Human Trafficking in the Church — Part 12
Recognizing the Six Characteristics of the Religious Spirit of Babylon
The six characteristics of the religious spirit of Babylon are the same today as they were when they were first recorded in Scripture in Genesis 11.
3. Building an Empire (continued)
“Then they said, ‘Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves’—Genesis 11:4 (NLT)
“Have you ever stood and stared at it? Marveled at it beauty? Its genius? Billions of people just living out their lives … oblivious … the peak of your civilization! And I say your civilization because as soon as we started thinking for you it really became our civilization, which of course is what this is all about.”—Agent Smith to Morpheus as he looked out over the vast city that was built by those who served the Matrix
Knowing that He would be leaving soon to return to His Father, Jesus had some last words for Peter that were vital to his future. Jesus was emphatic that Peter’s assignment as a leader was to feed and care for Jesus’ sheep—the people who believed and followed Jesus. That was to be Peter’s main priority and focus as a leader in the Church.
After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”—John 21:15-17 (NLT)
But what happens if Christian leaders, rather than feeding the sheep, choose to use the sheep to enrich themselves and to feed their organizations?
What happens if Christian ministers partner with the religious spirit of Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes, and begin to feed on the sheep?
Sadly, that is exactly what is happening in countless churches and Christian organizations today.
“This is what the Lord my God says: ‘Go and care for the flock that is intended for slaughter. The buyers slaughter their sheep without remorse. The sellers say, ‘Praise the Lord! Now I’m rich!’ Even the shepherds have no compassion for them.’”— Zechariah 11:4-5 (NLT)
Since the time of the Tower of Babel, God has brought scathing rebukes on those shepherds who used God’s people to feed themselves and their organizations.
“And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, the [spiritual] shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, **“Woe (judgment is coming) to the [spiritual] shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat [the choicest of meat], and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the best of the livestock, but you do not feed the flock. You have not strengthened those who are weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bandaged the crippled, you have not brought back those gone astray, you have not looked for the lost; but you have ruled them with force and violence. They were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the predators of the field. **My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the face of the earth and no one searched or sought them.”
“Therefore, you [spiritual] shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: “As I live,” says the Lord God, “certainly because My flock has become prey, My flock has even become food for every predator of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;** therefore, you [spiritual] shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: **‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My flock from them and make them stop tending the flock, so that the shepherds cannot feed themselves anymore. I will rescue My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”—Ezekiel 34:1-10 (AMP)
“They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, ** they seek their own gain.** “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.”— Isaiah 56:11-12 (NIV)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you swallow up widows’ houses, and to cover it up you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.”—Matthew 23:14 (AMP)
The Lord answered, “Suppose a master puts one of his servants in charge of his other servants. The servant’s job is to give them the food they are to receive at the right time. The master wants a faithful and wise manager for this. It will be good for the servant if the master finds him doing his job when the master returns. What I’m about to tell you is true. The master will put that servant in charge of everything he owns.
“But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time to come back.’ Suppose that servant begins to beat the other servants, both men and women. Suppose he feeds himself. And suppose he drinks until he gets drunk. The master of that servant will come back on a day the servant doesn’t expect him. The master will return at an hour the servant doesn’t know. Then the master will cut him to pieces. He will send the servant to the place where unbelievers go.”—Luke 12:42-46 (NIRV)
Get Unplugged
Jesus says, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19 NKJV).
In contrast, churches and ministries say, “Join us and get plugged in!”
What does that mean exactly? What does it mean to “get plugged in?”
I never really understood what it meant to “get plugged in” until I saw the movie, The Matrix. After taking the red pill, which symbolizes God’s wisdom, Neo’s eyes are finally opened, and he sees his true condition as he wakes up to realize that he is naked in a bowl of slime. He is “plugged in” as his life force is being drained from him to feed the vast system of the Matrix, which represents the religious system of Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes. As his eyes are finally opened and he looks around, he sees countless others who are also unconsciously being used to feed the system as their life force is being drained from them.
It is only when Neo is able to “unplug” from the system that he finally enters into his true calling in life and discovers the destiny that he was born to fulfill. As Morpheus said when Neo finally unplugged from the Matrix system, “Welcome to the real world!”
So, getting “plugged in” seems to mean giving up God’s calling on your life in order to serve the system that is driven by the religious spirit of Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes.
After Neo finally unplugged from the system that he had unconsciously been feeding, Morpheus explained how the Matrix uses people to feed and power the system:
“The human body generates more bio-electricity than a 120-volt battery and over 25,000 BTUs of body heat. Combined with a form of fusion, the machines had found all the energy they would ever need. There are fields, endless fields, where human beings are no longer born. We are grown. For the longest time I wouldn’t believe it, and then I saw the fields with my own eyes. Watched them liquefy the dead so they could be fed intravenously to the living. And standing there, facing the pure horrifying precision, I came to realize the obviousness of the truth. What is the Matrix? Control. The Matrix is a computer generated dream world built to keep us under control in order to change a human being into this.”
Saying that, Morpheus held up a battery symbolizing the power generated by trafficked human beings whose destinies have been hijacked so that these deceived people can be used to feed the system.
“Come out of her, my people”—Revelation 18:4 (AMP)
“Flee out of Babylon, Let every one of you save his life!”—Jeremiah 51:6 (AMP)
“You were bought for a price. Stop becoming slaves of people.”—1 Corinthians 7:23 (ISV)
**Reference: **
Wachowski, L., & Wachowski, L. (2021, August 26). The Matrix Transcript. Matrix Fans. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://www.matrixfans.net/movies/the-matrix/transcript/
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