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The Tower in Genesis 11: built in direct opposition to God: 1) The builders wanted a tower, the top of which could reach unto heaven (see Genesis 1:20). 2) The building was a great tower for a reason: the flood had taken place relatively recently. Were they doubting God s words about not flooding the earth again? (Genesis 9:11, 15). 3) The builders wanted to make themselves a name. This was all about self glorification. Note the use of us and we in verse 4. 4) The builders wanted to avoid being scattered. The city was to be established. This was a monument to the greatness of man. 2
The Tower of Babel, by Peter Bruegel, (1563) 3
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The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods. (Wikipedia) 5
A Ziggurat at the site of the ancient city of Ur, built approximately 2000 BC 6
The remains of ancient ziggurats, located near Susa, in modern day Iran 7
Ziggurat, Susa, Iran. 8
The tallest building in the world, 2008 Burj Dubai Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates Due for completion: 30 June 2009 Total height (26 September 2008): 2220 feet Blackpool Tower is 518 feet Eiffel tower is 1063 feet 9
The ancient city of Babylon, straddling the river Euphrates Ziggurat 10
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The ruins of Babylon today 12
How can we be sure the events in Genesis 11 really happened? If events took place approximately 2500 BC, what would have happened by 2000BC? Those whose languages had been confounded would have recorded the events that took place at Babel in their own historical annals. We would expect to read of different names, with a degree of variation/ exaggeration, but an event of this magnitude would HAVE to be recorded. 13
Historical evidence for the Genesis record (1) Babylon: the land Martu the people in unison then Enki, the leader of the gods, changed the speech in their mouths, brought contention into it, into the speech of man that until then had been one. (translation from "The Babel of Tongues: A Sumerian Version" by Kramer, S.N., Journal of the American Oriental Society 88:108 11,1968) 14
Historical evidence for the Genesis record (2) Central America: And as men were thereafter multiplying they constructed a very high tower in order to protect themselves when again the second world should be destroyed. At the crucial moment their languages were changed, and as they did not understand one another, they went into different parts of the world. (Reference: Don Fernando de Alvara Ixtlilxochitl, Obras Historicas Mexico, 1891, Vol. I, p. 12.) 15
Historical evidence for the Genesis record (3) Polynesia: But the god in anger chased the builders away, broke down the building, and changed their language, so that they spoke divers tongues. (Reference: R. W. Williamson, Religious and Cosmic Beliefs of Central Polynesia Cambridge, 1933, vol. I, p. 94.) 16
Historical evidence for the Genesis record (4) American Indian, Crow: "Then Little Coyote did something bad. He suggested to Old Man that he give the people different languages so they would misunderstand each other and use their weapons in wars... Old Man did what Little Coyote said, and the people had different languages and made war on each other." (Reference: Jane Garry and Carl Rubino, Facts About the World's Languages H.W. Wilson, 2001) 17
The Language Barrier: a problem which mankind cannot solve Approximately 6000 known languages are currently used world wide It is estimated that only 100 of these are used by 95% of the world s population Esperanto (universal language) has never really taken off In many ways, men and women are the same the world over, but not in the way we speak. Mankind has no explanation for this phenomenon, but the Bible has! 18
The European Union: The Beginnings The end of WW2 prompted the initial idea of a united Europe. In 1946, Winston Churchill called for a United States of Europe and Council of Europe. The latter was established in Strasbourg, NE France, on 5 May 1949. This led on to the Treaty of Paris (1951), signed by France, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. 19
The signing of the Treaty of Rome, in 1957, Which resulted in the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC). 20
1973: The community welcomed in Denmark, Ireland & UK. 1979: First direct elections to the European Parliament held. 1985: The Schengen Agreement was developed, allowing the abolition of border controls between the participating countries. 21
1986: The European Flag was adopted, and leaders signed the Single European Act. 1 November 1993: The Maastricht Treaty was formally established, leading to the creation of the European Union. 22
1999: The Amsterdam Treaty came into force, giving more power to the European Parliament and the beginnings of a common foreign and security policy. 2004: The European Constitution was signed in Rome, though it was never fully ratified after rejection by French and Dutch voters. 2007: It was agreed to replace that proposal with a new reform treaty. 23
The EU Reform Treaty Signed: 13 December 2007, Lisbon Will create new European Council president New foreign policy supremo to increase EU profile Will remove national vetoes in around 50 key policy areas Voting weights between member states to be redistributed 24
1 January 2002: The Euro came into use. It is now the currency of the following 15 countries: Austria Belgium Cyprus Finland France Germany Greece Ireland Italy Luxembourg Malta The Netherlands Portugal Slovenia Spain 25
European Parliament Building, Strasbourg 26
The European Parliament meets in two locations: 1) Brussels, Belgium 2) Strasbourg, North Eastern France Strasbourg is the seat of the council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights 27
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The EU's "Parliament" Building in Strasbourg has been deliberately designed to represent the Tower of Babel, being modeled on the famous painting by Peter Bruegel. The building is complete and in use, but is made to look unfinished, even having ringed platforms around it to represent scaffolding, indicating that their work is not yet complete. When asked by a secular journalist Why the Tower of Babel? an EU official replied: What they failed to complete 3000 years ago we in Europe will finish now. 29
The EU Parliament building in Strasbourg, modelled on Peter Bruegel s Tower of Babel30
A poster circulated by the Council of Europe, picturing the tower of Babel as its logo and the phrase Many Tongues, One Voice" as its motto. 31
Europe: its origins in Greek mythology 32
Europa was the beautiful daughter of the Phoenician king of Tyre, Agenor. Zeus, the King of the gods, saw Europa as she was gathering flowers by the sea and fell in love with her. He transformed himself into the form of a magnificent white bull and appeared on the sea shore before Europa. The great bull knelt at Europa s feet. Its movements were so gentle that Europa spread flowers about its neck and dared to climb upon its back. Suddenly, the bull rushed over the sea abducting Europa. Only then did Zeus reveal his true identity and took Europa to the island of Crete. There, he cast off the shape of the white bull and he and Europa became lovers. Europa became first queen of Crete. 33
Statue of Europa riding the bull, near the European Parliament Building, Brussels, Belgium 34
Key symbols in Revelation 17 1) Woman 2) Beast 35
The woman in Revelation 17 Verse Symbol Comment Interpretation 1 Whore Sinful. Unpleasant. Seeking the wealth of others. Power. Woman = often symbol for a religious group. (II Corinthians 11:2, Ephesians 5:24) 1 Sits on many waters Place of rulership Nations: Revelation 17:15, Isaiah 57:20 2 Committed fornication with the kings of the earth Not literal! A power willing to sell itself to obtain glory with others A power with close associations with governments of the world 3 Sitting on a beast 4 Arrayed in purple & scarlet, with gold, precious stones & pearls Enjoying the power of others. Controlling, influencing. Closely connected with one power Purple = royalty. Power sees itself as a ruler. Very rich Catholic Church regards itself as a monarch (queen). Vatican city = a kingdom. Church is immensely rich 36
decked with gold and precious stones and pearls Comments by senior Catholic Priest in the USA: The Catholic church must be the biggest corporation in the United States. She is the most formidable stockbroker in the world. She is the biggest financial power, wealth accumulator and property owner in existence a greater possessor of material riches than any other single institution, corporation, bank, giant trust, government or state of the whole globe. 37
The woman in Revelation 17 Verse Symbol Comment Interpretation 1 Whore Sinful. Unpleasant. Seeking the wealth of others. Power. Woman = often symbol for a religious group. (II Corinthians 11:2, Ephesians 5:24) 1 Sits on many waters Place of rulership Nations: Revelation 17:15, Isaiah 57:20 2 Committed fornication with the kings of the earth Not literal! A power willing to sell itself to obtain glory with others A power with close associations with governments of the world 3 Sitting on a beast Enjoying the power of others. Controlling, influencing. Closely connected with one power 4 Arrayed in purple & scarlet, with gold, precious stones & pearls Purple = royalty. Power sees itself as a king. Very rich Catholic Church regards itself as a king (queen). Vatican city = a kingdom. Church is immensely rich 4 Golden cup in her hand Enticing others to join her. Encouraging others to be drunk The church often pictures itself as a woman holding out a cup to passers by 38
The woman with the golden cup in her hand Pope Leo II had the above medal minted in commemoration of the second year of his reign, the jubilee year of 1825. 39
Who or what is the beast in Revelation 17:3? Daniel 7:3: And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. Daniel 7:17: These great beasts, which are four, are four kings (kingdoms), which shall arise out of the earth. 40
The beast in Revelation 17:3 Symbol Scarlet Coloured Comment Interpretation Bright red Sinful (Isaiah 1:18) Full of names of blasphemy Sinful Direct opposition to God Seven heads Head controls the body. This speaks of the seat of power. See Daniel 7:4 7. Total number of heads of 4 beasts = 7. Revelation 17:9: heads = mountains = Rome Horn is used by an animal in conflict. Indicates the direction the beast is going. See Daniel 7:7, 20 & 24. 4th beast = Rome. Ten Horns Roman empire (based predominately in & around Europe) became divided into 10 parts by barbarians who invaded. 41
Key facts from Revelation 12 & 17: 1) Woman 2) Riding a beast 3) Wears a crown with twelve stars 42
The Symbol of Europe: a woman riding a beast From Time Magazine, in an article on a united Europe 43
German Phone card European Stamp 44
The crown (flag) of 12 stars 45
A Greek Euro from 2002 Revelation 17:3 5: "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 11 12 1 10 2 3 9 8 4 7 6 5 Revelation 12:1: And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. 46
The Tower of Babel: A lesson for today The Bible speaks of a great tower being built in the land now known as Iraq, in opposition to God. God confounded the languages: this event is supported by historical records of many nations. The Babylonian empire was established in the same place. It was immensely powerful, controlling other nations. The European Union is trying to replicate the events in Babel, even modelling its parliament building on the tower. Symbols in the book of Revelation show the similarities: a woman riding a beast speaks of the Roman Catholic church and the European Union. The challenge of the Bible: come out of her, my people. 47
The God of the Bible: a high tower for his people Psalm 18:2: The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 48