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Among the first group of historical figures in the Old Testament—as recorded in Genesis, the book in which the seeds of the divine truths are sown—on the negative side, besides the godless culture invented by Cain and his descendants, there are Nimrod and the tower of Babel.
Nimrod was a descendant of Ham, the cursed one among the three sons of Noah (Gen. 10:6-8). According to Nimrod’s genealogy, he was not a descendant of Cain, yet according to the way that he took, he did not follow his forefather Noah to take the way of God’s redemption and life; rather, he followed those who were in the genealogy of Cain to take the way of godlessness and death, a way in which everything is out of death, lies in death, and is unto death, and in which everything is without God and has nothing to do with God.
Ham, a son of Noah, received the curse by exposing his father’s shame and thereby rebelling against the God-established authority. God is a God of order and government. In His creation, everything is in good order, and this order is related to His government. Noah was God’s deputy authority on the earth at that time. By exposing the nakedness of his father, Noah, Ham violated God’s government. Hence, he and his descendants were cursed.
Since Nimrod was a descendant of Ham, who was cursed, and since he took Cain’s way of godlessness and death, according to his genealogy, Nimrod was cursed, and according to the godless way that he took, he deserved death and God’s destruction.
Nimrod was the first king and the first one to build a kingdom. He was on the way of death and was under the curse, yet he became a mighty one on the earth (Gen. 10:8). He was utilized by Satan, took the lead to abuse the authority given to man by God, set himself up as king, ruled over others, and built a kingdom. He built a kingdom beginning at Babel in the land of Shinar (Gen. 10:10), and he also built the city of Nineveh in the land of Asshur (Gen. 10:11-12). In giving man authority to rule over others, God did not intend for man to form nations; His intention was to maintain peace among men. However, Nimrod misused this authority, using it to raise up a kingdom on the earth.
Nimrod’s building of a kingdom resulted in division among Noah’s descendants. After the flood, God had only one deputy authority on the earth, and that was Noah, who represented God, the true Head. At that time, there was only one family, and there was only one head. They were absolutely one. However, after Nimrod took the lead to build a kingdom and to rule as king over others, the descendants of Noah were divided into many nations (Gen. 10:32) according to their generations, having many kings ruling and controlling them. The result was division.
History tells us that at Babel, Nimrod brought in many idolatrous things. In that idolatrous worship he invented a most evil emblem, the Madonna with her child. According to the book The Two Babylons, the Madonna was the mother of Nimrod and was also his wife. This emblem, invented in the Babylonian worship, spread throughout the earth—to Egypt, India, Greece, Rome, Tibet, China, and Japan. It has even pervaded Roman Catholicism. The emblem of a mother embracing her child is found in Catholic cathedrals and in Buddhist idol temples. It has been utilized by Satan to deceive fallen people and rob them of their worship to God.
Among the first group of historical figures, Nimrod was indeed a negative model, indicating that all those after him who took the godless way and were independent of God were like him—they were born under the curse, walked in death, were utilized by Satan, God’s enemy, became mighty ones, formed nations, and brought in idolatry. Some formed political nations and brought in secular idols, such as images of birds, beasts, and human beings. Others formed religious nations and brought in the so-called sacred idols, such as images of the Holy Mother, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and Saint Francis.
Babel, which was in the land of Shinar in Chaldea (Gen. 10:10; 11:2), was the birthplace of idolatry on earth (Josh. 24:2). The city of Babel was the dwelling place and protection of the idolatrous people, and the tower of Babel was for the purpose of making a name for the people and for declaring their rebellion and opposition against God (Gen. 11:4-5, 9). As a result, they were judged by God—their language was confounded, and they were scattered throughout the earth (Gen. 11:7-9).
The kingdom that Nimrod built, beginning at Babel, was enlarged into the Babylon in the Old Testament at the time of King Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar mobilized his troops to invade Jerusalem. He brought the nation of Judah to ruin, destroyed the city and temple of God, and even seized the holy vessels, the vessels for the service of God in the temple, and placed them in the temple of the idols in Babylon (Dan. 1:1-2; 2 Kings 25:8-9, 14-15). That was an insult to God. Hence, the prophets predicted that Babylon would suffer God’s vengeance and that her broad walls would be utterly broken (Jer. 51:58), as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. She would never be inhabited, nor would she be dwelt in from generation to generation; only evil things, such as wild beasts, ostriches, wild goats, wolves, and jackals, would be there (Isa. 13:19-22; Jer. 50:39-40). Babylon became such an evil and devilish place not only because of her idolatry and rebellion against God, but also because she destroyed God’s city and temple and carried away into captivity God’s people and the holy vessels.
The Bible reveals three aspects of Babylon: the literal, ancient Babylon, the material Babylon the Great, and the religious Babylon the Great. All three developed out of Babel. The material Babylon refers to the city of Rome; the religious Babylon refers to the Roman Catholic Church, which has copied many practices of Judaism and has assimilated many elements of paganism. In Revelation 17 and 18 the material Babylon is mixed with the religious Babylon. On the one hand, the female in chapter seventeen is a prostitute (17:1), signifying the apostate Roman Catholic Church; on the other hand, she is a woman (17:18), signifying the physical city of Rome. In 18:3 both of these aspects are mentioned. This verse says, “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the power of her luxury.” The nations have drunk of the wine...and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her refers to the religious aspect, whereas the merchants of the earth have become rich by the power of her luxury refers to the material aspect.
Therefore, in the New Testament the material Babylon, which came out of Babel, is mixed with the religious Babylon and is filled with religious confusion and idolatry. Revelation 17:4a says, “The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet.” Purple is a blend of blue and red; it signifies the blending of heavenly things with earthly. This is the appearance of the Roman Catholic Church. Moreover, the woman is “gilded with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the unclean things of her fornication” (Rev. 17:4b). Gold, precious stone, and pearls are the materials with which the New Jerusalem is built. But the woman is only gilded with these treasures as an ornament for outward display and a false appearance as a deception to attract people. She does have something of God in appearance. But within, her golden cup is full of abominations and the unclean things of her fornication, full of idolatry, pagan practices, and the filthiness of heresies and sins.
The Roman Catholic Church is full of idols. People can pray to any idol they choose. Some of the idols were brought in from paganism. For example, the Mary whom they worship is actually the embodiment of the goddess Venus in Greek mythology. The book The Two Babylons points out that the evil emblem that Nimrod invented was brought into the Catholic Church and appears as a picture of Mary and Jesus, and that the celebration of the birthday of the sun was brought in and became Christmas. In his book The Great Prophecies, G. H. Pember points out that even Buddha became a saint in the Roman Catholic Church under the name of Saint Josaphat. Hence, the Roman Catholic Church has become the mother of the religious prostitutes and the abominations (idols) of the earth.
At the end of this age, when the great tribulation begins, Antichrist will persecute the religious Babylon, the Roman Catholic Church, and “shall make her desolate and naked,” that is, shall destroy her, rob her other riches, and expose her; they “shall eat her flesh,” that is, shall kill her members; and they “shall burn her utterly with fire,” that is, shall annihilate her altogether (Rev. 17:16). This is the judgment of God on the religious Babylon. Furthermore, at His coming Christ will destroy the material Babylon, the city of Rome, with “great authority” (Rev. 18:1), making her “a dwelling place of demons and a hold of every unclean spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird” (Rev. 18:2). She will be condemned and cursed just as ancient Babylon was and will no longer be a fit dwelling place for human beings. Therefore, everyone who has been saved by grace must “come out of her” that he may not “participate in her sins” or “receive of her plagues” (Rev. 18:4).
Hence, the city of Babel is a negative type, signifying that all man-made organizations among the human race, whether secular or religious, are for making a name for man himself and for opposing God, and that they are full of fornication and idolatry. As a result, they will be judged by God—they will be confounded and scattered.
Nimrod was a descendant of Ham, who was cursed, and he also took Cain’s way of godlessness and death. Hence, according to his genealogy, he was cursed, and according to the godless way that he took, he deserved death and God’s destruction. He became a mighty one on the earth, one who was utilized by Satan, took the lead to abuse the authority given to man by God, set himself up as a king, ruled over others, and built a kingdom, bringing in division among Noah’s descendants. At Babel he brought in many idolatrous things and invented a most evil emblem, the Madonna with her child, which has been utilized by Satan to deceive fallen people and rob them of their worship to God. He was indeed a negative type, indicating that all those after him who took the godless way and were independent of God were like him— they were born under the curse, walked in death, became mighty ones, formed nations, and brought in idolatry.
Babel was the birthplace of idolatry on earth. The city of Babel was the dwelling place and protection of the idolatrous people, and the tower of Babel was for the purpose of making themselves a name. As a result, they were judged by God— their language was confounded and they were scattered throughout the earth. Later, Babel developed into Babylon, which destroyed God’s city and temple and was cursed by God, becoming an evil and devilish place. In the New Testament, the material Babylon, which came out of Babel, is mixed with the religious Babylon. At the end of this age, Antichrist will persecute the religious Babylon, the Roman Catholic Church, annihilating her altogether. At His coming, Christ will destroy the material Babylon, the city of Rome. Hence, Babel signifies that all man-made organizations among the human race, whether secular or religious, are for making a name for man himself and for opposing God, and that they are full of fornication and idolatry. Because of this, they will be judged by God—they will be confounded and scattered.
