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Denominational Babel

by Phil Maxwell 1998

Before God Almighty formed Adam out of the dust of the earth and breathed life into him, He ordained that man should have authority over all the living things upon the earth. (Ge. 1:26-28) Many think that man lost this dominion when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden for their sin, but the Scriptures do not say that.  Even to this day, Adam's seed maintains dominion over the earth.

People say, "Oh, but Adam yielded his dominion over the earth to Satan when he sinned." Perhaps it would be better for us if this were the case, but it isn't. Adam was made a servant to God, the giver of all life, and when he sinned he yielded himself to Satan. Naturally, if I am a servant, then all I possess is under the authority of whomever I serve, also. Before Adam sinned, he and all he possessed was under God's direct authority, and afterwards, he and all he possessed was under Satan's direct authority. The transference of power was over mankind from God to Satan, and was accomplished by the willful choice of Adam to defy God and yield to Satan. Therefore, man still has the dominion over the earth that God gave to Adam, but the spiritual master over natural man, all the descendants of Adam, is Satan, the god of this world, (2Cor. 4:4) not God Almighty, the Creator of all things. The issue is servitude, not dominion, and always has been.

Ro. 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

It should be noted that the dominion given to Adam and his descendants was specifically and exclusively over the other creatures on the earth. This is why mankind is unable to control such things as natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc.

As an integral part of the authority given man over the earth is the element of power to exercise that authority. This power is tangibly manifested through man's intelligence, which has proven capable of fulfilling the task of subduing all the creatures on the earth. Though man is a land creature with very limited physical attributes, through intelligence alone man dominates animals that dwell from the depths of the sea to the heights of the air, from the smallest to the largest, the weakest to the strongest, and from the mildest to the most ferocious.

Since Adam, all naturally born men and women have been born into bondage to sin, which is servitude to Satan. Therefore, the power of intelligence by which mankind exercises dominion over the earth is under the authority of Satan, insofar as unregenerated man is under his authority. Satan is the arch-enemy of God, and you might say that we who have been "made sinners" (Ro. 5:19) through Adam's transgression are subject to being conscripted into his unholy war against God, along with whatever power we possess, namely, our God-given intelligence.

Several generations after Adam, the wickedness of man had grown to a full under the god of this world, and God was moved to destroy man from the earth with the great flood. Yet, Noah and his family were spared, and after the flood, man's dominion over the earth fell upon Noah and his seed. (Ge. 9:28)

Even though righteousness was imputed to Noah because of his faith, the seed of sin remained in mankind, and like a field full of weeds, grew rapidly in the years that followed the flood. In Genesis, chapter 11, we find the descendants of Noah recognizing the power of unity amongst them, the power that is inherent within the authority over the earth God had given man. They endeavored to build a city and a tower for the purpose of keeping them from being scattered and divided, but God had other plans. Throughout the ages since, man has sought after such unity for the sake of power, but has never been able to both establish and maintain it.

What this illustrates is the fact that the power given to man is singular. It was given to Adam first, then divided amongst all of his descendants, and then, again, singularly inherited by Noah with the same subsequent results. Since the flood, all the people in the world had moved together in unity, and the subject story centers on their collective intelligence coming to a level of fruition that posed a hazard to God's eternal purpose for mankind.

There is a time appointed for such a unity of man, and the manifestation of his collective intelligence, but that was not it. God dealt with the situation by dispersing them through the confusion of different languages. In so doing, He obstructed the unification of their God-given intelligence from being used for wicked purposes. Notice that God didn't take away any of their power, He simply divided it up.

(That time for unity of man's intelligence seems to be clearly in the making right now, as through technology all the barriers of languages are being broken down.)

Now, let us get to how this bears upon our present generation, and the Church in particular. (I say the Church, singular, because the Scriptures say there is only one Church, even though there are now many "churches.")

Similar to the power and authority given to Adam over the earth and passed on through Noah, God gave all power and authority over the kingdom of heaven to His only begotten Son, Yahshua, who delegated the same to the Church. This power was both manifested in the generation of the original Apostles, and is prophesied to be manifested in the last days.

Mt. 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (also, Mt. 18:18)

Jn. 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

He.2:5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. 6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? 7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: 8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

It is interesting to note that the first manifestation of this power reveals a reversal of the language barriers established in the days after the flood, for suddenly men were able to understand the powerful Word of God spoken by the Apostles on the day of Pentecost regardless of their native language (Acts 2).

What happened to the Church since the days of the Apostles? Throughout the centuries since then, no profound manifestation of the awesome power of God such as manifested by Peter, Paul, and the original Church has occurred. The Church was told that it would have within it the power to heal sickness, cast out demons, raise the dead, exercise authority over who would gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven and who would be cut-off, and generally do greater works than what Yahshua Himself did on the earth. In the early days, the Church did these things almost routinely.

Mt. 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

2Th. 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

The later epistles of the New Testament make it clear that the mystery of iniquity, the spirit of antichrist, had already appeared in the Apostle's day, and even a cursory knowledge of history will reveal exactly what happened. The seed of sin was planted within the Church, wickedness came forth, and God responded just like He did with the descendants of Noah and many times since when the power He had given was conscripted by His enemy for evil purposes -- He broke it up.

Even though efforts have been made through the centuries to unify the Church, none have been completely successful. This fact has never been more evident than it is in our generation, where denominational and theological divisions and subdivisions are too numerous to count. Where is the power of God amongst this denominational Babel? Many would have you to believe that it is with this, that, or another one of those divisions or subdivisions of the Church. Don't believe it.

Mt. 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

Whether specifically stated or not, in so asserting these people are also in effect claiming that the power and presence of God is not with their contemporary rivals within the Faith. Like all the maidens vying for king Ahasuerus' pleasure (Est. 2), the "churches" are all competing with one another for the King's blessing. While all the others overly embellish themselves and impatiently seek out the King's attention and favor, there is a quiet and patient Esther hidden from the sight of God's people whom the King will favor above all the others. She only adorns herself with what she is given, and she only does what she is told to do when she is told, and she doesn't seek her only glory at the expense of others.

The power of God is still very much in the Church, as is the Truth, (the two go together) but it is scattered and divided, and, consequently, has been rendered impotent. The Lord told the Pharisees that they "sat in Moses seat" (Mt. 23:2) and "shut up the kingdom of heaven against men" (Mt. 23:13). He then pronounced, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." (Mt. 23:38) Very similar hypocrisy prevails in the Church today, and judgment, which begins at the house of God, is not far away.

1Pe. 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

And what shall that judgment be? Their house will be left desolate! The power and authority apportioned to them as representatives of God in the earth will be removed, taken away and given to the faithful few.

1Th. 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

Re. 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Lu. 19:24,26 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds ....For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.

Shortly after the Lord pronounced the Pharisees and scribes house desolate they were completely given over to Satan and even murdered the Messiah. All of the power and authority of God in the earth was then bestowed upon the few faithful who had been called out from the Jews and chosen, the 120 disciples who received the promised Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Ac. 2). The Scriptures point to a similar chain of events in the last days:

1Ti. 4:1 NOW the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Re. 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

Re. 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Re. 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Ps. 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

He. 2:7 Thou madest him (man) a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: 8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

Just as God never repented of the dominion given man over the earth, He has never taken away the authority given the Church over the kingdom of heaven.

Ro. 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

It was given to the Church which has turned its back on God, and will be left desolate because of its hypocrisy. The Church has taken the authority it has been given, and shut up the kingdom of heaven from those who would enter in, elevating those who should be cut-off. Though the Church has been given grace above measure, but has refused to give the same. Matthew 18 speaks in detail about the righteous exercise of the authority bestowed upon the Church, and serves as an indictment of the Church in the world today.

What should we do? There is much to be said in response to this, but for now, I'll try to keep it simple. For one, if you are in a church that doesn't have its doors open to the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, you are in a church that is refusing to allow the Lord Yahshua himself in, and that church will be left desolate, its candlestick removed, and won't even realize when that happens. Virtually all of the churches of this generation fall into this category. Just as unnoticeable, it will become inhabited by demons who will manifest in ways that may first seem to be revival and renewal. This is already happening in many congregations, but there is still a little time left.

Where do we go? Allegorically speaking, go to the mountains, and don't look back, remembering Lot's wife. Do you have faith? Don't worry about how you will be sustained, for "it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish." (Mt. 18:14) God knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations (2Pe. 2:9).

Mk.13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

Lu.21:20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

Mt.18:12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

People will refer to Heb. 10:25, and say that God does not want us to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. What I am saying is that in order to be in a place to be gathered together, we must first move out of harm's way, forsaking the spiritual Babylon lest we fall into her sins and judgment.

Ep. 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

Don't settle for man's effort to manifest God's power, but wait for Him, for He will not fail to accomplish every single purpose He has set forth.

Is. 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

And, in closing, those who are cast off or refused by the churches are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, as well as the lost sheep scattered in the mountains, the ones who as children humble themselves in complete trust of God. These are the ones who will be given the keys to the kingdom in the last days:

Ps.8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

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