Babylon by Robert Beecham
Part 2 - The Identity of Babylon
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst of it we hung our harps .... How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? If I forget you, 0 Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her skill... If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy....
Psalm 137.
Few psalms, indeed few poems in all human literature, are more beautiful than Psalm 137. The exiles sit weeping with silent harps in a foreign land, unable to sing. Babylon with all its riches and prosperity can never satisfy their hearts. Their dream, as that of many throughout the intervening centuries, was of Zion, the city of God. They wept for Jerusalem, the holy city, lying desolate and in ruins, while the proud King Nebuchadnezzar boasted of great Babylon which he had built. How could they, and how can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?
Many years ago I was first moved by the beauty of this Psalm, and learnt it all by heart; but I knew nothing of its spiritual meaning. I understood how the Jews in their exile longed passionately for the land of their fathers, and hated their proud rulers; but I was ignorant of the spiritual Babylon, the great prostitute of the book of Revelation, that for centuries has held the true church of God in captivity; and little did I know that I myself was in a foreign land.
Babylon is one of the mysteries of the Bible (Rev 17:5,7). Its meaning is hidden from the natural mind. If you want to understand it properly, you must ask God to give you a revelation of it. No truth of the scripture can really help us without the illumination of the Holy Spirit; but especially is this true of those things that God describes as mysteries.
Some people believe that Babylon is God's description of every sect and denomination except their own. They have had some revelation, real or imaginary, that they think makes them different from others. They are clever enough to recognise the marks of Babylon in other churches, but blind enough to ignore the same things in themselves. They have never really heard the voice of God. They are certainly wrong, but still we must find out the true meaning of mystery Babylon.
The question of Babylon is especially important because it affects the whole world. 'Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad' (Jer 51:7). Ancient Babel or Babylon was the root of all heathen religion. When men tried to build their religious tower independently of the true God, they soon found other gods to worship; and the evil heathen influence spread to the surrounding countries as well. In the end these other gods surrounding ancient Israel led to her downfall and captivity.
In Revelation 18:3 we read, 'For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her.' Spiritual Babylon is also something of universal influence. It is something which has corrupted and contaminated the whole Christian world. In other words natural Babylon in the past brought natural Israel into captivity. Spiritual Babylon has now brought spiritual Israel into captivity.
Roman Catholicism
Many students of the scriptures believe that Babylon the Great is the Roman Catholic Church. We will look at some of the reasons for this. Babylon is described as a prostitute sitting on seven hills (Rev 17:9). The city of Rome is built on seven hills. The woman reigns over the kings of the earth (Rev 17:18). For many centuries popes ruled over large parts of Europe. Babylon has vast wealth (Rev 18:12 etc). The riches of the Vatican, the Pope's palace, are no secret. The woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus (Rev 17:6). For centuries true followers of Jesus together with many others who defied the authority of Rome were fined, imprisoned, tortured and burnt at the stake. Even more important than these terrible things, Rome has brought, and still brings, spiritual death to millions of its followers.
The woman in Revelation 17 is described as the great prostitute (v1) and the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth (v5). A prostitute is a woman who offers her body for money. God has created sex for communion between man and woman, but prostitution is a degraded misuse of it for the sake of money. In general the Church of Rome has used man's desire for communion with God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to make itself rich, powerful and exalted. This great prostitute is the final fruit of the evil seeds sown at the tower of Babel. We see a city and a great tower built up from earth, totally based on man's initiative. At its centre is a man before whom others bow down to the ground and worship.
When I say these things, I am not saying that each individual Roman Catholic priest or church member is corrupt or evil. I am speaking about the church organisation and what it claims to be. Individuals may have real experiences of God and lead righteous lives; but they do so in spite of and not because of the their church. The Catholic church has always preached some truth, and individuals have often responded to this truth and risen above their teachers. 'You have a few names (even) in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they will walk with me in white; for they are worthy' (Rev 3: 4).
Protestant Denominations
As I have said, it is not difficult for those who study the Bible, and in particular the book of Revelation, to recognise Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes as the Church of Rome. However in these days of Bible ignorance it is necessary to repeat these facts. But if Rome is the mother of prostitutes, where are the daughters? Are the Protestant sects and denominations really so different? When we look at them we see the same human towers ascending; the earthy bricks held together by tar. They also love their own names, and forget the name of Jesus and many of their members live in spiritual poverty, disease and death.
Many true followers of Jesus belong to denominations whose leaders deny that he is the son of God and reject the scriptures, and invent their own religion. How can the people of God be unequally yoked together with unbelievers? (2 Cor 6:14). Yet this happens in all the major Protestant denominations. Not only do the blind lead the blind; the blind even attempt to lead those with sight.
Many Protestant denominations are moving closer and closer to Rome. Their theologies may be different on certain points, but their spirit is the same and is the spirit of Babel. They are not led, like Abraham, by the Spirit of God, but simply moved with human motivation. The Holy Spirit could be withdrawn from the earth, and most church programs would continue without knowing anything had happened.
Can it really be true that churches respected by millions for centuries are Babylon in the sight of God? Could it really be true in Hezekiah's day that the high places were heathen abominations in the sight of God? For centuries the Israelites had sacrificed and burnt incense at them. Hezekiah's grandfather Jotham had been a righteous king and he had not pulled down the high places. Jotham's father Uzziah had been righteous and he had not pulled them down. In turn his father Amaziah had been righteous and he had not pulled them down. Neither had Jehoash before him. Could something accepted by four generations of godly kings really be wrong? Had not even Samuel the prophet sacrificed at a high place? Hezekiah rose above tradition - even the traditions accepted by righteous men. He did not follow man, but God. If the high places were abomination to God, then they must be pulled down. Must we be limited to what our fathers have done? Is what was good enough for them good enough for us? Or do we want to obey God and go further?
Babel in the Heart
If many Protestant denominations are also Babylon, then surely those that hold to the scriptures are alright?
The one group that Jesus denounced more than all others was the Pharisees. These were the people that sat in Moses' seat and claimed to teach and believe the scriptures. Unlike the Sadducees they believed in the supernatural - angels and spirits. But like the people of Babel their religion was not from God but from man. They loved the place of honour at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues. They liked respectful titles attached to their names. They travelled land and sea to make one proselyte. Outwardly they appeared righteous to men, but inwardly they were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Read Matthew 23 for further details). You can be Bible-believing and still have the spirit of Babel. God gives the Holy Spirit not to those who have correct doctrine, but to those who obey him (Acts 5:32). Without the Holy Spirit and obedience to God, all our scriptural knowledge will only help us to build another Babel.
Mystery Babylon was written in the woman's forehead. You may leave every Babylonian Group but if the name of Babylon is still written on your forehead - in your mind and in your thinking - you will have achieved little. You will soon build another Babel, and you will be no better than you were before. The problem is far greater than a question of church membership. Don't go searching your town for a non-Babylonian church; rather search yourself to remove the spirit of Babylon.
The root of Babylon is human pride. 'The heart of the natural man is more deceitful than all things and incurable', wrote Jeremiah (ch 17:9). There is where the real problem lies. We love to build something that will glorify ourselves. We loudly say we want to give all the glory to God, and then we quietly steal it from him. We firmly declare we have no desire to please man, and then we pause and wait for people to clap their hands. We don't want to leave the city to come to Jesus outside the camp, bearing his reproach.
If you have only seen the external Babylon, you will wander for ever through its streets and never leave it to go to the new Jerusalem.
Prostitution
We must return to the idea of spiritual prostitution. God's intention is that sexual relationships should take place within marriage to unite husband and wife in love and to result in the birth of children. A prostitute uses sex in totally the wrong way to earn money. Any church that uses religion to get money from its members is committing spiritual prostitution. Any evangelist that uses his spiritual gifts to make himself rich is doing the same thing. Any man who wants to be a pastor because of the salary or status he will get is also a spiritual prostitute.
Part 2 - The Identity of Babylon
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst of it we hung our harps .... How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? If I forget you, 0 Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her skill... If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy....
Psalm 137.
Few psalms, indeed few poems in all human literature, are more beautiful than Psalm 137. The exiles sit weeping with silent harps in a foreign land, unable to sing. Babylon with all its riches and prosperity can never satisfy their hearts. Their dream, as that of many throughout the intervening centuries, was of Zion, the city of God. They wept for Jerusalem, the holy city, lying desolate and in ruins, while the proud King Nebuchadnezzar boasted of great Babylon which he had built. How could they, and how can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?
Many years ago I was first moved by the beauty of this Psalm, and learnt it all by heart; but I knew nothing of its spiritual meaning. I understood how the Jews in their exile longed passionately for the land of their fathers, and hated their proud rulers; but I was ignorant of the spiritual Babylon, the great prostitute of the book of Revelation, that for centuries has held the true church of God in captivity; and little did I know that I myself was in a foreign land.
Babylon is one of the mysteries of the Bible (Rev 17:5,7). Its meaning is hidden from the natural mind. If you want to understand it properly, you must ask God to give you a revelation of it. No truth of the scripture can really help us without the illumination of the Holy Spirit; but especially is this true of those things that God describes as mysteries.
Some people believe that Babylon is God's description of every sect and denomination except their own. They have had some revelation, real or imaginary, that they think makes them different from others. They are clever enough to recognise the marks of Babylon in other churches, but blind enough to ignore the same things in themselves. They have never really heard the voice of God. They are certainly wrong, but still we must find out the true meaning of mystery Babylon.
The question of Babylon is especially important because it affects the whole world. 'Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad' (Jer 51:7). Ancient Babel or Babylon was the root of all heathen religion. When men tried to build their religious tower independently of the true God, they soon found other gods to worship; and the evil heathen influence spread to the surrounding countries as well. In the end these other gods surrounding ancient Israel led to her downfall and captivity.
In Revelation 18:3 we read, 'For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her.' Spiritual Babylon is also something of universal influence. It is something which has corrupted and contaminated the whole Christian world. In other words natural Babylon in the past brought natural Israel into captivity. Spiritual Babylon has now brought spiritual Israel into captivity.
Roman Catholicism
Many students of the scriptures believe that Babylon the Great is the Roman Catholic Church. We will look at some of the reasons for this. Babylon is described as a prostitute sitting on seven hills (Rev 17:9). The city of Rome is built on seven hills. The woman reigns over the kings of the earth (Rev 17:18). For many centuries popes ruled over large parts of Europe. Babylon has vast wealth (Rev 18:12 etc). The riches of the Vatican, the Pope's palace, are no secret. The woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus (Rev 17:6). For centuries true followers of Jesus together with many others who defied the authority of Rome were fined, imprisoned, tortured and burnt at the stake. Even more important than these terrible things, Rome has brought, and still brings, spiritual death to millions of its followers.
The woman in Revelation 17 is described as the great prostitute (v1) and the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth (v5). A prostitute is a woman who offers her body for money. God has created sex for communion between man and woman, but prostitution is a degraded misuse of it for the sake of money. In general the Church of Rome has used man's desire for communion with God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to make itself rich, powerful and exalted. This great prostitute is the final fruit of the evil seeds sown at the tower of Babel. We see a city and a great tower built up from earth, totally based on man's initiative. At its centre is a man before whom others bow down to the ground and worship.
When I say these things, I am not saying that each individual Roman Catholic priest or church member is corrupt or evil. I am speaking about the church organisation and what it claims to be. Individuals may have real experiences of God and lead righteous lives; but they do so in spite of and not because of the their church. The Catholic church has always preached some truth, and individuals have often responded to this truth and risen above their teachers. 'You have a few names (even) in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they will walk with me in white; for they are worthy' (Rev 3: 4).
Protestant Denominations
As I have said, it is not difficult for those who study the Bible, and in particular the book of Revelation, to recognise Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes as the Church of Rome. However in these days of Bible ignorance it is necessary to repeat these facts. But if Rome is the mother of prostitutes, where are the daughters? Are the Protestant sects and denominations really so different? When we look at them we see the same human towers ascending; the earthy bricks held together by tar. They also love their own names, and forget the name of Jesus and many of their members live in spiritual poverty, disease and death.
Many true followers of Jesus belong to denominations whose leaders deny that he is the son of God and reject the scriptures, and invent their own religion. How can the people of God be unequally yoked together with unbelievers? (2 Cor 6:14). Yet this happens in all the major Protestant denominations. Not only do the blind lead the blind; the blind even attempt to lead those with sight.
Many Protestant denominations are moving closer and closer to Rome. Their theologies may be different on certain points, but their spirit is the same and is the spirit of Babel. They are not led, like Abraham, by the Spirit of God, but simply moved with human motivation. The Holy Spirit could be withdrawn from the earth, and most church programs would continue without knowing anything had happened.
Can it really be true that churches respected by millions for centuries are Babylon in the sight of God? Could it really be true in Hezekiah's day that the high places were heathen abominations in the sight of God? For centuries the Israelites had sacrificed and burnt incense at them. Hezekiah's grandfather Jotham had been a righteous king and he had not pulled down the high places. Jotham's father Uzziah had been righteous and he had not pulled them down. In turn his father Amaziah had been righteous and he had not pulled them down. Neither had Jehoash before him. Could something accepted by four generations of godly kings really be wrong? Had not even Samuel the prophet sacrificed at a high place? Hezekiah rose above tradition - even the traditions accepted by righteous men. He did not follow man, but God. If the high places were abomination to God, then they must be pulled down. Must we be limited to what our fathers have done? Is what was good enough for them good enough for us? Or do we want to obey God and go further?
Babel in the Heart
If many Protestant denominations are also Babylon, then surely those that hold to the scriptures are alright?
The one group that Jesus denounced more than all others was the Pharisees. These were the people that sat in Moses' seat and claimed to teach and believe the scriptures. Unlike the Sadducees they believed in the supernatural - angels and spirits. But like the people of Babel their religion was not from God but from man. They loved the place of honour at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues. They liked respectful titles attached to their names. They travelled land and sea to make one proselyte. Outwardly they appeared righteous to men, but inwardly they were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Read Matthew 23 for further details). You can be Bible-believing and still have the spirit of Babel. God gives the Holy Spirit not to those who have correct doctrine, but to those who obey him (Acts 5:32). Without the Holy Spirit and obedience to God, all our scriptural knowledge will only help us to build another Babel.
Mystery Babylon was written in the woman's forehead. You may leave every Babylonian Group but if the name of Babylon is still written on your forehead - in your mind and in your thinking - you will have achieved little. You will soon build another Babel, and you will be no better than you were before. The problem is far greater than a question of church membership. Don't go searching your town for a non-Babylonian church; rather search yourself to remove the spirit of Babylon.
The root of Babylon is human pride. 'The heart of the natural man is more deceitful than all things and incurable', wrote Jeremiah (ch 17:9). There is where the real problem lies. We love to build something that will glorify ourselves. We loudly say we want to give all the glory to God, and then we quietly steal it from him. We firmly declare we have no desire to please man, and then we pause and wait for people to clap their hands. We don't want to leave the city to come to Jesus outside the camp, bearing his reproach.
If you have only seen the external Babylon, you will wander for ever through its streets and never leave it to go to the new Jerusalem.
Prostitution
We must return to the idea of spiritual prostitution. God's intention is that sexual relationships should take place within marriage to unite husband and wife in love and to result in the birth of children. A prostitute uses sex in totally the wrong way to earn money. Any church that uses religion to get money from its members is committing spiritual prostitution. Any evangelist that uses his spiritual gifts to make himself rich is doing the same thing. Any man who wants to be a pastor because of the salary or status he will get is also a spiritual prostitute.
