Suddenly I woke up. I looked at the clock and it said 4:00 AM. Something immediately began to stir in my spirit. I closed my eyes and saw a map of the United States and Mexico. Covering the United States was a black darkness and somehow I knew it was poised to cross the Rio Grande River into Mexico. "What is this blackness?" I thought. Suddenly it came to me - its name was BABYLON.

       Later that morning, I was scheduled to complete a week-long teaching session with the students of the Cave of Adullam in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. I was prepared to speak on reaching the poor and immigrants of the urban core. With this fresh revelation from the Lord, I knew my plans were about to change. I jumped up and began looking for my notes and computer. The subject of Babylon had recently come up in my studies but it seemed so elusive. As I started to dig into the Scriptures again, I faced the same challenge. "What is Babylon?" The Bible tells us it is a woman (Rev. 17:3-5), a city (Rev. 18:10), a land (Isa. 39:3), and a kingdom (Isa. 13:19). If that wasn't ambiguous enough, it was also called a mystery (Rev. 17:5).  

       Not to be deterred this time, I decided to attack it from another angle. "Where did it come from? How did it start?" Soon I was reading Genesis 11:1-7 - the story of the Tower of Babel.

"Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

This passage reveals three characteristics of Babylon that are foundational:

1)      Intelligence. The builders of the city and tower of Babel were very industrious. They revolutionized structure building by creating bricks to replace stones. This gave them virtually unlimited building materials. Not only that, but they also discovered a substance that would serve as mortar for the bricks.

2)      Independence. The passage states that they wanted to build a tower that "reaches to the heavens." God was in heaven and they determined to go there also - only without His help.

3)      Pride. It is obvious from the passage that pride was a prime motivator for the tower. The outcome of completing it was "we may make a name for ourselves."

       I then began to reflect on two other Scripture passages regarding Babylon - Isaiah 47 and Revelation 17, 18. Both speak of the fall of Babylon and the reasons for God's judgment against it. Several sins are exposed. Babylon is described as a lover of pleasure, especially sexual pleasure. It is also a lover of money and riches and capable of producing it. Babylon likes to dabble into witchcraft - for the power it promises. Finally, it hates the true followers of God and is responsible for many of their deaths. 

       As I reflected on these additional characteristics, I thought, "These are evident throughout the earth in various degrees. So why is the United States in blackness and not Mexico?" The answer came quickly and powerfully into my spirit. "Mexico has not received the heart of Babylon." "But, what is in its heart, Lord?" In my spirit, I clearly heard the answer, "WE DO NOT NEED GOD."