by
CGG Weekly, February 22, 2019


"It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succor of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till."
J.R.R. Tolkien


In Parts One and Two, using the writings of Enheduanna, an ancient Babylonian priestess of the goddess Inanna, we have seen that today's progressive thought mirrors its ancient counterpart remarkably well. From throwing off all restraints to transgenderism, the modern progressive world is just Babylon reborn. This similarity can be traced back to the influence of Satan the Devil, the source of immoral and anti-God beliefs in all the ages of humanity.

In the previous essay, we noted that this pernicious Babylonian influence had even infiltrated the camp of the children of Israel as they began their conquest of Canaan. During the battle of Jericho, Achan coveted and took for himself silver, gold, and "a beautiful Babylonian garment" (Joshua 7:21), the last of which God had dedicated to destruction (Joshua 6:17-19). The temptations produced by Babylon induced him to defy God's clear instructions on the disposal of Jericho's plunder.

But Babylonian fashion was not the only thing that had penetrated into Canaan. Almost immediately after the death of Joshua, the Israelites began to worship Ashtoreth (Judges 2:13)—the Babylonian goddess Inanna under a different name. Solomon's wives caused him to go after Ashtoreth as well, allowing goddess worship to attain official, royal sanction (I Kings 11:5). King Asa's grandmother, Maachah, had an Asherah image, an especially crude part of that worship (I Kings 15:13). Jeremiah refers several times to the people worshipping the "queen of heaven" (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-25), another of Inanna's titles. Ezekiel 8:14 refers to women weeping for Tammuz (Dumuzi), the husband of Ishtar/Easter—the same false goddess.

From the time the Israelites entered the land at Jericho—and likely before—they were influenced by this ancient demonic spirit. It is fitting that Israel and Judah were both taken captive into the land of Mesopotamia, as that land's gods—especially its goddess—had already enslaved the peoples' hearts. In one sense, all God did was to move their bodies to where their hearts already resided.

As we know, Genesis shows the spirit of Babylon present in Eden, and in prophecies foretelling the end of the age, God depicts Babylon as a brazen, defiant, blasphemous woman:

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication." . . . The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement. (Revelation 17:1-2, 4-6)

Just as there is a remarkable similarity between the Serpent's words in Eden and the spirit of Inanna, so, too, John's description of the harlot in Revelation 17 and 18 matches Inanna with remarkable accuracy. Inanna was the patroness of prostitutes, just as Babylon is the mother of harlots. The goddess is depicted as wearing a prostitute's necklace of pearls, just as Babylon does in verse 4. Even as her devoted worshipper, Jezebel, slaughtered God's prophets (compare I Kings 18:4, 13, 19), so this woman becomes drunk on the blood of saints. Finally, just as the spirit of Inanna spread over all the earth, so end-time Babylon sits on multitudes of peoples, nations, and languages.

In Revelation 18:2, an angel identifies Babylon as being "fallen, fallen," which need not refer to structural integrity. "Fallen" can also imply a diminished moral state, such as "fallen angels" or a "fallen woman"—a phrase rarely used anymore for fear of being "judgmental." Verse 7 provides a further description: "In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.'"

Babylon's self-glorification falls in line with Inanna's attitude and that of those influenced by that spirit. Her words—"I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow"—not only echo Inanna (the "queen of heaven"), but they also allude to God's depiction of the daughter of Babylon: "Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, who dwell securely, who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know the loss of children'" (Isaiah 47:8). These words appear within her boast of self-sufficiency. Like Inanna, the daughter of Babylon claims the prerogatives of the Most High God, even to appropriating His title, "I AM": "For you have trusted in your wickedness; you have said, ‘No one sees me'; your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; and you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me'" (Isaiah 47:10; compare 45:5).

Regardless of the exact identity of this end-time city called "Babylon the Great," we must recognize that this world is completely given over to the spirit of Babylon; it permeates wherever one lives. It first appeared in Eden, and in these prophecies, we see in ungodly humanity the effects of 6,000 years under that spirit. This spirit is antagonistic toward every institution of God, even toward something as basic as a person's God-given gender. It is a spirit of deliberate androgyny—of gender-questioning, gender-bending, and gender-destroying—influencing humans to desire to be in the image of fallen angels, which do not marry (see Matthew 22:30). At its core, though, it is a spirit of self-determination and independence that rebels at the idea of submitting to anything but its own desires.

In Revelation 18:4, a voice comes from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, My people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues." We have read it many times, but we must continue to think about it because the spirit of Babylon will never retreat. Until God Himself silences it at the end of this age, it will only strengthen as more people receive and re-broadcast it. The rampantly increasing sexual perversions may not sway us, but because of human nature that remains in us, we all desire self-determination and independence. To some degree, due to our exposure to the spirit of Babylon, we still hold God at arm's length.

As Passover approaches, we need to look around—and within—and consider to what extent the spirit of Babylon is still influential in our lives.