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I had a dream the other night. I was in an army. My bishop was the head of our platoon. He was leading us in a military march. We were marching in formation. We were on the decks of a ship and we were marching around the outside edges of the deck in circles. In the dream, I started to get in trouble because I wasn't marching exactly the same as the others according to the orders coming down. I was told to "get back in line".
As I was thinking about this today, I thought about what a powerful symbol the military march is. Each person has been brought into conformance. They all obey the commands they are given by a single man. Each has given up his individuality in order to match all the other members of the group. They are taught to stay in line and keep each other line or suffer the consequences.
A couple years ago, I attended a marine graduation ceremony for my nephew who had recently joined the marines. The different groups were all brought out following their respective leader and marched in formation for the review of the head brass. I knew my nephew was in one of the groups but since all of them looked identical - I could not tell which one was him. Each leader then shouted out commands for the respective groups and the head brass were shown how well the new recruits had been trained to follow and keep each command with exactness.
It is fairly easy to get specific about “Babylon.” That name is only the Middle Eastern name, “Babel” (as in, “the Tower of Babel”), as that name was used and pronounced among its subsequent Greek Conquerors. It is well known how the Greek
suffix, “-on,” is attached in many Greek expressions, such as in: “neutr-on,” “prot-on,”
etc. So, the name, “Babyl-on,” is just the Middle Eastern name, “Babel,” with the Greek
suffix, “-on” attached to it. In the Middle Eastern Language that is spoken where the City of Babylon used to be located, the name of that City is still pronounced: “Bab-eel.” Therefore, it is quite easy to see how its Greek Conquerors would have devised for it a pronunciation that produced a spelling, down through History, close to: “Bab-eel-on.”
The “Tower of Babel” was thought of as “the Enemy of all Righteousness” by the
Prophetic Leaders of the Holy Scriptures. The “Second Father” of the Human Race,
Noah, and his Patriarchal Successor Son, Shem, had to flee for their lives from the Evils
of the Builders of the Tower of Babel. However, the Tower of Babel’s way of doing
things came down to the followers of its Evil Builders in a “whole different light.”
In the original ancient Language that remained in that area, the expression,
“Bab-el” means, “the Tower (Bab) of God (El).” Readers of the Bible know that the
names, “El-ohim” and “El-i” are names used in the Bible for God the Father.
Moreover, the Middle Eastern word for that Tower has also retained a
significance. All Americans know the tale of “Ali Baba.” The current Middle Eastern
word for “God” is “Allah.” The word “Allah” becomes “Ali,” to mean, “of God.” In the Middle East the expression, “Baba Ali,” has always meant, “The Tower of God.”
So, whereas to Christian readers of the Bible the “Tower of Babel” has always
been a part of, “the quintessence of Evil,” to the people of the Middle East it has always
meant the origin of their Social Culture.
It may be the first time that this information is heard by many modern, Christian
Americans; but, until the end of World War I, the “Pope” of the Mohammedan Religion
bore the name of “the Tower of God”; he was the, “Baba Ali.” (And, of course, that is
just “Ali Baba” said backwards.)
Many modern Americans may have never been informed of the fact that Mohammedans were led by a “Pope,” down to the end of World War I. Some may have been informed of the fact that he was also the Emperor of the Middle Eastern Empire that was named, “the Ottoman Empire.” He was on the losing side of World War I, so his
Office went out of existence at that time.
Some Americans may know that the English word, “Pope” comes from the French word that is spelled, “Pape.” However, in France that word is pronounced quite a
lot like the Italian pronunciation for their word, “Papa,” which is the word for, “Pope,” in Italy. However, the word and concept of a “Papa” did not originate in Italy.
That word and its meaning came to Italy from Ancient Greece. Some people may
be familiar with such Greek names as, “Papanicholas” and “Papandropolis.” This word,“Papa,” its pronunciation, meaning and the function that it represented, all came to Italy from Ancient Greece.
However, the name and the significance of the name, “Papa” did not originate in
Greece. It came to Ancient Greece from the Middle Eastern Language of Arabic, spoken, anciently, to the east of Greece. Throughout the history of the use of this word in Italy, all Arabic-speaking Roman Catholics have always referred to, “the Pope” as, “the Baba.”
The origin of the word and the concept of that word as the name for the Leader of
Cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean area, is the Arabic concept of that word, as
expressed in the name of the Leader of the Mohammedan Religion down to World War I,
who was, again, thought of as “the Baba Ali.” That name also served as the widely
known name for his Headquarters.
So I found this interesting in that it shows how these words have come down to us over time through the various languages. It helped me understand and see a bit more of the symbolic nature of what the tower of Babel represented and ways in which that tower of Babel exists among us today.
The tower of Babel and Babylon is symbolic of a system which create structures of power and control. In Daniel's dream, it was represented by the image of gold, silver, brass, iron, and clay. It represents the kingdoms of the world in all of their different forms: Nations, governments, corporations, and churches. It is characterized by hierarchies of power, classifications of persons, divisions and ranks. It is characterized by inequality and social casts. These are led by presidents, popes, emperors, kings, and dictators and filled with generals, authorities, admirals, officers, administrators, managers, bosses, and overseers.
The systems of Babylon are often structured like a pyramid with a bottom based and made up of the majority of men - the workers, the common folk, the lowest level. To climb the ranks in these structures, you must comply with the demands of the levels above and prove your ability to abide by the orthodoxy and rules of that system. Each level increases in power and status while decreasing in numbers and leads up to a single point - to the revered and respected leader. This leader commands and dictates. When the system is running at top levels of efficiency, those edicts and commands are carried from top to bottom and implemented at each level. In order for the system to be effective, it is often important to have that leader portrayed as larger than life, amazing, godlike, or infallible so that the people will rally around that leader and give that leader their faith. Thus are created the idols of Babylon.
These systems of power exist in different realms. Each has its own hierarchies of power and modern set of idols for worship. The political is often represented by governments and their military; the economical is represented by financial empires and corporations; the sports and entertainment systems with their heroes, stars, and celebrities; and those of the religious realm are represented by churches and religious orders.
Babylon is one of the two competing systems or ideologies competing for the hearts, minds, and the faith of men. In this world, it has been this way from the beginning. There have always been two competing cultures. One is designed to bring all men into captivity through coercion and force through a survival of the fittest type mindset. The other is designed to gently invite, entice, and bring men to their God through their own choice and voluntary subjection of their will to His. The first system, Babylon, ultimately serves the purposes of its founder.
Moses 4
3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
4 And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.
Satan works to deceive and blind us. He fills the world with lies and mists of darkness in order to accomplish this work and to bring men into captivity. These lies blind us to the truth of our situation and to our own captivity. We come into this world and are educated that this is how things always have been, that they are the way things are meant to be, and that this order of things is natural. We cling tenaciously to these traditions handed down to us that blind us, and to creeds that bind us. By doing so, we agree to our own captivity.
God wants to bring us out of captivity by breaking through the captivity and forsaking these lies. He wants us to grow by gaining intelligence, light, and truth which will lead us and our families to Him.
Section 93
36. The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.
37. Light and truth forsake that evil one.
38. Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God.
39. And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers.
40. But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth.
Section 123
7. It is an imperative duty that we owe to God, to angels, with whom we shall be brought to stand, and also to ourselves, to our wives and children, who have been made to bow down with grief, sorrow, and care, under the most damning hand of murder, tyranny, and oppression, supported and urged on and upheld by the influence of that spirit which hath so strongly riveted the creeds of the fathers, who have inherited lies, upon the hearts of the children, and filled the world with confusion, and has been growing stronger and stronger, and is now the very mainspring of all corruption, and the whole earth groans under the weight of its iniquity.
8. It is an iron yoke, it is a strong band; they are the very handcuffs, and chains, and shackles, and fetters of hell.
John 8
31. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
There is an alternative to Babylon. It has rarely been seen upon this earth (the city of Enoch, the people of Melchizedek, the peoples in the Americas after Christ's visit), but it has been seen and it has been prophesied that it will happen again, here, in the end times. It is Zion. It is the true Zion, not one of the many counterfeits (communism, communes, different types of cults) which Satan has used to confuse and besmirch the real thing. When it comes, it will be brought about by the Lord, not by men. Each time the Lord has started a new dispensation of the gospel, the invitation to rise up and create Zion and to create a different social order of existence has been extended. More often than not, those to whom the invitation was extended have chosen instead to stay in Babylon and that which is given is often later corrupted to take on the attributes and appearance of the systems of Babylon instead.
While Babylon is characterized by its different strata and inequality, Zion will be characterized by equality and unanimity.
Moses 7
18. And the Lord called his people ZION, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.
There are a number of impediments and road blocks that keep Zion from happening. One is our ignorance, our inability to recognize Babylon in our day to day lives. We need to be able to distinguish the difference and not confuse one for the other. Among Christ's apostles and the Gentiles of that day, the inability to distinguish between the two was common. Christ commented on this when his apostles argued about position.
Luke 22
24. And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.
25. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.
26. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.
The core problem seems to be related to men wanting to rule and reign over each other, to make divisions, and get ahead. The early saints of the dispensation started with Joseph Smith also struggled with these things.
Section 101
6. Behold, I say unto you, there were jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances.
For Zion to occur, it is necessary that we understand the different forms of iniquity that exist among us. Iniquity is related to the word inequality. That which creates inequality and division among God's children is iniquity. We must arrive at a point where we are willing to let go of that which is false that is masquerading as that which is true. With so many voices and so many lies in the world, how do we find the truth and the way out? The way to escape this system of captivity, or to escape from Babylon, is to hearken to God's voice.
D&C 84
44 For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.
45 For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
46 And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.
47 And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father.
This system is designed to make all men free. This requires no middle man. The Spirit is given to each man that cometh into the world. We can receive our light and guidance directly from the true source rather than through a chain of command. Instead of being based in coercion, compliance, and fear; it is based in truth, light, and love. The more we hearken to this voice, follow its promptings, and forsake our sins, the more we are able to discern light and truth and the closer we are able to come to and to know our Lord.
Section 93
1. VERILY, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;
When you learn to listen to and follow that inner voice of the Spirit which giveth light to every man, then you are able to leave the great and spacious buildings of this world and come to the tree of life.
To do so, we must learn to not be seduced by any of the counterfeits which do and will exist. Of all of the systems of power that were listed above; the ones which gives most power to the enemy over the hearts of men have always been the religious counterfeits. When we switch from relying on God to relying on men in any form for our salvation, we open the door to these deceptions. Will we learn hear the voice of God and to follow Him only on the path to Zion or will we instead hearken to the commandments of men and remain a captive in Babylon?
Section 46
7. But ye are commanded in all things to ask of God, who giveth liberally; and that which the Spirit testifies unto you even so I would that ye should do in all holiness of heart, walking uprightly before me, considering the end of your salvation, doing all things with prayer and thanksgiving, that ye may not be seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of devils, or the commandments of men; for some are of men, and others of devils.
Joseph Smith--History 1
19. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: "they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof."
Matthew 15
9. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Section 45
56. And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins.
57. For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived--verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.
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