A Window of Mercy?

CGI's Mike James shined some Divine light on "Christian Nationalism," and Bill Watson came along behind him with the Satanic Darkness of Anglo-Israelism and Trumpism! In his Sabbath message today, Bill noted that it is very probable that God has given his people a "window of mercy" with the results of the recent U.S. election. According to Mr. Watson, we all need to "wake up and start to smell the roses." In other words, the people of the U.S. need to take advantage of this opportunity which God has given them to get their nation back on track!

You see, Mr. Watson still believes that the people of the United States are the descendants (and heirs) of Joseph's son, Manasseh! Likewise, he still believes that the people of Great Britain are the descendants (and heirs) of Manasseh's brother, Ephraim. Although Mr. Herbert Armstrong borrowed this teaching from a founder of the Church of God Holiness, who was formerly a pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Wesleyan Methodist Church, John H. Allen (see Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright), the teaching of Anglo-Israelism has been thoroughly discredited by biblical scholars, historians, archaeologists, and geneticists.

Like Armstrong before him, Watson makes a distinction between the spiritual and "physical" promises which God made long ago to Abraham. Moreover, Bill believes that no other nation(s) fit the "profile" outlined in Scripture for the fulfillment of those promises. According to him, the people of the United States are the only people who fit the "profile" for Manasseh (to hell with all of the scriptural, scientific, and historical evidence to the contrary!).

Now, of course, when the message is founded on the fairytale of Anglo-Israelism, logic dictates that everything which follows is invalidated. And, what follows, is based on a pattern observed in the book of Judges - whereby, the children of Israel would rebel against God and succumb to their enemies, then God would raise up a judge to deliver them from their oppressors. Watson speculated that maybe God was giving his people today (America) one of those "windows of mercy" which he allowed them during the time of the judges.

Moreover, although he never mentioned Trump or the Republicans by name, the clear implication was that God had raised them up to deliver America from its enemies (e.g. abortionists, transgender folk, homosexuals, immigrants, the mainstream media, the "deep" state, the Federal Reserve, China, and Ukraine). According to Bill, we will soon have "adult leadership" taking control of the "steering wheel." Thus, in the light of this blessed development, Mr. Watson wants to know if we are going to take advantage of this opportunity - "Are we going to do the right thing?"

Finally, although the pastor disavows the use of the term "savior," the clear implication of his message is that Trump and the Republicans are the instruments of God's mercy. In Bill's mind, Trump is the modern-day "judge" or "deliverer" of God's people in these end times. Sorry, Bill, whether you call him savior, redeemer, or judge, I believe that this is the very role that Jesus Christ was designated by Almighty God to fulfill! Hence, you'll forgive me for wondering if this is a window of mercy OR a doorway to hell! As John always reminds us, I guess time will make the outcome of this matter clear. What do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!

His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods.

His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords.

His faithful love endures forever.

--Psalm136

I give thanks to the Lord for the life he gave to me,

for the grandparents who raised me,

for Darlene, and the daughters we raised together,

for the grandchildren whom they and their young men gave me,

for the rest of my family,

for the mountains, rivers, woodlands, deserts, lakes and oceans I've been allowed to see,

for good music, and good food,

for good teachers,

for good pets, and the companionship they provided me,

for happiness, joy, sadness and pain,

for forgiveness, mercy, and love

for Jesus, the Messiah! Amen!

CGI's Mike James on Christian Nationalism

As longtime readers of this blog know, I have been a vocal critic of politics from the pulpit, and secular partisanship within the ekklesia. Moreover, as a former member of an Armstrong Church of God, I have especially focused on the tendency of some of those groups to get entangled in American politics. Thus, it is a pleasure to be able to report on a positive development in this area. Mike James, of the Church of God International, has contributed an article to the winter edition of The International News that deserves our attention and praise.

The article is titled "Christian Nationalism, Good or Bad for America?" Pastor James began by quoting from a number of different sources attempting to define Christian Nationalism. The most succinct statement in this regard was drawn from a Christianity Today article: "Christian nationalism is the belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way." Mike went on to observe: "One major problem with Christian Nationalism is who gets to define what is meant by 'Christian.' Would you want to support something that promotes Sunday observance as the Sabbath or Christmas and Easter observance? Obviously not, and it remains to be seen how far some Christian Nationalists would want to go, but I cannot support something that teaches things that are not true." In other words, the pastor clearly understands that this movement has the real potential to actually limit religious freedom in this country.

Mr. James then pointed to two of the most recent actions of the Christian Nationalists in Oklahoma and Louisiana. Oklahoma mandated the Bible in the classroom, and Louisiana has mandated the Ten Commandments in every classroom. Mike went on to observe that "These two initiatives in Oklahoma and Louisiana are influenced by Christian Nationalists, but is this what Christians should be concerning themselves with—politics? Some of these Christian Nationalists are part of dominionist groups that believe Christians should seek to take over positions of power in culture and government." The pastor then went on to point out that this is inconsistent with CGI's theology surrounding the Kingdom of God - that Jesus Christ would return to this earth someday and establish that kingdom, not by Christians working within the parameters of human political systems.

As with many ACOG folks, Mike was honest about his own right of center political leanings. He wrote: "Listen, I probably agree with many Christian Nationalist positions. But one of the problems with Christian Nationalism is they can turn politicians and our nation into an idol. We can’t expect any nation or any leader to be a Messiah figure or an answer to all that ails our country. The Bible is definitive and clear: Christ is the only answer to the problems our nation and the world is experiencing. Be careful that you don’t turn your nation into an idol (Deuteronomy 5:6–7)." A little later in the article, he added: "Galatians 3:28 tells us that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek.” What this means is when you commit to Jesus Christ first and foremost in your life you now belong to Him and His Kingdom. Any other group you are a part of (nation, ethnicity, club, organization, church, town, or family) pales in significance and could become an idol."

In addition to numerous citations of Scripture throughout his article, Mike also listed a substantial list of the other sources of information he used in writing his own well-articulated piece. We can only hope and pray that Pastor James' article will be well-received and implemented by the membership of the Church of God International. After all, God is NOT going to reward his people for making an idol out of one of the secular nations of this present world influenced by Satan, and he has already sent us a Savior!

What About Ephesians 5:22-24?

Whenever I write something against paternalism, I am inevitably confronted with a passage from the fifth chapter of Paul's epistle to the saints at Ephesus. It is a favorite of both conservative Evangelicals and Armstrongists alike. They quote: "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands." (Ephesians 5:22-24, ESV)

"Try that one on for size, Lonnie!" "It plainly says wives SUBMIT to your husbands - case closed!" Of course, the clear implication being that no further investigation or commentary is needed. The thinking goes something like this: "It's in the Bible. You either accept it or reject it." However, as is common with these prooftexts, there is no context offered, and no discussion about other related texts that might contribute to our understanding of the one offered as proof of a particular belief. After all, in isolation, this text does seem to support the traditional paternalistic, male authoritarian model which has been pushed for hundreds and hundreds of years.

However, if we are truly interested in understanding what the Apostle Paul was saying to the Ephesians, we might want to get some of the surrounding context. In this letter to these First Century Gentile Christians, Paul talks about the great gift which had been made available to them through Jesus the Messiah (Ephesians 1-3). Then, in chapter four, he appealed to them to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of such a gift (Ephesians 4:1-7). Next, Paul reminded them that they should all be striving to exhibit the love, harmony, and unity of purpose which Christ expected of them (Ephesians 4:8-16). Finally, he explained that their current behavior must reflect the change which Christ had wrought in them (Ephesians 4:17-30). Paul concluded: "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:31-32, ESV) Once again, this is addressed to Christians, and it is concerned with how they should be treating each other.

Keeping in mind that there weren't any of our chapters and verses dividing the original text, we read at the beginning of the next chapter: "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (Ephesians 5:1-2, ESV) Once again, Paul reminded them about what Christ had done for them and demanded that their lives reflect that fact (Ephesians 5:3-14). Then, just before the relevant passage, we read: "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." (Ephesians 5:15-21, ESV) Hence, we see that the context makes clear that Paul is reminding these Christians about how they should be treating each other in the light of what Christ had done for them!

Thus, we see that Paul is addressing the behavior of wives AND husbands in the ekklesia/Church in the verses which follow. This is the proper context for what follows: "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. 'Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." (Ephesians 5:22-33, ESV, emphasis mine)

Notice that this submission and love that Paul is talking about is likened to Christ and the ekklesia/Church. Once again, the context is about what is happening within the body of believers - between believing husbands and wives. Moreover, this is all made even clearer when we remember Christ's instructions to his disciples recorded in the Gospel of John. After washing his disciples' feet (an act of service and humility), we read: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35, ESV, emphasis mine)

Likewise, in response to a request by two of his disciples to have positions of authority directly under him, Christ said: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:25-28, ESV, emphasis mine) In other words, love and leadership within the ekklesia/Church would look very different from that which was practiced on the outside of that body!

Moreover, so that we don't leave any wiggle room for the more traditional understanding of this passage, we must note that this same stream of thought continues into the next chapter of Paul's epistle to the Ephesians (Ephesians 6:1-20). In short, there is NO mistaking who Paul was addressing, and that his teachings were consistent with Christ's expectations of his disciples. Hence, we have seen that using this passage from Ephesians as a prooftext to defend traditional notions about paternalistic male dominance just doesn't hold any water when we take a closer look!

The Nonbinary God

In the Hebrew Scriptures, God is portrayed most often as a male. This, of course, makes sense in the context of a very paternalistic and primitive society. Indeed, the entire Law (Torah, including the Ten Commandments) are most often addressed to MEN! Nevertheless, even in those ancient writings, we can discern the fact that Almighty God transcends our notions about gender.

Moreover, this suggestion of someone/something which transcends gender is found in the very first chapter of the book of beginnings, Genesis! We read there: "Then God said, 'Let us make man[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." [h=The Hebrew word for man (adam) is the generic term for mankind and becomes the proper name Adam] (Genesis 1:26-27, ESV, emphasis mine) We see here that both God and man contained the elements of BOTH male AND female!

Many years ago, I posted on this blog an article titled Does God have a penis? It pointed out the absurdity of assigning an actual gender to God. After all, the passage that we just read made very clear that both genders (male and female) reflected Almighty God!

Before leaving the Hebrew Scriptures, we should also note that the paternalism evident in most of those writings is more of a reflection of the culture of both the land of Abraham's birth, and the land which had been promised to him and his descendants. In other words, it does NOT follow that this paternalism necessarily reflects God or "his" will for us. For example, while the law portrays a menstruating woman or new mother as being ceremonially unclean, it is self-evident that there is NOTHING inherently unclean about a woman in either one of these circumstances (After all, God designed a woman's body to work that way, and we are told that EVERYTHING that "he" had made was very GOOD! (Genesis 1:31) Likewise, although the Israelites were commanded NOT to covet your neighbor's wife, his servants, his livestock, or any other thing that belongs to him (Exodus 20:17, ESV, emphasis mine), I don't know of anyone who has proposed that the prohibition against coveting only applies to men!

In the New Testament Synoptic Gospels, there is a story about Jesus being asked about the resurrection. We are informed that he answered in part by telling his audience that people who experience the resurrection will not marry thereafter, and that they will be like the angels in this respect (Matthew 22:30, Mark 12:25, Luke 20:35). Apparently, those of us who will have the privilege of being a part of God's Kingdom will no longer have any need of that institution for a relationship or reproductive capacity.

In a similar vein, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians about a Christian's proper relationship with the Law (Torah). Indeed, he equated the status of not being under the law with being freed from supervision. He wrote: "But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." (Galatians 3:25-29, ESV, emphasis mine) In other words, having believed and accepted what Christ has done for them, things like ethnicity, social status, and gender no longer matter! In Christ, there is no longer any need for one person lording it over another person (Matthew 20:25-28, ESV).

Unfortunately, there have been many folks within the ekklesia down through the centuries (male and female) who have tried to make this paternalism into a universal spiritual truth. It is clear, however, both historically and scripturally, that paternalism is a human invention - and a feature of human societies/cultures! Thus, many people have sought to make Paul's reference to not allowing women to speak in the gathering of the saints together (I Corinthians 14:34-35, I Timothy 2:11-12) into a feature of the Divine will. Of course, we know that such a notion would contradict Paul's own experience in the faith with Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18, Romans 16:3)! Moreover, we know that Paul attributed Timothy's knowledge of Christianity to his mother and grandmother (II Timothy 1:5). So, I ask again: Was Paul reflecting (in these passages) an eternal spiritual principle applicable to all people everywhere in all times? OR Was Paul reflecting the paternalistic values of the society which produced him?

God and Jesus employed the guise of Father and Son, because they knew that the human cultures whom they were addressing would understand that language and imagery. In other words, their use of that imagery/symbolism did NOT mean that they were endorsing human notions of a paternalistic society! God is God. God is NOT bound by the roles and necessities which frame our existence! God is beyond gender. God does not need sexual reproduction. God doesn't have to urinate. Yes, God is a father and a son, but God is also a mother and a daughter. There is no such thing as primogeniture in God's realm. A person's gender has no bearing on his/her ability to inherit what his/her parent has prepared for him/her!

In short, our God is a nonbinary God. My search engine defines the "nonbinary" adjective in this way: "denoting, having, or relating to a gender identity that does not conform to traditional binary beliefs about gender, which indicate that all individuals are exclusively either male or female." Almighty God is NOT bound by our experiences of male and female! Our God cannot be contained!

 

The Prophetic Biblical Symbols of Human Governance: Egypt and Babylon

The flawed eschatology of Herbert Armstrong and his disciples is directly attributable to a number of extrabiblical interpretations of prophecy. On this blog (and many others), we have certainly underscored the problems which have flowed from his identification of the English-speaking peoples of the earth as Israelites (British or Anglo-Israelism). However, it is also very clear that many of his interpretations of other prophetic writings were equally flawed as a consequence of his failure to allow the Bible to interpret itself (the very axiom which he claimed to scrupulously follow)!

One of the most egregious examples of this was his identification of the Babylon of Revelation as the Roman Catholic Church. Laying aside the historical fact that there wasn't any such thing as a "Roman Catholic Church" at the time that John penned his Revelation, we must also conclude that he did not fully appeal to the Hebrew Scriptures in trying to understand what John had written (unfortunately, many Protestants have made the same mistake). As we shall see, his failure to interpret the Biblical symbols for human governance led him into a host of other misinterpretations of prophecy - especially related to the book of Revelation!

According to Blue Letter Bible, the word "Egypt" appears 611 times in 558 verses of the King James Version of the Bible. Likewise, the word "Babylon" appears 286 times in 252 verses in that version of the Bible. In fact, only the nation of Israel is mentioned more that these two nations (2,568 times). Israel, however, is portrayed throughout the Bible as the nation which God was using to introduce himself to the rest of humanity. Egypt and Babylon, on the other hand, are portrayed as typical of the governments which a deceived and alienated mankind had erected apart from God. Now, of course, there are a few other nations which are occasionally employed in this capacity in the pages of the biblical canon (e.g. Assyria, Persia, Sodom and Gomorrah); but Egypt and Babylon are employed in a symbolic and prophetic capacity more than any others!

In Torah, "Egypt" appears prominently as a refuge for the children of Israel (Genesis 41-50), and the principal human oppressor of Israel - the powerful nation which had enslaved them and used them to build its great cities and monuments (Exodus 1). Moreover, pharaoh was portrayed as the ultimate expression of human authority over other people. He is portrayed there as an impersonal, unnamed, and ruthless force who is powerful, prideful, willful, and full of his own self-interest. Moreover, in the Exodus narrative, the king of Egypt is portrayed as repeatedly resisting God and his will for the Israelites. He clearly believes that the Israelites are his personal property, and he does not want to allow them to go into the wilderness and worship their own God (Exodus 5-14). In other words, Egypt and its king appear as the personification of evil and sin - the epitome of man's flawed systems of governance supervised by Satan himself! Later, in the other writings of the Hebrew Bible, Egypt is repeatedly portrayed as both the enemy of Israel, and a potential ally.

In the prophets, Israel is warned against depending on Egypt to rescue her from her enemies (See Isaiah 30, 31, 36, Jeremiah 42). Indeed, Israel's solicitation of Egypt's protection is portrayed as spiritual prostitution and adultery! In other places, Egypt's ultimate destruction is predicted (Isaiah 19, Jeremiah 46, Ezekiel 29-32). Moreover, Egypt's punishment is repeatedly tied to its state religion, dependence on its military might, glorying in its wealth and trade, its reliance on the Nile and Mediterranean Sea, and the king's dependence on mediums as his counselors. Nevertheless, in the histories of the kingdom period, Israel is variously portrayed as being attacked by Egypt and in alliance with them (I Kings 3:1, 9:16, 14:25, II Kings 17:4, II Kings 23:29-34, II Chronicles 12:2-9). Even so, with reference to Egypt, the central message of the entire Hebrew Bible was that God had delivered his people from Egypt - had rescued them from that land and the evil and suffering which the Egyptians had inflicted upon them.

In Bible Study Tools' article on Egypt, we read: "In the Gospel of Matthew, Egypt is both a place of refuge and a place to come out of. One of Matthew's goals in writing his Gospel is to present Jesus as a new Moses. Matthew reports that Joseph was warned in a dream to take Jesus and his mother "and escape to Egypt" (Matthew 2:14). After the death of Herod, an angel tells Joseph to return to the land of Israel. Matthew applies the oracle of Hosea 11 to this situation, further linking Jesus with the historic suffering of the people of God (Matthew 2:15). Like Moses, Jesus comes out from Egypt, escaping the temptation of luxury, ease, and a peaceful life. Instead, he will fulfill the will of God and follow the lifelong road to Jerusalem." In the book of Acts, Egypt figures prominently in Stephen's speech before the Council and High Priest (Acts 7). Also, in that book which is the epitome of symbolism in the New Testament, there is a reference to Jerusalem within the context of a passage related to the Two Witnesses where that city is called "Sodom and Egypt" (Revelation 11:8). Hence, we see that this symbolism surrounding Egypt is even carried over into the New Testament.

In similar fashion, Babylon is portrayed in Scripture as both the instrument of God's wrath, the oppressor of his people, and a refuge for his people (II Kings 20, 24, 25, II Chronicles 36, Jeremiah 29). Interestingly, the symbolic representation of human governance is clearly delineated in these historical narratives as passing from Egypt to Babylon. In the account of Babylon's destruction of the Kingdom of Judah, we read: "And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates." (II Kings 24:7, ESV) Clearly, from that point forward in Scripture, Babylon became the epitome of human governance both literally and figuratively.

Like Egypt before her, in the writings of the Hebrew prophets, Babylon began to take on an oversized role in relation to other Gentile nations. In the thirteenth chapter of Isaiah, we see again that Babylon is portrayed as the instrument of God's punishment of Judah - even while its own destruction is predicted! Moreover, in the following chapter (Isaiah 14), as the symbol of the state, the king of Babylon is associated with Satan, and the things which are typical of human governance without God are enumerated as the reasons for his fall. More particularly, the king's role as oppressor, authoritarian, conqueror, the source of "unrelenting persecution," and an overly ambitious and prideful foe of God is underscored.

Later in the book (Isaiah 39), the prophet provides some background for Babylon's intervention in the affairs of Judah. We read there an account of how the then king of Babylon used the opportunity of King Hezekiah's illness to ingratiate himself with the king of Judah and gather intelligence on his kingdom. Indeed, we read in the account of this diplomatic mission that Isaiah used this opportunity to predict Babylon's future destruction of Judah. 

Likewise, the prophet Jeremiah predicted that God would use Babylon to punish the Kingdom of Judah (Jeremiah 20-27). Moreover, in repudiating a false prophet who had predicted the end of Judah's captivity, Jeremiah proclaimed: "For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field." (Jeremiah 28:14, ESV) In other words, God was using this powerful king to achieve his own ends, and he makes clear that the extent of Nebuchadnezzar's authority would stretch well beyond Judah.

Indeed, in the following chapter (Jeremiah 29), the Jews were informed to relax and settle down in the land of Babylon, because they were going to be there for seventy years! In much of the rest of the book, the narrative regarding Babylon's conquest of Judah is repeated. Then, in the fiftieth chapter of the book, Jeremiah predicted the eventual fall of Babylon - that she herself would eventually be overwhelmed and conquered. This message is reiterated in the following chapter of the book (Jeremiah 51). Finally, the book of Ezekiel was written in the midst of Judah's captivity in Babylon.

Of course, the genesis of the narrative about Babylon actually began in the writings describing the later history of the Kingdom of Judah. It is here that we find the historian's account of Hezekiah's sickness, and the visit by the King of Babylon's diplomat/spies (II Kings 20). According to this text, Isahiah warned the Jewish king that "the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." (II Kings 20:17-18, ESV)

Nevertheless, in this account, the actual fulfillment of Isaiah's prediction happened many years later and in stages. Initially, Nebuchadnezzar made King Jehoiakim his vassal for three years (II Kings 24:1-6). Then, when that king rebelled against him, we are informed that Nebuchadnezzar sent some of his surrogates against the Kingdom of Judah, and Jehoiakim died in the midst of the melee. His son, Jehoiachin, succeeded his father on the throne of Israel, but only managed to hold on to the throne for three months (II Kings 24:8-9)! Nebuchadnezzar then deposed the king and carried him and most of his family away to Babylon (II Kings 24:10-12).

We are informed that he also carried away the valuables in the Lord's Temple, many of the elite citizens of Jerusalem to Babylon, and appointed the deposed king's uncle to reign in his place (II Kings 24:13-17). Finally, after King Zedekiah also rebelled against Babylon, the king again invaded the land, ended the Kingdom of Judah, executed many of the Jewish political and religious leaders, and destroyed both the Temple and the city of Jerusalem (II Kings 24:18-20, II Kings 25:1-21, and II Chronicles 36)!

Now, all of this background has set the stage for the prophetic books of Daniel in the Old Testament, and Revelation in the New Testament. As we shall shortly see, these two books of prophecy are companion pieces in understanding the symbolic significance of Babylon in Scripture. In other words, most of the scholars of the Christian Bible believe that it is impossible to fully comprehend the meaning of the symbolism surrounding the Babylon of Revelation without some comprehension of the Babylon described in Daniel.

In the first chapter of Daniel, the king of Babylon's military conquest of the Kingdom of Judah is underscored. Also, we learn that there was a system in place to recognize talent and aesthetic beauty among the conquered people and educate/train them in the ways of the Babylonian court. Likewise, in the second chapter of the book we see a king that is obstinate and authoritarian in nature - demanding that his servants interpret one of his dreams.

Moreover, when none of his advisors could do that, a young Jew named Daniel stepped forward and offered to give him God's interpretation of the dream. He began by describing the great image that the king had seen in his dream, starting with a head of gold, and descending to the legs and feet of the image with each body part being composed of a material inferior to the one before it. Then, while the king watched, a stone was supernaturally cut out of rock and hurled at the feet of the statue causing it to collapse in pieces. Eventually, Daniel explained, the stone grew into a great mountain that filled the whole earth (Daniel 2:31-35).

Daniel then proceeded to explain the meaning of the statue to the king. He said: "You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever." (Daniel 2:37-44, ESV)

So, according to Daniel's interpretation of the king's dream, the King of Babylon represents the first of a series of human kingdoms that would rule over the earth until God's Kingdom finally enveloped the whole earth! Moreover, as we can see, Nebuchadnezzar becomes the gold standard - the template for all of the kingdoms which would succeed his over the course of human history (See my post Babylon as a Prophetic Template). In other words, Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon represented the epitome of government devised by humans - the control of a physical territory, the economic and military power to sustain it, the conquest and domination of other nations and peoples, the glory associated with all of that, and the people and resources over which that government ruled. Now, the importance of these characteristics of human governance will become apparent to us when we examine John's Babylon in the book of Revelation.

The third chapter of Daniel underscores some more important characteristics of human governance. In that chapter, we learn that Nebuchadnezzar ordered the construction of a very tall statue made of gold and then commanded all of his subjects to worship it. In this narrative, we see the king's hubris, and his authoritarian nature is on full display. Also, given the dream that he had previously, the text strongly suggests that Nebuchadnezzar expected his subjects to worship the state (and more particularly, him as the head of state)! What follows is the inspirational story about the defiance of the king's edict by three Jews: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The moral of the story? God's people should obey and worship him over and above any human authority on this earth! Likewise, the fourth chapter of Daniel recounts the story of God's humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar to teach him the truth that God is the ultimate authority - that the God of Israel was superior to Nebuchadnezzar and every other human leader on the planet!

Later, in this same book, we learn that the Medes and Persians eventually took over the empire of the Babylonians (Daniel 5 and 6). Then, in the seventh chapter, we find Daniel having a dream of his own about four great beasts who emerged from the sea with the characteristics of various animals (Daniel 7:1-8). In the dream, the "Ancient of Days" (God) appeared and took his place on a throne surrounded by an enumerable multitude (Daniel 7:9-10). Next, the fourth beast is destroyed and the other three are stripped of their power (Daniel 7:11-12). Daniel continued: "I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14, ESV)

Daniel then asked one of the entities surrounding the throne to interpret the symbols for him (Daniel 7:15-16). The entity replied: "These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever." (Daniel 7:17-18, ESV) He went on to explain in more detail the meaning of the symbols surrounding the fourth beast and concluded by assuring Daniel that the kingdom would eventually be given to the saints (Daniel 7:19-27, ESV).

Now, it is widely understood by biblical scholars that the four kingdoms portrayed in the dreams/visions of the book of Daniel refer to the empires of the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. Nevertheless, as we are about to see in the book of Revelation, John employed both the symbolism of Babylon and the symbolism of the beasts in his own take on the history of humankind, and the eventual supremacy of the Kingdom of God.

The book of Revelation is literally full of symbols and imagery borrowed from the Hebrew Bible. In my opinion, the best and most comprehensive summary of the meaning of that symbolism is found in two short video presentations by the Bible Project. For anyone who is interested in the wider context and message of the book of Revelation, I highly recommend these videos for your consideration (They can also be viewed on Banned by HWA in The Book of Revelation).

Bible Project stated that John "makes it clear in the opening paragraph that this book is a 'revelation.' The Greek word used here is apokalypsis, which refers to a type of literature found in the Hebrew Scriptures and in other popular Jewish texts. Jewish apocalypses recounted a prophet’s symbolic visions that revealed God’s heavenly perspective on history so that the present could be viewed in light of history’s final outcome. These texts use symbolic imagery and numbers not to confuse but to communicate. Almost all the imagery is drawn from the Old Testament, and John expects his readers to interpret by looking up the texts to which he alludes." (Emphasis mine)

As for the imagery borrowed from the book of Daniel, in the thirteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, we find the description of John's vision of two beasts. Like the beasts of Daniel, we are informed that John's first beast emerged from the sea, and that the Dragon (Satan) had given the beast its authority. Moreover, we are informed that the whole earth followed the beast and worshipped him and proclaimed: "Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?" (Revelation 13:1-4) And, as the context and subsequent verses suggest, this first beast is symbolic of the human system's political and military influence over the earth. We are told, however, that the second beast emerged from the earth (Revelation 13:11). This beast is portrayed as reinforcing the worship of the first beast by employing false propaganda and exercising both supernatural and economic control (Revelation 13:11-18). Indeed, this is the passage where the infamous "mark" and "number" of the beast is revealed.

Bible Project has this to say about the "mark" and "number" of the beast: "The meaning of this image is found in the Old Testament. The mark is the 'anti-Shema.' The Shema is an ancient Jewish prayer of allegiance to God found in Deuteronomy 6:4-8 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.' It was to be written on the Israelites’ foreheads and hands as a symbol of devoting all your thoughts and actions to the one true God. But now the rebellious nations demand their own god-like allegiance."

The same source has this to say about the "number" of the beast: "John was fluent in both Hebrew and Greek, and his readers knew that Hebrew letters also function as numbers. If you spell the Greek words 'Nero Caesar' or 'beast' in Hebrew, both amount to 666. John isn’t saying that Nero was the precise fulfillment of this vision; rather, he’s a recent example of the pattern explored in Daniel. Human rulers become beasts when they assign divinity to their power and economic security and demand total allegiance to it. Babylon was the beast of Daniel’s day, followed by Persia, then Greece, and now Rome in John’s day. The pattern stands for any later nation who acts the same." In other words, the fourth beast of Daniel, the Roman Empire, was the latest manifestation of that original template of human governance: BABYLON!

Indeed, in the very next chapter of Revelation, John revealed an even more explicit connection in the messages of the three angels (Revelation 14:6-11). The first angel announces with a loud voice that earth's inhabitants should: "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water." (Revelation 14:7, ESV) John continued: "Another angel, a second, followed, saying, 'Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.' And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.'" (Revelation 14:8-11, ESV, emphasis mine) John's contrast between allegiance to God and allegiance to any human government is clear.

This connection is made even clearer in the seventeenth chapter of this book. For our purposes, we will skip over the plagues and bowls of wrath in the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of Revelation (Again, for those who may be interested in how they relate to all of this, I am happy to refer them to the two video presentations cited above). Our chapter of focus begins with one of the angels who carried the bowls of wrath telling John that he will show him "the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk." (Revelation 17:1-2, ESV)

Continuing, John then revealed what the angel had shown him. He wrote: "I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: 'Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.' And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." (Revelation 17:3-6, ESV, emphasis mine)

Next, we are informed that the angel revealed to John the meaning of the beast and the woman known as "Babylon the Great." First, the angel tells him that the beast refers to a number of political entities or "kings/kingdoms" that will reign on the earth and wage an unsuccessful war against the "Lamb" (Jesus Christ) and his saints (Revelation 17:7-14). He continued: "The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth." (Rome, of course, was that city in John's day! Revelation 17:15-18, ESV) In other words, this "Babylon" has ruled over and dominated many different peoples and nations, and John is assured that those same people will eventually turn against her and destroy her!

Moreover, in the eighteenth chapter of the book, we find a eulogy for this fallen "Babylon" that is strangely reminiscent of things we have already read in the Old Testament. John saw an angel descend from heaven and proclaimed: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living." (Revelation 18:1-3, ESV) Notice that this Babylon was GREAT, had many alliances with other kingdoms, exerted great economic power through trade and her own pursuit of "luxurious living." Once again, this was obviously Rome in John's day - in ancient times, it was Egypt and Babylon! One important question: Can you think of any modern nations who might fit this same template in our own time?

Then, John heard another voice from heaven which addressed God's people on this occasion. He said: "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed." (Revelation 18:4-6, ESV) Clearly, God did NOT want his people to be a part of this Babylonian system of human governance!

Finally, the chapter concluded, with the mourning of the woman's former partners in crime - the other peoples and nations who had participated in her political and economic system. First, we learn that the nations who had made alliances with her wept and wailed over her destruction (Revelation 18:9). Next, we are informed that the merchants of the earth mourned her fall (Revelation 18:11-17). Finally, we are informed that the shipmasters and sailors of the world mourned Babylon's fall (Revelation 18:17-20).

The chapter ends with this epitaph to Babylon: "So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more; and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more, and the light of a lamp will shine in you no more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth." (Revelation 18:21-24, ESV)

All of this, of course, is followed with rejoicing in heaven and the proclamation of God's Kingdom on earth, and the return of Jesus Christ as "King of Kings." (Revelation 19) In other words, God will have then overthrown the human system of governance that was typified by Babylon! Moreover, having studied in some detail all of the characteristics of that system revealed in various passages of Scripture (in both Testaments), it would be incumbent upon all of us to remind ourselves of the features of that system which God wants his people to avoid. Remember, Babylon created a system that was: ruthless, prideful, full of self-interest, exploitative of other nations, peoples, and resources, oppressive, authoritarian, wealthy and economically dominant, commanded allegiance to, and worship of, the state, possessed military might, controlling, and persecuting God's people. Does that sound like any of the nations that you're familiar with? What about you? Do you wear the mark and number of the beast? OR, Are you a citizen of God's Kingdom? 

Divided Loyalties?

Jesus said:

No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. --Matthew 6:24, NLT

The Apostle Paul wrote:

II Timothy 2:1 Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. 2 You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

3 Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. 5 And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. 6 And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. 7 Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.

8 Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. 9 And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. 10 So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.