian power of Old Testament days is clear, in the end God will fill the earth and have dominion over it just as he commanded humanity in the beginning. However unlikely this appears to sight and however the exiles may be tempted to compromise with worldly power they are to await the action of God.
What we need to grasp here is not so much the important truth that all the powers of this world will fail, all believers will affirm this, but why the mystery aboutBabylonwas revealed to Daniel. It provides a key in understanding how to know what God is doing amidst the Babylonian spirit of our day. The wise men ofBabylonwere correct in stating that only the powers of heaven can reveal mysteries, but they were mistaken in holding that this power does not dwell with men. They could not conceive that the mighty powers of the spiritual world above, whose favour sustained the brutal and conquering empire ofBabylon, could come down to the level of weak and impotent people. Daniel however affirmed exactly the opposite. He knew that revelation comes from the true God in the context of humility and brokenness. It was the strength of humanity and not its weakness that stood in the way of illumination. Human competence and confidence in its own abilities is the Babylonian principle that God always resists. “God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.” (Prov 11:31; James 4:6;1 Peter 5:5).
The other prophetic book that helps us to grasp “mysteryBabylon” is Revelation. Chapters 17-18 form an extended vision of the ultimate fall of Babylon. For Daniel,Babylonwas an empire in the sixth century B.C.; for the author of Revelation it was theRoman Empire. Babylon is always with us.
John sees an image of a beautifully dressed but morally repulsive woman sitting on a beast covered with blasphemies. On her forehead was written a title “MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” (Rev 17:3 -6). An angel (John sees from heaven)goes on to explain thatBabylonopposes the rule of the Lamb and persecutes the saints but is inevitably overcome because Jesus is “Lord of lords and King of kings” (Rev 17:14). The background to this language is clearly drawn rom Daniel’s prophecy.
Further on, John dramatically describes the fate of the forces which oppose God. “Fallen! Fallen isBabylonthe Great!….in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire for mighty is the Lord God who judges her….With such violence the great city will be thrown down, never to be found again.” (Rev 18:2,8,21). All Christians in John’s day would affirm that this would eventually be true, yet the deeper message involves no what to believe but how to live. It is this message we must obey.
The message is clear, however dominant the worldly powers of the day may be, “drunk with the blood of the saints”, God’s Word is NO COMPROMISE. This is tellingly and frighteningly communicated by a voice from heaven: “Come out of her (Babylon), my people, so that you will not share in her sins so that you will not receive any of her plagues.” (Rev 18:4). Whereas those imprisoned in physical Babylon were not free to leave and return toZion, those trapped in spiritualBabyloncan flee by faith and holy obedience. (Paul makes the meaning even clearer by quoting Isaiah 52:11, about leaving physicalBabylon, in 2 Corinthians 6:17 where he is calling for repentance in the Corinthian church.)
Have we, as Western Christians, left spiritualBabylon? I would suggest that we , as a church, have not. The evidence to me is plain, for all the “plagues” ofBabylonare found amongst the people of God in our day. Everywhere you turn there are divorces, sexual immorality and abuse, family breakdown, gossip, illness (physical and mental), money loving, division, spiritual dryness, ambition, addictions etc. IN THE CHURCH. By the principle (see Romans 1:24,26,28) “the punishment for sin is sin” the “plagues” of Babylon are upon us.
Whilst size as such is not a problem to God, it is apparent for instance that theJerusalemchurch was larger than any assembly in Australia (Acts2:41; 4:4), size is a massive temptation to us. Somehow we think that mega-churches, big speakers, big bands, big budgets and so on will save us. No my friends, what will see transformation will be the humility witnessed to by Daniel and the fear of God evoked by the vision of John (Rev 19:5). We, I earnestly feel, as a church, are in the grip of an enormous spiritual power, a “pretension” or “high thing” that is setting itself up against the knowledge of God (2 Cor 10:5). I tis this elevated and self -exalted power that makes itself out to be huge that I sensed whilst praying.
God is calling us to humility, brokenness and self-humiliation. Not because he wants to oppress us as the powers of the world do, but because he will to open to us the “mysteries of thekingdomofGod” (Matt13:11). All the things the pure in heart long for-mass conversions, healings, miracles, justice for the oppressed. (See on these themes my other article, “You Don’t Go To Heaven When You Die”: Heavenly or Earthly, Where Are We Living Today?) We will however never see these things as long as we do not take the way of the cross. As long as we aspire to reach the reality of the experience of the heavenly world apart from God’s own way in Christ we will forever be disappointed. Let us mark however that the feelings of disappointment (which come to us mostly outside of the height of our large gatherings) are not the fruit of genuine godliness (Rom 5:5) but of seeking the Babylonian way to heaven. Hence the mysterious title of this article, “Two Waysto Heaven One Way to God: Babylonian Power Today”.
If this seems far -fetched, if it seems to you crazy and extreme that an evil power is working in some of the seemingly most successful aspects of Western Christianity today, then please harken to the command of scripture: “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” (1 Thess 5:19-21).