Sunday, November 6, 2016

The Tower of Babel




In this study, we see that the Tower of Babel was built to bring heavenly beings to earth.  We also see that king Nimrod was the first incarnation of the "New World Order".



Scriptures:
  • Genesis 11:1-9
  • Genesis 9:1
  • Acts 17:26-27
  • Deuteronomy 32:7-9
  • Genesis 10:25-32
  • 1 Kings 11:33
  • 2 Kings 17:29-31
  • 1 Corinthians 10:19-20
  • 2 Samuel 7:11-12
  • Genesis 10:1-10
  • Isaiah 14:3-15
  • Revelations 17:3-5
  • Ephesians 1:18-23

Review Giants in the Bible

  • There are 3 types of demons:
    1. Fallen angels
    2. Nephilim
    3. Disembodied Nephilim spirits (spirits of dead Nephilim)
  • We saw that there were multiple words used to describe giants
  • The giants in the promised land were Anakim
  • Anakim were descendents of Rephaim who are giants and descendents of the Nephilim
  • Gibborim was another word used to described giants which was often translated “mighty men” or “mighty warrior”
  • Moses killed a giant named Og whose bed was 6x14 feet
  • Kherem is a type of warfare which was an offering to God where in battle you kill not only the fighting men, but women and children as well
  • Kherem was carried out by Moses, Joshua and David primarily for the purpose of eliminating the giants from the earth
  • Moses and Joshua led campaigns to kill all of the giants in the promised land
  • The only giants they left alive were in Philistia
  • Goliath was one of these remaining Philistine giants
  • David and his men killed all of the remaining giants
  • Finally, we looked at the parable of the weeds, and saw that the weeds that got intermingles with the children of God will be the new Nephilim of the end times

So where did the giants come from?
  • They were wiped out in the flood
  • They were back again when the Israelites got to the Promised Land

Now we’ll look at the story in between...

Constructing The Tower

Why is there sin in the world?  Why is it in the state that it's in?

Most Christians believe that sin in this world was caused by the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Ancient Jews’ believed that there were 3 reasons for evil in this world
  1. Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3)
  2. Sons of God mating with the daughters of man (Gen 6)
  3. Tower of Babel (Gen 11)


Genesis 11:1-9
1Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2As people moved eastward,a they found a plain in Shinar [Babylonia] and settled there.
3They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar [bitumen] for mortar. 4Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9That is why it was called Babelc —because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
  • All of the people of the earth were gathered together, and speaking one language
  • There were afraid of being scattered over the face of the earth
  • They decided to build a tower to:
    • Reach the heavens
    • Make a name for themselves
  • They used special bricks and tar/asphalt to build the structure
  • God disapproved of their efforts so he confused their language and scattered them all over the earth

It doesn't say that God destroyed the tower.

What did they stop building?
  • “The city”
  • They were building more than just a tower
  • This is the first mention of cities

We're talking about
  • Government
  • A man who wants to build a wall

God Wanted Multiple Nations

Genesis 9:1
1Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth.
  • God told them to fill the earth
  • They instead congregated in one area


Acts 17:26-27
26From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
  • Having multiple nations geographically separated draws people to God

Deuteronomy 32:7-9
7Remember the days of old;
consider the generations long past.
Ask your father and he will tell you,
your elders, and they will explain to you.
8When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided all mankind,
he set up boundaries for the peoples
according to the number of the sons of Israel.b
9For the Lord’s portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted inheritance.
  • God divided up the land and took Israel as His portion

Each Nation Had Their Own Language

Genesis 10:25-32
25Two sons were born to Eber:
One was named Peleg [division], because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.
  • Eber was the father of the Hebrew nation
  • Most scholars agree that this means that the languages and nations were divided in Peleg’s lifetime
  • Some prefer the literal interpretation that God divided the single land mass which was earth into the 7 continents
...
31These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages[lashon], in their territories and nations.
32These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.
  • In this genealogy it goes out of the way to make a point that each nation had their own language
  • Chapter 11 doesn’t occur after chapter 10, but rather within it

Why Did They Build The Tower?

Different Views:
  1. To literally  try to build a super tall structure that could reach to Heaven
  2. To try to “be God”
  3. To create a high place for safety in case God sent another flood
    1. Josephus’ view
  4. To build a structure that allowed them to communicate with Heavenly beings

Ziggurat

  • Most scholars and archeologists agree that they were likely building a ziggurat.  
  • There remains of ziggurats built in Babylon during this time period and possibly even remains of the actual Tower of Babel.

Wikipedia Description

“Ziggurats were massive structures built in the ancient Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau, having the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels.
...
The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods and each city had its own patron god. Only priests were permitted on the ziggurat or in the rooms at its base, and it was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs..”
…
An example of an extensive and massive ziggurat is the Marduk ziggurat, or Etemenanki, of ancient Babylon. Unfortunately, not much of even the base is left of this massive structure, yet archeological findings and historical accounts put this tower at seven multicolored tiers, topped with a temple of exquisite proportions
…
Etemenanki, the name for the structure, is Sumerian and means "temple of the foundation of heaven and earth".
  • The Ziggurats weren’t built for you to go up and visit the deity they were built for the deity to come down and inhabit it
  • The goal was to obtain some favor from the deity
    • To worship it and appease it with the hopes of obtaining some favor
  • Remember that all of the pagan nations were descendants of Noah
  • The Babylonians were building a  sacred places for other deities to reside
  • Archeologists and historians attest to the fact that the Babylonians built temples to many gods and also to their kings


A Gateway

We have previously used the term gateway to describe an object that is used to connect Heaven and earth.

Jacob’s Ladder


We saw this in the story of Jacob’s Ladder where Jacob saw angels ascending and descending on a ladder.  The base of the ladder was on the ground and the top was in Heaven.  
  • This ladder was a gateway between Heaven and earth.
  • Jesus told Nathanael that he would see angels ascending and descending upon the son of man - Himself
  • Jesus is now our gateway to reaching Heaven

So the ziggurat was meant to be a way to connect Heaven and earth

Each Nation Had Their God

The nations worshiped other gods

1 Kings 11:33
33 because they have forsaken Me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and observing My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did.
  • Each nation had their own “god”
  • They worshipped their local god, but could worship other nation’s gods as well

2 Kings 17:29-31
29Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places. 30The people from Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth, those from Kuthah made Nergal, and those from Hamath made Ashima; 31the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelek and Anammelek, the gods of Sepharvaim.

Were these gods real?

1 Corinthians 10:19-20
19Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.
  • These gods were demons

Making a Name

Jacob used his encounter to make a name for God (Bethel = house of God), but the Babylonians wanted to make a name for themselves.

2 Samuel 7:11-12
The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.
It was a sacred place for God's name to be exalted.  But they were building a place to exalt their name. They're trying to regain access to God that was lost in the garden.
  • God allowed the Israelites to build a sacred place because it was for Him
    • It was for His name
  • Only the high priest is allowed to same God’s name in the temple


The ziggurats each housed a specific god meaning they were summoning other gods, or evil spirits to come.  
  • Each ziggurat was built to worship and house a specific demon
  • Given that some structures were made to exalt the kings the kings could have been Nephilim
  • This could be how they became Nephilim

The Babylonian king was trying to declare/make himself a god.

The Ziggurats served to:
  1. Bring the gods/demons down to earth
  2. Exalt the king as a god

Nimrod

Who was the king who constructed the tower?

Genesis 10:1-10
1This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.
…
6The sons of Ham:
Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.
7The sons of Cush:
Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka.
The sons of Raamah:
Sheba and Dedan.
8Cush was the fatherc of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior  [gib·bōr ] on the earth. 9He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, ind Shinar.e 11From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir,f Calah 12and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.
  • Nimrod built the Tower of Babel
  • Shinar is near modern day Baghdad
  • Nimrod is the first king mentioned in the bible
  • Nimrod is said to have united world and led the first rebellion against God
  • Jewish and Islamic traditions speak of a battle between Nimrod and Abraham
  • He wanted to make a name for himself instead of for God

This was the first implementation of the world being under a single rule.

Nimrod is a historical figure of whom we actually have archeological proof of his existence

Was Nimrod a Giant?

Nimrod is described as a mighty hunter [gibbor] which is similar language to what we see in Genesis 6 describing the Nephilim
  • Gibbor is from the same root as gibborim which we saw in the last lesson means giant
    • This implies that Nimrod could have been a Nephilim
  • All of the Nephilim were descendants of Ham’s 3 sons: Cush, Mizraim and Canaan
  • Nimrod was a descendant of Cush
  • Some say Nimrod became a Nephilim
    • Potentially as a result of interaction with a fallen angel by means of the ziggurat
  • Some say that the fallen angel that fathered Nimrod was Satan himself
    • God will put enmity between Satan’s seed and the woman’s seed

If Nimrod was indeed a Nephilim upon death his spirit side would have remained alive
  • Which would mean he is either roaming the earth or bound in the pit

Origins of Abomination

There are many historical and mythical stories about Nimrod and his wife.

Nimrod is accredited to being the first ruler of a united world who led the first rebellion against God

Jewish and Islamic traditions speak of various battles between Nimrod and Abraham

Nimrod is said to have married his mother Samirieas/Semiramis who is also known as Ishtar the goddess of love.

They were known by different names in different nations :
  • Molech/Baal* and Ashtoreth/Astarte (Canaan/Phoenician)
  • Marduk and Sarpanit (Babylonian)
  • Isis and Osiris (Egyptian)
  • Venus and Mars/Cupid [w/ arrow = hunter]
  • Aphrodite and Adonis (Greece)

*The name Baal was a title ascribed to many Phoenician/Canaanite gods.

Nimrod is also known as Orion [the hunter].

They had a child named Horus or Gilgamesh.   Legend says that Noah’s son Shem killed Nimrod in order to stop his wickedness.  Nimrod’s wife claimed that Horus was Nimrod reincarnated.  Thus they were worshiped as mother and reincarnated son.

His symbols was the snake/dragon/serpent

He is accredited as being the originator of the occult.  
  • Most occult/pagan religions have in common the worship of a mother figure.

Nimrod was credited as creating within the world: one government, one economy, one religion and one language.   His rule was the first incarnation of the  “New World Order” that people talk about coming in the end times



We discussed previously, that pyramids were gateways between heaven and earth.  If you look at the back of an American dollar bill you’ll notice an eye above a pyramid.  That eye is referred to as  “the all seeing eye” and also “the eye of Horus” - Horus is the reincarnated Nimrod.  The inscription underneath the pyramid is Novus ordo seclorum which means “a new order of the ages” or “new world order”.

Prophecies About the King of Babylon

Ancient Prophecy


Isaiah 14:3-15
3On the day the Lord gives you [Israel] relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, 4you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
How the oppressor has come to an end!
How his furya has ended!
...
9The realm of the dead [Sheol] below is all astir
to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—
all those who were leaders in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
all those who were kings over the nations.
  • Sheol is where the fallen angels were bound and sent
12How you have fallen from heaven,
morning star [Lucifer], son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
13You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.b
14I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
15But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,
to the depths of the pit.
  • This has clear references to Nimrod
  • This could be either referring to Nimrod or a fallen angel who empowered/fathered Nimrod

End Time Prophecy

Revelations 17:3-5
3Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5The name written on her forehead was a mystery:
babylon the great
the mother of prostitutes
and of the abominations of the earth.
  • The Babylonian originated religion will have a place in the end times
  • Perhaps Nimrod too...

Jesus Is Over All

Not to fear though because we know the true ending of the story.

Ephesians 1:18-23
18I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
  • The Babylonians were invoking the names/authority of demons
  • Jesus’ name is the highest name of all

Conclusion

God created the Garden of Eden to interact with mankind.  Once man was cast out from the garden, the communion between God and man was broken.  

Instead of pursuing God, the Babylonians chose to build a tower with the goal of seeking relationships with God’s created beings.  They did this with the hope of making a name for themselves.   As a result of this, God came down and divided humankind into separate nations and gave them diverse language.

God attempted to restore His relationship with man by choosing Abraham and the Jewish people to be a people unto Himself.   Over time the Israelites sought after the idols and demons of Babylon.

God had another plan.  God sent His son, Jesus, to reverse all of the sins and curses that humans had brought upon themselves.  In this way he was able to restore the communion between God and man.   After Jesus’ death, He sent The Holy Spirit to dwell within us.

The Holy Spirit announced His arrival on Pentecost day.  At the Pentecost, the apostles spoke in a tongue that everyone could understand no matter what language they spoke.  Thus the Pentecost account reversed of the segregation of languages caused by the  Tower of Babel and restored a universal language.  

When the Babylonians all spoke the same language, God said:

 ““If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.”

Jesus has said about us:
  • “Everything is possible for one who believes." - Mark 9:23
  • “whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these” - John 14:12
  • “ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” - John 14:14

The Tower of Babel was built because the people wanted to make a name for themselves.  If we are acting in the name of Jesus and within the will of God we can achieve what the builders of the tower could only have dreamed of.

Summary
  • The Tower of Babel was built to:
    1. Reach the Heavens
    2. Make a name for themselves
  • There are still remains of towers called ziggurats that were built in the time of ancient Babylon
  • The ziggurats were built to bring “gods” down to earth with the hope of obtaining some type of favor from the “god”
  • Therefore to reach Heaven meant to get in contact or communication with Heaven
    1. Similar to reaching someone on the phone
  • It was a gateway to Heaven
    1. A method of communicating with or bringing down spirit beings
    2. Angels
    3. Demons
  • God did not approve of the tower
  • To stop the Tower from being built God made the people different speak different languages
  • The different families all worshiped their own gods
  • Paul tells us that these so called gods are actually demons
  • Nimrod was the king who ordered the construction of the Tower of Babel
  • Nimrod was the emperor of the whole world at that time
  • Nimrod was potentially a Nephilim
    1. hybrid of half human half angel created when the angels fell
  • Nimrod married his mother Samirieas/Semiramis who reigned as queen
  • Nimrod and Semiramis were both worshiped as gods and went by many names in many cultures

Presenter: Michael Leadon

References

Only One Language before Babel?

Tower of Babel

Genesis 11 - The Tower of Babel and Tongues

Horus (Nimrod) The Sun god

JewishEncyclopedia.com
BibleTools.org
http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/388/Nimrod.htm

Extra Verses

Elohim/Angels Were Assigned to Each Nation


Deuteronomy 32:8-9
8When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided all mankind,
he set up boundaries for the peoples
according to the number of the sons of Israel [sons of Elohim].
Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) sons of God [Elohim]
9For the Lord’s portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted inheritance.
  • Did Israel have sons yet?
    • No
  • The Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls say “sons of Elohim”


God divided the nations up after the Tower of Babel.  When God made people to speak different languages, he assigned the various elohim to be over specific nations.    

  • Similar to when God gave Israel a king, so they would see that they were better off under God’s rule

Josephus

The historian Josephus makes the following claims in his book: Flavius Josephus of the Antiquities of the Jews — Book I
  • God wanted the people to spread out throughout the earth so that they could cultivate the whole earth
  • The people were afraid to leave the mountain tops because of another flood
  • They built the tower so that they could escape any future floods
  • The people became very prosperous
  • Nimrod claimed that they were prosperous because of him and not God
  • He used tyrannical rulership to turn the people from God

Stones

There was also a special stone involved Jacob’s ladder.  Jacob’s head was upon a stone.  

Genesis 28:18-19 says
18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put [n]under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top.19 He called the name of that place [o]Bethel; however, [p]previously the name of the city had been Luz.

I think the material makeup of the stones had some significance in producing the gateway in both instances.
  • Notice how the text goes into detail about how they built the bricks
  • The stone masonry techniques used in building the tower is what produced the gateway

Nimrod

Jeremiah 50:2
2“Announce and proclaim among the nations,
lift up a banner and proclaim it;
keep nothing back, but say,
‘Babylon will be captured;
Bel will be put to shame,
Marduk filled with terror.
Her images will be put to shame
and her idols filled with terror.’

Nimrod Was the First False Messiah

The people worshipped the Nimrod’s mother and his son Horus who was thought to be the reincarnated Nimrod.   So they worshiped the mother and the son who was risen from the dead.
This was a the first false Messiah.
The story of Jesus was known from the beginning of time.  So many kings in many cultures claimed to have been Him.

Luke 1:68-70
68“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69He has raised up a hornc of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),


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