The principle of Babylon is mixing the things of man with the word of God and the things of the flesh with the things of the Spirit; we need to stay away from self-exaltation, being scattered, and confusion and mixture.
In this world today – in this present evil age, may the Lord gain a pure bride, a chaste and purified group of people who love the Lord above all things and allow God to work, speak, and do things in an unhindered way.
The Bible shows us two lines from Genesis to Revelation – the line of life starting with the tree of life and culminating in the New Jerusalem, the city of life, the holy city; also there, is the line of death, starting with the tree of knowledge of good and evil and culminating in the great Babylon.
Cain was one of the first ones on the line of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; he left God’s presence and built a city for himself, calling it Enoch, the name of his firstborn son.
Later, Cain’s descendants built and developed a godless culture in which they replaced God as their supply, protection, satisfaction, and enjoyment with other things.
Today the whole world is a system designed and crafted by Satan to keep people away from God, to usurp them from doing God’s purpose and fulfill the meaning of their existence.
Even more, man rebelled against God at Babel, when they got together and tried to make a name for themselves, build a tower all the way to heaven, and worshipped idols.
Babel then developed even more throughout the Bible until it became Babylon, the empire that represents the entire human government throughout the ages, and it culminates in the great Babylon.
It is very interesting to trace the line of Babylon in the Bible, from the city of Babel to the great Babylon with its material and religious aspect.
A godless culture is being developed and built up, and even though outwardly it is gilded with gold and so attractive and rich, it hides all kinds of uncleanness, lawlessness, and fornication with evil things and demons.
God hates the great Babylon, and He will even use Antichrist and the ten kings under his command to destroy the religious Babylon.
Then, God will destroy the material Babylon, the city of Rome, and there will be great shouts of Hallelujah throughout the universe when this happens!
Actually, after God deals with and destroys the great Babylon in its material and religious aspects, He can consummate His economy, for there is no more hindrance from the enemy.
May we see what the principle of Babylon is, may we realize the extent of the reach of Babylon, and may we be purified and cleansed from any Babylonian element in our Christian life and church life today so that we may be the holy city, the city of life, New Jerusalem, as Christ’s bride.
Staying away from Exalting ourselves, being Scattered, and Confusion and Mixture to be the Lord’s pure Bride, the Church
We need to see what is the principle of Babylon; we may not outwardly be in the degraded Christianity today but the principle of Babylon may still be in us and among us.
Babylon means confusion; the principle of Babylon is exalting ourselves, confusion, being scattered, and having mixture.
The principle of Babylon is man making a name for himself; at Babel men got together and wanted to build a tower all the way up to God to be someone, exalt themselves, and make a name for themselves.
However, this led to confusion, for God came in and confounded their language, and they could not understand each other.
The principle of Babylon is that men cannot communicate with each other; in Christianity today many genuine believers cannot have fellowship with each other, cannot be one, and are filled with confusing things and doctrines which divides them.
In the Bible we see that there is only one city in one church, Christ has only one Body and only one Bride; in the church life we cannot allow any Babylonian element to come in, any element of confusion.
Babylon stands for scattering, being scattered; since people do not understand one another’s language, they divide themselves and go with those who speak the same language as them. Oh Lord!
May the Lord gather all His seekers from all the scattering so that each would leave their own way and come together into oneness, on the ground of oneness!
Just as on the day of Pentecost, the Lord intends to bring all the scattered ones who speak different languages, so that they would be one in Him and by the Spirit for the church!
The Lord’s recovery is not a testimony of scattering but of gathering into oneness; we leave “our languages” and preferences aside, we put aside our opinions and personal seeking, and we come together to be one in the Lord.
Babylon stands for mixture, for it mixes the things of God with the things of the idols, the things of the word of God with pagan things, and the things of the Spirit with the works of the flesh.
If we look at the Roman Catholic Church we see that there are some things of the word of God, and there may be some genuine believers there, but there are so many other idolatrous and pagan things there.
Similarly, in the many denominations today there are so many things of the word of God, seeking God, and experiencing God, but they are mixed with man’s personal preference, seeking after prosperity, seeking other things than Christ, and in many cases, there are these big Christian personalities that shape and form the entire church. Oh Lord!
May we in the Lord’s recovery be a pure product of Christ who has no mixture; we can’t have any kind of halfway house, being neither here or there – we need to be absolute and pure for Christ and Christ alone!
Babylon is the mixture of the things of God with the things of idols; king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon burned the house of God in Jerusalem, and he carried away all the vessels in God’s house for God’s worship and put them in the temple of his idols in Babylon (2 Chron. 36:6-7; Ezra 1:11).
In the New Testament this mixture is enlarged with the great Babylon (Rev. 17:3-5).
In Rev. 17:3-5 we see a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns; she was clothed in purple and scarlet, and gilded with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the unclean things of her fornications.
And on her forehead she had a name written, Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth.
This is Babylon the great; there are some divine things there, but they are mixed with many abominations and blasphemy.
She is gilded with gold – there’s an appearance of God with His divine nature, but it is just a thin layer of gold, while underneath there are unclean and evil things.
The New Jerusalem is constituted and built with pure gold, but the great Babylon has a thin layer of gold, being gilded with gold. Oh Lord!
May we be saved from the principle of Babylon and from any Babylonian element in the church life today, and may we be produced to be the city of gold, pearl, and precious stones, the New Jerusalem!
Lord Jesus, save us from trying to make a name for ourselves in the church life; save us from self-exaltation and from doing thing to exalt ourselves. We exalt You, Lord, we enthrone You, and we give You the preeminence in all things! Save us from any confusion; save us from speaking different teachings that don’t build up the Body. May we focus only on God’s economy which is in faith and may we not allow any confusion or scattering to come in! Amen, Lord, we stand on the ground of oneness in the Body of Christ and we reject any division or scattering! Save us from any mixture of the things of God with the things of men, the word of God and the works of the flesh, and the things of God with the idols. Purify us, Lord, and cleanse us from any Babylonian element; make us Your pure bride, the church, for You to gain what You are after: the New Jerusalem, Your bride!
May the Lord Preserve His Recovery to be a Place where only God’s Power, God’s Word, and God’s Work are Exalted and Expressed!
At Babel men wanted to build up something from earth to reach unto heaven; they buit this not with stones but with bricks.
Stones are made by God and can be built together as an altar or as God’s building, but bricks are a human invention. Bricks are produced by burning the life element out of the ground and adding dead things to it such as straw to produce a fake building element.
Babylon represents man’s ability and efforts to reach to God and rebel against God.
In the genuine church life we should have the Holy Spirit to have authority and guide us, but in fallen Christianity what we see is the rejection of the authority of the Spirit and replacing it with human effort and decisions.
We can clearly see the principle of Babylon operating in the world today among fallen men; even more, we see this principle operating in the degraded and fallen Christianity, where Christ is not the center and the Head and the Spirit is not the One who leads and guides, but it is man with his ability that does everything and is expressed.
In the church life we need to be saved from any expression of human ability, any effort to do things for God, and any natural things being expressed, and we need to realize that without the grace of God we can’t do anything!
May we be saved from pleasing God in our own efforts; may we be rescued from serving God in our natural ability and by our own efforts.
When someone has some speaking ability and he thinks he can preach after he has studied a little theology, that is “building with bricks”.
When someone is clever and receives some Bible knowledge, then becomes a Christian worker, that is building with bricks.
When someone has some business skills so he is asked to manage the affairs of the church, someone has some musical talent so he is asked to lead the singing, and someone has eloquence so he is asked to preach, all these can be building with bricks, that is, building the great Babylon.
There is no place for man’s efforts, natural ability, and natural things in the church; the church is absolutely heavenly, and God does not accept man’s natural efforts and natural ability in His work.
Man may build high, but the heaven is even higher than man’s highest height. Man may climb high, but the heaven is even higher. Man may climb and build, and he may not fall, but the heaven is still there above man. Oh Lord!
Man is useless in spiritual matters; the natural man with its natural ability is not useful to God in the building work.
The principle of Babylon is mixing the things of man (such as man’s ability, effort, and zeal) with the word of God, and mixing the things of the flesh with the things of the Spirit. It is to pretend that something of man is something of God, that is, pretend that man’s ability and work is actually God doing things through man.
May the Lord save us from such a mixture, confusion, scattering, and division, and may we be preserved to be the pure church that is fully out of Christ, in Christ, and for Christ.
May we not be involved in any matter that has the principle of Babylon – may we “come out of her” (Rev. 18:4).
God will not try to heal or cure Babylon; He wants His people to come out of her and judge her actions!
We shouldn’t partake of anything that has the character of Babylon but come out of it.
May we learn from the depths of our spirit to separate ourselves from Babylon and judge all her actions, so that we may not be condemned together with Babylon.
We must come out of every situation where man’s power is mixed with God’s power, man’s ability is mixed with God’s work, and man’s opinion is mixed with God’s word.
May the Lord preserve His recovery to be such a place where only God’s power, God’s word, and God’s work are exalted and expressed.
May we meet and live in such a way that we exalt and express not our natural ability and knowledge but God’s power, God’s work, and God’s word; may Christ have the first place, the preeminence, in all things in our personal life and church life, and may we be purified from any mixture, confusion, and scattering!
Lord Jesus, we come out of every situation where man’s power is mixed with God’s power. We stay away from any situation where man’s ability is mixed with God’s work. Oh Lord, we come out of any situation where man’s opinion is mixed with God’s word. Preserve us in the church life in Your recovery, Lord, that we may be a place where only God’s power, God’s work, and God’s word are exalted and expressed. Save us from the principle of Babylon. May we come out of anything that is Babylonian in nature and principle, and may we be purified from any self-exaltation, mixture, confusion, and scattering!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by James Lee for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 34, “The Glorious Church,” ch. 5, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization Study of Jeremiah and Lamentations, week 9, God’s Judgment upon Egypt and Babylon.
- Hymns on this topic:
– She’s the mother of the harlots, Myst’ry, Babylon the Great! / O how all her evil fornication we have learned to hate! / But our God has doubly judged her — this our spirits doth elate. / The victory is won! (Hymns #1101)
– Down in Babylon, in captivity, / Oh, the Lord has stirred our spirit up! / Scattered everywhere, without unity, / Oh, the Lord has stirred our spirit up! / Stirred up! Stirred up! / Oh, the Lord has stirred our spirit up! (Hymns #1252)
– We are for the Lord’s recovery, / To our hearts so dear; / When we exercise our spirit, / Our vision is so clear. / Babylon the Great is fallen, / Satan is cast down, / And the local church is builded / On the local ground. (Hymns #1255)
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