Babylon is a culture that is hostile to those who serve God and everything Christianity stands for. The Babylonians wanted to climb onto God’s throne and rule with His authority. They wanted the power for themselves and not to be subjected to God and His authority. So, they began to build the Tower of Babel. It didn’t end well.
Today, people want to be the creators of their lives and redesign the natural order of the world and of things God had already defined, such as gender and that life starts at conception. The result is that children are going to see psychiatrists with anxiety about the destiny of the planet. Depression, anxiety and suicide are at a peak even though, on a material level, the lives of Westerners couldn’t be better.
The Lure of Babylon
Babylon doesn’t necessarily bludgeon us into submission or give us an actual fiery furnace to be thrown into by a megalomaniac king. The tool that’s been used is seduction through a culture of prosperity, wealth, and a good life available to the common person—something that most people hadn’t experienced historically.
‘When people are prospering, when people are fat and happy and comfortable, and have a wide social circle and a peaceful life and a career and respectability, they forget about God,’ said Martyn. ‘Babylon says you can keep enjoying all that, so long as you don’t colour outside the lines of our culture.’
So, as long as we bow down to the Babylonian culture, that has pushed God out of the picture, our lives will hum along smoothly. We’ve been seduced into a world of comfort, of getting to do the things we like as long as we comply with the new Babylonian rules.
In Revelation, Babylon is depicted as a great prostitute—the seductress. Revelation also tells us that Babylon’s culture will be judged and brought down from its pride and rebellion and destroyed by the hand of God Himself, as was the city of Babel.
‘The pride gets to a certain point, the damage gets to a certain point, and God says justice is better than mercy. It’s time to end it,’ said Martyn.
The Pride Brand
We now live in a culture that celebrates the ‘Pride’ movement. ‘Pride’ is not only a movement; it’s a brand representing a good time, and it’s celebrated with colourful parades and festivals where there’s gender fluidity and freedom of expression. Pride is defiance against God—a dreadful sin. Pride is a modern-day golden identity-based statue that we are all expected to bow to that represents the LGBTQI+, cancel culture and woke ideology.
Western cultures like Australia once had blasphemy laws that made it illegal to insult God. Today, these laws are obsolete as Australia has become a secular country. Today, we have a vilification law that makes it a crime to insult or blaspheme someone’s identity.
Who Am I?
Martyn has written a book called Who Am I? Solving the Identity Puzzle. The identity theory of life starts with the question, Who am I? Government schools are asking the question as early as primary school. The aim is for people to make themselves the centre of their lives.
‘We pursue a life that is made in ‘our own’ image. My career choice stems from ‘who I am’. My marriage partner is about completing ‘me’. My spare time is ‘me’ time. Me first, others and God last. I do what’s right for me rather than actually bending my will to submit to what is right for me or even admitting what is right,’ said Martyn. ‘I create ‘my’ truth, rather than submit myself to ‘the truth’. Even church is a space for me. I go there to get my spiritual needs met. And we start hearing language such as “I need to feel seen.” In other words, the world needs to revolve around me. Life is about being my best self. In other words, it’s all about me.’
Yet, the book of Proverbs is filled with verses that state wisdom comes from God, not from ourselves.
‘The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.’ Proverbs 9:10 NASB20
Martyn said that one of the worst statements circulating is, ‘Jesus died on the cross because he thought you were worth it.’ The truth is Jesus died for you to atone for your sins.
‘It’s not about you. It’s about Him. God demonstrates His love to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. It’s about His character, not our character, not who we are,’ said Martyn. That is God’s love in action.
Narcissistic Self-destruction
‘Jordan Peterson got this one right when he said, “Excessive preoccupation with the self is indistinguishable from misery.” It’s the curse of social media,’ said Martyn. ‘Everything you post can become a 24-hour preoccupation with yourself. Checking the likes in the middle of church. Pondering your popularity, reading the comments, looking for little sugar hits of nice things people are saying. Then you read the bad ones, and you think, “What a jerk.” The compliments go to your head, and the insults go to your heart.’
We live in a culture of narcissism where we make ourselves the centre of everything. We will even lie and deceive to make ourselves look good. It is so wicked, and it causes so much damage. The truth is that most people who are self-centred are miserable.
We think of Africa as having witch doctors and Voodoo, but people in the West don’t realise that Western culture is drenched in narcissism, which is demonic influence in another form. Satan’s tactics are clever and targeted with precision. People are rebelling against being oppressed by God and they take offense if you tell them they’re wrong in their self-centred thinking. People have become unteachable.
The cost of such narcissism is spiritual poverty. This is what the Bible says:
‘For this is what the high and exalted One says–he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’ Isaiah 57:15 NIV
‘But just a bit of this pride culture threatens to rub off on us all. And the problem we have is that we’re not so stupid as to bow to a Nebuchadnezzar image, but we are stupid enough to bow to our own image,’ said Martyn.
To learn more about Martyn Iles, visit Martyn Iles | Answers in Genesis
This article was inspired by Martyn’s Living in Babylon presentation in Adelaide. The other article related to this same presentation can be read by clicking the link below:
Living Under a Pagan Empire: Martyn Iles Living in Babylon Tour – Vision Christian Media
Watch Martyn’s Living in Babylon Australian Tour presentation below.
Related articles:
Pride and Rebellion Comes Before a Fall: Martyn Iles Living in Babylon Tour – Vision Christian Media
