Radioprogram, The Spirit of Babylon, 04.09.2017
Announcer 01: Dear listeners, we continue our subject about the spirit of the last days.
In the previous program, we spoke about the last days and discussed what the Bible shows about the conduct of Christians in the last days. Today we will continue this subject.
Christians use the term ‘the spirit of Babylon’ for the spirit of the last days. We see the Bible speak about Babylon not only in its beginning, but also in the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles, in the prophetic books, in the Epistles of the Apostles, and finally, in the very last book of the Bible, Revelation.
The Book of Revelation speaks more vividly about the conduct of Babylon, its revolt against God and its deceptive nature. Let us read Revelation 17, verses 1 to 5,
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
Announcer 02: You are right, Suren. However, today Babylon seems hidden; it is not seen or spoken about very much. However, the Bible reveals the nature of Babylon to us. Look what is written in Genesis 11, verses 4 to 7,
“And they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.’ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, ‘Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’”
One thing that is striking is that they themselves made a decision, they said to themselves, “Let us make bricks, let us build a city to tower in the heavens”. And they chose to use bricks instead of stone. This is also interesting, as bricks are a work of a man’s hands.
Announcer 01: Yes, bricks are made of clay, baked clay…
Announcer 02: And clay is just soil, isn’t it?
Announcer 01: Sure, and man is also made of soil or the dust of the ground.
Announcer 02: And the baked bricks show something of human nature, something done by men, whereas stone is created by God, and stone is a biblical symbol of the Word of God.
1 Peter 2 verse 7 says, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.” However, it has become a stumbling block for some. Matthew 21, verse 44 says, “And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
The Stone is the Word the hearers disobeyed, and it has fallen upon them. They did not receive the Stone that is the Word of God. Look at the text, “They had brick for stone”. They rejected stone by replacing it with bricks.
Announcer 01: One of the most evident characteristics of Babylon is replacing the commandments of God with their human traditions and works of human hands.
Announcer 02: True, one of the most evident characteristics of Babylon is replacing the commandments of God with their human traditions and works of human hands.
So what they said next? Let us build a massive structure whose top is in the heavens. These people tried to reach heaven, to reach heights; they tried to reach heaven with their own power.
The next thing they said was they wanted to make a name for themselves. The spirit of Babylon has a hunger, a craving to make a name for itself. They were not interested in bringing glory to God or in worshipping Him; they did not humble themselves to lift the Creator up, but made up their mind to make a name for themselves.
Announcer 01: So the spirit of Babylon can be known by these signs: the people that have it are willful; they disregard the Creator, they replace God’s commandments with men’s commands; Jesus Christ and His Spirit are ignored; and this spirit has an inclination to reach the heights with its own power. It also desires to be the first.
Announcer 02: So true. This spirit has envy and pride… this is the spirit of Lucifer, which existed from old times; it envied Christ the Firstborn and fell. It fell and deceived man with its seduction.
Announcer 01: And until our days, it continues to deceive and seduce people, even Christians. It has noticed long ago that Christians are ready to physically die for Christ, so it resorts to other kinds of temptations.
It penetrates into the world system. It overtakes the governments of the nations, takes control over those who make and pass laws, and misleads even the servants of the Lord. It also penetrates into Churches.
Announcer 02: So the spirit of Babylon or the spirit of this world is diametrically opposite to the Spirit of Christ. The spirit of this world is oriented on giving glory to man; this is manifested even in Churches. This spirit lures many servants of the Lord, infiltrates their minds, brings craving for greatness and leads to willful decisions. It presents inquiring of the Lord and obeying His Spirit as old-fashioned practice. These people come to a state when they want to please God with their own strength.
Announcer 01: However, Look at Revelation 18, verse 4, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues”. The Lord appeals to His Church, which had things in her from Babylon. This verse shows us that the Church is not under the yoke of Babylon, but right in the midst of the Babylonian system.
Announcer 02: Today many people leave Churches that exalt themselves, the systems that only please themselves, and come to the Word of God.
Many Christian leaders want to be seen in politics, although it is not the Lord that leads them, but their own ambitions. It is intimacy with this world. Of course there are instances when the Lord sends His people to the kings of the earth to speak His Word, but it is completely different. We find examples of this in the Bible.
Announcer 01: So this spirit conceals itself in the lives of Christians and Churches so carefully; it seems hidden, but at the same time it is very disturbing.
Alright, Anna, I will read what our listeners write to us. “What one can do to avoid the deception of this spirit, as we see that human strength is powerless against it. It is so seductive”.
Announcer 02: Certainly, especially if you see what is written in 2 Timothy 3, verses 1 to 5, just listen, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
Can you see it? This happens in Churches, to Christians, as it is written that they have a form of godliness but deny Him.
So what about a person who sincerely fears God? First of all, they shall love God very strongly. The Bible has an answer for that. It is the First Commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your soul, and above everything”.
Announcer 01: Yes, and this these commandments are not given to us as a strict obligation, as a set of laws hatefully forced on men; rather, the reason of them is love toward mankind and desire to protect them. The Commandments are as traffic rules to lead us to a wonderful life.
Announcer 02: And if you love God, you will always want to have Him in all the areas of your life, as Daniel and his three friends in the Book of Daniel. You are always filled with power when you read about the superior decisions of these 4 young people.
They did not receive the food from the table of Babylon and the Emperor of the world. They ate what the Lord commanded to eat, and a miracle took place in their lives. In fact, their lives were an array of miracles in a system full of abominations and paganism. They are the best examples for us Christians.
Announcer 01: Nehemiah and Ezra are examples for me as well. They were also among the Babylonian captives. Maybe they were children when they were taken to Babylon, but I think that it is more likely that they were born there. But how humble they were and what a heroic conduct they had in that system! Because of their godliness and commitment to God, even Gentile kings submitted to their God.
Announcer 02: I like to read their books too. They write so sincerely and with such confidence. They have love and fear toward their God.
Announcer 01: As you see, the first condition to avoid the deception of Babylon’s influence is to love the Lord God. Yes, I agree; and to be in His fear is also very important for us. We must build our lives not by willful decisions, but on His Word and His commandments. Otherwise we will have a chain of troubles.
Announcer 02: The next thing Jesus ordered us is to watch and to pray.
Announcer 01: …lest you enter into temptation, Matthew 26, verse 41. That spirit is truly a temptation. In these last days, Christians have so many questions. “Shall we act this way, or not?”, “Is this correct, or not?”, etcetera. One can notice that in this age of high-tech, high ideas, democracy and loving society life becomes more and more unclear; the minds of people are darkened; there are so many voices and so many opinions… no one can tell good from bad.
Jesus said that this would happen, but our Lord does not want to leave His loved ones in darkness to grabble along, to suffer and to have sorrow. Instead, with the temptation, He also provides a way out. He said, “You will ask the Father in My name, and He will do, that your joy may be full”. Why did He say “I will not leave you as orphans”, when He was about to leave the earth? He did not leave us as orphans, but sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in those who love Him!
When everything gets darkened, to the extent that you are in a danger of losing your own way, we have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, about Whom Jesus said, “He will remind you of all things”. He reminds, teaches, rebukes and comforts.
Today everything is so darkened that you have to always remind yourself of His words, of what Christ says about certain situations. By the way, allow me to tell you that every situation in our lives has an answer, 100% wonderful answer in the Bible!
Announcer 02: The days are coming when you will really need the Bible. You will need to turn to the Scriptures concerning every situation in your life.
Announcer 01: There is a type of Christians who do not love to pray and read the Bible. They are content with Sunday sermons. However, it is a masterfully prepared trap for Christians, and its author is the devil. When you do not read the Bible yourself, when you do not train yourself to have fellowship with the Holy Spirit, you become an easy prey for the devil. You will not be able to withstand in the day of trials, and these days are coming.
When you read the Scriptures yourself, your eyes take these words and put them into your spirit. Our spirit has ears, and with our spiritual ears we hear and receive the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. And when we read the Word with our own eyes, when the ears of our spirit hear it, the Holy Spirit keeps them in special places of our spirit, and then He reminds us of exactly what we have read.
It is written that the Holy Spirit will remind us, not that He will say something new that you hear for the first time. That is why the more you read, the more the miracle working power of God’s Word can work in you. You will not be afraid or ashamed when you speak to the enemy. When the enemy comes with thoughts of fear, powerful Scriptures will come to your aid. Faith will come, and fear will leave.
Here is what Psalm 127 says about it in verses 4-5, “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.” By the way, when fear comes, faith leaves, and when faith comes, fear leaves.
Announcer 02: It is so important for God’s children not to be afraid. We must not be afraid of the coming difficulties. We must not be afraid of Babylon and its spirit. We have protection of the One Who is far more powerful.
Announcer 01: And so, there are two things that will protect us from the coming temptations and from the abominations of Babylon. First to love God with all our being and more than we love ourselves, and second to be sober in prayer and to follow the Bible. The instructions for passing the whole course is written in the Scriptures.
We know that God’s Word is a two-edged sword. Jesus told the disciples to sell their garments to buy a sword. So did He speak about war? Of course no! After all, later He stopped Peter and told him to put his sword into the sheath, saying that all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
He spoke about spiritual warfare. We wage war in the spiritual realm, against the ruler of the darkness, and for that reason, we need the Word of God to overcome difficult times.
Announcer 02: Yes, Suren, we must have the words of Christ in us, otherwise we will go astray. This world becomes darker each day, to the extent that good and evil are mixed up and become an unclear mass. In such a setting, like it or not, you run to the words of Jesus. Maybe you wait for other things, maybe reading your Bible and praying is boring for you and you do not want do it to be free from the control of the spirit of this world… My dear, I can tell you that there is no other way. Read your Bible, and quit looking for other ways.
Announcer 01: Anna, it happens quite often when these become boring for a Christian. In fact, these two activities are not boring at all, but the cunning spirit of this world succeeded in deceiving Christians.
There is so much joy, peace and delight, so much life and fulfillment in reading the Scriptures and in prayer. By the way, allow me to tell you that it is where the secret of happiness is.
It is what this world constantly seeks. The world finds brief and temporary pleasures and loses them again. This world is good at making its children run a rat race after happiness and then leave them in frustration.
All the people who seek happiness in this life ultimately become philosophers. These people with abstract mentality are empty and have nothing at all, except a rich rat race experience in this world. They are called people of experience, but they are empty in their spirits and possess nothing. Just fruitless philosophers.
Yes, prayer is an important, very important condition of keeping away from blindness in this world. Truly, those who pray and read the Bible always become leaders.
Announcer 02: In fact, the role or prayer and reading of the Bible is not yet discovered as it should be… and the spirit of this world takes good care to remove Christians from these.
Those who pray and read their Bibles are dangerous for the devil; these people make the devil restless and uncomfortable many times. They destroy all the plans of the enemy.
Wherever there are people who pray and read their Bibles, the devil literary runs away from there. I myself saw it many times.
Many Churches lose in this area. Instead of teaching their young people how to gradually enter into prayer, how to get power from prayer, or how to read the Bible, they take them to games, camps, bizarre festivals or activity holidays. It seems with these things you win young people and keep them in Church, but in fact, you lose them, move them away from Jesus Christ and from God.
Many think that young people just don’t like to read and pray, but it is written in 1 John 2, verses 13 and 14, “I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father… I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.”
These words are not just an allegory. It is just as it is written. Let us trust the Lord. Do not worry trying to do it all yourself; give the words of God to your children and to your young people, and they will do the work.
Announcer 01: If you want to keep your children from being deceived by the spirit of this world, if you don’t want them to become victims to the spirit of Babylon, then give them a Bible, pray for them so that they have a growing desire to read it. You simply need to give, and the Lord will watch over it and grow it.
The Lord will do everything in its time; just be faithful and careful to do your part as a parent or a spiritual leader.
In these last days, God will teach us to trust Him more. In these last days, everything becomes so unreliable and variable, that you will have great desire to trust Him.
