At the tower of Babel, not only did men overturn God’s authority, but they worshipped idols. Archaeologists and historians tell us that in those days there were all kinds of idols on the tower and in the city of Babel. Idols are versus God’s image; they do not allow God to be expressed. Rather, they allow the demons to be expressed. Even today there is no country that is without a shrine; every country has its own shrines. What is a shrine? It is a place where Satan is expressed. At the time of Solomon, there was a throne in the nation of Israel which spoke of God’s throne and authority. There was also a temple which spoke of God’s expression. However, today‘s nations have become Satan’s throne and the place where Satan rules. At the same time, every nation has its shrines and its places of idol worship. That is the expression of Satan. This is not simply a matter of human superstition or of the backwardness of civilization. Satan’s subtle work is in it. We must realize what Satan is always doing in the universe. What he always does is to establish a nation among men, instigating men to rebel against God and to deny His authority. At the same time, he sets up shrines everywhere in every nation for men to worship him so that they would express him. Everything that he does is to damage God’s authority and glory.

Consequently, God began to call Abraham out of the land of the tower of Babel. We cannot cover this matter in too much detail. If we read the experience of Abraham, we again see the matters of authority and expression. His story is one of many distractions and frustrations.

Later, the descendants of Abraham came out of Egypt and arrived in the land of Canaan. There they passed through many stages of degradation. Finally, Samuel came. God brought in the kingship through Samuel and turned the age. At Solomon’s time we can still see these two things: the throne (as soon as there is a king, there is the throne) and the temple. The throne is a matter of authority and the kingdom, and the temple is a matter of expression and glory. We can see a return to God’s original desire. Here, on the one hand, there is God’s ruling and, on the other hand, God’s image and His expression.

Not too long afterward, when Solomon became old, the condition of Israel became degraded again. Eventually, the majority of the Israelites were captured to Babylon. By then the throne was no more, the nation was gone, the temple was totally destroyed, and all the utensils of the temple were carried away to Babylon. Babel is a Hebrew word; Babylon is its Greek translation. The two refer to the same place in the land of Shinar.

Genesis 11 records the descendants of Adam moving to the land of Shinar. There they built the city of Babel and the tower of Babel to resist God. As a result, God forsook that age, that is, He forsook the descendants of Adam and chose Abraham, intending that his descendants would become God’s testimony-to rule for God and to express God’s glory-in the land of Canaan. In Daniel 1 the land of Shinar is mentioned again. The enemies had carried the Israelites away to the land of Shinar again. This means that they returned to Babel again. The story of Babel was repeated again with them. As soon as they entered Babel, they were fully under men’s ruling and the ruling of demons. There were Chaldean shrines in Babel. I have said earlier that shrines are places where demons are expressed. At this time, the nation of Israel was no more, the temple was destroyed, and the utensils for God’s worship were carried away to the land of Shinar and placed in the shrine of Babylon. This means that in that age God’s authority was no longer seen and God’s expression no longer existed. Everything had collapsed. It was at this time that God needed a man to turn the age.
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