Babylon the Great was the home of a huge entertainment industry.

By your magic spell all the nations were led astray (Rev 18:23).

Traditional emperors used witchcraft to support their power. In the ancient world, witchcraft was the source of wisdom and shaped thinking about the world. Our equivalent is the entertainment industry. Modern people are taught what to believe by the music, movie and television industries.

The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters will never be heard in you again.
No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again (Rev 18:22-23).

The music industry has become very powerful. Musicians are the philosophers of the current age, who create the patterns of thinking that undergirds an entire movement. Since the 1960s, young people have been wealthy enough to pay for their own music. This has enabled the music industry to imbibe them with values that are hostile to their parents. The result has been an enormous shift in values.

Advertising and Materialism

American business and media advertising have worked together to shape the culture all over the world. Television advertising tells people what they need. It fosters hedonism and materialism: new cars, new houses, beautiful bodies and sporting heroes.

The influence of television advertising is so strong that young people in central Africa are now wearing Chicago Bulls caps and Reebok T-shirts. The songs, movies and films that come out of the United States have “intoxicated” the world. Advertising and global trade have worked together to create a huge demand for luxury goods. . This demand has been an important driver of the American economy.

The spirit of Babylon is described in Isaiah 47. The key features are:

• luxury

• nakedness

• wanton immorality

• lounging in comfort

• sorcery and magic

• artificial wise counsel

These are the values of the television advertising.

The "spin doctors" who manage the image of politicians are the new palace magicians. Their power is so great that a good image is more important than sound policies for winning and election.

Television Morality

Television and movies are powerful tools for shaping a culture.

The light of a lamp will never shine in you again (Rev 18:23).

The light of the lamp is a reference to the movie and television industry. John saw an enormous entertainment industry dwelling in Babylon the Great that supports the power of the American Beast.

The television industry has filled the living rooms of people all over the world with filth and abominable things that would not have been allowed near our houses in earlier generations. Blasphemy has become common place. The names of God and Jesus have become the most common expletives.

The entertainment empire have been very hostile to Christianity.

I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus (Rev 17:6).

When Christians appear in popular programmes are usually are mocked. They are portrayed as slightly feeble and out of touch with life. The best known Christian in the world is probably Ned Flanders of “The Simpsons”.

While watching television and listening to music, people have unwittingly invited demons into their houses and lives.

She has become a home for demons
and a haunt for every evil spirit,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird (Rev 18:2).

The American entertainment industry determines what is good and evil. Once the media takes sides, anyone opposing their view is relentless mocked. Chat show hosts are the new priesthood that atones for guilt and shame. Talk back hosts and are the prophets of this new age.

Humanism

The voice that dominated the last century is humanism. This philosophy came out of universities in the United States and Europe and through the the media has flooded the entire world. Humanism shapes the way the modern world thinks. This movement has been so successful, that man has become his own god.

The humanistic project that began in the 19th century hoped to bring peace and plenty to earth using scientific methods and economic development. The original Babel aimed to build a tower that would reach up to heaven. Their real goal was to bring heaven to earth, but God beat them to it. Most empires since Babel have concentrated on survival, because anything more seemed impossible. With the enlightenment, which began in the 19th century, the dream of bringing heaven to earth became common again. Now most people expect nothing less.

The United States is the centre from which humanism has been exported into the world. The American movie, television and music industries shape the universal culture that is sweeping the world. Together with the universities, these industries have spread humanism throughout the world.