You Can’t Disciple Babylon
The hard truth many believers struggle to accept.
You Can’t Disciple Babylon Into Holiness
There’s a hard truth many believers struggle to accept.
You can’t crucify the demonic.
You cast it out.
You can’t deliver the flesh.
You put it to death.
And you can’t disciple Babylon into holiness either.
And yes, that includes our government, too.
Now, before folks get what I’m sayin’ twisted, let’s stay biblical and balanced.
This does not mean:
We stop praying for leaders.
We stop voting.
We stop serving our communities.
We stop pursuing justice.
We stop being salt and light.
No.
We pray for leaders.
We honor lawful authority.
We speak truth.
We contend for righteousness.
We obey God over man when necessary.
But a leash on darkness is not the same as killing it.
That’s the trap.
A government may restrain evil for a season.
A law may slow corruption for a moment.
A righteous leader may provide temporary relief.
Praise God for that.
But restraint is not resurrection.
No worldly system can produce the Kingdom of God apart from the rule of Christ Himself.
That includes:
Political systems
Economic systems
Empires
Media structures
Ideological movements
Governments
Scripture teaches us that this present world order is influenced by sin, flesh, deception, and spiritual powers opposed to God.
1 John 5:19
“We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
2 Corinthians 4:4
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Not sovereign over God, mind you.
Not equal to God, by no means.
But in rebellion against Him, for sure.
That’s the danger of expecting a system to do what only a Savior can.
Babylon has always promised salvation through power.
Psalm 146:3
“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.”
Only Christ saves.
Acts 4:12
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
The Prophetic-Tactical Error
One of the most dangerous mistakes believers make is trying to produce spiritually through political machinery what only the Holy Spirit can produce through regeneration.
Scripture is clear:
Zechariah 4:6
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.”
And Jesus Himself said it plainly:
John 3:6
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
You cannot legislate resurrection.
The flesh cannot be policy-changed into holiness.
And demons cannot be voted out of existence.
Beloved, it just ain’t possible to transform Babylon into New Jerusalem before the King returns.
John saw it:
Revelation 21:2
“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”
Not built up from the earth by human hands.
That being said, it does not mean we disengage.
It means we keep our proper orientation.
The spiritual is practical.
The practical becomes tactical.
The spiritual governs.
The practical expresses.
The tactical applies wisely under real conditions.
Romans 8:5–6
“Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
So we operate wisely inside systems without worshiping them.
We engage civically without confusing civic duty with the Gospel.
We disciple people inside governments.
But we do not have the authority to call a government Christian or holy.
That designation belongs to Christ alone.
No human institution gets that title until He gives it.
Daniel said it to a king’s face while standing in Babylon:
Daniel 2:44
“The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed… It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.”
That distinction protects discernment.
When Political Hope Becomes Spiritual Compromise
This has happened many times before.
When believers start expecting governments to become holy systems, they often begin compromising truth just to protect and maintain a false political hope.
In the 4th century, when Emperor Constantine favored Christianity in Rome, much of the church celebrated, believing the Kingdom had finally arrived through political power.
What followed was the blurring of the cross with the sword, the growth of state-backed religion, and the loss of prophetic clarity in many places.
The church gained political access.
Yeah right.
Rome still fell.
In 1930s Germany, a faction of the Protestant church, the Deutsche Christen, aligned itself with the Nazi regime, believing a strong nationalist state would restore Christian order.
They rewrote their theology to fit the government, silenced dissenting pastors, and removed inconvenient truths from their pulpits.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church stood against them and paid for it.
The church compromised truth to maintain political access.
It did not produce a holy system.
It produced complicity with the diabolical.
And closer to home, beginning in the late 1970s, large segments of American evangelicalism fused their identity with political power, convinced that electing the right leaders would restore a Christian nation.
Over decades, as political alignment deepened, the willingness to overlook moral failure in political allies increased.
Character became negotiable.
Honesty became negotiable.
Integrity became negotiable.
Truth was traded for access.
The Kingdom did not and will not arrive under this spirit.
Disillusionment did, though.
That’s where deception creeps in.
2 Corinthians 4:4
“The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Jesus Did Not Command Us to Christianize Caesar
Jesus did not command us to Christianize Caesar.
He commanded us to make disciples.
That is a very different mission.
The early church overturned the world without having to control Rome.
Why?
Because transformed people carry the Kingdom wherever they go.
They do not have to seize Babylon to represent Christ.
They carry another government.
The Kingdom advances through:
Regeneration
Obedience
Holiness
Proclamation
Discipleship
Sacrificial love
Truth
Spiritual authority under Christ
The power of the Holy Spirit
Not through the illusion that Babylon can be baptized into righteousness.
Tactical Selah
Some believers are fearful, frustrated, exhausted, and sometimes mean and retaliatory because they keep trying to redeem systems God already said will be judged.
Matthew 11:28–30
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart.
And you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Selah.
If they had discerned their Selah, their Tactical Pause, they would have understood:
This burden was never theirs to carry.
Our assignment is faithfulness in the field.
The government was never on our shoulders.
Isaiah said it plainly:
Isaiah 9:6–7
“The government shall be upon his shoulder… Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end… The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”
Not our zeal.
His.
Christ handles the final government takeover Himself.
And according to Scripture, He won’t be campaigning for His throne.
He’s coming to take it.
Revelation 19:11–16
“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse!
The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war…
On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
No campaignin’.
Just conquering.
Reflective Questions
Have I placed more hope in political systems than in Christ’s Kingdom?
Am I trying to use worldly power to produce spiritual fruit?
Have I confused civic engagement with the Great Commission?
Do I pray for leaders without idolizing governments?
Am I discipling people, or merely arguing systems?
Small Challenge
This week:
Pray intentionally for your local and national leaders.
Refuse political idolatry from any side.
Share the Gospel with at least one actual person.
Spend more time advancing Christ’s Kingdom than defending earthly kingdoms.
Because people can repent.
Systems eventually get judged.
Anchor Scriptures
Revelation 11:15
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
John 18:36
“My kingdom is not of this world.”
Ephesians 6:12
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against…the rulers…the authorities…the cosmic powers over this present darkness…”
1 Timothy 2:1–2
“Pray for kings and all who are in high positions…”
Grace and Peace,
Thurston ❤️💪🏿❤️
⚔️ The Phulasso Living Team| Guarding Life with Wisdom, Readiness, and Love
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I wanted to let you know I included this in my weekly roundup! It was such a powerful post, I wanted to share it! I hope it blessed you. You can check it out here: https://substack.com/@fiztrainer/p-200138326. 🤗
Thank you so much. This wisdom needs to be read widely among Christian believers. God bless you. 🙏