Babel-speak, not buffalo and beagle

When I was a kid I gravitated toward movies, TV shows and books where humans interacted with animals. Nobody knows this but a movie that to this day remains one of my Top 5 favorites, and one I still watch occasionally, is the original 1967 Doctor Dolittle, starring Rex Harrison. I know all its musical scores by heart and will sometimes strangely recall certain song lyrics at odd moments.

In the song, “If I Could Talk to the Animals,” British veterinarian Dolittle sings, “If I consulted with quadripeds
Think what fun we'd have, asking over crocodiles for tea
or maybe lunch with two or three lions, walruses or sea lions
what a lovely place the world would be.”

What I find infinitely fascinating is that before the Flood, man had a much different relationship with his furry friends. Just think of the relationship Noah and his family must have had with their shipmates on the Ark?!

Bible scholar Noah Hutchings writes in his book, God Divided the Nations, that the human populace post-Flood “would no longer be able to communicate with the beasts of the earth [they would fear man], and many would rise up and attack him.”

Genesis 9 informs, [1] And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
[2] And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

Jordan explains, “God’s telling them, ‘I’m going to make the animals scared of you so that way you’ve got to chase them down, and as you forage for food, you’re going to more and more scatter and replenish and fill up the earth and be scattered over the face of the earth. Fill it up for me!’ "

*****

After Noah and his family de-board the Ark, God informs them, “From now on, we’re not just going to leave folks to run their own family units; we’re going to institute nationalism. We’re going to have nations that have principles to run under." Of course, Satan interjects, “You wanna bet?!”

“Satan says, ‘Well, what I need to do is get me another man like Cain,’ ” explains Jordan. “I need to get me a man that I can put that spirit of rebellion in his heart against God where he says, ‘I’m not going to do it your way; I’m going to do it MY way!’

“Up shows Nimrod only two chapters later in Genesis 11. As the Tower of Babel account goes, [1] And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
[2] And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
[3] And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
[4] And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

“By the way, they all spoke Hebrew. You know what language God speaks? Hebrew. In Revelation 19, you hear the language in heaven going, and what is it? It’s Hebrew. In the Book of Acts, when the Lord Jesus Christ appears to Paul, he says, ‘I hear Him speak to me in the Hebrew tongue.’ Paul could speak Greek. He could speak Latin. He could speak Aramaic. Why did Jesus speak to him in Hebrew? It’s probably the language the Lord talks to Himself in.

“I mean, you know He’s got a language. You never wondered what language the Lord talked to Adam in? I wouldn’t be surprised if when we get up there we’ll all know Hebrew. I mean, you’re not expecting to speak English up there, are you? Well, maybe you will, I don’t know.”

*****

This is just a quick aside, but I find it interesting that Disney and Pixar have for many years placed a hidden message in countless animated movies with the letter-number combination A113.

What does Genesis 11:3 say? [3] And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

“When the people said, ‘Let us make brick,’ the idea was, ‘We’ll make it ourselves,’ ” explains Jordan. “They don’t take stones out there in God’s creation. No, it’s about, ‘We’re with our own devise, our own cunning craft, our own ability, going to MAKE some brick for stone and slime for mortar.' The idea is they’re going to build a city with their own ingenuity. The said, ‘Let us build us a city.’ Now, don’t you forget Genesis 4 and 10.

*****

“Nimrod, building his kingdom, starts out, ‘I got plans; let’s build a city and a tower who’s top may reach unto heaven. Let us make us a name.’

“What did God want them to do? ‘Be scattered abroad, divided up into the nations.’ He had identified for them national entities to be divided the way God intended them to be divided up. He set the bounds between the nations, Paul says in Acts 17.

“God set the boundaries and intended for them to go out according to the boundaries each had and contribute all that He had equipped them to contribute to the good of all mankind. They said, ‘No, we’re not going to do that; we’re going to do it our way,’ and they set up a political entity called a city; a political system designed to thwart the purpose of Almighty God.

“Then they built a tower. In the Bible, a tower is a reference to a very particular thing. Psalms 18:2 says, [2] The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Who is David’s high tower? The Lord is. He’s my high tower.

“Psalms 61 says, [2] From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
[3] For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.  

“We got a song in the hymn book that says, ‘Oh let me flee to the rock that is higher than I.’ That’s the Bible verse that song came off of.

“Psalms 144:2 says, [2] My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.

“Proverbs 18:10 says, [10] The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

*****

“You see, what you’re talking about is a religious thing; something with a spiritual connotation to it. When they built the city, they were building a political entity to establish them and make them a name in the earth, lest they would be forgotten.

“They want to make a NAME. They want to take over Creation independent of God. They don’t just have a political system with the city; they have a religious system to go along with it in the tower.

“The tower's established in the city of Babel, which becomes the kingdom of Babylon, and in the Bible, it’s known as Baal worship, and starts with Nimrod right here. They say, ‘That the top may reach unto heaven.’

"You know what they’re doing? They build themselves a big cathedral with the bell tower, except there’s not just a bell up there. There’s an altar on top of that thing and they go up there on that altar and offer a sacrifice and it’s that sacrifice that’s going to get them to heaven, they say.

“Of course, they just say it ‘may’ reach unto heaven. Maybe. What they’re saying is, ‘We’re going to do it OUR way, not God’s way. We’re not going to have the nationalism and the divisions and the separations that God says. We’re going to remove the bounds God puts between us and we’re going to have one political entity. There’s going to be a one-world government and we’re going to have a one-world religion; internationalism and ecumenicalism.' You know where it all began? You’re reading it! It all began with Nimrod.

“Then there’s the religious system with all of its rites, rituals, and so on. When you hear the Bible talk about Baal worship, this is its origins and you know what it is? It’s Babylon and it’s Genesis 11, and something tremendously significant is happening here. Far more so than just another rebellion against God.

“Look what the Lord does in verse 5: ‘[5] And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. Verse 6 says, [6] And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

“How would you like the Lord to show up and see your city? I take people around and show them Chicago and the old North Shore Church building and every now and then I think, ‘Well, why not, the Lord came down to see Nimrod’s city and his church.’

“The Lord came and inspected the city. He says, ‘Hmm, lookie here what we got.’ And He came and looked at their church building. You see, they’ve gathered themselves together with the international spirit of oneness. They’re taking away the separations God gave them; the distinct charge and commission to go and do the thing He gave them to do.”

(to be continued tomorrow)