Tower of Babel and the "Religious Languages"

Four generations or around 100 to 150 years after the Great Deluge, people spoke only one language. Very roughly, the population of the world was around 15,000 to 30,000 people. These came from the three sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The three bore 7, 4, and 7 sons, respectively, with unrecorded number of daughters.

These early people settled in a plain land in Shinar, popularly known as Babylon. It was on this land that the people built the Tower of Babel in trying to reach God in heaven:

GENESIS 11:1-9 "And the whole earth was of one language, and of 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. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel..."

This is a familiar story that old folks use to tell children. This is also played on stage, put in films and tapes, and considered an epic. That is Bible history or a story to many people. God, however, says that His words are in parables (Ezekiel 20:49) that convey great spiritual message. Examples:

EZEKIEL 19:2-3 "And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions. And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men."

JOHN 2:19-21 "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?"

REVELATION 10:9-10 "And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey."

Let us remember that God gave us His words for a spiritual food. Just as the body in our physical life needs literal food, our soul in our spiritual life needs spiritual food:

JEREMIAH 15:16 "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts."

PSALMS 119:103 "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

Satan, tempting our Lord in the desert, tried to use the Word of God. He was, however, rebuked for thinking only of literal-physical things. There are two ways of looking at the word of God: SPIRITUAL and LITERAL-PHYSICAL. It is God Who can give the great spiritual message of His words -- not any man.

Tower to heaven

The people in the story planned and labored building the tower to reach heaven. It was with human intelligence and capability that they tried to get to the "place" of God. Let us ask God if those people were doing the right thing: "LORD, COULD MAN POSSIBLY ‘REACH’ YOU WITH HIS OWN WAYS?"

ISAIAH 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

In the story, with "man’s thoughts and ways," the people tried to reach heaven literally-physically. That is a glaring error in the eyes of everybody. This is an initial sign for the erroneous perception of man on things pertaining to God. Is it not foolishness to try "to reach God" literally-physically? Even in the eyes of men it is.

GENESIS 11:4 "And they said...let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven...

Not only that, it is equally foolish in the eyes of men the "spiritual things" that pertain to God and His words.

1 CORINTHIANS 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

That is the chasm that separates man from God. In those two views shall we take up the story of the building of the Tower of Babel.

The spiritual tower

In the story, if the Natural Man sees the structure as a physical skyscraper, God actually refers to a spiritual tower. We, therefore, ask God what it is: "LORD, SINCE THE INTENTION OF THE PEOPLE WAS TO REACH YOU, WHAT IS A SPIRITUAL TOWER THAT WOULD MAKE THEM REALIZE THEIR PLAN?" God answers by saying that the STRONG TOWER is His NAME:

PROVERBS 18:10 "The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe."

As if God is saying, "You should know that it is through My NAME that man can be saved. I revealed this to My Disciples:"

ACTS 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

We ask God: "LORD, WHAT IS THIS NAME THAT YOU ARE REFERRING TO?"

PHILIPPIANS 2:10-11 "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord..."

Truly so, it is through JESUS CHRIST that man is saved:

MATTHEW 1:21 "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." LUKE 2:11 "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

The TOWER to reach heaven therefore is through JESUS CHRIST, for He is the SPIRITUAL TOWER:

PSALMS 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."

God answered our question by saying, He is the spiritual "high tower." His NAME is the "strong tower." He, however, warns us that many will come in His NAME and shall deceive many:

MATTHEW 24:24-25 "For there shall arise...false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." MATTHEW 24:5 "For many shall come in my name...and shall deceive many." MATTHEW 24:25 "Behold, I have told you before."

We ask God: "LORD, HOW DO WE KNOW THE ‘UNAUTHORIZED ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS’ OF THE TOWER?" As if God is saying, "How many people in your time profess to be My servants who do not even agree as to Who I am? There are some who say I, the Son, is only a man and never a God. Others say I am only a little or minor God. Many say I am only one of the three persons of God, plus many more variations in My identification. Am I really that mysterious to My Chosen Few?"

MATTHEW 16:15 "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?"

MATTHEW 16:16 "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

JOHN 11:27 "She (Martha) saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world."

"These people who profess to be My servants say the same thing that ‘I am the Christ and the Son of the living God,’ yet they cannot agree among themselves as to Who I Am. To them, I am a great mystery, incapable of clear recognition. Is that what is written in My sacred book? From the beginning, I have been introducing Myself to My chosen people. Have I been a great mystery to My disciples? This is one clue for you to watch."

"Another clue for detecting the ‘unauthorized architects and engineers’ is the kind of materials used and the ‘way’ they build the SPIRITUAL TOWER. Remember, the spiritual tower is My NAME, and My spiritual name is:

REVELATION 19:13 "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God."

"How much do you know about My name and My words? Do you understand the great message of My words?"

Bricks instead of stones

Bricks are made by men. Man’s thoughts and ways are used in making bricks. In the building of the Tower of Babel, bricks were used to the consternation of God. Spiritual bricks are the means of men in "building the way to reach" God. Has man succeeded in clearly recognizing God? Has he succeeded in fully comprehending the great message of the Word of God? Different theories, methodology, and ways have been devised by men in understanding and interpreting the Word of God. Man ended up wandering and wondering Who the "One God and one Lord" of the Bible is.

That is the reason why we hear people say, "The Bible is laden with mysteries. The Word of God is full of contradictions." This is in spite of the long years and great efforts spent by theologians and Bible scholars, so-called men of God. These are some contradictions in the Bible that people cannot reconcile:

1. The Bible is very explicit about unclean food in the Old Testament.

LEVITICUS 11:26 "The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you..."

Jesus Christ said:

MATTHEW 5:17 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

Why did Jesus say that there is no more unclean food that enters the mouth?

MATTHEW 15:11 "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."

2. There is an Old Testament law that states:

LEVITICUS 24:20 "Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again."

Why did Jesus preach the following, as if nullifying the law, when He said He did not come to destroy the law?

MATTHEW 5:44 "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"

If the people today, with the use of human wisdom and ways, ended up having difficulty understanding the Word of God, and are kept in the dark as to the identity of the one God in the Old and New Testament; cannot God see them also using spiritual bricks as their forefathers in Babylon?

The people "burned bricks thoroughly:"

GENESIS 11:3 "And they said one to another...let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar."

With fire, the people heated the bricks. One reference for fire is the Holy Spirit. It is not uncommon to hear people, say, "I feel the Holy Spirit in me." Unwittingly, their zeal is only the fruit of EMOTION coming from the heart. The heart is the most deceitful of all things.

JEREMIAH 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

This is the counterfeit Holy Spirit. Can the Holy Spirit be in man when he does something contrary to what God wants? God preferred STONES to bricks. Stones are natural materials that God created without any human intervention. So also, God wants us to use ‘natural’ or God-given ways in the building of the spiritual TOWER "to reach" Him.

Slime instead of mortar

GENESIS 11:3 "And they said one to another...let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar."

Mortar is a mixture of lime, a white substance obtained by the action of heat on limestone. Together with other material containing calcium carbonate and water, this is the natural substance used in joining stones. Slime is sticky substance such as animal dung, muck, and other waste materials used as substitute for mortar.

Let us ask God: "LORD, WERE THE PEOPLE RIGHT IN USING SLIME INSTEAD OF MORTAR?" As if God is saying, "Remember, the spiritual Tower is the means to reach Me and My words. Like spiritual bricks, spiritual slime in "building" it is an abomination in My sight. I hate anything filthy. If the people building the Tower of Babel failed, do you think people today succeed in ‘reaching Me?’ In their perception, they do reach Me. That is what I saw in the religious people during My physical sojourn on earth. The Jews thought they knew the God of their father Abraham. I told them that is not so:"

JOHN 8:54-55 "Jesus answered...my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God..Yet ye have not known him..."

"Do people in your time under their religious leaders, the "architects of the modern Tower of Babel," really recognize Me? Am I not a great mystery to them. Justifying this, do they not give different plausible excuses for their spiritual blindnes, by saying: ‘Our finite mind is incapable to comprehend the full identity of God.’ Then they support this with My words:"

ISAIAH 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

"Is this the truth? Did I not promise those who come to Me with their whole heart to be given a heart to know Me? (Jeremiah 24:7) Did I not make true this promise in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 31:34) and also in the New Testament (Hebrew 8:11)? No wonder the people in the plain of Shinar did not reach heaven. People today are deceived into believing that they can "reach Me" with their human precepts through human wisdom. They do not even recognize Me Who I am."

"The Jews during My earthly sojourn used human reasoning, just as the people at the plain of Shinar used slime -- thing that I abhor:

COLOSSIANS 2:8 "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." 1 CORINTHIANS 1:19-21 "...I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent...where is the scribe?...the world by wisdom knew not God..."

The Jews under their religious leaders were not aware that they were applying THEOLOGY in their quest for things about God. Theology is a term compounded of two Greek words, Theos (God) and logos (rational utterance), and it might be taken to mean something like "rational utterance, or discourse about God."

Spiritual slime is THEOLOGY that man invented in building the spiritual Tower trying to reach heaven. The Teachers of the Law who were looked up as Godly messengers were not aware of the condemned orthodox religious beliefs and practices. They ended up not even recognizing God:

JOHN 8:19 "Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also."

Are not religious people today equally ignorant of the Father and the Son? Are they not mysterious to them as to how the Father and the Son are One? Theology tells that the Father and the Son are one in love, in purpose, in power, in omniscience, in omnipotence, plus many more products of the mind. But many people are still in the dark as to Who the God of the Old Testament and New Testament is! What is His name? Is not the "One Lord and one God" a great mystery to them? The statement of the Lord Jesus Christ is considered the "strong and high Tower" so as to "reach Him?"

JOHN 10:30 "I and my Father are one."

JOHN 14:9 "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?"

COLOSSIANS 1:15 "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:"

1 CORINTHIANS 8:6 "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things...and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things..."

DEUTERONOMY 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:"

Israel represents the chosen people of God. It is quite clear that God does not direct His statement to the rest of the people. No wonder, only a few recognize Him!

Different LANGUAGES

Let us ask God whether this act of the people in the plain of Shinar or Babylon was pleasing to Him:

GENESIS 11:5-7 "And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; ...let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."

(Note: The "plurality of God" with the use of the pronoun "we" in the phrase let us, is discussed in another topic: The God of the Old and New Testament.)

If we will notice, it was in the building of the TOWER that caused God to confound the language of men. Taking the Bible literally, this simply refers to the different languages and dialects that people of the world speak today: English, Chinese, German, French, Russian, Arabic, Hindu, Arabic, etc. This is, however, social in character. People forget that the subject is RELIGIOUS in nature, and God is speaking "spiritual thing." (1 Corinthians 2:14)

Let us now ask God the result of what He did in confounding the language of men. "LORD, IN WHAT WAY DID YOU CONFOUND THE LANGUAGE OF MEN?"

LUKE 12:51 "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:"

Did Jesus refer to political, economic, and social differences among the people? Again, Jesus Christ was speaking spiritual things. We can see instant result in what He said. Among the Jews, there was division regarding Him. They "spoke different languages" pertaining to Jesus; that is why they did not understand each other.

JOHN 7:43 "So there was a division among the people because of him."

JOHN 9:16 "Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them."

ACTS 23: 8 "For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both."

Literally, those people spoke the same Hebrew language. Spiritually, however, they could not understand each other when the subject is about Jesus Christ and eternal life. The sects of the Pharisees and Sadducees were never one in "language" on the subject of eternal life. Did these people recognize Jesus Christ? Did they understand what He was saying? Were they one in understanding the Laws of God given to them? Did these people succeed in "reaching heaven?"

2 CORINTHIANS 4:3 "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:"

The gospel is in their hands, but they were lost because they could not understand it. Jesus Christ called them, "blind guides:"

LUKE 6:39 "And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?"

Compare these people with those who humbled themselves like little children (Matthew 18:3) and became the disciples of Christ. Was there division among them regarding the Messiah (Acts 2:1)? Was Jesus and the Father a great mystery to them (Hebrew 8:11)? Were they oblivious of the great parables of Christ (Mark 4:34)?

Confounding of languages today

Since God was not talking of political, economic, scientific or social matters, but rather of spiritual things; how is the confounding the languages of men fulfilled in our time? If we are to make a survey around the world regarding the thoughts and aspiration of people regarding God and eternal life, can we find them different from the people of Shinar or Babylon? Are they not also "building their own tower of Babel?"

Are not people today also trying to reach God, using spiritual bricks and slime, instead of spiritual stones and mortar? Are the religions of the world and hundreds of denominations within each religion, not having the concept of the spiritual Tower of Babel in our time? Who can deny this fact of life among people, rich and poor, young and old, intelligent and the dumb? This is the "life" we find in the words of God in the Holy Bible. God, indeed, is alive through His words! This is how sharp the word of God is:

HEBREW 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

What is the ultimate objective of all religions of the world? Is it not heaven, bliss, nirvana, Valhalla, kingdom come, paradise, celestial kingdom, Elysium, where the supreme Being, the Creator, the Almighty abides? Do people speak the same language? Can they understand each other on matters pertaining to God and eternal life?

Salvation and eternal life

Every religion has its concepts and distinct ways to eternal life. One is different from the rest. Even in CHRISTIANITY where the Holy Bible is used as basis for salvation, there is no "common language." Hundreds of Christian denominations have their individual language in understanding and interpreting the sacred book. Thus, no harmony but division is found in this popular religion. Confounding the language of the people of Shinar or Babylon in building the Tower of Babel, finds its equivalent in:

LUKE 12:51 "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:"

All Christian denominations preach salvation through Jesus Christ. This is based on the following:

ACTS 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

And this NAME refers to only one; no other else:

MATTHEW 1:21 "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." PHILIPPIANS 2:10 "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;"

Christian sects, however, have different perceptions of Jesus and God under the different doctrines: Arian doctrine, Jehovah doctrine, Sabellian or Oneness doctrine, Trinitarian doctrine, among others. The basis of their teachings about God and eternal life is the Holy Bible, yet no rapport is found among them. Their perceptions of the message of the Holy Bible is diverse.

Among the hundreds of doctrines of salvation being preached by the different denominations are the following:

1. Some sects preached membership in the denomination as the only way to salvation. Bible verses are cited in support of this doctrine.

2. A big and old religious sect preaches salvation through the so-called seven sacraments which she has formulated. These are administered by authorized persons of the sect. Again, Bible verses are given in support for each of the sacraments.

3. Many denominations preach "accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and savior" as the passport to eternal life. Bible verses are given in support.

4. A variation to the previous "way" to salvation is the "acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and savior." This, plus the ability to speak strange words and sentences, not studied before, they call "speaking in tongues" as the gateway to the kingdom of God. Again Bible verses are cited in support of the doctrine.

5. Still others advocate "belief in Jesus Christ" as the means to attain eternal life. Bible verses like the following are cited in support of these doctrine:

JOHN 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

ROMANS 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

6. Believing in the NAME of Jesus Christ as the way to salvation.

ROMANS 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

JOHN 3:18 "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

7. Believing in the Father who sent Jesus Christ, as the key to salvation:

JOHN 5:24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

8. The popular verse that has caught the imagination of hundreds of millions of people that is now being used as a permit to see the kingdom of God:

JOHN 3:3 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

9. Some sects advocate literal obedience to the Old Testament law on clean and unclean food, the literal Sabbath, and other rituals as the means of salvation.

10. Still others preach salvation by obedience to some or all of the Ten Commandments.

11. Many preach salvation by citing the two great commandments of "loving God" and "love of fellowmen with some charitable works."

12. Salvation is made easy by the loosely understood verse like the following:

ACTS 16:30-31 "...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

13. That the sins of mankind are washed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ:

1 JOHN 2:2 "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

14. Because God is love, all men will be saved.

1 JOHN 4:8 "... for God is love." LUKE 3:6 "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

15. Plus "1001" and more ways of salvation that people of the 20th and 21st centuries are bombarded with, by the many religious sects and denominations that make up the Christian religion today. These are the "different languages" that the builders of the Tower of Babel "speak" in our time.

Other religions of the world, aside from Christianity, and the hundreds of denominations within each religion, each "speaks a language different from the others." That is how we see "life in the Word" that God uttered many years ago:

GENESIS 11:7 "Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."  

One language

GENESIS 11:1-2 "And the whole earth was of one language, and of 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."

Before the people at Shinar thought of building the Tower of Babel, they spoke only one language. God did not interfere nor bother them in their "walk." It was in trying "to reach" Him that their language was confounded. It can be clearly inferred that this refers to the language of MORALITY of which all people "speak." Perhaps, there is no individual and group of people around the world who do not have a MORAL CODE. This is the norm that regulates the relationship among people.

This standard for the common good is the single or "one language" that people speak. People are rated on the basis of this standard. Thus, one may be righteous or unrighteous, good or bad, benevolent or stingy based on this common code of morality. God never disturbed the people, for this was good, as it is today, for their physical well-being. Without this, there would be chaos in their relationship.

It was when this "one language" was used to "reach God" that He confounded their language. To "reach" God is SPIRITUALITY. To "reach" fellow beings is MORALITY. Do not people make the two synonymous? How many people see the line separating the two? It is God alone, through His words, Who is the authority to draw the line separating SPIRITUALITY from MORALITY which is akin to RELIGIOSITY.

Babylon and Rome

Babylon is the Greek form of "BABEL." Literally-physically, it is the name of the city and country of which it was the capital. Hammurabi became ruler in the 18th century B.C., reaching its height of power under Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 B.C.); and conquered by Cyrus of Persia in 539 B.C.; famous for hanging gardens, temples, and palace. Although remaining as an inhabited site, Babylon declined still further in importance under the Parthians (125 B.C.).

Babylon is often mentioned in prophecies:

ISAIAH 14:22 "For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD."

Perhaps, it is in Babylon, the other name for Babel, where God saw the application of "man’s thoughts and ways in trying to reach Him" that made it the symbol for anything opposed to His will. God condemns human ways in spiritual matters:

1 CORINTHIANS 1:19-20 "...I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?"

This is the reference to Babylon in the New Testament:

REVELATION 14:8 "And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of herfornication."

REVELATION 15:5-6 "And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus:..."

It is to be noted that in the beginning God referred to Babylon as a CITY; later, alluding to a WOMAN. This CITY is identified as "sitting on seven mountains:"

REVELATION 17:18 "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth."

REVELATION 17:9 "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The... seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."

There is only one city in the world that is known to "sit on seven hills." This is Rome. The imperial city of the Roman empire, and one of the best-known cities of the world, was founded on the Tiber river in 753 B.C. It soon spread out until it covered seven hills, which were: Capitoline, Palatine, Aventine, Caelian, Esquiline, Viminal, and Quirinal.

Today, the Arch of Constantine is still visible that reminds us of the great event in 316 A.D. when Constantine I proclaimed CHRISTIANITY, actually the Roman Catholic Church, the official religion of the Roman Empire. His sincerity, however, in making Christianity as the official religion of the empire is put to a test when he embraced it only on his deathbed. Here is the relevant event in the life of Constantine as recorded in history ( Encyclopedia Americana, volume 7, page 555, 1967 edition.) :

"During one of Constantine’s campaign against his enemies, he saw a flaming cross in the heavens beneath the sun, bearing the Latin inscription in hoc signo vinces (in this [sign] thou wilt conquer) or, according to other sources, in Greek, en touto nika. Constantine’s conversion to Christianity apparently dates from this time, and he adopted a monogram consisting of a P (Greek rho) between the upper arms of a X (Greek chi), the initial letters of Christ in Greek, which was placed on the labarum.

In 325 A.D., Constantine became sole emperor of East and West. In the same year he summoned a council at Nicaea (now Iznik, Turkey) in an effort to bring the followers of Arius and Athanasius to agreement on a common creed. Arius and his followers believed that Jesus Christ is only a man, and never a God; while Athanasius advocated the Trinity Doctrine. Athanasius and his followers prevailed; and this doctrine was adopted by the Christian world ever since.

In 326 A.D., Constantine undertook to transfer the capital of the empire from Rome, which had steadily declined in importance, politically and economically, to a new city on the site of Byzantium on the Bosporus. On May 11, 330, the new capital, rebuilt, enlarged and renamed Constantinopolis for the emperor, was dedicated with half-Christian, half-pagan ceremonies.

In religious matters, since he himself was not baptized until he lay on his deathbed, Constantine was probably attracted to Christianity, whose advance had been so remarkable, as much by the political use he could make of it to restore unity to the empire, as by personal conviction.

Moreover, it is probable that he believed that all the monotheists in the empire could be brought eventually to worship a single God in which would be combined the Father-God of the Christians with the Sun-God of the followers of Mithras. The traditional Roman paganism, of which, as pontifex maximus, he remained head, continued to be tolerated."

Christendom, more specifically the Roman Catholic Church, the religion advocated by Constantine, since then had dominated the "civilized world." Her teachings and doctrines were basically founded on religious traditions formulated by the leaders, composing the so-called Magisterium. To spread her prominence and make it catholic or universal, diplomatic ties were established to different countries. Because the Holy Bible is only used as reference, rather than the sole authority on matters of faith, its use therefore, for centuries, was made exclusive to the leaders. Thus, in the Middle Ages, reading the Bible and rejecting the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church was considered a crime. The Inquisition was initiated primarily to punish the "heretics." Many people wish to forget this dark spot in the history of mankind after the birth of Jesus Christ.

How pertinent is the revelation of Jesus Christ to John the apostle as he was exiled in the island of Patmos, to actual events that transpired over several centuries of Christendom:

REVELATION 15:5-6 "And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration."

The following excerpts from history books may find relevance to the "prophecy." Babylon, a city sitting on seven mountains, now is used in a femine gender, undoubtedly referring to a Church or Sect.

The Inquisition

The Inquisition is one form of dispensing justice in ancient Roman Law and in the Papal Canon Law where the "great part was played by fama; that is, by report, not in the loose sense of "common rumor," but as the testimony of two or three knowledgeable and trustworthy witnesses. When such a fama reached the ears of judicial authorities, the man was infamatus (or difamatus) of the offenses in question. The judge then became his accuser; "You are difamatus of such and such an offense; therefore you must appear before me and clear yourself on oath, and if possible by the oath also of a specified number of competent witnesses."

Thus an inquiry (Inquisitio) is set up and the burden of proof is now laid upon the defendant. Some brief notes on the application of the Inquisition (Encyclopedia Americana, volume 15, page 147-147d, 1967 edition):

"Pope Innocent III, in 1199, formally condemned heresy as the most unpardonable of treasons, ‘since it is far more grievous to sin against the eternal than against an earthly majesty.’ It was upon this basis that St. Thomas Aquinas, bent his genius to build the theory which his faithful followers have held down to the present day. ‘If false coiners or other felons are justly committed to death without delay by worldly princes, much more may heretics, from the moment they are convicted, be not only excommunicated, but slain justly out of hand. " (Summa Theologica, 2" 2"", Quest, xi, art. Iii).

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"The Roman Church - Ecclesia Romana as it was commonly called in the Middle Ages - claimed then, and has never since renounced, the philosophical title of Societas Perfecta: in its own right, with powers of legislation over all its subjects and the sanction of punishment over the disobedient, even to the extreme penalty of death."

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"While before, the Christians were persecuted by the pagans, the tables were reversed, and Christianity was victorious under Constantine I. The state made itself responsible for government in the church. Heretical priests were punished. Paganism was condemned as superstitio and the pagan temples were disestablished and plundered."

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"St. Augustine, who at first had pleaded for tolerance of the Donatists, emphatically revoked this in the course of time, appealing to what seemed practical experience, since confiscation of property and other similar penalties are efficacious in calling men’s attention to the orthodox faith."

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"The hierarchy was puzzled, popes and councils had no clear-cut polity. It is not until, 1209 that we find a council definitely basing itself upon the plain claim of ‘Death for the Heretics’ as a maxim both of Canon Law and of State Law."

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"The Waldensians, or Vaudois, were a sort of Bible-Christians founded about 1180 by Peter Waldo, a rich merchant of Lyons, who gave his money to the poor and embarked upon a missionary career founded upon the translation and popular exposition of Scripture in the native tongue. The heretics were often described as obscure and unwarlike. They showed that astounding tenacity of memory which has often been observed in illiterate folk. More than one Inquisitor testifies to their enormous superiority in the knowledge of the Scriptures over the parish clergy. Sacconi writes in about 1250: ‘I have heard and seen a certain ignorant rustic who recited Job, word for word, and many who knew perfectly the whole New Testament.’ He contrasts this with the ‘negligence of Catholic teachers.’"

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"Bernard Gui (1300) warns Inquisitors that ‘it is not expedient to dispute concerning the Faith against such astute heretics in the presence of layfolk." St. Louis, in many ways a most noble character, warned his knights against disputing with an unbeliever; let him rather ‘thrust his sword into the man’s belly, as far as it will go.’"

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"In about 1230 , a certain weaver at Toulouse would say publicly: ‘Sirs, hear me! I am no heretic, for I have a wife, and lie with her and beget children, and I eat flesh and swear, am a faithful Christian."

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"The Catholics at one moment tore out their prisoners’ eyes and cut off their noses, claiming just right of reprisals. When the Catharist city of Libeziers was stormed (1209) by Simon de Montfort’s Crusaders, Innocent’s cardinal legate reported to the pope that ‘our men, sparing neither rank nor sex nor age, slew about 20,000 souls’ and pillage the whole city. The contemporary papal chronicle puts it more tersely: ‘almost all were slain.’ Innocent, without a word to hint that his Crusaders had had done more than their strict duty, wrote now to congratulate them on the remission of past sins and the accession of worldly wealth which they will have earned through their obedience to the vicar of Christ."

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"In Bernard Gui’s Register (between 1249 and 1258), among 200 suspects, there is not a single acquittal. In his whole lifetime he convicted 930, of whom 42 were burned. Of the rest, 307 were condemned to prison; and all 930 were liable to total confiscation of their goods."

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"St. Clement approached Edward II with a bribe and a threat: Obey, and we give you plenary absolution for past sins; disobey, and you fall under excommunication."

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"In 1430, Joan of Arc was condemned for witchcraft (her real crime being her noble patriotism) by a judge who was a tool of the English conquerors."

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"Queen Isabella of Castile, ‘The Catholic,’ obtained the formal foundation of the Inquisition from Pope Sixtus IV. It began operations in 1480; her husband, "Ferdinand the Catholic,’ joined her whole-heartedly; and gradually the institution struck root throughout the peninsula. The two sovereigns, from the first, used it as the foundation of their political despotism. Thenceforward, from century to century until 1834, it was the most characteristic of Spanish institutions."

"Its methods were medieval, ‘writ large.’ Church and State were here in complete fundamental accord; kings and popes might quarrel over details, but those were the quarrels of lovers."

"Confiscations of properties, beyond even the medieval scale, ensured enormous revenues which supported both royal splendor and the Roman religion to an extent never surpassed in history...In fact, he points out, men were often prosecuted after their death - even 20 or 30 years later."

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"At the first Auto de Fe (Seville, 1481), six persons (men and women) were burned. Within the next eight months, 292 more were burned, 98 imprisoned for life; and many more were torn from their graves in order to justify confiscation of their property."

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"Under Philip II (1569) the principles of the Inquisition were transplanted to Mexico, where 879 trials took place in the next quarter of a century...In Portugal a little later (1651-1673) the records show 184 burned alive, 59 burned in effigy with confiscation, and 4,793 penanced. As many as 1,500 ‘penitents’ were paraded on one single occasion."

"The 18th century showed gradual decay of the Inquisition, but only in proportion to the decay of the whole country, which is calculated to have lost 50 per cent of its population since the days of Ferdinand and Isabella."

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‘The Inquisition is peculiarly the weapon and peculiarly the work of the Popes...No other institution, no doctrine, no ceremony is so distinctly the individual creation of the Papacy, except the Dispensing Power...It was the negation not only of religious liberty, which is the mainspring of civil, but equally of civil liberty, because a government armed with the machinery of the Inquisition is necessarily absolute.’ " (Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 15, Page 147-147d, 1967 Edition)

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Matching history with prophecy

That is a glimpse of history where the oldest and dominant Christian sect acquired power by "fornicating’" with heads of state.

REVELATION 17:1-2 "...Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication."

In order to promote "Christianity," the Roman Catholic church, abused this power to the extent of physically forcing people to embrace her tenets. Those who found the Sacred Scriptures to be the sole authority on spiritual matters, welcomed death than to renounce the Truth and to embrace unscriptural teachings. Thus, over centuries, great amount of blood was shed "in her hands" in conjugality with civil authorities.

REVELATION 17:6 "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration."

What probably made John, the witness, "to wonder with great admiration?" Perhaps, it is the earthly prosperity that this sect enjoys: material wealth with her beautiful churches and cathedrals not citing corporate financial interests, political influence, admiration of the people, and the exaltation of the leaders. Jesus Christ saw this before in the sect of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

JOHN 12:43 "For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."

Through diplomatic relations maintained among nations, the "woman" truly "sits on many waters:"

REVELATION 17:15 "And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."  

Bride of Christ and Babylon

The foregoing matching of prophecy with history is what people see in the word of God. Beyond this, however, God has something more to His words. Since He is speaking His unique SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE, it is only He who can explain the meaning of His words -- through His very words. We have many question to ask God:

1. "LORD, WHY DO YOU CONSIDER BABYLON, A LITERAL PLACE, TO BE A SPIRITUAL WOMAN?" As if God is saying, "Consider the following verses and find out how I symbolize cities for women:"

For the Bride of Christ:

REVELATION 21:9-11 "...Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he...showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious..."

For the Adulterous woman:

REVELATION 18:9-10 "And the kings of the earth...have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her... Alas, alas that great city Babylon..."

REVELATION 17:5 "And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

2. ‘LORD, WHO ARE THESE SPIRITUAL WOMEN?" As if God is saying, "You must remember that I am the spiritual HUSBAND, while the PEOPLE are My spiritual WIFE. If you apply your LITERAL LANGUAGE, a literal male can never be a spiritual woman. But I am speaking spiritual things:"

GALATIANS 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek..free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."

JEREMIAH 3:14 "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family..."

ISAIAH 54:5 "For thy Maker is thine husband..."

"As spiritual HUSBAND, I am planting My seeds to My WIFE, the people. My seeds are My words:

LUKE 8:11 "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God."

"Not all people, though, are faithful to Me. Only a few of them are. The great majority accept "seeds" other than My words. That is why I call them "adulterous" both in the Old and New Testament:

IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

JEREMIAH 3:8 "And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce..."

IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

MARK 8:38 "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed..."

From the word of God, therefore, we find "who" these spiritual women are:

The Bride of the Lamb is the faithful Church who has the unadulterated words of God; while the Adulterous Woman is the Church that accepts doctrines other than the pure Word of God. From this, therefore, we can understand why God calls "Mystery, Babylon the great, the source of the "abominations of the earth." It is very easy to understand and accept that, everything contrary to the Word of God is an abomination to Him.

3. "LORD, MANY PEOPLE CLAIM THE TRUTH. WE ARE CONFUSED! WHAT IS REALLY THE TRUTH?" As if God is saying, "Don’t you know that I am the Truth? Remember I am represented by My words that are written in the Holy Bible. Anything, therefore, that does not conform to My words is not truth. People are deceived into believing that every doctrines supported by Bible verses are truth. They are tempted to use their intellect and feeling in understanding My words. May I remind you that ‘flesh and blood’ cannot explain My words, neither can it identity Me. People are tempted to depend on human wisdom. That is the reason why they see "many truths.’ The result, they accept "seeds" other than "My seeds," words other than My pure words. Spiritual adultery therefore ensues as a result. Since I am the Truth, truth are those doctrines that do not find any contradiction with what is written. Am I like men who could easily repudiate themselves?"

From this explanation of God through His words as to what constitute FAITHFULNESS and SPIRITUAL ADULTERY; we can now identity the "Bride of the Lamb" and "Mystery, Babylon the great the mother of harlots." The former simply repesents the pure, unadulterated, perfect Church modeled by Christ Himself in His human manifestation; while the latter, the counterfeit Church which has the appearance of the true one.

"Babylon, mother of harlots"

God demonstrates how true His words are all the time. The prophets of the Old Testament already saw spiritual adultery in the counterfeit "Church," a shadow of "Mystery Babylon:"

EZEKIEL 34:2-6 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks. Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them."

It is very easy to understand what God meant if we are to consider His SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE. The shepherds of Israel were the acknowledged servants of God who were supposed to feed the people with truth coming from Him. But instead of doing this, they took advantage of them. The people, therefore, became prey to the "beasts of the field (Revelation 13:11, 17:8)." The beasts are the enemies of God. The field is the world (Matthew 13:38).

During the time of Christ, "Mystery Babylon" was again foreshadowed in the sects of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Teachers of the Law preached the Word of God, but their teachings were based from their own understanding instead of on the explanation of Jesus (Mark 4:34). Our Lord saw human wisdom" being put to use by the leaders as well as by the followers.

Jesus saw how the religious leaders adulterated the Word with religious traditions, which were thought to be part of the law. Since these are the fruits of the intellect and feeling, they appealed to the leaders as much as they were acclaimed by the laity.

Christ’s condemnation

Let us look at the denunciation of Jesus Christ against the religious leaders, and see how they apply in our time:

1. Jesus Christ saw that the religious leaders were called "Father" by the people. He rebuked them:

MATTHEW 23:9 "And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven."

Are not the leaders of some religious sects also called "Father" in our time? They justify the use of this title through philosophy. They may cite its acceptability in social, political and scientific fields. But God refers to spiritual matters. The oldest and largest religious sect pioneered on this unscriptural practice of adulterating the words of God. Minor sects followed the practice. Can we discern "Mother-daughter spiritual harlotry?"

2. Jesus Christ saw that the religious leaders were being exalted over and above the laity. They called themselves "Rabbi" or Master or Teacher. He rebuked them:

MATTHEW 23:6-8 "And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren."

Of course, no one among the religious leaders today will permit people to call them Rabbi, except the religion of Judaism. Judaism does not accept the New Testament of the Bible.

Traditional Christianity, however, subscribes to the whole Bible. Jesus Christ emphasized equality among the real believers: "All ye are brethren, and he that is greatest among you shall be your servant." Again, the oldest and biggest religious sect pioneered on the use of equivalent titles: Pastor, Minister, Head, Chief, Leader, Master, Teacher, Reverend, Monsignor, Most Reverend, His Holiness. Other religious sects followed the practice. Mother-daughter "spiritual harlotry" is clearly perceptible.

John the Baptist, before Jesus Christ enunciated this basic principle of spiritual humility, said:

JOHN 3:30 "He must increase, but I must decrease."

Only God should be exalted. His name is REVEREND:

PSALMS 111:9 "He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever:...reverend is his name."

Only God is holy. Not even Jesus Christ, in His human manifestation, in order to show the way to spiritual humility, did not admit that He is good:

LUKE 18:18-19 "And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God."

Look now, who pioneered in the use of these exalted title of Holy, Most Holy, Your Eminence prefixed to the names of the leaders? Other religious denominations followed the unscriptural practice. Only God deserves that distinct honor:

PSALMS 111:9 "He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name."

3. Nicolaitanism, a system practiced by people who call themselves "Jews" is condemned by Christ:

REVELATION 2:9 "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not..." REVELATION 2:15 "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate."

The word NICOLAITANS comes from ME., Ofr. Nicolas; L. Nicolaus; Gr. Nikolos <nike, victory + laos, the people. Thus, victory over the people. The exaltation of the leaders, and the exercise of power and authority, under the guise of discipline, over the laity is what Christ hates. This is the reverse of what He showed by example. Traditional Christianity cannot distinguish TITLE from FUNCTION. Christ, the sole authority, appoints apostles, evangelists, prophets, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11). It is He, the Holy Spirit, who endows spiritual knowledge and wisdom -- not any man (1 John 2:27). The people so appointed perform the FUNCTION, perhaps not even aware of the work, so they could never appropriate the honor and glory for the TITLE. The author of this article is performing some of the FUNCTIONS. Avoidance of the honor attached to the TITLES is the primary reason for his obscurity and anonymity.

The Apostles, Peter, Paul, James, John were never called Father, Reverend, Pastor, Teacher, Minister, Evangelist, Holy, Good, Highness, Eminence, Monsignor, Cardinal, Bishop, Archbishop, and other exalted titles. It is through these titles that the religious leaders exercise authority over the laity. People are cheated as the Jews were deceived during the time of Christ. They had their priests and the religious leaders to look up to. Nicolaitanism is the Pastoral System that religions of the world exercise; too sweet to the governors and engaging to the governed. In Christianity, the oldest and biggest religious sect pioneered in the practice. To the few chosen, Christ spoke exhorting them:

REVELATION 2:2 "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:"

Unscriptural teachings and practices are "adulteration" to the Word of God. These are abominations to the Lord:

DEUTERONOMY 4:2 "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it..." REVELATION 22:18-19 "... If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life..."

4. Jesus Christ saw how the Jews, thinking that they were following the Law, embraced religious traditions.

MARK 7:8-9 "For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men...And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition."

The religious sects during the time of Christ were a shadow of "Mytery, Babylon." Look how religious sects in our time also follow religious traditions without being aware of them:

The oldest and largest religious sect pioneered in establishing Seminaries and Bible schools for the training of priests, pastors, evangelists, and teachers in the Word of God. This is patterned after other forms of learning like Medicine, Engineering, Law, and other social and physical science courses. God, however, sets the line distinguishing SPIRITUAL from the PHYSICAL.

Nowhere in the Bible can we find servants of God ever training other people to become fellow servants of God. It is God Himself, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, that performs this "miracle" of endowing knowledge and wisdom to His chosen servants.

1 JOHN 2:27 "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie..."

This was demonstrated in Paul, an apostle appointed by Jesus Christ when He was no longer physically present on earth:

GALATIANS 1:1 "Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ..."

GALATIANS 1:11-12 "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Today, this practice of training and appointing "servants of God," which was pioneered by the oldest and largest religious sect, is adopted by all Christian denominations. Mother-daughter "spiritual harlotry!" It is a patent deviation from the truth as stated in the following:

JAMES 1:5-8 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."

It is from this practice of training and appointing "servants of God" that Christianity today is divided --"confounding of languages" Each denomination claims the truth! A shadow of the sect of the Pharisees and the sect of the Sadducees! Both sects had the Law as basis; so are the 1001 Christian denominations in our time who have the Holy Bible as authority. Yet they cannot understand each other on matters pertaining to God and His words. Is this not the clear message of confounding the languages of the builders of the Tower of Babel? And, we are only talking of the CHRISTIAN religion. How about the other religions of the world? Do they also speak the same language on matters pertaining to God, spiritual salvation, and eternal life?

5. The oldest and biggest religious sect pioneered in building chapels, churches, and cathedrals teaching that these are the sacred sanctuaries of God. They support the doctrine with the building of the "house of God" by Solomon, as directed by God Himself. Jesus Christ, showing the Way as model, and followed by the Apostles, never built "houses for God!" What are these chapels, churches, and cathedrals in our time? Are they not the vehicles for the religious leaders to be looked up and exalted? Jesus Christ and His disciples articulated the construction of the spiritual "temple of God." This must be the authentic spiritual TOWER to reach God.

1 CORINTHIANS 3:16 "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"

This truth is confirmed by the following truth:

ACTS 7:47-48 "But Solomon built him an house. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands..."

Christ taught His disciples to fashion the real Christian after the image of the "eldest Son of God.".

ROMANS 8:29 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."

6. "The shepherds did not feed My sheep." During the time of Christ, the "shepherds" or the acknowledged Teachers of the Law thought they were feeding the people with the word of God. Unknown to them, it was only with the MORAL aspect of the Law that they fed the people. That is why Jesus found them only cleaning themselves on the OUTSIDE. They were, therefore, Godly and righteous in the eyes of men, but "hypocrites" in the eyes of Christ. "Blind guides" to Jesus for they could only see the OUTSIDE and could not see the filth in the INSIDE.

MATTHEW 23:25-26 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."

The Teachers of the Law could not see the distinction between RELIGIOSITY, the thing they preached; and SPIRITUALITY the thing that Jesus Christ espoused. How about the modern "shepherds" today? Can they distinguish MORALITY, RELIGIOUSITY, and SPIRITUALITY? If they do, then they should have been speaking only ONE LANGUAGE about God and eternal life!

THE SPIRITUAL TOWER

The real believer is the living spiritual house of God. God, in His human manifestation in the person of Jesus Christ, showed the Way by example. He emphasized the spiritual with the cleansing of the inside that pertains to the SPIRITUAL LIFE. Religions accentuate the MORAL and ethical aspects of the PHYSICAL LIFE, laced with preachings about eternal life, thinking that this is spirituality. Unknown to people, this is only cleansing of the outside. Jesus Christ, albeit, did not eliminate the physical. He showed this in His human manifestation which Paul duplicated.

1 CORINTHIANS 11:1 "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ."

Jesus Christ was a model carpenter of Nazareth (Mark 6:3), while Paul a zealous and devoted tent-maker (Acts 18:3).

Jesus Christ set the line distinguishing the physical from the spiritual. The "physical" is systemized by common sense and prudence, and regulated by the laws of men through the governing authorities. The "spiritual life" of a real Christian is governed by Truth from the spiritual word of God. Christ set the line separating the two in:

LUKE 20:25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's."

Many people see only the surface of the message. The edict goes beyond the political and spiritual.

Perfection of the two kinds of life is set forth in:

1 THESSALONIANS 5:23 "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Illustration distinguishing the spiritual from the physical: The crime of literal-physical theft is governed by the penal laws of the government. The thief suffers the penalty imposed by law.

The sin of spiritual theft, on the other hand, is enunciated by Christ in the following:

Spiritual robbery:

JOHN 10:1 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door ...is a thief and a robber."

The spiritual door:

JOHN 10:9 "(Jesus said,) I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved..."

Truth as spiritual door:

JOHN 14:6 "Jesus saith...I am ...the truth..."

REVELATION 19:13 "And HE (JESUS) was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God."

Jesus Christ spoke of spiritual freedom:

JOHN 8:32 "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Spiritual theft, therefore, is anything that is not of the truth. For spiritual thievery, the "sinner" suffers spiritual imprisonment and the penalty of the 2nd death (Revelation 21:8) if no repentance is made.

Is it truth to be called Rabbi or master or teacher or head or chief or guide?

MATTHEW 23:8 "But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren."

Is it truth to be called Father?

MATTHEW 23:9 "And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven."

Is it truth to be called good in spiritual matters?

LUKE 18:18 "And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God."

Is it truth to be addressed Holy?

PSALMS 111:9 "He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy ...is his name."

Is it truth to be addressed Reverend?

PSALMS 111:9 "He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: ...reverend is his name"

Is it not robbery to take or share in the honor that only belongs to God? In spiritual matters, all honor and respect belong to God alone. God is no respecter of person. The truth is, it is a sin to respect a person in spiritual matters! Who can accept this two-edged sword in the word of God?

JAMES 2:9 "But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors."

This should be distinguished from what Peter wrote, which pertains to physical life:

1 Peter 2:13-14 "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well."

In the application of the Ten Commandments, man thinks only of the literal-physical. No wonder, the Rich Young Ruler who only followed the literal-physical did not merit being a follower of Christ. The Scribes and Pharisees were rebuked for hypocricy by cleaning only the outside, with the "letter of the law."

Anything contrary to the Standard of God is an abomination to God. This is "not passing through the door." And, it is only God Who can set the standard of good and evil. Who can see the unscriptural beliefs and practices without God opening our "eyes?" Who can understand the great spiritual mesage of the Word unless God opens our "ears?" But the spiritual miracles are not appreciated by many people. They like the "letter of the word" that benefits the "flesh."

Morality and the Tree of Knowledge

People are made to believe that morality through religiosity is the vehicle to eternal life. Unknown to many people, human wisdom coupled with emotion are responsible for the standards of morality under the different religions, and denominations within each creed. These are the "fruits of the Tree of Knowledge" that people "eat," unaware of the sin of Eve symbolizing them. Man’s standard of good and evil, can never find conformity with the Standard of God. No wonder God told Adam and Eve:

GENESIS 2:17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

But the Natural Man is spiritually blind as not to see the Way of God. He thinks that anything moral is already acceptable to God not knowing that this is only "cleanliness on the outside." God therefore, gave this warning:

PROVERBS 16:25 "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

PROVERBS 28:9 "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination."

Man thinks that sincerity is all to Godliness. God refutes this.

ROMANS 10:2 "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge."

God limits the use of the intellect in man’s SPIRITUAL LIFE. Man is , however, free to use it in his PHYSICAL LIFE. In fact, this is what Christ told His disciples:

MATTHEW 6:8 "...your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."

Christ was referring to the intellect and physical strength that man is endowed with that are necessary for his PHYSICAL LIFE. Thus, man is free to use his God-given intelligence in political, social, economic and scientific undertaking. He can set his standards on these matters for his benefits. Man, therefore, is given a free hand in setting the standards in politics, economics, society, and science. Honor and respect in these fields may be conferred when due. This is equivalent to Adam’s use of intellect in giving names to the animals. He used his intellect without "eating the forbidden fruits of knowledge."

Spirituality is the sole domain of God. It involves cleanliness of the "inside." Morality the fruit of religiosity, man’s sphere on the other hand, encompasses cleanliness on the "outside." It is only spiritual truth that can set the line separating the two. A real Christian lives in a world of spirituality where he could see his PHYSICAL LIFE and SPIRITUAL LIFE walking hand-in-hand as Jesus showed the Way. This is the Way to eternal life, as God in His human manifestation in the person of Jesus Christ showed by example. This is the spiritual TOWER that should be built according to the specification of God, with "materials" provided and "construction" supervised by Him.

To summarize, morality is the socio-political standard of righteousness. It is responsible for the peaceful and worthy relationship among people. It is founded on the virtues of honesty, sincerity, justice, and forthrightness.

Religiosity is religions’ standard of Godliness. It is the product of man’s understanding and interpretation of the word of God. Religiosity is the "instrument" believed to be the vehicle to eternal life. It is closely akin to morality. Because it is the product of the intellect and feeling, diversity of religious beliefs is the result. Thus, people have varied concepts of reaching the kingdom of God. This is typified by the sects of the Pharisees and Sadducees during the time of Christ. They had a common basis, the word of God handed down to Moses. Yet they could not see eye-to-eye on religious matters.

Today, many religions have been "invented" by men. Each religious group is divided into many denominations. We are the witnesses whether there is unity and harmony among them. Do they speak the same "language?" The "curse in Babel" has not passed away.

Spirituality is God’s standard of righteousness. It is revealed from God’s own explanation of His words. God speaks a unique language -- the spiritual tongue. God’s words are expressed in parables. They are written in a "book sealed with seven seals." Not even the prophets or the apostles can decipher this language or "open the book." Only the Lamb of God can break the seals of the book.

REVELATION 5:1-5 "And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book...sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."

It is Jesus Christ alone, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, Who is worthy to break the seals and open the book! Does not this book refer to the Holy Bible? Jesus Christ demonstrated "opening" the book. This is Christ’s explanation of His words as it is written in the following:

MARK 4:34 "But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples."

Jesus Christ preach spirituality in the word of God. The religious leaders saw only the moral and religious aspects in the word. They did not perceive the spiritual or the "inside" aspect. He called them "blind guides leading the blind." Spirituality is "cleanliness in the inside." Morality and religiosity is limited only to the "cleanliness on outside." Now the reader has a clearer view of what our Lord meant when He rebuked the religious leader:

MATTHEW 23:26 "Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."  

"CONFESSION" OF THE AUTHOR

I must confess, before, I used to read the Bible casually like many people. This is where I learned some aphorisms and their moral lessons -- knowledge that helped shape my values in life, and my interaction with other people. That is how the Bible found its place in my little library. Occasionally, I also used some verses to defend the doctrines of my denomination.

The Bible, however, provoked doubts in my mind when I heard preachers of the Word of God clashing in their teachings. I was thinking, how could people profess hearing the "voice of the Shepherd" in: "My sheep know my voice (John 10),"when they cannot agree on what they hear? Are there not 1001 religious sects composing traditional Christianity today? Each denomination claims to have heard "the voice of the Shepherd." Equal in number are the different ways of attaining salvation being preached by them. Each has its own way of attaining eternal life! I thought of the "confounding of languages" in the construction of the Tower of Babel.

I realized that the cause of the division is the individual interpretation of the Bible, the use of man’s intellect, by the different religious denominations. It is the human factor, therefore, that stands on the way to unity and perfect harmony of FAITH. With this sudden insight, I began to doubt the teachings of my denomination. I felt I was challenged to read my Bible more earnestly. Since the human factor is the cause of the disagreement, how could this element be expunged?

THE SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE OF GOD

I read that Jesus was speaking a Spiritual Language. He demonstrated this when He told the Jews: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again. Then said the Jews, forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days (John 2:19)?" Of course this is "foolishness" to His listeners for it is written: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14)." Jesus told His Disciples, "...the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit (John 6:63)." Paul received this divine revelation when he wrote the Christians of Rome: "For we know that the law is spiritual (Romans 7:14)."

Who can interpret the language of God? Not even His apostles could understand. Christ proved that He alone can explain it: "But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said (John 2:21-22)." My suspicion that the Bible is written in the spiritual language of God was confirmed when I read Psalm 78:2, "I will open my mouth in a parable." I realized it is this spiritual nature of the words that made Jesus speak: Matthew 5:18, "For verily, I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law (or word) till all be fulfilled." This statement of our Lord, therefore, ranked all the words of God as "prophecies."

In the beginning, my concept for prophecies is limited only to the things expected to happen in the future. Reading the Bible, I could count them with my fingers. My notion of prophecies is too narrow and limited compared to God’s all-encompassing words in the entire Bible. To Him everything written "will all come to pass!" How many people realize that? I simply said Amen, to the truth. Peter, by divine inspiration, solved my problem of expunging the word of God of the HUMAN FACTOR when he wrote: "Knowing this first, that no PROPHECY of the Scripture is of any private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20)." Is there any person who can interpret Bible "prophecies" (or words in the Bible)? Will people accept this truth that no one can and should interpret the Bible? Do people realize that the Bible is written in the LANGUAGE OF GOD, and that only He through His very words should interpret it? This, to me, is God’s way of building the spiritual TOWER to reach Him. He demonstrates this in the following:

HOW DOES GOD, THROUGH HIS WORDS, EXPLAIN THE FOLLOWING "prophecies" WRITTEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT?

1. God spoke to the Israelites about their deliverance from slavery in Egypt: "I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up unto a LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY (Exodus 3:8)." Was this fulfilled in the Literal Language of man or in the Spiritual Language of God?

2. God spoke through Isaiah: "Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the EARTH SHALL REMOVE OUT OF ITS PLACE...(Isaiah 13:13)." And He spoke of the foundation of the earth in: Job 38:4 "Where wast thou when I laid the FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH?" Is this a simple statement of fact, or a "prophecy" to be fulfilled in the Spiritual Language of God?

3. In one of the 10 Commandments, God said, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8)." Is this a candid command to be simply followed literally? Or, a "prophecy" whose fulfillment can be seen today?

HOW DOES GOD, THROUGH HIS WORDS, EXPLAIN THE FOLLOWING "prophecies" WRITTEN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?

1. "Jesus said, I am come into this world that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind." (John 9:39) How was this "prophecy" fulfilled in Jesus’ time? Today?

2. "Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). Is this Literal or Spiritual "fulfillment"?

3. "Jesus said, If you have faith as big as a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20), you can tell to this mountain to go to the sea, and it will be done (Matthew 21:21)." I was wondering before how God fulfilled this "prophecy" or promise.

LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY

God would have lied to the Israelites if His promise were taken literally: On reaching Canaan the promised land, in the Language of man, no milk or honey was ever found by the Israelites. However, God is always true to His words with His SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE!

Christ referred to MAN as LAND in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13). Jesus Christ is pictured as a real MAN in 1 Timothy 2:5 (also in Philippians 2:8 "For there is one mediator between God and men, the MAN Christ Jesus.") God, therefore, must have referred to Jesus as the spiritual "land flowing with milk and honey." Spiritual milk is the word of God (1 Peter 2:2). Is not Christ the source of the words of God (Revelation 19:13)? Spiritual honey is the sweet word of God (Psalm 119:103 "How sweet are THY WORDS unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey in my mouth."

Spiritual honey is also expressed in Ezekiel 3:1-3 when God told prophet Ezekiel to "eat the roll or book which is as sweet as honey." The roll is the BOOK that contained the word of God. These very words in this Confession were, to me, as sweet as honey when I first encountered them for they are taken from the pure word of God. I never tasted their aroma when I was trying to understand with the explanation of the people I thought were authority of the Bible. This, therefore, inspired me to write this beautiful spiritual experience, so that other people will also share in the bounty, I am sure was dropped "from above like Manna."

THE EARTH STANDING ON ITS FOUNDATION

It has been preached by known authorities of the Bible in the pulpits for more than a millennium and a half that the earth does not move for it is standing on a fixed foundation. This is what they read in the Bible! It was thought that the sun revolves around it. How easy for man to be taken by his own intellect! 1 Corinthians 3:18-21 states: "Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise...let him become a fool (a spiritual infant), that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God: for it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness...the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men..." Are not people being awed by the religious wisdom of men?

Only a few centuries back did so-called Bible authorities realize that the earth is not really standing on a fixed foundation. It is the sun that is fixed, and the earth is orbiting around it. It took science to prove man wrong with his theology -- the LITERAL interpretation of the Bible. The knowledge that science offered man, however, did not profit him SPIRITUALLY. It only proved man wrong with the use of his intellect in interpreting the Bible. It is still God with His explanation of His words that feeds man with the "living bread." If earth to man is the planet where he lives, to God it refers to man himself! Watch now how God applies His Spiritual Language:

The spiritual earth has ears to listen: "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord (Jeremiah 22:29)." Just as the spiritual earth has ears, "he" has also mouth to speak and, thus, "he" should keep silence: "But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him (Habakkuk 2:20)." The spiritual earth on its foundation, therefore, refers to the chosen man that is standing on the fixed foundation of truth. "The earth removed from its place" is for that man to veer away from the WAYS of God. Did not Jesus say, "I am the way?"

The LANGUAGE OF GOD is known to Christ only. Man, without the Spirit of God, considers this language foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:14). However, after man received the Spirit of God, he "acquires the mind of Christ:" "For who hath known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)." This is fulfilled when Jesus explains every parable or "prophecy" to His Disciples (Mark 4:34).

SABBATH IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT

Now watch for this Old Testament Law: God said, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8)." Following the LITERAL LANGUAGE of man, Saturday or the 7th day of the week should be kept holy by not working. Changing the day to Sunday, or the 1st day of the week, does not alter the literal message!

God has His way of explaining His words with His SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE. If the LITERAL application rests the BODY, the SPIRITUAL calms the SOUL. The attributes of the soul are the mind and feeling. Thus, Christ explained spiritual Sabbath in: Matthew 11:28-29 "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you REST. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find REST unto your SOUL." Sabbath to Jesus, therefore, is spiritual or inner PEACE. No wonder, God gave Sabbath as the eternal sign for His people (Exodus 31:13), for in them He expects to find PEACE. Christ is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Without Christ, there could be no Sabbath sign. That is why a man caught gathering wood on the Sabbath was stoned to death (Numbers 15:33-36). This indicates that he did not have peace. He did not have Christ! Anyone who does not have Christ does not deserve eternal life! Second death is waiting for him (Revelation 21:8). That is the "death" for the man gathering wood on the Sabbath.

When the Scribes and Pharisees saw Jesus healing on the Sabbath and His Disciples picking corn on that day (Matthew 12:1-2), He was working, in their perception. They thought He violated the Old Testament law. Indeed, He did, following the LITERAL LANGUAGE of man. With God’s SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE, however, the acts of Jesus and His Disciples were, in fact, the fulfillment of the law. Look how God through His words explains this:

Jesus’ opening the eyes of the blind on the Sabbath made them recognize Him and His Father, whom the Scribes and Pharisees could not identify (John 8:54-55, 8:19). Opening their deaf ears made them "hear" His voice or understand the great parables. Strengthening the feet of the paralytics made them walk on the WAY shown by Him as model. The Disciples’ picking of corn is the gathering of spiritual food which is the "spiritual word of God (Jeremiah 15:16)." All of these "jobs" were for the attainment of spiritual PEACE, which is the fulfillment of the SABBATH law. Man’s understanding of the Word of God is actually the reverse of God’s intended message!

PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS

Following the LITERAL LANGUAGE OF MAN, Jesus was telling a lie when He told the Pharisees, "I am come into this world that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind (John 9:39)." Nowhere in the Bible can we find Scribes and Pharisees to have lost their sight literally! Our Lord, however, referring to them said, "Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch (Luke 6:39)?" Clearly demonstrated here is the SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE of God. The Scribes, the teachers of the word of God, and the Pharisees, people known close to God, "could not see" or did not recognize Jesus and the God of their father Abraham whom they professed to worship (John 8:19). They also did not see the WAY (John 14:6) because they did not understand the LANGUAGE of our Lord!

Literally, blind Barthimeus in the language of man, received his sight. spiritually in the language of God, he received his "sight" so as to recognize JESUS CHRIST, whom the Scribes and Pharisees did not! "He followed our Lord thereafter" connotes the meaning that Barthimeus understood and submitted to His words (Mark 10:46-52)." Is this not a great spiritual message?

I confess that this story is a "prophecy" fulfilled in me. I can see myself in the person of Barthimeus who was "blind." Like the Pharisees, I also used to worship a "mysterious" God. I could not figure out how God is ONE. Before, I thought God was impossible of clear recognition. But now, like Barthimeus, I could "see" God very clearly by divine revelation as Peter did (Matthew 16:15-17). I can also see the WAY by understanding the great spiritual message of the Word. God speaks in parables (Psalm 78:1-2). He speaks His language, and only He can explain the spiritual significance. I no longer trust my own understanding nor the interpretation of other people on the Word of God. I simply open my Bible, and with God’s guidance, He interprets everything through His very words written therein (Mark 4:34). This is done as God directed in 1 Corinthians 2:12-13:

CONVERSION INTO A LITTLE CHILD

God defines a little child as a suckling (Isaiah 28:9, KJV "Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breast.") Literally, how could I, or any man, be converted as such as proposed by our Lord? I realized that like a suckling who cannot talk without being taught, eat without being fed, and walk without being helped; SPIRITUALLY, I cannot speak the Word without being taught by God, eat spiritual bread which is the Word of God (Jeremiah 16:15) without being given "by the Father from heaven" as taught by Jesus in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:11 "Give us this day our daily bread)," and walk on the WAY without being aided by God. The following statement of our Lord now has a deeper message to me: "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes (Matthew 11:25)."

God seems to convey the message that He does not want human intelligence in spiritual matters. He tells us to recognize His role of providing spiritual wisdom (James 1:5-8). And, it is the Holy Spirit that will teach; not any man (1 John 2:27: "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things...) This is difficult for many people to believe.

This jibes perfectly with the prohibition of ‘eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge." God, however, allowed Adam to use his intellect in giving names to the animals (Genesis 2:19-20) A dividing line has been drawn between the use of the intellect in social, economic, political, scientific and other matters; and its non-use in spiritual matters. I "confess" I was startled to find this truth!

MOVING A MOUNTAIN TO THE SEA BY FAITH AS BIG AS MUSTARD SEED

Here again, using the LITERAL language of man, Christ seems to have lied for no one yet can claim fulfillment of this promise. However, with God’s explanation of His words, He could never be a liar. It is Satan who is the liar (John 8:44). The mustard seed is one of the smallest of all seeds. Faith as big as that seed, therefore, appears too insignificant to people. However, it is God Who measures the degree that warrants the power to move a MOUNTAIN. God explains spiritual mountain as referring to man himself (Judges 9:36). One reference to the SEA is: Psalm 77:19 "Thy WAY is in the SEA...and thy PATH in the great waters..." Therefore, Christ has not really lied. A spiritual infant who has faith asbig and solid as a mustard seed can really move himself to the way of the Lord.

SPIRITUAL LIFE & PHYSICAL LIFE

Did God nullify the physical aspect of the law with His Spiritual Language? Is man now allowed to commit physical stealing, murder, adultery, etc.? God answers the questions in: 1 Thessalonians 5:23 when He admonishes man "...to keep the BODY and SOUL blameless..." God properly delineates the line separating Physical Life and Spiritual Life. Physical stealing, therefore, applies to physical life; while spiritual stealing pertains to spiritual life. Physical adultery for physical life, while spiritual adulery for spiritual life; physical murder for physical life, while spiritual murder for spiritual life, etc. The literal application of the Word cleanses the "outside," while the spiritual word cleanses the "inside." We heard our Lord rebuked those who simply followed the LITERAL aspect of the Word:

MATTHEW 23:26 "Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."  

"A WOMAN IS NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK"

The foregoing demonstrated how God explaines His words. It was God Who was speaking. Paul expressed this in:

1 CORINTHIANS 1:10 "... by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."

The MAN speaks! This is the fulfillment of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 where it enjoins "WOMEN to keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speak...and if they will learn anything, let them ask their HUSBAND." Who knows that WOMEN here pertain to the people, both male and female (Galatians 3:28); while the HUSBAND refers to God (Isaiah 54:5)? God said, "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord, for I AM MARRIED UNTO YOU (Jeremiah 3:14)." When God speaks, it is MAN that is speaking! When people speak as if having authority to speak for God, it is the WOMEN that are speaking!

Now it can be seen why religious sects do not agree in their understanding of the Bible. It is the spiritual WOMEN in them that speak in their respective churches. Is it still a wonder why traditional Christianity is divided? We have never seen this in the 1st century Christianity where the MAN, that is God, was the one speaking. The prophecy of our Lord is fulfilled: "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division (Luke 12:51)."

"And the Word was God"

One basic truth, that many people probably missed, is the relationship between God and His words. Could we imagine God without His words? God is a Spirit, invisible, and intangible. There is, therefore, no way of identifying Him and knowing His will without His words! His existence is "void" without His words. Thus, the need for the sweeping statement, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God (John 1:1)." Could there be a God without His words, and the words without God? Can one be separated from the other? The recognition of the former follows the understanding of the latter!

To show the Way (John 14:6), and to fulfill His Testament by death (Hebrew 9:16), the Spirit God manifested Himself in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16, KJV only) now known as the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is how John the apostle exclaimed: "And I saw Him in a vesture dipped in blood and His name is called the Word of God (Revelation 19:13)." Who is JESUS? Is He not the Word? The one and only God is the Father (1 Corinthians 8:6a), while the one and only Lord is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 8:6b). Jesus told the inquisitive Scribe in Mark 12:29, "The Lord our God is one Lord." God told Moses the same thing in Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:"

It is the absence of the HUMAN FACTOR, Christ put it as "flesh and blood," that made Peter recognized our Lord (Matthew 16:15-17). It is the absence of the HUMAN FACTOR that makes a person to recognize God, that He is no longer a great mystery! It is the absence of the HUMAN FACTOR that makes one to understand the Word of God. It is the absence of the HUMAN FACTOR that made the 1st century Christianity perfect. This is the commentary I wish to make to whoever will read this CONFESSION.

CONCLUSION

God confounded the language of the builders of the Tower of Babel to teach people a lesson. It is not through the different "religious languages," or man’s thoughts and ways and capability, that the spiritual Tower is built to reach God. It is with God’s plan, specification, provision of materials, and supervision that man’s aspiration of reaching heaven can be attained. Perhaps, one would ask: "What then is the role of man in its construction?" It’s simple. The example shown by Jesus, the man! Is He not the God in the flesh? What is the great lesson He wanted to convey, that many people missed? It is His HUMILITY, His total submission to the will of the Father! Did anything come from Jesus in his personal capacity?

JOHN 5:19 "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself..."

JOHN 5:30 "I can of mine own self do nothing...I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."

God demonstrated interpreting His words -- not any individual. Human wisdom is not adequate to understand and explain the great spiritual message of the Word (1 Corinthians 1:19-21). How many "truths" being preached by the 1001 religious sects, and believed as such, are now clearly nullified by God’s own explanation?

After having grasped the great message of the Bible with the SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE of God, could there be an end to the "flow of living water?" This is the living Word by the Holy Spirit’s revelation. Now wherever I open my Bible, great spiritual treasures are presented before my eyes. I have only listed six samples. John’s last verse in his gospel presents a different dimension to me now: "And there are also many other things which Jesus did...if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. (John 21:25)." These should have been referring to the great and limitless message of our Lord in the Bible!

I made this "Confession" in the belief that I could share the great "pearl" (Matthew 13:46) I found in the Bible. Now I realize the joy of sharing the "living bread" not only to my close friends, but to all who are spiritually "hungry," and thirsty of the "living water" (Matthew 25:36). I do not reveal my indentity in order to avoid imputing any ulterior motive to this modest work. And since people are fond of looking up at people, my obscurity will force them to look up at God only. God is represented by His words. That is God’s way of building the SPIRITUAL TOWER to reach Him!

SUGGESTED READING MATERIALS

HOLY BIBLE, Authorized or KJV version (1611)

CHRISTIANITY: Yesterday & Today (518 pages, Author: Anonymous)

RELIGIONS DECEIVE THE SOUL (657 pages, Author: Anonymous)

"WHO AM I THAT DOTH SPEAK?" (The God of Noah & Abraham!!! The God of Peter & Paul!!!) (57 pages, Author: Anonymous)

TITHES & OFFERING and THE TEMPLE MERCHANTS (45 pages, Author: Anonymous)

If the reader is inspired by the article, he/she may reproduce it provided it is copied faithfully. There is great spiritual joy in spreading the gospel of TRUTH. That is the spiritual Tower leading to God according to His specification and direction.

o o o 000 o o o

To summarize, morality is the socio-political standard of righteousness. It is responsible for the peaceful and worthy relationship among people. It is founded on the virtues of honesty, sincerity, justice, and forthrightness.

Religiosity is religions’ standard of Godliness. It is the product of man’s understanding and interpretation of the word of God. Religiosity is the "instrument" believed to be the vehicle to eternal life. It is closely akin to morality. Because it is the product of the intellect and feeling, diversity of religious beliefs is the result. Thus, people have varied concepts of reaching the kingdom of God. This is typified by the sects of the Pharisees and Sadducees during the time of Christ. They had a common basis, the word of God handed down to Moses. Yet they could not see eye-to-eye on religious matters.

Today, many religions have been "invented" by men. Each religious group is divided into many denominations. We are the witnesses whether there is unity and harmony among them. Do they speak the same "language?" The "curse in Babel" has not passed away.

Spirituality is God’s standard of righteousness. It is revealed from God’s own explanation of His words. God speaks a unique language -- the spiritual tongue. God’s words are expressed in parables. They are written in a "book sealed with seven seals." Not even the prophets or the apostles can decipher this language or open the book. Only the Lamb of God can break the seals of the book.

REVELATION 5:1-5 "And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book...sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."

It is Jesus Christ alone, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, Who is worthy to break the seals and open the book! Does not this book refer to the Holy Bible? Jesus Christ demonstrated "opening" the book. This is Christ’s explanation of His words as it is written in the following:

MARK 4:34 "But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples."

Jesus Christ preach spirituality in the word of God. The religious leaders saw only the moral and religious message of the word. They did not perceive the spiritual or the "inside" aspect. He called them "blind guides leading the blind." Spirituality is "cleanliness in the inside." Morality and religiosity is limited only to the "cleanliness on outside." Now the reader has a clearer view of what our Lord meant when He rebuked the religious leaders:

MATTHEW 23:26 "Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."

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