Luke 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Luke 14:29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
Luke 14:30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish

Gen 11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

Gen 11:2 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.
Gen 11:3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
Gen 11:4 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.
Gen 11:5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
Gen 11:6 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.
Gen 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound (mix up, confuse) their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
Gen 11:8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
Gen 11:9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; (meaning "confusion-by mixing"), because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

Mary (Koons) Wattenford
 

Confusion By Mixing
What really caught my attention here was the idea that Babel is a type of the pseudo-church; and the definition of 'Babel' as "confusion by mixing". You see confusion by mixing means something special to me.

Several years back, I went through a time of intensely studying the teachings of another Christian denomination. Being both amazed and appalled by some of what I had read, my heart cry to the Lord was to this effect.
Lord, how can they have such precious nuggets of truth mixed in with such awful errors? He replied instantly with a rhema word that shocked me and has stayed with me ever since, making up a key part of my understanding.

"Do you think your doctrine is any better?"

Well this really blew me away. I figured we were light years ahead of this other group in our understanding of scripture and doctrinal matters. But from the Lord's viewpoint we really weren't any better! [It's the easiest thing in the world, for a Christian, to see the speck in your brothers eye.]

So I came to see that in any denomination you care to name, the teachings are a mixture; a mixture of God's truth and man's wisdom [error]. No wonder we have confusion!

It's almost as if God had said 'Go to, let us go down, and there confound (mix up, confuse) their Doctrine, that they may not understand one another's teachings.'

Now if we see Babel as a type of pseudo church, [after all Babel = Babylon!] then the confusion and division that follows is a type of denominationalism or sectarianism.

I think we can generalize even more. I see Babel as a type of religion itself. The patterns we see in Babel are common to all religions and not just Christian ones. That is, all religions tend to have sects and subgroups. All forms of religion are under the same curse, confusion by mixture leading to divisions among them.

Let's throw in one more grand sweeping generalization. Babel is the confusion that comes by mixing truth and error; it is Babylon; it is religion itself; it is being, or seeking to be, under the law; it is any turning away from fellowship with God and trying to earn salvation by your own efforts; it is self righteousness; it's the letter of the law, which worketh death; it is the tree of knowledge of good and evil; it is the fig tree. Can it ever bear fruit?

[John 1:48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.]

If we look at the passage from Genesis, one of their motivations there is expressed as "Let us make us a name". This same motivation is present in any religion or religious group you can find.

This very idea is present in the word 'denomination'. Its derived from Latin where 'nomine' is the word for 'name'. We use the word nominate or nomination when we select our political candidates.

So a denomination is a group that is known by their name. Better yet, it's a group that desires to be known by their name, even if that name is 'non-denominational'!

1 Cor 1:11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

1 Cor 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

Prov 13:10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.

1 Cor 8:1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

The notion that the top may reach into heaven speaks of a man made structure with the promise of getting to heaven by your own effort. But of course that promise is a false promise.

Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

We see the Babelites [Babylonians?] desiring to build their own city. Babel used man made brick, that is man's efforts instead of the living stones from which the temple of God is built.

Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Heb 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

Another point is that the very idea of a tower reaching into heaven is impossible. It should have been obviously impossible. It should have been viewed as obviously a stupid idea. But it wasn't. This indicates that at this time it may have been possible to fool all of the people all of the time.

How were they all fooled?

OK everybody, lets make bricks!
            Everybody goes along, saying: Yea, great idea!
OK everybody, lets kiln dry the bricks!
            Everybody goes along, saying: Yea, great idea!
OK everybody, lets use slime for mortar!
            Everybody goes along, saying: Yea, great idea!
OK everybody, lets use the brick for stones!
            Everybody goes along, saying: Yea, great idea!
OK everybody, lets make a city!
            Everybody goes along, saying: Yea, great idea!
OK everybody, lets make a tower!
            Everybody goes along, saying: Yea, great idea!
OK everybody, lets make the tower reach up to heaven!
            Everybody goes along, saying: Yea, great idea!
And nobody stops and says 'wait a minute, that's impossible!'

So they are all led astray like sheep.

Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; . . . .

Jonah 2:8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

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