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Survey of Bible History
A Chronological Bible Curriculum
Cain and Abel through
The Tower of Babel
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Lesson 24

Lesson Aim: to better comprehend the significance of nimrod and the kingdom he established.

Preparatory Daily Bible Readings:

Monday: Genesis 10:8-14, I Chronicles 1:8-10
Tuesday: Genesis 11:1-9
Wednesday: Genesis 9:19, Genesis 5:32, Genesis 10:6,8
Thursday: Genesis 1:28, Genesis 9:1,7, Genesis 7:11, Genesis 8:13, Genesis 9:29
Friday: II Thessalonians 2:2-4, Revelation 13:11-18
Saturday: Jeremiah 50:2, Isaiah 39:1, Revelation 17:5
Sunday: Romans 1:21-32, I John 4:3

LESSON OUTLINE

I. THE RISE OF A CENTRAL SOCIETY. (Genesis 11:1-2)

A. The dispersion of the sons of Noah into separate geographical areas did not immediately follow the Flood.

1. The time between the Flood and the Tower of Babel was approximately 175 years.¹ During that time, most of the growing population seems to have stayed together geographically. From Ararat, they appear to have migrated southeastward and then turned northwest until they reached the vast, rich Mesopotamia valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.² Genesis 11:2 points out that these people arrived at Babel "from the east." The distinctly separate migration patterns of the three sons of Noah, whose descendants overspread the earth (Genesis 9:19), did not begin its dramatic escalation until after the Tower of Babel. At the time of the events of Genesis 11, most of the earth’s population of people was concentrated in the lower Tigris\Euphrates area.

2. During this time, as the population exploded, there was only one language. (Genesis 11:1) It is probable that the language was Hebrew since the proper names of men and places in the pre-Babel era all have meanings only in Hebrew and its cognate languages.³

B. In spite of the clear demonstration of the attitude of God toward sin as seen in the judgment of the Flood, the people following the Flood quickly began to degenerate into an extremely godless society.

1. God’s instruction to Adam was that he and his descendants spread forth and "replenish the earth." (Genesis 1:28) God reiterated that command to Noah in Genesis 9:1,7.

God’s plan was for systematic colonization and development of all parts of the earth, each with its own local government.

2. The immediate descendants of Noah determined to live together in one unit instead of separating into many units. Rather than obey God by going forth, they determined to establish a centralized society with controls over the individual lives of the people and with ultimate control over all world activities. They would go forth as one, not as many. Genesis 11:4 makes clear that their intent was to frustrate the command of God to Adam and again to Noah. One of the purposes of their Tower at Babel was to prevent themselves from being "scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."

3. There are two primary types of government. There is government where control is primarily local and democratic. There is also government where control is primarily central and socialistic. God instituted the former, not the latter. God’s plan is nationalism. The world’s plan is internationalism. In the Great Tribulation which is ahead, Antichrist will head a world-wide central government. (II Thessalonians 2:2-4, Revelation 13:11-18) The government at Babel is a prophetic preview of the government of Antichrist, which will be the culmination of man’s efforts to defy God and achieve centralization. Man’s efforts to that end have continued without ceasing ever since the Flood. (I John 4:3)

C. Nimrod, who was particularly rebellious against God, emerged as the leader of the people who settled in the Tigris\Euphrates plain.

1. This grandson of Ham sought to bring the society under his control He became their chief. (In discussing Nimrod, I Chronicles 1:8-10 says he "began to be mighty upon the earth." In the Hebrew, the implication is that he became a warrior tyrant.) ⁴

2. Nimrod not only established a dictatorship with himself as military dictator, he also established a priestly oligarchy (a religious system in which a few persons have the ruling power) with himself as chief priest.⁵ He appears to have been later deified as the chief god of the Babylonians known as Marduk or Merodach.⁶ (Jeremiah 50:2, Isaiah 39:1)

3. Nimrod established Babel, which became the center of a "kingdom" over which he ruled. (Genesis 10:10) Babel was the first city of his kingdom, but other cities grew from it, including Nineveh. (Genesis 10:11) As time progressed, the great empires of the Chaldees, Babylonians and Assyrians grew from this initial source.

4. Nimrod’s purpose was to dethrone the true God and create a self-sufficient human society no longer dependent on God. This has been the never ceasing effort of humanistic thinkers from Nimrod to the present.

II. THE ERA UNPARALLELED IN THE RISE OF FALSE RELIGIOUS CONCEPTS.

A. No era of comparable length in time has produced as many false religious concepts as the era from the Flood to the Tower of Babel and the years immediately following.

1. Revelation 17:5 calls Babylon the "mother of harlots and abominations of the earth."

2. Genesis 11:4 says the Tower of Babel was to be a tower to reach unto the heaven. Dr. Henry Morris says the tower was designed "to reach the spiritual resources available in the heavens." He says the words "to reach" are not in the original. The tower was one dedicated to heaven and its angelic hosts.⁷

3. Towers which have been uncovered in old Babylon have been covered with astrological symbols, those of the zodiac.⁸ The massive Tower of Babel appears to have been covered with signs which reminded men of the true God, His promises, His creation and creatures and of many of His activities. For example, the sign of The Virgin could have reminded men of the promised Seed of the woman.

Whatever their original purpose, the signs and symbols soon began to take on the aspect of actual spiritual entities. The Virgin became The Queen of Heaven and Leo became the King of Heaven. Soon the stars were invested with the personalities of the angels.⁹ People began to worship stars, the sun, the moon and all sorts of animals. To them these became symbols of a great multitude of spirit beings. "There is abundant evidence that all forms of paganism have come originally from the ancient Babylonian religion. The essential identity of the various gods and goddesses of Rome, Greece, India, Egypt and other nations with the original pantheon of the Babylonians is well established."¹⁰

B. Romans 1:21-32 is both a prophecy of degenerative conditions leading up to the end of time and a history of men following the Flood through Babel and Babylon.

1. Romans 1:23 is particularly descriptive of what happened back then. They "changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things."

2. Soon the worship of the Creator was forgotten in favor of worship of the creature which appealed to the flesh. (Romans 1:25) After a while, God gave them "over to a reprobate mind." (Romans 1:28)

3. Here is God’s explanation of how the heathens of the current world came to be in such spiritual darkness. When Noah and his sons stepped off the Ark, they knew the true God. Within three generations Nimrod had led the existing population of the earth into an almost total rejection of the true God and His precepts. Very quickly the world was returning to the evil status which characterized it just prior to the Flood. Except for a few of the Shemites, the whole world had turned to paganism and idolatry from father to great-grandson.

It is noteworthy that Nimrod was Noah’s great-grandson. Noah begat Ham (Genesis 5:32), who begat Cush (Genesis 10:6), who begat Nimrod. (Genesis 10:8) Since Noah lived for 349 years after the Flood (compare Genesis 7:11, Genesis 8:13 and Genesis 9:29), he was alive the entire 175 years from the Flood to Babel plus 74 years beyond Babel. He witnessed both the Flood and the confounding of the language of man, two of God’s greatest judgments on sin to date, judgments transcended only by the Curse and the Cross. Such a rapid return to such rampant sin by those so near to the judgment of the Flood is difficult to comprehend.

In the scattering which occurred with the confounding of the language, the various families took their paganism with them wherever they went, making it a permanent part of their culture. As they went, minor changes occurred over the years making each religion somewhat different from others; yet upon examination of the world’s pagan religions, they are found to be very similar in basic concept.

 

FOOTNOTES

1. Reese, Edward, The Chronological Bible, Nashville: E.E. Gaddy & Associates, 1977, pages 2,17.

2. Morris, Henry, The Genesis Record, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976, page 267.

3. Ibid., page 267.

4. Strong, James, Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, New York: Abingdon Press, 1958, reference 1368.

5. Morris, page 265.

6. Ibid., page 264.

7. Ibid., page 270.

8. Dawson, James P., I Am, Edmond, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Foundation for Research and Development Utilization, Inc., pages 3-19 to 3-21.

9. Morris, page 271.

10. Ibid., page 264.

SUMMARY

The time between the Flood and the Tower of Babel was 175 years. For all of that time, most of the earth’s human population stayed close together. Only eight people, those on the Ark, survived the Flood. Quickly after the Flood, the human population began to grow very rapidly. Though life spans began to decrease, men lived to very old ages for several hundred years following the Flood, contributing to a quick rise in the population. For example, Noah lived to an age of 950 years, which took him 74 years past the Tower of Babel and God’s confusion of man’s language. It was only after the confusion of the language that men began to separate and migrate into all areas of the earth.

From the mountains of Ararat, most of the survivors of the Flood migrated eastward, probably in search of a suitable area in which to settle. The environment was much more hostile than it had been prior to the Flood. At some point in their migration, the people turned westward again and came upon the extremely rich area between the lower Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Rather than continue their migration and efforts to settle other parts of the earth as God had commanded, they decided to settle down and build a great city which is called Babel.

As earth’s population quickly grew and the slow migration progressed, one of Noah’s great-grandson’s rose to pre-eminence. To Ham’s son, Cush, was born a son whom he named Nimrod. Great animals had repopulated the earth in great numbers following the Flood. Since the earth was no longer a universally prime habitat for wildlife and since God had added meat to man’s diet and a great hostility existed between man and wild beast, the large animals were more concentrated into river valleys and other desirable areas. The competition and danger for man was greatly enhanced. Dinosaurs, big cats and other fierce animals were a serious danger. Nimrod soon gained a reputation as a mighty hunter.

Nimrod was far more than a hunter. I Chronicles 1:10 says "he began to be mighty upon the earth." The Hebrew implication of this statement is that Nimrod was a dictatorial chieftain. From the context of Genesis 10-11, it is clear that Nimrod rallied the vast majority of the population to him in a mighty rebellion against God. The tower of Babel epitomizes that rebellion.

It seems hard to believe that a people who had just seen, in person or through their immediate forefathers, the fierce wrath of God against sin by the Flood, would so quickly and completely turn from God into wickedness. Noah, and apparently each of his three sons, were still living. It would seem that the Flood would have been a lesson which men would have long remembered. Such was not the case. God commanded them to scatter and replenish the earth. They decided to build the Tower of Babel as a deliberate means of preventing a dispersion. They opted to establish a centralized, unified system of government rather than follow God’s local, democratic form of government. As they moved forth to conquer the world, they would do it as one unified government; not as separate national governments. They would have an international system with central control; not a series of independent, local governments.

The instigator of this centralist system was Nimrod. He established a "kingdom" with himself as both the military and religious dictator. His purpose was to dethrone God and create a self-sufficient society no longer dependent on God. He is a prophetic view of Antichrist, who at the end of this present world system, will head a dictatorial, one-world government which will control the lives of the people in a merciless way.

Under Nimrod’s leadership, every imaginable wicked and pagan concept was born. Nimrod built a highly controlled urban city called Babel. At its center, he constructed a huge tower of worship. Romans 1:21-32 is both a historical preview of the whole world leading up to the end of time as well as a specific history of the post-Flood era leading up to the Tower of Babel.

From Romans 1:21 it is clear that these people knew who the true God was. After all, they were too close to the Flood to be ignorant of Him. Probably as visible reminders of God, His wonders, His creation and His promises, they appear to have covered the tower with the signs of the zodiac. Many unearthed towers in that area have contained such engravings. As explained in Romans 1, they soon began to view these creatures as actual deities and to worship creatures instead of the Creator. (Romans 1:25) Before long they had identified signs and symbols with a vast array of heavenly and spirit beings. They were soon worshipping stars, the sun, the moon, rivers, animals and the supposedly great spirits of each of these. They began to sacrifice to these in the rankest of pagan idolatry. It was necessary to establish a priesthood, with specialties in various areas, to keep up with all these deities and the means of worshipping them.

Babel is actually the seed-bed of all of the world’s pagan religions. The concepts of each originated in this wicked place at this time in the history of the world. Most are tied, in one way or another, to astrology and the signs of the zodiac. When God confounded the language and forced people away from Babel, they took their false gods and religious concepts with them, enhancing and personalizing wherever they went. The names of deities changed, as did methods of worship and sacrifice, but the polytheistic and pantheistic nature of pagan religions, wherever they exist, remains very similar to this day. The pagan mythologies of Greece, Rome, India, Africa, Polynesia, China and even American Indians vary little. They are very akin to the modern humanistic pantheism which shrouds itself in the name of science.

Babel and the confusion of the language is one of the most profound events to have ever occurred in the history of the world. It prophetically reveals the intent of man to dethrone God and control the world in a self-sufficient, one-world system. It explains the source of every pagan religion and how they came to exist where they do today. It reveals the corrupt, rapidly degenerative nature of man. It explains what has prevented mankind from having already reached the conditions which prevailed just prior to the Flood, the conditions which, when fully restored, will trigger the destruction of the earth by fire.

QUESTIONS

1. Describe the response of the post-Flood human inhabitants to God’s command to scatter abroad and replenish the earth.

2. Where did most of the post-Flood inhabitants congregate?

3. What reason is there to believe that Hebrew was the language spoken by all people prior to the Tower of Babel?

4. How was the building of the Tower of Babel a clear expression of the people’s rebellion against God?

5. Explain the two basic philosophies of government.

6. Explain the government of Antichrist.

7. Who was Nimrod in relationship to Noah?

8. How did Nimrod at first become famous?

9. What was Nimrod’s civil government role?

10. What was Nimrod’s religious role?

11. What was the aim of Nimrod’s kingdom?

12. Explain the statement in Revelation 17:5 that Babylon is the "mother of harlots and abominations of the earth."

13. What was the purpose of the Tower of Babel?

14. How was the Tower of Babel adorned?

15. Describe how the people of Babel soon changed the symbols of the Tower into paganistic idolatry.

16. Explain Romans 1:21-32 in relationship to the era from the Flood to Babel.

17. Explain Romans 1:21-32 in relationship to the general history of man.

18. Explain polytheistic and pantheistic religion.

19. How has paganism so successfully permeated the world?

20. Discuss the length of time from the Flood to the Tower of Babel.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"