«　WEEK 9　DAY 5　»

　　Gen. 11:4 And they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens; and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the surface of the whole earth.

　　Jer. 51:9 We tried to heal Babylon, but she is not healed; forsake her, and let each one of us go to his own land; for her judgment has reached to heaven…

　　The name Babylon originates from “Babel.”…The principle of the tower of Babel involves the attempt to build up something from earth to reach unto heaven. When men built this tower, they used bricks….Stone is made by God;…bricks are a human invention….The meaning of Babylon relates to man’s own efforts to build a tower to reach unto heaven. Babylon represents man’s ability. It represents a false Christianity, a Christianity which does not allow the Holy Spirit to have authority. It does not seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance; it does all things by human effort….Those who are according to this principle do not see that they are limited; rather, they attempt to do the Lord’s work by their own natural ability. They do not stand in a position where they are truly able to say, “Lord, if You do not give us grace, we cannot do anything.” They think that man’s ability can suffice for spiritual things. Their intention is to establish something upon the earth that will reach to heaven. (CWWN, vol. 34, “The Glorious Church,” p. 101)

　　One man has some talent and thinks that he can preach after he has studied a little theology. What is this? Bricks! Another man who is very clever receives some help and possesses some knowledge and then becomes a Christian worker. Again, what is this? Bricks! A certain man is capable of doing things, so he is asked to come and manage the affairs of the church. What is this? Bricks! All of these things are man’s endeavors to build something from earth to heaven by human ability, by bricks. Again we must emphasize that there is no place for man in the church. Heavenly things can only come from heaven; the things of this earth can never go to heaven. Man’s difficulty is that he does not see that he is under judgment, nor does he see that he is just dust and clay. Man may build high, but heaven is higher than man’s highest height. No matter how high men may build their tower, they still cannot touch heaven. Heaven is always above man. Though man may climb and build and though he may not fall, he still will not be able to touch heaven. God destroyed man’s plan to build the tower of Babel in order to show man that he is useless in spiritual matters. Man cannot do anything.

　　[The] principle of Babylon is mixing the things of man with the Word of God, and the things of the flesh with the things of the Spirit. It is pretending that something of man is something of God. It is receiving man’s glory to satisfy man’s lust. Therefore, Babylon is mixed and corrupted Christianity. What should our attitude be toward Babylon? Revelation 18:4 says, “And I heard another voice out of heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that you do not participate in her sins and that you do not receive her plagues.” Second Corinthians 6:17-18 also says, “Therefore ‘come out from their midst and be separated, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you.’”…According to God’s Word, His children cannot be involved in any matter containing the character of Babylon. God said that we must come out from every situation where man’s power is mixed with God’s power, where man’s ability is mixed with God’s work, and where man’s opinion is mixed with God’s Word. We cannot partake of anything that has the character of Babylon. We have to come out of it. God’s children must learn from the depths of their spirit to separate themselves from Babylon and to judge all her actions. If we do this, we will not be condemned together with Babylon. (CWWN, vol. 34, “The Glorious Church,” pp. 101-102, 104)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 34, “The Glorious Church,” ch. 5; CWWN, vol. 39, “Love Not the World,” ch. 1