1In the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, the Lord Yahweh’s hand fell on me there. 2Then I saw, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of fire—from the appearance of his waist and downward, fire, and from his waist and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as it were glowing metal. 3He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and the sky, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner court that looks toward the north, where there was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy. 4Behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the appearance that I saw in the plain.
5Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now the way toward the north.”
So I lifted up my eyes the way toward the north, and saw, northward of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
6He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they do? Even the great abominations that the house of Israel commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? But you will again see yet other great abominations.”
7He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. 8Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig now in the wall.”
When I had dug in the wall, I saw a door.
9He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here.”
10So I went in and looked, and saw every form of creeping things, abominable animals, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed around on the wall. 11Seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel stood before them. In the middle of them Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan stood, every man with his censer in his hand; and the smell of the cloud of incense went up.
12Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his rooms of imagery? For they say, ‘Yahweh doesn’t see us. Yahweh has forsaken the land.’” 13He said also to me, “You will again see more of the great abominations which they do.”
14Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Yahweh’s house which was toward the north; and I saw the women sit there weeping for Tammuz. 15Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? You will again see yet greater abominations than these.”
16He brought me into the inner court of Yahweh’s house; and I saw at the door of Yahweh’s temple, between the porch and the altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs toward Yahweh’s temple and their faces toward the east. They were worshiping the sun toward the east.
17Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger. Behold, they put the branch to their nose. 18Therefore I will also deal in wrath. My eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity. Though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them.”
Trust in God and Live According to His Word
The Woman of Babylon Holding a Cup
This chapter introduces the mystery Babylon, the mother of harlots, and of the abominations of the earth. We will seek to understand what Babylon represents and who this harlot (Porne in Greek) is. In a nutshell, “Babylon” broadly represents “Satan’s agenda” worked out on the earth. That agenda is the opposite of God’s agenda. The whore or harlot of Babylon represents the devil’s spiritually adulterous system of religion. A harlot is a woman who sells illegitimate intimacy for gain. Adherents of this counterfeit version of Christianity might appear to be joined to the one true God, but in reality, their hearts are far from Him, and they are unfaithful to Him. So, the question becomes, “What exactly is Babylon?” Jeremiah the prophet said: 7 Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations are deranged. (Jeremiah 51:7, NKJV). Did you know that Babylon is mentioned more in the Bible than any other city other than Jerusalem? Jerusalem is the city of peace. Babylon is the city of confusion.
We are then introduced to this “woman,” dripping with wealth. She is adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls. She is arrayed in “purple and scarlet,” which indicates she has set herself up as “royalty.” She is a beautiful sight to see, but she is rotten to the core with her filth. She is drinking abominations from her vessels of gold. She is filled with the filthiness of her whoring. If you look at some institutional churches today, you'll see they've become all about money and wealth. They have pursued wicked paths of so-called “wokeism,” and they promote sin that is directly opposed to biblical principles and lives of holiness. The strange thing about that word is that they are not “awake” at all. Rather, they have gone to sleep regarding the empowered Word of God. They do not teach the Bible. They do not teach the Gospel. They do not preach holiness in behavior. They do not teach the redemptive work of Jesus. Instead, they teach what many call a “social gospel” that has nothing to do with the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross. They do not mention sin or man’s need for a Savior. They are now a centerpiece of abomination. They profess to present something holy and righteous on the right side of things, but they are promoters of perversion and wickedness. This spirit first manifested itself in the story of Babel.
Pride is at the root of the account of the Tower of Babel. The Hebrew text tells us that Nimrod was a mighty hunter “in the face of” Yahweh. As we would say, “He was in God’s face.” That’s the bottom line of Babylon in all of its forms. It is a world system that seeks to replace God. God took care of the Babel problem by confusing the one language of mankind, scattering the peoples of the earth, but this branded the name of Babylon with rebellion forever. From that time forward, “Babylon” has stood for man’s defiance and rebellion against God. This defiance manifests in many ways around the world. It is “man’s system,” not God’s. It is man’s priorities, plans, and agenda, as opposed to God’s agenda. There is an interesting religious myth entangled in this whole origin-of-Babylon tale. It is believed by many that Nimrod’s wife, Semiramis, was part and parcel of his schemes. She was an evil and wicked woman who gave birth to Tammuz, whom the Bible calls “detestable”. (Ezekiel 8:14). A quick internet search will take you down an unbelievable rabbit hole that ends up with Ishtar, Isis, Venus, Aphrodite, and even Ashtoreth and Baal. These gave rise to sex cults coupled with political power. Reader, the bottom line for you and me is that we are to avoid Babylon. Seek the spiritual safety and security in following the One True God who is, and know that all else is fake. It is Babylon. Trust in God and live according to His word.