God wants each one of us to come to Him as an individual, not as part of a group. God does not interact with groups but with individuals. It is God's plan that His Kingdom be composed of people who have come to know Him in a very personal way, who have become part of Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. Such people automatically are one with each other because they are integral parts of the one Christ. None of them looks to the other for recognition, power, or wisdom, except as God directs one to minister to the other. The members of the Body of Christ do not gain status, wisdom, or power by joining together but by living in iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to the Father.

Can you see now why God prevented the ancient people from proceeding with their plan to build the city? God caused them to be confused and scattered them over the face of the whole earth so they would look to Him rather than to each other. To look to the group instead of God is Babylon—confusion!

The spirit of Babylon is found in the world. It's name is Antichrist.

The spirit of Babylon is found in religion, including the Christian religion. Its name is Babylon the Great.

It seems so natural and "right" that people should join together to promote the Christian religion. However, this is not God's way. The result of such attempts at united effort, unless clearly and specifically put into effect by Jesus Christ, brings into existence the horror of Babylon the Great. When God's people neglect to seek the mind of Christ, and look to cooperation with others in order to build the Kingdom of God, we eventually create a cage of unclean spirits.

The Lord Jesus Christ stated He would build His own Church. For two thousand years we have denied Him His right to build His Church. Instead we have attempted to do this for Him. The result has been Babylon! Confusion! A thousand competing denominations!

Many churches understand that a true Christian is not worldly in appearance and behavior, and that God does not want us to continue in sin. This is good and right. But the greatest monster of all is self-will. Until God destroys the self-will from us by repeatedly sending tribulations and prisons to purify us of this monster, we always are going to bring forth Babylon as we seek to build the Kingdom of God.

Two chapters of the Book of Revelation are devoted to a discussion of Babylon the Great, revealing what an abominable institution it is. From the description, I believe Babylon the Great represents the Christian religion when it is guided and empowered by the will and ability of human beings instead of by close interaction with the living Jesus and by the Holy Spirit.

While the description of Babylon the Great seems to fit the Catholic Church to a significant extent, it is not our goal to condemn this particular denomination. The spirit of Babylon, that is, of man seeking to join with other men to gain a name for themselves, to pool their abilities, can be found in the smallest of independent churches. We understand well that many fine, self-sacrificing Christians have emerged from a Catholic background, and so our point is not to point the finger at them or to minimize their contribution to mankind in any manner whatever.

To be continued.