The spirit of religion may be the most subtle of all deceptions we face. Man gravitates toward rituals and traditions in an effort to structuralize life in any area possible. Consider that Adam and Eve had a continuous relationship with Our Heavenly Father and required no specific protocol to enter into fellowship. They simply flowed with HIS SPIRIT. After the fall, structure replaced “flow”. Time began slicing up the structure into discreet units of measure and the focus moved away from the flow.
Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 5:
20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day but inwardly they were as white sepulchres as Jesus said in Matthew chapter 23:
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
When we replace a revelation with tradition, we begin submitting to the deception that the tradition will produce the same results as the original revelation or directive. It is as though we think we can talk FATHER into submitting to our tradition in order to receive from HIM. An outward act does not resolve an inward problem. Traditions replace the need to be led by THE SPIRIT and are the basis for Babylon setting up residence in our hearts.
Did Jesus establish any traditions in His earthly ministry? Did He start a church building program? Did He commission a set of robes distinct from all others to be worn by Him and His disciples?
Babylon is meant to keep us confused and in subjection to an outward set of rules made by man. We must not allow ourselves to be deceived any longer by thinking rituals, processes, traditions, or any other form of structure will bring us closer to FATHER. IT IS AN INWARD ISSUE!
To quote Douglas Clark:
“How easy it is to see the Babylon within the Institutional Church while overlooking what in us needs to be overcome. It is true our eyes need to be open to our surroundings, but I declare to you that until the Babylon in us is exposed we will not grow in our quest to know Him! The same spirit that gave birth to the mixture of flesh and spirit within the church systems is alive and well right within us! Right now it is trying to figure out ways it can pervert what God is doing in this hour so that it can escape its own demise! The spirit I am speaking of is called Self-preservation and he is in the temple of God seeking a way to sit on the throne of God, ruling in place of the true King. This is why some home fellowships encounter the same old problems we dealt with back in the system. Babylon is in us! How often do we fail to see that the calling of God to come out of the religious systems of man is only the beginning of our journey? It is a much longer process removing the spirit of Babylon from us! That is why in our journey to know Him He often strips us of ministry and gifts for service. His gifts and anointing often become diffused with our carnal reasoning and self-efforts. This is the confusion that is defined in the name, Babylon."
Ponder the above and ask FATHER to reveal any and all remnants of Babylon in our hearts, they must be removed for us to ascend to that higher state.