#see daniel

There’s a strange story in Genesis, chapter 11, that describes a unified effort by man, after the flood, to build a towering civilization which would exalt the reputation of its builders [verse 4]. God apparently takes interest in the endeavor, referred to as “Babel”. He mysteriously thwarts the construction of this tower by “confusing their language.” This is where humanity stopped speaking ‘english’. :P (just kidding, I don’t know what language they spoke, but we don’t speak it now!) Without any context, or background in Old Testament studies, this passage can be confusing. But let’s take a few steps back to see this theme in the “big picture”, where this tower of Babel represents the endemic problem of human evil and becomes the first instance in an ageless pattern: Humans build an impressive and blasphemous empire, always marked by elitism, injustice, vanity, and selfish ambition, but God, faithfully good and just, orchestrates its downfall. Over and over, the story is the same. It happened Egypt. God wrecked them with signs and wonders while freeing his enslaved people. It happened to Babylon (#2 as it were). God took them out with Persia, restoring Israel’s freedom to live in their land. It happened to Rome. Turns out the Eternal City wasn’t so eternal after all...though it is a nice vacation spot.  It’s the same every time. Since Jehovah is a good god, He refuses to let human wickedness win out in the end. It’s in His name! [Exodus 34:6-7]   This promise of God to ultimately triumph over human wickedness is fundamental to how the Jews understood their scriptures and prophecies during exile in (you guessed it) Ancient Babylon and thereafter. The same archetypal theme was encouraging to the First Century Church during intense persecution by Imperial Rome, allowing them to embrace their radical and rebellious faith in Christ by trusting God for an ultimately good and worthwhile outcome.  [side note: the book of Revelation uses the term “Babylon” to represent the Roman Empire. Far from being a magic-eight ball about the future, it’s ultimate message is timeless; human pride loses, God wins every time.] As we’re facing a culture that becomes increasingly intolerant of truth-based values (ironic, right?), let’s not be surprised by how “dark” the world appears. Sin is no news flash to God. Babylon has worn a thousand faces, with a thousand names, in a thousand places. Jesus, faithful and true, has already conquered it all on the Cross. His plan for wiping out corruption on the earth is already well under way, and in the end our song will be “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! The smoke from her goes up and up. Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.” [Revelation 18 & 19] So hang tight! Stay faithful to Christ, hold true to the faith, and keep loving like it’s the only thing that matters. No matter how many “Babylons” come and go, God’s victory is a sure thing, and I sure don’t want to be on the wrong side of the battle lines when the pattern repeats itself in our generation.