❤️📖 FROM THE HEART | March 13, 2026 | New Hebrews in Old Babylon | Pastor Erton Köhler
Every generation faces its own Babylon, a culture of noise, confusion, and compromise. The temptations may dress themselves anew, yet the old spirit remains the same. And in the midst of all the chaos, God’s people rise again and again with quiet courage. They hold fast to eternal values and live with unshakable conviction.
When the prophet Daniel stood in the palaces of Babylon, he was not surrounded by people who shared his faith. He lived among glittering idols and shifting loyalties. Yet Daniel resolved in his heart not to defile himself. His story reminds us that holiness does not depend on a perfect environment, but on a heart anchored in God’s Word.
We live surrounded by new towers of Babel—digital, cultural, and moral. They promise connection and success, but often bring confusion and emptiness. Babylon has changed its architecture, not its nature. We may not stand before golden statues, yet we are still exposed to golden temptations. The illusion of prosperity seduces countless people. Relativism, humanism, and hedonism disguise themselves as freedom while enslaving hearts.
Our calling, however, is not to adapt the truth to culture, but to let the truth transform culture. In ancient Babylon, Daniel never became a Babylonian at heart. He learned their language and served their king, yet his loyalty belonged to God. We are new Hebrews in the old Babylon. We live by commandments that do not bend and by a hope that does not fade. Be the quiet difference in a loud generation. Hold the Bible not as an ornament, but as a guide.
About the series
From the Heart is a weekly devotional series in which Pastor Köhler reflects on what it means to be grounded in the Bible and focused on the mission, collectively and individually. Each episode is grounded in the four pillars of the Seventh-day Adventist Church strategic plan: Communion with God, Identity in Christ, Unity through the Holy Spirit, and Mission for All.
The series connects biblical faith to everyday life, sharing short reflections and glimpses of how God is at work through the Adventist Church around the world.
Pastor Erton Köhler is President of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church.
