9 - A Mystery, The Great City Babylon (May, 2008)

A M YSTERY , T HE G REAT C ITY B ABYLON

On her forehead a name was written, a mystery , “ BABYLON THE

GREAT , THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINA-

TIONS OF THE EARTH.” (Revelation 17.5 NASB )

“Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour

your judgment has come.” (Revelation 18.10 NASB )

It is safe to state that some, perhaps many, Christians see a future dictator ruling

the world from a great city called Babylon that will emerge some place on earth.

Some thought that Saddam Hussein, who likened himself to Nebuchadnezzar and

began building great edifices and monuments in his honor, was a precursor, if not

the real thing, of the coming world ruler. Of course, that assumption ended with

cruise missiles and a hole dug into the ground so that he could hide, unsuccess-

fully, from his enemies. Still, when the tanks began rolling into Baghdad, some

thought this was prophetic of the future rise of ancient Babylon, in fulfillment of

Scripture.

I recall listening to a preacher about two years ago. He was all excited about the

events in Iraq and began to preach a series on end-time events along the line of the

pre-tribulation rapture followed by a seven-year tribulation that will wipe out

billions of people and bring the earth to near destruction. For him, the fact that the

Euphrates River was in the news was highly significant in end-time prophecy.

Sadly, according to his teaching, while blood is being poured out on the earth,

Christ and His bride will be in heaven having a feast. I had held some, but not all,

of the elements of this interpretation for many years but had repented prior to

listening to this brother in Christ, so I listened with a totally different perspective

that allowed me to discern some parts of his interpretation that were not even

logical. At times, I sensed that perhaps he sensed some of what he was preaching

might not make perfect sense or all of it did not quite fit together. If so, his sensing

was right, for it is illogical and, I believe, unscriptural.

Do preachers not see something grotesque about Christ wiping out half the world

population on earth, as if in an uncontrollable rage, as if He were like man, at the

same time that He is supposedly celebrating a prenuptial wedding feast in heaven

with a company of His people called the bride, and this goes on for seven long

years? Also, do preachers not see something illogical about the Lord’s people in

death occupying heavenly bodies (or some form), walking on streets of gold, and

living in heavenly mansions prior to the resurrection of their bodies? To hear it

described, the dead saints come plunging down from heaven and catch up with

their resurrected bodies to meet the Lord in the air, the same Lord they have been

with for as long as they have been dead. This is quite a serious matter, but I must

admit that I felt like laughing when I heard it described by this brother. Given this

scenario, there does not seem to be much purpose in the resurrection of the dead. I

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wonder what Paul would have to say about such a teaching? I imagine it would be

along the line of “who has bewitched you.”

At any rate, it is a safe assumption, based on what I have heard preached over the

years, that when it comes to the matter of Babylon, some, perhaps many, continue

to look for the rise of a world dictator, a wild beast, and the rise of a great city from

which he will control the world. Conspiracy theories abound amongst many who

hold to a “pre-tribulation rapture” and all the Hollywood-type events they see

happening on earth based on a literal interpretation of many of the things

described in John’s Patmos vision. They are turning over every stone of current

events in order to plug them into their interpretation of how things will unfold and

bring this age to an end.

But, what if they are way off the mark and have bought into a rather carnal and

spatial interpretation of John’s vision? After all, visions of blood flowing in the

streets and billions of humans created to be in the image of Elohim ending up in a

fiery torture chamber called hell fits the war-mongering and lawless attitude held

by much of Christendom over the many centuries since Calvary and has continued

unabated in our day as well.

What if mystery Babylon, the great city , is more than a single city located in some

nation, but rather it is a system that engulfs the world; and what if we have been

living in the midst of this Babylonian system for some time already, and it is ready

to fall? What if mystery Babylon is not even a city as we generally view cities? What

if it is something much larger? Well, if it is, then it must dramatically change our

understanding of what John saw and recorded for us.

To understand mystery, Babylon the great city , we need to telescope out from our

view of the world in which we live. In doing so, we also need to shed all images that

have been fed into our minds through Hollywood-type movies on end-time events,

as well as the Left Behind series and all the tribulation and rapture theology held

by so many today, and look afresh at what this mystery truly is.

Babylon represents many things, but this article focuses on only one thing in

particular, and that is its description as the great city . In particular, I submit that a

city is primarily an enterprise of commerce, supported by some form of financial

system, and this is what is primarily depicted in the description of Babylon in

Revelation 18.

A city.

A city can be a physical location or the people who occupy that location. In other

words, a city can refer to all the people of the city; that is, the people are the city.

For example, New Jerusalem, the holy city of God, refers to God’s people, the

dwelling of God in spirit. This is an entire subject in itself that is reserved for other

writings. However, it must be noted that mystery Babylon, the great city , is the

counterfeit to God’s city, New Jerusalem. Or, it could be said that mystery Babylon

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is diabolically opposite to the heart and mind of God, for it is built in the image of

fallen man who has set his heart and mind on exalting himself above God.

What is a city, or what does a city represent? A city refers to a people united for a

common purpose or with some common bond. Often, a city or the people repre-

sentative of a city are united by a system of government, commerce, and often

religion. To me, the isms of the world are represented in the meaning of city as

well. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary (The World Publishing

Company, 1966), an ism is “any doctrine, theory, or system”; and a system is “1. a

set or arrangement of things so related or connected as to form a unity or organic

whole; 2. the world or universe.” In Scripture, the word world is often translated

from the Greek word kosmos , which means an orderly arrangement.

Now, having provided some meaning to the word city , I want to broaden the

definition to what I believe a city represents, especially as it relates to mystery

Babylon of Revelation 18.

A city represents a people united and held together by a system of commerce. I see

commerce in a very broad sense to include not only what is considered commerce

(buying and selling, and the financial system that makes it possible to buy and

sell), but also how people are governed and live as a society. Webster’s New World

Dictionary defines commerce as “1. the buying and selling of goods; 2. social

intercourse, such as to have personal dealings with.” I realize that some would say

that a city is representative of a common government, but actually government is

under the umbrella of commerce, for it provides the stability for commerce; that is,

it provides the stability and framework for people to interact with one another.

Government provides the bounds by which people interact with one another. I also

include religion under the umbrella of commerce, since religion, as seen by

mankind, is a form of social intercourse or how people interact with one another in

relation to their god. In some cases, their god is actually themselves; case in point

is humanism.

I can hear the cries going up: “Christianity is more than social intercourse.”

Absolutely true! I agree with such a protest, but I must add that Christianity, at

least in its pure form, is not a religion; it is a relationship with a living God. It is

spiritual intercourse with our Lord and Savior; and out of this relationship, we

have a relationship with one another in Christ and with the world.

Consider this; commerce is truly the one thing that can unite and is

uniting the many forms of government and religions found in the

world today.

Thus, I conclude that the heart of the meaning of a city is found in the word

commerce , and this provides the best foundation for understanding mystery

Babylon and, I might add, New Jerusalem as well. After all, New Jerusalem

represents the highest order of spiritual intercourse, for it is built on the love of

God and is in spirit.

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A mystery.

Turning to Babylon; we need to recognize that it is a mystery or a secret that many

do not, and frankly cannot, see. Think about it; there is really no mystery or secret

in a literal city. All one would have to do is wait for it to be manifested. However,

this city is obviously operative while it is called a mystery. Of course, the mystery is

related to a woman who has Babylon the Great written on her forehead. The city is

personified as a woman and must not be taken to be a literal woman.

The mystery is what is written on her forehead, and understanding, if you will, the

mystery identifies who or, more preferably, what she (it) is. She is a city character-

ized as great and strong, and as a harlot and an abomination that will be judged in

one hour. Simply, she represents something diabolical that has overtaken the earth

in such a fashion that she remains a mystery to the world. The world does not

know her true nature until she falls and brings down the rest of the world with her,

as represented by the cities of the nations.

To make sure the thought does not get lost, I must state at this point that Babylon,

the great city , is great because it is a system of commerce that has united the

entire world. The city is a world system, and we are living in it this very day, and

the world probably has been in it since the early days of the 20 th century. Another

way of stating this is that the world system in which all live and conduct business is

called a city. All the people of the world and their forms of government have been

united within this city. The city is the world, and the world is the city. The city is

the kosmos , an orderly arrangement that unites the world through commerce.

Unfortunately, most of the world does not know this, even though many speak of

how the nations are becoming more united in global commerce. I read recently

that the world is made up of increasingly interconnected global manufacturing and

financial systems. This defines commerce of our day. Many leaders of the world

speak in terms of globalization, but they do not discern the true nature of this

globalization. They cannot see it with their natural eyes or with their minds. It

reminds me of the phrase bantered about by some liberal politicians: “It takes a

village to raise a child.” The village that they unwittingly speak of is really the

global system called Babylon .

Signifies.

Consequently, this mystery can only be seen through something other than the

natural eye. The natural or carnal man, including believers who are looking at

things with carnal eyes, cannot look at the world system in which he lives and say,

“Ah, there it is; there is the mystery.” It must be discerned just as John saw it, that

is, in spirit. We need to see what it signifies, for The Revelation of Jesus Christ as

penned by John, the apostle of love, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,

signifies what must occur.

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The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show

unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he

sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John….

(Revelation 1.1 KJV )

Signify means “to be a sign of or indication of”; it refers to something of meaning

and importance. The Greek-English Keyword Concordance defines signify as “a

faded metaphor, no longer meaning to make known by signs, but by speech.” A

metaphor is “a figure of speech transferring attributes to an object which does not

possess them.” For example, the river of the water of life (Revelation 22.1; also

21.6) represents the spirit of God (John 7.38-39). Therefore, if we want to know

God’s heart, we must discern John’s word-pictures for their spiritual meaning. Let

us say that what John saw were symbols of spiritual realities.

Now, to understand the meaning of mystery Babylon, it is best to trace the word

city as presented in Genesis, the book of beginnings, for it is here that the spiritual

meaning of God’s plan is revealed and His divine law is laid down.

Paradise.

In its purest form, we could say that the first city was a garden, the very garden

planted in Eden by the Lord and over which Adam was the caretaker. In the cool of

the day (Genesis 3.8), the Lord God visited Adam, and they had what we could call

social, or more specifically, spiritual intercourse. They engaged in commerce.

However, this all changed when Adam and Eve fell for the lie of the serpent. The

nature of the spiritual intercourse changed dramatically as death entered the flesh

of man and began its slow but persistent march toward the grave.

The first city.

After the fall, we are told that there were two sons of Adam: Cain tended a garden

and Abel tended a flock. The story is well-known that Cain killed his brother,

which is the first recorded murder in Scripture. He became jealous and angered

over his brother’s offering to the Lord. Cain offered from the fruit of the ground,

but Abel offered the firstlings from his flock and their fat portion, which meant he

offered an animal sacrifice. Abel’s offering was in line with God’s law of worship

through sacrifice. By the way, that same law is operative under the new covenant,

but it is now a living sacrifice of our lives given to the Lord.

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present

your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is

your spiritual service of worship. (Romans 12.1 NASB )

The Lord then declared that Cain was cursed from the ground because his

brother’s blood was crying out from the ground upon which it was spilt.

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He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood

is crying to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed from the

ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s

blood from your hand.” (Genesis 4.10-11 NASB )

As a result, the ground no longer yielded its strength to Cain, and he became a

wanderer on earth. But notice what Cain did after he was cursed. He built a city,

and the first mention of city in Scripture is attributed to him.

Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth

to Enoch; and he built a city , and called the name of the city

Enoch, after the name of his son. (Genesis 4.17 NASB )

Enoch means “instructed; dedicated; initiated” ( Dictionary of Bible Proper

Names , by C.A. Potts, Bible Truth Publishers, 1981). Thus, we could say that Cain

initiated the first city and dedicated it to his son. Also of note is the fact that tent

dwellers, musicians, and inventors of tools came through the offspring of Cain

(Genesis 4.20-22).

Since the population of the earth was not large in the early days of Adam, it is most

likely that, in the next 1500-plus years leading to the flood, offspring of Cain

intermarried with offspring of Seth, born to Adam and Eve after the death of Abel.

Other cities were probably built, and the heart of mankind grew more and more

corrupt until God had to pronounce judgment on all mankind except Noah and his

immediate family.

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the

earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only

evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on

the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, “I will

blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from

man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am

sorry that I have made them.” (Genesis 6.5-7 NASB )

Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was

filled with violence . God looked on the earth, and behold, it was

corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. Then

God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the

earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am

about to destroy them with the earth.” (Genesis 6.11-13 NASB )

The point that I want to underline is that the first murderer, who was also cursed

from the ground, built the first city (presumably), and this led to corruption and

violence until it filled the whole earth. However, as will be shown through Nimrod,

this same nature was not lost in the flood but genetically carried over into the post-

flood period, most likely through the wives of Noah’s sons, especially the wife of

Ham, who produced Canaan.

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You might wonder what all of this has to do with mystery Babylon. It has every-

thing to do with the very heart and foundation of the Babylon in our day, but we

must first have some understanding of what Genesis teaches us, for it is in the

book of beginnings that God lays down His divine law and reveals the heart of man

that is in rebellion against God.

As a side note, I recall many years ago reading an article about the cities of the

world and how, in the history of mankind, they have been primarily a breeding

ground for corruption, disease, and all sorts of evil. As I recall, the author proposed

that man was meant to live in more rural, agricultural settings and not meant to

unite in urban settings, that is, areas where people are tightly packed together as

we see in so many of our cities today. The proof is in the fact that, historically,

more crime, murders, and disease have occurred in big cities. Perhaps, cities under

fallen man can be traced back to Cain, the first murderer among men, and as a rule

the cities of man are more a curse than a blessing.

Now, let us move on to Canaan, the youngest son of Ham, and an uncle of Nimrod.

The curse of Canaan.

Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and

Ham and Japheth; and Ham was the father of Canaan. These three

were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was

populated. Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard. He

drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself

inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of

his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and

Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and

walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and

their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father's

nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his

youngest son had done to him. (Genesis 9.18-24 NASB )

Ham was the youngest of Noah’s three sons who, rather than covering his father’s

nakedness, exposed it to his brothers. Nakedness is representative of sin, for when

Adam sinned against God by not obeying His one command, Adam and Eve

realized that they were naked for the first time. However, rather than expose their

nakedness, the Lord covered them with animal skins. Thus, God revealed His

divine law (principle) that sin must not only be covered but also be atoned for by a

blood sacrifice, for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews

9.22). Of course, this pointed to the day that God’s Son, the Lamb of God, would

come to this earth to die for the sin of the world once and for all, and to establish a

new covenant with mankind.

It is evident that Ham despised or rebelled against God’s law of covering sin and

chose to expose the nakedness of his father, representative of sin. I state that

Noah’s nakedness is representative of sin, for Scripture does not indicate that what

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Noah did was a sin. In fact, it is possible that Noah got drunk not knowing that the

grapes that he grew after the flood fermented into an alcoholic drink due to a

change in the earth’s climate and atmosphere. We do know that after the flood, the

earth was no longer watered from below, but it was mostly watered from above,

thus altering the way things grew. At any rate, drunkenness is not a desirable

condition and often leads to sin. The sin in this case was committed by Ham,

because he exposed his father.

Since Ham was Noah’s youngest son, a curse was put upon Ham’s youngest son,

Canaan.

When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son

had done to him. So he said, “ Cursed be Canaan ; a servant of

servants he shall be to his brothers.” (Genesis 9.24-25 NASB )

Consequently, the line of Canaan was cursed to become a servant to his brothers.

We see this evidenced later when the sons of Israel were commanded to possess

the land of Canaan in which lived the many tribes with names that ended with ite .

Thus, we read that from Canaan came the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,

the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Ha-

mathites. This was the family of the Canaanites. (Compare Genesis 10.15-18 to

Joshua 3.10.) When Joshua entered the land of promise, he and the ancient nation

battled the giants of the land; it was a battle between the descendants of Shem,

who was blessed, and Ham, who was cursed through Canaan.

The mighty one Nimrod.

However, rebellion and enmity seem to have been characteristic of Ham’s seed, as

evidenced through his eldest son Cush, and more specifically through Cush’s

youngest son, Nimrod.

Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one

on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore

it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD .” The

beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and

Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into

Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen

between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city . (Genesis 10.8-12

NASB )

In these verses, we learn that Nimrod was a mighty one, a mighty hunter, and he

established a kingdom called Babel , which is the first mention of a kingdom in

Scripture; and he built a great city.

The word mighty is an intensified form (appearing twice) of the Hebrew word

gibbôr , which means “powerful; by implication warrior, tyrant:–champion, chief,

giant, man, mighty (man, one), strong (man), valiant man” ( The New Strong’s

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Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible , Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1996). The same

word is used of Joshua and his valiant warriors or mighty men of valor (Joshua

1.14; 8.3), as well as the valiant warriors within the walls of Jericho that Joshua

defeated (Joshua 6.2). Thus, it is safe to state that Nimrod was a mighty warrior,

one who conquered.

The word before can also mean “opposition.” This is most likely the meaning of the

phrase before the Lord ; thus meaning, opposition to the Lord .

Nimrod means “increase; rebellious; apostate; valiant one” ( Dictionary of Bible

Proper Names , by C.A. Potts, Bible Truth Publishers, 1981). The Book of Jasher

(see Joshua 10.13; 2 Samuel 1.18) states: They called his name Nimrod

saying, ‘At that time the sons of men again began to rebel and

transgress against God.’ Other references state that it means “headstrong,”

“rebel,” or “let us rebel.”

The Bible Encyclopedia and Dictionary – Critical and Expository , by A.R.

Fausset, Zondervan Publishing House (undated), explains Nimrod as follows:

“The Hebrew name Nimrod means “let us rebel,” given by his contemporar-

ies to Nimrod as one who ever had in his mouth such words to stir up his

band to rebellion. Nimrod subverted the existing patriarchal order of society

by setting up a chieftainship based on personal valour and maintained by ag-

gression. The chase is an image of war and a training for it. The increase of

ferocious beasts after the flood and Nimrod’s success in destroying them

soon gathered a band to him. From being a hunter of beasts he became a

hunter of men. “In defiance of Jehovah,” as virtually “before Jehovah” (Prov.

xv.11) means Nimrod, a Hamite, intruded into Shem’s portion, violently set

up an empire of conquest, beginning with Babel, ever after a symbol of

the world power in its hostility to God. From that land he went forth to

Asshur and builded Nineveh. … Nimrod was the Bel , Belus , or Baal, i.e. lord

of Babel , its founder. Worshipped (as the monuments testify) as Bilu Nipru

or Bel Nimrod, i.e., god of the chase ; the Talmudical Nopher, now Niffer .

Josephus (Ant. 1.4) and the targums represent him as building in defiance of

Jehovah, the Babel tower. If so (which his rebellious character makes likely)

he abandoned Babel for a time after the miraculous confusion of tongues, and

went and founded Nineveh. Eastern tradition pictures him a heaven-

storming giant chained by God, among the constellations, as Orion, Heb.

Cesil , “fool” or “wicked.””

Consequently, Nimrod was more in character with Cain, his grandfather Ham, and

his uncle Canaan, in opposition to the character of his great-uncle Shem, of whom

Scripture declares: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem” (Genesis 9.26).

Shem stood with the Lord, and Nimrod stood against the Lord. As will be shown,

this is a very important distinction and lies at the heart of the meaning of mystery

Babylon.

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Meaning of Babel.

In Scripture, the Greek word for Babylon is Babulōn , which was the capital of

Chaldaea. However, the meaning of the word is discovered in the Hebrew

language. The words Babel and Babylon are translated from the Hebrew word

bâbel , which means “confusion.” Bâbel comes from a primitive root word bâlal ,

which means “to overflow (especially with oil); by implication to mix” ( The New

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible , Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995).

So, at the heart of the word Babel or Babylon is the word mixture . The fact of the

matter is that confusion is inherently a mixture.

The New Bible Dictionary , Second Edition, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1982,

(pages 110, 111) adds to our understanding of the meaning of Babylon.

“The Hebrew word Bābel means “gate of god.” The name Babel is explained

by popular etymology based on a similar Heb. root bālal , as ‘confusion’ or

‘mixing.’ Babel thus became a synonym for the confusion caused by language

differences, which was part of the divine punishment for the human pride

displayed in the building.”

“There is as yet no archaeological evidence to confirm the existence of a city

of Babylon prior to the 1 st Dynasty (c. 1800 BC) but Babylonian tradition and

a text of Sharkalisharri, king of Agade c. 2250 BC, mentioning his restoration

of the temple-tower ( ziggurat ) at Babylon, implies the existence of an earlier

sacred city on the site. … The ‘Tower of Babel,’ an expression not found in the

OT, is commonly used to describe the tower ( migdol ) intended to be a very

high landmark associated with the city and its worshippers. It is generally

assumed that, like the city, the tower was incomplete (v. 8), and that it was a

staged temple tower or multi-storeyed ziggurat first developed in Babylonia

in the early 3 rd millennium BC from the low temenos or platform supporting

a shrine set up near the main city temples. … A late Babylonian plan of a

seven-staged ziggurat shows that the architectural form was a height equal to

the width at base with a cubic temple on the summit.”

Come, let us build.

Now, with this background, let us turn to the scriptural account of Nimrod’s plan

to build a city and a tower whose top would reach into heaven. It is such a common

Biblical story that it is not necessary to dig deeply into its meaning, other than to

make a few points that apply to the discussion at hand.

They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city , and a tower

whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a

name , otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the

whole earth.” The LORD came down to see the city and the tower

which the sons of men had built. The LORD said, “Behold, they are

one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what

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they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will

be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse

their language, so that they will not understand one another’s

speech.” So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the

face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.

Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD

confused the language of the whole earth ; and from there the

LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.

(Genesis 11.4-9 NASB )

First , it is necessary to understand that building the city was an act of rebellion

against the Lord’s command for the descendants of Noah to fill the whole earth

(Genesis 9.1). Nimrod’s band knew they were to scatter over the face of the earth

and building the city was their way of preventing that from happening. Some

believe this was in defiance of Peleg’s move to divide the land (Genesis 10.25).

However, it is just as likely that Peleg divided the land once confusion of language

set in. Obviously, a city gave them strength and unity, so the Nimrodites decided to

settle down in the land of Shinar.

A city also is representative of commerce and government. Again, we need to be

reminded that the word kingdom is first mentioned in reference to Nimrod, who

could be described as a fierce conqueror.

They were attempting to remain united apart from being one with God. We can

only imagine that they had a vacuum within their inner man that craved for

purpose and unity. They could have dispersed and known the love of God, but

instead they chose to unite around themselves, probably even to unite by force.

Again, The Book of Jasher may give some further indication as to the nature of

Nimrod and his followers. Supposedly, Nimrod conquered all his enemies around

him and became king. His followers built him probably the first city in a large

valley, and Nimrod called it Shinar. He became their lord and king. Jasher 7.46

states: And all the earth was of one tongue and words of union, but

Nimrod did not go in the ways of the Lord, and he was more wicked

than all the men that were before him, from the days of the flood until

those days. And he made gods of wood and stone, and bowed down to

them, and he rebelled against the Lord.

Whether this account is more legend than fact is difficult to say, but it does seem to

fit in with the Biblical account.

Second , their heart was set against God, for they proclaimed: “Come, let us

build.” It was not a heart that turned to God and sought for His building, as was

the heart of Abraham, born the tenth generation from Shem, who went out looking

for the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11.10).

Abraham was a Hebrew, one who went beyond, one who had a heart to obey and

go where the Lord commanded. The heart of Nimrod and his people was just the

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opposite. They were going to be the builder, and they were going to get the glory

for their accomplishments.

Third , the purpose for building was for themselves, for they revealed their heart as

they proclaimed: “Let us make for ourselves a name.” The name of the Lord

did not matter; what mattered was their name that they sought to glorify. They

wanted a name of recognition and honor amongst mankind in their day rather

than seeing the name of the Lord proclaimed throughout the earth (see Exodus

9.16). This reeks of the pride and self-exaltation of man.

Fourth , they were trying to build a tower to heaven, which must mean that they

were seeking to form some type of religious worship, also involving the stars. As

revealed through Fausset’s commentary, Nimrod was most likely worshipped as

“the god of the chase,” so the tower to heaven was some form of worship that was

in defiance of God’s law, later given to Moses, to have no other gods before Me

(Exodus 20.3). Men sought to be their own god.

There is some thought that the tower was an indication of sabeanism , that is, the

worship of saba , “the hosts of the heavens” (page 66 Fausset). This obviously

supports the fact that Bābel means “the gate of god.”

Putting these points together, we can conclude that Babel stands for more than

confusion of language; it stands for the mixture of man and the heart of rebellious

man trying to exalt himself above God, to be even his own god, and establish his

own name and system of commerce (including government and religion), apart

from God.

Now, before proceeding to mystery Babylon, let us briefly consider the matter of

government.

The God of Shem.

It wasn’t until after the deluge of Noah’s day that Scripture records the first

kingdom or form of government to appear on earth, and it came through the three

sons of Noah.

As stated previously, when the flood had subsided, Noah drank of the wine and

became drunk, and then was uncovered inside his tent. His son, Ham, saw his

nakedness, and on account of this sin, his son Canaan was cursed to be the servant

of his brothers.

He also said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem ; and let Canaan be

his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem;

and let Canaan be his servant.” (Genesis 9.26-27 NASB )

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Because of this blessing and curse, two forms of government or, we could say,

kingdoms formed on the earth. One was man -centered and the other was God -

centered.

The man -centered government was the one fashioned by Nimrod and his people,

the mighty and fierce conquerors that settled in the land of Shinar. Nimrod’s

kingdom was the kingdom of Babel, which was also called Babylon .

Babylon has continued in some form or fashion throughout the long history of

mankind and is culminated in the Babylon of our day, which is the focus of this

article. In fact, God used the descendants of Nimrod to chastise His called-out

nation, Israel, by allowing them to be exiled to Babylon.

The God -centered government followed the line of Noah’s son, Shem, and

progressed from Peleg to Terah and then to Abraham, the Hebrew, until it broke

forth through the sons of Israel as Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt as a

theocratic nation under the one, true God—a kingdom of priests, a holy nation

(Exodus 19.6), chosen to lead all the nations of earth to God. The reign of the

heavens was to be manifested through the nation of Israel. We could say that this

is the progression of the kingdom of God in the history of the nations that began

with Adam but was halted by the flood and restarted with the descendants of Shem

and has continued through the line of the true Israel that is in the heart and mind

of God, until Christ ascends the throne over this earth and New Jerusalem comes

to this earth in all her glory.

New Jerusalem is beyond the scope of this article; however, we need to keep in

mind that the holy city is the heart and mind of God for mankind, and that

Babylon is the antithesis or counterfeit to New Jerusalem.

However, there is something important to note about Shem in relation to the city

of Jerusalem. Shem was most likely the priest of God Most High that Abraham met

after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.

He was Melchizedek the king-priest that Abraham blessed and gave a tenth of all

the booty of war. Melchizedek, the king of righteousness and the king of Salem,

which is king of peace, was a type of Christ who is the priest of the order of

Melchizedek (see Hebrews 7), the King of Righteousness and the King of Peace.

There is much to be said of the priesthood of Christ according to the order of

Melchizedek, but this is beyond our present theme. The point is that, after the

flood, Melchizedek built the first city that could be called a city of God, and it was

the prototype, if you will, of the Jerusalem that is in the heart of God.

The Hebrew word for Jerusalem is Yerushaim , and this word is first mentioned in

Joshua 10 in the account of Joshua defeating Adoni-zedek the Canaanitish king of

Jerusalem. Evidently, after Shem died Adoni-zedek gained control of the city of

Jerusalem until Joshua came along and defeated him. Note that Adoni-zedek and

Melchi-zedek both end with zedek, which means “the right.”

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In studying this matter, I had to ask myself why no mention is made in Scripture

that Shem built a city when it was most likely the closest thing on earth to what

God has in His heart in regard to a city. To me, the answer is in the description of

Melchizedek’s lineage.

Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having

neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of

God, he remains a priest perpetually. (Hebrews 7.3 NASB )

In like fashion, the city of God, the Jerusalem in the heart and mind of God, has no

beginning or end either. We could say that it is eternal. It is as if Scripture is telling

us that the true Jerusalem is not of this earth. Even though there is a long history,

and often a sordid history, of a place on earth called Jerusalem , this Jerusalem was

never intended to be the place where God would place His name forever. All

earthly Jerusalems were merely prototypes, and rather limited and tarnished ones

at that, of New Jerusalem that will come down out of heaven, having the glory of

God.

Consequently, I conclude that Shem was not identified directly with being the first

builder of Jerusalem because God wants us to know that what He is building is

spiritual, or as I prefer to state it in spirit; it is not of this earth and not of the

materials of this earth. It is not of the soil of this earth but of heavenly or celestial

materials. It is in spirit, and we must see it in spirit. Cain and later the Canaanites

and the Nimrodites built great cities for their own fame and glory. New Jerusalem

is the glory of God.

She reigns over the earth.

Now, let us consider the mystery of Babylon the great city that closes out our

present wicked eon. A few verses from The Revelation of Jesus Christ establish her

character, as well as her influence and power over the earth.

“The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the

kings of the earth .” (Revelation 17.18 NASB )

And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen

is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the

wine of the passion of her immorality .” (Revelation 14.8 NASB )

And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is

Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and

a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and

hateful bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the

passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have

committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the

earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality. ” (Revelation

18.2-3 NASB )

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“And the kings of the earth , who committed acts of immorality and

lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when

they see the smoke of her burning….” (Revelation 18.9 NASB )

“ The merchants of these things , who became rich from her, will

stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping

and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was

clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with

gold and precious stones and pearls; for in one hour such great

wealth has been laid waste!’” (Revelation 18.15-17a NASB )

The first thing to note is that the city reigns over the whole earth, not only over the

kings of the earth. “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are

peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues” (Revelation 17.15 NASB ).

The waters refer to the entire world population, which today is approaching 6.6

billion people. This is also confirmed by the commerce that is conducted by way of

the sea. In Scripture, the sea is often a symbol of the nations.

There are three specific spheres identified that direct the affairs of the earth and

over which she reigns: the nations of the earth, the kings of the earth, and the

merchants of the earth. These three groups cover the entire realm of commerce as

I have presented it. In other words, the entire commerce of the world is controlled

by Babylon, the great city , and this has led the entire world into a system of

immorality, sensuality, and great wealth. Truly, the love of money is a root of all

sorts of evil (1 Timothy 6.10). We can assume that the love of money is the heart of

this system that has led to greed and personal gratification, as represented by

sensuality. This brings to mind Psalm 52, which captures the heart of Babylon.

The righteous will see and fear, and will laugh at him, saying,

“Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted

in the abundance of his riches and was strong in his evil desire.”

(Psalm 52.7 NASB )

The New American Standard Bible ( NASB ) translates the Greek word strēnos as

sensuality ; however, other translations use the words luxury , excessive luxury ,

delicacies , and wantonness. According to Strong’s New Exhaustive Concordance ,

strēnos means “straining, strenuous, or strength, that is (figuratively) luxury

(voluptuousness):–delicacy.” Interestingly, the Concordant Version ( CV ) translates

the latter part of Revelation 18.3 as: “The merchants of the earth are rich as a

result of her power to indulge.”

I would imagine that many think of the word sensuality as sexual pleasure, but the

word has a greater meaning than this. Webster’s New World Dictionary defines

sensuality as “the state or quality of being sensual; fondness for or indulgences in

sensual pleasures; lasciviousness or lewdness.” Sensual is defined as “sensory or

sensuous; of the body and the senses as distinguished from the intellect; connected

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or preoccupied with bodily or sexual pleasures; voluptuous; lustful, licentious;

lewd; resulting from, or showing preoccupation with, bodily or sexual pleasures.”

Notice that the word licentious appears in the definition. This immediately brings

to mind the word from Jude.

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long

beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons

who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our

only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Jude 1.4 NASB )

Turning the grace of our God into licentiousness means that these ungodly ones

are lawless, for they forsake the divine laws of God and, in turn, sin at will, while

saying there is nothing wrong with their actions, even denying that they are sin or

against any law. They say in their heart that there is no sin, and thus, there is no

divine, absolute law by which to judge their actions. To them, all their actions are

relative; that is, they are what they make them to be. If they do not acknowledge

sin, then their actions are not sin but simply their actions. The result is that they

seek to indulge in all that will bring satisfaction to their body and their soul.

This, in turn, should bring to mind one of Jesus’ parables.

And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was

very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What

shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said,

‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger

ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will

say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years

to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry. ’” “But God said

to him, ‘ You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and

now who will own what you have prepared?’ “So is the man who

stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke

12.16-21 NASB )

This and many more verses of Scripture capture the very heart of mystery Babylon

and its effects on fallen mankind. Simply, Babylon represents a worldwide system

that leads man to indulge in his bodily senses or needs. He seeks to live luxuriously

in every way that he can to bring full satisfaction to his body and soul. By the way,

the soul does not exist apart from the body, and it can be defined as the perception

of the senses of the body. (See my book titled The Purpose and Plan of the Eons ,

Volume 2, Chapter 1, The Dead Know Nothing Whatsoever .)

The sea.

Now, one thing that stands out in Revelation 18 is the reference to as many as

make their living by the sea (18.17). Again, in Scripture, the word sea can refer to

the nations or to literal bodies of water. According to her description, Babylon sits

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upon the many waters, which refers to peoples and multitudes and nations

and tongues . Given this, we could surmise that the sea refers to the entire world

population. However, there is another meaning to the word sea , which brings into

focus the matter of a world system of commerce.

Consider this: According to 2004 statistics, worldwide, there are 4,000 ocean

ports served by 46,000 ships, carrying 5.8 billion tons of goods in 11 million

containers. These numbers, although quite large, do not give us a perspective of

how big they truly are until we realize that goods shipped by sea account for 80%

of all goods shipped worldwide. In other words, shipping goods by sea is the

predominant mode of transport, greater than by air or by land.

What John saw in spirit was a colossal worldwide system of commerce that leads

the entire world into sensuality, that is, into seeking after luxury, wealth, and

body-soul pleasures. It makes people drunk with the things of this earth that bring

gratification to the body and soul. In fact, this sensuality becomes a form of

worship and glorification of man. It is also a system that brings the masses into

bondage; they become slaves to the system and must live by its rules, which stand

in opposition to God’s divine laws.

There was no reason for John to see airplanes or trucks, things that were totally

foreign in his day and that would have greatly puzzled him. However, ships were

the common mode of transport in his day, especially on the Mediterranean Sea,

which was the main body of water that, we could say, was central to where the

gospel spread in those days. But it was more than this, for John was caught up in

spirit and given a prophetic view that signified something that extended beyond

the Mediterranean Sea of his day to include all the seas of the world (literally, all

the seas or oceans; figuratively, all the peoples or nations of the world). He saw

that the primary mode of transporting goods throughout the world by sea would

continue in his day and to the very end of the eon, and whatever drives this system

makes people rich and, we need to add, immoral and unclean.

Now, when we think of a city, we often think of a place with streets and many

buildings all crammed into a rather tight piece of real estate. Using this picture, as

stated earlier, many teachers of end-time prophecy see Babylon as a revived city

some place on earth, either in present-day Iraq, Rome, or perhaps New York City.

However, I believe this view is shortsighted and misses the mystery of Babylon. I

once held some of this view, but I have since repented and spit out the bones. For

too long, the Lord’s people, me included, have been too myopic and, frankly, have

not been seeing things in spirit. It is for this reason that we need to telescope out

from the world as we see it, and when we do, I believe we will see that the city John

saw actually engulfs the entire world, that is, the whole world is the city. Thus, the

mystery is related to the whole world as the great city and the system that drives

the world.

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Related to this part of the mystery is the fact that the city is comprised of all the

cities on the earth, for in one hour when Babylon falls, so do all the cities of the

nations (Revelation 16.19). Does this mean that all the structures in the cities of the

nations fall into dust and ashes, as if wiped out by a nuclear bomb? I do not think

so! Again, we need to see what this signifies. Cities, among many things, signify

commerce, which includes stock markets, banking, trading (buying and selling),

and the financial systems that, as we say, “make the world go around.” Commerce

is what drives the economic engine of the world, and it is quite apparent that John

saw commerce in action. After all, he heard the angel speak of merchants, cargoes

of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk

and scarlet, and the list goes on to include things that John knew of in his day

(Revelation 18.11-13), which all symbolize the commerce of buying and selling

goods of value. The merchants become rich from the commerce of Babylon and

great wealth is amassed.

All the nations of the world participate in what Babylon offers, and the merchants

of the earth become rich by her wealth. But there is more, for Babylon is described

as a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of

every unclean and hateful bird.

“For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her

immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of

immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become

rich by the wealth of her sensuality.” (Revelation 18.3 NASB )

Notice how inclusive this declaration is, for it includes all the nations, and all the

kings, which means all the leaders of the nations, and all the merchants, which

means everyone who buys and sells. I realize that some, perhaps many, see this as

part of a worldwide kingdom under an antichrist that will live in this great city. But

this is not what John saw. He saw a great, immoral, wealthy city (system) that

reigns over the kings or leaders of the earth and in which was found the blood of

the prophets and of the saints and of all who have been slain on the earth

(Revelation 18.24).

This is another very inclusive statement that reaches all the way back to Abel. How

could a modern-day city be held to such account? It cannot unless it symbolizes

something. Cain and Abel both symbolized commerce in its infant form. Cain

tended a garden and Abel tended a flock. Of course, Cain killed his brother, which

is the first recorded murder in Scripture. But what did Cain later do? He built a

city, and the first mention of city in Scripture is attributed to him (Genesis 4.17).

I find it significant that the first murderer built, presumably, the first city. Perhaps

we could assume that commerce began with Cain as well. Thus, at the heart of the

cities of the world are murder and the curse of Cain.

Why would this end-time Babylon be held accountable for all the murders that

have been committed on earth? Because murder in every incident can be traced to

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the heart of fallen man that is lawless and that seeks personal gratification or

sensual satisfaction in disregard of others. Intentional murder comes from the

selfish heart of man that lives apart from God and His law, love, and mercy.

Sodom, Egypt, Jerusalem.

Now, this leads to another matter that relates to Sodom, Egypt, and Jerusalem.

And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which

mystically is called Sodom and Egypt , where also their Lord was

crucified. (Revelation 11.8 NASB )

There can be no doubt that the great city in this verse refers to Jerusalem that is

located in the heart of the land of Palestine or the present-day state of Israel. In

this case, it is not only a symbol of something but also the literal city itself and

what she has come to represent in the sight of God. This is seen in the fact that she

is mystically or spiritually called or identified with Sodom and Egypt.

Christians that place much emphasis on the Jerusalem of our day and declare how

much they love her and how much God loves her should have some difficulty with

this verse. After all, Jerusalem is not only mystically linked to Sodom and Egypt

but also to the great city , mystery Babylon. This is not meant to be an encouraging

word about Jerusalem, for she embodies all that Sodom, Egypt, and mystery

Babylon embody. She is a rebel and a harlot that loves sensuality and money, and

that seduces the rest of the world into bondage to her system of immorality and

greed.

Mystically means that this is not a reference to physical locations called Sodom

and Egypt but to what these places signify in the spiritual or figurative sense.

Sodom signifies immorality of the highest order, and Egypt signifies bondage

under a world system of the highest order. Lot and his family were called out of

Sodom before its destruction, and the sons of Israel were called out of Egypt and

the bondage of Pharaoh. Need we be reminded that the latter calling out required

the shedding of blood? The coming out of Lot and Israel signifies coming out of the

kingdom of the world and into the kingdom of God where there is forgiveness of

sin.

However, take note that the great city is the place where our Lord Jesus was

crucified, which refers to only one place and that is Jerusalem, and she is

mystically called Sodom and Egypt. So, the great city , Jerusalem, not only signifies

immorality and world bondage of the highest order, but also murder of the

highest order. One cannot go any higher in rebellion against God than killing the

only begotten Son of God. Jesus lamented over Jerusalem: Upon you may fall

the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of

Abel to the blood of Zechariah. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the

prophets and stones who are sent to her! (Matthew 23.35, 37 NASB ).

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The mystery is that Jerusalem, the great city , and Babylon, the great city , are of

the same heart; in fact, they are one and the same, except Jerusalem is a literal

place on earth and Babylon is a system that engulfs the entire world. Both will fall

in one hour to bring forth the end of Man’s Day, and to usher in the Lord’s Day or

the Tabernacles Age when the sons of glory are manifested to the nations, along

with the King of Glory. Both will be destroyed by the fire of gehenna .

It is worth noting that gehenna is reserved for God’s chosen people that broke His

covenant with them. Those chosen to be the head of the nations rejected the

covenant and became apostate and harlots with the world. The fire of gehenna

represents judgment by death, not judgment by being cast into an eternal torture

chamber called hell . The Jerusalem on earth has become a symbol of apostasy and

harlotry, and this is why she is called the great city along with Babylon, and this is

why she will be judged as Babylon is judged.

The mystery.

So what is the mystery of Babylon? The mystery is that Babylon is a wicked system

that reigns over the world, and the world will not know it until it is too late, for

when it falls, it will fall quickly and decisively in one hour. The mystery is that this

system of man, operating apart from God and apart from the blood of Christ, is

capable of all sorts of evil until its sins have piled up as high as heaven. The

mystery is that on the surface it looks good, even glamorous to some, but inside it

is corrupt to the core. For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the

outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones

and all uncleanness (Matthew 23.27 NASB ). The mystery is that the greed and

pride of man has led to the killing of others. The mystery is that it is a system of

commerce that overtakes the world, globalizing all world trade, and causing all

sorts of greed and hate to be manifested. The mystery is that it is a financial system

that is against the laws of God and that fosters greed and hate and sensuality. The

mystery is that all mankind is ruled by this system whether it wants to be or

whether it even recognizes it. The world is yoked to it! The people of the world

have become its slaves. The mystery is that this system dictates the rules for buying

and selling amongst the nations of the world. The mystery is that when it falls, the

entire world will be in shock, and all the things of life will come to a screeching halt

as everyone laments and mourns over the great loss and upheaval. The musicians

will stop playing, the people will stop singing, the factories will stop producing, the

weddings will cease, and the glory of globalization and its system of commerce will

no longer be the light of the world, for its glamour will be snuffed out in one hour.

The mystery is that the world has been seduced by her sorceries (Revelation

18.23). The word sorcery comes from the Greek word pharmakeia , which means

“medication or magic.” The mystery is that she has put a spell on mankind; it is

like ingesting a drug or magic potion to make one drunk or to change one’s senses,

to even make one euphoric. It blinds the eyes and hardens the heart. It pumps up

the pride of man.

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Today!

Saints, the mystery is that we are now living in the day of the mystery; we are living

in Babylon, the great city . She has overtaken the world, and the world is being

made drunk by her wealth and sensuality. However, the good news is that she

must and will fall in one hour at the time appointed by our God.

Today, the world is facing a potential colossal financial crisis, and, as of this

writing, we may not have seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Many leaders of

the nations are trying to put a good spin on what has happened, but no one knows

the full extent of the crisis or how it will end or when it will end. I have heard some

financial experts say that it will work out, for the US government, along with the

other nations of the world, cannot let it collapse.

Please understand that I am not stating emphatically that this Babylonian system,

with roots that can be traced as far back as Nimrod and perhaps even Cain, is going

to fall today, tomorrow, or even this year. I do not know when it will fall; it could

continue on for some years and reach greater heights of pride, arrogance, and

greed. Like I state in other writings; the days in which we live are likened to the

pains associated with child birth; they come and go, they intensify, and they lessen,

until finally, the intensity increases, along with the frequency, and the time in

between the pain decreases. We may see a surge of glory in the world system,

especially the financial world.

But a day will come when her cup of immorality and sensuality will be full, and

God Almighty, with one fell swoop, will bring it to dust and ashes in one hour.

Swiftly and decisively!

Consider the arrogant heart of Babylon.

“To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to

the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in

her heart, ‘I SIT as A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will

never see mourning.’ “For this reason in one day her plagues will

come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be

burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.”

(Revelation 18.7-8 NASB )

She will not see calamity or ruin come upon her system; she will survive all crises;

she thinks that she will prevail. But God has another word on the matter, and His

word is what counts.

Babylon represents the height of the pride of man; man makes a name for himself.

It represents man at the height of his rebellion against God Almighty. “I am in

control! I sit as queen over my life! I will build a tower to heaven. Man rules!” It

represents the lawlessness of man. It represents the cold heart of man that shakes

its fist at the God who is love. For this reason, it will fall.

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Further, Babylon represents the greed of man.

Then He said to them, ‘Beware, and be on your guard against

every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does

his life consist of his possessions.” (Luke 12.15 NASB )

Jesus warned against every form of greed, but Babylon does not heed this warning.

Instead, Babylon represents every form of greed, even exalts greed. Why do stock

markets swing up and down like a drunken sailor? Greed!

The question is: Once we see that we are in the midst of mystery Babylon and it is

no longer a mystery to us, what are we to do? We cannot leave this earth; we

cannot hide in caves; we cannot run from it. What are to do?

Set your mind above.

Therefore, since you were raised together with Christ, be seeking

the [things] above, where Christ is, sitting at [the] right hand of

God. Be setting your minds on the [things] above, not [on] the

[things] on the earth. For you died, and your life has been hid with

Christ in God. Whenever Christ, [who is] our life, is revealed, then

also we will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore, put to death

your members, the ones on the earth: sexual sin, impurity [or,

immorality], lustful passion, evil desire, and the covetous desire

[or, greed], which is idolatry, because of which [things] the wrath

of God is coming upon the sons [and daughters] of disobedience,

in which you also at one time walked about [fig., conducted

yourselves], when you were living in them. (Colossians 3.1-7 ALT )

It is time to get ourselves into focus and that requires that we be in spirit as John

was in spirit. We need to seek above where our Lord is and set our minds upon

Him. We need to put to death all idolatry of heart. We need to look for the love of

our life to come and rescue us. Have no doubt; He will come, even when all seems

to be lost. After all, He is the Savior of the world!

It is also time to buy and sell from the Lord. As Babylon buys and sells goods with

hearts in love with money, we are to be a people in love with our Lord who are

storing our treasures in heaven.

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the

faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God,

says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I

wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and

neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you

say, “ I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of

nothing ,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and

miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from

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Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white

garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of

your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your

eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and

discipline; therefore be zealous and repent . Behold, I stand at the

door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I

will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 'He

who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My

throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His

throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the

churches.’” (Revelation 3.14-22 NASB )

The Lord’s exhortation speaks to the heart of Christendom of our day that has been

seduced by mystery Babylon. He advises that all who desire to reign with Him buy

from Him. It is time to trade with the Lord Himself. It is time to trade in spirit. It is

time to engage in spiritual commerce. It is time to set our hearts above and not in

Babylon.

It is time to REPENT !

Come out of her, My people.

I close with the words John heard come from heaven.

“Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her

sins and receive of her plagues.” (Revelation 18.4 NASB )

I do not believe this is a command for us to leave the system that has engulfed the

world. Actually, the Lord has purposefully yoked His people to this system because

we have not been His light in the world, but rather have joined our hearts with the

world just as ancient Israel did. Again, it is time to repent! Consequently, we

cannot remove ourselves from Babylon on our own, for we would be going against

God’s judgment of His people. As Peter wrote, judgment begins with the household

of God (1 Peter 4.17).

I believe this call to come out is the Lord’s promise to His people to deliver them

out of Babylon. It will fall, and we will come out of it. This is like the call to Lazarus

who was wrapped in the death cloth: “Lazarus, come out” (John 11.43 ESV ).

Lazarus had no way out of death. If the Lord Jesus had not called him, he would

have remained dead. In like fashion, unless the Lord calls us out and removes us

from the bondage of Babylon, we will remain in it.

Of course, the most notable example of deliverance from bondage was the removal

of ancient Israel from slavery in Egypt. The Lord heard the groaning of the sons of

Israel (Exodus 6.5) and the call went forth: “Let My people go, that they may

serve Me” (Exodus 9.13 NASB ). And, so it will be at the end of the eon in which we

live. Are you groaning to be set free? If you are, there is good news.

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One day, as set by the Father, our beloved Lord Jesus will arrive for His people and

the shout will go forth and the trumpet of God will sound, and all the dead in

Christ who conquered will rise in the first resurrection and, along with those who

are alive and remain who conquered, will be transfigured and glorified as Christ is

glorified. They will put on the image of the Celestial (Heavenly) One. During this

period of time, Babylon, the great city , either will have already fallen a relatively

short time before or will fall the same week or day when the trumpet of God

sounds; the world will be introduced to the sons of glory that will lead them to the

Lord and His ways of righteousness, peace, justice, and mercy, and for the first

time, they will see the true love of God manifested in and through a people in the

likeness of Christ, the very Son of God’s love.

With the world’s system of commerce in total collapse, the leaders of the world will

be ripe to hear the ways of the Lord from a people who know Him, know His ways

and laws, and know His love, righteousness, justice, and mercy.

So, do not dwell on the mystery of Babylon; dwell upon our Lord Jesus, the One

who loves us and the One to whom we owe all our love. Rejoice; His day is coming!

Let us love His appearing!

Scripture Abbreviations:

ALT

Concordant Version (Literal New Testament)

ESV

English Standard Version

NASB

New American Standard Bible

By: Stuart H. Pouliot

Article #9

May, 2008

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CV

Analytical Literal Translation