Babylon the Great or the Kingdom of God, which is it?
This author, along with others in our Conference, have been adamant that we not step one inch away from our long held belief that the Kingdom of God is something arriving only after a final apocalyptic event at the end of this current age. Although a person can even now live according to the ideals and principles found in its New Covenant foundation, the Kingdom itself will be established on the earth only when Jesus the Christ returns in glory for all eyes to see, and completely destroys the current religious and governmental “deep state” of this evil age. He will then rule over the nations.
Our deep concern regarding a move away from our traditional understanding is legitimized by a dangerous movement within the charismatic New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), called the Seven Mountain Mandate. This is a partial quote from Wikepedia about this movement:
“The Seven Mountain Mandate is part of dominionism. The biblical base for the movement is derived from Revelation 17:1–18, wherein verse 9 reads, ‘And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains’. [In reference to Babylon the Great]
The seven areas that the movement believes influence society and that they seek to influence are family, religion, education, media, entertainment, business, and government. They believe that their mission to influence the world through these seven spheres is justified by Isaiah 2:2 ‘Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains.’
By using strategic spiritual warfare, adherents attempt to gain control of the seven mountains by researching and mapping the geographical strongholds of territorial spirits, using prophecy from the movement's prophets to determine the demons' names and roles, and intercession in which they pray on-site to rid the location or ‘mountain’ of demons. Followers believe that by fulfilling the Seven Mountain Mandate, they can establish the kingdom of God on earth and bring about the end times. [emphasis mine]
The movement came to prominence after the 2013 publication of Wallnau's and Bill Johnson's Invading Babylon: The 7 Mountain Mandate.”
One of NAR’s proponents and teachers is Paula White-Cain, who is also a preacher of the “health and wealth prosperity gospel”. The idea is that God will reward faithful Christians with physical and financial health and wealth (especially if they donate to particular ministries). Ms. White-Cain has been appointed by President Trump to be the head of the new White House Faith Office. President Trump has looked to her for spiritual guidance since his first presidential campaign back in 2016. She has been a faithful supporter of his “make America great again” agenda leading up to his current Presidency.
This author suggests that rather than invading Babylon the Great to tear it asunder, the NAR’s ideology will instead establish the very power it ostensibly seeks to overcome. The “make America great again” slogan could turn into something more like “make Babylon great again”. The greatest deception the world has ever known could deceive the very elect if they are not on guard. It is the destruction of Babylon the Great, followed by the destruction of the Beast and his prophet that will precede the coming of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God cannot and will not exist prior to this return of Christ. It would be the height of arrogance to believe that any nation (including Babylon the Great) could itself be transformed into the Kingdom of God!! Such arrogance could lead to massive deception regarding exactly who or what governs the planet.
Don’t get me wrong. This author greatly appreciates the direction and policies of President Trump to date. Yet I have concern about what kind of influencers with which he surrounds himself. There is a fine line between a leader’s love of his country along with a healthy confidence in his decision-making capacity, over against an over-emphasis on his own might and majesty. Ultimately it is God who raises up and tears down, and who brings blessings or curses on a nation. Nebuchadnezzar had to learn this lesson the hard way (Daniel 4). Apparently at least for a time, he repented of such arrogance.
Babylon has primarily been a weapon in the hands of God to punish His people and bring them to repentance. Neither ancient Babylon, nor Babylon the Great can be anywhere remotely equivalent to the Kingdom of God. To believe this is to be in the throes of a deception of huge proportions.
I strongly suggest we stand firmly entrenched in our traditional position that the Kingdom of God is yet future, and in no way shape or form is it a present reality. The Gospel of the Kingdom must be boldly preached within this framework, standing in stark contrast to anything the world experiences now. We can be faithful to our future citizenship without feeling the need to call that citizenship a current reality. In fact, it may be dangerously misleading to do so.
