If Satan is the father of sin than Babylon may be said to be sin’s mother: “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS (unfaithfulness) AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH (sin)” (Rev 17:5). Babylon symbolizes a kingdom for man apart from God. It contains the full scope of cosmos diabolicus, Satan’s worldly system, which includes art, entertainment, economics, the media, education, commerce, commercialism, and religion—virtually every aspect of society and culture on earth. Its spellbinding grip captivates mankind into a mental bondage intent on deifying self and denying God. Most people do not even realize they are enslaved to this spiritual empire. They are essentially unconscious, asleep to its influence. But God offers to enlighten the blind, to wake the sleeper, to free the captive from Babylon: “…Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins,” is the invitation to humanity (Rev 18:4).
The centerpiece of the artwork portrays the Tower of Babel. The ancient Babylonians were determined to build a city high in the heavens, a tower that reached up to God. Motivated by pride, they wanted to be like God, which is the same sin that precipitated Lucifer’s fall: “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves” (Gen 11:4).
God saw that a single language and culture for all humanity only helped mankind to fulfill the wicked designs of his heart. Swift intervention was necessary to restrain evil and preserve the human race. God said, “…they all have one language and this is what they begin to do; now nothing they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech” (Gen 11:6-7).
God scattered the people. The confusion of tongues at ancient Babylon gave birth to the various nations and cultures of the earth. But the system of self-worship, the idea of a society in which man is captain of his own destiny and god of his own life is founded upon the lie Satan told Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan said, “You will not surely die… you will be like God” (Gen 3:4-5). Hence, this is the lie that underpins spiritual Babylon and remains ubiquitous in every culture and country to this day. In this vein, ancient Babylon was but a reflection of spiritual Babylon, the outward manifestation of an invisible cosmic system known as cosmos diabolicus. Satan continues to strive toward creating an empire apart from God, a world in which “do as thou wilt” is the whole of the law.
Most people sit upon the thrones of their hearts as kings and queens. Most people are separated from God and unconscious they live in the mental bondage of spiritual Babylon. This is pictured by the man in chains and the woman sleeping. The man in chains emphasizes the bondage of spiritual Babylon. He is held captive by the beast of Revelation. A line of skyscrapers soar across the bottom of the artwork, associating ancient Babylon with modern society. They are different towers, but the same principle applies. Man seeks to create a name for himself, to obtain glory, to be like God. The screamer appears adjacent the melting clocks, a reference to time running out before judgment. The hourglass at the top right and the caption which reads, “The end is near,” indicates that spiritual Babylon will eventually be judged, just as ancient Babylon was judged.
Whereas the chained highlights the bondage of spiritual Babylon, the sleeping woman at the bottom left represents the unconscious nature of Satan’s spell. Most people remain unaware of God’s existence as anything more than an abstract concept. Even professing believers are unwittingly enslaved to a system of self-reliance, for religion is a part of cosmos diabolicus. Only a personal relationship with Christ, not religion, is the only true path out of spiritual Babylon. The woman lies asleep and oblivious to where she is and what transpires around her.
The caption under the woman reads, “The Awakening of Humanity.” This alludes to the breaking of Satan’s spell. The miniature empty bed under the sleeping woman symbolizes that more people continue to sleep in Babylon than have awakened from Babylon. The caption “unknown to the vast majority” indicates that most people remain bewitched, blinded, and enchanted by Satan who deceives every nation and culture on earth: “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 Jn 5:19).
God tells us to “Go forth from Babylon” (Isa 48:20), to “Come out from among them and be separate” (2 Cor 6:17). But how can this be done if one is blind, asleep, and in bondage? The answer is simple. What is impossible for man is possible with God. He enlightens, awakens, and liberates. He empowers people to make the journey from Babylon and accept Christ as Lord, Savior, and King.
God the Father depicted in Blake’s Ancient of Days appears in the upper left corner. He extracts an ethereal figure from the sleeping woman, her inner being. God opens the top of the figure’s skull and removes the brain. He places His hand upon the figure’s forehead, the location of spiritual sealing and the chakra associated with vision and enlightenment. This pictures God awakening the sleeper and liberating her mind from its bondage. He enlightens the blind, opening the spiritual eyes of flesh-and-blood man. The Satanic spell is broken, and the opportunity to leave Babylon is presented. The scene pictures that no man comes to Christ of His own volition. It is God the Father who must first draw an individual, stirring the heart, liberating the mind, and opening the spiritual eyes to inner vision (Jn 6:44).
While the Father initially draws the sleeper through the Spirit, the Son Jesus Christ is the actual path, the vehicle out of spiritual Babylon. In the upper right corner, the sleeping woman appears fully conscious. She peers over a liberated mind, representing that she is out of the bondage of Babylon. A smaller version of God the Father again appears, opening the “mind’s eye.” The eye stares directly at scenes picturing the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. This is the offer to humanity, a new way of living. God invites us to surrender self and accept Christ as Lord.
Many will count the cost and it will be too much to bear. God opens the spiritual eyes long enough for people to either accept or reject Christ. Many will reject the Savior and doze back into slumber. The lure of living for the pleasure of self is too enticing. But for those in whom Love germinates, we float around on clouds, encapsulated in a divine bubble of grace and protection. We live in the world but are not of the world. And we remain thankful through all hardship and suffering, trusting that it perfects character and builds faith.
This is the concept displayed at top center by the carefree believer resting upon a cloud. He escaped spiritual Babylon through Christ and now basks high above the evil of the earth. The adjacent caption reads, “a unique and individual experience.” This refers to God revealing Himself to each man in a personal way.
American leaders George W. Bush, John McCain, and Barrack Obama are depicted riding the beast of Revelation. This pictures the infidelity and moral decline of the United States, that there is a special relationship between America and spiritual Babylon. Because each of the heads and horns of the beast represent kings and their respective powers over nations (Rev 17:10-13), America at the helm demonstrates the extraordinary influence the U.S. exerts over other nations through foreign policy and imperialism. America, like all governments, is an instrument of supernatural forces. While purposed to secure individual freedom, powerful governments unwittingly become tools for promoting cosmos diabolicus in the war between good and evil.
In our computer information age, the protective barriers that language and culture once presented are quickly evaporating. The world is able to collaborate, a sign we are approaching the end of days. God said that if humanity were in one accord, the evil would be so great that “nothing that (they) propose to do will be withheld” (Gen 11:6).
The confusion of tongues brought an end to ancient Babylon but the self-worship that under-girds spiritual Babylon persists to this day. The only way out, the only escape from cosmos diabolicus is to die to self and accept Christ as Savior. God enlightens the blind and frees the captive long enough to make this decision. Those who reject the offer shall suffer Babylon’s judgment, while those who accept Christ shall partake in the promise of a restored language and unified culture, a pure and spiritual tongue: “For then I will restore to the people a pure language; That they may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord” (Zeph 3:9).
May the Lord enrich your life in the encapsulated grace bubble. If His love has touched your life as it has mine, then indeed we float around on clouds. Amen.
Larry Word
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