The Origins of Babylonian Rebellion: Part 1

From Adam to Noah the earth became corrupted in rebellion against God. That problem was judiciously resolved with the flood, which, in essence, gave the earth a clean slate. When Noah emerged from the ark, he entered a "new world" that had been cleansed and purified.

However, the roots of the problem remained, because even the eight souls on the ark were yet mortal. This death (mortality) working in them was their fatal weakness causing them to sin, as Rom. 5:12 reads,

"Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered the world, and death [also entered] through sin; and so DEATH passed into all men, ON WHICH ALL SIN."

Although the flood dealt with sinners of the day on a legal basis, it did nothing to remove the mortality that was in Noah and his family. Thus, sin and rebellion against God were sure to emerge once again in the earth. This did not take long.

Noah planted a vineyard, and became drunk and was uncovered in his tent. The Bible tells us in Gen. 9:22 that Noah's son, Ham, "saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brethren outside." Other than that, it does not tell us how Noah became "uncovered" nor why Noah was angry enough with Ham to lay a curse upon him and his son.

"And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him."

We have all assumed that Ham did nothing other than walking into the tent and seeing his father naked in the tent while he was passed out. But the book of Jasher, an ancient manuscript discovered in 1613, gives us a few more details. It says that Ham actually stole Noah's garments. Noah had been too drunk to undress himself and had passed out fully clothed. Ham undressed him and took his garments.

Jasher tells us that these were the garments made of animal skins that God had given to Adam in Gen. 3:21. They had been passed down through Enoch and Methuselah to Noah. Methuselah had died the same year as the flood was sent, so Noah had these garments only a short time before Ham stole them. The garments had come to signify the divine right to rule the earth--the "dominion mandate" portion of the Birthright. Ham knew that as the youngest son, he was not the inheritor of the Birthright, but he had a lust for power and stole the garments before Noah could give them to Shem.

Ham gave them to his son, Cush. Cush kept them many years, and in his old age he had a son who was named Nimrod, "the rebel." Nimrod was bold enough to actually put on Adam's garments in order to set forth his claim to be the rightful ruler over all men. He, then, became the usurper of power in the earth, built a fortress city called Babel, or Babylon, and set out to conquer people.

This was the first organized government in the earth that was based upon the aristocratic principle of making other men his servants. No longer were men inherently free, and no longer were all men considered to be equal brothers under God. Once this principle was accepted, it degenerated to the place where slavery itself became justified in their eyes. And this became a religious principle in the new Babylonian religion that was based upon rebellion against God and against Noah, who was the rightful Patriarch-style King.

Insofar as political theory is concerned, the Dominion Mandate had given the Birthright holders the divine right to rule, but their rule was to be based upon Fatherhood, rather than upon Aristocracy as we know it today. It was based upon the love of a Father leading his children, bringing out the best in his children, and training them to their full potential. Leadership was based upon serving his children, rather than lording it over them to serve his own interests.

This comes out more fully in the New Testament, where Jesus often explained this principle to His disciples. Rule without love is how the nations do it, Jesus said, but the disciples were being given the Dominion Mandate to serve mankind as Fathers bring forth and train children.

In Jesus' day the usurpers were still in control of the nation of Judea. (Not Rome, for God had lawfully given Judea into the hands of the four kingdoms, including Rome.) These usurpers were the priests of the temple and the Sanhedrin, who were willing to kill the Heir in order to seize His inheritance (Matt. 21:38). In other words, they were affected by the same spirit that motivated Ham and Nimrod to usurp the Kingdom for themselves. But Jesus taught His disciples to love their enemies and do good to those that hated them (Matt. 5:44). Paul followed up by saying in Rom. 12:21, "Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

It is so easy for a man to justify the use of force to regain authority that has been unlawfully usurped. It is justified as a godly desire to establish justice in the earth. Such people have "faith" that God will back them in their evil-eradication program. It is not easy to see beyond justice and move in the realm of true faith, in which men understand that God has a bigger program than that and a better plan.

The carnal mind always plots to eradicate evil with more evil, to fight violence with violence, and to force all men to become good people. In fact, we are even today involved in a war in Iraq which claims to be doing this very thing. The President justifies the war by saying that we overthrew a cruel dictator and are now fighting to bring Democracy to the Middle East. We are following the long-established Babylonian principle of overcoming evil by violence and force. Even if we were to succeed in some degree, this policy will ultimately fail, because in the end we will only succeed in replacing the "cruel dictator" with another form of Babylonian government. At best, it is a temporary solution.

But we are living in a day when God is about to resolve the long-term problem of Babylonian government that began with Nimrod so long ago. Those who are truly called to rule by the Fatherhood principle are learning how to overcome evil with good, how to command forgiveness by the power of Love, rather than control men by the power of fear and guilt.

Yesterday, as twelve of us met in Sacramento to discuss the Word of the Lord, we discerned that it was His will that we overcome Ham, Cush, and Nimrod in the proper, biblical manner. We did not call down fire and brimstone upon their heads to overcome them with violence and force. Instead, we issued the divine verdict as spokesmen for the Divine Court that they be forgiven and restored to the family of God. By the power of Love, evil will be overthrown. All structures that they and their successors built, the theories of government that are based upon self-interest and perpetuated by fear, will be shaken, so that only that which is of God's Kingdom will remain standing (Hag. 2:7).

Ham must be restored to his rightful position as a younger son, for he is the father of many nations listed in Genesis 10. Can you hear Ham crying out, "Can I come home now? I have come to my senses and know what I did. Let me be restored once again and rejoin my family. Let me be your servant!" But the Father says, "Bring forth the fatted calf, for this son of mine was lost, but he has now returned."

The power of forgiveness is far greater than the power of justice. Forgiveness has the power to break the rebellion and to transform the hardest heart into the heart of a son of God. But only a victim has the power to forgive. We are children of Noah and Shem, the original victims, and thus have the authority to act on their behalf. So this was decreed yesterday on behalf of the New Gideon's Army which is called to overcome evil with good.