[center]Introduction[/center]

Beginning in the Garden of Eden, Satan attacked God’s divine government. The chief aim of the enemy “satan” is to conquer, to dominate and to rule in the affairs of men; he wants humanity to worship and praise him instead of God. Satan’s attempt has continued until this present day…

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High(Isaiah14:12-14).

Since Satan hates to see people directing their praise and worship to God, he has been using men to hijack the worship that is due to the Lord God Almighty. One of the outstanding figures in the Old Testament that Satan used to turn people’s minds completely from God was a man named Nimrod. Nimrod was the son of Cush, the grandson of Ham, and the great-grandson of Noah who gradually became the tyrant emperor of the world. His name “Nimrod” comes from the Hebrew verb “marad”, meaning “rebel.” This indicates that Nimrod was a rebellious man…

And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city (Genesis10:8-12).


[center]The mighty one in the earth [/center]

Nimrod was a man of great charisma and skill. The expression “he began to be a mighty one in the earth” suggests that Nimrod was the first world dictator, a tyrant, the type of man of sin or son of perdition, who proudly opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped who sets himself up on a throne proclaiming himself to be God. People worshiped Nimrod, and he received praise as the lord God. The system of Nimrod was bought by the first king of Babylon, who extended it to the Pagan Roman Empire (Revelation131:1-4), during the era of the Roman Empire, people worshiped and offered sacrifices to the Roman Emperors as God.

[center]The mighty hunter before the LORD[/center]

Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord who was a “predator.” His game of choice was not only animals but also men; Nimrod captured and enslaved people whose heart was after God; he was a subjugator of people. Nimrod was completely opposed to God’s will; he perverted God’s ways of doing things and established his own principles. The Jerusalem “Targum” (Hebrew translation into the Aramaic language) states:

“Nimrod was powerful in hunting and wickedness before the Lord, for he was a hunter of the sons of men, and he said unto them, ‘Depart from the judgment of the Lord, and adhere to the judgment of Nimrod!’ therefore it is said: ‘As Nimrod [is] the strong one, strong in hunting, and in wickedness before the Lord.’”


[center]The builder of Babylon[/center]

Nimrod who was the son of Cush and the first world dictator built Babylon (Genesis10:8-10). The word “Ba’-bel, Bab’-i-lon or Babylon” is considered to come from the root, “balal” which means “to confound” (Gen 11:9). Babylon stands for a “city of confusion” or a confused municipality. The great city Babylon was built in rebellion against God; after the flood of Noah, God commanded the people to be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth…

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth (Genesis9:1).

This was in accordance to the former command that God gave to man in the beginning…

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth (Genesis1:28).

The command was repeated to Noah after the flood because God wanted it to be accomplished; then, as men began to increase in number and to fill the earth, during the era of the tyrant; Nimrod exalted himself as the general overseer (the first pope) and prevented the people from spreading further to fill the earth as the Lord commanded. In self-glorification, Nimrod gathered the people together around himself to build a tower that would reach heaven. Nimrod introduced the idea of building the great tower in efforts to glorify himself as well as the people under his rulership (Genesis11:1-9) (Which is the same as pastors and bishops of today attempting to construct the biggest denominational church or the most expensive cathedral to gain recognition of man instead of training the people and releasing them to make disciples of all nations as Christ Commanded us in Mathew 28:18-20). Thus, Nimrod adopted the name “the mighty one” the great hunter before the Lord, which signifies that he claimed to be higher than the highest “the mighty god in the flesh.” Nimrod was the enemy of God’s divine will; he stole the people’s hearts from following the God of heaven and became a visible god to them, hence the human worship originated from Babylon. Babylon was known as a place of false worship. Babylon is where the people of God (the Jews) spent seventy years in captivity.

[center]The divider [/center]

Nimrod was the first man to create partitions among people, he created the first boundaries. He introduced the system of divide and conquers, because he knew that the only way he could surmount the people to become their “god” was to divide them in small groups and then build his headquarters in Shinar. Nimrod built an enormous network of cities and religious complexes, centered in Babylon, which foreshadows the denominational system of Church. Nimrod is the real mastermind of the devilish structure which has absorbed the entire world ever since he reigned; a system of competition, dominion and control based on a profit-making economic scheme.

[center]Originator of the Babylon System[/center]


Brain washing, mind control, and wrong governmental principles (divide and conquer/dominion and control) all originated from the ancient king of Babylon Nimrod. Babylonians of old had the highest level of manipulative methods to persuade others (their captives) to conform to their wishes. When the children of Israel were taken captive to Babylon, the first thing that King Nebuchadnezzar did was to change the original Hebrew names of God’s servants and gave them Babylonian names, knowing that the Hebrews prophetically named their children. The ancient Hebrews took naming their children seriously; they gave their offspring names according to God’s eternal purpose; for instance, Daniel means “God is Judge” but King Nebuchadnezzar changed his name to Belteshazzar, which means, “Bel will protect”. Hananiah means “God is gracious” but his name was changed to Shadrach meaning “Inspire of Aku”, Azariah means “God is my help” his name was changed to Abednego, which means “servant of Nego,” Mishael means “Who is like God” his name was changed to Meshach “belonging to Aku”. The purpose of changing their names was to give them a false identity, and after changing their names, the king introduced Babylonian victuals for them instead of allowing them to continue eating what the Lord had divinely commanded them to eat in the Mosaic Law. The changing of food signifies introducing a false doctrine, replacing Gods accurate revelation with human ideologies. The Israelites were taught to speak the Babylonian language and to wear their garments, which signify adoption of a false religion.


[center]The present day Nimrods[/center]

The events of the Old Testament foreshadows the events of the New Testament (Colosians2:16-17) for instance, the Church represents the spiritual Hebrews, which simply means people on a in constant journey, everything that was experienced by the natural Hebrews is currently taken place in the church spiritually. The church has been called out of the world, as God called Israel out of Egypt, as Israelites journeyed from Egypt to the Canaan Land, the present Church is spiritually moving out from sin nature to a sinless nature to achieve permanent perfection and immortality in God. Adam and Eve represented the church in Eden in the time of Innocency (Genesis2). Enoch and his household symbolized the church in their generation (Genesis5:24). Noah and his family in the Ark represented the saints in Christ (Genesis 6:9). Abraham and his household signified the called out people (church) in the age of the Promise (Genesis12). Moses and the children of Israel were the church in the wilderness under the period of law (Act7:38). It is important to realize that what happened in the time past is spiritually taking place now. Both Nimrod and his city Babylon were a shadow of events to come. Nimrod was a type of the antichrist “the man of sin”.  Antichrist represents everything opposed to the truth, including human beings, governmental and religious systems, etc. Antichrist is not just one person….

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time (1John2:18).

[center]Nimrods of our time[/center]

The current day Nimrods include every pastor, bishop, and minister of the Gospel who are not servants, but “Lord” and masters in the church. They act as mediators between the congregation and God, and they alone represent the eyes, ears and mouth of the entire congregation. Apart from him or her in the church, no other believer is entitled to hear from God. They have no interest in discipling their church members and releasing them into their God appointed assignments, instead, they use their members to achieve their selfish visions; their motive behind acquiring a large congregation is to collect offerings! They gather people around themselves only to raise money with the focal point of their messages always directed towards money or material matters instead of Jesus Christ, which is why St John said…

They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them (1 John 4:5).

Jesus Christ commanded that every believer should be trained and sent out to make disciples of all nations (Mathew28:18-20) like the Nimrod of old, these pastors and bishops today have captured and caged Christians and are not allowing them to make an impact for Christ. It is not uncommon to see pastors and Bishops boasting of presiding over a 20, 40, or 50thousand member congregation, but if the crowds that they are gathering through false promises of financial prosperity were true disciples of Jesus Christ, the world would have undoubtedly transformed. The Muslims in North Africa, Middle East and the rest of the unreached people of the world would have at least heard the true gospel of the kingdom of God. It was just a few disciples in the first centuries that turned the world upside down (Act17:6). It is obvious that today’s church leaders make their congregation spectators instead of co-workers in the kingdom of God. In the true church of God there is no boss, Jesus Christ is the Lord and we are all brothers and co-laborers.

[center]The structural church of today has become a spiritual cemetery[/center]

The structural church system is worse than the cemetery; spiritual gifts and talents of many young Christians have been buried in the denominational church, while pastors have exalted themselves above the people acting as God. Our destiny is to conform to the image of Christ, but Christians are now conforming to the image of their pastors and bishops simply because the present day church leaders will not allow the people to see God. These false leaders exalt themselves in the church which is contrary to the principle of Christ and the apostles; for instance, Jesus Christ was a servant among the twelve apostles, and the apostles were not special among the rest of the believers; they were all brothers in Christ and there were no presidents or founders among them. Apostle Peter was not called “Papa” or “General overseer”; he was just a simple brother in the local assembly. Jesus said…

"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew23:8-12)

Any Christian leader who allows his congregation to exalt him is an antichrist. Jesus said…

I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me (John 12:32).

This simply means that if a minister of the gospel is presenting Jesus Christ to his congregation, they should look upon Jesus Christ and glorify Christ, not the pastor. The reasons many “Christians” talk more of their pastors instead of Christ is that the pastor presents himself to the congregation, not Christ. In some churches if the “senior pastor” isn’t preaching during the “Sunday service”, many of the members won’t attend, and that shows that the foundation of that local assembly is laid upon the pastor not on Jesus Christ. If the foundation of a church is built on Christ, each member will minister and preach Christ and manifest the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

[center]Operating the structural church as a family business[/center]

The false ministers “Nimrods” operate local churches as a family business; for instance, in their congregations, the husband will act as the senior pastor and their wives will act as second in command, followed by their children. It is not necessary that when a pastor dies that the wife or the children take over the church. God doesn’t require us to operate the church like a monarch.

[center]Exploitation[/center]

Jesus said that a good shepherd laid down his life for the sheep (John10:11), but today, it is the sheep who are laying their lives down for the antichrist shepherds. The leaders in today’s church are the first to drive fine cars, live in expensive houses and mansions, and own private jets, using the monetary contributions of the saints! The saints return home to endure sleepless nights, thinking of where their next meal will come from or how their bills are going to be paid. However, the bible says that:

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales  and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need  (Acts 4:32-35).

Offerings in the church should benefit every member of the Church, especially the poor, not just the pastor. Leaders should be an example, just like Jesus Christ, though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, so that we through his poverty might become rich(2Corinthians8:9). Christian leaders should do likewise, because that is the principle of the Kingdom of God. If the present day church leaders (especially the Pentecostal circles) are true Christians who believe that this world will end soon (2Peter3:8-12), they would discontinue accumulating material wealth for themselves. What is sense does it make to hoard wealth upon the earth that will soon be destroyed? Jesus says….

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Mathew6:19-21).

How can one who claims to have the Spirit of God live among the un-evangelized and the poorest communities and boast of being the richest pastor with the largest congregation?  Just imagine a place like Africa where there is much political instability, ethnic conflicts and high rates of poverty. There is hunger everywhere in the continent of Africa, and HIV/AIDs and other epidemics continue to claim the lives African children in large numbers. 


It is estimated that in sub-Saharan Africa, measles takes the life of a child nearly every minute of every day, and this is true because I have been there! An effective measles vaccine costs as little as $1 per child, and more than 50 percent of Africans suffer from water-related diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera, infant diarrhea, dysentery, river blindness, etc. Lack of good drinking water is a major problem in almost all African villages especially among the desert dwellers of Niger, Chad, Burkina-Faso, Mali, Sudan Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somali, Djibouti and many other countries in Africa. Who will believe that African pastors and Bishops are still gathering these poor people together to collect their money using the name of Jesus Christ? While the African children are suffering and dying in large numbers daily, these false church leaders are busy spending their money on mansions, and acquiring multiple private jets and expensive cars. Some of the churches in Africa, especially those in Nigeria estimated net worth are $15 - 170 million. It is reported that some Nigerian pastors earn an annual salary of $150,000, 200,000, 400, 000 and so on, in additional to the money they acquire through their private business enterprise. Some own private schools that are too expensive for the average Nigerian child to attend. 


These false ministers in Africa have the financial capacity to assist a whole nation like Niger, but they refuse to, they wait for America to come help poor Africans. It is a pity, and a downright shame that some of the most popular American preachers go to Africa to raise money. I remember a time when an American Pentecostal preacher came to preach in a certain church in Nigeria and people were made to pay for seats, they were paying N600, then “600” was a a lot of money. People must come to the full realization that ninety nine percent of the super star celebrity pastors and bishops in Christendom today are the antichrists!

[center]Present day city of Nimrod[/center]

The literal city Babylon built by Nimrod prefigures the spiritual Babylon; which represents a realm of spiritual captivity or a spiritual penitentiary where people are being secretly dominated and controlled with no freedom or rights to fulfill their divine mandate; a place where people lost their original identity through deceit. The denominational system of church is the modern day Babylon, a place where many souls are been caged; the people (“Christians”) who are suppose to go out and change the world are sitting down in the structural church worshiping pastors and Bishops.


The structure that we call the church today resembles the Body of Christ but denies the nature and character of Jesus Christ. This is what the scripture is referring to that says “ it has two horns like the lamb but spoke like the dragon”, all that one can see manifesting in denominational churches is division, politics, criticism, exploitation, dominion and control, which is the true nature of Satan. This shows that the denominational church system does not belong to Jesus Christ but to the antichrist, for that born of the flesh is flesh and that born of the spirit is spirit (John3:6). Denominationalism is created by human wisdom and Christ is not in it; if He is, His life, which is love, will be seen in the center of it instead of hatred, division and competition. Satan has blindfolded people not to realize that segregation is sin.

Believers in organized churches are in spiritual captivity under pastors, bishops, archbishops, popes and so forth. Nimrod in the ancient Babylon stole the people’s hearts away from God and became god to them, just as leaders in today’s churches have programmed Jesus Christ out of the Church and replaced Him with a “mediatorial seat”. As mentioned earlier, the present denominational church leaders are no longer servants but lords, and believers are now spectators instead of coworkers. Christ commanded us to spread out and make disciples of all nations but leaders like Nimrod have gathered believers together without training them only to use them to raise money to support radio and television broadcasts in efforts to construct the largest denominational structure to exalt themselves. Babylon system! The majority of believers are aware that Christendom is empty; there is a spiritual dryness in the structure called church, nothing is happening except the short temporary emotional excitement during the so called praise and worship hour.


The reason is that the glory has departed, Jesus Christ is no longer in the midst of the organized religious system of church, He is outside knocking because the leaders have programmed him out. Most people go to church on Sunday just to fulfill religious obligations, the days of Christendom “the corrupt church system” is about to end, the denominational churches are heading to ecumenism “one world church system”. It is time to move up to Zion, the Lord is calling his bride out of Babylon (Revelation18:1-4). It is time that Christians look beyond men (pastors and Bishops) and fix their eyes on Christ alone (Hebrews12:2-4). May the Lord grant us more grace to move to the next level in Christ Amen!

[center]www.visionxtreme70..com[/center]

Habinger:

[center]Operating the structural church as a family business[/center]

The false ministers “Nimrods” operate local churches as a family business; for instance, in their congregations, the husband will act as the senior pastor and their wives will act as second in command, followed by their children. It is not necessary that when a pastor dies that the wife or the children take over the church. God doesn’t require us to operate the church like a monarch.

THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS ONE AND GREAT. THIS SAME TOPIC GOD HAVE BEEN HITTING MY HEART WITH TODAY AND MY OTHER THREAD BUT I CHOSE TO THE MY RECENT THREAD FIRST HOPING TO DO THIS YOUR TOPIC NEXT WEEK. THE CHURCH BELONGS TO JESUS BUT RELIGIOUS MEN HAD PATTERNED THE CHURCH AS FAMILY ESTABLISHMENT WHERE WIFE TAKES OVER AFTER THE DEATH OF HUSBAND. THE LORD IS REALLY WORKING AND TIRED OF ALL THIS RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES. I TRUST GOD FOR A GREAT MOVES IN THIS END TIME. THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU.

Check out this thread also, sound similar to yours: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-886154.0.html#msg10330344