My popular contributor, Bud Hancock, presents a three part series about the Nimrod Spirit. Here is part one. I am most grateful for Bud’s insights into this amazing period of human History.

Gibber! Gibber

Chugley

The Nimrod Spirit – Part One

By Bud Hancock

Introduction

The writer of Ecclesiastes said, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9 KJV)

If this statement can be taken literally, as I believe it can and should, then we should be able to recognize ‘patterns’ of events that have occurred more than once throughout history. In these patterns, we can determine, by looking back to them, what should occur in the future.

We know that after man rebelled against God in the Garden, the authority that was his was transferred to another being, a supernatural, non-human being. Even though there were only two humans, Adam and Eve, at the time of man’s treason, both God and Satan knew that man would multiply and begin to (re)populate the entire earth. As this happened, man, still under the curse of sin and death, gradually grew more sinful and corrupted. From generation to generation, humanity reached a point where the whole of mankind was described as corrupt (Genesis 6;12 KJV).

When that corruption had reached its fullness, and God had decided to destroy all living things from the earth, He found in Noah, “a just man and perfect in his generations and Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:8-9 KJV). This does not mean that God declared Noah righteous, but that God’s grace was abundant to a man that, because of his character, could be used for God’s purpose.

The Ecclesiastes ‘Pattern’

A pattern of the appearance of evil was established in the Garden. When Satan appeared in the form of a serpent, it was a ‘new thing’, something that Adam and Eve had not yet encountered. That appearance brought destruction and misery to not only Adam and Eve, but to all humans that would ever be born from them. The pattern of the appearance of evil and the damage caused by it would last right up to the present day.

For generations, evil continued to work against God and man, and though it manifested in sundry ways, shapes and forms, it was no longer a ‘new thing’. With each successive appearance, mostly in the form of ever more evil and corrupt humans, especially the stronger men who desired to rule over the earth and its inhabitants, the havoc it brought was worse. It had finally corrupted nearly all of God’s creation, prompting Him to send judgment on it and all creatures who adhered to its precepts. Thus, the great Flood of Noah was used by God to judge evil. The entire saga of Noah’s flood can be read in chapters 6-8 of Genesis.

After the flood of Noah, the earth contained eight souls to once again begin the task of the replenishment of the earth; those eight were Noah, his wife, his three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives; but the further replenishment of the earth was to be through Noah’s sons and ther wives; Japheth was the elder son, Shem the middle son and Ham the youngest son.

When the earth had dried after the flood waters receded, all eight persons in the ark left it and waited for God to provide direction to them. God spoke to them and it is recorded in Genesis 9:1, He repeated his command given to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28, “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.” Again, this is not a new commandment, but a repetition of the original command given to the human race. God’s desire to have a family of human beings, created in His image and after His likeness to populate the earth had not changed.

But it was not long until the corrupt nature of man manifested again. After the flood waters had receded, Noah began to be a husbandman (a steward of the ground/earth, or a farmer) and he planted a vineyard. We are not told how long it took for the vineyard to produce grapes, but when it did, Noah made wine and became drunken from it, and was naked in his tent. His youngest son Ham, saw his father’s nakedness and went to tell his brothers. “And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness” (Genesis 9:23 KJV).

As a result of the action of Ham, seeing his father’s nakedness and possibly lusting for him and then telling his brothers, Noah was angry and pronounced a curse upon Canaan, the firstborn son of Ham, declaring that Canaan would be a ‘servant of servants’ unto his brothers. Noah also blessed Shem and Japheth, saying: “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant” (Genesis 9:26-27 KJV).

So, we see the pattern mentioned in Ecclesiastes occurring after the flood of Noah had destroyed all flesh because of corruption. Obviously, the action of Ham regarding seeing his father’s nakedness was grievous enough to bring a curse upon Ham through Canaan.

Enter Nimrod, The Mighty Hunter

“And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.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 (Genesis 10:6-9 KJV).

Nimrod was the son of Cush, grandson of Ham and great grandson of Noah; he was the first person mentioned in the Bible as one who became a ‘mighty hunter before the Lord’. The word ‘mighty’ is a translation of the Hebrew word ‘gibbowr’, (Strong’s 1368, pronounced ghib-bore’). It has numerous meanings including, warrior, tyrant, champion, mighty man, strong man and giant. The word ‘before’ in the verse is a translation of the Hebrew word, paniym (Strong’s 6440, pronounced paw-neem’) and it has many meanings but basically refers to the face. In this instance in the original Hebrew it means ‘openly’ and defiantly’, as one might say today, “in your face”. The implication is that he did not fear God but was openly hostile to Him, not trying to hide his impudent, rebellious, warring nature from God.

The appearance of evil in Nimrod marks the establishment of the first world kingdom in Babel, along with the first world religion, the worship of false gods. This was the start of the Babylonian false religion that continues in the world today, a religion based not on worship of the True living God, Yahweh, but on power, control and the love of money.

The Bible speaks of the presence of ‘giants’ in the earth as a result of the union of human women and fallen angels who were powerful beings. These giants were known to be very tall and of enormous physical strength (consider the Giant Goliath who was slain by David). Many Bible scholars also believe there were giants in the earth after the flood of Noah who were the offspring of fallen angels and human women (once again, nothing new under the sun). If Nimrod was one of these, as many now believe, then the mother of Nimrod was guilty of the same corruption that caused God to destroy both the human and animal populations of earth with the flood.

The Jewish historian, Josephus, had much to say about Nimrod, for example that Nimrod was a rebellious man who, besides being a hunter of wild animals, also hunted men and enslaved them. His mighty deeds gave him the power to start the first kingdom on earth located in the area of Babylon, now known as Iraq. He established his kingdom, called Babel, in the land of Shinar, in what became known as Babylon and is currently known as Iraq.

The People United Behind Nimrod

Around 100 years after the flood, the survivors and all their offspring had a common language. Recorded in Genesis 11:1-4, “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 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. 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. 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. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded”.

No clear description of the city and the Tower of babel can be found in Genesis, but archaeologists have unearthed artifacts indicating that the tower was more than 100 meters (300 feet) tall and that there were zodiac signs present at the top. It is thought that the god they were honoring with their building was ‘Marduk’, the national god of Babylon.

It can be seen from the words above that the rebellious nature of man was still very strong. Little time had passed since God told Noah and his children the same thing He had told Adam and Eve: Replenish the earth. His command said nothing about congregating in one place and building a mighty tower ‘to make a name for themselves’. But the people wanted ‘to build a city and a tower that would ‘reach up to heaven’, or that would be dedicated to the ‘gods of the heavens’, namely Marduk. They wanted to make a name for themselves so that they would not be ‘scattered abroad’. Obviously, God was less than pleased with their rebellion and their open opposition to His plan and it brought a serious response from Him.

The Nimrod Spirit – Part Two

Judging the Spirit

God’s Judgment: The Scattering of People

When God surveyed the work of the rebels hands, He made a decision, recorded in Genesis 11:5-8, “And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 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. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; 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.

The evil propagated by Nimrod brought serious judgment from God. Although God gave the authority over most of His creation to men, there is a point beyond which He will not allow evil men to go. Daniel 4:17 states: …“know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” Even though some very wicked men have been placed in high positions, there always comes the time when God will require of them an answer for their deeds done in those high positions.

God’s judgment of the rebellion of Nimrod and the people of Babylon was to make it impossible for them to understand one another, thereby requiring them to scatter to distant parts of the earth after having assembled those who could communicate with each other. We are not told how many languages were created, only that, in the end, God used His powers and authority to cause man to involuntarily fulfill His original plan for the replenishment of the earth.

Rebellion ALWAYS Brings Judgment

Nimrod seems to be a type of many people throughout history who have no respect for God or His word and who believe they are much smarter than God. As such, they believe they are worthy of and capable of governing the entire world under one banner, without God, His help or His approval. This is a spirit of arrogance and pride that has one source: Satan. Nimrod, as befits the Ecclesiastes Pattern, easily can be considered a forerunner of the Antichrist who will appear in the last days. Many men will join in the attempt to enslave all humanity and place all under one controlling government.

There is a word for such people in this upside down world in which we live: POLITICIANS. The Spirit of Nimrod, the Mighty Hunter who had no respect for God and His word, did not die when Nimrod died. That same spirit of arrogance, pride and rebellion continued on throughout the generations, mainly through the use of politics and ‘willing’ politicians.

We see today, as we have since the times of Jesus, when the Caesars ruled the Roman Empire, the appearance of many powerful and strong men and women who desire nothing more than to rule over the entire planet and all its inhabitants. The methods they have always used and continue to use to accomplish their agenda are fear and deception. In the past, all such attempts have lasted for a while and then failed, usually having been judged by God. And just as God judged Nimrod and the builders of Babylon and the Tower of Babel, He will also judge those who believe they can now take over the world and remake it into what THEY believe it should be. Their arrogance and pride will bring about their downfall, just as it did the Babylonians.

From a Scattering to a Regathering

Just as the ‘scattering’ judgment of God brought about the replenishment of the earth without the assistance of man, allowing man the allotted time to try to establish a true, fair and righteous government on the earth, there have been several ‘

Born and raised in a small textile town in North Carolina, Bud’s family moved to Michigan in the hope of finding better employment with General Motors.  After graduating from high school, Bud began an apprenticeship with General Motors to become a Metal Modelmaker.  Retiring after a 30 year career, which included an eight year stint as a Metrologist (Science of high precision measurement), he and his wife moved back to North Carolina to be near his elderly parents.  Shortly thereafter, with both of his parents having passed, he began a new career in the bank security/ATM business, advancing from an entry level technician to one of two North Carolina customer service managers for his employer.  Retiring again after 13 years, he and his wife of 51 years relocated to Tennessee where Bud began writing articles emphasizing Biblical teaching and geopolitical issues.  At age 75, he and his wife relocated to South Carolina with their Miniature Schnauzer, Baxter.  Bud continues to study God’s word and write articles on Christian living and geopolitical issues from the Biblical end times  perspective.