Today, on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. There is a city called Babylon, that's true, but more to the point. There is a spirit called Babylon which is always against God. During the Great Tribulation, Babylon will be very strong and very impressive. It will be allied with the revived Roman Empire and the Antichrist, but it will fall.
Praise God. Swiftly and Completely. Welcome to the verdict with Pastor John Monroe, Senior Pastor at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Much of the book of Daniel centers on Daniel's life in Babylon. but Babylon itself is frequently mentioned in the Bible.
But why is that? Today we're continuing in Daniel and learning why Babylon is so prominent and so relevant for us today. Here's Pastor John Monroe with this message, Babylon the Great. In our study of the book of Daniel, we've discovered that Daniel and many others in Israel are taken captive around 605 BC by King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians.
So They find themselves in pagan Babylon, a vastly different culture and land. from the one they're used to. Babylon is a very important city in Scripture. It's mentioned many times, particularly in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. Today, we're learning that Babylon is not only an ancient city, it symbolizes a spirit of rebellion against God.
always opposing the purposes of God and the people of God. There's a lot around us in our culture which is reminiscent of ancient Babylon. Let's be careful that we avoid having any of this Babylonian spirit in our lives. In biblical history and prophecy, one of the most important cities in the world. is not New York or Washington or London or Moscow or Rome.
But Babylon Babylon is situated in present-day Iraq. You may remember Saddam Hussein rebuilt much of ancient Babylon and portrayed himself as successor to Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon's mightiest. Ruler. At the time of Daniel, Babylon was a wonderful city. Its outside walls were eighty-five feet thick.
The hanging gardens of Babylon were w known as one of the seven wonders of the world. Babylon had a strong legal system seen in the Code of Hammurabi. In our western Arrogance and historical ignorance, we sometimes think of other countries and literature. And civilizations as more primitive or more backward than our own, but the Babylonians had advanced literature. They were renowned astrologers and astronomers.
They studied the planets in order to fix their calendars. They devised very sophisticated mathematical tables. They had developed the three hundred sixty degree circle. the sixty minute hour and could predict eclipses of the sun and the moon.
Now, I thought before looking at the particulars of Daniel 4, I thought this morning we would look at the beginning of this ancient city and civilization of Babylon, look back at its beginning in Genesis, and then look forward to Babylon's end as recorded in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. Babylon, in fact, is the first nation mentioned in Genesis, and is the last nation mentioned in Revelation. In fact, Babylon is mentioned in the Bible more than any other city, other. Than Jerusalem. In the Bible, As we'll discover, Babylon stands for that which is anti-God.
for that which is rebellious, for that which is idolatrous. There is a city called Babylon, that's true, but more to the point, There is a spirit, there is a system called Babylon which is always against God. Babylon. And the Babylonians are always opposed to the people of God and the purposes of God. And we've already seen in our study Of Daniel, as we looked at Daniel 2, that Daniel predicts the fall of Babylon.
Babylon, a kingdom and a people who want to do things their own way.
Sound familiar? And in our study, we have to ask ourselves a very difficult question, but a very, very important question. Am I living my way? Or am I living? God's way.
Don't answer too quickly. Am I bowing to the spirit of Babylon? in my life. Or am I bowing to the King of Kings? And Lord.
of Lords. Let's open our Bibles to Genesis chapter 11. And learn first of all That man tries to reach God by his own prideful efforts. This is the first thing we want to learn about Babylon. Babylon is a system which tries to reach God.
by their own prideful efforts. Genesis. 11. Here is the beginning. The Spirit of Babylon.
Genesis eleven verse One. First book in the Bible, you can all find Genesis. Chapter 11, verse 1.
Now the whole earth had one language. And the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, Shinar is Babylonia, and settled there. And they said to one another, Come. And let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.
And they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves. Notice that. Let us Make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth. The Spirit of Babylon.
Look back to chapter ten. Genesis 10, verse 8, we see the founder of Babylon. Genesis 10 verse 8. Cush fathered Nimrod. He was the first on earth to be a mighty man.
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. Nimrod means, in fact.
A rebel.
Now here in Genesis 11 Rather than filling the earth as God commanded, the people try to unite in one place. Genesis 9 verse 1, After the flood, God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The people of Babel deliberately disobey God's command. Here is open rebellion against God. God commands man after the flood to fill the earth.
And now they say, we want to come together in one place. rather than populating the whole earth, they don't want to be dispersed. And by their own efforts, they try to reach God and in so doing act independently of God Because what's their motive? They want to make themselves great. They want to make a great name for themselves.
And so they build a huge tower, a big tower. Babylon Even in the time of Nebuchadnezzar was famous for his cigarettes. This is what we would call man's religion. What's man's religion? Building a system To reach his God, not obeying God, but building his own system, his own way, in order to reach God.
What arrogance. Let us Make a name. for ourselves. All of us in our pride, without exception, not just the ancient Babylons, not just Nebuchadnezzar, but all of us. Want to say to the whole world as it were, look what I've done.
Amn't I pretty great? Look. I want to make a name. For myself. And here in Genesis 11, they exercise great ingenuity in building this magnificent tower.
Little stone in the area were told, and so they used brick and tar. The tower is a very impressive structure. It's like a probably like a stepped pyramid. It becomes a religious monument, a monument, however, to man and to the greatness of man. In the time of Nebuchadnezzar, we're told there was a seven-story tower.
with a temple on top of it. Very, very impressive, isn't it? If you go back. Keep your finger in Genesis 11 there. As you go back to Daniel 4.
What did we read? In Daniel 4, That's Towards the end of the verse regarding Nebuchadnezzar, Your greatness, Nebuchadnezzar, has grown and reaches to heaven. and your dominion to the ends of the earth. Look at verse thirty. Here is a Neat summary of the spirit of Babylon.
And the king answered and said, Is not this great Babylon which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence, and for the glory of my Majesty. Pride. My power. My majesty, my kingdom, my Babylon, this is what I've done. You should be very impressed when you look at what I've done.
That's the spirit. of Babylon. Babylon represents then man's organized rebellion against God. But often done In the name Of religion. In Genesis 11, the Babylonians want greatness, they want fame, they want prestige.
They are seeking great things for themselves. Seeking self-glory rather than the glory of God. In the book of Jeremiah, the question is asked: seekest thou great things for thyself? Do you? You sit here this morning, do you really see great things for yourself?
The answer is seek them not. No, says Jesus, don't seek great things for yourself. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And all of these other things will be added to you. But the spirit of Babylon is: no, I want to make a name for myself.
I want to seek things great for myself. Isn't the spirit of Babylon all around us? The rejection of God's revelation. And what do we put in place of God's revelation? What do we put in place of God's word?
Me. My ideas, my opinion. At the center of Babylon is the enthronement of self. and the dethronement of God. I don't want you, God, at the center of my world.
I want myself. Because I am a pretty important person, and I want people to know. how important I am and how great I am and what I Can do. And the religion of Babylon is often very impressive: great palm, great ceremony, great liturgy, often great music, great mystique, but it is never of God. The spirit of Babylon, in fact, is the counterfeit kingdom of God.
It appears sometimes to be impressive, but it has a false foundation. externally impressive often, but internally Hollow. Rebellious. Idolatrous. Before we move on.
Is there anything of Babylon? In your life? Is your life all about yourself? Others can see it, but Not so obvious to ourselves, isn't it? All about how good you are, how impressive you are.
All about your achievements, your success, self-glory, seeking. to make a name for yourself motivated By your own. Ego. Yes, you want to keep God in your life. But you want it done in your way.
Trying to reach God. By your own prideful efforts.
Now, secondly, as we look back at Genesis 11, we see that God judges acts. of rebellion. There is a God in heaven. And a God who made us, and a God to whom all of us are accountable, and God judges acts of rebellion. Genesis 11, verse 5.
Notice the irony of it. And the Lord came down. to see the city and the tower. Let's take a look at this. Which the children of man had built.
And the LORD said, Behold, They are one people And they have all one language, and this has only been the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they proposed to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language so that they may not understand one another's speech.
So the Lord dispersed them for From there over the face of all of the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babble. Because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. and from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all. of the earth.
As the Babylonians went to work, others were impressed. God was totally underwhelmed by it all. He saw everything. being done. The Tower, of course, could never ever reach God.
How futile. You really think that you can reach God and worship God your own way? It fell far short. And here the writer uses a figure of speech about the Lord coming down. God, of course, doesn't need to come down to see, He's omnipresent, He's omniscient.
But here is the use of irony. God all of the time had known what was going on, but however high the Tower of Babel went, God had still to come down. compared with the size of God. The tower was small, it was puny. It was pathetic.
And God, as it were, had to come down and say, Well, Let's take a look. of what man at his best with all of his ingenuity, can do. And God scatters them. and confuses. The language.
They want unity, there is a scattering. That's what they feared to be scattered, and that's exactly what happened with their self-will and their pride. Instead of one language that they wanted, there were many. They sought a name and received a humiliating name, Babel. Babylon.
Interestingly, here in Genesis 11, no offer of grace. No offer of blessing is extended. No clothing for naked sinners as we have with Adam and Eve. No protective mark for the fugitive Cain. No rainbow in the sky with that wonderful Covenant of promise after the flood, nothing here.
No, God's purposes will never ever. be thwarted. What does Jesus say in Matthew 23, verse 12? Whoever exalts himself will be humbled. And whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
In the kingdom of God, the way up is the way down. Supremely modeled par excellence by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He who is the greatest becomes the lowest. Becomes a man, becomes a servant, obedient to death, even death on a cross, the way up. is the way Done.
Anyone here trying to exalt themselves? Anyone here? who has never tried to exalt themselves. This is human condition, isn't it? Humility.
is the way of exaltation. There's a warning here, God is not mocked. The time of accountability always comes. God often allows us to go our own way, but only for a time. Paul writing in the New Testament in Galatians 6 reminds us: Don't be deceived.
Man is not, God is not marked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap. Be warned. My friend. You think you're pretty impressive?
Life has gone pretty well for you so far, possibly. Trying to live your own life. Making your own rules, forgetting God, the time of judgment, always, always. comes. God judges.
Saul was going to judge Acts of rebellion. First then, man tries to reach God by his own prideful efforts. Secondly, God judges acts of rebellion. But you say, what is the way of blessing?
Well, the writer of Genesis is going to introduce us now to a man who lives in Babylon. In fact, from the Ur of the Chaldeans. And through this man God is going to bless. And this man is going to be a source of blessing. Too many.
Genesis 11. Same chapter. Verse twenty-seven. These are the generations of Terror. Terah fathered Abraham, Nahor and Haran and Haran fathered Lot.
Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred in Ur. Of the call The ends. Where is Abraham living, or Abraham as he then was called, when God calls him? He's living in Babylon. Ur of the Chaldeans but here is a man in faith, Who's going to do things God's way?
He obeys the voice of God and so is going to be blessed. God's blessing comes. Through obedience. Face. You want God's blessing in your life?
You feel you've missed out in God's blessing. Here it is. God's blessing comes to us through obedient, humble. Face. Genesis 12, verse 1.
Now the Lord said to Abraham, Go from your country. Let's get out of Babylon. And your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great name. And I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you, I will curse. And in you, all of the families of the earth shall be blessed.
So Abram went as the Lord had told him. The man walks in faith. He goes from east to west. He goes from Babylonia. to Canaan.
Or being in Babylonia. What characterizes Abraham here? Submissive faith. Not arrogant self-reliance, but submissive faith in God. The Babylonians want to make a great name for themselves, God says to this man.
I will make Your Name. Great. What difference? What a difference when we l leave our life. in the hands of God.
So often in life we go against God and We break his laws and we think we know better. And time and time again we hit a brick wall. What an example of this man of faith. Who is in Scripture, in the New Testament, as well as the Old, is going to be the great example of faith, Abraham. And this man of humble faith who leaves His own town, Ur of the Chaldeans, and moves with God is a man who's going to experience spectacular blessing.
But only in God's timing and God's Yeah. In Genesis 14, we don't have time to get into it, but Abraham defeats the kings of the East who are led by the king of Babylon. And after the battle, Abraham meets this unusual character, Melchizedek, who is the king of. Salem. The king of Peace.
The city of peace, Jerusalem, is always against the city of rebellion, Babylon. Babylon is always the great enemy of Jerusalem, the city of God. Melchizedek, of course. as Hebrews seven tells us, is a type of the coming Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. But Abraham gets the victory over the king of Babylon and his allies.
The city of peace, Jerusalem. Or the city of Babylon, the city. of rebellion. How does God's blessing come to us? How did it come to Abraham?
How will it come to you and me? Let me suggest four things to you. First of all, obedience, not. rebellion. Rebellion is Babylon.
If you want God to blast your life, Be obedient to God and stop rebelling against God. Any rebellion in your life? Madonna's choreographer, who I must confess I've never met or even seen. But she says this. Madonna told me to break every rule I could think of.
And then when I was done, to make up some new ones and break them. That's really cool, isn't it? Let's see how many rules we can break to show how anti-authority we are. That's better. This is the verdict featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe.
There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help he do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity.
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Again, that's theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte. We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ, We invite you to join us for our Sunday services. For more details about Calvary and our service times, visit theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Do you see anything of Babylon in today's culture? Isn't much of the mindset and the agenda reminiscent of ancient Babylon. And these acts of rebellion and arrogance so easily slip into our own lives. What's the answer?
To know the true God. to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Bambelin seeks to exalt itself. The gospel is that you must be humble like a child and you will receive the kingdom of God. Join me next time as we continue looking at Babylon the Great.
Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
