Spiritual Gifts part 338. Religion and Grace are mutually exclusive.

Spiritual Gifts Part 338:

Religion and grace are mutually exclusive.

The Doctrine of Spiritual Gifts

Point 4.
Developing the capacity you need to function effectively in your spiritual gift.

When you have doctrine in your soul that has been tested, you can discern evil trends in Christianity.

Apostate Christianity in the last days of the church age will morph into the worldwide ecumenical religious system of the Tribulation called Babylon the great, the mother of harlots in Rev 17.

So there are
two Babylons: religious Babylon [the tower] and political Babylon
[the city].

The story of Babylon ends in Revelation.
But it begins in Genesis 10 and 11 with a fellow by the name of Nimrod , and a tower in Babel.

The ancient city of Babylon began shortly after the Flood and is an expression of man’s direct rebellion against God and His command to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (GEN 9:1b).

The Babylon of Rev 17-18 traces her roots back to the power politics and religious apostasy of Nimrod (Gen 10, 11).

This inciter to revolt, this Nimrod, came to be the first tyrant on the earth, oppressing others and using them to further his own interests.

Nimrod was the pioneer in empire building, and he would be followed by the likes of Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, and Caesar.

The Antichrist, the beast, will be the true antitype of Nimrod, reigning over all the peoples of the earth, demanding not only obedience, but also worship.

Nimrod was also the leader of the revolt of the Tower of Babel, and it was the confusion of tongues that would force Nimrod to leave Babylonia (Shinar) and journey to Assyria.

This is a description of rebellion against God.
 

They wanted to build a city [political Babylon] and a tower [religious Babylon].

The very name Babylon in pagan languages such as Akkadian and Babylonian meant “the gate of God”.

But God would confuse their languages so they would be forced to disperse around the earth. So the Hebrew root means “confusion or mixing”.

They wanted to reach out into the heavens. The purpose of this tower was to practice astrology or the signs of the zodiac.

This is the first instance of false worship after the flood. The building of this tower expressed the people’s desire for a new religion.

This act marks the beginnings of false religion and idolatry.

Babylon is the mother of all false religion.

What a great picture of religion: the city of man trying to reach heaven.

HEB 13:14

For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

The New Jerusalem coming down from heaven is a mighty picture of the grace of God.

JOH 3:13
“No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.”