“And the LORD said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.’” – Genesis 11:6
Two competing political ideologies are nationalism and globalism. Globalism manifests itself in many ways including the following two: 1) when a nation sends its troops to fight wars for other nations overseas or involves a nation in battles not near its borders and 2) when a nation does not secure its borders and allows people from other nations to enter their nation illegally, regardless of their intent.
Does that sound at all familiar in today’s world?
The first biblical case study in globalism was the city and Tower of Babel in Genesis 10-11. Genesis 10 opens with a lengthy genealogy of people who will be important for the rest of the book. Genesis is basically written in chronological order, with chapters 10-11 being the primary inversion, as Moses’ intent is to establish the nations that were scattered out from Babel to best frame the story theologically. The genealogy breaks down into the descendants of Noah’s three sons – Ham, Shem, and Japheth – from whom the Egyptians descended.
Throughout Genesis, the concept of going east corresponds to getting farther and farther from God. For example, when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden, they went eastward (3:24), as did Cain (4:16). When people go eastward in Genesis, they are walking away from God (typified by Eden and the Promised Land) and into ruin, as places such as Sodom and Babylon lie eastward. This is the backdrop of the Babel story in the Bible: people running away from God.
The people settled in Shinar to create a city (Babylon) and a tower (the Tower of Babel). Using the same language God used for creation, the people said, “Let us make” (referring to their name and reputation). Here we see where the cultural myth of evolution finds its allure. People made great technological progress. They could build a city, but they didn’t love God. And the truth is, unless we meet the Lord and receive a new heart, a new nature, and new desires, the only thing we use new technology for is greater evil.
The Tower of Babel would have been the world’s first skyscraper. Babylon (also referred to as Babel) is near modern-day Baghdad. The focus of the story is simply not on the building of a tower but rather on the building of a city to house a secular society as a counterfeit of the New Jerusalem that Jesus will bring as headquarters for the New Earth. Their hope was a unified people who would not be scattered but would, apart from God’s covenant and blessing, live for themselves by themselves – Heaven on earth without God – the very same counterfeit utopian vision given by Marxism today.
While some have doubted the story of Babel, it has been proven as fact. In 1899, the German archaeologist Robert Koldewey began an 18-year excavation of the mud-brick ancient ruins that are widely believed to be the “ziggurat” Tower of Babel. (1)
God rightly viewed this centralization of power in the hands of proud sinners apart from Him as a dangerous thing. He saved them from themselves and saved others from the potential abuses of power by simply scattering them and confusing their languages. Ironically, this scattering of people and confusion of languages were two of the primary things these people were seeking to prevent from happening in the first place.
So, God’s answer is nationalism, not globalism. Satan wants globalism. God’s plan was for nations with borders and languages. Love your nation, seek the prosperity and well-being of your nation, and want good for your neighbor and everyone else. And so, we should be nationalists, love our nation, and even be patriotic while praying, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
The goal is that one day, all of the nations will cease, and the Kingdom of God will come with the Lord Jesus Christ. There will only be globalism when Jesus returns.
While Christians are not supposed to be globalists, we are called by God to global missions – reaching the nations with the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ so that a faithful church exists everywhere as an outpost for the Kingdom of God.
In tomorrow’s devo we will discuss how globalism is a sign of the End Times.
Where and with whom can you share the Good News of Jesus in your own life?
(1) https://archaeology.co.uk/articles/opinion/babylon.htm
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