The Fall of Babylon: How Dominance-Based Hierarchy Has Wounded the Church
This morning, I received a text from my friend, Melissa Pace, that stopped me in my tracks. She shared that while awakening this morning, she clearly heard "Revelation 17.” Just so you can understand my response, Melissa is an incredibly humble, gifted, and godly woman. So, when she says she heard something, I know it’s from the Lord and listen carefully.
When she looked up Revelation Chapter 17, she found that this chapter depicts the fall of Babylon the Great—a powerful, corrupt spiritual system often interpreted as representing a false religious system that has perverted true faith and opposed God's people throughout history.
The timing of Melissa's revelation struck me deeply, as we were just wrapping up the production of my book BLIND SPOT that deals with false religious structures. I’d been contemplating how dominance-based hierarchical structures—particularly those that subjugate women but extend far beyond gender—have infiltrated the Church, replacing Christ's revolutionary model of servant leadership with the world's pyramid-style power systems.
The world transformed the Church rather than the other way around.
The Two Kingdoms in Conflict
As Christians we've misunderstood critical biblical concepts like submission and "headship." What I've discovered is that there are essentially two kingdoms operating with completely different rules:
In the world's empire-like system:
Power flows downward in one direction
Authority means control
Leadership equals being in charge
Submission means inferior status
Success means rising above others
But in God's Kingdom:
Power flows in all directions; it's circular
Authority means responsibility to serve
Leadership equals lifting others up
Submission means mutual support
Success means bringing everyone up together
When Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36), He wasn't just making a statement about geography—He was introducing an entirely different operating system for human relationships.
The Woman Riding the Beast
In Revelation 17, John describes "a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names." This woman, clothed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones, holds a golden cup "full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication."
Biblical scholars have long interpreted this as representing a religious system that compromises with worldly power—making unholy alliances with empire to maintain control and influence.
Isn't this precisely what happens when the Church adopts dominance-based hierarchies instead of Christ's model of mutual submission? When we replace "one anothering" with chains of command? When we trade washing feet for expecting to be served?
The Blind Spot We've Missed
One of the most significant revelations I share in BLIND SPOT is how we've completely misunderstood Paul's teachings about submission. When I noticed that Paul always placed instructions about wives submitting alongside instructions about slaves submitting—often in the same breath—I realized something profound: Paul wasn't endorsing these power structures; he was showing believers how to operate within broken systems while releasing Kingdom transformation into them.
Just as we now understand that Paul wasn't endorsing slavery for all time, we must recognize that he wasn't endorsing male domination either. He was planting seeds of Kingdom reality that would eventually undermine both systems.
As I say in the book, "We've been filtering Peter and Paul's words through our flawed perceptions, opting for the world's dominance-based hierarchies rather than Jesus' revolutionary model of power through love. We essentially missed the whole point. We erased the original message of how to take dominion of the world through love—not force, through submission and strength."
The Consequences of Babylon's System
The consequences of embracing dominance-based hierarchy in the Church have been devastating:
Spiritual abuse: When leaders believe they have inherent authority over others rather than a responsibility to serve, abuse of power becomes almost inevitable.
Suppressed gifts: When half the body of Christ is prevented from fully exercising their spiritual gifts, the entire Church suffers from this amputation.
Distorted view of God: When we present God's design for relationships as hierarchical rule and submission, we distort people's understanding of God's true nature. Jesus demonstrated a very different reality.
Damaged witness: Our insistence on hierarchies based on gender, social status, religious position, ... undermine our testimony of Christ's revolutionary love in a world increasingly aware of power dynamics. We see the abuse and damage all around us, but we fail to see it’s root cause.
Divided hearts: Countless believers live with the cognitive dissonance of sensing God's heart for equality while feeling bound by what they believe Scripture "clearly teaches." Once the blinders are removed, those same scriptures clearly say something very different than we were taught.
The Coming Fall
Revelation 17 doesn't just describe Babylon's corruption—it prophesies her fall. The very powers she allied with will eventually "hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire" (Rev 17:16).
Is it possible that we're witnessing the beginning of this fall now? As more believers recognize the contradictions between Christ's example and dominance-based structures, as more women and men find their voice and speak truth to power, as more communities embrace mutual submission as God's design—are we seeing the first cracks in Babylon's foundation?
A Call to Kingdom Reality
The good news is that God is awakening His people to these truths. Throughout the world, communities of believers are committing to relationships that truly reflect His nature—built on mutual honor, mutual submission, and mutual empowerment.
As I conclude in BLIND SPOT:
"The time for bold and courageous action is here. That bold action is simply walking out the truth in love... Welcome to God's Kingdom, where mutual submission reigns and where 'head' has no 'ship' attached. Where 'head' means unity with the body, not control over it. Where power flows through love, not force. Where every relationship reflects the very heart of God and naturally releases the transforming power of Christ."
The fall of dominance-based hierarchy in the Church isn't something to fear—it's something to celebrate. It signals not the Church's destruction but its purification, making way for the Bride of Christ to emerge in her true beauty: a community that embodies the very nature of God expressed through mutual love, honor, and submission.
What are your thoughts? Have you experienced the harmful effects of dominance-based hierarchy in your spiritual journey? Or have you tasted the freedom of Kingdom relationships built on mutual submission? I'd love to hear your stories in the comments below.
Ready to See What’s Been Hiding in Plain Sight?
If this resonates with you, and you’re ready to uncover the truth about submission and headship that’s been hiding in plain sight, I invite you to take the next step. Download my free guide, Four Misunderstood Bible Verses About Submission, to explore these powerful insights further. It’s a sneak peek into the heart of my book, Blind Spot, and a resource to help you begin breaking free from distorted views.