A Brief Refresh of Babylon (the City of Sin)
There are three outstanding themes/competitors that mirror the facts of reality in the Bible:
- Babylon and Jerusalem
- the gardens of Eden and Gethsemane
- the only named trees in Eden, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.
Babylon will be destroyed, Jerusalem is eternal.
Sin was found in Eden, righteousness lived in Gethsemane. Eden became the garden of death, Gethsemane became the garden of life.
Eden was destroyed in the flood, and so too the two trees. Nevertheless the Tree of Life lives on as the wooden cross, the second tree lives this day as education, greed with pride. Note, where there is knowledge accompanied by pride it is the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.
Babylon first appears in Genesis 10:8-10. Babylon's king Nimrod became the first king, and thus Babylon was the world's kingdom. In a meteoric rise (just 19 verses) Babylon now 'owns' the world. Genesis 11 describes aptly both then and today.
Babylon creates its own foot soldiers through pride, greed and education. The teachings of Babylon suppress the truth.
We all live in Babylon, largely unwittingly. Babylon commands (see Daniel 3), at the pain of death, worship me. But Jerusalem whispers remember me, for you are in a foreign land. Babylon demands debt, Jesus calls for trust. And, don't get caught in what God intends to destroy, for Babylon is beyond redemption. Leave it!
‘We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to our own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the heavens.’ (Jeremiah 51:9)
Invest in God's kingdom and His righteousness and Babylon will never be your creditor or destruction.
##Today's SoulSnack is the 3rd in a series "The New Ark."