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In the Bible there are two lines that run parallel to each other: the line of Babylon and the line of Jerusalem. In Genesis 11 we have Babel. The Greek word Babylon is the equivalent of the Hebrew word Babel. Babylon begins in Genesis 11 and runs throughout the whole Bible until it reaches its consummation in Revelation 17 and 18. In Revelation 18 Babylon is destroyed. In the Old Testament we have Jerusalem, and in the New Testament we have the New Jerusalem. Babylon and Jerusalem are opposed to each other. If you have Babylon, you do not have Jerusalem, and if you have Jerusalem, you do not have Babylon. Eventually, Babylon will be destroyed, and the New Jerusalem will be completely built up.
The Bible says a great deal about Babylon. Speaking of Babylon, Revelation 18:4 says, “Come out of her, My people, that you do not participate in her sins and that you do not receive her plagues.” This strong call is related to us, for today God is calling us out of Babylon. This is a serious matter. In order to understand God’s call to come out of Babylon, we must know what Babylon is.
Many Christians are in Babylon and do not even realize it. They simply do not know that Babylon is here and that they are in it. Hence, I am burdened that we might be clear about Babylon. In the Bible Babylon has a double significance. The first significance of Babylon is that it is related to division, which causes confusion. In the first mention of Babylon (Gen. 11), we see that Babel caused division and that out of this division came confusion. God created mankind as a corporate people to fulfill His purpose. Originally, the people were one for God’s purpose, and there was neither division nor confusion. Then Babel appeared, and it divided the people of God. Hence, there were divisions, and these divisions caused confusion. Since the time of Babel, the people created by God for the fulfillment of His purpose have been divided and are in a state of confusion.
The church is also a corporate people called and redeemed by God for His purpose. On the day of Pentecost the church was one. However, the church has been divided again and again, and these divisions have caused confusion. This is the situation of Christianity today. Christianity is full of divisions that result in confusion. Recently, I was told that in the city of Dallas, Texas, there are more than two thousand different so-called churches. What division and confusion! This is Babylon. Some of those in the divisions have tried to argue with us, saying, “Why do you say that we are Babylon? We are not Babylon; neither are we in Babylon.” Whether they realize it or not, they are in Babylon. Unconsciously, they are in Babylon.
Let us use the illustration of eating garlic. Suppose all the people in a certain room are eating garlic. The more garlic they eat, the less sensitive they are to the odor of garlic. However, if someone who has not been eating garlic and who is accustomed to fresh air comes into the room, he will immediately detect the odor of garlic. However, if he would tell those in the garlic room that they are reeking with the odor of garlic, they would deny it because they all have been drugged by the garlic they have eaten and are no longer sensitive to its odor. In like manner, since the fourth century Christianity has been drugged with Babylonianism. From that time onward, Christianity has been addicted to the Babylonian drugs. Who can deny that today’s situation is full of divisions? But there were no divisions on the day of Pentecost. Instead, there was only Christ, the Spirit, and life. There was no Baptist Church, Episcopalian Church, or Lutheran Church. There was no Christmas, Santa Claus, or Christmas stockings. On the day of Pentecost the atmosphere was pure, and the air was fresh. But from the time of Constantine the Great, who brought “garlic” into Christianity, paganism began to creep in.
Although I was born in Christianity, as a child I occasionally visited the Buddhist idol temples in China. In one of these temples I saw a picture of a woman with a small child. Later, I saw the same picture in a Catholic cathedral. The Catholics say that this woman is the holy mother and that the child is Jesus. But the Buddhists say that this lady is a divine woman who comes with a child for a barren woman. According to Buddhist tradition, a woman who is unable to bear children should stand before that picture, burn incense, and pray to the woman in the picture. Supposedly, the woman in the picture will later come with a child for the barren woman. When I saw the same picture in a Catholic cathedral that I had seen in a Buddhist temple, I was troubled. Years later, I read the book entitled The Two Babylons. The writer of this book traced the origin of this picture to Nimrod. Originally, the child in the picture was Nimrod, and the woman was both Nimrod’s mother and his wife. How terrible! After Nimrod originated this picture, it was spread to China, India, Japan, and Egypt. This Babylonian picture was taken in by the Roman Catholic Church, which claims that it is a picture of the holy mother and the holy child Jesus. What a devilish, satanic, demonic mixture! Christianity has become Babylonian; today it is full of divisions and confusion.
The second significance of Babylon is that it is related to idolatry. History records that in Babel, built by Nimrod and his father, names of idols were on the bricks used to build the city. Hence, that city was full of idols. The outstanding feature of Babylon was its idolatry. When Nebuchadnezzar carried away the vessels from the temple of God and brought them to Babylon, he put them into the temple of his idols (2 Chron. 36:7; Ezra 1:7).
Babylon the Great unveiled in Revelation 17 is also filled with idols, with the abominations of the earth (v. 5). The Catholic Church is filled with idolatry. In order to study the Catholic Church firsthand, I visited a large cathedral in Manila. At the front entrance there was a large image, an idol of Jesus. When I said that it was an idol, I was told that it was Jesus. Then I said, “It is blasphemous to say that this idol is Jesus.” Someone replied, “Jesus is too abstract and mysterious. When we talk to people about Jesus, it is difficult for them to understand what we are saying. But when they see this image, it is easy for them to understand something about Jesus.” What subtlety! That image was not Jesus! It was an idol.
Probably we are all familiar with the picture of Jesus that portrays Him as a handsome man. Many Catholics and Protestants have that picture in their homes. But that picture is not Jesus; it is an idol. In 1936 in China I met a young woman who was possessed by demons. Since I knew that demon possession is related to idolatry, I asked her if there was an idol in her home. She told me that she had come to believe in Jesus and that there were no idols in her house. However, I could not understand how she could believe in Jesus and have no idols in her home yet still be possessed by demons. Hence, I asked her again about idols in her home. Eventually, she told me that at home she had a picture of Jesus and that it was her habit to worship it. I told her that her picture was an idol and that a demon was behind it. I further told her to burn that picture. Then she said, “How can I burn the Jesus in whom I believe?” I said, “That is not Jesus. It is an idol.” After she burned the picture, the demon departed from her.
Many Christians have been in the garlic room for so long that they can no longer sense the odor of garlic all around them. Day after day many unconsciously worship idols, actually thinking they are worshipping God. Today’s Christianity is not only full of divisions and confusion; it is also full of idols. Furthermore, it is full of traditions. Traditions are falsehoods, and falsehoods are vanity. Falsehood is also a form of idolatry, for it is believing something that is vain. The two main aspects of Babylon are division with confusion and idolatry. If you apply these two principles to today’s Christianity, you will see that the situation of Christianity is exactly Babylonian. Therefore, we must come out of her and return to Jerusalem, to the church.
Now we must see what Jerusalem is. For the Jews in the Old Testament, Jerusalem was the unique place of worship, the uniting center. Babylon caused division, but Jerusalem maintained the oneness. Today’s Babylon is division, and today’s Jerusalem is oneness. When we come back to oneness, we come back to Jerusalem.
At Jerusalem, the unique center of oneness, there was the temple, the habitation of God. Where is God’s habitation today? According to Ephesians 2:22, God’s habitation is in our spirit. In principle, our spirit is today’s Jerusalem. The Samaritan woman said to the Lord Jesus, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, yet you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men must worship” (John 4:20). Jesus answered, “An hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father...But an hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truthfulness...God is Spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness” (vv. 21, 23-24). The Lord’s word about worshipping in spirit implies that the real Jerusalem today is our human spirit.
When we are in the mind, we are divided, but when we turn to our spirit, we are one. Do not talk too much about doctrine. Satan, the subtle one, always likes to raise questions regarding doctrine. In many places I visited, Satan used certain ones to ask me questions. Satan’s strategy in doing this is to draw us out of the spirit and into the mind so that we shall argue with one another. If we exercise our mind to discuss doctrine for a period of time, we shall be divided. Suppose instead of praying and exercising our spirit, we raise questions about foot-washing, head covering, and the size of the cup used at the Lord’s table. The more we talk about such matters, the more we shall argue and fight. Eventually, as a result of arguing about doctrine, we shall be divided. But when we are in the spirit, there is no division and no idolatry. In the spirit there is simply the divine Spirit, God Himself.
I have been a Christian for more than fifty years. In the past I was not able to define Babylon. But in these last years the Lord has shown me that Babylon is division with confusion. Wherever there is division with confusion, that is Babylon. Moreover, Babylon is idolatry. Wherever there is the worship of idols, that also is Babylon. When my eyes were opened to see these things, I realized that because they are in the mind, most Christians are in Babylon. They are in divisions with confusion and, to some extent, they worship something other than God. They care for certain other things more than they care for God. In principle, this is idolatry. In like manner, for many years I did not know what today’s Jerusalem was. Later, however, the Lord showed me that today’s Jerusalem is the oneness in our spirit.
It is one thing to see these matters; it is another thing to apply them. Suppose two genuine Christian brothers, who both have a background in religion, come together for fellowship. One asks the other what church he goes to. By asking this question he proves that he is in Babylon. Why must we ask others what church they attend? Is it not good enough that they are dear brothers in the Lord? But Christians today are constantly asking questions such as: What church do you go to? Have you been baptized by immersion, or have you been sprinkled? Do you speak in tongues? What is your view concerning the rapture — pretribulation, posttribulation, or partial? What about eternal security? All these questions are Babylonian. Christians have been divided again and again simply by doctrinal questions like these. We are not divided by God or by Christ. We have one Christ, one God, and one Holy Spirit. Our faith and our hope are also one (Eph. 4:4-6). But we definitely are not one in doctrine. If we talk about God and Christ, we are one. But if we talk about doctrine, we shall be divided immediately. Do not ask divisive questions. If you do, you are being Babylonian. Asking questions such as these implies that you are being divisive.
In 1 Corinthians 1:10 Paul says, “I beseech you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you.” This word is simple, but it is very difficult to practice. All Christians should speak the same thing. But this certainly is not the practice of today’s Christianity, for nearly everyone speaks something different. In verse 12 of the same chapter Paul says, “Now I mean this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ.” This verse is a clear example of not speaking the same thing. Those who do not speak the same thing are divisive. Look at today’s Christianity. One says, “I am a Presbyterian,” another says, “I am a Lutheran,” and yet another says, “I am an Episcopalian.” But in verse 13 Paul asks this question: “Is Christ divided?” When we all speak the same thing, we are one. When someone asks which church you belong to, you should say, “Brother, your question is divisive. By asking this question you are being Babylonian. Whether you realize it or not, we are for Christ, and Christ is everything to us.”
In Romans 15:5 and 6 Paul says, “Now the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind toward one another according to Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We all must be of the same mind according to Christ, with one accord and one mouth. Among today’s Christians there are numerous minds and mouths. We must not be like this. To have many minds and many mouths is to be divisive, to be Babylonian. The only way to be saved from this kind of Babylonianism is to turn to the spirit, where there is oneness, and care only for Christ. Christ is everything; He is all in all.
However, Christ should not be a mere doctrine to us; we must experience Him and live by Him, with Him, and in Him. Christ must be the good land on which we labor day by day until we have a harvest. We need to learn how to enjoy Christ, how to eat Him, how to offer Him to God, and how to share Him with others. If we do all this, we shall be filled with Christ, infused with Christ, and saturated with Christ. The result will be that we have one mind, the mind of Christ, and one mouth, a mouth that speaks Christ. We should be those who know nothing but Christ and the church. We must live by Christ, live in Christ, live with Christ, work on Christ, grow Christ, reap Christ, harvest Christ, present Christ to God, serve Christ to others, and enjoy Christ in our homes and in the meetings. Oh, how much we need to care for Christ!
If we are all like this, we shall surely be of the same mind. There will not be an American mind, a German mind, a Chinese mind, a male mind, or a female mind. There will just be one mind — the mind of Christ. We all shall be of the same mind, not according to theology or doctrine but according to Christ. Therefore, we shall have only one mouth, and we shall no longer ask people what church they go to. Instead, we shall ask questions such as, “How much of Christ have you eaten today? What have you gained of Christ today?” Learn to ask questions like this. We know nothing but Christ, we preach nothing but Christ, we teach nothing but Christ, we minister nothing but Christ, and we share nothing but Christ. We care for Christ and Christ alone. Christ is all and in all. He is the Lamb, the unleavened bread, the bitter herbs, the manna, the living water, the good land, the wheat, the barley, the wine, the figs, the pomegranates, the olives, the honey, and the milk. Christ is the mountain, the stone, and the copper. Because we care only for Christ, we have just one mind and one mouth.
Do not ask any more divisive, Babylonian questions. For example, to ask whether the meetings should be loud or quiet is to raise a Babylonian question. Learn to ask questions without being Babylonian. As far as loudness or quietness is concerned, you should say, “Brother, please tell me by what way I can release Christ. Can I release Him by being noisy or by being quiet?” This is an excellent question, and it is not Babylonian. I would answer this question in this way: “Brother, release Christ by any means. If you can release Christ by being quiet, then be quiet. But if you need to be noisy in order to release Him, then feel free to be noisy.”
Another question that has been asked is the question of long hair or short hair. To ask whether your hair should be long or short is to ask a Babylonian question. Those who insist on short hair will have a short-hair church, and those who insist on long hair will have a long-hair church. This will produce two new divisions — the long-hair division and the short-hair division. The question regarding the length of hair is divisive. Instead of asking a question about hair in a divisive manner, we should ask the question like this: “Brother, by what way can I release Christ more, with long hair or with short hair?” If you ask the question like this, you are not being Babylonian, because you care only for releasing Christ. If this question were asked of me, I would say, “I don’t care about long hair or short hair. Forget about the length of your hair. If you can release more of Christ by having your hair long, then let your hair be long. But if you can release more of Him by having your hair short, then cut it short. The answer to the question does not depend on my opinion; it depends on the release of Christ.”
Another question concerns the length of sisters’ skirts. Some sisters have asked me how long their skirts should be. I replied, “What do you mean? How long is long, and how short is short? You must go to Christ and ask Him this question. If you can gain more of Christ by wearing a long skirt, then wear a long one. If a short skirt will enable you to gain more of Christ, then wear a short one. But if wearing a short skirt will not help you to gain more of Christ, then do not wear a short skirt. The length of your skirt must not be according to my opinion; it must be according to Christ.” Have you ever heard this kind of answer before? It is the answer according to Christ. It is not a matter of long hair or short hair, of long skirts or short skirts. It is absolutely a matter of Christ. We do not need to talk about hair or skirts. We need only to talk about Christ. Day by day we should speak of Christ for the church. This is the kernel of the Bible.
Christianity has caused people to deviate from this central line of Christ and the church to matters such as foot-washing, head covering, and all kinds of divisive doctrines. In today’s Christianity there is very little talk about Christ. Rather, most of the talk concerns other things. Thus, we need to come back to the oneness, to the Spirit, to Christ, and to the church. If we do this, we shall all speak the same thing, and that will be Christ and the church.
