Take the “Babble” Out of Babylon
The election is over, I think. It appears that President Donald J. Trump will now have time to drop forty pounds, lower his golf handicap, start his own television network, and prepare to run for President in 2024. And you thought the chaos would end, you naïve thing you. In four years he will be the same age as President-elect Biden is when he enters office on January 20, 2021. Since the run for President will begin after the midterm elections in 2022, Trump and then President Kamala Harris will need to start their campaigns two years from now. Ok, I’m just having a bit of fun with you my friends. This couldn’t happen, could it?
So, what does this have to do with Babylon? Babylon was a real place where, at minimum, the crème de la crème of Jewish society were in exile for seventy years. The story is told in some detail in the book of Daniel. If you want to know how to live in Babylon, read the book of Daniel. Many moderns only know Babylon as a metaphor for the fleshpots of society, or a nifty satirical website, The Babylon Bee. Yet there is another vivid descriptor of Babylon recorded by the apostle John.
“The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality. A mysterious name was written on her forehead, ‘Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.’ I could see that she was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.”
Revelation 17:4-6 NLT
The remainder of this passage goes very deep into the multi-layered meaning of everything Babylon.
“The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.”
Revelation 17:2
The bottom line is that this metaphor of Babylon, in the language of ancient imagery, ends up representing all things that are anti-Christ. It becomes clear through John’s narration that God will see to it that Babylon will be destroyed.
“For God has put a plan into their minds [the kings of the earth] a plan that will carry out his purposes. They will agree to give their authority to the scarlet beast, and so the words of God will be fulfilled. And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world.”
Revelation 17:17 NLT
And finally, chapter 18 describes the cries and laments of the world’s leaders at the complete destruction of all things Babylon. There is one short interlude, a parenthesis from the horror:
“Rejoice over her fate, O heaven and people of God and apostles and prophets! For at last, God has judged her for your sakes. Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted, Just like this, the great city of Babylon will be thrown down into violence and will never be found again.”
Revelation 18: 20,21 NLT.
And the beat goes on.
Babylon is a metaphor that applies to any system that sets itself up against the plan that God has for his creation. And in the end, God will personally see to it that it is crushed and eliminated. The present temptation is to listen to voices in our society that believe they know what Babylon is right now and how to get a head start on punishing the evil doers. You may have already heard about Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, or finding out who voted for Donald Trump, essentially half the country and exposing them as enemies of the state. As one prominent Congress person, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has called Trump voters (at least 70 million people and their children) sycophants. Just so you know, a sycophant is a self-seeking, servile , fawning parasite. Synonyms are, creep, toady, flunkey, doormat, lickspittle, minion, hanger-on. She has her millstone fixed in her hands ready to smash her version of Babylon.
On the other hand, some Christians think that the election was crooked and victory was well in hand for Trump. But overnight some strange shenanigans took place and as the sun rose in the east, Joe Biden had moved ahead. It’s doubtful that those shenanigans were substantial enough to change the result. It just seems that, for 49% of Americans, the election was not a fair fight. Big Tech censored Trump, Big Media served as the democratic campaign staff, the NBA, MLB, NHL, and ESPN, and the film and television community all aligned themselves against President Trump. Some could say that COVID19 defeated Trump and that Trump beats Trump as well with a great deal of odious and self-defeating behavior. Who can blame many for believing that Babylon is not the Trump voters who need to be identified, tagged, and punished. Rather, it’s the radical left who represent radical pro-abortion and pro-infanticide. They champion every sordid sexual practice, even the sexualization of small children. They want to rewrite the constitution, restrict freedom of speech to what they like to hear, and keep religion indoors and sealed off from public life. Their education plan is to malform the young and cut them off from actual knowledge of the origins of the United States so that no one will ever be willing to die for it again. And when that happens, good luck defending something you don’t really believe in.
There is honest disagreement between evangelicals who I believe will argue together, will pray together, and will finally find common ground. I believe that common ground will be easier to find in a couple of years as the dust settles.
This fight is not, for me, about personalities or political parties. It is a battle between what God has prescribed for his people and those who would attempt to destroy what God intends. I would suggest that a key decision now needs to be made by America’s pastors. And by pastors, I mean people with a “bully pulpit.” Not just the officially ordained, but anyone who has a following and influence. You could be a newspaper columnist, a member of a golf foursome, a school principal, a coach, a university professor, a leader of a PTA chapter, or a leader of a business, but you are shepherding a flock.
What Pastors can do to help
Church pastors have a special position in that they are the national custodians of knowledge. We are largely able to speak our minds weekly to millions of people who gather online or in person to hear our sermons. This all takes us back to Paul’s clear charge:
“We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:4,5
It is imperative that pastors define the knowledge of God and then compare both religious and political beliefs in light of that knowledge. Our understanding will be flawed, imperfect, and there will be disagreement around the edges, but we should be able to attain unity on the essentials and accept diversity on the non-essentials. It is hard to do so because if you are a consumer of media, you are in a blitzkrieg of partisan argument. Let’s allow Dallas Willard to help us hit reset:
“Jesus did not send his people out to make Christians or to start churches as we understand them today. He sent them to make disciples [students, apprentices] to him and, supported by his presence, to teach them all that he had taught by word and deed. That is a very different type of enterprise!”[1]
So, we must wear a political and cultural flak jacket with a helmet and facemask as we try to concentrate on what really matters. This really matters. It is perplexing because we are told daily that what really matters is the real life we are living and the kind of country we live in. Therefore, we need to fight the good fight and right now that fight is partly political and cultural. I don’t deny this is an important piece of our reality, but should pastors concentrate on the political and cultural battle and lay aside the disciple making?
I believe there are many good and articulate national leaders, media personalities, writers, bloggers, and activists who are making arguments hourly that are available on social media and through television. If someone, pastor or not, wants to join in that chorus I am in no position to tell them what to do. But I do believe that the unique role of pastors in American right now is that we are the nation's teachers. We are the only teachers who will be able to reach people by the millions. Hardly any one of us has millions or tens of millions of ears and attention, but collectively, we certainly do.
“We are servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”
I Corinthians 4:1.
We are called to:
“Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.”
2 Timothy 4:2-4
It is somewhat counterintuitive, countercultural, and has a passive feel to it. But the most productive action pastoral teachers can take is to teach all those who will listen to a biblical worldview which, in practical terms, begins and ends with the Great Commission. Then people can determine who Babylonian society is and who leads them. Don’t expect unanimity on that either, but again, there should be unity on the central themes.
Jesus told us to “make disciples” and to teach them to obey everything I commanded you. Make new disciples. Make many disciples. Make many more disciples. Make mature disciples. How do you know they are mature? Because they multiply. And how will you know when you are done? When the gospel of the kingdom is preached to every nation. Then, and only then, will the end come (Matthew 24:14).
This work cannot be left to secular experts. The wisdom of the world is foolishness, they don’t have the same set of knowledge that is available to every faithful pastor in America. Hopefully we can be something like C.S. Lewis was to England during WWII with his radio addresses to a nation at war; he set before them Mere Christianity. Allow me to close with more from Professor Willard:
“Divine service is not church service, though it might include that. Divine service is life. It is in the world, in daily business of whatever level and importance, that there unfolds, in Paula Houston’s wonderful phrase, ‘the great adventure that was once Christianity.’ It can be for everyone of us. The most important thing that is happening in your community is what is happening there under the administration of true pastors for Christ. If you, as a pastor, do not believe that , then you do not understand the dignity of what you are supposed to be doing. Whatever your situation, there is nothing more important on earth than to dwell in the knowledge of Christ and to bring that knowledge to others.”[2]
[1] Knowing Christ Today, Dallas Willard, page 195, Harper Collins, 2009
[2] Knowing Christ Today, Dallas Willard, page 211, Harper Collins, 2009
