The Technological Tower of Babel

In the past, God has had to intervene with humanity a number of times. His judgment is always both perfectly righteous and perfectly just, and is often to protect humanity from themselves. Thus, God’s judgments are also merciful.

We see this when God prevented Adam and Eve from accessing eternal physical life in their fallen state, by barring access to the Tree of Life. We see this when God intervened when the human genome had been corrupted through angelic-DNA, through a Global Flood. In both these instances, humanity would have been rendered unsaveable if allowed to continue in their fallen state. By Genesis chapter 11, mankind had already reached another rebellious milestone. Humanity decided they could band together, build a tower into the heavens, and make a name for themselves. Note the common theme in all three instances – humans were opposing God’s instructions and instead trying to “be as gods” themselves. This is the core of the sin nature – following human will instead of God’s will.

Let’s examine the Tower of Babel situation more closely:

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:1-9 ESV)

At Babel (Babylon), humans were:

Building a city, instead of dispersing over the earth as God had commanded
Building a tower with its top “in the heavens”, to “make a name” for themselves

God notes that the people acting together, “globally”, were trying to attain technological advancement in the form of a city and advanced tower/construction. The purpose was to make a name for THEMSELVES, not to bring glory to God. It was in direct violation of His command to fill the earth and subdue it. So, God confused their language and dispersed them Himself.

The language barriers and dispersion have existed between nations ever since.

Until our day.

Language and Communication Barriers

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a comedy science fiction series by Douglas Adams recorded for radio in 1978, features a “Babel Fish”:

“The Babel fish is small, yellow, leech-like, and probably the oddest thing in the universe. It feeds on brain wave energy, absorbing all unconscious frequencies and then excreting telepathically a matrix formed from the conscious frequencies and nerve signals picked up from the speech centres of the brain, the practical upshot of which is that if you stick one in your ear, you can instantly understand anything said to you in any form of language: the speech you hear decodes the brain wave matrix.”

It is a universal translator that neatly crosses the language divide between any species. The book points out that the Babel fish could not possibly have developed naturally, and therefore it both proves and disproves the existence of God…

Meanwhile the poor Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different cultures and races, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation.

(wikipedia)

While obviously meant to be humorous, I find his connection between a universal translator, belief in the non-existence of God, and wars to be interesting in light of what is prophesied to occur in the “latter days”.

The “Babel Fish” is here.

English is taking over as the most commonly spoken language around the globe. It is the official language of global business. As translation software and information technology rapidly advances, the Tower of Babel is brought to mind… and not in a good way. Man seems to be purposefully circumventing the judgment of God in confusing our speech. Language has ceased to be a barrier to globalization.

Along with overcoming language barriers, worldwide communication is routine, cheap, and easy. From radio waves and sattelites to cellphones and the internet, sending information and chatting around the globe has become as easy as the click of a button. In the last 10-20 years there have been incomprehensible advancements in global communication. When I was a kid (not THAT long ago), our phones were corded, there was no internet, and long distance calls started at around $1 per minute.

Dispersion Barriers

Until the last 120 or so years, human dispersion around the globe was an effective barrier to globalization. Sure, there has been sea travel for thousands of years, but this is slow and arduous. In the last 120 years mankind has gone from walking and riding horses to routine motor vehicle, train, and air travel. With these advancements within the last century, it has become easy to ship people and material goods worldwide.

Notably, we have even traveled to the “second heaven” outside our atmosphere – space. We’ve sent all kinds of sattelites, built with human hands, to reside in the “heavens”.

Globalization

With the breakdown of language, communication, and travel barriers, globalization has become a reality. Defying God, albeit somewhat naively, humanity has once again banded together in unity against Him. While true unification is only a notion, it is an active goal of many national governments. Wikipedia describes the United Nations this way:

The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization tasked to promote international co-operation and to create and maintain international order. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City, and experiences extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict. The UN is the largest, most familiar, most internationally represented and most powerful intergovernmental organization in the world.

(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations)

There are only 5 countries in the world that are not currently part of the UN. There are also smaller bands of nations, such as the European Union, that have formed in the last few decades. This is viewed by most in a positive light, as the progression of humanism. Dictionary.com defines Humanism thus:

“an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems”.

(Source: Dictionary.com)

This seems to be exactly what the United Nations mission statement includes.

Whether deliberate or ironic, the United Nations parliament building strongly resembles a certain well-known tower of the past…

Image result for united nations parliament building

Knowledge Will Increase

The prophet Daniel wrote 2500 years ago that the time of the End will be marked by increases in man’s travel ability and intellectual knowledge.

But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase. (Daniel 12:4 ESV)

Only in the last few decades has this been taking place. Knowledge is expanding at such a great rate that we have called our current age the “information age”.

We Shall Be As Gods

Probing into the structure of DNA and manipulating it is one way we have tried to “become as gods” and overcome God’s judgment of mortality. We are also trying to control life (reproduction technologies) and death (euthanasia). I believe this is crossing boundaries that God doesn’t mean for us to cross. I have devoted a post to it HERE.

Manipulating the weather, through HAARP, is another way humanity is trying to take God’s place.

Probing into the building blocks of matter is another clear boundary I believe humanity has crossed. And here is where CERN comes in. CERN originated in the late 1940’s and describes itself:

At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. They use the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments to study the basic constituents of matter – the fundamental particles. The particles are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives the physicists clues about how the particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature.

Source: https://home.cern/about

CERN is the organization who relentlessly searched for, and in 2012 found what they termed the “God particle”, officially named the Higgs boson. This particle is what apparently keeps the universe on the brink of instability. God tells us that it is through Jesus Christ that all things are held together:

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15-16 ESV)

CERN is correct, though, that the seen is made out of things that are invisible:

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Hebrews 11:3 ESV)

The unseen realm is part of a dimension which has deliberately been veiled from our eyes. However, this dimension is chomping at the bit to reveal itself. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but its’ full revelation is being restrained currently.

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:6-12 ESV)

CERN is attempting to open portals, which I believe lead a path straight to the Abyss. Revelation 12 details Satan and his fallen angel horde being cast down to the earth when salvation comes to believers (likely at the rapture of the Church). During God’s judgment of Trumpet 5, Satan is given the key to the Abyss to release fallen angels upon the world. Trumpet 6 also seems to contain demonic entities. These portals to the Abyss *will* be opened. Be careful what you ask for, humanity.

Conclusion

Our world has been collectively marching towards a global existence over the last 70 or so years. We truly are global for the first time since the dawn of humanity. Would God view this progression of globalism positively? His words ring in my ears: “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.”

Humans are becoming puffed up with pride in their own wisdom, believing they have overcome any need for “God” through science and technology. They are probing and manipulating the building blocks of both animate (DNA) and inanimate (particles) matter. This clearly is in the Creator’s realm, and I believe crosses boundaries we are not meant to cross. Humans are about to plunge headlong into a deception so strong, so convincing, as to render themselves unsaveable. God, in His righteousness and His mercy, will rise up once again to protect us from ourselves.

And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. (Matthew 24:22 ESV)

Further Resources:

Are you CERTAIN of your Salvation, beyond a shadow of a doubt? Do you KNOW that no matter when the rapture occurs, you will be counted worthy to escape? If not, please read What Must I do to Be Saved.

This documentary is worth watching: Cern and the Halls of Hell. A secular discussion of dark matter is also revealing: Dark Matter and our Connection to the Universe.

God’s Mosaic – A Whole Scripture Overview of Things To Come

Main Menu – God’s Mosaic Prophecy Model

The Bible is infallible. I am not. I am merely challenging traditional models and testing them against Scripture. I believe that traditional pretribulation teachings provide a solid backbone upon which to lay the musculature of details, some of which I think might need to be adjusted slightly. I encourage you to consider my thoughts as you also examine the scriptures to see if these things are so!

Red Moon Rapture

A Literal, Whole Scripture Prophecy Model