THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING

"Cush fathered Nimrod, who was the first powerful man on earth. He was a powerful hunter in the sight of the Lord. That is why it is said, 'Like Nimrod, a powerful hunter in the sight of the Lord.' His kingdom started with Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." (Genesis 10:8-10 HCSB)

The first sin was not committed on earth, but in heaven. A beautiful, brilliant being named Lucifer decided he deserved to have a throne and be as God. With that wicked thought entertained and embraced, Satan was spawned. We find the old Serpent, the Devil, then seducing Eve, with the same appeal: "Eat the fruit. You will become as God." She took the bait, took a bite and shared it with her husband. The catastrophic consequences were immense and immediate, with their implications known on a global scale still felt today. The ripples of ruin have reached our shores.

Of all the effects of this evil choice, the pattern of thinking that persists and permeates human life is that of the demand for autonomy. In our arrogance, we think we can be God. We can direct our own lives, chart our own course, pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and storm heaven's gates--really, we believe that we can pull heaven down to earth and build utopia here. All we need is to think globally, find the right government leader, bond together under a common religion of tolerance, promote uniformity and as one we can have heaven on earth! "ALL ONE" "COEXIST"--the bumper sticker mantra.

It is not a new concept. In the early chapters of Genesis, we meet the man who would be king. Nimrod was his name. Babylon was his capital. Empire was his passion. We see he was a natural leader--charismatic, powerful--a man who knew what he wanted and how to get it. The tower of Babel became the great symbol of his global vision. Who needs God? Why wait for heaven? Narcissism reached the apex of arrogance in Nimrod. That spirit is woven into the warp and woof of fallen humanity. It is the attitude expressed in William Henley's poem, "Invictus."

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbow'd.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

That is the spirit of Nimrod. It persists. The founders of our nation recognized the danger and established a government with separation of powers--providing checks and balances against the tyranny of one man seizing too much power--the man who would be king. The erosion of that foundation brings grave peril. In every generation, Satan has his hand-picked man--the man who would be king.

Scripture is clear that a new Nimrod is on the way. He is called the Antichrist in 1 John, the Man of Lawlessness and Son of Destruction in 2 Thessalonians, and the Beast in Revelation. Jesus warned, "I have come in My Father's name, yet you don't accept Me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him." (John 5:43 HCSB).

What will bring the new Nimrod to power? A nuclear exchange, war in the Middle East, a global pandemic, a worldwide financial meltdown, widespread natural disasters--or a combination of these? The world will clamor for a messiah waiting in the wings--a man of charming personality and commanding oratory who says, "I have the answer," and the world swoons and submits.

And what does God think of it? The same as ever--He tolerates no rival! The building of Babel ends in judgment!

"After this I saw another angel with great authority coming down from heaven, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. He cried in a mighty voice:

It has fallen,

Babylon the Great has fallen!

She has become a dwelling for demons,

a haunt for every unclean spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

and a haunt for every unclean and despicable beast.

For all the nations have drunk

the wine of her sexual immorality,

which brings wrath.

The kings of the earth

have committed sexual immorality with her,

and the merchants of the earth

have grown wealthy from her excessive luxury.

Then I heard another voice from heaven:

Come out of her, My people,

so that you will not share in her sins

or receive any of her plagues.

For her sins are piled up to heaven,

and God has remembered her crimes.

Pay her back the way she also paid,

and double it according to her works.

In the cup in which she mixed,

mix a double portion for her.

As much as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously,

give her that much torment and grief,

for she says in her heart,

'I sit as a queen;

I am not a widow,

and I will never see grief.'

For this reason her plagues will come in one day-

death and grief and famine.

She will be burned up with fire,

because the Lord God who judges her is mighty." (Revelation 18:1-8 HCSB)