PROGRAM 98 ENMITY BETWEEN THE SEEDS The Mystery of Babylon (Part 1)

Transcription

1 PROGRAM 98 ENMITY BETWEEN THE SEEDS The Mystery of Babylon (Part 1) A. Literal Babylon 1. Previously, discussed that Rome can t be the beast because Rome ruled in John s day and the beast John say Is not or was not present in his day. 2. So we tried to determine the identity of the beast as personified by the eighth king who goes to perdition. 3. Everything leads us to believe that Babylon is the identity of the beast. 4. We discussed the woman and what she might represent. a. She is not the beast. 5. Yet, the message written on her forehead seems to connect her to Babylon: Mystery, Babylon the Great: the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. Revelation 17:5 (NKJV) 6. So our question is: What is Babylon? The beast? Is it a city? a region? or is it a mindset? 7. My belief is that all the above are correct. 8. Many people try to make it one or the other. 9. For example, many think Babylon is the Catholic Church; some say it s the UN, the EU; some teach it is the United States. 10. My opinion is that Babylon is everywhere, including all of these examples. 11. But this is because Babylonian harlotry and abomination has been disseminated throughout the world. 12. However, I also believe, that Babylon has an origin its head from where all that it is emanates from. 13. So, if not a specific city, it is a literal region and I believe the one called Babylon in the Bible Mesopotamia. 14. The US couldn t be literal Babylon head - because the beast WAS (in past) in John s day a. In other words, US didn t exist until centuries after John s day. 15. Literal Babylon is the place Jeremiah refers to as the land of the Chaldeans REFERENCE: Jeremiah 50:45 B. The Mighty Hunter 1. Perhaps the most important thing to recognize is that, what started at the head (literal Babylon) permeates the rest of the kingdoms that followed. 2. That Babylon is the source of all abominations and harlotry was written on her head. 3. In other words, more than anything, Babylon is a mindset, a way of thinking. 4. That way of thinking is the antithesis of what God says it is rebellion. 5. It first appears in the very beginning at Bavel under Nimrud.

2 Cush begot Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: therefore it is said, Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Genesis 10:8-10 (NKJV) 6. That Nimrod was a mighty hunter is understood to mean that he hunted men rather than game. 7. Rashi wrote that He ensnared men with his words and provoked them to rebel against God. 8. According to the Midrash, he instilled a false confidence in people and thereby entrapped them. 9. Literally he was a great stalker or chaser in the LORD s face. 10. Nimrod is the first to drape himself in robes of piety in order to deceive the masses and rule over them as a king. 11. His kingdom begins with Babel and it is at Babel that we see people coming together mixing with one another to oppose God s instructions. Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, Come, let us make brick, and bake them thoroughly. They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 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. Genesis 11:1-4 (NKJV) C. Babylonian Mindset 1. They journeyed from the east is understood to mean they moved away from the teachings of God. 2. That they were of one speech is important for this leads to their desire to come together as one. 3. These global aspirations to be one emphasized their willingness to mix and mingle. 4. This is represented by the making of bricks mixing components together as one. a. All bricks look the same because they are mixed by man. 5. They built a city which is reminiscent of Cain (which we ll discuss later). 6. The tower is to reach into heaven in God s face. 7. They determined to make a name for themselves. 8. Shem name is authority. They establish their authority in defiance of God s authority. 9. This is Nimrod s kingdom a mighty hunter, causing others to rebel against God. 10. They didn t want to be scattered across the earth; but that is what God wanted. 11. They were in the land of Shinar where the woman of Zechariah 5 is taken to: Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth. So I asked, What is it? And he said, It is a basket that is going forth. He also said, This is their resemblance throughout the earth: Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a

3 woman sitting inside the basket, then he said, This is Wickedness! And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth. Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. So I said to the angel who talked with me, Where are they carrying the basket? And he said to me, To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base. Zechariah 5:5-11 (NKJV) 12. She is Wickedness and is set up in Shinar which is Babylon. 13. Later we see a woman riding the Beast (in the wilderness) who is described as a harlot. a. She mingled other s seed that corrupted the earth. REFERENCE: Revelation 17:4-5; 19:2 14. This is the Babylonian mindset and what the woman represents. 15. This is found everywhere and represents mixing holy with profane. 16. Compare to our day with the call for globalism and tolerance. 17. Every nation is guilty because God s people (church) is guilty. 18. Consider this is what the Church cooperates with woman riding the beast

4 PROGRAM 99 ENMITY BETWEEN THE SEEDS The Mystery of Babylon (Part 2) A. Feet with Ten Toes 1. Spent a lot of time discussing what Babylon represents in that it is primarily a way of thinking - a mindset that sees value in mingling ideology, philosophy into one homogenous entity. 2. The problem with this is it opposes the Creator s purposes. 3. That the head of gold on Nebuchadnezzar s image represented Babylon is important because everything that affects the body emanates from the head. 4. That means that the Medo-Persian, Grecian and Roman empires inherited aspects of Babylon and helped to disseminate them throughout the world. 5. This means that the last kingdom, represented by the feet with ten toes, also inherits certain aspects of Babylon. 6. Daniel s interpretation of the dream makes it clear that this kingdom is the last one before the Messianic era. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. - Daniel 2:34 (NKJV) 7. Collectively, these two feet have ten toes corresponding to the ten horns/ten kings on the beast that John saw. REFERENCE: Revelation 13:1; 17:12 8. Daniel also identifies these ten toes as ten kings. REFERENCE: Daniel 2:44 9. The point is, this kingdom (feet of iron and clay) represents the kingdom of the anti-christ. 10. This kingdom corresponds to the eighth king who arises from the seven and goes to perdition. REFERENCE: Revelation 17: Why is it characterized as feet with ten toes? Possibly because feet also have heels. 12. The Beast kingdom will attempt, one final time, to crush the head of the righteous seed. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. Revelation 13:7 (NKJV) 13. It is very important to note that this kingdom is a mixed or mingled kingdom.

5 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Daniel 2:41-44 (NKJV) 14. This kingdom contains all the ferocity of and strength of preceding kingdom Rome. 15. There is an inherent weakness within it, mentioned FOUR times, likened to potter s clay. 16. Daniel teaches that the mixed aspect of this kingdom is the key to its weakness. 17. This implies to me that, this kingdom will viciously enforce its will upon all peoples and beliefs force them to mix into one global mindset conforming ultimately to its view. a. This is how the Beast will subjugate the people. B. A Mingled World 1. Considering all we have learned, we can determine that this last kingdom will contain elements of all the principalities alluded to in Daniel 2 and Revelation 17. Egypt Assyria Babylon Medo-Persia Greece Rome 2. This kingdom epitomizes what the beast actually is: the body of that serpent of old. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. Genesis 3:1 (NKJV) 3. He is beast and he is cunning or shrewd so that he deceives the whole world. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. Revelation 12:9 (NKJV) 4. How does he deceive the whole world? By enticing the world to mix and mingle. 5. His goal is to undermine and corrupt God s purposes by destroying the Righteous Seed. 6. His methodology to attain this goal, from the beginning, is to mix falsehood with truth. 7. This is equivalent to sowing tares in the midst of the wheat renders corruption. REFERENCE: Matthew 13:24-30

6 8. It is fascinating that, of this kingdom, Daniel says: As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. Daniel 2:43 (NKJV) 9. According to multiple commentaries, mingling with the seed of men seems to allude to Genesis 6: This is when the sons of God mingled with the daughters of men by taking them for wives. 11. This resulted in the very earth being corrupt. REFERENCE: Genesis 6: This mingling and corruption characterizes the days of Noah just before the Flood. 13. The days of Noah are what Y shua likened the days just prior to His coming as being like. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Matthew 24:37-39 (NKJV) 14. Thus the implication is that, just before He returns, mankind will again enthusiastically embrace the mindset of mixing and mingling and, consequently, corruption. 15. Furthermore, they will not recognize what is about to happen being swept away like the chaff.

7 PROGRAM 100 ENMITY BETWEEN THE SEEDS The Mystery of Babylon (Part 3) A. Days of Noah As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. Daniel 2:43 (NKJV) 1. According to multiple commentaries, mingling with the seed of men seems to allude to Genesis 6:2. 2. This is when the sons of God mingled with the daughters of men by taking them for wives. 3. This resulted in the very earth being corrupt. 4. This mingling and corruption characterizes the days of Noah just before the Flood. 5. The days of Noah are what Y shua likened the days just prior to His coming as being like. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Matthew 24:37-39 (NKJV) 6. Mankind will embrace the mindset of mixing and mingling and, consequently, corruption. 7. Furthermore, they will not recognize what is about to happen. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. Matthew 24:30-42 (NKJV) 8. Those taken in these examples are equivalent to those taken away by the flood. 9. Those who are left behind survive those taken do not; they are swept away like the chaff. 10. Interestingly, the word translated as clay that which the iron attempts to mix (arav ) with is the Hebrew chasaf. 11. It is translated clay nine times and all in Daniel 2; intended to be something earthy. 12. The Hebrew word means exposed, to take away cover. 13. Linguistically, it is related to the word asav. 14. This Hebrew word means grow independently. In other words, like weeds grow. a. Related to idea of tares sown in wheat they grow without cultivation. b. This word is also related to Esau. 15. According to Genesis 25:25, Esau was admoni, which is red or earthy. chasaf asav

8 Esau admoni dawm adam 16. By showing the connection between these words, it serves to demonstrate the Adversary s tactics have not changed but have been consistent. 17. He seduces people into mixing and mingling with earthy things that he may subjugate them. 18. He did this in the beginning (Gen. 6:2) and will do it again at the end (Dan. 2). 19. According to Y shua, the people taken away were positioned to be taken because they were oblivious to what was about to happen. a. They ate and drank; married and gave in marriage. 20. Interesting that this is what the sons of God did in Gen. 6: The point is: they mingled just as Daniel says they will do in the last kingdom. They will mingle with the seed of men. Daniel 2:43 B. Days of Enosh 1. The word translated as men is enash which is the same word we see in Genesis 4:26. And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD. Genesis 4:26 (NKJV) 2. On the surface, this seems to be something that is positive. 3. Reality is that it says quite the opposite of what we would suppose. 4. On one hand, it sounds like a group of people began to align themselves with Creator. 5. A marginal reading of this verse could be: Then began men to call themselves by the name of the LORD. 6. Signifying that the true followers of God distinguished themselves from others. 7. However, Hebrew word huchal actually means profane, pollute, defile or desecrate. 8. In other words, men began to profane the name of the LORD. 9. Understanding that name or shem is authority : men began to profane His authority. a. Walking away from His instructions. b. Typically mixing His with their own ideas and opinions. 10. Consequently, many Jewish commentators consider this the beginning of mixing true worship with idolatry. 11. In his Treatise of Idolatry, Maimonides wrote: In the days of Enosh the sons of Adam erred with great error and the counsel of the wise men of that age became brutish.... And in the process of time there stood up false prophets among the sons of Adam, which said that God had commanded and said unto them Worship such a star or all the stars and do sacrifice unto them.... And the false prophet showed them

9 the image which he had feigned out of his own heart, and said it was the image of such a star which was made known unto him by prophecy. And they began after this manner to make images in temples, and under trees, and on tops of mountains and hills and assembled together and worshiped them, etc.... So in the process of time, the glorious and fearful name (of God) was forgotten out of the mouth of all living... save a few persons in the world, as Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem and Eber. Maimonides, Treatise on Idolatry 12. The Targum of Onkelos records: Then in his (Enosh) days the children of men ceased from praying in the name of the LORD. 13. The Targum of Jonathan says: This was the age, in the days of which they began to err, and they made themselves idols, and surnamed their idols by the name of the Word of the LORD. 13. The days of Enosh are characterized by people MIXING. 14. In the end of days, they will mix with the seed of MEN or enash 15. The beginning reveals the end and the end is the beginning.

10 PROGRAM 101 ENMITY BETWEEN THE SEEDS The Mystery of Babylon (Part 4) A. Sons of Seth and Daughters of Men And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD. Genesis 4:26 (NKJV) 1. In the days of Enosh, men began to profane God s authority by mingling earthy things and philosophies with God s ways - characterized by MIXING. 2. In the end of days, Daniel said the last kingdom of man is one where they will mix with the seed of MEN or enash 3. In the beginning of time, those who upheld the authority of the true God were forced to separate themselves from the idolaters. 4. Many scholars believe that these righteous were the progenitors of the sons of God mentioned in Genesis Sadly, before flood even the righteous sons of God were mingling with the other seed. 6. That is, the mingled with those who profaned the name of the LORD. 7. Some say these were the line of Seth opposed by daughters of men who were Cain s line th century commentator Franz Delitzsch wrote: It cannot be denied that the connection of Genesis 6:1-8 with Genesis 4 necessitates the assumption, that such intermarriages (of the Sethite and Cainite families) did take place about the time of the flood; and the prohibition of mixed marriages under the law also favors the same idea. 9. According to 18 th century commentator Dr. John Gill, Arab tradition tells this story. Immediately after the death of Adam, Seth s family separated themselves from the family of Cain and dwelt upon Mount Hermon, supposedly the burial site of Adam. The Cainites resided in the valley beneath where, according to the tradition, Abel was killed by his brother. After some time had elapsed, the sons of Seth ventured into the valley and found the women of Cain s lineage to be of exceptional beauty and they began to intermarry. Enmity Between the Seeds, page The book of Jasher records this story. And all the sons of men departed from the ways of the LORD in those days as they multiplied upon the face of the earth with sons and daughters, and they taught one another their evil practices and they continued sinning against the LORD. And every man made unto himself a god, and they robbed and plundered every man his neighbor as well as his relative, and they corrupted the earth, and the earth was filled with violence. And their

11 judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice, and the sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the LORD; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth, all men and all animals. Jasher 4: By all accounts, the emphasis of Genesis 6 is not on fallen angels or giants but on MIXING the holy with the profane. a. Emphasizes the ramifications of mingling Good with Evil. 12. The reason Israel was instructed not to take wives or husbands from pagan nations was to prevent them from becoming like the nations, thus profaning the name of the LORD. REFERENCE: Deuteronomy 7: Consider what happened as a result of Solomon taking strange wives. REFERENCE: 1 Kings 11: This led to: The dissolution of the united kingdom of Israel. The dispersion of the House of Israel at the hands of Assyria. The captivity of Judah under the tyranny of Nebuchadnezzar. 15. It was a major issue when they returned from Babylon. REFERENCE: Ezra 9: Paul makes it a New Covenant issue when he says don t be unequally yoked. REFERENCE: 2 Corinthians 6:14 B. Earth Corrupted 1. From the beginning, God warns of the consequences of mixing the two seeds. 2. They cannot coexist with one another; one must prevail over the other. 3. We see this again and again in Scripture. Tree of Life/Tree of Good and Evil Wheat and tares Jacob and Esau And the LORD said to her: Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger. Genesis 25:23 (NKJV) 4. We are to understand that, because they couldn t co-exist, one would always be stronger than the other. 5. God knows this because He is the one who placed enmity between them. REFERENCE: Genesis 3:15

12 6. When these two seeds mix, the corruption impacts the people and even the earth itself. REFERENCE: Genesis 6:11 7. How is it that the earth was corrupted? 8. Torah stipulates that when two different seeds are sown in vineyard or field (or in this case the world), not only is fruit corrupted but the vineyard/field (world) is as well. REFERENCE: Deuteronomy 22:9 9. There is a rabbinical belief that tares (in Hebrew zunim) are degenerate wheat that originated during the flood. 10. Based on Gen. 6:11: the earth was also corrupt before God. Even the earth debauched itself; wheat was sown and it produced zunim, for the zunim we find now came from the age of the Flood. Genesis Rabbah 28:8 11. Save for Noah and family, the earth and everything in it was defiled and corrupt because it was mixed. 12. Accentuates the fact that last kingdom of feet with 10 toes (and a heel) - iron MIXED with clay is a mingled kingdom and, consequently, a corrupt one. 13. Its corruption will infect the entire earth.