Page 289 - Foundations

Beyond Babel

Tower of Babel/EU Parliament Building

I want to once again comment on the value of giving significant attention and time to an event that
God allotted no more than ten verses to in the book of Genesis. Why trouble ourselves to understand
what took place at Babel? What is the value for the Christian today?

Christians greatly err by relegating Babel to little more than a historic footnote in the history of man.
Babel serves as a prototype for the evil men are capable of when they join together to fulfill
Luciferian plans. There is a principle of first mention in the Bible, whereby great significance is
embodied in the first occurrence of actions, places, or things in the Scriptures. Oftentimes the spiritual
significance of a thing can be discerned by looking at its first mention in the Bible. For example, the
very first occurrence of the number 13, a number of ill omen throughout the history of man, is found
in the following verse.

Genesis 14:4
Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled.

E.W. Bullinger shares the following insight into this number.

As to the significance of thirteen, all are aware that it has come down to us as a number of ill-omen.
Many superstitions cluster around it, and various explanations are current concerning them.

Unfortunately, those who go backwards to find a reason seldom go back far enough. The popular
explanations do not, so far as we are aware, go further back than the Apostles. But we must go back
to the first occurrence of the number thirteen in order to discover the key to its significance. It occurs
first in Gen 14:4, where we read "Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and the thirteenth year
they REBELLED."

Hence every occurrence of the number thirteen, and likewise of every multiple of it, stamps that with
which it stands in connection with rebellion, apostasy, defection, corruption, disintegration,
revolution, or some kindred idea.
[Source: Number in Scripture, E.W. Bullinger]