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Gen 10:8-32

Nimrod was descended from Ham. By Ham was represented the doctrine of external worship, in which there was, in the beginning, a true internal spirit. But in the process of the decline of the Ancient Church, external worship was separated from true internal worship, and was adopted by large communities of people. Nimrod was the name given to the doctrine which grew out of the Hamitic branch of the Ancient Church, which centered the all of religion in mere external observances. He does not, therefore, stand for an individual, but for a doctrine and for the communities that adopted and were influenced in their religious life by it.

External worship separate from internal worship is profane. It consists in mere formalities and rituals. This kind of worship is soulless. It is sheer idolatry. It is paying tithe of mint and anise and cummin, but omitting the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith. It makes the formal the essential and places the body above the soul. It appeals to and captivates the senses but does not reach the heart and mind. It is really a ceremonial tyranny and sets aside, as of little importance, the real inward spirit of religion. It is a dead and cold formalism.

All this is true of any form of worship, be it elaborate or simple, in which there is lacking the spirit of faith and true humility. The church is constituted of many varieties of mind; and a true and living church can never be cast into one mold of worship. Internal worship consists in love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor, and this internal worship can enter into and dwell in all manner and forms of external worship. It is the essential, and if the members of the church are in this internal worship, their forms of external worship may be elaborate and ritualistic, or they may be as simple as the forms of Quakerism, and they will be acceptable unto the Lord. The internal is what the Lord sees. The attempt to force one external form of worship upon the whole church indicates an utter failure to see and be governed by the principle of charity. And this is just as true of those who seek to force what they call the simple forms of worship upon the whole church as it is of those who seek to force the more ornate and ritualistic forms. There is just as much danger in the one as there is in the other.

The main thing is to have the internal right in the sight of God; and then the ceremonials of the church become matters of dress, to be determined by the needs or taste of the people. This is the only broad and catholic view.

Now the Nimrod doctrine did not involve this great conception. It ignored the internal altogether and placed the whole worship in mere ceremonial. This doctrine reached its height of power as the Ancient Church approached its judgment and end. Indeed it is remarkable that each dispensation of the church has experienced, at its close, this same thing. As the Adamic Church neared its end, there arose in it an externalism represented by the giants whq became mighty in the earth. As the Ancient Church was coming to its end, Nimrod arose - there grew up a worship that was wholly external. When the historic Jewish Church was at its end there arose the same state as represented in the Pharisees, who bound heavy burdens and grievous to be borne and laid them on men's shoulders, And at the end of the church of the Lord's first advent, we find the real spirit of worship eliminated and a most gorgeous ceremonial worship established. The meaning of all this is clear enough to one who thinks. When the real inward life of the church dies out, the priesthood seek to make good the loss by the establishment of awe striking ceremonials. This is the state of the Ancient Church that is represented by Nimrod.

Think of what is said of Nimrod: "He became a mighty one in the earth." This is not the story of the rise of a man with a mighty and commanding influence. It is rather the story of the rise of a perverted and utterly false doctrine that grew into favor among men and came to be regarded as a mighty power in the Ancient Church.

The earth, or world, is the symbol of the church; and the story is that of a doctrine that became prominent in its sway and that was mighty in its influence. The Ancient Church had grown to be external. Its spiritual life had waned and died, and here was a doctrine of external worship that strongly appealed to the natural state of mind into which men had descended. Their natural hearts embraced it eagerly. It made no demands upon their life, for they had put away the vital things of faith and life and had come to regard the mere formalities of the church as having saving power. Descending into this condition, the church readily turned to a doctrine that eliminated charity and substituted for faith a mere formalism of worship. Thus Nimrod gained dominion; thus spiritual tyranny grew up and the church was dominated by mere externalism. This is what is meant by Nimrod's might in the earth. This same condition was developed during the history of the first Christian dispensation. As the inward and beautiful life of the Apostolic age waned and died, there were gradually developed the imposing ceremonials of the Romish Church. Nimrod became mighty in the earth. All spiritual thinking was banished from the church. Religion, as a life, died, and in its stead there grew up a vast system of superstition which held in bondage the nations of the Christian world.

It is said of Nimrod that "he was a mighty hunter before the Lord." This means that the system called Nimrod had a powerful sphere of persuasion about it. There was something in the Nimrod doctrine that captivated and held men's minds, and allured them on to accept a religion out of which had gone all spiritual vitality.

Think! The very nature of an external religion is persuasive; and men are easily ensnared by it, because having become external, they easily accept what appeals to their sight and natural feelings. They are easily caught and captivated by a religion of mystery - a religion on the natural plane. A religion that calls for thought, reflection and spirituality of character they pass by. This is the secret of the hold which the Roman Church has on its people. It is also the secret of the rapid growth of that cult which we know as Christian Science. Both systems are powerful in their persuasiveness. Neither system calls for any spiritual thinking. Both appeal to the natural man. They are Nimrodism. Both Romanism and Eddyism take advantage of the unthinking multitude: both bait their teaching with promises of relief from the duty of repentance and spiritual purification. Both systems are mighty hunters - great in persuasiveness and utterly lacking in rationality. Both systems are accepted by the people who do no thinking, but yield their minds as prey to Nimrod.

Think of what is said of Nimrod's kingdom: "The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneth, in the land of Shinar." The idea is not that of the founding of these cities by a man named Nimrod; the idea is that of the beginning and extension of the doctrine, in the Ancient Church, which placed the all of religion in mere external things.

These cities with their inhabitants already existed, but Nimrodism began in Babel and extended its baleful influence over all the places mentioned. We see the same thing in the Christian Church. The beginning of the Papal dominion was in Italy and it gradually extended itself over Europe. Things have a beginning somewhere. But something more than a natural locality is meant by Babel. Babel is the Scripture name for the self love out of which grow all the forms of spiritual dominion over men's souls. The Babel of Nimrod was the selfish love of the natural heart in which the doctrine, that religion consists in the observance of mere ceremonies, found its beginning. It was so in the Ancient Church; and it is so today. Spiritual dominion begins in the Babel of a selfish heart and extends its influence to all the relations of life. We must be on guard against Nimrod. Let us therefore cling to the Internal things of the church and regard all external forms as the formalities of religion.