"Freedom from Babylon" chapter one continued

Incidentally, this whole scenario in Genesis is a prophetic picture of the last days. God will once again allow them to unite in their pride and pursuit of evil, under the leadership of the anti-christ just as they did under Nimrod. So at the end it shall be as it was at the beginning, only this time when God deals with them, it will be final, eternal. Josephus, the jewish historian who lived during the time that Christ walked the earth, has some interesting insights into Nimrod, the founder of Babylon, who is a type and foreshadow of the anti-christ. From Josephus - complete works, "Antiquities of the Jews", chapter four, page 30 -

"Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah - a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it was through his means they were happy but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny - seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence on his power. He also said he would be revenged on God, if he should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers!
Now the multitude were very ready to follow the determination of Nimrod and to esteem it a piece of cowardice to submit to God and they built a tower...neither sparing any pains nor being in any degree negligent about the work and by reason of the multitude of hands employed by it, it grew vey high, sooner than anyone could expect but the thickness of it was so great...it was built of burnt brick with mortar that it might not be able to admit water".

If you'd like a snapshot of the anti-christ's agenda and modus operandi, here it is. From this we see several hall marks of Satan's kingdom. Nimrod's dad, Canaan, was cursed by Noah for his father Ham's indiscretion when he discovered his father's nakedness. He probably developed a very real bitterness towards the God of his father and this was passed down to Nimrod, where it sprang up and defiled many. Like Nimrod, Satan seeks to cause people to believe it is through their own courage and strength that they can attain happiness and satisfaction in life, apart from God. He incites men to no longer fear God but despise Him. He also seeks to bring men "into a constant dependence on his power". This is why he came up with the concept of buying and selling, which isn't a part of God's kingdom, which is predicated on giving and receiving, through Holy covenant with God and with each other.

To be continued...